More Local Education Talk

Seattle Speaks: Making the Grade

State of K-12 education subject of live, interactive televised forum, April 19

SEATTLE— In a city with a skyrocketing student population, the math isn’t adding up. Why have state lawmakers not amply funded public education for yet another year? How can we close the opportunity gap and improve outcomes for all kids?

Seattle Channel host Brian Callanan will lead a live, televised discussion, Seattle Speaks: Making the Grade, 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 19, at Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Ave.The community conversation will take place before a live audience. Seattle Speaks is presented by Seattle Channel, Seattle CityClub and Town Hall Seattle.

Joining the panel discussion are Betty Patu, Seattle School Board president; Eden Mack, Seattle Council PTSA and Washington’s Paramount Duty; Stephen Nielsen, deputy superintendent, Seattle Public Schools; and State Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-37th), chair of the House Education Committee. Front-row guests include, Jonathan Knapp, president, Seattle Education Association; Sheila Edwards Lange, interim president, Seattle Central College and co-chair of the Mayor’s Education Summit; and Melissa Westbrook, Seattle Schools Community Blog.

The conversation is timely, as Mayor Ed Murray will host the city’s first Education Summit in 25 years on April 30. And there’s a lot to discuss: crowded classrooms, discipline inequity, decaying buildings and more. Are we on the right path to funding and providing a quality education for all students? What can the community do to ensure students are prepared to succeed?

Seattle Speaks: Making the Grade will be broadcast live on Seattle Channel cable 21 (HD on Comcast 321 and Wave 721) and online at seattlechannel.org. Join the conversation in person or online, where you can take part in online polls and voice your opinion via e-mail and social media using the hashtag #SeattleSpeaks.

Admission to Seattle Speaks is free, but advance registration is required. Register, take the online pre-poll and watch a short show promo at seattlechannel.org/seattlespeaks. Doors open at 6 p.m. with audience instructions at 6:30 p.m. and the live televised program at 7 p.m.

Seattle Speaks is an Emmy Award-winning series that brings together local leaders, critics, stakeholders and residents to deliberate pivotal moments in our city’s history. Previous programs have addressed minimum wage, early learning, same-sex marriage, marijuana policy, neighborhood growth, the future of Seattle’s waterfront and the intersection of privacy and technology.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Even at Ingraham High in northwest Seattle, which has wealthier parents....?

Yes every "WHITE" parent in the North is rich......ST stop the race baiting!

Brass
4/6/16, 1:14 PM
Watching said…
Seattle Speaks puts together a great panel of speakers.
4/6/16, 8:14 PM
Jet City mom said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
4/6/16, 8:21 PM
Earl said…
Who is Knapp again?
4/10/16, 6:02 AM
Anonymous said…
Earl -- I didn't see a reference to Knapp. The only Knapp I know of is Jonathan Knapp, who I think heads (or used to) the local teacher's union -- the Seattle Education Association. Open to corrections from anyone if I have this wrong.

Guessing
4/11/16, 3:05 AM
Earl said…
Or used to.
4/11/16, 5:56 AM
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, grief, that is to come fro
Read more

MEETING CANCELED - Hey Kids, A Meeting with Three(!) Seattle Schools Board Directors

 Update 2: So I have seen a message from President Liza Rankin on why she, Director Evan Briggs, and Director Michelle Sarju backed out of this meeting.  In a nutshell: - She says there was no organization to the meeting which is just not true. They had a moderator lined up and naturally the board members could have set parameters for what to discuss, length of meeting, etc. All that was fleshed out. - She also claimed that if the meeting was PTA sponsored, they needed to have liability insurance to use the school space. Hello? PTAs use school space all the time and know they have to have this insurance.  - She seems to be worried about the Open Public Meetings law. Look, if she has a meeting in a school building on a non-personnel topic, it should be an open meeting. It appears that Rankin is trying, over and over, to narrow the window of access that parents have to Board members. She even says in her message - "...with decisions made in public." Hmmm - She also says that th
Read more