Pinehurst: Final Notes - Pinehurst Saved
Director Patu came out like a lioness, saying that the district tends to start programs and then, if they drag, stop supporting them. She also said that no, she did not believe these kids could be served elsewhere.Peaslee said the commitment is there. They will take anything to continue on as a program (AS #1) and Indian Heritage, like WS, has been tossed around. Both know it will take work. Ca
Pinehurst Part Two
Peaslee is really fighting back with data on Pinehurst and its relationship to the Strategic Plan. Pinehurst has been recognized by many organizations as a great school for students with different learning styles. The support is there, she says, for Native American program and Pinehurst to join together and work well together. DeBell - gave praise to Peaslee for working hard on the issue. Move
Pinehurst Agenda Item Discussion/Vote
Finally, onto a biggie. Ron English - Spokesman for a team of staff. Needed to have community meeting at Thornton Creek and that happened. TC doesn't want to be a K-8 program and want to preserve integrity of program. Second issue in last two weeks about finances and whether estimates of per student costs were too high. Joe Paperman looked at that. When estimate was prepared several months ag
Board Meeting - Part Six
Director Peaslee is saying "we must honor our commitments." To honor programs and serve our most underserved students (Native American, Special Ed and gasp! APP) is her message.Director DeBell is speaking. "Eight years is a long time." A long goodbye and he called out his policy work as being very important and how consistent policy matters. He also said that he worries abo
United We Stand
A show of FORCE from the Native American, Pinehurst and World School communities. Boy, the troops were really rallied and it was great to see such determination from these groups. There is a big NO to any kind of taskforce for either WS or Indian Heritage. I think the message is out that an SPS taskforce means very little with so many with so little follow-up and follow-thru. I think "we w
Board Meeting - Part Five
Now Peaslee wants to move one of her amendments but now backs off that.Now nearly 45 minutes behind. Onto Consent Agenda and Martin-Morris wants to move item #4 (Legislative agenda) off of it. Got that done. Now voting on Legislative Agenda. Martin-Morris says as he read document that there isn't anything strong in it and it is a bit unclear in the state versus the national level. (I honestly
Board Meeting - Part Four
Erin Bennett is now speaking about DeBell and Smith-Blum and their service. DeBell was president no less than three times during his eight years of service. She reeled off the entire number of Board meetings that he has been at (a lot).Pegi McEvoy is now speaking about Smith-Blum. (Funny aside, some new people came in and when I showed them where we were on the agenda, they were horrified.) S
Board Meeting - Part Three
Onto the Superintendent's comments. Wayne Barnett, Director of Ethics Commission with report on Ethics. In middle of three-year program for Ethics program for SPS. Training and advice and investigation. On-line ethics training happened this summer. Like to receive more requests for advice. Done more investigation than advice. 130 complaints to date, whistle-blower mostly. I'll get his rep
Blogging from the Board Meeting - Part Two
Native American parents and leaders speaking about Indian Heritage month. Native American students are still at the top for drop-outs and Special Ed placements (proportional to their numbers). One speaker said that we must - "Put our minds together to seek a future for our children." Another speaker is now talking about the late Native American leader, Robert Eaglestaff, who led the
Live Blogging From Board Meeting-Part 1
Since Blogger doesn't work well on my iPad, I'll just do multiple posts. It's now 3:54 p.m. There are about 25 people outside the JSCEE to rally for the Indian Heritage program. There is a petition to make Wilson-Pacific School a Seattle landmark (I'll see if it's on-line). There are already tv crews here. (Thank you to everyone who volunteered to be interviewed. Very helpful.)The auditorium
And Now for Something Completely Different
Tired of all this growth boundaries talk? Let's have a laugh.First up, hey, looks like the old Monty Python gang is getting together and putting a show on. Please let them come to Seattle. From the NY Times;A certain Norwegian Blue parrot is still dead, nearly 44 years after it shuffled off its mortal coil and joined the choir invisible in a famous television comedy sketch. But there is life ye
Looking for Input on Growth Boundaries
I have a couple of reporters looking for parents affected by the growth boundaries. If you want to speak out publicly, let me know at sss.westbrook@gmail ASAP. Leave a phone number if possible.To note (in case it got missed), the Native American SPS parent community is having a rally at 3:30 pm before the meeting. Wear red in support. If you are already going, please come and support these par
State Education News
I attended the 43rd Dems meeting last night; it's my district. As you may be aware, the election of Ed Murray as mayor means he leaves the State Legislature as senator. So his post needs to be filled and, so far, the only person to step forward is the one of the 43rd's representatives, Jamie Pedersen. (The other is Frank Chopp, the Speaker of the House.) Senator Murray is to resign on December
Seattle Growth Boundaries: Here's the Best Assessment So Far
So the SCPTSA may want the Board to vote first for the Intermediate Plan and then vote down the Growth Boundaries but that may not work. (It's possible if they adjusted the Intermediate Plan.)Here's the thing: It feels like the Board and the staff could have cut up the Growth Boundaries plan, section by section, thrown the pieces in the air and picked 10 off the ground. I honestly worry that so
Yes to the Seattle Council PTSA's Suggestion on the Board Agenda
This just came across my desk and, at this point, I agree. The agenda is a mess (not to mention the Growth Boundaries plan. There's now even some mystery motion to change the agenda (with no explanation of what).PTA members,As you know, the position of Seattle Council PTSA is that Seattle Public Schools should only change the boundaries connected to the most critical capacity issues for 2014-15,
11-18-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Tuesday Open Thread From the Central District News, a trailer was released for a film, One Square Mile, that was shot throughout Seattle including Garfield High School. Many recognizable sights and yay! Garfield. I learned that there is a subtropical storm brewing over the Central Atlantic about 600 miles off Bermuda. Melissa is showing signs of developing a tigh