Journalism breaking out
It's heartening to see difficult questions getting asked.
Tuesday Open Thread
The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested. It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio. (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Comments
Such a inflated sense of self.
Bravo, Dr. Goodloe-Johnson. Appearing in public and subjecting yourself to potential criticism was a risky move, and shows that you are trying to connect with the public!
And Bravo, also, for bringing along some of your assistants so that you could provide the public with the best possible answers to their questions!
I think the State-of-the-District public meeting is a great idea, and should perhaps be a mandatory part of the job for every SPS Superintendent. I do suggest that it's crucial (in a nearly 1 billion-dollar-a-year annual enterprise) that each yearly meeting begin with a review of the important achievements and goals set out at the PREVIOUS meeting.
I'm not trying to be uppity, and suggest how the Superintendent should do her job. I'm sure she knows better than me, and has a lot on her plate already. I salute her and her staff for all of her efforts on behalf of our children!
Institutional memory is problematic for all human institutions, and Seattle Public Schools may (and I'm not criticizing here, just including SPS in all human institutions) possibly have just a few issues with institutional memory of past promises made and forgotten.
I mean, everyone forgets, but we do have to try to remember and honor what we promised, don't we?