Seattle Schools Community Forum:
Seattle Schools Community Forum
See Something, Say Something
A real-life enactment of that simple phrase is probably what saved the lives of many, many students and staff at a small-town high school in Minnesota.Waseca, Minnesota is a small town (about 10,000) south of Minneapolis. It has one high school and it was discovered on Tuesday that a 17-year old student was planning a masacre.From CNN:There, police say, he told authorities of his plan to kill his
Director Blanford's Community Meeting Tomorrow
Just a heads up on Director Blanford's community meeting tomorrow at the Douglass-Truth Library from 10 am to noon. I was told that at the Work Session on Capital Projects (which I am sorry to have missed because it sounds like there were not enough hard questions and more than enough funny lines) that Director Blanford was looking for info to back the district's position on Wilson-Pacific. He sa
Seattle High Schools Update
Several items of interest from two SPS high schools. One item is an update about the dress code coming from Ballard's principal which seems to be a thoughtful letter. The other is about several issues at Garfield High School.Ballard's Mr. Wynkoop let the students know that administrators had thought about this issue as the weather was getting warmer and let the students know - in advance - what
Friday Open Thread
SPS press release on math adoption. Next steps:Next, the recommendation goes to the IMC for its approval that the math adoption process was appropriately followed. From there, the Superintendent will review the recommendation, which will then be introduced to the full School Board at its May 21 meeting. The board is scheduled to vote on the math program at its June 4 meeting.Did you know that the
MAY 01
Math Adoption Update
Oddly, nothing from SPS. But here's a post from committee member, Rick Burke. Thanks, RickThe district has not yet announced the results from the K-5 Math Adoption Committee (MAC) meeting on last Friday, but it was a public meeting, so there is no reason I can't share the outcome of committee deliberations and some of my personal opinions about the process and final program selection.The MAC met
APR 29
Looking for New Leadership for the Seattle Education Assn.
Monday began the voting period for teachers in SPS to elect the leadership of their union the Seattle Education Association (SEA). The RESPECT slate is hoping to win office and I’m hoping they do too. The voting continues for the next ten days.The RESPECT platform proposes a new way of collaborating with parents and community members in the interest of unifying the power of those fighting for gen
Tuesday Open Thread
SIIF is having a Giant Monsters All-Out Attack week - Godzilla, Mothra, King Kong, and others.What's on your mind?
APR 28
Impact Philanthropy (Or, Ed Reform for the Young and the Restless)
You'd think our current Democratic administration would have more to do than host a convention for "100 young philanthropists and heirs to billionaire families" at the White House but apparently not. From the NY Times:Their name tags read like a catalog of the country’s wealthiest and most influential clans: Rockefeller, Pritzker, Marriott. They were there for a discreet, invitation-onl
Kindergarteners - Get with the System
I come to this issue because of two recent stories about kindergarteners.One was from Oregon where - guess what? Bad news about testing kindergarteners for "school readiness." Two state official up the food chain in public education in Oregon called the kindergartener readiness results "sobering."It is important to have a baseline for each child. But this pressure of testing
APR 27
Seattle Schools This Week
Tuesday, April 29thWork Session: Board Self-Evaluation/Superintendent Evaluation, 4:30-6:00 pm; Executive Session, 6:00-6:30 pm.Wednesday, April 30Work Session: Special Education, 4:00-5:30 pm. AgendaWork Session: Capital Projects, 5:30-7:00 pm. Agenda not yet available.Friday, May 2ndKimball Elementary Art Walk from 3 pm to 6 pm.Saturday, May 3rdCommunity meeting with Director Blanford, Douglas
APR 25
Special Education Speaker Monday, April 28th
Seattle SpEd PTSA April Meeting7 pm Monday, 4/28/2014Rm 2700, JSCEE 2445 3rd AveSeattle's SODO neighborhoodDr. Nicole Swedberg will present practical tips and information on:How to help your child If your child is dyslexic?How to best support your dyslexic child at home?What skills should your child be learning? How can you get your child access to these skills?How can your child’s school (and
Friday Open Thread
Good article from Edutopia about helping students evaluate online research. I think it's written for teachers but I think it might be useful info for parents as well.We will have to wait and see what happens with the denial of Washington State's NCLB waiver by Sec'y Duncan. Frankly, I think it is likely to be a ripple rather than a wave of problems.What's on your mind?