Seattle Schools This and That

Tweet today from SPS:
Pathfinder & Orca K-8 parents check your School Messenger e-mails for Bus Route & transportation information.

I'm hearing there are long phone waits to contact Transportation; hang in there.


From Seattle JazzED:

Be a hero. Clean out your closet! Do you have old instruments that never get played anymore? Donate them to Seattle JazzED this month. Your old stuff gets a new life and your donation is tax-deductible. Click the link for more info and Kennelly Keys Music drop-off locations in Seattle and Bellevue: http://bit.ly/2cauhsk

 Loyal Heights kindergarten parents received a letter today from Michael Tolley, Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning.  He says:

"On paper we have up to 30 students signed up for each class.  Not all will be in class on the first day but all have a space reserved at this time.  I am working hard to get these numbers in the proper range."  If the numbers stay where they are, he goes onto say he "hopes" to hire a 4th kindergarten teacher "ASAP." 

Below is the letter he says was sent to principals in August, "explaining the process for class size ratio management":

Dear School Leaders,

As you are preparing to welcome staff and students these next two weeks, I want to remind you of Seattle Public Schools’ commitment to meet the K-3 class size targets and support students in each of our classrooms.  Central office leadership will assess the K-3 ratios, Day 8 head count and current staffing allocations across the district before making staffing changes.  Our intent is to minimize disruptions to schools and classrooms, while meeting the K-3 class size ratios.  The K-3 ratios that will allow SPS to receive full funding are as follows:

Grade	Non-High Poverty Schools	High-Poverty Schools
K	22	20
1	24	20
2	25	21
3	25	24

REMINDER of the TIMELINE:

·       Friday, Sept 16:  Day 4 headcount for K; Day 8 headcount for grades 1-12 will be reviewed.  Elementary and K8 principals will receive 1-2 documents to submit to central office. 

·       Monday, Sept 19:  Documents sent out on 9/16 are due from elementary and K8 principals.

·       Monday, Sept 26: Communicate all approved staffing adjustments based on head count, classroom configurations and K-3 Ratios, as well as SPED and core staffing adjustments, to principals

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:

·       Waitlists were dissolved on Monday, August 15, 2016.

·       Student enrollment data: Please encourage families to enroll or update their enrollment as early as possible. If you have any questions about enrolling students or admissions, please contact Faauu Manu.

·       Please make efforts to clean up the headcount data by Day 4.

·       Questions:  If you have questions, please contact your EDS or email staffing@seattleschools.org

Sincerely,

Michael F. Tolley

Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning

According to the Washington State Charter Commission, there are 1,329 charter school students enrolled this school year. That's not a big jump from the 1200 kids they said they had last year but I believe they were only at 900 at the end of the last school year. However, several schools did open another grade level this year.