Friday Open Thread - Oh What a Beautiful Morning
Do we not live in a beautiful place or what?
I told Superintendent Banda that I was from Arizona so I know the kind of getting used to that Seattle can take. But, I also said that when the sun is out, it's not just nice but dazzling to live here with the mountains and water all around.
There is one community meeting tomorrow with Director Patu at Cafe Vita, 5028 Wilson Avenue S, from 10 am - noon.
And finally, some answers to a long and drawn out mystery - RIP sweet Etan Patz.
I told Superintendent Banda that I was from Arizona so I know the kind of getting used to that Seattle can take. But, I also said that when the sun is out, it's not just nice but dazzling to live here with the mountains and water all around.
There is one community meeting tomorrow with Director Patu at Cafe Vita, 5028 Wilson Avenue S, from 10 am - noon.
And finally, some answers to a long and drawn out mystery - RIP sweet Etan Patz.
Comments
I'm also noticing the Seattle Times Editorial is following up on the piece of junk report written the Chamber of Commerce. What are they up to? Whatever..they are just promoting garbage. I fully expect it to come back and discredit them. Garbage in..Garbage out.
I have heard from a number of board directors who want to make SpEd a top priority this coming year. Enfield could not see fit to hiring an executive director, but she promoted the old one that was a complete wash-out to Exec Dir of Schools. You know, this one:
"Facebook can really amplify and create conflict," said Marni Campbell, an administrator overseeing all schools in northwest Seattle. "It's something that we really need to be aware of."
Where ARE you?!
http://wedgwoodcc.org/new-school-proposed-at-thornton-creek-site-public-comment-period-ends-friday
-Diane
FHP
FHP
As you may or may not know, Seattle Public Schools is proposing to build a 650-student building on the Thornton Creek field. They are also proposing that Thornton Creek Elementary continue to occupy their present building. This would mean there would be approximately 1,000 students arriving daily at that location. Thornton Creek had originally thought there would be one new building on the site, for 450 students, to be occupied by the TC program, but at the last minute, SPS threw this curveball.
My husband and I are very concerned about the traffic, parking, and related pedestrian safety impacts this will have on the surrounding neighborhood. We just learned that the public comment period on this topic ends this Friday, May 25th.
We feel that the dramatic increase in student numbers on this site will have a big impact on pedestrian safety (not to mention the related driving safety issues!) and were hoping you might alert the people on your list to this issue and let them know about the very limited comment period in case they wish to do so. We plan to distribute some fliers to help alert folks to this plan and to the comment period because our feeling is that this is something the neighborhood should have an opportunity to give input on.
The contact for comments at Seattle Public Schools is: jawolf@seattleschools.org. The Seattle School Board members are:
betty.patu@seattleschools.org
harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org
kay.smith-blum@seattleschools.org
marty.mclaren@seattleschools.org
michael.debell@seattleschools.org
sharon.peaslee@seattleschools.org
sherry.carr@seattleschools.org
FHP
RFID Chips will track San Antonio students next school year
It would be BEX funds paying for this.
I was a little surprised myself that they would not ask TC to be a k-8 and put the seats in a new building there.
So far it's a attendance K-8 at TC, a new middle school at Jane Addams building, move Jane Addams program to a new K-8 on the grounds of Olympic View and a new middle school at Wilson-Pacific. It is a lot of seats.
I also thought the additional school on the TC site would be an attendance K-5, not K-8.
-Neighbor
I wouldn't want to give a date as it may change between now and October. So between 2014 and 2019.
It would be inappropriate to release the details of that recommendation to the public before it goes to the intended recipients.
See: http://bit.ly/SPSBEX
(click on the May 9th presentation and scenario)
A 650-seat K-5 elementary school is to be built on the fields adjacent to Thornton Creek Elementary. As far as I know, it will have its own attendance area.
The Jane Addams K-8 program is to be moved to Cedar Park (new building at site of Cedar Park Elementary). The new building (635 seats) is scheduled to open in 2016.
The Jane Addams building will open as a comprehensive middle school (1080 seats) in 2016. Rising 6th graders from the yet to be determined feeder pattern for the Jane Addams Middle School will be co-located with the Jane Addams K-8 program in the Jane Addams building for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years.
A middle school (1000 seats) and 650-seat elementary school is planned for the Wilson Pacific site.
North End Mom
Jackson Mississippi schools to no longer handcuff students
Sad
North End Mom
Personally I find Page 7 most interesting. This is where Wayne Barnett, the Executive Director,
Seattle Ethics and Election Commission, enters the TFA discussion. Ron English (Interim General Counsel)
explains that certain Board members have been asked to excuse themselves from voting on the TFA Conditional Certificates
because they received campaign contributions from those who are covering the TFA recruit costs (4K per recruit).
For example Matt Griffin is, and remains, a substantial donor for both Carr and Martin-Morris. I asked Carr
and Martin-Morris to excuse themselves because of a clear perceived conflict of interest - they are voting on an
issue a major $$ donor has a deep interest in. Carr actually responded, odd I thought at the time since as a parent of a child in
district 2 whom she allegedly represents email responses are rare. She responded with a cut and paste...
"The receipt of a campaign contribution does not impact an elected
official's ability to participate in official matters involving the
contributor. Since Buckley v. Valeo was decided in 1976, contribution
limits and full disclosure have been the accepted methods of addressing
the concern that public officials can be influenced by campaign
contributions. So long as school board members have complied with the
contribution limits contained in RCW Chapter 42.17, and so long as they
have also disclosed the identities of their contributors to the extent
required by law, the Board's Ethics Policy does not require anything
more of them before engaging in official business with a contributor."
I realized after a while Carr had answered a subtly different question - so keeping up a very good record
of not answering the question asked. I asked about a conflict of interest she responds with that there has been no
ethics policy violation. The two issues are clearly different, an ethics policy cannot define all conflict of interest
situations. So I emailed the Waynster - oh dear. Apparently (and he confirmed) his decision was made believing the school
board elections had campaign limits (RCW Chapter 42.17) , building on that foundation he quoted Buckley v. Veleo which specifically
relates to campaign contribution limits. So Wayne, with no due diligence at all gives Carr and Martin-Morris the green light
to rubber stamp away.
I have not seen any evidence Mr. Barnett informed the Board of his mistakes. It is most unfortunate he does not advise
Board members that there is a time to step back from voting.
private equity firms practice torture dentistry on 4 year olds ...
I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore
More testing nonsense
Public School Parent
Board hasnt voted on it yet...
Super is gungho on getting the deal done, regardless of what anyone else wants...
Renton people need all the help they can get on the pushback...
-BS
Here on this blog it is easier to find SSD documents than to actually navigate the SSD website. Imagine telling your principal to go to this site in order to find something that is taking too much time to try to find on the SPS website! It is also good to know what meetings are going on because they are listed here. ANd, we know about Washington State laws and SSD policies because we can link to them here---and when our District ignores the law.
The other links on this blog that people provide tend to be useful as well.
--Old School Music
Pretty hard, no -- impossible, really -- to take you for anything other than a troll when you walk by and lob a totally disconnected one-liner.
--Think your name is apt.