Seattle Schools Community Forum:
Friday Open Thread
Washington State Charter Law; Kinda, Sorta Overturned
Oregon Bans Online School Operator for Life
Seattle Schools Community Forum
Real Education Reform
I am an opponent of corporatist, millionaire- and billionaire-backed Education Reform, but I am no supporter of the status quo. I want to see radical change in our public education system, just not the changes that the Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation, or the WalMart heirs support. I support changes that directly address the failures in the system and are proven effective.So, just to make it
The Times Doubles Down for Charters
Let's review the Times coverage of the Washington charter school law this week.On the charter law court ruling, they manage to confuse readers with two different headlines but settled on one that makes it sound like it was upheld but " questions remain." Then, they only quote the pro-charter side (going to their go-to source, Lisa Macfarlane). They do quote the plaintiffs' lawyer b
mark as read
Anyone who has given thought to Common Core standards and has a opinion you might want to pass along/talk about, please shoot me an e-mail at sss.westbrook@gmail.com. I'll forward your e-mail on. Please send it to me by noon if possible.Haven't checked other news sources but I suspect the charter law decision is generating a lot of discussion.Both Board Director community meetings (Carr and Martin-Morris) are cancelled for tomorrow.What's on your mind?
Someone, quick, get me a lawyer!Naturally, I go out of town and this ruling comes down and I am scrambling to get info and understand it. Here is the basic understanding of Judge Rietschel's ruling per Diane Ravitch:“In a ruling issued today (pdf), King County Superior Court Judge Jean Rietschel has tossed out the heart of Washington State’s charter schools law on the grounds that it violates the constitutional provision that state education revenues be “exclusively applied to the support of the common schools.”“But, Judge Rietschel concludes: “A charter school cannot be defined as a common sc
In one of those likely "it's only a matter of time" stories, The Oregonian reports that Tim King, who is a charter school chain operator in Oregon was recently banned - for life -in a court settlement from ever "running, advising, or otherwise getting financially involved with any charter school in Oregon." He and a partner also must pay the state of Oregon $475k and dismantle their schools.You can imagine the repercussions to students and parents at those schools.The pair had been accused of engaging in "racketeering, money laundering and other fraud in operating cha
DEC 11
Seattle School Board Retreat Wrap-Up
The Board retreat was last Saturday. I was one of two observers along with reader Cecilia.As I previously mentioned, I felt a lot of good energy and reason for hope from this new team. There were a couple of people around the table that felt the need to point out how many new people there were but there is nothing to be done except regroup and move on. Rapid turnover is not good for any organiz
Education News Roundup
A great story from Huffington Post on the "Buddy Bench." Second-grader Christian Bucks, of York, Pa., knew that some of his classmates felt lonely during recess, and he decided to do something about it. His simple, utterly heartwarming solution was to install a playground "buddy bench." As reported by the York Daily Record, a buddy bench is a designated seating area where st
Clarity around the title "interim"
Seattle Public Schools bureaucrats love to play word games. Their favorite word game is to re-define words. They do it for a variety of reasons. They have re-defined "task force" and "advisory committee" to evade control by Board policy. They have re-defined "program" and "service" to expand superintendent authority. They have changed the definition of "
DEC 10
West Seattle High Student Fends Off Would-Be Attacker Outside School
From the West Seattle Blog:"1:58 PM: Seattle Police are searching for a man reported to have jumped out of the bushes near the east side of West Seattle High School, in the Walnut/Stevens vicinity. Police say the man was reported to have grabbed the arm of a passing female, who hit him and ran into the school. Police were not able to tell us if she is a student. She was not hurt. The man was
New Seattle Schools PTA/PTO Resource Page
This new webpage at SPS is a welcome addition. It has an FAQ page (chock-full of info), Building Rentals page and a Contacts page. The main page, called PTSA/PTO Resources, also has links for forms/documents, policies and procedures and info for various groups/individuals. I am also glad to see PTOs given the same rank and recognition as PTA/PTSAs. It's the right thing to do.
No Grandfathering for Grades 6/7 at Hamilton or Eckstein Next Year
From the Superintendent:Dear Seattle Public Schools families and staff,As many of you know, the Seattle School Board on Nov. 20 approved boundary changes for the 2014-15 school year to help address our growing enrollment and to plan for three new middle schools.We have heard from several families -- especially from parents of 7th grade Hamilton International Middle School APP students and parents
Orca K-8 Shelter in Place; Everything Fine and Under Control
Update with correction from SPS:This was a drive-by shooting at the 2900 block of S. Graham of a 15-year old boy. It is unknown if he is an SPS student.The victim did NOT go to Orca K-8 but a shelter-in-place occurred at 5 area schools as a precaution when the first report of a shooting occurred. The police determined it was a drive-by shooting (and no gunman was on foot in the area) so the she
Tuesday Open Thread
So no snow in my area so here's hoping yours is dry as well. I received my Seattle Public Library newsletter and wanted to alert readers with high school students about a new scholarship opportunity. It's the Stim Bullitt Civic Courage Scholarship. (This is a bequest from the late Stimson Bullitt who supported public libraries.) High school seniors and undergraduate students who live, work or at
DEC 09
If You Can't Say Anything Nice
I saw that phrase in needlepoint on a pillow once. I laughed because well, I did find it apt and funny.Now along comes Gawker with a great (and very long article) by Tom Scocca called "On Smarm." Boy, does it hit a lot of high points with me."Haters", snark, and smarm - he covers them all. (And he uses Thumper - the rabbit from Bambi who famously said, "If you don't hav
DEC 08
Do We Care about Gun Violence in this Country?
I ask because I honestly thought that after the horror of Newtown that things would change. On December 16th, it will be the one-year anniversary of that horrible event. Twenty small children and six staff members were killed .Today is December 8th which is the 33rd (!) anniversary of John Lennon's murder. This is what his widow, Yoko Ono, tweeted. Those are his actual glasses. When does this s
Seattle Schools This Week
Monday, December 9thCurriculum & Instruction Committee meeting from 4-6 p.m. Agenda. Update on math adoption scheduled.Wednesday, December 10thExecutive Committee Meeting, 8:30 am to 10 am. Agenda. Mostly review of upcoming Board meetings and legislative matters.Oversight Work Session; Finance. 4-5:30 pm. AgendaInteresting to see on page 13 that in nearly every division in the Budget depart
Updated Seattle Schools Growth Boundaries Information
This SPS page has updated documents and a "look-up" tool for you to see, based on your address, what your child's schools will be.
It's True; There is no Shame in Being a Public Education Advocate
Whether it's ed reform or just plain old reform, there is praise to be given to anyone who speaks up for public education. I have respect for even those with whom I disagree because public education matters.(I do have less respect for those in ed reform who do not want to have a dialog unless you agree to agree with them. That's happened to me on charter schools. I also have less respect for th
DEC 07
Random Seattle Schools Thoughts
From SPS history:South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, visited Seattle and toured Madrona Elementary School almost 14 years to this date on Dec. 8, 1999. Madrona is now a K-8 school.What a lucky group of students on that day.At Board retreat today, a very different tone and feel. Still the same kind of talk and team-building but not the same vibe. A major theme is being collegial