Seattle Schools This Week

Clearly a big, big week - the start of school year 2016-2017.

Tuesday, September 6th
Ribbon-cutting for two more schools, Arbor Heights (11am-noon) and Genesee Hill (1pm-2pm).

Also, Washington Paramount Duty can still put your e-mail thoughts in their document to present to the McCleary Task Force for their meeting that day. See this thread for details.

Wednesday, September 7th
First Day of School - do double-check what time your child's school starts and best of luck to all students, parents and schools! Kindergarteners do not start until September 12th.

School Board Meeting, starting at 4:15 pm. Agenda.

It's a fairly short agenda so I would expect a quick meeting.

Highlights:

In the Consent agenda - mostly pro forma type items voted on en masse - one curious thing:
  1. BTA IV: Resolution 2016/17-4: Racial Imbalance Analysis for Magnolia Elementary School Renovation and Addition Project – (Ops, August 16, for approval) Approval of this item would approve Resolution 2016/17-4, certifying that the proposed Magnolia Elementary School Renovation and Addition Project will not create or aggravate racial imbalance. (The Superintendent, in consultation with Lead Staff, has requested to postpone action on this item to the November 2nd Board meeting)
Kind of odd. That rarely happens especially when the Operations Committee sent it forward for approval and now they want to wait all the way until November? Hmm.

As well, on the Action Items, there is approval of a Data Privacy Policy. It says (partial):


While the district currently has policies and procedures regarding Student Records (3231) and Personnel Records (5260), this proposed policy was developed as an umbrella data privacy policy regarding the personally identifiable information of students, parents/guardians, volunteers, and employees. It also includes language that third parties who are granted access to personally identifiable information are also required to comply with all laws and district policies and procedures.


For example, Policy No. 3231 is regarding Student Records and there is interest from various community stakeholders (including parents) that want stricter rules governing student identifiable data. There has been a large national movement to include stricter guidelines with the use and handling of student data. It was not the scope of the Human Resource audit finding to revise any of the policies that relate to student data. The goal of this policy is to ensure staff understand the importance of identifiable data, whether it is for students, employees, or partners – and ensure that data is handled properly and confidentially.
I am happy that the district is making it priority to make sure staff understand how to handle data but I would also like to see forward motion on a student data privacy policy that could be a model for the country.

Thursday, September 8th
Executive Committee meeting from 8:30-10:30 am, no agenda yet available.

Audit & Finance Committee meeting from 4:30-6:30 pm, no agenda yet available.

Friday, September 9th
BEX Oversight Committee meeting from 8:30-10:30 am, JSCEE, no agenda yet available.

Saturday, September 10th
Board retreat at JSCEE from 10 am to 3 pm. No agenda yet available.

Sunday, September 11th
Community Meeting with Director Peters at Magnolia Library from 1- 3 pm.

Comments

Anonymous said…
The boundaries for Coe and Catherine Blaine (both very overcrowded schools) will be altered to fill the Magnolia School. The apartments along Interbay seem like a logical region for the new school because those kids are already being bused to school, but I bet that is also where those two schools get their diversity from? If children who are currently in the walk-zone of a school get zoned out and bused to a school much further away, people will be very unhappy. If those two schools become even more white, people will be very unhappy. This will get ugly.
QAR
9/4/16, 10:39 PM
Charlie Mas said…
Still not on the Board agenda:

* Amending Board Policy No. 2090, Program Evaluation & Assessment. It was discussed in the C&I committee on August 15.

* Amending Board Policy No. 2163, Supports & Interventions. Also discussed in C&I on August 15.

Both of these were on the draft version of the August 24 Board Meeting agenda when it was discussed by the Executive Committee on August 17.
9/6/16, 3:28 AM
Charlie Mas said…
Board Policy 2090, Program Evaluation and Assessment and Board Policy 2163, Supports and Interventions, are now introduction items for the September 21 Board meeting.

Has anyone seen the draft policies?
9/6/16, 4:24 PM
Charlie Mas said…
I found a draft Program Evaluation policy here and I don't like it.

I don't like it because it doesn't do the one thing that we need from a Program Evaluation policy: a direction to the Superintendent to assess the quality and efficacy of each academic program.

Here is a draft of the Supports and Interventions policy and it is clearly messed up.

First, it talks about MTSS as if it were already the way the District does business - which is NOT the case. As we know, only very few schools have piloted MTSS and those schools are rolling it out slowly and none of them has fully implemented. All policies, however, are effective as soon as they are adopted, so every family in the District has the right, under policy 2163, to demand MTSS in their child's classroom. That's not smart.

Second, it describes MTSS as a tool exclusively for struggling students. There is no mention of MTSS providing enhancement or advanced curriculum. None. I guess that's not District policy.

The Board can do better with both of these.
9/6/16, 4:45 PM
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