The Coming Calendar
What's on the Big Calendar?
Oh my, I almost let this one fall off my radar. The first joint City Council/School Board meeting (by my reckoning in a couple of years) on Friday, the 16th from 9-11 am in the City Council chambers. What will they talk about for 2 hours? Note to district staff; the City Council does NOT want a dog and pony show. That's what staff trotted out most of the time and the Council called off the meetings because of it.
Director Martin-Morris has his community meeting this Saturday from 9:30-11:30 at Diva Espresso in Lake City. Director Maier has his from 10:30-noon, Bethany Community Church
Saturday finds the first of the district's two SPS Budget Forums at Aki Kurose from 1-3 p.m. (The other one is on Tuesday, the 20th from 6:30-8:30 at Roosevelt High which is tempting because it is my neck of the woods but I do want to attend the Alliance's teacher bash, whoops, Teacher Quality Town Hall, which is the same night.)
Monday is the Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee meeting from 4:30-6 p.m.
Also,
Seattle Special Ed PTSA Meeting
Tuesday, April 20, 7 pm
Lowell Elementary School (lunchroom)
1058 E. Mercer St., Seattle 98102
(Free parking is available in the parking lot at 11th Ave E and E. Aloha)
Wednesday the 21st finds the Board Work Session on Performance Management from 4-5:30 p.m., followed by the regular Board meeting at 6 p.m.
Also of note is the Thursday, the 22nd, meeting of the Audit and Finance Committee of Whole (which I take to mean the entire Board) from 4-8 p.m. Sounds like something akin to a Board Work Session and must be related to the budget. Perhaps they will be reflecting on what they hear from the Budget Forums this week.
Oh my, I almost let this one fall off my radar. The first joint City Council/School Board meeting (by my reckoning in a couple of years) on Friday, the 16th from 9-11 am in the City Council chambers. What will they talk about for 2 hours? Note to district staff; the City Council does NOT want a dog and pony show. That's what staff trotted out most of the time and the Council called off the meetings because of it.
Director Martin-Morris has his community meeting this Saturday from 9:30-11:30 at Diva Espresso in Lake City. Director Maier has his from 10:30-noon, Bethany Community Church
Saturday finds the first of the district's two SPS Budget Forums at Aki Kurose from 1-3 p.m. (The other one is on Tuesday, the 20th from 6:30-8:30 at Roosevelt High which is tempting because it is my neck of the woods but I do want to attend the Alliance's teacher bash, whoops, Teacher Quality Town Hall, which is the same night.)
Monday is the Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee meeting from 4:30-6 p.m.
Also,
Seattle Special Ed PTSA Meeting
Tuesday, April 20, 7 pm
Lowell Elementary School (lunchroom)
1058 E. Mercer St., Seattle 98102
(Free parking is available in the parking lot at 11th Ave E and E. Aloha)
Wednesday the 21st finds the Board Work Session on Performance Management from 4-5:30 p.m., followed by the regular Board meeting at 6 p.m.
Also of note is the Thursday, the 22nd, meeting of the Audit and Finance Committee of Whole (which I take to mean the entire Board) from 4-8 p.m. Sounds like something akin to a Board Work Session and must be related to the budget. Perhaps they will be reflecting on what they hear from the Budget Forums this week.
Comments
When will the Board or district announce this policy change?
Additionally the Work Session presentation says:
"Small groups: what families want us to work hardest to protect
and feedback on potential steps to address an additional $24.2
million projected shortfall for 2011-12."
Ah, they want our input for NEXT year's deficit.
Tuesday, April 20, 7 pm
Lowell Elementary School (lunchroom)
1058 E. Mercer St., Seattle 98102
(Free parking is available in the parking lot at 11th Ave E and E. Aloha)
Our next SpED PTSA General Meeting will be next Tuesday, April 20, at 7pm. It will feature representatives of the Office of the Education Ombudsman (OEO) providing information on parental legal and procedural
rights under federal law (both IDEA and 504). Most of us find ourselves wondering about these issues as we start preparing for our child's IEP or 504 meeting. If you have specific questions that you would like to have
addressed, please email them to us at seattlespedptsa@gmail.com and we will forward them to the OEO representatives to enable them to deliver responses at our meeting.
Education Reform:Knowledge is Power!
A Forum
Saturday, April 24th @ 1:30 p.m.
St. Marks Cathedral
1245 10th Ave E.
Seattle
Almost everyone agrees that our schools must be reformed. The question is who we should be listening to as the experts: the corporations and foundations or the educators, parents, and students?
Come hear about these critical issues impacting public education and be part of the dialogue around real reform that works for students and staff alike.
Speakers and Topics
Mary Lindquist, President WEA- SB 6696
Olga Addae, President SEA- SIG Schools, RTTT, Performance Management
Juanita Doyon, Mother’s Against the WASL- High stakes testing
Jessie Hagopian, RIF’d Seattle Teacher- Seniority and Merit Pay
Many of us (parents and some teachers I know of) are working in loose groupings to influence where things are going, some of us focused on specific issues, others more interested in lighting fires wherever there's an apparent need...
Maybe its time we combined our efforts... maybe its time we took a leaf out of the Florida and Detroit books...maybe its time we began educating the wider community and take it to the streets...
The Education Reform Forum is one opportunity to begin that dialogue and maybe firm up some grouping...
What does anyone/everyone else think?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/15/AR2010041504955.html
http://dailycensored.com/2010/04/15/bamn-attorneys-representing-the-elected-detroit-board-of-education-will-ask-judge-wendy-baxter-for-a-preliminary-injunction-to-stop-emergency-financial-manager-of-detroit-and-eli-broad-academy-graduat/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Dailycensored+%28Daily+Censored%29
I would be curious to see how many families from QA/Magnolia for example, who used to go private, now went to Ballard since they had the guarantee.
But in the meanwhile, because RHS had to use the district figure to create a budget, much time was spent -- Wasted! on negotiating within the building on what to cut and how. Time, energy and emotions all wasted. Time and energy that could have gone into something more productive to students and education.
Families who do not have a desirable auto-placement are hedging their bets and anxiously waiting to see where the luck of the draw lands their student. Money has been spent on deposits at private schools "just in case." What a mess.
Parents have known all along that RHS and Ballard would be overcrowded. That the boundaries were way to big. Why didn't the district?
Did the district really not know? Or did nobody have the political will to make the attendance area boundaries realistic?
We have to remember all this is pure speculation on our part. Until the almighty VAX spits out some data, we really don't know the whole story. I'd be very surprised if we are wrong though.
The Seattle Education Association (the local teacher’s union) presents:
Education Reform:
Knowledge is Power!
A Forum
Saturday, April 24th @ 1:30 p.m.
St. Marks Cathedral
1245 10th Ave E.
Seattle, Wa 98102
Almost everyone agrees that our schools must be reformed. The question is who we should be listening to as the experts: the corporations and foundations or the educators, parents, and students?
Come hear about these critical issues impacting public education and be part of the dialogue around real reform that works for students and staff alike.
Speakers and Topics
Mary Lindquist, President WEA- SB 6696
Olga Addae, President SEA- SIG Schools, RTTT, Performance Management
Juanita Doyon, Mother’s Against the WASL- High stakes testing
Jessie Hagopian, RIF’d Seattle Teacher- Seniority and Merit Pay
The capacity (I guess that should be in quotes) is 400 per class. In the first year or so post remodel, freshman classes were over 500 each. So Seniors didn't get lockers and halls were crowded and other repercussions.
This coming year, RHS was told to budget for 340 kids. Including the 33 option seats, arbitrarily capping enrollment at less than the comfortable capacity -- and putting them in a lower WSS class and leading to discussions of drastic cuts needed.
I strongly suspect that more than 340 kids living in the attendance area enrolled (plus perhaps a few cheaters) and therefore they are lifting the lid, but they might not go over the 400 that would fit well in the school. Who knows.
I received that notice as well. I'm really excited by the potential for this discussion, so have been looking online for additional info. Nothing on SEA's site, or St Mark's. I emailed one of the presenters for more info and will share when I have it.
See you on the 24th?
It is actually the public school system that holds the cards in this hand. They know they lose students due to private deposits, yet refuse to move their enrollment dates up. The private schools couldn't really back things up any earlier as some of the placement testing (ISEE) is done on a national level.
I realize that the NSAP complicated things this year. I hope SPS gets it nailed down and moves their dates earlier next year.
I asked her before things got started how many extra students would be at RHS and BHS and she said up to 25% of the functional capacity. (Yes, I was a little taken aback.) BUT, she said if the school filled with attendance area kids AND they still honored the 10% Open Choice seats, it might not be as many kids.
In other words, who knows?
Has anyone heard anything about how SPS intends to discover and deal with said 'cheaters?' Has it been acknowledged in any way that the new boundaries (and geographic zones next year) will increase the likelihood of cheating?
Now, children living well outside an attendance area could have easily gained admittance using the 10% Choice option, so "cheaters" will be harder to spot as long as they don't brag about it. Unless someone is upfront to others about using some other address (grandparents', friends', rental property, etc.), it will not be as obvious.
Though the District would have access to the names and addresses of students who won a slot via 10% Option, I doubt they will have the time, staff or money to start verifying every student's address.
"one such student at Roosevelt from Mercer Island who was attending specifically for the drama program and got ratted out by an angry mom whose child did not get a coveted role (could be a urban myth)."
Sounds like a drama, alright! They should write a play about it.