Open Thread

From Seattle Parks:
Lifeguarded beaches are opening soon!!! Seattle Parks and Recreation offers safe, lifeguarded beaches at nine sites around the city, and we strongly recommend swimming only where lifeguards are present. Summer Beaches are open daily, weather permitting, from noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. We also offer FREE youth swim lessons at every beach every week for kids ages 6 and up. Details: http://ow.ly/T0W050uIjXC
I've seen this notice on Twitter a couple of times:

Does your student keep medication in the nurse's office? If so, please be sure your student picks up his/her medication on the last day they will be attending school this year.
Via Twitter: Opportunity for civic-minded teens:
Know a high school soph/junior who's a promising civic catalyst? Encourage them to apply to@CitizenUnivYouth Collaboratory! Every year we select 24 students from across the U.S. for a rich program of learning and leadership. DEADLINE July 1!
There's a School Board Candidate Forum on Monday, June 24th from 7-8:30 pm at the Roosevelt High School Commons.  The notice says the audience will have an opportunity to answer questions.

Director Rick Burke has a community meeting on Saturday, June 22 at Green Lake Library from 3:30-5pm.

What's on your mind?

Comments

Melissa Westbrook said…
Anyone hearing of people who might be applying for Betty Patu's seat? I've heard of a couple but not many.
6/20/19, 2:51 PM
Anonymous said…
West Seattle High School basketball coach charged with sexting student-athletehttps://www.kiro7.com/news/local/west-seattle-high-school-basketball-coach-charged-for-sexting-student-athlete/959951294

Very upset WSHS parent
6/20/19, 10:21 PM
Ed said…
Albert V. (Muir rapist) story forgotten?
6/21/19, 7:56 AM
Melissa Westbrook said…
Ed, still waiting for that to go to trial (I thought it was to be April but haven't seen anything yet).
6/21/19, 7:58 AM
Anonymous said…
The district is taking teachers again. Nova is being asked to cute another 1.0 (after the district under enrolled them by 50% or more). Are they trying to close the program?
-SMDH
6/21/19, 9:45 AM
Anonymous said…
Where are you seeing the notice "There's a School Board Candidate Forum on Monday, June 24th from 7-8:30 pm at the Roosevelt High School Commons."?

- FOMO
6/21/19, 10:08 AM
Melissa Westbrook said…
FOMO, I saw it at a Facebook page; I think it was an RHS page.
6/21/19, 12:55 PM
inspector clouseau said…
I don't believe Sanaz Saadat lives in D1, she lives with her boy friend at 3320 189th St SE Bothell, WA 98012.

6/22/19, 3:56 PM
MIA said…

Seattle School Board Director, Zachary DeWolf left the board retreat- early.

https://www.seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/18-19%20agendas/June%2026/C01_20190626_Minutes_20190601.pdf

No surprise.
6/22/19, 5:49 PM
Melissa Westbrook said…
MIA, I note that Director Burke also left early, 15 minutes after DeWolf.

However, I did a review of minutes of Work Session and committee meetings and it is DeWolf who misses the most meetings and/or leaves early.
6/23/19, 9:30 AM
Anonymous said…
So I notice some folks like to peruse this blog, screenshot nasty and racist comments, and then use them to discredit not only Melissa, who has put in over a decade of work here, but also everyone else reading here, taking information shared here and acting on it, and discredit any concerns or ideas or solutions proposed here.

Let's take a moment to explain to some readers what is actually going on.

There is this thing on the internet called "trolling." Sometimes people find a site where they can comment anonymously and they purposely publish nasty comments, sometimes racist comments, in order to cause chaos and discord. In my many years of reading this site I am convinced that the racist comments come from one person, maybe two at most. It's one or two cranks. Nothing more. Doesn't make it OK, but it means it should not be assumed to be views widely shared here.

There's also a thing on the internet called "nut-picking." This is much less well known than trolling. Nut-picking is where people pull out an unrepresentative comment, usually one that is hateful and extreme, and use it to discredit the entire site and an entire community. That is what is happening with the way this blog is being discussed in some places. The hateful comments of trolls are taken as the true beliefs of this site's founder and its entire readership. And that is just absurd.

One has to ask why anyone would engage in such attacks on this site and its readership. I think the answer is, as always, "who benefits?" In this case it's district leaders and wealthy education reformers, who yearn to see an effective site of resistance to their agenda be taken down.

The desire to silence dissent is really troubling. It never, ever leads anywhere positive.

Blair
6/24/19, 10:48 PM
Anonymous said…
Blair - Thank you! In this case one of the most dedicated trolls is Tracy Castro-Gill, the sole ethnic studies department employee. Ms. Castro-Gill is obsessed with this blog and its author and regular commenters to a degree which is clearly unhealthy.

It’’s my understanding that once a teacher is working at the JSCEE they lose the protection of the Seattle Education Association. Does anyone know if that’s true? I ask because once you’ve been notified by your supervisor that you’re no longer allowed to contact the board or the superintendent, it seems logical to assume your job is not secure.

She’s Unhinged
6/25/19, 12:31 AM
Melissa Westbrook said…
Thank you, Blair. It is painful to be misrepresented. But I agree that it's a small faction and, oddly, it's led by someone within JSCEE.

As I turn the blog away from direct SPS issues, I will have some final thoughts.
6/25/19, 7:21 AM
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