News on Lincoln High from Director Burke
I'll just note that, at this point, it's not entirely clear who is the Lincoln community except for those who live close-by the school.
Good for Director Burke for being detail-oriented and keeping the community updated.
From Director Burke (bold mine):
Good for Director Burke for being detail-oriented and keeping the community updated.
From Director Burke (bold mine):
Dear Lincoln Community,
I have two updates to share with you today. I’m pleased to announce that Ruth Medsker has been selected to become the Planning Principal at Lincoln High School. Her start date will be July 1. We have also secured a date for the next Lincoln community meeting to be held the evening of Tuesday, May 23rd.
In consultation with the Chief of Curriculum and Instruction and the Chief of Schools, Ruth Medsker was chosen for this role for many reasons, including her experience and strengths in leadership, planning, communication, and collaboration, as well as her extensive knowledge and understanding of the myriad of systems associated with the opening of a school. She will begin her new position in July, as she leads the opening of the first comprehensive high school Seattle Public Schools has opened since Nathan Hale High School in 1963.
Ms. Medsker has served in a variety of teaching and administrative roles in Seattle Public Schools, including: Special Education teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, and Executive Director of Schools, and most recently principal of West Seattle High School. Currently, in addition to leading West Seattle High School, she is also serving as a Principal on Assignment, co-leading the 24 Credit Task Force, tasked with bringing the high school programs in Seattle into alignment with the new graduation requirement enacted by the Washington State Legislature.
Her work in the coming year will include extensive community engagement with students and families in the Northwest and Northeast regions of the city; regular planning work with the facilities and planning teams of both Seattle Public Schools and the assigned contractors working on the project; beginning the assembly of a leadership team that will assist in the formation of the core faculty for mission, vision, curriculum, and planning work; and regular community meetings with the surrounding Wallingford community as the school comes to life, opening on Fall of 2019.
Ms. Medsker’s professional preparation includes a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Washington State University and a Master of School Administration from Western Washington University.
I’m excited for the leadership and innovation that Principal Medsker will bring to Lincoln High School, and look forward to ongoing community dialogue as we work through the complex planning process over the next two years. Ms. Medsker will introduce herself in person at the next Lincoln High School community meeting which will be held on Tuesday, May 23rd. Details about this meeting are being finalized and will be communicated to families and community next week.
Thanks for all the ideas and enthusiasm over the last 6 months – Lincoln is going to be amazing!
With kind regards,
Rick Burke
Director SPS Dist. II
Comments
Wallingford, Queen Anne, Magnolia - get working on that alternative address pronto.
Lincoln is a big deal. They need to get it right. They need to get rock stars. Instead they get this, this is not the pedigree anybody who's paying attention would be inspired by, unless of course we're talking about inspired by fear
Uninspired
http://westseattleblog.com/2017/05/west-seattle-schools-wshs-principal-ruth-medsker-leaving-search-is-on-for-her-successor/
Lincoln High School planning is NOT the purview of the NE and NW communities. It is the domain of all of the North End and CRUCIALLY IT IS PART OF THE CENTRAL DISTRICT. Queen Anne, Magnolia, Montlake, Eastlake, a good part of Capitol Hill, downtown and SLU. All of these communities could end up at Lincoln, depending the programs placed there, and (obviously) on the boundary line discussions, which will be happening concurrently with the planning kickoff.
The battles over reboundarying, if that's even a word, are likely to be brutal. Know what will make them downright impossible? Not including communities who eventually end up at Lincoln in the planning for Lincoln from the get-go.
It is far, far, FAR, FAR, FAR, FAR better right now to over-communicate and over-define the geographic reach of Lincoln community than to under-draw it. Every single family from north of Garfield on the Capitol Hill side, downtown and SLU in the central portion of the city, and QA/Mag need to be on the mailing list of information until such time as boundaries are finalized. I have no idea why the district is already behind in a communications issue that is so apparent. Some of these families are going to end up in that school. Since we don't know which, yet, every single one of them should be considered valuable collaborators within an incredibly complex and costly endeavor.
Get the Communications Outreach plan right. Right now.
Central Mom
@ Central Mom, The good news about appointing a person who is already a district employee is that you can contact her directly. Her information in on the SPS website. I am confident that she will include the Central area, as soon as this is flagged to her attention.
Is the district sending a message via Lincoln? The Nathan Hale principal--an apparent proponent of one-size-fits-all education and a nonbeliever in acceleration--was chosen as Lincoln's facility planning principal, and now this person who seems to have little regard for AP and IB courses is the planning principal? I hope they announce SOON who the "Lincoln community" will be, so people can get involved before it's too late.
Messy
Messy, I was thinking the same things.
Anyone know how our family can receive communications regarding Lincoln HS? We live only a few blocks away and our kids will most likely attend there. Would love to be involved in the community meetings.
Helen
There WILL be a more comprehensive communication plan for Lincoln put in place once Ms. Medsker is available to oversee the work.
Thanks,
Rick Burke
So, between now and when Lincoln opens, who is in charge of The Plan? Medsker? Her supervisor downtown? An executive director? Best make it plain immediately and then stick to it. That board member Burke is running communications and is the most visible feet on the ground right now is not exactly encouraging. No rip on Burke for taking the bull by the horns. Big rip on SPS downtown management and hearty skepticism that Medsker is the final word public-facing point person between now and when she takes on actual school operations. Seen this movie before.
Separate: What Central Mom said. Double. Yesterday. Don't screw up communications.
DistrictWatcher
If you don't like the job they are doing, send them a note and, if that doesn't work, vote against them in the next election.
If you really don't like what they are doing, run against them and work for the change you seek.
Threatening school board directors will only lead to lower quality school board directors in the future.
You know I made the protest comment sort of off the cuff, but now I'm thinking it's probably the only way to get some traction with the media and the board. You know it's the Seattle way.
Thanks for the affirmation.
Ted V.
Directors chime in here from time to time but certainly cannot monitor every thread nor answer every comment. I feel fortunate when they do.
If you have a beef with any director, take it up with them personally via a personal meeting, Board meeting, committee meeting or director meeting.
I saw on Facebook that some were saying to send postcards to House Speaker Ryan's home because his office was refusing petitions about healthcare changes. I loathe Ryan but I believe a person's home is their sanctuary AND the place where other people in their family live.
I believe it is not right to challenge their security or peace.
Lets me be clear, it appears Burke is only advocating for his ideas. It's strange to see children from District 1 being forced to a school in district 2. The families in district 1 can't vote to remove Burke during the primaries because he's district 2.
It seems we have lost the ability to choose our representation.
Roberts Rules
Very sad and yes, it hurts finding decent people like Rick Burke to serve.
As far as the lame comments by Ted V., I was at the Board meeting when the grandfathering vote was going down. Rick Burke was fighting tooth and nail for the Whitman community. It was every other Director that didn't back him up, and it was SPS staff's fault for not dealing with the elementary and middle school boundaries thus leaving it up to the Board to fix.
I don't have any idea how you can say he isn't still fighting for the Whitman community right now. And, it's not even his area! Normally, I wouldn't respond, but Burke seems to be an incredible Board member.
MJ
Who determines the director districts? I need to file a complaint to have the districts redrawn.
SPS Parent
You could probably create a city initiative that would force the district to have at have all attendance areas schools in one director district. This makes political sense and if successful would move many of the addresses back to Whitman attendance area.
MJ
Whitman is Pinkham's district. Not sure why individuals are going after Burke.
Thanks to our board members that work hard for their communities and are abused at every turn.
He did in fact as I remember seemed to agreed with administration's arguments that REMS needed a full population of all grades so as to have a "rich middle school experience". I saw no empathy from Burke for the students ripped out of their community against their will.
Maybe I missed something, what do you say Mr. Burke?
Whitman Parent
2) Many of these comments are off-topic. You are welcome to request a topic thread but not hijack others for your own purposes.
Enough said (I hope).
The primary is a chance for those who live in a DD 1 to choose 2 people to move on to the general. Sometimes we have more than 2 people to choose from and other times not. Now we have a "expert" who doesn't live in district 1 possibly influencing decisions that negatively effect our MS children. We have lost the ability to choose a person who will help our middle school students. Now I have to go to 2 DD meeting to try and get relief. This is wrong.
As you saw in Burke's action he was focused on DD 2 outcomes and not in helping DD 1 middle school students.
Again, I don't think you should speak for the DD 2 representative. He should care enough to answer these questions himself as he did here about Lincoln.
I sincerely hope Burke's lawyer and wife are not running interference on his behalf on this blog.
SPS Parent
In my opinion that's Burke and Pinkham. I don't see Pinkham commenting on this blog, but Burke has frequently commented here along with his surrogates about various other issues.
Burke looks to be compelled to support the districts lies by his words and lack of action. I don't know where Pinkham stands on this, but my guess is from his past comments he believes the district should keep it's promises regardless.
StepB
"I don't understand why people are angry with director Burke? Is this in anticipation of Lincoln or because of students not allowed to attend Whitman when they were told they would be grandfathered? He is so hardworking and open, I have really appreciated his work.
Get mad at the District liars or involve the entire board, but to point him out seems strange to me."
Yes, it is odd that people are zeroing in on Burke. And, he's not up this election cycle.
Step B, I noted several ways to talk to Board members, not just Board meetings. Outside their house, no.
For those who aren't happy with my work and priorities, feel free to send me an e-mail or drop by my next community meeting, Sat May 27th, 2:00-4:00 at Greenwood Library. I'll readily agree that we haven't reached a perfect place here in SPS, but hopefully we are making incremental progress.
-Rick
-Do competitive colleges look down upon RS?
-How much weight is given to what classes are taken vs where they are taken?
-Is it better to access more advanced classes through Running Start rather than make do with limited options at the high school?
-How difficult is it to create a workable schedule with classes at both RS and your assigned school? How does one register for RS before knowing the class schedule at their high school?
-What happens to a school budget when students choose RS over classes at their high school?
planning ahead
I am not happy with the district appointment process, with zero community input. That said, Ruth does have a few of the most critical qualifications for ensuring the successful launch of new comprehensive high school.
Having been on the design team for a brand new school, she has a good understanding of the scope of the work. Starting something new is incredibly challenging. Jane Addams K8 was the first new school and a huge challenge was that there weren't even budget codes to purchase new furniture or supplies. The entire process of getting new stuff for a new school had to be created.
Ruth has also been both a high school principal and an administrator in SPS for a long time. This means that she knows the system and she knows the intricacies of where to go for what is needed. Creating a brand new high school library is going to be a huge project. It is a huge advantage to have someone who already knows all the ins and outs which departments to connect. Same with hiring, etc.
The bottom line for me is that I am thrilled that someone is now in charge of this project. Launching a new high school is a hugely expensive undertaking. IMHO, the most efficient use of resources would have been to have had a planning principal in place last September, as the planning principal salary vanishes in the $100 Million project budget.
That said, the sooner a leader is place, the better this is for everyone who will have a high school student in Seattle.
You wrote: The families in district 1 can't vote to remove Burke during the primaries because he's district 2.
It seems we have lost the ability to choose our representation.
NOT SO... not anymore than anyone else has lost ability to choose representation.
Check the past--- directors running for re-election rarely if ever lose in the primary vote as a top-two finish is sufficient to move forward. The loss comes in the general all city ballot.
Looking at the past, when big spenders like former Directors Sundquist and Maier lost in 2011, it was not the primaries that took them out. It was the General election. Sunquist lost to McLaren in 2011 and McLaren lost in the general in 2015. Maier lost to Peaselee in 2011 and Peaselee did not run in 2015.
The likelihood of Mr. Burke losing in the primary is non-existent.
Yes, Rick Burke is a friend of mine. He graduated from Ballard as has been very involved in education issues for years serving in a volunteer capacity on committees and panels both inside and outside the SPS prior to ever running for school board. He has a very large background from which to draw upon and is a highly skilled business professional as well. His three children were in SPS all the way through and his youngest is now at Ingraham.
SPS is extremely fortunate to have Mr. Burke as director.
While Mr. Burke is a director elected by a particular region, he takes very seriously his responsibility to serve the families and children of all of Seattle.
-- Dan Dempsey
All Grades EOC Math Year 1
Year School District State
2010-11 48.6% 63.9% 64.2%
2011-12 50.6% 65.0% 56.5%
2012-13 45.7% 66.7% 53.1%
2013-14 54.4% 68.6% 58.4%
All Grades EOC Math Year 2
Year School District State
2010-11 52.9% 70.0% 73.4%
2011-12 60.7% 71.3% 70.4%
2012-13 72.9% 81.3% 76.5%
2013-14 74.3% 71.0% 53.4%
All Grades EOC Biology
Year School District State
2011-12 57.8% 61.7% 64.3%
2012-13 75.9% 71.8% 68.6%
2013-14 72.4% 72.2% 70.3%
2014-15 36.7% 66.4% 63.9%
2015-16 30.1% 68.6% 62.5%
When did Ms. Medsker come to WSHS?
When did WSHS abandon the 4 period day schedule?
-- Dan Dempsey
I agree with Dan. Director Burke is a man of character and goodness.
Those wide swings in WSHS Biology EOC pass rates? In 2013-14, 205/283 met standard, while in 2014-15, 18/49 met standard. Significantly fewer students took the Biology EOC in 2015-15, but why?
missing info
http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/StateTesting/
missing info
When leaders come from a place of no adversity it's really hard for them to have any level a apathy for those less fortunate as them.
SPS Parent
pair grown
It's entirely possible to ask hard questions, express frustration, and demand change but still be respectful.
Thank you to Director Burke for proactively pushing for a Lincoln planning principal. It's critical that Seattle gets this right, not just for the eventual Lincoln HS students, but for students citywide.
Concerned parent (and likely future Lincoln HS parent)
At least the HCC community has a voice on the board, the rest can eat cake. ;)
SPS Tired
That said, I would like to gently point out that Enrollment Planning's original timeline for Lincoln was to establish a planning principal for Lincoln in September 2019 and boundaries for Lincoln shortly after that (November 2019). Director Burke has provided a voice to all the families that found that timeline unacceptable.
Without Director Burke's leadership and advocacy on this issue, it could easily have been another two years, until there was a person who was directly accountable for the learning community that will be Lincoln High School.
This is a huge victory for the families on Queen Anne, Wallingford and Fremont as well as all the other families that will be directly impacted by Lincoln's opening. It is possible to celebrate this victory AND keep pressing on the District and the Board to comply with their own policies and repair that breach of trust.
Nope, every single director is first in a primary that is ONLY in their region and then, for the general election, is elected city-wide. That regional status is to make sure a director lives in the region they are elected from but every director IS your director.