Seattle Schools Community Forum:
Seattle Schools Community Forum
Tacoma School Board Vents Frustration with Charter Schools
Let's start with what raised my antenna - the memo staff gave to the Board about Seattle Schools becoming a charter school authorizer. Staffer Clover Codd, who wrote the memo, told the Board:We have formed a cross- departmental working group to better understand the implications for the district. The working group includes representatives from Budget, Enrollment, Facilities, Legal, DoTS, Policy
Hoping to See More of This
I attended the Executive Committee meeting of the Whole this week. It was actually a pleasure to be at the meeting and I hope to see more of what I heard and saw.It's kind of sad, really, that it was just me, the Board and staff. (Long-time watchdog Chris Jackins came in briefly but left.) Because I wish more people could have been there. And, especially critics like the Times, Crosscut and J
Friday Open Thread
This has (and continues to be) an interesting week for me as I stump against the two preschool measures. More on this to come.From SPS:Hello West Seattle Families, Due to potential family scheduling conflicts, Seattle Public Schools is rescheduling the Monday, Sept. 29, Superintendent meet and greet at the Neighborhood House in West Seattle. We’ve recently learned the Seattle Housing Authority is
SEP 25
Seattle Schools Updates
It looks like the NWEA (the company that gives the MAP testing) had a "denial of service" attack today. This was at about 11 am and they sent a message out about the attack saying, "MAP is currently unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience." Don't know any SPS schools were giving MAP today.I was doing some research on FERPA and found this clause:A school must inform
SEP 24
Garfield Cancels all Field Trips for the School Year
Principal Ted Howard II and the Garfield PTSA sent out this message today. It's confusing because he says there will be no field trips "for the current school year" (which would be 2014-2015) but then says it may change in Jan. 2015, depending on the recommendations of the taskforce. Apparently he didn't check the link to the taskforce because they won't have recs until Oct. 2015. May
Superintendent Nyland Meets the Public
If you haven't met Superintendent Nyland, here's your chance. I think it worth your time especially as he is considering whether to apply to be the permanent superintendent.From SPS Communications:Dr. Larry Nyland, who was appointed by the School Board in June to serve as Interim Superintendent, has outlined several opportunities this fall to meet with community members.These informal gatherings
Eckstein Building Meeting
That was interesting. I'm going to flesh this out because I think a lot of these questions asked about Eckstein might ring true for your school building.I was a little confused at first as there were very few parents (even at 5:45 pm) and no handout. It was in the Eckstein auditorium (about 1/3 ish full by the time it started.) The organizers were smart; Eckstein's curriculum night followed at 7
SEP 23
As if Seattle Schools Didn't Have Enough on the Plate...
...both mandated and non-mandated, along comes charter schools.Yes, some mysterious Board member (I'm taking bets but remember I will win) asked staff about the district becoming a charter authorizer.Now when some Board members ask staff for analysis, staff waffles, balks or just ignores their requests. Or, Charles Wright, Deputy Superintendent, will call them out in public for making "too m
Mayoral Takeover of Seattle Schools
Update: I checked with OSPI about one reader's claim that there was a grand plan from OSPI and the feds to take over the district.From OSPI:There are no laws that allow for OSPI to take over a district. We can, in some circumstances (see Question 5), withhold funds from districts. But we can’t simply take over the district’s day-to-day duties. That’s what local control is all about.On whether OSPI
Tuesday Open Thread
Update: just missed my e-mail letting me know that SPS has just released its "Facility Condition Assessment Report for 2014." This should make for interesting reading. The district will engage the community over the next 13 months and ask for input and feedback with regard to projects to be included in the BTA IV capital levy.I know something - don't use it like BEX to build/renovate
SEP 22
Seattle Schools and the Search for a Superintendent
Update: search firms and candidates - you're welcome.end of update.The Board had a meeting of the entire group (without Carr) to discuss how to look for a superintendent. It was a lot of logistics talk about finding the right search firm.(I will try to get a electronic copy of the document they were working off of from Erin Bennett.)They will be putting out an RFP around October 3rd and will deci
Seattle Schools Updates
Teacher of the year (hint: from SPS), what's in the Mayor's budget for public education, breakfast on the go and the bell times taskforce. Great news - the Washington State Teacher of the Year is Lawton's Lyon Terry. From OSPI:Lyon is a National Board Certified Teacher. He has taught at Lawton since 2005 in 2nd, 3rd and multi-age classrooms, where he focuses on creating confident, hard-working an
Public Ed Stories (with a tie-in to our discussions)
One story is absolutely horrifying and appalling and ties right into the situation around the Garfield field trip incident. The other story is about how treating more kids as "gifted" makes them perform better.The rape story from the Huffington Post:An Alabama middle school is accused of using a special-needs student as “bait” in a sting operation that allegedly led to her rape. The alle
SEP 21
Seattle Schools This Week
Update: so the 2.5 hour Executive Committee meeting of the Whole on Wednesday from 4:30-7:00 pm now has an agenda.The first 2 hours will be devoted to discussing the Superintendent evaluation, Board Committee Structure and Calendar and Board evaluation.The last half-hour is a closed session on the "performance of a public employee."end of updateUpdate: a great conference is happening thi
Does Seattle Public Schools have a Broken Governance Model?
At every Board Retreat the Board discusses their governance model. They don't have a formally stated model, but they are loosely working towards using a sort of Carver Policy Governance Model in which the Board sets expectations (the ends) - both for outcomes and for limitations on methods - and the superintendent is given a relatively free hand in decided how those ends will be met (the means) an