Seattle Schools Community Forum

Great article in Crosscut about what is happening over on the Eastside with immigrant populations.  What draws immigrants to the Eastside and keeps them there, even when, like Tushara, they go to work in Seattle? Lee could be speaking for all of them when he answers, emphatically, with a single word: “School! I needed to raise kids, and Bellevue’s the place to do it.” It wasn’t just the Bellevue schools’ celebrated instructional quality (its average test scores place it among the top 10 districts statewide in math and science and the top 30 in reading and writing) or their ample tax base, which includes the wealthy lakeshore municipalities of Medina, Clyde Hill and the Points. It was the counter-intuitively congenial social environment of what was then an upscale, predominately white, monocultural community. In Bellevue and Newport, Pham found, he didn’t have to worry about his three kids being bullied or sticking with their own kind for protection. The frictio...

 Update:  this just in - UW is restoring the 150 slots for in-state students that had been cut.  Also, they changed the application deadline for this fall's freshman class to December 1 (for the main campus).  Heads up to all you parents of seniors considering UW. The district is still working on their website to make it more user-friendly.  There is this useful " Whom to Contact for What " page for parents with links to the appropriate page.  It's all in one place and I think this may be a help for parents.  Trouble on the Eastside ?  According to the Times , Bellevue teachers just voted "no confidence" in their superintendent, Amalia Cudeiro, by 97% over her management style.  This is her third year on the job. Bellevue has a superintendent with a teaching/administration background but most recently came from a leadership consulting firm she founded with her husband.  She says she's doing this gig one time and then will go ba...

Interesting article in last week's Times about the Superintendent over in Bellevue. First, she's never been a superintendent before; Bellevue got to her come from her consulting business in California. Two, she says she's doing this one gig and then going back to consulting. (She was allowed to still keep that job as president something that seems to bother some. The State Auditor found no issue with her hiring of a colleague to work as an education consultant.) What makes her most interesting is this: The first-time superintendent is engaged in a bold move to change the teaching culture in a district that has already gained a reputation for excellence, with all five of its high schools regularly winning national acclaim. But it's that very reputation, the school board believes, that has masked an important failure: reaching students at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in a district that's far more diverse than many may realize. Cudeiro believes a...

Interesting article in the PI about decision/recommendations the Bellevue District made yesterday. One was to choose the Holt math series over Discovering math. Interestingly, there are 6 members of their Board and only 3 were there and all three voted for Holt. (Which begs the question, shouldn't there have been at least 4 to vote?) Two, like Seattle, Bellevue won't be voting on their budget until July. But their survey of parents seemed to influence their superintendent's recommendations. The parents survey top five were: "reducing temperatures, increasing parking fees, cuts to central administration, raising athletics fees, and increasing meal prices." Notice that one in the middle - cuts to central administration? From the article: The recommendations from District Superintendent Amalia Cudeiro included those same items, plus: • Bussing changes • Charging for sports transportation • Putting off equipment replacements for transportation and cafeteria...

The Bellevue City blog had this post about their budget woes and how they are figuring it all out: In an unusual but likely to be appreciated move, leaders are seeking direct input on how to reduce the school district budget from all stakeholders, including parents, using two methods: community information sessions and a budget priorities survey. There are two scheduled community information sessions on the 2010-11 budget remaining: March 18 (today!), Sammamish High School Cafeteria, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 24, Interlake High School PAC, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. At these meetings, you will have an opportunity to learn more about the context and background of the reductions/increases needed, as well as where Bellevue fits among area school districts in its spending priorities, before you complete your survey. Give you background and context? And, they provide a PDF document that explains terms and issues so when you are taking the survey you don't say, "I wonder what that is? What are...

A story in today's Seattle Times reports that the math textbook adoption committee for Belleveue School District has recommended Holt materials. Here are some critical lines from the story: " Teachers and parents on the committee said they feared students struggling with math, and those who speak English as a second language, would not fare as well with the Discovering series. " " district teachers could do well with either textbook series. But he said the district should select textbooks that are best for students when they aren't in class. 'We need to get off the issue that the book has to fit the teacher' " " Several teachers Thursday night argued that the Discovering textbooks would do a better job if taught in small classrooms, but because classes are large, and expected to grow because of budget cuts, they considered Holt the better option. "