tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post5300902715592676293..comments2024-03-28T23:38:22.511-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: NE Regional MeetingMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-86788320684330970752010-09-23T10:56:20.278-07:002010-09-23T10:56:20.278-07:00Kristin, it isn't easy to compile that sort of...Kristin, it isn't easy to compile that sort of data. There are two ways to do it. One would be to make a list of every school and then record the principal for that school in each of the past three years.<br /><br />Another method would be to review the District's news releases from the past couple years. The District usually issues a press release when a principal is changed.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73197298675319114672010-09-23T10:53:16.062-07:002010-09-23T10:53:16.062-07:00I am wondering who these 20 principals are, and wh...I am wondering who these 20 principals are, and where they came from, and what happened to the 20 principals they are replacing. How would I find out?Kristinhttp://kristinking.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-62730733362752122892010-09-23T08:39:29.074-07:002010-09-23T08:39:29.074-07:00Josh,
Capacity-wise, I do think the surrounding ...Josh,<br /><br />Capacity-wise, I do think the surrounding schools could handle the extra kids -- at least in the near term. I believe the district was hoping for 100+ Kindergarteners at McDonald this year. They go something like 60. BF Day, I believe has a couple of Kindergarten classes and has been usually be well under capacity for the building. I can't find the spring enrollment data, however, so maybe when the Oct 1 numbers come out I'll be proved wrong on my assumptions. We'll see.<br /><br />I'll admit that my knowledge of how the current option schools work in the district is relatively weak, as I don't have a kid in one of these schools. They still have geographic zones around them that give kids in that area preference over lottery, yes? If so, that geographic zone gives the district a bit of breathing space in the capacity management, soping up what additional extra capacity exists in the neighborhood, if any.<br /><br />The district could have a plan that starts with a very large geographic zone and gradually shrinks it over the years. That seems preferential to me as it eases the school in to an option status and hopefully reduces the number of people whose immediate plans for their kids have been put out of joint by the conversion.<br /><br />As to how the "option-ness" works I'll leave that others who know better than me. Should it be district-wide? The absence of other programs like it says yes, but I think the district would say no.Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16540428343439198125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-57477949882049316202010-09-22T23:04:08.953-07:002010-09-22T23:04:08.953-07:00Same thing at Whittier in the NW ... K classrooms ...Same thing at Whittier in the NW ... K classrooms of 26 each with 2 siblings on the wait=list. Once a class is 26, would 1 more kid really be too much trouble? The district said that they would do everything the could to keep families together ... another broken promise.whittier07https://www.blogger.com/profile/16899142535118517706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37078580746021898482010-09-22T22:37:13.490-07:002010-09-22T22:37:13.490-07:00I appreciate your perspective, Bird, about JSIS an...I appreciate your perspective, Bird, about JSIS and its neighborhood school status.<br /><br />I wonder what you think SHOULD be the status of JSIS, and if it's changed to, say, an "option" school, how would non-option assignments work in the surrounding neighborhood? In other words, if it's NOT a neighborhood school, where do the local kids go? MacDonald? BF Day?<br /><br />I have no axe to grind here; my kids are never going anywhere near JSIS (when we toured it, ten years ago, my 5-year-old son shook his head afterward and said, "too much like prison."). I just wonder how you think the program SHOULD plug into the city's school system.<br /><br />Apologies if this constitutes hijacking the thread.Josh Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242600011474990770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-27584373536373852222010-09-22T20:50:28.579-07:002010-09-22T20:50:28.579-07:00Bird: I am afraid that sibling waitlist for next y...Bird: I am afraid that sibling waitlist for next year will be even bigger than this year since JSIS added extra Japanese K class (current 1st grade) last year before NSAP, and many of them come from out of attendance area.<br /><br />Seattlemom: I heard one of the Japanese K class has 25 kids, and other has 26 kids. I don't know why they are waiting to let siblings in. I emailed principle, but he hasn't responded to me about enrollment numbers. <br /><br />I don't understand why they can overcrowd classes with neighborhood kids, but not with siblings. It just seems crazy!!I guess SPS just doesn't understand because they are not in our shoes.krodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007598354798140720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66841597267503933492010-09-22T15:52:45.806-07:002010-09-22T15:52:45.806-07:00@krod: I presume you have e-mailed Tracy Libros, S...@krod: I presume you have e-mailed Tracy Libros, Sherry Carr and other school board members. But have you also e-mailed the principal and BLT (who discusses school internal budgeting and planning with the principal) at JSIS regarding the remaining siblings on the wait list? My son is in one of the Spanish K classes, and as far as I can tell there are "only" 26 kids in his class. In the past, they have had 28 kids in the incoming K classes, and I really don't understand why they don't let the remaining siblings in at least now since that would be only 1 more child per class (and maybe 2 in one case). <br /><br />It just seems ridiculous that it is ok for schools to be overcrowded because the enrollment office drew boundaries incorrectly (IMHO), but that they cannot fit in those few siblings still on the wait lists. For those families still split up, the impacts remain huge.Sabine Meckinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17894106929137582679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-83183174380881372062010-09-22T15:39:08.757-07:002010-09-22T15:39:08.757-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Sabine Meckinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17894106929137582679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-36655247083594195042010-09-22T13:16:43.682-07:002010-09-22T13:16:43.682-07:00do you know how are they handling the need to hire...<i>do you know how are they handling the need to hire more Japanese and Spanish fluent teachers? Has that been a problem? Is there any discussion of just having the new classes be English only, or of cutting back the amount of day spent in immersion?</i><br /><br />They hired some teachers in the spring. As far as I know it has gone ok so far.<br /><br />The surprisingly large first grade classes are still waiting to hear back from the district as to what the solution will be. <br /><br />I strongly doubt it will be hire another immersion teacher. Splitting up the big first grade classes adds a new problematic dimension I hadn't known about before -- the classes have to have 28 kids at 4th grade to fund their teacher. So to split the 3 first grade classes into 4 classes of 25 is pretty much a non-starter.<br /><br />This is why JSIS has always had very big Kindergarten classes. After 1st grade filling in holes when the occasional student leaves the school is hard, particularly in the Japanese classes. <br /><br />I'll say it again 'cause it needs saying. It should not be a neighborhood school.Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16540428343439198125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76807476219341999332010-09-22T13:07:43.659-07:002010-09-22T13:07:43.659-07:00So sorry for you krod.
I'm sure we will be in...So sorry for you krod.<br /><br />I'm sure we will be in your shoes come next year when the big sib wave hits the schoolBirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16540428343439198125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-78445020011281208382010-09-22T13:02:58.229-07:002010-09-22T13:02:58.229-07:00Krod, do you know how are they handling the need t...<b>Krod</b>, do you know how are they handling the need to hire more Japanese and Spanish fluent teachers? Has that been a problem? Is there any discussion of just having the new classes be English only, or of cutting back the amount of day spent in immersion?Maureenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18444916440000921599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-69622899317971896622010-09-22T12:48:10.201-07:002010-09-22T12:48:10.201-07:00Sibing issue at JSIS will be more next year. This...Sibing issue at JSIS will be more next year. This year, JSIS offers 4 kinder classes, and they are completely full, and 5 families remain split, and we are of course one of them. <br /><br />Funny thing is that I called enrollment center to find out the current K enrollment numbers at JSIS, and they wouldn't tell me.<br />Since we have only 8 days for waitlist being active, I wish someone would communicate a little bit better about this. We are so frustrated, and there is nothing we can do about it!!krodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007598354798140720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-68970328691294449282010-09-22T11:20:45.809-07:002010-09-22T11:20:45.809-07:00About the orchestra issue:
It would be great to g...About the orchestra issue:<br /><br />It would be great to get follow up about orchestra at other high schools also. We were told at a tour of Franklin that they would start offering orchestra this year. And at Sealth, we were told that they were going to hire another music teacher to be able to offer more string classes.<br /><br />Did those classes materialize?SE Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05537722194376827564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-52383582576276779972010-09-22T10:32:45.078-07:002010-09-22T10:32:45.078-07:00Klh, I plan on doing a separate thread in the next...Klh, I plan on doing a separate thread in the next couple of days on the music issue. I hope to get contact info so that more parents can join in this effort.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-31940420935248156492010-09-22T10:21:57.005-07:002010-09-22T10:21:57.005-07:00"What is clear though, is that schools are pa..."What is clear though, is that schools are packed, independent of the sibling issue."<br /><br />Of course if some schools are packed that means others are not packed.<br /><br />Garfield is packed, RBHS is not.<br /><br />Roosevelt is packed, Ingraham is not.<br /><br />Bryant is packed, Jane Addams is not.<br /><br />And so on....seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01231800476411684686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-55584627924140491442010-09-22T09:58:52.543-07:002010-09-22T09:58:52.543-07:00One of the topics Melissa wrote about was people w...One of the topics Melissa wrote about was people who are trying to work on the music program difference(orchestra in particular) between Roosevelt and Hale. Are there any parents reading this blog who know more about this?klhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10896882443894592502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73615254681952303542010-09-22T09:54:59.980-07:002010-09-22T09:54:59.980-07:00Dorothy, Keep Our Kids together should have some n...Dorothy, Keep Our Kids together should have some numbers, which might not be accurate at this point in time, though. What is clear though, is that schools are packed, independent of the sibling issue.Luz Villasanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303118608767036399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-84320863938255032642010-09-22T09:45:50.500-07:002010-09-22T09:45:50.500-07:00Luz, thanks for the clarification. Do we have data...Luz, thanks for the clarification. Do we have data that predicts how bad this issue will be in the next couple years? <br /><br />I guess we are all waiting for the Oct 1st count.Dorothy Nevillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17108759281089768738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91097795873589018782010-09-22T09:41:21.609-07:002010-09-22T09:41:21.609-07:00There is actually no sibling grandfathering this y...There is actually no sibling grandfathering this year, just priority in the wait list, and the promise of aggressive handling of wait lists. Priority for siblings is going to remain under the NSAP as well as the injustice of separating families.Luz Villasanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303118608767036399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-42009385142683545952010-09-22T09:19:46.989-07:002010-09-22T09:19:46.989-07:00"Parent who is part of the less than 30 famil..."Parent who is part of the less than 30 families left with two kids in two schools because of the NSAP."<br /><br />Don't forget that sibling grandfathering was only discussed and agreed to for this year's kindergarten class. So anyone with a larger age gap in children is out of luck. I suspect that there will be more split sibling issues in the next couple years. <br /><br />One dad I met in my anti-levy campaign is in this position (child at VR, I think, and a couple more not yet in kindergarten age.Dorothy Nevillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17108759281089768738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-7462704047727768632010-09-21T21:38:47.833-07:002010-09-21T21:38:47.833-07:00Charlie sez:
"That seems sound, but it begs ...Charlie sez:<br /><br /><i>"That seems sound, but it begs the question: What measures are we making of the effectiveness of the Board-adopted materials and will we replace them if student performance falls below some benchmark?"</i><br /><br />No it doesn't. It <b>raises</b> the question, it doesn't <b>beg</b> the question (which means "to assume the conclusion"; "begging the question" is a particular type of logical rhetorical fallacy.)<br /><br />I know the proper use of the phrase is shot to hell, but I'm fighting a rear-guard action.<br /><br />Other than that, however, it's a great question, Charlie.Josh Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242600011474990770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-90468013613495491332010-09-21T20:14:52.982-07:002010-09-21T20:14:52.982-07:00When curricular alignment was first introduced, th...When curricular alignment was first introduced, the staff was very clear to say that they would not disrupt successful programs. And then they did.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2767287694515442852010-09-21T19:53:34.272-07:002010-09-21T19:53:34.272-07:00Melissa, a contract is up on the SEA website. It L...Melissa, a <a href="http://www.seattlewea.org/static_content/certcontract2013.pdf" rel="nofollow">contract</a> is up on the SEA website. It LOOKS like the 2010-2013 contract, but I didn't see signatures on it. It's 149 pages, with multiple appendices. It's dense with contract-ese.<br /><br />But is it the "final, ratified" contract? I just don't know. I recall a few years ago that there was talk about whether significant changes were made after the vote...seattle citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16724175257161649500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73848845129856177242010-09-21T18:19:41.219-07:002010-09-21T18:19:41.219-07:00Charlie: good "turn-about question. But the ...Charlie: good "turn-about question. But the one I want to ask (and I am not sure I can articulate it well -- or whether I can defend the premises (based on what the District has said) is: Where alternative materials are being used (and in some cases have been used for many years) in schools with relatively high performance scores (either school wide or programmatic -- as in the case of elementary math WASL scores at Schmitz and North Beach), why is the District's position not to permit the continued use of what are evidently appropriate (if not actually highly desirable) alternative curricular materials?<br /><br />Why is there not a presumption of curricular soundness in courses taught in schools where students do comparatively well on tests?<br /><br />Unfortunately, in asking this question -- I am doing what I hate - and that is - exposing one problem while seeming to agree with the District on another (the use of rigid curricular alignment/standardization in schools where students are performing lower. I don't agree that this will be useful. And I think it will deliver a degraded educational experience to kids whom we would most like to reach with enriched, personalized education.<br /><br />But still -- why not give "clearly working" materials a "pass?"Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09923777229601243321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-29595681862885672832010-09-21T17:31:17.232-07:002010-09-21T17:31:17.232-07:00So how come we can't all see the final ratifie...So how come we can't all see the final ratified on both sides teachers contract? Hmmm.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.com