FACMAC Meetings

I LOVE this name - I picture a capacity management superhero that's basically a piece of mac 'n cheese.  (Fusilli Jerry?)

1) Yes, the meetings are open to the public but obviously no public input at the meeting(there are over 30 members of this community).  But remember, you can write to them at capacity@seattleschools.org

2) The meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, the 25th) is in room 2750 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  (they are trying to avoid the rush hour traffic around the Viaduct closure).   Check in with the district receptionist and she will give you the code for the elevator/stairs so you can access the room.

3) The Board is asking for input from the Committee on "Planning Philosophies for SPS Capital Planning" and "School Board Policy for Capital Levy Planning."  Any thoughts you might have, shoot them over to the Board at schoolboard@seattleschools.org.   Right off hand, I think one would be that we don't sell district properties for far less than they are worth.

4) There will be a subcommittee meeting (as they have a lot of ground to cover and quickly) on Thursday, October 27th from 10 am to noon at the John Stanford Center.  They will be reviewing, in detail, the new SPS enrollment data and the upcoming report from the capacity consultant, Les Kendrick. 

5) The next FACMAC meeting will be on November 3rd but no other details as of yet. 

Comments

dan dempsey said…
We need capacity management badly because capacity mismanagement was rampant. The New Student Assignment Plan was founded on one BIG justification ... making every school a quality school.

So how is that going? Is it even a consideration in Capacity management planning?

What is the mechanism that will make every school a quality school in the future?

Currently few Seattle High Schools have any choice seats for out of area students available.

NSAP is looking more and more like a plan that increases economic disparity between schools.

Avoiding "Increasing separation and increasing inequality" needs to be planned for in the Capacity Management planning.

Providing centralized uniform instructional delivery of one size fits all .... is NOT going to make every school a quality school.
kellie said…
Additionally, FACMAC will be reviewing the draft of the Intermediate Term Capacity Management (ITCM) plan.

On the last capacity thread, I asked folks to post concerns about ITCM and the capacity data that is driving these decisions to the blog and/or email them to capacity@seattleschools.org. I hope that we get answers to most of this tomorrow as there is only one more week until the board gets the final ITCM for the 2012-2013 school year.
kellie said…
Dan, several committee members asked that FACMAC be extended to include high school. Right now, the committee's charter is focused on K-8 only.
dan dempsey said…
kellie ...

Thanks for the reply that this is K-8 only.

The fact that the focus is only on k-8 goes to show how little concern the district has for closing achievement gaps and making every high school a quality school.

It was Director Betty Patu that advised ... waiting an additional year before even voting on the NSAP. Ms. Patu thought the quality schools should come first and then the NSAP.

Now there is NSAP and making every school a quality school through the supposed savings seems doubtful. Perhaps making every school a quality school has been forgotten.

Mr. Teoh's report on student testing at the October 19 Board meeting was rather discouraging in regard to achievement gaps .. and especially so for American Indian Alaska Natives.

With a Board that passed more TfA applications for conditional certifications before them, yet failed to perform a legally required careful review of all options for closing the achievement gaps, it is really hard to see how every school will become a quality school.

Guess the achievement gaps are a good ruse for bringing in a lot of Ed Reform practices, even though it is clear the practices will not work.

A Big question for bringing about quality high schools involves the poor scores on state annual testing at the high school level.... what is being done to improve this situation?
kellie said…
Here is the link for the Intermediate Term Capacity Management (ITCM) Topics/Questions Code or essentially the FAQ.

Please continue to email concerns to capacity@seattleschools.org if your question is not answered.
SP said…
Kellie,
I thought the meeting minutes were going to be posted online, but where & when would they be posted? Who would be taking those minutes- the district or actual committee members?
Thanks!
kellie said…
SP - There is an SPS employee who is responsible for the official minutes. I imagine the minutes will eventually be on the Capitol Projects and Planning page.

Today's meeting was videotaped and I would expect that videotape to be available at some point as well, along with the minutes. There may be a delay in the posting of the minutes due to an employee health issue. This health issue was mentioned at the beginning of the meeting and would be on the video tape but I don't want to post more details around a personal health issue.

That said, I do believe that this batch of folks are working as quickly as they are able to make this work transparent to the community. I have been working on capacity issues for nearly a decade at this point. Sadly, the majority of that time the capacity work has felt rather clandestine.

While there is a lot of work to do, I can honestly applaud the receptivity of staff this time around. Staff was genuinely troubled that the capacity numbers did not accurately reflect special education and stayed after the meeting to start checking numbers.

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