Friday Open Thread
No Saturday community meetings with directors this week.
The district is starting a partnership with Seattle Public Library called Library Link.
A great story about a twice-gifted high school student in Kentucky, Jack Bradley.
Nice contest from Pacific Northwest Ballet - grand prize is two roundtrip travel vouchers on Alaska Airlines and tickets to PNB's Nutcracker. Twenty other people will win a pair of tickets to the Nutcracker.
What's on your mind?
The district is starting a partnership with Seattle Public Library called Library Link.
This program will automatically provide a library account to students at three middle schools; Aki Kurose, Mercer and Denny. "The Library Link pilot program is a good example because access to digital resources isn't necessarily equal for all students in the district. By partnering with the Seattle Public Library, we're hoping to have a solution for that."Interesting article from the Columbia Basin Herald about a high school that is trying to do more "outside school days."
“All the questions they had will serve as a springboard in the classroom, and that’s the difference between this experience and your typical school field trip,” Dermond said. “Usually, field trips aim to reinforce what has already been dispensed in the classroom. We wanted our field trip to create questions that we can answer in the classroom.”A blast from the past I stumbled upon; a story from Marysville in 2007 where then-superintendent Larry Nyland was grappling with boundary issues. Another fun fact I didn't know; he and new SPS chief of curriculum, assessment and instruction, Kyle Kinoshita, worked together in Maryville School District.
“If you looked at their discipline records, you’d probably think to identify them as ‘problem students,’” Dermond said. “But if you observed them in this setting, you’d have correctly identified them as leaders.”
A great story about a twice-gifted high school student in Kentucky, Jack Bradley.
"Although I do not believe our election process is rigged, I do believe that in many ways, our education system is."
He and his family have started an organization called JackBeNimble to advocate for transforming special education by elevating student, family and educator voices, and by working with school districts to examine limiting assumptions and to encourage greater innovation.The Economist has its usual meaty writing in this article about what they believe is the direction that either presidential candidate will go on various policy issues including education. College funding is on page 7 and K-12 is on page 9.
Nice contest from Pacific Northwest Ballet - grand prize is two roundtrip travel vouchers on Alaska Airlines and tickets to PNB's Nutcracker. Twenty other people will win a pair of tickets to the Nutcracker.
What's on your mind?
Comments
Your part in getting Mr. C possibly fired has been shared with his students at Ingraham High. You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to leverage this innocent event into anything other than what it was.
I have lost all respect for you and this blog.
Dianna
Wait, I thought it was Ana Sofia Knauf at The Stranger who reported the story. I don't get how that implies that Melissa tried to get Mr. C fired.
Kelly
-- Ivan Weiss
Why anyone felt compelled to put that story from the SLOG up then the one on Emerson without actually speaking to any of the individuals involved directly, just extrapolating quotes from online sources shows this is just gossip mongering and spreading rumors but hey when someone puts a comment with a name that has not gone through what? Spell check, verification or permission from the great leaders they are deleted and derided.
I do love that one and the condescending manner that comes with it.
Yes we know, this is your blog, you are activist/reporter/mommy blogger/whatever.
- color me shocked!
Two, blame me for reporting a story about a Seattle High School? I know many of you do not have any regard for The Stranger but yes, they are real reporters. That story was reported to them by a mom at Ingraham. Do you blame her as well? I have said on this story that I feel Mr. Floe and Mr. Colino did the right things and that the district has overreacted.
What is interesting is that whenever there is a story that has some degree of embarrassment for a school, people start circling the wagons. But one person is not a whole school. I understand wanting to keep it in the family but this is a public school district and sometimes airing this kind of thing makes others more aware.
Color Me Shocked, if you bothered to read our comment policy, we don't accept comments signed anonymous. As well, we don't accept longer than a two-word name so please do that next time.
Yes, I am an advocate for public education and it is my blog and yes I'm a citizen-reporter. Color me ... so what?
But on the subject of Melissa's role in all this, wouldn't it be great to think that SPS is so carefully listening and jumping into action on everything that's reported in this blog? That would be awesome!
HF
BYOB
These are incredibly difficult conversations to have and clearly people are emotional and uncomfortable. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be having them. People disagree and have strong opinions and express them - color me unsurprised and ready for that.
~ Richelle Dickerson
This investment translates roughly into $2,000-$2,5 00 of staff time for the month
spent on minutes, or $22,000-$27,500 over the course of the year. This figure does not include the time spent by executive staff reviewing the minutes prior to approval.
Unfortunately, our web analytics program cannot determine how many members of the public review approved minutes, so we cannot measure benefits
They go on to introduce 5 different options for how to handle this, including purchasing recording equipment and keeping the full tapes in the Board office with only bare details on the webpage.
Somehow this seems like throwing the baby out with the bath water to me - of all the things to economize on, being good public communicators does not seem like the highest of priorities, nor the wisest of choices.
Full details here at very end of agenda - there's some interesting stuff about a $315000 settlement with an employee as well.
Executive Committee Agenda 11/3
reader47
All I can say in response to your latest comment is that I dearly wish that Melissa had as much influence at SPS as you (falsely) claim she has. We could get rid of a whole lot more people than Mr. Colino, who I hope -- and I expect -- isn't going anywhere.
-- Ivan Weiss
Also, I don't care about "analytics" because minutes of public meetings are a requirement for democracy. So I do agree; that would be hard to measure.
As for that settlement of $315,000 to a teacher for "discrimination, harassment, and retaliation," I'll be interested to see what school that is when the final documentation is posted on the 10th.
Fewer minutes captured -less transcription and distribution = less known. Seems very, very opaque.
Which is the exact opposite of transparent.
open ears
http://www.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=15678264
- kt
-Green Lake Parent
Shell game