Seattle Schools Community Forum

The big news is that the City of Seattle announced three new homeless encampments to be established in early 2017 and one of them is right by the Wilson-Pacific complex that will be home to Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, Licton Springs K-8 and Cascadia Elementary.  The location is 8620 Nesbit Avenue North and it will have up to 50 tiny homes, serving 60-70 people (Nesbit is one block east of Aurora.) The other new encampments are down in Georgetown and White Center.  (The one in White Center will also be near an elementary school but with enough distance that it's not the issue that Wilson-Pacific campus is.) I think we can all agree that the homeless crisis in Seattle is a major issue.  But I am shocked the City would choose a location in an area that is already problematic AND has so many school children nearby. As I previously reported, RESMS planning principal Marni Campbell announced at a community meeting this week that the City is giving the district $1M gr...

Guess who's having a last Coffee Chat on Monday ?  Superintendent Nyland (although I'll lay odds it gets canceled).  And guess who is joining him?  Director McLaren. Please join Seattle Schools’ Interim Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland in the upcoming West Seattle Community Coffee Chat: Monday, December 1st 6:00-7:00PM Neighborhood House High Point West Seattle 6400 Sylvan Way SW Seattle, WA 98126 Dr. Nyland is grateful to have this opportunity to meet and talk with our West Seattle families and community members about the educational issues that matter the most to you and your family. Dr. Nyland looks forward to listening to your feedback, concerns, and questions. Guess who else has a Community Meeting right after that Superintendent Coffee Chat?  Director McLaren. Neighborhood House High Point Center, 6400 Sylvan Way S.W. from 7-8:00 pm. Might be a good time for some questions.  Lastly, there is the Board retreat on Saturday the 6th whic...

The Board retreat was last Saturday.  I was one of two observers along with reader Cecilia. As I previously mentioned, I felt a lot of good energy and reason for hope from this new team.  There were a couple of people around the table that felt the need to point out how many new people there were but there is nothing to be done except regroup and move on.  Rapid turnover is not good for any organization but I personally feel this is a good team (as does the Superintendent). I also mentioned a couple of things that the Superintendent said that stuck out.  One, that staff needs to not be overloaded because they have a lot on their plates already.  He said, " our system lends itself to that..."  He said "If we want to hold onto people, we need to set aside peripheral things and work on specifics."   I agree BUT the Board has to be able to ask for data and discussion so they can do their work.   More on this later on in the discussion...

From SPS history: South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, visited Seattle and toured Madrona Elementary School almost 14 years to this date on Dec. 8, 1999.  Madrona  is now a K-8 school. What a lucky group of students on that day. At Board retreat today, a very different tone and feel.  Still the same kind of talk and team-building but not the same vibe.  A major theme is being collegial, being respectful of everyone's time and changing the public talk about the district. So refreshing to hear: - Facilities' Flip Herndon say one is his major goals is cutting down the maintenance backlog.  (You know me and that backlog so Friday, I'm in love.) - President Peaslee expressing the desire to get rid of the drumbeat of a "dysfunctional" Board and going around the table and asking Board members what committee they would like to serve on. -   Both new directors said that they would like to see if the committee meetings could ...

My husband just happens to be in a conference in South Africa.  He said they had a moment of silence this morning for Nelson Mandela and their first speaker said this: "He shamed us into putting aside our petty differences by shaking the hand of his tormentors when he was released from prison." I wouldn't say I have tormentors but I would like, as an early New Year's resolution, to try to talk with those whose work/opinions are different from mine and see if we can find common ground (especially in trying to get the Legislature to fulfill McCleary).   I have tried in the past to do this with some of the bigger names in ed reform in Washington but did not get any response or not a favorable one.  But it matters to keep trying if only to follow Mandela's example. For the kids: - amazing shadow sculptures created by artist Tim Noble using trash (note: not for elementary students and sensitive teens) - Da Vinci invented many things that he never actually mad...

A bit of an exciting week as the district welcomes two new Board members. Also FYI, the district is looking for members for its School Wellness Task Force . Seattle Public Schools is seeking members for a Task Force to review, revise, monitor, communicate and evaluate policies and procedures governing school food, competitive foods, nutrition education, physical education and physical activity. The Task Force will operate for an 18-month period, December 2013 to June 2015. To be considered for the School Wellness Task Force students, parents, family and community members should complete and submit a nomination form by Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 . The invitation letter , nomination forms , and a complete description of the committee are available online .   Tuesday, Dec. 3rd Oath of Office from 5-6 pm in the JSCEE Auditorium.  It is open to the public.  Sue Peters, Stephan Blanford and returning Director Betty Patu will be taking the oath.  There are ope...

Wednesday, Sept 4th It's the start of a brand-new year.  Welcome back, kids. School Board Meeting , 4:15 pm.  Agenda . Several items got held over from the last Board meeting.

I attended the Executive Committee meeting last week. The minutes from the previous meeting on June 12th were somewhat telling.  They reflect some discussion of the new Seattle Teacher Residency program.  Michael Tolley noted that it had been assigned to the Audit and Finance Committee and not the Curriculum and Instruction Committee.  That's interesting because I would think training teachers would be C&I but there was not an explanation in the minutes. As well, Duggan Harman said that "costs have not been finalized."  Remember that for the future because the STR program may well cost much more than we suspect and the money has to come from somewhere.  As well, this item WAS to be on the August 21st Board agenda and the Superintendent pulled it.  I suspect it is because the Board was not going to vote for a program with no budget attached.  Rightly so. I note that Directors were updated on conditional certifications for TFA teachers and ...

A few days ago I wrote about the Board's role and how they are failing to do their job. Today, the Seattle Times writes the same. Funny thing, though, the Times and I have exactly the opposite ideas about what the Board should be doing. The Times apparently wants the Board to do nothing but promptly approve everything that Mr. Banda puts in front of them. That's what Directors Chow, Maier, and Sundquist did, and what Directors Martin-Morris, Carr, and DeBell do. The Times wants a rubber-stamp Board - as if that isn't dysfunctional.

Following up on Charlie's thread to the new (waiting for Board approval) five-year Strategic Plan , here's what I heard from the Board retreat where the Board and senior staff discussed it.  For some reason, only the goals are at the communications page on this issue but there are links to the v ision/mission/core beliefs from the Intro item on the Board agenda page.  To note: that Saturday, June 1st, saw a packed room of staff (most of whom stayed from 10 am to 2 p.m. - a big commitment of time) and Board members. Everyone came prepared to work and was in good spirits.  There was a feeling of a shared unity to this work.  Once again the Alliance person sat at the table with Board and staff.  One funny aside is that I downloaded the agenda from the district's website.  It had only the district logo but when you got to the meeting, the agenda had both the district's and the Alliance's.  Just in case anyone thought the Alliance was just a helper at t...

Update:   Forgot to mention this book event at Olympic View Elementary. Come find current, popular books or good-old favorites in good-condition for children and grown ups -- choose from baby board-books, chapter books, picture books, best-selling fiction, a range of non-fiction including parenting books, cook books, craft books, as well as books on tape. There is something for everyone! Make a day of it! Enjoy readings by local celebrities including UW gymnast Kylie Sharp and meet Geronimo Stilton. Win prizes at the raffle, including the chance to win an Amazon e-reader, Kindle Fire, baskets of new books, gift certificates and event passes. There will be food, drinks, crafts and cozy places to read. The public is welcome! Friday, May 31st 4 pm - 7 pm Saturday, June 1st 10 am - 4 pm Olympic View Auditorium 504 NE 95th Street Reminder: tomorrow is the Board retreat from 10:30 am to 5 pm.  You are welcome to come and observe but the public does not participate.  ...

 (This is a quite long wrap-up of the latest Board retreat held this past Saturday.  Not all will want to wade through it but I can say it allowed me to see how the Board is interacting and some issues within the group.  I believe that all seem to have high regard for Superintendent Banda.) First, I have to say that this was a slightly odd Retreat as I had never been to this venue, The Hub Seattle, before.  The set-up had us sitting in a seating area - with couches and chairs - and I sat as if I were part of the group (normally the visitors sit on the perimeter so I did feel like I was eavesdropping). As I said before, I was the only outside visitor to the Retreat (unless someone came after 2:30 pm when I left). What seems difficult to understand is how the Board has given over (nearly all) control to the Alliance about what the retreats will cover.   I don't get it.  As I previously mentioned, Directors Peaslee, DeBell and McLaren all said they had n...