Friday Open Thread

Glad we don't have Board members like this one in Georgia who apparently tried to run over a high-school student in a Walmart parking lot.

I spoke with State Superintendent Dorn yesterday.  As I had previous surmised (and he confirmed), he is truly confused about his role under the state constitution and what the wording is in 1240.  He is planning to have a conversation with the Attorney General's office to seek clarification on this issue.  If the AG's office is unable to give him that clarification, he may have to go to the ultimate source which would be the Supreme Court but the funding for that would have to come out his office's funding.  Not a great choice.  What is interesting is that he is somewhat agnostic on charter schools (he has seen some good ones from years back but, of course, sees the issues around thinning the pot of already weak funding to our existing schools).

Anyone up for a snowball fight?  The will be an attempt at Seattle Center on January 12th to benefit King county Boys and Girls Clubs.  They are bringin in 162,000 lbs of snow.  There will be a snow fort building competition and then a snowball fight.

UPDATE:  It is an adults-only activity with no real viewing opportunities for either the forts or the fight.

What's on your mind?




Comments

Anonymous said…
Does anyone know about fund raising for athletic teams? I have been told that if you want to raise money for a particular team, then the students can't participate. If students participate, then the money raised has to go into the general athletics fund which all the sports draw from. The parents of Nathan Hale gymnasts are trying to fundraise to buy equipment for the gymnastics team. Not having the students participate limits what you can do. Also, people are more likely to help out a student athlete than their parent. I am wondering if this is just a Nathan Hale requirement or if it is true for all schools.
Thanks,
HP
1/4/13, 11:12 AM
Anonymous said…
Oh and Walmart just seems to bring out the worst in people.
HP
1/4/13, 11:13 AM
dan dempsey said…
Wow.... superintendent Dorn confused about the constitution and the laws..... hardly a new situation for Randy Dorn.

The courts seem equally confused... and often.

Perhaps the Legislature needs to write laws that the courts could make an attempt to follow:

6696 directed Mr. Dorn to write a complete report on the impacts of the adoption of the Common Core State Standards and to submit it to the house and senate education committees on or before Jan 1, 2011. ... He did not do it. It was submitted the last day of January.... which produced a timeframe that left the public and most persons unable to read and respond in a timely manner.

Just another slam dunk from the oligarchs.... Note the WEA had no problem advocating for CCSS passage.
1/4/13, 12:34 PM
Anonymous said…
The agenda for the January 9 Board meeting is posted. It includes the proposed Capacity/Transition Plan.

Recommended: Establish JA MS for 6th and new students in the Jane Addams building beginning in 2013-2014, Jane Addams K-8 will stay put (for at least the 2013-2014 year, Pinehurst K-8 will also be residents in the building.

Also recommended is for Laurelhurst elementary to be re-assigned to the Eckstein MS area beginning in 2013-2014.

http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1583136/File/Departmental%20Content/school%20board/12-13%20agendas/010912agenda/20130109_TRANSITION%20PLAN%20FOR%202013-14B.pdf

-StepJ
1/4/13, 6:45 PM
Anonymous said…
Oops. Forgot to include the schools that will start the comprehensive MS in the Jane Addams building are John Rogers, Sacajawea and Olympic Hills. Looks to be current elementary school boundaries.

-StepJ
1/4/13, 6:50 PM
Jet City mom said…
HP, my info is outdated, but my daughters high school teams used to have car washes as do the Ballard teams by my house.
So you are saying you heard that money has to go into a general fund?
I really would be surprised if that was the case, cause then they would have to do that for other Ecs as well like Roosevelt drama & Garfield jazz band.
1/4/13, 6:55 PM
Anonymous said…
Step J-
I can't find anything in the Transition Plan doc that says Pinehurst will be in the JA building (along with the K-8 and JAMS kids). Where did you see that?

- JR Mom
1/5/13, 11:46 AM
Anonymous said…
FYI:

Here is a link to the form for non-resident (out of district) transfer to the Shoreline School District.

http://www.shorelineschools.org/school_board/policy_manual/content/3141F-A.pdf

The explanation for transfer: no comprehensive middle school assignment provided for our child in SPS.

Inconveniences:
Shoreline middle school/junior high begins at 7th grade, so it may be necessary to attend a Shoreline (or private) school for 6th grade.

Shoreline does not provide transportation for out-of-district students.

Benefits: High-performing, COMPRENHENSIVE junior high experience at Kellogg J. High, about 1/2 mile from the Shoreline/Seattle border.

-North End Mom
1/5/13, 11:58 AM
Anonymous said…
JR Mom,

Page 14. But now that I look at it again I read it to mean that Pinehurst K-8 will be within the new JAMS Service Area vs. co-house in the Jane Addams building.

I just did a quick glance last night so cluged all three together when I saw them listed together in regard to JAMS.

-StepJ
1/5/13, 2:55 PM
Anonymous said…
There are very strict rules about what students can fundraise for & how that money can be used. For clubs, like drama or robotics, it has to go through the ASB or the Boosters, not the PTSA. ASB is controlled by student government. Boosters are state-licensed non-profits. It would depend on how your boosters are set up whether sports share & how they share. Though I would think it could be done through ASB.

I would first talk to the school finance person, a district employee who will probably be able to explain things. Then I would talk to the sports boosters about how to have money designated for the equipment you need. Tell them what you want to do & ask how it can be done.

High school parent

1/5/13, 4:08 PM
Anonymous said…
Girls club sport at Garfield could raise their own money through car washes, but in order to get funding via the Annual PTSA Auction, this same club was entitled only to the amount that every other club was entitled to (I think $250.00 at the time) no matter if the auctioned item went for $1000. The balance went into the PTSA general fund for the benefit of ALL of the student clubs.

Year and a half to go
1/6/13, 12:04 AM
seattle citizen said…
Let's tell our legislators to keep guns out of schools - more guns (in the hands of criminals OR "good guys") leads to a culture of violence and terror.
This op-ed in today's NYT is very articulate on the subject:
More Guns = More Killing
1/6/13, 5:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Yes, a cautionary tale about guns: over the weekend a man in Silverdale dropped his gun in a store, luckily damaging only merchandise and no people. The gun & the guy were properly licensed, which did nothing to prevent what could have been a tragic accident.
1/7/13, 8:21 AM
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