Friday Open Thread
Check my "Dude, Seriously?" thread for updates on McCleary. I find it astonishing that legislators think somehow it would reflect worse on the Court to promise to shut down schools if McCleary isn't fulfilled by the start of school year 2017-2018 than the legislature. And, that the action would be so distasteful to the legislature that they would actually entertain the idea of NOT getting the work done so as to make it look like it's the Court's fault.
The fault lies entirely on the seemingly touchy shoulders of the legislature.
Loyal Heights Elementary is having a rally this morning to protest what they are calling a "mega-school" building that the district wants to construct at their site. Initially, the building was to be enlarged to about 650 students (they currently have over 400 for a building that holds about 330.) But the plans seem to indicate a much larger building at 825.
How to fill a building that size? Expand the boundaries by a lot but that would seems to indicate they'd have to bus in a lot of kids to fill a building that size.
Oddly, both Loyal Heights and nearby Whitter have seen a decline. The district is taking back the Webster building (from the Nordic Heritage Museum) but they told me yesterday that they aren't sure what they will do with it. (I keep hearing rumors it might be "a regional pre-k center. Why the district would take back a building for that reason is hard to fathom.)
I have warned and warned about this but once again, the state is encouraging families and businesses to be prepared for a big earthquake. Do you have shoes under all the beds in your house (you'll need them if you are sleeping and there is broken glass in your house. What's your family meet-up plan, either in the house or if you are in different places?
The state is saying - again, as I have said previously - they are not going to be able to help much for 3-7 days except for dire circumstances. Lesson from Katrina that we all saw - the government is NOT coming. On Oct. 20, 2016, the state will have the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. Good info here at their website. Consider it a summer project that may pay off big for your family.
Thought-provoking article from Slate on a neighborhood school in Portland and gentrification in its neighborhood.
A sad stat for Washington state public education - 2nd highest in the nation for chronic absenteeism. From the Washington Post:
Two director community meetings on Saturday:
Director Peters from 11 am-12:45 pm at the Queen Anne Library
Director Harris from 3:00-4:30 pm at the High Point Library
What's on your mind?
The fault lies entirely on the seemingly touchy shoulders of the legislature.
Loyal Heights Elementary is having a rally this morning to protest what they are calling a "mega-school" building that the district wants to construct at their site. Initially, the building was to be enlarged to about 650 students (they currently have over 400 for a building that holds about 330.) But the plans seem to indicate a much larger building at 825.
How to fill a building that size? Expand the boundaries by a lot but that would seems to indicate they'd have to bus in a lot of kids to fill a building that size.
Oddly, both Loyal Heights and nearby Whitter have seen a decline. The district is taking back the Webster building (from the Nordic Heritage Museum) but they told me yesterday that they aren't sure what they will do with it. (I keep hearing rumors it might be "a regional pre-k center. Why the district would take back a building for that reason is hard to fathom.)
I have warned and warned about this but once again, the state is encouraging families and businesses to be prepared for a big earthquake. Do you have shoes under all the beds in your house (you'll need them if you are sleeping and there is broken glass in your house. What's your family meet-up plan, either in the house or if you are in different places?
The state is saying - again, as I have said previously - they are not going to be able to help much for 3-7 days except for dire circumstances. Lesson from Katrina that we all saw - the government is NOT coming. On Oct. 20, 2016, the state will have the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. Good info here at their website. Consider it a summer project that may pay off big for your family.
Thought-provoking article from Slate on a neighborhood school in Portland and gentrification in its neighborhood.
A sad stat for Washington state public education - 2nd highest in the nation for chronic absenteeism. From the Washington Post:
The problem of students habitually missing school varies widely from state to state, with about one-third of students in the nation’s capital absent 15 days or more in a single school year, according to an Associated Press analysis of government statistics.
According to AP’s analysis, girls were just as likely as boys to habitually miss school. Nearly 22 percent of all American Indian students were reported as regularly absent, followed by Native Hawaiians at 21 percent and black students at 17 percent. Hispanic and white students were close to the national average of 13 percent.I'll have to ask the district what the rate is in Seattle.
Two director community meetings on Saturday:
Director Peters from 11 am-12:45 pm at the Queen Anne Library
Director Harris from 3:00-4:30 pm at the High Point Library
What's on your mind?
Comments
The Webster building is coming back to SPS because its current tenant (Nordic Heritage Museum) is moving out to their own building in the nearish future. It's not far from Adams Elementary which had to cover most of their play area with portables in the recent past. Webster is pretty small and its playground was sold to the city for a park a while back, so it's a challenging building to turn back into a school.
--GL
--GL
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/choosing-a-school-for-my-daughter-in-a-segregated-city.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=image&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
-taxpayer
As I looked into it further, I read the Advanced Learning policy and the Advanced Learning procedure. The policy requires the superintendent to describe Spectrum in the procedure, but the procedure does not, in fact, describe it.
Really that's what is needed. That is what the Board Directors were asking for and not getting: a clearly articulated and enforceable description of Spectrum.
Let's have it.
Anonymous, next time, please read our comment rules and give yourself a name.
"Michael-- Good article, but it lacks historical context. I feel the article is biased in assumptions and should focus more on income disparities between schools, a commonality shared within many ethnic peoples rather than race. My parents came from extremely poor backgrounds, one from S Bronx, other from a low income area of Brooklyn. During the time my grandparents arrived in the US completely illiterate (without any schooling at all) from Sicily they were not considered white either. Our family is one generation from poverty. I personally can relate to the authors of the article socioeconomically. We are also now considered "white" in the US, my grandparents were not at the time they arrived. Although our skin is actually darker than many Latino people I know due to the diverse DNA ( Greek/Italian, N African, Middle Eastern, Iberian) in our heritage. I am the first in the family to go to college. One cannot determine the "diversity" of "white" people and assume all share a common heritage. This article is flawed in that regard."
Also, if the district is acquiring/reacquiring additional space in the NW (e.g., the Nordic Heritage Museum) I hope they consider using it for the HCC overflow from Cascadia rather than co-opt school property from General and Special Ed students in Lake City/Cedar Park/Olympic Hills for said overflow.
Signed,
Loyal Heightsite
Whittier's principal describes Spectrum as 'students receiving instruction one grade level ahead of their assigned grade in reading, writing, math. She has stated that reading comes naturally to Spectrum students, differentiation will cover writing, and the Spectrum enrolled students will walk to the same classroom for math. The other students get to walk to other classrooms and learn grade level math ... regardless of their capabilities.
N by Northwest
Could you clarify this comment ? "Oddly, both Loyal Heights and nearby Whitter have seen a decline". Whittier's enrollment has declined or will decline when the renovated Loyal Heights building opens?
Thanks!
N by Northwest
So that drop in enrollment could be a temporary one - but, then I also agree that it's rather unusual for SPS to actually be planning ahead...hmmm...;o)
reader47
"The recently land marked Loyal Heights Elementary building is 38,000 square feet and was built in 1932. It will be modernized and a 54,000-square-foot addition will be built to increase capacity to 660 seats."
It says construction is to begin this fall but I'm not sure that's still true.
N by Northwest, I will double-check but neither Loyal Heights nor Whittier's enrollment is going up that fast. LH parents report their enrollment down 9%.
While true that more people are moving to that area, that the district is unclear what it will do with Webster is odd.
I think that the Loyal Heights community just wonders exactly what they are getting and why. At what point is a "neighborhood" school a neighborhood school? It's a fair question.
LizaSfT
- profiling much
The building is packed out and my children's class sizes have been on the larger size. Student 1: 30 students in her class 1st - 5th. Student 2: classes have been 25 - 29 students. Next year, the school is having to convert one of its WK pre-school classes into a K-classroom.
The school is built for the 3 up model but has had 4 K classes and 4 1st grade classes for the last few years. When the LH remodel is finished, part of the northern attendance area (above 85th) is re-drawn to LH and the school should be able to return to the 3 up model with smaller class sizes.
Of course ... it doesn't make ANY sense for the kids above 85th to be bussed to LH ... which makes me wonder why North Beach wasn't the NW school to be remodeled???
Loyal Heights enrollment down ... I know some families who enrolled in other schools to avoid the relocation to John Marshall.
N by Northwest
ALO and Spectrum students are typically served in General Education classrooms through flexible grouping, acceleration, and/or interventions through the MTSS model. The words "differentiated instructional practices" were added and the words "more advanced work" were crossed out.
http://www.seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/committees/C&I/2015-16/June%2013%202016%20CI%20Agenda.pdf
(thanks to Lynn for posting elsewhere)
Another change - Eligibility will be based on district administered achievement tests, but the AL office will no longer administer achievement tests. Appeals will still consider private testing results. Less testing by AL, but possibly more appeals??
-parent
http://komonews.com/news/local/felon-arrested-after-threatening-to-shoot-ex-girlfriend-seattle-high-school
Thank-you student and police.
hervibore
-parent
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/choosing-a-school-for-my-daughter-in-a-segregated-city.html?_r=0
Removing the Preschool from the new Loyal Heights design would free up playground space on the site. And there are plenty of preschools in the north end including at the City Owned Community Center in Loyal Heights.
Furthermore there was just a big article from Tim Burgess about how all the south end schools need preshools because the school quality is sorely lacking. Why not put the large preschool on one of those school sites? And why isn't the money to build the new preschool being paid for out of the City Preschool Program dollars?
Nw Mom
And again, you have to ask - as NW Mom is - why the City is so determined to be in SPS buildings when there are many other spaces available.
Choosing a School for my Daughter
It appears there isn't much one can do regarding a voter approved initiative. The federal government and Gates, LEV etc. have been working on including prek into our K-12 education system. LEV has been pushing free community college. We've also seen some legislators push for free community college. I suspect we'll see an income tax initiative, and backers will use prek and free community college to help sell initiative.