Seattle Schools Community Forum

Yesterday, the Mayor and the City of Seattle, along with Seattle Schools, announced an initiative , Home from School,  to support homeless students.

This story was on KUOW today. "Perhaps the greatest challenge we face in addressing the opportunity gap is the persistent disparities in our public schools," said Murray, in an statement promoting the event. schools," said Murray, in an statement promoting the event. "This is not just the responsibility of the Seattle school district. This is clever way for the Mayor to get the City more involved but really he should have said: "Perhaps the greatest challenge we face in addressing the opportunity gap is the persistent disparities in our city.." Because that is equally true AND his turf.

It would seem a simple enough premise - Mayor Murray cares about students in Seattle and wants to find new/effective/supportive ways to help students enrolled in Seattle Public Schools (heck, maybe even the kids in so-called charter schools but that's unclear.)  Here's what's been happening so far. The agenda was published this week.  (See below.)  The Summit is this Saturday, starting at 9:00 am.  T hey have moved it to Garfield High School's Commons due to popular demand.  ( I am a bit mystified about that location, despite it being in a central location.  The street Garfield is on - 23rd - has major construction going on and Garfield has very little of its own parking.  They are warning people about the traffic and have a list of parking lots for attendees to access.) They will be serving a free lunch. So the first half of the Summit is sitting and listing to a lot of people talk?  And why Michael Tolley and not Steve Nielsen or the Superi...

Concerns about traffic around Bailey-Gatzert makes the Capitol Hill Times. Surrounded by arterial streets and now First Hill streetcars, Bailey Gatzert Elementary can be a dangerous destination for students, a majority of which walk or bike to and from school daily. Luckily, it is high on the Seattle Department of Transportation’s list of priority schools in need of improvements. “It’s like an island surrounded by these really fast streets,” said Brian Dougherty, SDOT Safe Routes to School coordinator, who also attended the walkabout and offered suggestions for noted trouble spots. Several community groups plan to work with Bailey Gatzert parents, teachers and the principal to develop a plan for requesting funding to possibly study traffic issues in the neighborhood or make quick improvements, such as improved signage, striping at crosswalks and enhancing visibility. Dougherty told the Capitol Hill Times he will wait to receive Gyncild’s report from the meeting and th...