Friday Open Thread

Welcome to August - it's nice to still have a lovely summer.

I note that SPS is still looking for an Enrollment and Planning Services director.  I was a bit startled that the salary is much lower than for an Executive Director (considering how important this job is). 

Very entertaining interview with Project Runway's Tim "Make it Work" Gunn on mentoring in the NY Times

Last fall, in an instantly viral Tumblr feed called “Academic Tim Gunn,” two Penn State academics imagined the style guru as a dissertation committee member with advice tailored to the humanities, including: “I want you to be cognizant of not overwriting this,” “That conclusion is such wretched excess” and “Your theoretical framework is Foucault, Derrida and Deleuze? That’s not avant-garde. That’s 80s.” 

No Director community meetings tomorrow.


MOHAI is sponsoring "Imagine Cup Day" on Saturday from 10 am-2 pm; could be fun and it's free. 
  • Check out new technology projects made by students from over 30 countries
  • Meet the students, play the games, try the tech
  • Take a spin in the Lotus F1 Simulator, sponsored by Avanade
  • Hands-on Mad Science activities for kids
  • Free family concerts by the D20 Brass Band and the School of Rock
  • Incredible hip hop dancing by the Massive Monkees
  • Meet Blitz, the Seattle Seahawks mascot
  • Free admission to MOHAI, the Museum of History & Industry, all day
  • Free snacks!
Bring your extra school supplies to help Seattle students in need! We're partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County to collect your donations of school supplies so students are ready for the new school year.

Comments

Anonymous said…
President Peaslee's response to Times piece on Board dysfunction appears as a letter to editor now:

Superintendent turnover: School Board explains relationship with José Banda

reader47
Patrick said…
Reader47, that link is not working for me.
Anonymous said…
Every year the UW College of Education has a phone-athon fundraiser targeting alumni. When they call me I carefully lay out the reasons I will not give them money as long as they continue to undermine the profession. I ask the caller to write my concerns down and pass it on. They really don't want to, because they want to get on to more lucrative calls, but I very politely but firmly make them hear me out.

sidneyd
Anonymous said…
I had an interesting conversation with a parent who gathered together
numerous financial documents.

There appears to be a policy violation in awarding a "single source" contract for $149,385 to a company named "ACCELIFY" over the objections of a person in charge of contracting oversight. They objected due to there being at least 6 other qualified companies who could bid.

Follow themoney





Anonymous said…
Apologies - tech challenged today - thanks for bailing me out "try this"

I think I see where you are going with this "followthe money" - if I'm reading between the correct lines

Accelify Consulting To Conduct Special Education Program Analysis For Seattle Public Schools

reader47
Anonymous said…
Yes thats it!

Accelify Consulting (www.accelifyconsulting.com) was selected by Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the State of Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to lead an effort to study the District's Special Education system and make recommendations to allow SPS to comply with the Comprehensive Corrective Action Plan (CCAP) issued by OSPI. The contract was awarded through a competitive bid process.

If by competitive they mean "single sourced via collusion by SPS staff and others" then yes it was competitive.


follow themoney
mirmac1 said…
I believe this a modification to a contract that was awarded after a competitive process.
Watching said…
No doubt, the Alliance for Education was behind the false narrative related to Banda's departure.

Here is a narrative I can believe:

http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2014/07/how-democracy-saves-seattle-schools-from-bad-superintendents.html

It is amazing that we have a volunteer board that can serve 4-8years, but Banda leaves when an attractive salary and retirement is offered.

It is time to change the narrative. No reason for the Alliance for Education to promote a false narrative!
Anonymous said…
No this was a contract awarded to a single source by collusion by Zee
and I hope it cost her to be terminated. Ask for her emails and you will she just how dirty the whole thing is!

Monry
Anonymous said…
Watching (8/1/14 11:31 pm), Thanks for the link to the article about Seattle Schools on NWProgressive.org
NEmom
Jane said…
"There appears to be a policy violation in awarding a "single source" contract for $149,385 to a company named "ACCELIFY" over the objections of a person in charge of contracting oversight. They objected due to there being at least 6 other qualified companies who could bid."

Follow the Money,

Who was responsible for awarding the contract to ACCELIFY? Is Nyland aware?

I'm thinking about a particular contractor that showed-up to a board meeting and complained that weighting formula kept being changed. If I recall, General Counsel was responsible for changing weighted formula.

Jane said…
follow themoney,

Who owns ACCELIFY?
Watching said…
NEMom,

Please distribute the Progressive Institute's narrative far and wide. The Alliance for Education is trying to create a false narrative to the public.
Hoping said…
Regrding ACCELIFY..Why am I getting concerned and hoping a particular individual gets rejected from SPS?
mirmac1 said…
More from the SpEd shizz stirrers.
Anonymous said…
Ha! $149,385 to ACCELIFY???? If it was only that small amount. The new revised CCAP (corrective action plan) required from the SPED department from OSPI includes paying off OSPI pals to the tune of $450,000. Follow that money! Talk about ethics breach! OSPI after years, decades actually, of doing next to nothing for special ed families in Seattle... now wants special ed families to turn over their federal money to their lame-brained pals at ACCELIFY INSTEAD of providing services to kids. They want SPS to provide better "FAPE" - free and appropriate education. (Hmmm, does that sound a little vague to you????) And ACCELIFY is going to "lead the way." No telling where SPS is going wrong with FAPE in the eyes of either ACCELIFY or OSPI. But hey, for a half a million bucks I'd do a little FAPE consulting too!

Talk about insult. It's bad enough that OSPI does nothing - for decades... but now they want our money too?????

Another Reader
The BAR for this contract is on the C&I Committee mtg next Monday the 11th. I asked the Committee members to make sure the RFP was done correctly.

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