Seattle Schools Community Forum:
Seattle Schools Odds and Ends
Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Odds and Ends
I actually have a pretty busy Saturday (and hey, I see sunshine so I want to take advantage of that as well) but I wanted to put up a few items for your viewing.One item is from Mirmac 1 - the Seattle Schools photo archive. I had never seen this archive (but I have been to the archives) and it's fun viewing. The second item is from next Wednesday's School Board meeting agenda. There is the trans
Friday Open Thread
Seattle's Central Library celebrates its 10-year birthday. Lots of fun events starting today with a concert by Harry and the Potters and ending with a big party next Friday, May 23rd. Music, temporary tattoos, cupcakes and a Lion Dance, starting at 10 a.m.Lots of awards for high school students. From SPS Communications:Keeley Michael, a senior at Ingraham High School, won the 2014 Congressional
MAY 15
What About PE? - A Great Series by KUOW
KUOW's Ann Dornfeld has done a three-part series on PE in public schools that is both informative and illuminating. Some of what she reports is troubling.Part One - Seattle Area Kids Don't Get Enough P.E., but Who's Keeping Track?This was the most troubling part as we find that neither SPS nor OSPI is really tracking what is a legal requirement. In fact, SPS almost has a "all the other kids
More Money for Everything Except K-12
Because I know that Sacajawea's principal got notified last night, at the last possible minute, that the district had cut 1.0 FTE at the school. "Decreased enrollment" was the reason but it has been suggested that many parents got spooked by no bus service outside the boundaries. (And it's no picnic for those who live within the boundaries as it is an area without sidewalks.) This may
MAY 14
Wilson-Pacific BEX Meeting
Sometimes it's not the explosion but the slow burn.After attending the Wilson-Pacific BEX meeting last night, that slow burn on this project may be the fuse that ignites voters to say no to the next capital levy measure. (That would be BTA IV in Feb. 2016.) I know. February 2016 seems like a long way off and voters forget, move on, etc.Except that Wilson-Pacific is an extra-ordinary project that
Oversight Work Session on Coordinated Health, Safety & Security
There will be a Work Session today from 4-5:30 pm that could be of some interest as it covers a variety of topics. It's the Oversight Work Session on Coordinated Health, Safety & Security (Coordinated Health and Safety & Security are two different presentations). This is Pegi McEvoy's area and she tends to be fairly straight-forward so at least there's a fighting chance of understanding
MAY 13
Times Op-Ed On NCLB Waiver by President Peaslee
If you blinked, you might have missed it.The Times does some really weird thinking on how long they allow education opinions/op-eds to stay (1) on their front page of their website and (2) on the Opinion page of their website. I've seen some stay for just a day, some for a week or more and some, you cannot find even if you search.This one is a bit of a record as it was just there this morning on
Seattle Schools - Newest Enrollment Numbers for North-End Middle Schools
And guess what? These numbers are different from previous ones.Yes, we all know that forecasting numbers is not an exact science but we all also know how many times SPS has gotten it wrong. Very wrong. Tell me again why we should put faith (not to mention tax dollars) into these forecasts?And again, why are these numbers kind of weird to begin with? Most projections are generally round numbers
Tuesday Open Thread
The Seattle International Film Festival Opens this week. They have some great programming for families in their Films4Families section and FutureWave section for teens (note: some of this section's programming is for mature teens - check out the films before you send them off). Anyone attend a Director community meeting this weekend? What's on your mind?
MAY 12
Lost Decade
Here's something that happens when you move: you handle all of your stuff and you have to ask yourself if you should keep it, sell it, gift it, or toss it. You handle ALL of your stuff. For me, that meant a lot of handouts that I have received from Seattle Public Schools at meetings over the past fourteen years.Among these documents were a number of supposedly important decisions the District had
WSJ Story on RttT Outcomes
There was a story in the Wall Street Journal on May 3 about Race to the Top grants that casts them in a rather dim light. A number of grant winners did not actually move forward with the promised reforms and a number of the reforms did not actually provide any positive outcomes.Surprise, surprise, surprise.A lot of this might be just the usual government incompetence and the hit-or-miss range of r
MAY 10
Seattle Bike to School Day
From Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, some stats on the Bike to School Day:Stats from Walk.Bike.School for May 7 2014Bryant K-5 200+Whittier K-5 155Alki ElementaryK-5 150Salmon Bay K-8 136Laurelhurst K-5 121McDonald K-5 120Stevens K-5 101JSIS K-5