Tuesday Open Thread

It's Black History month and SNL had something to say about it.

Thought-provoking article from CNN on "Facebook Parenting" and children's privacy.

The message from parents, as witnessed from behavior, is clear. Children grow up learning that posting pictures of one's self and sharing personal information is typical. We've created a sense of normality about a world where what's private is public. The sense of being entitled to privacy has been devalued.

And our children will never have known a world without this sort of exposure. What does a worldview lacking an expectation of privacy mean for the rest of society?

We are living in an era in which every keystroke online, from the information you search for to videos you watch to things you consider buying, is collected, stored, archived, aggregated and potentially shared or sold. And regardless of the false sense of security offered by the key on the upper right corner of your keyboard, there is no delete key for the Internet. Once it's out there, it's probably out there forever.

Your children's generation is likely to have a different view on what "privacy" means.  But just as Supreme Court Justice Stewart said in a pornography case (paraphrasing here, "I can't define it but I know it when I see it", EVERYONE has a definition of privacy - what they do and don't want everybody and anybody to see/know about them.  

What's on your mind?

Comments

Anonymous said…
3rd tier start times of what, 9:40 or 9:45?

Adams, APP@Lincoln, Bryant, Concord, Daniel Bagley, Emerson, Hay, John Stanford, Lafeyette, Laurelhurst, Lowell, Loyal Heights, Maple, McGilvra, North Beach, Olympic View, Queen Anne, Roxhill, Sand Point, Sanislo, STEM@Boren, Thornton Creek, Thurgood Marshall, Van Asselt, View Ridge, Viewlands, Wedgwood, and Wing Luke are scheduled for a 4:00 transportation depart time for next year.

Write the Board today. Vote is tomorrow.

-dumbfounded
Anonymous said…
How are parents supposed to maintain jobs with these incredible start times? Would somebody please bring sanity to the transportation planners?

frustrated
Po3 said…
Talk about tone deaf - thousands signed a petition to start MS/HS later, story made the Seattle Times and here we are AGAIN proposing that elementary starts at almost 10am.
Lynn said…
Can we have a discussion of the freedom principals have to make programmatic and service delivery decisions for their schools? Now that we have address-based school assignments, students should have access to the same services at each school.

APP in middle school should have blocked, self-contained SS and LA classes - even if that doesn't fit in with the principal's favored scheduling method. Roosevelt and Nathan Hale students should be able to choose between AP, honors and regular English and history classes - as the students at Garfield and West Seattle do.

The Superintendent needs to define the Spectrum program at elementary and middle school levels and principals should implement that program.

Too much depends on having the right principal in your neighborhood school.
Anonymous said…
Just heard of an "anger management" class for only African American boys at Washington Middle School. Does anyone know about this? No direct experience but I have a friend who transferred her African American son out after an unpleasant 6th grade year.

Curious Cat
Anonymous said…
Washington Middle School is definitely having a problem relating to male African American students and as a consequence you do see the predictable acting out. On both sides -- students AND administration. The only mechanism the administration seems to use to control students they can't or won't relate to is suspension.

Been there, seen that
Anonymous said…
TOPS has middle school families transferring in who did not find Washington appropriate for its middle school students. There aren't a lot of openings but the students who arrive appear welcome despite the kindergarten to eighth grade cohesion of much of its student body. We were nervous about the social transition but it has been fine.

-Middleschool family

Anonymous said…
Just called my kids in to be unexcused tomorrow. The attendance secretary laughed and said Have Fun. Hope to see many SPSers out there.

Go Hawks
Anonymous said…
Here are the bus arrival and departure times for next year that will be getting a vote on Wednesday.

I don't know if anyone is reading the blog post-Superbowl Win, but those who are should have a look.

Many, many parents are going to be surprised.

There are kids in K8s who will not get on buses until 4:20. Most elementary kids won't get on buses until 4 p.m.

Not only will childcare in the a.m. be a big issue, but so will participation in after school activities. No doubt cultural and athletic organizations in the city have no idea this is coming.

I also do not see the Board not passing this tomorrow, as they are now up against Open Enrollment and have to get buses and bell times in place.

EdVoter
Unknown said…
per John Higgins of the Seattle Times ‏@jhigginsST
"Seattle schools superintendent tells principals it's up to them to grant excused absences for students to attend Seahawks parade Wed."
Jamie said…
Good grief. High schools will start 5 minutes EARLIER than this year. That is insane.
Anonymous said…
Per Mayor Ed Murray via The Seattle Times:

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray tweeted his thoughts on the topic late Tuesday morning:


It is my hope the school district will excuse absences for students whose families want to join their families during the #celebrate48 events.

EdVoter
Oh, so Banda is passing the buck to the principals.

"I also do not see the Board not passing this tomorrow, as they are now up against Open Enrollment and have to get buses and bell times in place."

Yes, yes, we must rush because things have to get done in a timely manner.

That's their excuse - every - single - time something like this comes up.
David said…
Just lost some respect for the mayor.
Watching said…
GOP bill infringes on student rights:

http://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-profiles/publicola/articles/aclu-gop-bill-infringes-on-student-rights-february-2014

Somebody stop this madness?
Anonymous said…
If I am interpreting the new transportation proposal correctly, only currently-enrolled Jane Addams K-8 families living in the Eckstein (and JAMS) attendance areas (and outside of the John Marshall walk zone) will receive grandfathered transportation for the next two years. That makes sense, since they will be moving to the Pinehurst site in 2016, and they will continue to draw from the JAMS attendance area, but with a new geozone.

What I don't get is the Pinehurst/AS-1 situation. Their exception language is almost identical to what is stated for Jane Addams K-8 (just substitute Lincoln for John Marshall).

The new language in the transportation service standards grandfathers the transportation of the currently-enrolled Pinehurst K-8 families (as long as they live in either the JAMS or Eckstein attendance areas), but what about new families? Will they be a JAMS attendance area draw (due to their current location), or a Whitman attendance area draw (the current attendance area for the Wilson-Pacific site, or maybe they will draw from the proposed Wilson-Pacific attendance area?

I checked the Growth Boundaries page, but I couldn't find a geozone/walk zone/attendance area map for Pinehurst.

I would think that if Pinehurst is being housed at an interim site they should get busing for new families coming from somewhere???

It seems bizarre that they are including Pinehurst grandfathering as an exception to the transportation service standards, but they may not have established the actual standard of service for Pinehurst?

Maybe I'm missing something? Can any Pinehurst parents clue me in?

- wondering
Anonymous said…
Any news on when schools will receive their WSS for next year?

N by NW
Lynn said…
Added to the calendar reminders at the bottom of the agenda for this week's board meeting - Work Session: Math Instructional Materials Adoption Thursday February 6th.

There was a budget work session last week - the presentation said that the updated WSS would be provided to district leadership Feb 3rd and to principals Feb 4th.
Anonymous said…
Board's Oversight on District Policies

Look for the Center School to be turning out ...again.


TCS
Anonymous said…
How fun! Just got an email from our school letting everyone know about the new transportation policy. We get these approximate start and departure times based on our tier 3 status.

Start time: 9:50
Departure time: 4:10

Bell times are set by the super later, but these are the times the school is communicating out to us based on the bus arrival and departure times.

I cannot believe these tier 1 and tier 3 times. It feels like the kind of thing you would expect in a developing nation where resources are stretched, infrastructure is not there yet, and things are patched together, take it or leave it.

Oh yeah, that IS SPS!

-FedMomof2
Jon said…
N by NW,

The district wants to CUT the WSS by $3M-$9M. It is time to start writing the board and asking them to vote NO for a budget proposal that eliminates classroom funding.
Jan said…
Just gained some respect for the mayor.

And on more weighty matters, thanks for the heads, Watching. I will be emailing my legislators tonight!
Anonymous said…
I told my local state rep (Saturday, at his Town Hall meeting) that I am actually hoping that our elementary school enrollment is projected well beyond the building's capacity next year, so that we can qualify for funding for a half-time counselor position. Our PTA has been picking up the tap for the past 2 years, and we can't afford to keep funding the position.

- North-end Mom
Anonymous said…
tab, not tap.
- North-end Mom
North-end Mom, first, thank you and your PTA for that support.

Second, not your job. The PTA is about enrichment. This business of funding FTE for the district, mantaining the buildings, buying computers, - not PTA's job.

The district, of course, LOVES it. But it needs to stop because the district has to do this work. And then they would see that other things they fund are a lower priority.

Don't enable the district any more. You may believe you hurt your school but it's short-term. The long-term hurt is burning out parents in your school and enabling the district to spend money in other places and ways they shouldn't be.
Anonymous said…
Bell time insanity. A new low? Possibly!

Starting elementary school at ten minutes to ten o'clock???

The board is not doing a *#{! thing to start high schools or middle schools later, and, the one new secondary school they are STARTING, so it could have any tier, they are putting on the first tier. Way to match your actions with your great heart-felt speeches from the dias (they quote sleep research, then do nothing, except make it worse! Go team!).

Jane Addams Middle school could start at tier 2. Better for student learning, especially for kids who are behind and struggling. If this School Board is serious about closing the achievement gap, start at JAMS. Start with the kids being forcibly moved away from their existing (and popular) middle school, Eckstein, and at least give them the right bell time for student learning.

My elementary children will be coming home in the dark. Their prime learning time, from 8-10 am, is going to be spent parked in child care. Thanks, SPS! Really, really seeing how smart and responsive you are now to parent stakeholders. Feeling the love.

Seriously, inch bugging down 10 minutes all tiers, FOR WHAT???? So you think you can magically 'flip' bell times next year? Wow, you can't possibly believe that has ANY relevance. You guys look like either a bunch of Neros, fiddling while... or stooges... ( I don't think this is name calling, because it is non-personal, it is only an assimile, and, it is said in jest).

Signed
#SPSWTF

PS - everyone tweet #SPSWTF ; it would be funny if that could be trending right as the Board passes the bell times!

Anonymous said…
@Melissa

I hear you. I would love for our PTA to get back to the business of enrichment.

We have a high-needs population (40% FRL and a fairly high Sped population). We need our counselor.

Our WSS score is mainly limited by our building size (designed to hold under 300 students). It has definitely been a frustrating situation. All schools should be funded for a counselor. Period.

- North-end Mom

Anonymous said…
What is the reason that SPS doesn't want later start times for middle and high school? I personally wouldn't want a 10am start for my high school student, but that makes a whole lot more sense than a 9:50am start for elementary students.

When my kids were in elementary school, they woke up at 6, were ready to go by 7 and I was constantly looking for things for them to do that wasn't television.I wished school started at 8am. The earliest you could get them to school with a 9:50am would be 9:20am - way too late for most working parents. Most elementary schools aren't set up for almost all the students to be in before school care. 4pm is late for those students to be on the bus - and if anything goes wrong, they hit rush hour. Not to mention that they will be tired at the end of the day.

It does seem that SPS continually prioritizes budgets and schedules instead of kids and education.

Tami

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