Seattle Schools Community Forum:
Seattle School Board Meeting on Wednesday
Have you written to the Board about a New Superintendent?
Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle School Board Meeting on Wednesday
This meeting could be interesting for a number of reasons.One, it is likely the last one where we will see Superintendent Banda up there on the dais with the Board. (The Sacramento School Board is scheduled to vote July 17th and this Seattle School Board meeting is the last until August 20th.) It may be awkward (to say the least) as the Superintendent is now the lamest of lame ducks. Does the B
Have you written to the Board about a New Superintendent?
Honestly, I think it matters. (I'll tell you why I think that at the end of the thread.)I wrote to them and included some thoughts that Charlie and I had previously printed here especially around the role of the Board and the role of the superintendent.Here's some of what I said (and I'm deliberately vague on the process because it's the Board's call and no one else's):- The district needs someon
Friday Open Thread
Update: it appears that the district is working with the City and the Downtown Seattle Association on a proposal for the former Federal Building. I am somewhat surprised given the district's seeming lack of interest. The proposal is due July 3rd. I have no further details until I hear back from the district capital spokesman on this issue.End of update.The West Seattle blog reports on a fire a
JUN 26
Seattle Schools and Building Leadership Teams
Building Leadership Teams (BLTs) exist at every SPS school (or should).There should be parent/community representation at every SPS school's BLT (or should). That representation should NOT be controlled by the principal.There should be bylaws written and readily available for anyone to be able to access about the decision-making process for each school. Let us know how the BLT at your school work
Washington State Democrats Approved Revised Education Plank
You may recall I, along with other Dems, were not so happy to see what appeared to be a stripped-down public education plank in the Washington State Democrats platform. I heard from one of the members of the Platform Committee members, Andrew Villeneuve, on this topic recently.I wanted to let you know that this past weekend, the Washington State Democratic 2014 Convention was held in Spokane. The
Education Items of Note
Stories on Common Core polling, charter schools, all-day schools, spending on high poverty schools and and an ACLU lawsuit over uneven school experiences for low-income students. Different day, different polling results on Common Core. Rasmussen Reports is saying that a new national telephone poll says that just 34% of American parents (with elementary/secondary students) favor Common Core. That
Updates
March and Rally to Gates Foundation To note: there is the march and rally to protest the ed reform work of the Gates Foundation today, starting at 5 pm at Westlake Park. The march will then go to the Gates Foundation on Mercer at 5th. There will be speeches and some kind of flash mob dance. The police are warning of possible traffic issues. From Diane Ravitch: Speakers: Anthony Cody (prolific
JUN 25
Duncan to Sped Kids; Try Harder
Update: from the Washington Post's The Answer Sheet on this story:How well special education students perform on a test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, will be one of the factors considered. This marks the first time that NAEP scores have been attached to any education policy that has potential consequences; the Education Department could withhold federal funds to
Supreme Court Upholds Cell Phone Privacy
Update: here's a link to ACLU Washington's page on youth issues.This ruling may be a subject you might want to talk to your kids - especially teens - about at some point.In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court today ruled that police must have a warrant to search the cellphones of people they arrest. From the NY Times:The old rules, Chief Justice Roberts said, cannot be applied to “modern cellphones,
JUN 24
Example of how SPS Staff Can't Get it Right
Tomorrow is the public hearing on the budget. This is a state-mandated requirement. There are rules about it.But I noticed that the SPS website - the home page, the Board's home page, the Calendar page - none of them explained how to give input (other than showing up and THEN finding out). No info on length of time at the hearing, no info on giving written comment - either e-mail or snail mail -
Summer Safety
I just saw this article in Slate about drowning and what it really looks like. It's not someone bouncing up and down, yelling, "Help!" Important reading for parents as we go into the summer months.
Tuesday Open Thread
I attended (and spoke at) the City Council meeting yesterday where the two pre-K for all programs were discussed and voted on. Boy, you want to see a president of a group control the conversation, look at the master, Tim Burgess. I'll have a thread on this but it is astonishing the City did not work with pre-school teachers and their union on this issue. Both measures will be going before voter
JUN 23
Seattle Schools and Leadership: What the Fundamental Problem Is
Charlie wrote this elsewhere and it absolutely reflects what I believe. (Emphasis mine and this is partial.) The Board and the staff have a fundamental disagreement on the role of the Board. The staff believes that the Board should function as a rubber stamp. They don't believe that the Board has anything positive to add at all and should just show up twice a month to approve whatever is placed b
JUN 22
From Friday's Mad Dash News over Banda's Pending Departure
Updates:I spoke with several people connected with this issue on Friday.Gabe Ross is the communications person for Sacramento Schools. He verified that some Sacramento School Board members will visit SPS this week. He said that their Board has to wait until their next official board meeting to take a vote (that's July 1th) because, under California law, they cannot vote in a new superintendent a
Seattle Schools This Week
It would have been a quiet week for SPS except for the new issue of Superintendent Banda wanting to leave. As well, there are a couple of events that will impact our district.Monday, June 23rdSeattle City Council will vote on their Preschool for All bill at 2 pm in City Council chambers. They do take public comment but I note it comes after presentations (which means you get to sit through a lot
Two Worthy Pieces of Reading
First up, the most hilarious thing I have read in a long time is this innocent recipe for a rainbow cake with a number baked inside (see pictures). Why is it great? The comments. Goes from an innocent question (with a somewhat snarky answer) to a troll to an all-out fight. I laughed out loud and it reminded of how commenting can go off the rails.Next, a sobering piece on reform from the Huffing
JUN 21
Mythbusters: Seattle can't keep a superintendent
Once again Seattle is looking to hire a schools' superintendent, just two years after hiring the current one. So you're going to read and hear a lot of people saying stuff like "What the heck is wrong with Seattle that it can't keep a superintendent? There must be something wrong with that school district/school board/city/community/whatever."Let's bust this myth.First, two years is the
