Seattle Schools Community Forum

Here you go - I haven't looked through these but please do so and give us your thoughts.

SPS Communications explained this about the technology issues on the first day of school: We needed to make the switch from our old computer system to Power Schools as the old system was failing. It began failing more quickly than we anticipated, so what was supposed to be an 18-month transition was compressed into six months. Our Department of Technology staff has been working around the clock all summer to get this done. We did transition to Power Schools on Aug. 26, two weeks later than initially planned due to some technical issues with the transfer. What this meant was, when staff came back to their schools in August, they had very little time for training. We are still trying to pinpoint the reasons for the problems people are having, but some appears to be a result of people not being familiar with the system. There are also more technical issues involved as well – for example, our Dept. of Technology staff have run numerous tests showing that students names that...

Operations Ctm agenda now available for their meeting on Thursday from 4-6 p.m.  Highlights include "growth boundary update" from Enrollment's Tracy Libros, "resolution that construction projects will not create or aggravate racial imbalance", and a resolution about the "sustainability and design and construction of high performance schools."  This is from President Smith-Blum and I believe she means it for greening of schools, not academic achievement. A bill passed both chambers of our Legislature yesterday regarding the use of so-called isolation techniques .  From KIRO-tv : According to state law, schools can isolate students in rooms without parental permission and are not required to notify the parents their child has been disciplined with isolation.  But lawmakers in Olympia passed a new bill Monday which states:  "The principal … must verbally inform the student's parent or guardian of the restraint or isolation as soon...

 Update:   Here's the district waitlist .  The high school waitlists are long for 9th grade - Franklin, 88, Garfield, 80, Hale, 68, Roosevelt 87. JSIS, Pathfinder, Queen Anne, Lafayette, McDonald,  and K-5 STEM at Boren have a big list for K.  Mercer has 36 for 6th grade (the publicity around their success is getting around) and Salmon Bay has a long waitlist  in nearly every grade and yet the projections have their enrollment down.  TOPS has a waitlist in every grade.  Again, what's up with South Shore - its building is nowhere near full and yet they have a waitlist in almost every single grade.  Something's not right here. End of update. Here are the district's enrollment projections for next year. Highlights :

From the Audit & Finance Committee meeting today comes news of the first Open Enrollment Data. As stated in the headline, SPS enrollment looks to go over 50,000 for the first time in decades, to just over 51,000. That is based on an increase of 1300 students for next year.  Interestingly, it is NOT at kindergarten where projections show a lower number, just under 300 students.  The real increase is at 6th grade at about 160 students.  Oddly (and I mean I don't get statistically how this happened), they got all the high school numbers right on target.  The highest projected change for high school is at the sophomore level with more than 100 students. Tracy Libros, head of Enrollment, said she thought the enormous growth line of birth-to-K may be stabilizing.  Director Carr noted the change in 6th grade.  Dr. Libros said that Jane Addams is doubling the number of 6th grades classes and adding one 7th grade class.  They attracted many Spectr...