Seattle Schools Community Forum

Finally sat down to listen to the Gates Foundation preschool grant discussion from last Wednesday Board meeting.  Many adjectives come to mind; disingenuous (Cashel Toner), tardy for the party (Director McLaren), integrity (Director Patu), rationality (Director Peters) and dumbfounded (for Directors Carr and Peaslee). Folks, our Board not only okayed a grant that had been signed off months before by the Superintendent (and more on that in a moment) but most agreed it lacked clarity in one key issue.  Astonishing. It seems that staff was able, somehow, to negate to the Board that going into Years 2 and 3 of this grant, it is completely unclear what will happen.  Both Sue Peters and Betty Patu asked, over and over, and yet no real answer. Here's the crux of the problem as both Patu and Peters pointed out. The district is doing this backwards.   The MOU with the City should come FIRST and then any agreements.  Because what IF an MOU with the City is n...

It's too late for 1A but from The Atlantic comes a great story of this issue of why "pre-k" and what it means. Background (partial) " Pre-k" and "preschool" are often used interchangeably in education circles and by the news media.  After all, the two can mean the same thing: schooling that happens prior to kindergarten. But rarely do politicians who’ve declared early education a top priority say they want to expand access to preschool.  Pre-k is seen as a solution to those problems. Preschool , on the other hand, connotes nursery school. And when people imagine nursery school, they think of daycare. A babysitting arrangement.  It’s all about the single year that precedes kindergarten: pre-k.  In edu-speak , pre-k typically refers to a specific category of early learning that focuses on ensuring kids are prepared for kindergarten .   Framing the final year of preschool as pre-k, some say, implies that it’s an essential building blo...

Update:  I spoke with the Board office and they are likely to take five more people from the Speaker waitlist.  I believe President Peaslee may have some discretion in this area but that remains to be seen. Also to note, it appears that the Mayor and the Superintendent will be appearing at Rainier Beach Boys & Girls Club this morning .  I have not been able to find out why nor does this appear on the Mayor's published schedule.  I have another meeting so I cannot attend.  end of update Looking at the Speaker roster, it appears that the topic is "P-5 Schools Aligned with Seattle Preschool Program."   Out of 30 spots, all are on this topic, except for 4 of them for the 2015 State Legislative Agenda and on on Lunch/Recess Times.  (I have one spot about the preschool issue.) Then, there is quite a large waitlist of 30 people.  This may signal the Board may hear 10 more speakers as they tend to open it up if this many people are coming....

 I applaud the SCPTSA for this stand and support it. Please, write to the Board and ask them to, politely, say no to this Gates Foundation grant, school board@seattleschools.org As the SCPTA says: the district should negotiate any partnership with the City on preschool BEFORE signing off on any other agreement about preschools any new City preschools must be borne by the LEVY dollars, not district dollars.  This grant would put the district on the hook after year three what are the demands on district resources - facilities, staff time, etc - on an already stretched district I would add: this grant application is vague Bailey-Gatzert, under BTA III, IS scheduled to get a preschool classroom.  This grant is not needed for that to happen. the application says SPS will "lead the work and design the program."  This is NOT what was said during the preschool campaign and again, the district needs a partnership FIRST, then any grants.  SCPTSA Letter to ...

Monday, November 17th  College Application Event , 2:20 PM - 5:30 PM at Franklin High School. State of the District Speech at Group Health headquarters from 4:30-6 pm (with a wine reception to follow the presentation).  RSVP only.  Put on by the Alliance for Education (although, oddly, no mention of it at their own website).  Tuesday, November 18th State of the District speech at  JSCEE at 4 pm.  It is a 20-minute presentation that will be broadcast live streaming and on Channel 26.  I don't think there will be a wine reception. I think of the two dueling speeches (and their location/format) as the Snobs versus the Slobs. (No disrespect to anyone but when a state of the district speech - the first one, the main one - is not at district headquarters, you have to wonder.) Work Session DistrictScorecard/Operations Data Dashboard from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm.  Presentation  There are quite a few interesting stats in here but I may write...

Below the cut is the latest message from Councilman Tim Burgess about the outcome of the vote on 1A versus 1B.  I am putting it up for a single reason - because so many people believe that this program was aimed at and will give preference to enroll mostly low-income tikes. It's just not true.  Currently, there is NO mechanism or "bump" to allow low-income students to the head of the line.  Placement of the preschools could very well decide who enrolls and that may very well be low-income students. But these preschools are open to all so when I hear "we had to do something for these kids," I sigh because that's not the way the measure was written. I'll pull out the pertinent phrases sans "low-income": Seattle's children best prepare children to encourage economically mixed and culturally diverse classrooms  our children He also says this which, to the best of my recollection, I have never seen before (and certainly not during ...

Update : West Seattle meeting with Senator Sharon Nelson West Seattle Blog ‏ @ westseattleblog 15m 15 minutes ago Nelson says she expects the Republicans to ask that i-1351 be suspended. # waleg @ 34dems end of update Passage of ballot outcomes according to Seattle Schools: 1B for Preschool: Yay! Great! Thanks Seattle voters. 1351 for Lower Class Sizes : Not so much. From Interim Superintendent Larry Nyland: It is too soon to know exactly how I-1351 will impact Seattle Public Schools in the wake of the Supreme Court McCleary ruling and actions anticipated during this Legislative session. Class size is one of the top four priorities of the McCleary ruling and long overdue since Washington’s class sizes rank among the highest in the nation. If fully funded by the legislature, the initiative would have a significant impact on staffing and building facilities. That will put pressure on Seattle...

From Seattle Schools: Seattle Public Schools celebrates with the City of Seattle and says a resounding thank you to Seattle voters for their approval of the pre-school initiative.  Our utmost appreciation for the leadership by the Mayor and the City Council in supporting this important work.  Providing an early start to our neediest families is one of the most cost effective ways to help EVERY student succeed.  The city initiative starts small and builds to 2000 students over the next four years.  We look forward to working with the City of Seattle in the implementation of this important work.   Naturally, we all think preschool is a good thing.  But really?  All the schools are excited about this work as they are underfunded and overenrolled?  Hard to believe but I'm going with headquarters staff is happy.   (I also note that the second sentence lacks a verb.)  The district is also WRONG in the "neediest famili...

Election Update : 1351 is still failing but has closed the gap by about 3,000 votes, 49.58% to No, 50.42% end of update 1B passed handily.  I was surprised at the "handily" part but Seattle folks are a generous bunch. I am going to be speaking at the Board meeting tonight and I may include a bit about what the passage of 1B will mean to SPS.  (I'd lay money a draft partnership agreement is coming very soon.)  But will agreement of that partnership come with a carrot or a stick?  I wonder if the money for the Federal Reserve building might materialize (via a group of businesses, maybe)?

Preschool - another education growth industry in our country. Did you think this push for preschool came from the brains of Burgess and Murray?  Please. Duncan and Obama have been pushing this.  They have a RttT (not affectionately called Race to the Tots).  Education Week had this article , "Growth in States' Early Childhood Spending Opens Business Opportunities" from December 2013.

The King County Labor Council only endorsed measure 1B even though, of course, there are many union members in 1A.  This had seemed a mystery to me because if both 1A and1B have union members, why not support both?  Well, it seems there may be a rift between some unions over that sole endorsement and here's a letter asking the KC Labor Council to rescind it. Dear MLKCLC Affiliates and Fellow Members:

Monday, November 3rd Growth Boundary Meeting from 6:30-7:30 pm at Alki Elementary Has anyone attended one of these?  I wanted to get to the one at Northgate last week but didn't. Tuesday, November 4th Election Day .  This may be the day when we learn the fate of 1A/1B and 1351.   I say "may" because as we have all seen from previous elections, our "postmarked by election day" voting means some races don't get determined on election day. I have had a very hard time reading the tea leaves on 1A/1B - it is a source of much confusion to voters.  On the one hand, voters do tend to vote no to items they don't understand.  On the other hand, we are in Seattle where voters love kids and education. I perceive that 1B may "win" because of the King County Labor Council endorsement.  Unions tend to be good at getting out the vote but we do have the awkward sight of unions against unions for 1A/1B.  That should tell you something about winners ...

I'll put in my plug for voting NO on the preschool/childcare props one more time.  This plea  is for Seattle Schools parents.  In every single document that I have found about the preschool plan, the number one "priority" is to "partner with Seattle Schools."   After you have read thru a number of documents, it starts to jump out at you. Now 1B says, we know there is little space and there's other things we'd like to work on with SPS.  Yes, SPS could help with curriculum, info on how they already work with preschool groups, etc.  Except that, as the Board complained at the recent Work Session with Councilman Burgess and others on the preschool plan, the district really hasn't been consulted on curriculum.  The Board wasn't invited to give any input at all on the preschool plan.  Hmm.  (To note, three current Board members have endorsed 1B - Sherry Carr, Harium Martin-Morris and Stephan Blanford.  Carr and Martin-Morris have don...

In another thread, we had a kindergarten teacher say this (bold mine): I am a kindergarten teacher in a school where the vast majority of students live below the poverty line. My Head Start pre-K graduates not only have pre-academic skills, but, more importantly, understand how to listen to a story as a member of a group, how to solve interpersonal problems (i.e., how to take turns with a special object), have greater mathematical understanding, and have a far greater vocabulary in both their birth languages and English.    I have NEVER questioned the value of Pre-K. Frankly it's a luxury to be able to do so.  I don't have any idea which I'll vote for, 1A, or 1B, because I've been too busy teaching to do my research, but I'll definitely be voting for something that increases access for the families I serve, who, although working and contributing in so many ways, cannot access quality early childhood education for their children. Followed by SW...

Update: well, will you look at that?  On the same day, Publicola and The Stranger choose to highlight one campaign issue.  And it's their support for 1B.  Hmmm. End of update. After several forums (most of which I was invited to), I've learned a lot about the two campaigns for childcare/preschool, 1A and 1B. Here's my vote: Vote NO on the first question (and your conscience on the second one but I'm voting for 1A because I believe that, overall, it will serve more low-income children, faster, than 1B.  That's where I want my tax dollars going.) That will get the City Council and the unions back to the table to deliver one early learning proposition they both agree on.

You ask, the mayor answers during a live broadcast of Ask the Mayor , 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22 , from Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave. Ask the Mayor’s format features a live audience and a topic of focus during the second half of the hour-long program. During the first half of the show, Mayor Ed Murray will join host Brian Callanan to discuss a range of city issues. Murray will answer questions posed by a live audience as well as viewer inquiries submitted via e-mail and social media.  In the second half of the program, Callanan and Mayor Murray will discuss his 2015-2016 budget proposal. Mayor Murray submitted a 2015-2016 budget that expands funding for priorities in education , worker protections, public safety and support for the homeless. The mayor is also proposing to bring new transparency to the city budget, including increased accountability for program outcomes and improved access to information on city finances. The City Council has begun their re...

I am urging voters to consider voting no to the first question on the preschool ballot measures in Seattle. Here's why. Preschool, especially for disadvantaged children, is a good idea. No one is arguing that point. But if the City and the unions truly wanted voters to say yes, there would have been ONE proposition. They had the opportunity to work together but choose to walk away from the table. That should give you pause about both sides. What the City and the unions have given us with these two propositions is confusion and division when what we need is clarity and unity. It's not like the City doesn’t already invest in preschool - 26% of the Families & Education levy (about $61M ) is dedicated to it. Seattle Schools has over 35 federal and state funded preschool classrooms right now. Also, as to this "we have to do this now, " well just like every other levy, it can be brought back very quickly to the ballot.  It is not that the issue isn...