Friday Open Thread
(Going up on Thursday; I have a very busy Friday.)
The district has an Emergency and Communications message up. It's fairly vague; I urge you to talk to your principal or, better yet, ask your principal/PTA to have an evening to talk about concerns about your particular school.
As well, I offer this thought. I am on the Washington State School Directors newsfeed (it's a great resource for stories locally, around the state and across the nation). I have seen an uptick of stories about reports of students making threats and some schools closing down. This does not help teaching and learning. Mercer Island SD closed down one day early before the holiday break last December because of just such a threat.
Please tell your children, especially in middle and high school, to not make idle conversation about hurting their school and its community . Ask them to listen to their friends and if the friend says, "I wish I could XYZ this school" versus "I'm going to XYZ this school," have them tell a teacher. We are now getting to a place where it's like joking about bombs at the airport; we just don't do it.
It is hard for kids; that kind of talking is a way to blow off steam but it could also cause much trouble, both for the school and the students.
On the Washington State charter school lawsuit, I am being told this: the Supreme Court has tentatively scheduled oral arguments in the charter school appeal for May 17, 2018.
A really good opinion piece from The Olympian written by superintendents in Thurston County about how the new funding for schools is going to play out. Not good. To boot, I'm reading that there is a bill that would take ed funding dollars to lower car tabs.
What's on your mind?
The district has an Emergency and Communications message up. It's fairly vague; I urge you to talk to your principal or, better yet, ask your principal/PTA to have an evening to talk about concerns about your particular school.
As well, I offer this thought. I am on the Washington State School Directors newsfeed (it's a great resource for stories locally, around the state and across the nation). I have seen an uptick of stories about reports of students making threats and some schools closing down. This does not help teaching and learning. Mercer Island SD closed down one day early before the holiday break last December because of just such a threat.
Please tell your children, especially in middle and high school, to not make idle conversation about hurting their school and its community . Ask them to listen to their friends and if the friend says, "I wish I could XYZ this school" versus "I'm going to XYZ this school," have them tell a teacher. We are now getting to a place where it's like joking about bombs at the airport; we just don't do it.
It is hard for kids; that kind of talking is a way to blow off steam but it could also cause much trouble, both for the school and the students.
On the Washington State charter school lawsuit, I am being told this: the Supreme Court has tentatively scheduled oral arguments in the charter school appeal for May 17, 2018.
A really good opinion piece from The Olympian written by superintendents in Thurston County about how the new funding for schools is going to play out. Not good. To boot, I'm reading that there is a bill that would take ed funding dollars to lower car tabs.
The new school funding bill (EHB2242) was developed behind closed doors by a small group of legislators and staffers with no public hearings. This approach resulted in a poorly conceived set of changes which impact the state’s 295 school districts very differently with some big winners and many losers. The 1.1 million students in our state deserve a state funding model that not only provides ample funding but also does so in a way that is fair and equitable to all.There are no director community meetings scheduled for this weekend.
What's on your mind?
Comments
Distracted
Disheartened
A few years ago, someone posted a comment here with a link to a site or document related to this, but I haven't been able to find it. Thanks for your help!
-Seattle parent
FNH
UBC hosted a Presidents' Day event for American/International students which we attended. I encourage you to contact them early to obtain the brochure which contains a table of prerequisites for applying to each of their Faculties (colleges of study). For example, a family at our table had a junior IB student doing Biology who discovered that Chemistry is a prerequisite for the Faculty they planned to apply for, causing a small panic since an IB student can't just switch or pick up needed courses mid-IB. The solution arrived at was for that student to take Chemistry at a junior college this summer before applying.
UBC is going to have a similar feel to the UW. The UW ranks higher but UBC (also McGill, Queens, U of Toronto) are very well-regarded worldwide. Note that it is exceedingly difficult (read, currently impossible) for American students to attend medical school in Canada, should that be a consideration, but an undergraduate degree from any of those universities will be favorable for admission to med schools elsewhere.
Getting into UBC is all about academic prerequisites and numbers - GPA and, for American students, the SAT and/or ACT. No letters of recommendation accepted, no need to start a charity in high school or make an Olympic sports team.
It is a very big school (60K+) which is is not at all the kind of university my current freshman leans toward. But, in my opinion it is easier to craft a small community/school niche within a larger school than it is to make a tiny school seem larger, should one begin feel trapped. My child favors tiny colleges in remote locations around the globe, which we are fine with but it's even more important with a small school to find a good fit.
FNH
egads
--UBC is more holistic for admissions, other schools are mainly grades and tests
--one year housing guaranteed at UBC and I think at SFU, after that, it is a lottery. Housing in Vancouver is very expensive, so plan accordingly
--Many if not all students do one or more co-op semesters, where they work for six months. Co ops could be in the US or elsewhere besides Vancouver. If in Vancouver, no housing on campus is available. Students may do 2 to 4 alternating co ops/ study semesters after their first two full years of studies, so student might not graduate for at least six years after entry
FNH
Irene
Completely stuck!
Wonk
skeptic
RS supporter
http://k12.wa.us/secondaryEducation/careercollegereadiness/dualcredit/default.aspx
-Grouchy Parent
Does Dual Credit mean the Running Start program? In what way is Kim be incentivized to lessen her program's enrollment numbers? What is her 'pay off' for doing so? How does that benefit her? Is it neutral to her, so given that, she wants to 'help her husband out' by driving maximum numbers of student in high school, so that those numbers are bigger and that budget is maximized for her spouse who heads up that? Isn't the end goal educated young people, and so their interests are 100% aligned?
-curious
Interesting comment - to learn more about WEA's lobbying and policy statements directly about Running Start, are there sources or links you can point to that illustrate their attempts to decrease the RS budget? Isn't RS rooted in legislation, so that high school students who meet the criteria are guaranteed Community College enrollment spots in the courses offered at a given campus?
It is not clear why WEA would do this: if high school students' needs are best met via RS because their high schools do not offer the needed courses, sabotaging their access is very anti-education...
-curious
HP
Looks as though multiple schools are impacted-- at lease B.F. Day and Bailey Gatzert....
This is the communication that was shared with me. This seems to come from a parent and a grandparent.
Here is a draft letter (credit to BF Day grandmother for the text, minor revisions from me). Email to: schoolboard@seattleschools.org
Dear Seattle School Board Members
I am writing as the care-giver of a Pre-K student at Bailey Gatzert school. The City of Seattle's PreK Program (SPP) has been a wonderful addition to Gatzert. I want you to hear from me and other families! Programs like this should be in every school and available for every child. They should be appropriately staffed and eventually the overall district policies should be adjusted to include preschool aged children (busing, before and after care, etc.) While that is a longer term issue, there are 3 things happening NOW which demands your attention and merit discussion at the upcoming board meeting.
The SPP is making proposed changes that I think are to the detriment of Gatzert, of potential Pre-K students and their families, and for children with special needs. Here are three things I ask you to discuss with the City.
1. To the Board - Get Key Stakeholders Involved: Changes are being made without consultation of Pre-K programs to identify what is or isn't working. Changes are being made, I believe, without clear and careful collaboration with the School District and most importantly with staff in the schools. These are School District schools and this SHOULD be on your radar screen. Pre-K is a path to overall school success. Let's include the Pre-K teachers and parents in the conversation.
2. Enrollment Changes - Don't Let those Most in Need get Left Out:Enrollment changes are under consideration that will work against the children most in need. The propose moving to first come, first serve which benefits the most organized/privileged. Siblings do not get priority, making logistics challenging for parents with other children in elementary school. Low-income families do not get priority, which again puts them at an additional disadvantage. People who live close to the school do not get priority. You have to enroll ONLINE which is hard for many families in need. Preschool's in Seattle need a paid position for someone to do community outreach (going to homes, enrollment fair, helping families enroll that don't have a computer). Pre-K is fabulous for all of us, but it is a proven benefit to kids from low-income or challenging circumstances.
3. Slow down proposed changes SPP Plus and get input from Pre-K classrooms, teachers and families. Beyond the changes in enrollment, the City wants to bring SPP Plus into more Pre-K classrooms. SPP Plus is a program that integrates general-ed students and 5 special education students with established IEP's. This is a beautiful inclusion model, but it requires additional support and training. The extra support provided by the program is a part time (.5) special ed specialist. Students with IEP's at 4 years old usually have much higher needs and require individually tailored supports. A .5 special education teacher does not meet the needs of these students.Gatzert's proposed budget for next year has us listed as an SPP Plus with a .5 specialist. This concerns us.
Sincerely
Name, etc.
Confused and need Clarity
"They should be appropriately staffed and eventually the overall district policies should be adjusted to include preschool aged children (busing, before and after care, etc.)"
Sure except the district is (under)funded by the state for K-12. Where is the money for all this? The City won't even pay rent on the classrooms they use for their programs in SPS schools.
I would have to go back and see what this person is saying will change. I didn't see much different in the contract.
As for the enrollment, again, I'd have to check. I thought siblings did get a bump. In testimony to the Board on SPP, I have not heard that there were issues with people who wanted in that could not get in because of enrollment issues.
"Preschool's in Seattle need a paid position for someone to do community outreach (going to homes, enrollment fair, helping families enroll that don't have a computer)."
Again, tell the City, not the Board. It's not their gig to straighten out. It's the City's. The district had been handling enrollment in their schools but not the rules.
On SPed, I'm not well-versed on pre-K Sped but again, I think that's on the State.
I hope this person is mobilizing to tell the City these concerns, not just the Board.
Sure enrollment and assignment sucks. Welcome to special ed, where students are shipped anywhere. It’s no different for preschool than any other grade. The crappier the school, the better for sped, according to the district. That doesn’t mean that the developmental preschools should persist. The district killed off the last crappy self contained k, let’s rally behind killing off the developmental preschools. Advocate for a student assignment plan for disabled students. That’s the real problem.
#InclusionMatters
Inclusion Now
Preschool Advocate
HS parent
I hear you but where will all these classrooms come from?
Happy DevelopmentalPreKAlum
For once, the district is moving in a good direction. They will be sued into it, if not.
#InclusionMatters
Inclusion Now
Sick of the inequity, privilege, judgment
Address Inequity and Inclusion
What is at OVA? Well, a bunch of preschoolers are there that the district doesn’t want to teach. A bunch of EBD students too dangerous to place at a regular school. The EBD students are usually engaged in fights and they languish there too, between fights. The EBD “transition” program students, too dangerous for any other adult program enjoy those fights. They love the entertainment are also housed at OVA. Watching fist fights is evidently part of their adult education. Is that really where you want your preschool aged kid? You don’t even care if there’s age appropriate grounds??? Or if there are daily fist fights from older adult students unable to attend a regular school???
You obviously aren’t a parent. Instead of “sick of the judgement “. we should demand a heck of a lot more judgement!!!! And how.
Right on Address. EEU is the model. SPP plus... NOT OVA. NOT developmental preschools. Move on.
Inclusion Now
Inclusion