Tuesday Open Thread

I assume you heard Congress cut food stamps to thousands of poor families.  Interesting stats regarding children and food stamps:

- 72% of SNAP recipients are in households with children
- 210,000 students could lose free lunch at school

Not good. 

Election ballots may be winging their way to you by the weekend.  I'll have some thoughts on that later in the week. 

What's on your mind?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Did anyone attend last night's growth boundary meeting?

wondering
9/24/13, 8:56 AM
Melissa Westbrook said…
I think Charlie did and will have an update.
9/24/13, 9:07 AM
Anonymous said…
Congress did not cut food stamps to thousands of families. The House budget included these cuts, but the Senate has not yet voted on the conference farm bill nor has the president signed the bill. In other words, this is not a done deal.

If people are willing and able, the should contact their US senators.

--- ringing the bell
9/24/13, 9:24 AM
Anonymous said…
In one day of being posted on The Atlantic more than 5,000 people have given a Facebook thumbs up to I Quit Teach for America."

The article and the comments are worth a look.
9/24/13, 12:02 PM
Anonymous said…
(Above also by EdVoter)
9/24/13, 12:02 PM
Anonymous said…
Just got this from the Bryant PTSA...anyone know anything about VNESS? I'm not really sure what they are hoping to accomplish with this...smaller boundaries for Bryant?


Community Meeting at Nathan Hale

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. regarding the SPS Growth Boundary Proposal




The new Growth Boundary Proposal will do little to relieve capacity shortfalls in the NE for grade schools and middle schools. Monica Mace, former Bryant PTSA President and current co-Chair of VNESS (Voice of NE Seattle Schools), is asking for the Bryant Community's support in raising the following concerns with the District:



1.Boundary redraws do not effectively address the issue of capacity, particularly as it pertains to the NE. Under the new proposal we do not gain desperately needed capacity seats/space for neighborhood elementary and middle school students.



2.The NE cannot absorb moving additional students (APP) into our already overcrowded neighborhood middle and elementary schools.



3.JAMS needs to be opened as promised in 2014 as a comprehensive middle school with appropriate funding and programs to provide true capacity relief for NE neighborhood students.



4.The capacity crisis facing neighborhood schools MUST take priority over district placement of programs and option schools.



5.We supported the BEX IV levy with the understanding that the district was committed to building and opening new schools to address capacity. The current plan instead appears to prioritize the district's newly created vision for program and option school placement at the expense of capacity. In some cases, such as the proposed co-housing of NE APP with Olympic Hills, these decisions are likely to result in more shuffling of populations in the future as overcapacity continues.




Attend the Community Meeting at Nathan Hale Tonight, Tuesday, September 24 at 6:30 PM and WEAR RED to show your support for the NE schools and APP programs and let our Bryant voices be heard.


Fey
9/24/13, 12:05 PM
Anonymous said…
VNESS when looking a their membership does not include any north northeast schools. It is all south northest schools. No one from Hale. No one from John Rogers. No one from Pinehurst or even Thorton Creek.

Member schools:
APP Lincoln and Hamilton
View Ridge
Eckstein
Roosevelt
Laurelhurst
Bryant

HP
9/24/13, 12:23 PM
Anonymous said…
4.The capacity crisis facing neighborhood schools MUST take priority over district placement of programs and option schools.

Someone needs to explain to the Ravennaites that it really isn't all about them. Sheesh. Do these people really not get it? No wonder the district tunes out.

"#bigger problems"
9/24/13, 12:25 PM
Melissa Westbrook said…
VNESS's make-up doesn't surprise me. I thought when they started out they were including all schools in the NE but apparently not. I don't see anything on their Facebook page about encouraging the other schools to join.

9/24/13, 1:36 PM
Louise said…
Is VNESS the same group who encouraged people to vote no on the levy unless Jane Addams was a middle school right this minute?
9/24/13, 1:42 PM
Anonymous said…
Does anyone have access to the SPS/SEA contract? I have been looking for a few weeks. The Seattle Times is talking about it today, so it must be publicly available?

EdVoter

9/24/13, 1:46 PM
Melissa Westbrook said…
Louise,
Yes, those are the same people.

EdVoter, it's probably at the SPS website.
9/24/13, 2:32 PM
Anonymous said…
Time on my hands today, so reading a lot. The Times has just posted a story about Pinehurst closure. I feel awful for that community. I feel as though this is the right capacity decision and the wrong academic decision. Why can't academics triumph? We need our alernative schools.

Also, the Times just posted a cautionary tale about school board members. Have issues with ours? At least they haven't been indicted on major theft charges like in Federal Way.

EdVoter

PS: Do not see the SPS contract. What gives? Why the big secret?
9/24/13, 3:26 PM
Anonymous said…
It's attached to the September 4th school board meeting agenda.

Lynn
9/24/13, 3:56 PM
katie said…
Why can't they move Pinehurst to Cedar Park? They serve the same demographic and do it really well.

Didn't they say a few times that they could do the Oly Hills remodel on site?
9/24/13, 5:52 PM
search4chin said…
FYI: There is a public hearing tonight at Pinehurst K-8 (aka AS#1) regarding its closure. It begins at 7pm. Hopefully some answers will come out of this one. I haven't seen any answers or viable solutions as of yet.
Danny
9/25/13, 11:57 AM
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