Seattle Schools Community Forum

They need keyboards for the SBAC testing? I will note that both Orca K-8 and Dearborn Park came begging to the Board at the last School Board meeting for help.  They need their counselor because of the high numbers of students in need.   But, as I said quoting one principal, every - single - year nearly every - single - principal and staffs at schools are faced with a Sophie's Choice of what (or who) to cut. This is no way to run a district.  There should NOT be one more single administrative hire in a new position until schools and classrooms have what they need. From the North Beacon Hill Council: Dearborn Park Elementary desperately needs school supplies. Please share what you can. Thank you. The post below has been shared on multiple Beacon Hill group l ists. "This school is in DIRE need of school supplies in order to save funding for a counselor position. Dearborn has 89.5% Free and Reduced Priced Lunch qualified students this year , which seriousl...

I will be reviewing the School Board agenda for the Board meeting coming up this week on Wednesday.  It looks like It looks like Concord, Roxhill and Graham Hill  may be losing some of their bus service.  Transportation standards item from agenda here .  (The changes are fairly extensive as there is sunsetting of some standards.  One thing I wish that staff would do, especially for exceptions to standards for some schools, is explain WHY these schools get an exception.  There could be good reasons but again, when you are looking at equity issues lack of clarity doesn't help.) And it appears there will be further cuts to Graham Hill.  I am puzzled by this especially for a school that has already had its share AND given serious safety concerns that parents have repeatedly brought before the Board. There seems to be equity issues arising from the assignment plan in terms of how many options some parents are able to get their children to school, t...

I am going to attempt to slog through all my notes but I expect Charlie, Kellie and Meg to chime in here as we were all sitting at the back taking notes.  (And, I had to take a phone call during part of the APP middle school discussion.)  Staff has done an incredible job in creating the various plans.  No one can truly know how long it must have taken and the tedious but important job of determining walk zones, ripple effects (if this, then that) and all the other issues they had to take into account. So why so messy and why so much confusion? My view (not shared by Kellie) is that the main flaw WAS the public engagement.  Kellie believes the problem was never truly expressed so the answers were always to be confusing and flawed.  I believe that I think I know what staff problem staff was trying to solve but that they never engaged their stakeholders correctly in the first place and so, never had real buy-in AND created mistrust. The old set-up for these...

Here is a letter from 17 teachers and staff members at Dearborn Park Elementary to Superintendent Banda in support of the teachers boycotting the MAP: