Good News in Seattle Public Schools

Lori Dunn, Seattle Public Schools’ Physical Education and Health Literacy Program Manager, has been honored with SHAPE America’s top award for Physical Education administrators.
The Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE), the nation’s largest membership organization of Health and Physical Education professionals, announced that Dunn is the Channing Mann Outstanding Physical Education Administrator of the Year.
Among her many accomplishments:
  • Forming and leading a district team of Physical Education specialists to write a comprehensive PreK-12 Physical Education Curriculum Guide
  • Partnering with a number of organizations to bring innovative fitness programs into our schools. Some examples include Cascade Bike Club, First Tee Golf, U.S. Tennis Association, Washington Soccer, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Medic One, Cascade Volleyball, and, significantly, the George Pocock Rowing Foundation. Pocock worked with Dunn on an Erg Ed Rowing Program that is being replicated across the country.
  • Securing a number of grants and funding to support district programs, such as 
    • a partnership with the City of Seattle and the Cascade Bike Club for every students in grades 3-5 to receive biking and pedestrian safety instruction starting in fall 2016
    • the Partnership for Improving Public Health (PICH) grant for early learning fitness of $204,000 for 2015-18
    • the Carol M. White Physical Education for Progress (PEP) grant of $1.6 million for 2011-14
  • Leading the task force that developed the district Wellness Policy approved in October 2015, providing equitable access to healthy food and physical activity across all district schools.
Wonderful video from the West Seattle High Diversity Club about anger against Muslims in our country.  Great job, kids!

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These include:
  • BF  Day Elementary
  • Broadview-Thomson K-8
  • Cleveland STEM High
  • Hazel Wolf K-8
  • Olympic Hills Elementary
  • K-5 STEM at Boren
  • Rainier Beach High 
  • Rainier View Elementary
  • Thurgood Marshall Elementary
  • Viewlands Elementary
  • West Seattle Elementary
  • Wing Luke Elementary
I did already report on this announcement but Ex. Director Kelly Aramaki tweeted this out yesterday, noting the schools in his SE region.  I tweeted that I hoped that Reps Eric Pettigrew and Sharon Tomiko Santos see this because they seem to think there is nothing good happening in Seattle Schools in the that region.  Apparently they think progress in SE schools isn't happening fast enough and hence their bill to split the region.  Maybe if Rep Pettigrew spent more time advocating for McCleary and not charter schools, he would see the difference.

What's the good word at your school?



Comments

Anonymous said…
Wasn't there a bunch of talking a couple of years ago about many schools not meeting state standards for how much gym they have? There is a lot of variation between schools. I have kids in two different schools, and at one the kids have gym every single day for 45 minutes, so 225 minutes per week. At the other school the kids have art, gym and music in a 3-week rotation, which means that every third week they have 30 minutes of gym for the five days of that week (or averaging it out, 50 minutes per week). I'm assuming most schools fall somewhere in-between, since the state standard is 100 minutes per week.

However, I assume the district PE folks can't do much to help the schools that aren't getting enough PE, as that would most likely involve spending some money to hire more staff, and given the districts' recent efforts to short-staff school to the maximum extent possible, I can't see that they'd be allowed to do that.

Mom of 4
Lynn said…
Mom of 4,

It wouldn't require hiring additional staff - it would require shifting staffing from some other position (art or music most likely.) Our school is on the three week rotation too - and the limiting factor is actually gym space. Elementary schools are open about six hours a day or 1,800 minutes a week. That means the gym can only be used by 18 classrooms per week at 100 minutes per classroom. At 25 students per class, that's just 450 students - and another example of how adding portables to schools doesn't really work.
Anonymous said…
But you don't need a gym to have PE. Lots of elementary schools (at least outside of WA) don't even have gyms.

LisaG
Lynn said…
Have you noticed a difference in the weather between Seattle and (for example) California?

My child would love to have PE outside much of the time. There are weeks though where that would not be possible.
Anonymous said…
Lynn wrote "Have you noticed a difference in the weather between Seattle and (for example) California?"

Yes I have (though not so much this time of year), but I was thinking of elementary schools without gyms in places like NY and NJ where it snows. Seattle is lucky if all of its elementary schools have gyms, although maybe some of the gyms are very small if they can only fit 25 students.

LisaG
Lynn said…
You're correct that many New York City schools don't have gyms. Maybe that's why 96% of NYC elementary schools fail to comply with state PE requirements.

They do have a nifty Move to Improve program in which teachers incorporate ten minute movement breaks in the classroom.

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