This and That, September 19, 2023

Update 2: I have seen on a couple of Facebook pages that there have been robberies involving attacks on students in the Ballard area. (I see from the West Seattle Blog that there have been robberies in several areas of West Seattle as well; one at gunpoint.)

Last night two Ballard High students were attacked by men in a maroon or red SUV. One student's phone was taken. 

Obviously, kids like to walk with their phones out, either checking them or talking on them. Maybe don't do that at night? I wish I knew the answer. 

end of update

Update: SEA contacted me and those are their endorsements and they won't be changing them. 

end of update

The Seattle Teachers Association has been pretty quiet on the endorsement front but at their website, they put up a list of their endorsements for Seattle School Board. 

• D1 - Debbie Carlsen
• D2 - Lisa Rivera Smith
• D3 - Christie Robertson
• D4 - Gina Topp

The SEA's turning away from incumbent Liza Rankin in D1 is huge, considering she helped found Soup for Teachers which was to support SEA members during strikes.  And, they did endorse the other incumbent, Lisa Rivera Smith.

I'm a bit baffled about D3 now that the primary is over. I am going to try to reach them to ask but I have always found it hard to get info from them. I'm going to try over at their Facebook page as they haven't tweeted since December 2022.

Director Leslie Harris is having a community meeting (with lasagna) on Saturday, October 21st at the West Seattle Library from 2-5 pm. 

There's a new cell phone policy at Chief Sealth International High School. This from the West Seattle Blog:

No cell phone use during class. Under the hashtag #AwayForThe Day, it’s explained: “The expectation is simple. Students will need to keep their phone away for the day. This means that during class time, phones will be in their backpack or bag and remain there until the end of class. Teachers will also have cases, lockers or something similar where phones can be safely stored if the student would prefer that.” After a survey, an FAQ was sent out, with most student questions answered the same way: “You can use your cell phone before and after school, and during lunch.”

It's stated that this will be a (hot) topic at the next PTSA meeting tonight. (There are 37 comments so far at the WS Blog. Most commenters like the policy. One person says they do this in Highline but parents can opt their kid out. Another commenter says this has been adopted at Arbor Heights Elementary School but there is NO usage allowed during the school day.) 

Any other SPS schools with this policy?