tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post3594672960280938733..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Crucial Voting for Seattle School BoardMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-52657012804330693192015-10-21T22:49:12.360-07:002015-10-21T22:49:12.360-07:00Burke actually has 2 children at Ingraham. One in...Burke actually has 2 children at Ingraham. One in 12th and the other in 10th grade.Linh-Conoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-62303141221594262962015-10-21T17:27:41.640-07:002015-10-21T17:27:41.640-07:00I think it's exciting to think that our board ...I think it's exciting to think that our board might have two members with students at Ingraham.<br /><br />Pinkham has a student attending there. 12 grade <br />Burke has a student attending there. 12 grade <br />Christopherson has two students there. 9 and 11 grade <br /><br />Christopherson is an Ingraham grad and that's a plus. <br /><br />We know we will at least have one! When is the last time one of our students had a parent on the school board? <br /><br />Go RamsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-71773759653378301282015-10-21T17:10:19.984-07:002015-10-21T17:10:19.984-07:00I think Dan Dempsey is the first person on this bl...I think Dan Dempsey is the first person on this blog to take a reasoned look at Michael based on positions. <br /><br />Michael has Q and A and is taking questions at his url. <br /><br />http://christophersen4schools.blogspot.com/2015/10/ask-candidate-questions.html?m=1<br /><br />Melissa has promised to do a critique of Michael's ideas. I am pretty certain she is referring to the Q and A content on his campaign blog.<br /><br />I hope readers of this blog will visit and discuss Michael's campaign blog (and submit questions to him) before they read Melissa"s evaluation, since she is not an unbiased judge. <br /><br />Writers on this blog are saying they want directors who.."won't let the staff members say 'the dog ate my homework'...have the moxy to call out disconnects between the policy, implementation, and the mission of this organization.....represent the people, not the staff....[display ]intelligence, clarity, hard work and dedication. "<br /><br />This sounds like a description of the Michael Christopherson I have come to know through working as an education advocate to the family in IEP negotiations and through talking with him extensively about his knowledge and ideas for Seattle schools.<br /><br /><br />Here is are the most outstanding comments about Scott that I find on this thread.<br /><br />"Pinkham has experiences that will be beneficial....Pinkham [would] tend toward the revolutionary side but may be convinced one way or the other. "<br /><br />I think Michael would be a far more energetic Board member than Pinkham and will be far more helpful than Pinkham would be to Peters, Burke, Geary, and Harris if he ends up on the Board with these fourJoan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09115051939202397525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-29300185556484942612015-10-21T15:19:31.871-07:002015-10-21T15:19:31.871-07:00When we had trouble getting our child services, th...When we had trouble getting our child services, the district used their very nasty lawyer against us, her name was Shannon McMinimee.<br /><br />Why would our candidates accept contributions from from her.<br /><br />Please go to the following site and see who these guys are being funded by.<br /><br />http://www.pdc.wa.gov/MvcQuerySystem/Candidate/loc_candidates<br /><br /><br />MCMINIMEE SHANNON 8/24/2015 $50.00 G SEATTLE WA 98136<br /><br />DisgustedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-50810454461586382622015-10-21T14:55:23.560-07:002015-10-21T14:55:23.560-07:00Jill never said she made settlements for SPS famil...Jill never said she made settlements for SPS families. She said she made settlements involving special ed students in Washington state and she knows the law and can help the district work the laws. <br /><br />Geez, get your facts straight!<br /><br />Go JillAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-65139584590962701352015-10-21T14:08:28.245-07:002015-10-21T14:08:28.245-07:00I commented awhile back that I was going to dig in...I commented awhile back that I was going to dig into some facts.<br /><br />I tried to validate Jill Geary's claims regarding her work for families in Seattle. I pulled records from OSPI and SPS back to 2007 and I can not find any evidence of Geary's claims of making settlements for SPS special education students.<br /><br />The PRR log shows only 2 candidates have a history of actively pressing the district for information, Harris and Christopherson. <br /><br />I see PRR entries from numerous lawyers, but their are none from Geary. Jill, can you explain the lack of documentation? <br /><br />I'm going to submit a PRR today for all settlements involving Geary. Stay tuned.<br /><br /><br />2 CentsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75719975120444368782015-10-21T13:25:50.916-07:002015-10-21T13:25:50.916-07:00The Progressive Voters Guide says:
The School Boa...The Progressive Voters Guide says:<br /><br /><b>The School Board has struggled with high turnover, including several resignations this year,</b> and McLaren would provide some continuity. If you prefer an experienced candidate who would provide some stability on the School Board, McLaren is a good choice.<br /><br />==============<br />Does the PVG have any knowledge of facts? <br /><br />No one resigned from the school board this year, so it must have been the school board struggling with central staff turnover.... are you kidding me?<br /><br />Can someone tell me of these resignations and why they were problematic?<br /><br />I guess the PVG has a lot more faith in bloated top-down management than I do.<br /><br />-- Dan DempseyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91209236653151835472015-10-21T13:06:44.996-07:002015-10-21T13:06:44.996-07:00In Crosscut
Tuesday 20, October 2015
Election rai...In Crosscut<br /><br />Tuesday 20, October 2015<br /><a href="http://crosscut.com/2015/10/election-raises-questions-about-seattle-schools-direction/" rel="nofollow"><b>Election raises questions about Seattle schools’ direction</b></a><br /><br />=====================<br />In Ballotpedia<br /><br /><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Michael_Christophersen" rel="nofollow"> Ballotpedia Christophersen</a><br /><br /><a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Scott_Pinkham" rel="nofollow"> Ballotpedia Pinkham </a><br /><br />Christophersen under Campaign Themes shows "rankings on the issues" and "positions on the issues", but Pinkham does not.<br /><br />SPS has a huge need in serving students with Specific Learning Disabilities, I believe that Christophersen will do something about that.<br /><br />I sure wish that Pinkham would have "ranked the issues" and had "position on the issues"<br /><br />It is pretty hard finding out about what either of these two might do as Board Directors.<br /><br />The Times may have this one correct in recommending Michael Christophersen.<br /><br /><br />-- Dan DempseyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-36039914566801228902015-10-21T11:29:35.207-07:002015-10-21T11:29:35.207-07:00OK so I am now going to try to find out what I can...OK so I am now going to try to find out what I can about the Scott S. Pinkham - Michael Christophersen race.<br /><br />I began with the video voters guide <a href="http://www.seattlechannel.org/seattle-school-board-director-district-no-1?videoid=x58351" rel="nofollow"><b> HERE</b></a><br /><br />Yes I found out that neither participated. I shall now look elsewhere for information about these two.<br /><br />==============<br />Video Voters guide does list the following as participants (links provided)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.seattlechannel.org/seattle-school-board-director-district-no-2" rel="nofollow">District 2 - Burke v. Gramer</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.seattlechannel.org/seattle-school-board-director-district-no-3" rel="nofollow">District 3 - McGuire v. Geary</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.seattlechannel.org/seattle-school-board-director-district-no-6" rel="nofollow">District 6 - Harris v. McLaren</a>dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-64390562047590833282015-10-21T10:25:18.444-07:002015-10-21T10:25:18.444-07:00I went back and checked a few of my notes.
In 20...I went back and checked a few of my notes. <br /><br />In 2002, the DISTRICT, identified the need for additional elementary and middle school capacity in NE Seattle and began the conversation about potentially opening Sandpoint Elementary and returning Summit back to the central area as was long promised (the Jane Addams building was intended as a temporary home when they were temporarily relocated there from the Beacon Hill area). <br /><br />To the best of my knowledge, this was the first, last and only time that SPS was proactive about the idea of adding seats in a geographic region that needed them. As I live in NE Seattle and I am a capacity management expert, I was greatly interested in this and hence my public school advocacy started. <br /><br />However, shortly after this, the Olschefski financial crisis set in and the conversation about closing schools started. Then the drastic state level budget cuts happened. <br /><br />By that point, it was damn-the-torpedoes when it came to closing schools and the district approached the closing of schools with the fervor of a religious zealot and there was no amount of data, reason or common sense that could stop it. <br /><br />The closures did a huge amount of damage to this district. Both because an entire decade that should have been spent on building new capacity was wasted AND because so many families were directly hurt but closures that never needed to happen. <br /><br /><br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91718655476011680862015-10-21T10:17:08.335-07:002015-10-21T10:17:08.335-07:00At some point, we probably need to do a thread on ...At some point, we probably need to do a thread on the legacy of the closures. The reminder of Summit's closure, is a great reminder of what a tragedy, three rounds of school closures was in general and how much damage occurred in particular. <br /><br />Simple facts get lost in the PR messaging, the tremendous pain inflicted on families and the hideous irony that schools were closed while enrollment was growing, not shrinking. <br /><br />If we don't learn from this history, we just repeat it. <br /><br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-74341197701775313592015-10-21T10:14:47.912-07:002015-10-21T10:14:47.912-07:00I think one of the best parts of Seattle is how pa...I think one of the best parts of Seattle is how passionate people are about public education. I grew up in Philadelphia, where public education was mostly abandoned by the public and later became a huge charter district. <br /><br />I think Geary and McGuire are both very strong candidates and it is a loss for Seattle that we can't have them both on the board. <br /><br />That said, it is also very hopeful that we do have a strong race. So many years, the board job is a walk-on elected position with no real race. Michael DeBell was completely unopposed in his election and Stephen Blanford only had a nominal candidate. <br /><br />I think everyone wins when we have this much interest and attention to getting very good board members. kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-87570595651993513012015-10-21T10:12:39.592-07:002015-10-21T10:12:39.592-07:00@ Joan, Apology accepted.
@ Joan, Apology accepted. <br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-43130740112124608122015-10-21T08:27:18.286-07:002015-10-21T08:27:18.286-07:00Sorry for all the deleted posts. I decided to take...Sorry for all the deleted posts. I decided to take down all my off-topic comments but was unable to delete my comment @ 10/20/15, 12:19 PM about Northeast Custer Coalition and a remembered conversation. I strayed off of my plan to stick to advocating for candidates, plus I was wrong to make an allegation based on subjective interpretation of fallible memory of a non-documented conversation. <br /><br />My apology to Kellie.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09115051939202397525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91759074067693179562015-10-21T00:38:17.276-07:002015-10-21T00:38:17.276-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09115051939202397525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-87143658852956756722015-10-21T00:19:50.472-07:002015-10-21T00:19:50.472-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09115051939202397525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37840992686391016802015-10-20T22:56:25.913-07:002015-10-20T22:56:25.913-07:00@Joan NE
Your experience with Kellie is much diff...@Joan NE<br /><br />Your experience with Kellie is much different than mine. When I was experiencing a large scale public dispute with the district she came to my aid unbidden and gave great advice and guidance. <br /><br />Granted, I don't agree with her on the endorsement of Lauren - but I'm not going to hold it against her and I don't believe she'll hold it against me.<br /><br />I think that your allegations are misplaced as holding Kellie accountable for district actions is unjust. Who among us can accurately predict what district rabbit will pop-up next?<br /><br />-StepJAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-12829902537237926612015-10-20T21:40:59.337-07:002015-10-20T21:40:59.337-07:00mw, please do not use anything approximating my na...mw, please do not use anything approximating my name if you are commenting. I think why should be obvious.<br /><br />As to McLaren, she has decided on her talking points and will not veer off them,no matter how wrong.<br /><br />1) Candidates say they want to "shake things up" and could mean any number of things. It does not mean they will significantly veer off what the Superintendent's plan is. <br /><br />2) Nearly everyone running has shown evidence of being able to work in a collaborative fashion. Director McLaren also seems to mistake being able to collaborate with leadership. It is not the same thing. <br /><br />3) That "outstanding results" for Common Core is her way of messaging "not so bad." That ACTUAL, documented results have not been released in a press release should tell you something.<br /><br />4) I have no idea what "increased decision making by principals means" - it would be great to hear that from actual principals.<br /><br />5) "more equitable resources to all schools" while the administration grows and some profit. If McLaren votes for a raise or bonus for Nyland, that should tell you what you need to know.<br /><br />6) improve Sped by getting off the Federal Watch list?! Where was her outrage that the district even GOT on it? When President Carr tsk tsk'ed over school staffing cuts and said that well, they had to spend $500K on fulfilling the OSPI requirements for Sped, where was the outrage that this district got there with current senior staff?Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-90362225321943139042015-10-20T21:37:18.611-07:002015-10-20T21:37:18.611-07:00VNESS started around Eckstein overcrowding and fac...VNESS started around Eckstein overcrowding and facility issues and truly the leaders had their own agenda, put out endorsements without checking with members, wrote letters stating positions that were not vetted with the membership. The original membership was solicited by sending a call to NE Seattle Schools' PTSA's, but anyone who didn't agree with their agenda was marginalized. And, yes, they came out against the levy when they didn't feel like they were fleeting their way. I was also at the organizing meeting. I can't find Lauren's name attached to any of the emails I saved or their Facebook page, but the fact they support her gives me pause. <br /><br />~ wonderingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-79330098726416578462015-10-20T21:22:48.828-07:002015-10-20T21:22:48.828-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.mwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03773918593171743028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-61859048815854533622015-10-20T21:04:47.674-07:002015-10-20T21:04:47.674-07:00Yeah, VNESS was the group organized by the levy op...Yeah, VNESS was the group organized by the levy opponents (after it passed, if memory serves). I was actually at the VNESS organizing meeting, and it was unclear if they thought that NE Seattle extends past 85th. It was sort of strange.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-83778835594904957792015-10-20T19:40:24.191-07:002015-10-20T19:40:24.191-07:00A clear difference between Harris and McLaren rema...A clear difference between Harris and McLaren remains.<br /><br /><br />Dear Friends,<br /><br />Here's my message now that ballots are in voters’ hands:<br /><br />Our Board has hired SPS’s best Superintendent in almost 20 years. I agree with him on many of his initiatives, and our students, teachers and parents are seeing the gains that come from stable, forward-focused leadership. <b> It is imperative to elect Board members who support Larry Nyland and the vital work he is leading.</b> It is of great concern that some candidates for School Board promise to “shake things up,” implying that they do not support the important strides in motion. Please spread the word. You can help by committing to send this email on to friends. Please help to ensure vital continuity and collaboration in Seattle Public Schools by voting for Marty McLaren.<br /><br />As the board member with actual teaching experience in Seattle schools, I know we are making significant headway against the enormous challenges in Seattle Public Schools: We’re seeing outstanding test results with the new Common Core standards, increased engagement of school principals in district decision-making, more equitable resource allocation to all schools to help close the opportunity gap, improved Special Education services resulting in SPS’s removal from the Federal Watch List, earlier hiring of teachers, and a continued high bond rating.<br /><br />I remain committed to positive change, continuity, and constructive dialogue on the School Board.<br /><br />Warm regards,<br /><br />Marty<br />===================<br /><br />Inquiring MindAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-69742577761139686462015-10-20T17:47:09.813-07:002015-10-20T17:47:09.813-07:00"I found Geary's answer rather trivial (s..."I found Geary's answer rather trivial (she said she wanted the city to share demographic data with the schools), which makes me wonder if this was a disengenuous answer."<br /><br />Uh,that's what they did during the years the district didn't have a demographer.<br /><br />Kellie LaRue does not lie. She may have - sadly - believed the district and then found out that they changed their minds. <br /><br />VNESS seems to operate in its own world,for sure. Some of their rhetoric at Crosscut when they first started out was not good. I like that write-in, though. Wish Wong had run. <br /><br />Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16516763207962271942015-10-20T17:17:06.401-07:002015-10-20T17:17:06.401-07:00Which group was it that actively worked against pa...Which group was it that actively worked against passing the last levy? Was it VNESS? If so that's a problem. <br /><br />-bad memoryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-52515753325636494232015-10-20T15:07:49.138-07:002015-10-20T15:07:49.138-07:00With the exception of their choice for D2, it seem...With the exception of their choice for D2, it seems clear that VNESS is on its own planet.mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.com