Public Education New (and good SPS News)
Congrats to the Ballard High School Talisman newspaper. From an SPS tweet:
As well, there was this tweet:
There is a Patsy Collins award for teachers that parents might be interested in. It's a local award:
From the Olympian, a very good editorial on the so-called levy cliff (with on of the best explanations I've seen.)
While there’s hope that lawmakers address the issue early in their next session in January, Cvitanich said: “I don’t think there is a lot of faith that is going to happen.’’ A couple of districts throughout the nation are now arming their teachers. What I find ridiculous is that those teachers involved with having the guns are "those who will not be named. I'm pretty sure, especially in middle and high schools, kids will figure out who has the guns. On the NBC story, the superintendent was asked if he was worried about accidents at school with the guns and he said, "No more than any other kind of accident." I'm sure the school district's liability just went up following that statement.
From KING-5 news, personal data on Olympia School District employees got released to an outside party.
The 2016The newspaper staff also won several individual awards.#NHSJC Best of Show award for Newspaper, Tabloid 17+ pages goes to The Talisman (@BallardTalisman) from Ballard HS!
As well, there was this tweet:
Washington Achievement Award April 18, 2016 A total of 258 schools earned for 2015. 16 Award-winning schools inOther schools honored included:@seapubschools inc@Sanislo
- Arbor Heights Elementary for high progress
- Denny Int'l Middle School for math growth
- John Hay Elementary for overall excellence, ELA growth
- Kimball Elementary for high progress
- Loyal Heights Elementary for overall excellence
- Maple Elementary for high progress
- Mercer Int'l Middle School for overall excellence, high progress, ELA growth and math growth
- North Beach Elementary for overall excellence, ELA growth
- Olympic Hills Elementary for high progress
- Rainier View Elementary for high progress, ELA growth
- Sand Point Elementary for high progress
- Sanislo Elementary for English language acquistion
- Thurgood Marshall Elementary for ELA growth
- Wedgwood Elementary for overall excellence, ELA growth
- Wing Luke Elementary for high progress
There is a Patsy Collins award for teachers that parents might be interested in. It's a local award:
The Patsy Collins Award for Excellence in Education, Environment, and Community honors extraordinary teachers in Washington K-12 schools with three $10,000 awards to 3 teachers or teams. The funds can be used at the full discretion of the teachers.
In the spirit of Patsy Collins, the Award will go to teachers who create learning experiences that make a difference for youth and their community. We are currently seeking nominations for educators who extend learning beyond the classroom – teachers who inspire their students through projects that relate to environmental and community stewardship.
If you know a teacher who embodies the spirit of Patsy Collins: educators who create learning experiences that make a difference for kids, their communities, and the earth, please nominate them for the Patsy Collins Award for Excellence in Education, Environment, and Community. Nominations accepted through April 30, 2016.Other education news:
From the Olympian, a very good editorial on the so-called levy cliff (with on of the best explanations I've seen.)
In effect, lawmakers temporarily raised the lid on local property tax levies that are used to pay for school costs not covered by the state. The result is that some school districts today are supplementing their operations with local levies to the tune of 28 percent or more of their operating budgets.What one legislator had to say:
That levy lid drops back down to 24 percent next year, creating a fall-off of millions of dollars worth of local funds for many school districts.
That fall-off is called a cliff because some districts will feel like they’ve gone off a cliff when their revenues drop in the 2017-18 school year. Teachers and librarians and school nurses will feel like they are slipping off a cliff when they are told next May that they might not have their contracts renewed.
Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, offered one reasonable-sounding answer for why lawmakers balked at keeping the levy lid higher for an extra year. He said that might have sent a message to the Supreme Court that legislators were not going to even try reaching their school funding goals next year.They report that the Olympia schools' superintendent says they may just have to write two budgets for the 2017-2018 school year, just in case.
That sounds reasonable for a lawmaker, but it is not reasonable for a school board or school superintendent.
While there’s hope that lawmakers address the issue early in their next session in January, Cvitanich said: “I don’t think there is a lot of faith that is going to happen.’’ A couple of districts throughout the nation are now arming their teachers. What I find ridiculous is that those teachers involved with having the guns are "those who will not be named. I'm pretty sure, especially in middle and high schools, kids will figure out who has the guns. On the NBC story, the superintendent was asked if he was worried about accidents at school with the guns and he said, "No more than any other kind of accident." I'm sure the school district's liability just went up following that statement.
From KING-5 news, personal data on Olympia School District employees got released to an outside party.
According to a district spokesperson, an outside party “spoofed” the email address of Superintendent Dick Cvitanich.From Reuters, Computer science is now the top major for women at Stanford University.
The district received an email that appeared to be from Cvitanich requesting personal information of staff members employed during 2015, said the district.
The email sought employee names, addresses, salary information and social security numbers.
Comments
So great that you visited with a city council member, Melissa.
I'm encouraging individuals to contact city council members, and follow-up with a phone call to councilmember's legislative assistants. Ask council members to reject mayoral control of education.