Tuesday Open Thread
Get that ballot in for the Seattle Schools’levies; even The Stranger says yes to them.
There’s a levies rally this Saturday, the 9th, at Cascadia in support of the levies from 10-11 am.
Another snow day. I have been seeing rumblings from parents on Facebook about the school year calendar and there being three snow days (but one passed in January). I'm surprised at the number of people who make plans for the last day of school.
In fact, at Kent Facebook page, one parent had this poll:
So, if you had your preference should inclement weather days be made up:
By having make up days during spring break
Readers, what do you say?
Great new program for students:
Lobbying for public education in Olympia:
Washington’s Paramount Duty - Wednesday, Feb. 13th, 9 a.m. -- 3 p.m. (Please join us even if you can only attend for part of the day.)
Where: Capitol Campus, Olympia
Why: You can make a difference by lobbying for public schools this legislative session!
RSVP if you're able to attend and let us know if you're interested in carpooling. Children are welcome. Please comment with your legislative district. Thanks!
Questions: contact organizer Emily Carmichael: emcarm@gmail.com
PTSA- Monday, Feb. 11th
Hearing from Senator Jamie Pedersen that he’s not hearing from many parents about public education funding. PLEASE contact your legislator and tell them about the needs at your school like nurses, counselors, Sped support, etc. (I note that the Senator has four SPS students so he knows the need.). Write in support of HB1265 which will increase ratios of school counselors in all grade levels including language that school counselors spend 80% of their time directly with students (and not being testing coordinators). As well, ask for support for SB 5532 for Special Education funding.
Snoozed thru the snooze-fest that was the Super Bowl? One big standout: a commercial for X-Box showing how an adaptive controller allows more kids in on the fun. From LiveAction:
There’s a levies rally this Saturday, the 9th, at Cascadia in support of the levies from 10-11 am.
Another snow day. I have been seeing rumblings from parents on Facebook about the school year calendar and there being three snow days (but one passed in January). I'm surprised at the number of people who make plans for the last day of school.
In fact, at Kent Facebook page, one parent had this poll:
So, if you had your preference should inclement weather days be made up:
Extending early release days to regular school days
By having make up days during mid winter break
Having built in snow days (like this year)
Add on at the end of the school year
Students have computers. Count it as a school day.
Readers, what do you say?
Great new program for students:
The Early College program is hosted on the UW and Seattle U campuses. Twenty 9th graders will enroll at each site, go through high school together as a cohort, and take advantage of tutoring and resources provided by UW and Seattle U. Students will have an opportunity to graduate with a diploma and a two-year college degree.
This is an “opportunity gap” program for students who are typically underrepresented on college campuses. There is an Open House at the Seattle U site on Tuesday, February 5. Email Steve Miranda at smmiranda@seattleschools.org to learn more.Editor’s note; The Open House has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 7 pm in Loyola Hall, near the corner of Broadway and Columbia St.
Lobbying for public education in Olympia:
Washington’s Paramount Duty - Wednesday, Feb. 13th, 9 a.m. -- 3 p.m. (Please join us even if you can only attend for part of the day.)
Where: Capitol Campus, Olympia
Why: You can make a difference by lobbying for public schools this legislative session!
RSVP if you're able to attend and let us know if you're interested in carpooling. Children are welcome. Please comment with your legislative district. Thanks!
Questions: contact organizer Emily Carmichael: emcarm@gmail.com
PTSA- Monday, Feb. 11th
Hearing from Senator Jamie Pedersen that he’s not hearing from many parents about public education funding. PLEASE contact your legislator and tell them about the needs at your school like nurses, counselors, Sped support, etc. (I note that the Senator has four SPS students so he knows the need.). Write in support of HB1265 which will increase ratios of school counselors in all grade levels including language that school counselors spend 80% of their time directly with students (and not being testing coordinators). As well, ask for support for SB 5532 for Special Education funding.
Snoozed thru the snooze-fest that was the Super Bowl? One big standout: a commercial for X-Box showing how an adaptive controller allows more kids in on the fun. From LiveAction:
The controller allows for more inclusive gaming, so gamers with disabilities can play with their hands, feet, mouth or head. Microsoft has had a larger emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility since Satya Nadella became CEO. Nadella has a child with cerebral palsy.What’s on your mind?
Comments
Schmidt was gone a longtime ago. I think she didn't make it one year. I have no idea who replaced her or if that position still exist.
Edit
Our ideal scenario? Having the school year start and end earlier, plus snow/flex days built into the calendar, and I would also eliminate the day off between semesters. That seems utterly pointless to me, especially mid-week.
A shout out to Garfield student Roland Feng who is once again the Washington State HS Chess Champion! He defended his co-championship from last year and also holds the record as being the youngest student ever to win the title. Bravo!
FNH
-GetReal
Cooling planet
They JUST decided on next school year but now the rest of this school year is up in the air. It's money. It's child safety. It's adults' ability to do their jobs.
And speaking of wanting to know dates in advance, I'd like to know when HS student orientations take place in January, not June, July or a week before it's supposed to take place... Regardless of what type of plans you make (travel, summer camps, work --yes some students work!--) it should be easy to find out when you're supposed to be at school.
Eric, FNH's kid goes to Garfield. There are NO absolutely NO excused absences for any type of academic trip unless it is sponsored by SPS. I wonder whether it's the same for athletes.
-Fly (on the wall)
-R.W.
If a snow day happens before the end of January, then they'll take out the vacation day on the day between semesters. Otherwise, they just extend the school year. I think the year of the strike they cut into mid-winter break so that the kids wouldn't be in school in July.
That's really the other option. We don't usually get snow later than President's Day, so they could add days at the end of school until they hit a Friday, then start taking away pieces of mid-winter break or spring break. Some people would probably complain about having to mess with vacations then though.
Wondering Allowed
Unfortunately the taxes on the house I inherited from my working class parents will gobble up $1000 of that. Voting NO on any new taxes for the rest of my life.
Stop stealing
Voting no on any levies will reduce money going into your daughter's school.
Just a thought.
HP
Concerned parent
Do you accept?
I make $90K a year, filed Head of household with 3 children one child tax credit.I have mortgage payment interest deduction and property tax deduction of $8400 but no other deductions. My W4 withholding was set to 13.
My tax refund was $2000 more than last year and last year had 2 child tax credits.
My monthly escrow part of my mortgage payment increased this year by $114 wiping out most of the windfall.
Why do you this it's BS? Run the numbers yourself and you will see.
Stop stealing
P.S. If you run the numbers you will find the population increase of king county and Seattle coupled with the massive increase of taxable homes and apartments more than cover the basic responsibilities of the local government. There is no need to keep increasing property taxes. On my block 4 SFH turned into 16 SFH and one turned into 42 apartments. Do the math and this is just one block that's a $290,000 tax collection increase not counting the real estate taxes and fees that I estimate at $90,000.
I grew up in Pennsylvania, where we had a short winter break, no mid-winter break, and a short spring break which was used for snow days. Adding dates at the end of the school year was a last resort.
Since we are now retired, we are panicking.
Love the idea of bagging the last 6 early release days to make up a day.
It's really hard to pull days from breaks once the year is rolling because of vacation plans. If the days are identified up front as make up days, then it's on you if you schedule something for that day.
-Seattlelifer
Quite a few districts do not even have mid winter break, &/or not above canceling spring break so as to limit the days the school yr is extended.
Adding multiple days onto the end of the year impacts families whose teens are working much needed summer jobs. Reasoning that you can’t take days away from mid winter or spring breaks because of vacations sounds like catering to families with money.
Granted, median family income in Seattle is six figures, but almost 40% of district qualifies for FRL.
Are those folks going on vacation?
Or are they struggling because they not only have to work, but they have to find child care for their kids during the school holidays?
Additionally, does it make sense for the longest stretch of days without interruption to be at the end of the year when all students can think about is getting outside away from school?
I haven’t observed that the money spent is worth it. Everyone is distracted and lots of movies are watched.
https://crosscut.com/2019/02/fix-frigid-overcrowded-schools-seattle-schools-need-voter-tax-dollars?fbclid=IwAR25hRw2WF7wPkqXjSz-uXFo3c0iOLOcxw-8VpqIOsYhGO_L44Jmijup4qU&utm_medium=social&utm_source=crosscut-facebook
Remember the district's own words. If the levy passes they will fund art curricula and mental health.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/09/politics/tax-code-early-returns-data/index.html
-NP
I also am paying less income tax than we did last yr, but with Trump in office we have also lost $80,000 in our retirement acct during the last two months.
Since we are now retired, we are panicking.
First, don't panic. These things have a way of averaging out over time unless you are in need of funds in the short term.
But if you lost a significant amount in your retirement account (so did I), then it sounds like your retirement is heavily invested in equities, which is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on your age and goals. But it also means that you gained very handsomely over the previous two years. And there has been some recent recovery.
My point? You can't blame Trump for your loss without crediting him for the much larger gains through this past fall. For two years he managed to keep wall street happy, which kept all of our retirement monies growing very strongly.
Now don't get me wrong, I think the guy is crazy and is doing more harm than good overall, but you can't blame him for your losses without crediting him for your gains. It's either both or neither.
Regardless of property tax issues, we cannot take it out on our students and teachers.
Can they do that?
-Fly
The levy campaign has NOT told you that part time employees will be receiving generous health care packages. Districts must help cover these costs. Across the state, part time health insurance costs are estimated to cost districts $100M. The legislature is trying to figure out how to pay for their portion of these benefits ($900M).
To cover part time health insurance costs, the legislature is looking to increase LEVY funding. Having the state pick-up these costs looks like a long shot.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/feb/10/legislature-looking-for-ways-to-fix-the-mccleary-f/?fbclid=IwAR3tp5IJml2wTo8YW28kwDl-woKZDI5eRfoC3oODxJQmOzT-KxOIXCSBlis
Assurances that the levy will pay for counselors, nurses and librarians ring hollow, to my ears. Passing the levy will not produce Shangrila for your children. Those dollars will be used to supplement additional employee benefits.