Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

4-1-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:






Shelter in Place at Three Seattle Schools
From the West Seattle Blog:"12:51 PM: We just checked out a report that Chief Sealth International High School students were asked to “shelter in place” – and here’s what Seattle Police spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson tells us:There was a report of “somebody with a weapon at Roxhill Park area – someone on the walking path that ends at the bus stop on SW Barton, and 10 males in a group, allege

MAP and Advanced Learning
There was a reader comment about wanting to opt an APP student out of MAP testing but the parent seemed to think that the child would lose eligibility if he/she did not take the MAP.  Here's what I learned from speaking with Stephen Martin, head of the Advanced Learning department.The MAP is the gatekeeper to finding out if your child is eligible for AL testing. However, once you are enrolled, you

App Day at Rainier Beach High School
From SPS Communications:"Students attending high school or middle school throughout the Puget Sound region are invited to get a taste of computer science and basic programming at Puget Sound App Day 2014, set for Friday, May 23 at Rainier Beach High School.Everyone is welcome to attend from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 23, regardless of prior computer science knowledge or experience, although regist

Tuesday Open Thread
I am gathering info on the Federal Reserve building.  I have to say, based on descriptions of the inside, that it is likely not the best place for a school. But there does seem to be some confusion over timing so I do want to get that straightened out.   One item of note is that King County had appraised it at about $14M nearly 4 years ago and a company had been in line to purchase it for just und

Seattle Schools Odds and Ends - Meetings

I went to the Board meeting two weeks ago and a couple of Work Sessions/Committee meetings.   This thread is the Board meeting and Operations Ctm. meeting. Here are the highlights:Board MeetingThis was the one where the high school basketball teams were honored.  Very fun to be there (although the Garfield boys wanted to look as serious as possible). Paul Apostle of HR said they were making "


3-30-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Refusal Movement Growing in New YorkFYI, the correct legal term that districts and states use is "refusal" and not "opt-out." From the Mrs Mom Blog (in case you didn't know what the Supreme Court has to say on this subject):Until last year, I, along with most parents, did not realize that parents have the right to refuse state testing on behalf