Seattle Schools This Week

Tuesday, Jan. 10th
Audit&Finance Committee Meeting (Audit) from 4-6 p.m.
Looks like there will be an update on the Cleveland laptop program among other items.

Wednesday, Jan. 11th
Executive Committee Meeting from 8-10 a.m.

Executive Committee of the Whole from 5-7 p.m. to discuss the Superintendent's evaluation (this is preceded by a closed session of the committee on this topic). 

Thursday, Jan. 12th
Audit&Finance Committee Meeting (Finance) from 4-6 p.m.  Topics here include the annual summary of state and federal grans, preliminary enrollment projections by Tracy Libros, student fees summary and "ideas/proposals to close the gap for 2012-13."   There was an interesting article in the Times about Pay for Play fees recently.   It generated a lot of comments with about half saying sports are an important part of high school and half saying PE is fine but sports are not as important. 

Friday, Jan. 13th
BEX Oversight Committee - this will likely be the first with the new members so this should be interesting. 

Saturday, Jan. 14th - Directors' community meetings
Carr - 8:30 am-10:00 am - Bethany Community Church, 8023 Green Lake Dr. North

McLaren - 11 am - 1:00 p.m. - Delridge Library, 5423 Delridge Way, SW

Comments

Jet City mom said…
Considering that I am not a natural athlete, -I think sports are VERY important.

Especially if they are run as well as the community sponsored programs that my daughter has been in.

A coach can be an invaluable mentor to a child/teen, able to reach them in ways that desk work cannot.

They can learn team work, the value of practice, of falling down & getting up- both literally & figuratively.

For some students- sports keeps them on track & keeps them motivated.

I don't think athletes should get a pass on academics & our district has a bit of housecleaning to do in their athletic depts-but we don't have bodies just to carry our heads around.
We work better when we use them.

When kids are discouraged from participating- because of fees or because of emphasis on try-outs & smaller teams, we miss out on an important way to reach those kids.
1/9/12, 3:09 PM
seattle citizen said…
For those looking at preschool - Parent Map is hosting a series of previews so you can get information.
Go here for more info
North Seattle/Shoreline Preschool Preview
January 10, 2012
5-8 p.m.
Shoreline Community College
1/9/12, 3:59 PM
dan dempsey said…
Old News... from Last Week..

District just posted streaming video of 1-4-2012 School Board meeting HERE.

Here is video of Westberg's testimony on another PERC violation and his belief that the ethics policy has little value.

Note Mr. Westberg describes multiple altered versions of the same document. This is not unusual. Susan Enfield submitted a document to the Court in the New Tech Network appeal that was not what it claimed to be ..... The use and production of Multiple altered versions of a document claiming to be the original is a more common practice than the District would care to admit.

Thanks Mr. Westberg for a little bit of PERC daylight.
1/9/12, 4:09 PM
Melissa Westbrook said…
Yes, I did want to point out (and post) Mr. Westberg's testimony. It is deeply troubling.
1/9/12, 4:26 PM
Anonymous said…
The "Y's" non-competitive league gave my daughter confidence and the feel of being a team-player. She looked up to the coach, who really connected with her charges.

I see district sports teams as a carrot to keep some kids in school who would otherwise say adios.

Mr. Ed
1/9/12, 6:11 PM
Melissa Westbrook said…
But Mr. Ed, in a time of falling resources, what do we cut? If we still have PE and there are low-cost community teams to be had, do we really need full sports programs at every single high school?

I'm not advocating getting rid of them but it's a discussion that should be made. Sports involvement is not a core function of school.
1/10/12, 8:37 AM
dan dempsey said…
Sports involvement is not a core function of school.

So given that the full funding of education is not happening and that cuts should be made in areas that are not the paramount duty of the state ...... should sports be cut at this time?

Like it or not a pretty good argument could be made for cutting down substantially on sports until the full funding of education as an academic enterprise is attained.
1/10/12, 9:06 AM
Anonymous said…
I know, let's take the money paid to the UW Huskies coach and use it to fund school sports. : )

I don't agree with funding sports to the detriment of K-12's academic mission. However I believe it is a "strategy" to keep some kids in school who might not otherwise stay. It can be the carrot for attendance for example. Instead of non-profits spending money on athletes' robo-calls to schools to get kids to attend, how about using that money on physical activity and team-building?

Mr. Ed
1/10/12, 10:15 AM
Jan said…
I think that sports is more than a way to keep some kids in school who might not otherwise stay (though it definitely does that -- and that is a good thing). Sports teaches a number of other critical skills, though they are not measurable (directly) on high stakes tests. Sports teach planning and time management, teamwork, sportsmanship, citizenship (working hard and sacrificing for community goals, regardless of personal gain), discipline, the ability to persevere through difficulty (including pain) and disappointment (including failure). We need our kids -- all of them -- to grow up knowing these things. There are many ways to learn these skills -- but not all of them are accessible to all kids. Not all kids can get there through chess club, or a science project. Athletics reach a number of kids who may not be reachable in any other way. We need to find a way to lay a smorgasbord of different opportunities, learning environments, mentor opportunities, and challenges before our city's kids -- so that each of them has the opportunity to tap into his or her unique talents, interests, and abilities to learn and grow into productive (NOT just economically) adulthood. I am totally with emeraldkity on this one.

Melissa -- at the high school level, I am not sure what this looks like. My impression is that there are already schools that don't have every sport, presumably due to a combination of money and interested kids. But school sports are critical for many families who have no ability to support their kids through private programs. Perhaps what high schools need to do is something along the lines of what colleges do -- with a division between "varsity" sports that receive substantial school assets and "club" sports -- that are nurtured with space, publicity, connection with the school, etc. -- but that are largely supported through dues, privately funded scholarship money, etc.
1/10/12, 9:35 PM
Steveroo said…
Melissa, the district site says BEX is the 20th. What's up with moving it to the 13th?
1/12/12, 9:28 AM
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