Tuesday Open Thread

Want to review the Gates Foundation?  There's an open forum at Yelp.  Very empowering.

It is being reported that the City Council voted in unison to use the money from the school zone camera ticketing just for road/ped safety projects by our schools.  So far the tickets have delivered at whopping $3.3M (but I'm thinking that's ticketing and not money collected).  Mayor McGinn had wanted to leave those dollars in the General Fund.  Usage of the funds could include new sidewalks and repainted crosswalks.

I note that Buckingham Palace says that Kate "was delivered" of a baby boy.  Well, that's one way to put it, almost as if the stork ran the bell and handed over a baby.  Yes, that's just how it works.  (But I give William lots of credit for being there for the birth and staying the night with his wife and newborn.)

What's on your mind?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Nasty piece in the Seattle Times today about the school board.

http://seattletimes.com/html/education/2021451093_schoolboardracesxml.html

Will election be a solution to Seattle School Board turmoil?
After two years of infighting and distrust, the Seattle School Board will get two new members in the upcoming elections, which could change the board’s troubled dynamics yet again. by Linda Shaw

HP
7/23/13, 7:54 AM
dw said…
Of interest, Why Great Teachers are Fleeing the Profession. A short article in the Wall Street Journal blog.
7/23/13, 11:39 AM
mirmac1 said…
Also of interest: seems the U-ACT/TFA partnership hit some bumps in the road.

Who did it impact most? Those disappointed TFAers who had to go elsewhere? The UW faculty? Or the students in SE Seattle and Federal Way?
7/23/13, 6:02 PM
Anonymous said…
Bryant's principle (Kim Fox) is leaving for Spokane. How does that spot get filled this close to September?

Incoming
7/24/13, 4:31 PM
dan dempsey said…
dw - thanks for the Great Teachers are leaving article..... many great teachers are staying and growing increasingly frustrated. There is an enormous leadership vacuum as politics trumps all else.
7/25/13, 8:45 AM
Anonymous said…
Interim principals for JSIS, Broadview-Thomson and Bryant were announced today.

JSIS - Dedy Fauntleroy from Beacon Hill
B-T - Sarah Talbot from Rainier Beach
Bryant - Dan Sanger from Jane Addams

Lynn
7/25/13, 5:48 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, gr...
Read more

Education News Roundup

From the ever-amusing Washington Policy Center : Vouchers are Pell Grants for students under 18.  Vouchers are no different than Pell Grants or GI benefits, except the money goes to the families of students younger than age 18.  Except they are. Pell Grants were created to help needy students and that's not really the goal of the voucher program.  The Pell grant website does have a couple of great studies on why low-income students drop out before finishing their higher ed and what makes a difference.
Read more