Great Statement for both Students AND Teachers
From reader AD - you can use for signs or statements.
Seattle Schools Boundaries Session Today
Today, from 1 PM to 3 PM, Dr. Tracy Libros, Manager of Enrollment, will be available to talk informally about the Growth Boundaries Project. Meeting will be at the John Stanford Center; probably room 2750.This from Director McLaren; thanks for the reminder!
Friday Comment
I don't do this often but because I saw this huge number of hits with a fairly large number of comments on one post, I wanted to put this out there.This week's Tuesday Open Thread has been one of the most read and commented posts we have had in a long time. The number of hits is so hit as to preclude it being the same 20 people coming back, again and again.The post is mostly a math discussion abo
Seattle Schools Strategic Plan Motto
Every Student.Every Classroom.Every Day.Three Goals, 50,000 Journeys.What do you think?I'm good with this. I just would like to see the entire plan more streamlined and focused as the motto.
Seattle School Board Meeting Next Wednesday - It Will Rock
And roll.Looks like there is going to be a LOT of activity at the Board meeting on Wednesday. Apparently we may see:- teachers who are unhappy about the possible class size increase- community organizers unhappy about their exit from the Horace Mann building in order to make way for Nova to come backand now,- the so-called Our Schools group. Here's their reason to be at the Board meeting:Nearly
Friday Open Thread
It's a map, map, map world.You saw the map I put up yesterday about the most highly paid public employee in each state (mostly sports coaches of some sort). More interesting maps have crossed my path and some you might share with your children.ArtsEd Washington, a group that supports arts education in public schools, has a map showing all the school districts in the state. It does give you paus
The Fate of the Mann Building
The Horace Mann building at 24th and Cherry was the home of The NOVA Project for thirty years from 1979 to 2009 when misguided District leadership moved the school to the Meany building for no legitimate reason. New leadership quickly decided to move NOVA back into the Mann building and that has been the District's plan for about two years now.During the brief intervening period the District rente
AUG 15
United States and Education Priorities
This says it all about the US and education - who we pay the highest dollar for a public employee in each state:My apologies, I thought the graphic came with a notation. This is from the site, Dead Spin.
Northwest Education News
A couple of NW education stories of interest.First up, look who is leaving after one whole year as head of Oregon's public education system - Rudy Crew. No real surprise there. From Ed Week:So, how have things turned out? There are a few answers to that, and good variety among them. First, there's Rudy Crew. He's no longer on the job, having resigned July 1 to take over as president of Medgar Ev
What is Spectrum?
Shauna Heath, the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instructional Support and Michael Tolley, the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, have told the Board and the public that they will form advisory committees this fall to explore delivery models and identification criteria for advanced learning programs. In the meantime, schools are moving forward on their own with changes in de
Education News News Roundup
A couple of interesting contributors to Stephan Blanford's campaign - former Board member Nancy Waldman (ousted from office in the wake of the Olechefske financial scandal) and former Board member (and Seattle mover and shaker) Don Nielsen. One oddity, though, is a contribution out of Indianapolis from the Eli Lilly company. Why Eli Lilly is interested in a Seattle School Board campaign is a m
AUG 14
What Role Should the Mayor have in Public Education?
There's a question.I was amused to see Bruce Ramsey, another Seattle Times editorial board member, put out a column today that (oddly) asked Tim Burgess (who you may recall could even stick it out through the primary race), what the mayor of Seattle is and isn't. Baffling.Here's what the column said about public education:He (Burgess) mentions education. I (Ramsey) object: Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Schools Statement on Contract Negotiations
From SPS Communications:We are working with our labor association partners to achieve what we all desire – what is best for our staff and for our students. We have discussed and explored a variety of options during negotiations with the Seattle Education Association. We have discussed with SEA an increase to the cap on class size. Enrollment in Seattle Public Schools has increased dramatically o
AUG 13
Tuesday Open Thread
Heard that the waitlists were running late - input from Tracy Libros in Enrollment:Our student information system is currently being replaced, so the most recent update of assignment and waiting list information was in mid-July. New information will be updated as soon as possible, which is likely to be at the end of August or beginning of September. We understand the importance of waiting list s
New Principals Announced for West Seattle Schools
From the West Seattle Blog: Shannon Stanton was announced by Superintendent Banda as the new principal of Alki Elementary. Ms. Stanton comes to Alki from Pine Tree Elementary in the Kent School District, where she has been principal since 2011. She is committed to the academic initiatives at Alki and we believe she will be a great fit for the Alki community.Connie Aleman as the new principal of G
Readers, Stop Having Opinions and Voicing Them Here
Because you are making some School Board candidates upset (and possibly hurting their feelings.)This is my smile of the day because in the last couple of weeks I have heard from three candidates saying they have been "mischaracterized" or "assumptions made" by this blog and by you, our readers. I can only say to all the candidates - welcome to politics. Of course, people have opinions even befor
Washington State Charter Law Case Update
The charter school law case has been assigned to King County and to Judge Jean Rietschel. I was amused to read elsewhere that the lawyers for the plaintiffs were accused of going "court and judge shopping."For the record, most cases involving statewide issues are either heard in Olympia (state capital) or Seattle (largest court system). No mystery there.As for judge shopping, it is my understand
AUG 12
Charter Schools -What's featured on their websites? Class Size
It's the same for private schools.Listen to Los Angeles School Board member, Steven Zimmer, as he speaks out about class size (as a former teacher). It's a little less than three minutes long.Heartfelt and inspiring. And yes, why is it that class size is touted for charters and private schools as a benefit and not public schools? Don't all kids deserve attention?FYI, Bill Gates' kids' schools
Seattle Schools; New Appointments Announced
(I have very mixed feelings about these appointments. Both men have good education skills. Mr. Wright is the more worrisome of the two. He has close ties with the Gates Foundation. He got onto the board of the Alliance for Education just nine months after he moved to Seattle a couple of years back. That's something of a record for the Alliance to put him on their Board. His resume shows that
AUG 11
Seattle Schools This Week
Monday, August 12Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee Mtg, 4-6 pm. AgendaA lot of BARs for various partnerships with outside entities for services. One, for Special Ed services via the Northwest School of Innovative Learning, caught my eye because I know they were being sued in 2011while a student in the Puyallup School District was in their school. The student's family alleged physical
AUG 10
Saturday Updates
Big meteor shower this weekend (Perseid by name). It has just turned cloudy here (and boy, what a lightening/thunderstorm last night) but if the clouds part. From My Northwest:"If you watched for an hour in a typical Perseid shower, you'd probably see about 70 meteors, maybe a meteor per minute," says University of Washington astronomy professor Julie Lutz. "Some would be brighter than others.