Tuesday Open Thread

End of school year congrats to:

- Queen Anne teacher, Joe Bailey, who was named Kidd Valley Teacher of the Year
- John Rogers Elementary students earned the Anti-Defamation League's No Place for Hate® campus for the 2015-2016 school year. It's the first SPS campus to earn the award.

Speaking of Queen Anne Elementary, the Queen Anne & Magnolia News has this update on their new addition. They are considering two ideas, one of which would move the main office to the addition with the library. I hope the district is taking safety conditions into consideration because I think having the main office in a separate building might have effects in emergency conditions.

Architects presented two schematic concepts for the project, both of which add a gymnasium and eight classrooms, and boost the permanent capacity of the school to 500 students to address current and projected elementary growth in Queen Anne and downtown, while reducing overcrowding in other area schools.

The differences in each scheme are in regard to where certain aspects of the school are housed. Though both called for a new gym just off of the current covered play area on site, one scheme called for a two-story addition with four classrooms on each level, while the other suggests moving the school’s head office to the new addition along with the library, while making the existing cafeteria slightly larger.

- See more at: http://queenannenews.com/Content/News/Homepage-Rotating-Articles/Article/Plans-for-Queen-Anne-Elementary-addition-move-ahead/26/538/38715#sthash.rfnDjA16.dpu

I hope you didn't miss (and it bears repeating) this great story on KUOW on students at Interagency.

There was also big news about Nathan Hale High School. From SPS:
Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is pleased to announce former Portland Trail Blazer All-Star guard and Seattle native Brandon Roy has accepted the job of new head basketball coach at Nathan Hale High School starting the 2016-17 season.

Roy started his basketball playing career in Seattle where he attended Garfield High School. He quickly earned the reputation as one of the state’s best high school player.
But the Seattle Times sports columist, Larry Stone, asks this question: Did Lorenzo Romar, Brandon Roy and UW's recruiting of the Porter brothers cross the line?

He asks this because Michael Porter, Jr., a one-of-seven home-schooled siblings - who is 6 foot 9 inches tall - is likely to go to Nathan Hale this fall along with his younger brother, Coban. Romar, UW head coach for basketball, hired this student's dad as an assistant coach (they have a long-time friendship.) After that, Brandon Roy was hired to coach basketball for Hale. (Stone calls Hale "a previous basketball wasteland in the powerful Metro League," ouch.)

Stone says that the NCAA passed legislation to limit "so-called package deals, forbidding schools from hiring any individual associated with a prospective athlete in a non-coaching staff position for two years before and after enrollment." (It's also being reported that a top player at Garfield is transferring to Hale. Hmm.)

Hard to know what to make of this story but if all this pans out, it certainly is going to make for some exciting basketball in the Metro League.

Charter group Green Dot's founder, Steve Barr, is running for mayor of LA. Luckily for LA, they have a pretty well-liked/regarded mayor in Eric Garcetti. Look for some big-pocket funding for Barr's campaign from wealthy charter supporters like Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, and Eli Broad.

Barr’s entry into the 2017 race comes amid a historic push by local activists to expand charter schools as an answer to problems in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and is likely to revive debate around a recurrent theme in L.A. government: the relationship between LAUSD and City Hall. L.A.’s mayor, unlike those in Chicago or New York City, has no formal authority over the school district.

Garcetti's campaign manager echoes what many of us say about Mayor Murray's lean towards control of our district:
“It’s one thing to be somebody who is focused on education as their issue as an education advocate,” Carrick said. “It’s another thing to be the mayor of a city where you have got a lot of issues.”
What's on your mind?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Grammarian in me wonders about this " He quickly earned the reputation as one of the state’s best high school player."

Anyone else notice an increased frequency of typos? Seattle Times, CNN and even The Stranger have seemed to drop editorial screening before posting on the internet. Often times it is within quote marks, but not anything anyone could have said. So they are effectively miss-quoting the person.

SPS Parent
Anonymous said…
I like how the Times writer thought that people were breaking down the door to coach at Hale.

HP
Anonymous said…
Joe Bailey is a teacher at Queen Anne.
QA Parent
SPS Parent, ditto on Crosscut. I even pointed it out there a couple of times but to no avail. (That said, I have my own missteps on that point.)

Thanks QA parent; I even put "teacher of the year" and managed to put "principal."
Anonymous said…
That story on Interagency is wonderful, thanks for sharing. Congrats to the students and the staff!

- beo
Anonymous said…
Now Amazon will enter the Ed reform movement, will teachers need a prime account?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/technology/amazon-unveils-online-education-service-for-teachers.html?_r=0

Some people
Anonymous said…
Random question: How do SPS high schools weight different types of classes, including honors, AP and Running Start for the purposes of grade rank?

-Seattle parent
Maureen said…
Seattle parent:

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) computes weighted class ranks, awarding 1.0 additional grade point for AP, IB, and Running Start courses and an additional .5 for Honors courses.

SPS does not weight transcript grades or GPA's. Grades are awarded as follows:
A: 93-100% A-: 90-92% B+: 87-89% B: 83-86% B-: 80-82% C+: 77-79% C: 73-76% C-:70-72%
D+: 67-69% D: 60-66% E: Below 60%
Anonymous said…
Thank you, Maureen!

-Seattle Parent
Anonymous said…
Michael Porter Jr. has not committed as of yet, according to ESPN as of last Friday.
Still, why Hale of all places?

-GoSonics
GoSonics, that's a pretty good question. Why not Garfield or Rainier Beach? I'll have to ask the district how much he is being paid as well.
Anonymous said…
Why Hale? Because it will be his local high school from what I understand. Hale has a new exciting coach. Because he can be the big fish in a small pond and his brothers will be able to play with him on the varsity team most likely. Supposedly there are players transferring from Garfield and Rainier Beach too, enough to make a very solid varsity team. My kid says that he has stated that he is going to Hale. Apparently he posted it on his Instagram account.

Who knows how it will all work out.

HP
Anonymous said…
Michael Porter Jr. is the high school basketball player so he won't be paid anything.

HP
HP, I meant the new coach at Hale.
Anonymous said…
I am sure the coach will be paid what other basketball coaches are paid. It isn't very much. Hale has a Sports Boosters group but it is for all sports and it doesn't pay for regular sports coaches only club sports coaches (Lacrosse and Ultimate).

HP
Anonymous said…
From: http://www.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=15203


Position Emp. Type Salary Closing Date

Baseball - Head Coach - Rainier Beach Hi... Hourly $3,668.74 Annually Continuous

Basketball - Assistant Girls' Coach-Ingr... Hourly $3,132.43 Annually 07/18/16

Basketball - Head Girls - Middle School ... Hourly $1,285.76 Annually Continuous

Basketball - Head Girls' Coach - Nathan ... Hourly $3,132.43 Annually Continuous

Basketball Coach, Assistant, Jane Adams ... Hourly $771.67 - $771.69 Annually Continuous

Basketball Coach, Girls Assistant, Cleve... Hourly $0.00 - $3,132.43 Annually Continuous

Gymnastics - Head Coach - Nathan Hale Hourly $3,668.74 Annually Continuous

Gymnastics Coach, Head, Garfield High Sc... Hourly $0.00 - $3,313.00 Annually Continuous

NEW! Soccer - Head Girls' Coach - Ingraham Hourly $3,668.74 Annually Continuous

Soccer - Head Girls' Coach - West Seattl... Hourly $3,668.74 Annually Continuous


Pretty sad that all unfilled coaching positions are for girls sports. I also see that Garfield's gymnastic coach position is still there though they have been two years without a coach. Rules for being a gymnastics coach make it difficult to find someone because most of them are employed at local gyms.

HP
Anonymous said…
I guess there is the baseball coach at RBHS as the lone boys sport.

HP
HP, so that is quite the list. A former NBA player is going to coach a Seattle Schools team with a mundane record (not even going to heavy-hitters Garfield or RBHS) for a little over $3,000 a year? Interesting.

I just want SPS to NOT get into the kind of athletic mess that is happening over in Bellevue.
Po3 said…
"Supposedly there are players transferring from Garfield and Rainier Beach too, enough to make a very solid varsity team."

Isn't Hale full with waitlists? If so, how can students get seats if the school isn't their reference area high school? Are special considerations made to allow students to attend a high school to play sports?



Lynn said…
Maybe they're moving? If you rent, it might be worth it.
Anonymous said…
I am not sure. It is possible the RBHS player may live in Hale's area and requested RBHS but now wants to go their home school. Garfield is overcrowded so maybe they are letting the other player transfer?

Hale is set to lose 1.6 teachers (same list as Chief Sealth's) even though they have a small waitlist.

HP
Anonymous said…
Speaking of QAE, the new principal was hired (a few months ago) but just started (she was waiting on a visa to be able to start)

- B
Anonymous said…
Good article on her: http://queenannenews.com/Content/News/Homepage-Rotating-Articles/Article/New-QAE-principal-settles-into-role/26/538/38725

-B
Anonymous said…
Come on, most of you have been around SPS long enough to get what's going on at Hale. Do I really need to spell it out for you?

SPADE
Madpark said…
Spade-

Spell it out for me, please.

Brandon may want to see if coaching may be his future, he's still a young guy.
I think in all cases where there be questions, address verification might be a good thing. Again, we don't want a Bellevue football team-type issue in SPS.

Anonymous said…
Yes, by all means check the addresses but if the players applied to switch schools during open enrollment, then they just like any other, should be allowed to switch schools within the SPS district. If they were trying to get into Garfield and let in despite overcrowding, then I would think it was an issue. Transferring to RBHS which is under enrolled or Hale that will be losing teachers due to enrollment drops should be allowed.

HP
HP, did you read about Sealth? They are underenrolled and have a waitlist and the district refuses to enroll more people. So if Sealth can't move its waitlist, why would Hale be allowed to?
Anonymous said…
I agree. Hale's waitlist hasn't moved from what I can tell. The transfer of the Garfield and RBHS players has not been confirmed. If they requested transfers or moved during open enrollment, they wouldn't show up on the waitlist.

Sealth is set to lose 3 teachers if I remember correctly and Hale 1.6? I am surprised we haven't heard from more schools in regards to this.

HP

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

Why the Majority of the Board Needs to be Filled with New Faces

First Candidates for Seattle School Board Elections 2023