Seattle School District Updates

Some items of interest from the district:

Open Hours with District Leadership
Do you have a topic about Seattle Public Schools that you want to discuss face-to-face with District leadership? Open office hours are available Thursdays from 3-5:30 p.m. rotating between Dr. Susan Enfield,Interim Superintendent; Dr. Cathy Thompson, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning; Pegi McEvoy, Assistant Superintendent of Operations; and Bob Boesche, Interim Assistant Superintendent forBusiness & Finance.

Click here for the full Open Office Hours Calendar

These 15-minute appointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call or email to schedule time to talk about schools,curriculum, transportation, finance, enrollment, policy or whatever
topic you choose.

Better Food, New Items in Cafeterias

Seattle Public Schools Nutrition Services Department has launched "Family Night Recipe Tastings" at several area schools to try out some new proposed menu items.  These recipes were developed in partnership with Nutrition Services chefs and the Tom Douglas Restaurant Group.   (My son went to pre-school with Mr. Douglas' daughter and you can imagine how well-attended the potlucks were.  Thank you, Tom.)  The new menu items are:

• Butternut Squash Curry with Chicken served over Couscous

• Monterey Jack Cheese Enchiladas with Homemade Green Chili Sauce

• Pan Fried Noodles with Chicken and VegetablesTuscan Greens and Bean Ragout (with Turkey Sausage)

• Pollock Provencal (an oven baked white fish with tomatoes, onions, olives and capers)

Look at that!  No fries, no chicken (or fish) nuggets.  Yum.

Based on the feedback, they will tweak the recipes and plan to start rolling them out, one-by-one, starting in December.

Grant Money Comes to SPS from the Department of Education for PE and Nutrition Services

The district has received a grant from the DOE for $650,698 to "develop and expand physical education and nutrition education programs throughout the District."

Grant recipients must implement programs that help students make progress toward meeting their state standards for physical education. In addition, these programs must undertake:
1) instruction in healthy eating habits and good nutrition and
2) physical fitness activities that include at least one of the following:
(a) fitness education and assessment to help students understand, improve, or maintain their physical well-being;
(b) instruction in a variety of motor skills and physical activities designed to enhance the physical, mental, and social or emotional development of every student;
(c) development of, and instruction in, cognitive concepts about motor skills and physical fitness that support a lifelong healthy lifestyle;
(d) opportunities to develop positive social and cooperative skills through physical activity participation;
(5) and (e) opportunities for professional development for teachers of physical education to stay abreast of the latest research, issues, and trends in the field of physical education.

District Implementing Updated Elementary Progress Reports
Looks like a letter went home about this but in case you missed it, here's a link to the info.