Seattle Schools Community Forum

Yesterday's media event about opting out in Seattle Schools at the NAACP headquarters was quite the happening.  All the media outlets showed up for a very lengthy press conference.  At first, I worried about how many speakers there were - community leaders, parents, and, most of all, teachers on the front lines - but each had an important story to tell. Basically, from what I can draw from various sources, the majority of opting out is happening in high schools.   This figures as high school parents have been around longer than younger parents AND high school students are savvy and more likely to stand up to authority and say no. My belief is that after the first year is done - and the scores come out - then next year even more parents will say no.  This is exactly what is happening in NY and NJ with thousands of kids being opted out. Apparently, State Superintendent Randy Dorn is falling back on the old standard "change is hard" and says the test will improve ...

Unhappy with Pearson ?  Apparently you are not alone.  Speaking of Big Brother, here's the SBAC's "Guidance for Social Media Monitoring during the Field Test."  The State Senate is to drop its budget this week.  Let's see how that fulfillment of McCleary is going and where they find the funding.  I spoke to Speaker Chopp last week and that's pretty much all he would say.  I note that when I mentioned that while I think preschool is great, that the Constitution says K-12 is the state's paramount duty and that I was worried about the push that both preschool and higher education are receiving this session.  He said something to the effort that there would be more dollars for preschool but not in McCleary. Whether it's in McCleary or not is not really the point.  Because, frankly, education dollars are education dollars. I note that there's a new group, Why Not Us Washington that is pushing the Legislature to invest more in preschool.  ...

Scratch art by Ava Code-Williams Two SPS students were named Regional Award winners at the Regional High School Art Show that is sponsored by the Puget Sound Educational Service District.  Those students are Ava Code-Williams from Garfield and Huo Xian Wu from Franklin.   I love Code-Williams' haunting "You have your mother's eyes."  In a battle of the titans, the state boys basketball title went to Garfield who beat Rainier Beach High School, 64-51 last weekend.  Congrats to Garfield and a good effort by all.  (RBHS had beat Garfield for the Metro title but Garfield turned the tables on them in the state finals.) SPS was also awarded a 2014 Gold Star by Governor Inslee for getting students signed up for the College Bound Scholarship program.  SPS signed up 100% of eligible 8th graders.  Yesterday was the Curriculum and Instruction Committee meeting.   I wasn't able to go but I know that Director Peters was going to try to get the SBA...

Yes, I will have a separate thread on the data breach that apparently happened at a law firm that was handling a Special Education case for the district.   Community meetings tomorrow: Director Blanford, 10am-11:30 am at Douglass Truth Branch Library Director Martin-Morris, 10 am-noon at NE Library branch News about SPS:

I plan on writing a thread this weekend that is an overview of how I see the Seattle School Board today.  There are certainly some interesting things being said by directors and frankly, I'm not sure I see them working as a unified body (but not the same people who usually get called out for having special interests).   I listened to the Board comments and more and more, I find them quite telling. - Update: forgot this one piece of info.  You may have heard that some school districts around the country have accepted various "items" from the Armed Forces.  One in San Diego accepted a tank.  Seriously.  I had a chance to ask Ass't Superintendent Pegi McEvoy this question yesterday.  She said the only things that SPS accepted from the military were blankets, cots and MREs.  Sounds good to me. - the district appears to have solved its website problems.  However, apparently the 46th Dems were to have an Endorsement meeting last night at ...

To note for tonight's Board meeting agenda ; the Jane Addams Middle School BEX IV construction item has been moved to the May 7th Board meeting by the Superintendent.  No explanation given.  The Superintendent has also asked to remove the Reduction in Force (RIF) item from the agenda.   I confirmed that this is because there will be no RIFs sent out.  As well, the bill to fix facade restoration at Franklin is - gulp - nearly $1M (coming from BEX III and good thing the money is there).  (When part of the facade fell, it was great luck no one was standing underneath it.)  Along with the backflow item at Jane Addams that had to be replaced recently (and I'm not sure how much that cost), we see that our buildings have a near-constant need for maintenance and emergencies fixes.  This is why the maintenance budget needs to be upped or we will likely pay more in the long term.  There are only five people signed up to speak so if you wanted to speak...

From SPS Twitter at about 2:30 p.m.: Franklin HS and Thurgood Marshall Elementary are in shelter-in-place after shots were fired in nearby neighborhood. SPD looking for suspects. Students were released on time when school ended.  For Thurgood students who normally walk home, parents were asked to come and pick them up.

A BIG congratulations and hats off to Ballard High's Academy of Finance , Franklin High's Academy of Finance and Chief Sealth International High's Academy of Finance and Academy of Hospitality and Tourism for their award from the National Academy Foundation as "Model Academies." From SPS Communications: The high schools' three programs are supported by the District's Career and Technical Education Department. Students select a career pathway of their choice and take all other course work for graduation. Students have many opportunities to connect with the business partners who make real life experiences for our students. These work-based learning opportunities make the connection with the classroom and what the "real world" is asking of graduates.  There are only eight academies in the state of Washington, and four of those are in Seattle Public Schools. These programs have a long history of success at the three high schools, bu...

Good news from SPS: Four teams from Franklin High School’s Academy of Finance Social Entrepreneurs and Chief Sealth International’s Academy of Finance International Social Entrepreneurs won top prizes June 6 at the Youth Venture Spring Community Showcase in Seattle. Ballard High students in the Video Production Program have received eight nominations in four categories from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the Northwest High School Awards of Excellence. This makes the seventh year in a row that Ballard High School video producers have been nominated. Last year they received seven nominations and won the categories of Long Form, Fiction and Photographer/Editor. Nova student Hailey Spencer won a National Silver Medal for a science fiction/fantasy story at the regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition.  She will move onto the national competition.  She also won two regional writing awards.  There were also regional ...

A short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.   No school for elementary and K-8 students for Parent-Teacher conferences (really? three whole days).  Enrollment Services close at noon on Wednesday and one-hour early dismissal on Wednesday for all students.   Community meeting with Director Patu on Saturday the 24th from 10 am to noon at Caffe Vita, 5028 Wilson Avenue S. I missed this but the district received in October- via the UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity - a new Upward Bound Math-Science grant from the DOE.  The five-year, $1.25 million grant is designed to help low-income and first-generation students succeed in high school and pursue post-secondary degrees, especially in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. UBMS will serve 65 students at Seattle’s Chief Sealth, Cleveland and Franklin high schools and is a sister program to OMA&D’s existing Upward Bound program that assists nearly 80 students at t...

Quick action on the part of a witness and a police officer may have averted a real tragedy at Franklin high school yesterday.   From the Seattle Times: A 14-year-old Franklin High School student was arrested yesterday after he brought a BB pistol to school, Seattle police said. Just after 9 a.m., a witness flagged down a Seattle police officer in the 3000 block of Mount Baker Boulevard and told the officer he just saw a young boy brandish what appeared to be a handgun. The witness pointed out the boy, who was walking up a staircase to Franklin. The officer used his patrol car’s PA system and ordered the boy to stop. Instead, the boy ran into the school, police said. The officer chased after him, but lost him in the school.  Did the officer give up?  Nope, he looked through yearbooks until he found the boy and arrested him.  The student had stashed the gun in a trash can.  He was booked into juvenile services. I give so much credit to the w...

Two heartwarming stories about rivals, Aki Kurose and Mercer Middle Schools, and a meeting of the minds (and bodies) over Ultimate Frisbee.  I heard the the KUOW story myself and had to smile and a reader (thanks!) sent me the PI story.   From the PI: Four years ago, the kids from Aki Kurose and Asa Mercer middle schools – both in Seattle's South End – were bitter rivals. Mercer students would bus to Aki on half days to jump those who lingered after school. Aki students threw rocks at Mercer school buses. Gangs grew out of each middle school, and violence gripped the area. So Terry and Rex Gaoaen of the Union Gospel Mission decided to take over the fledging ultimate program (at Mercer). Ultimate, they reasoned, was a peaceful sport. But the North End kids didn't bother them as much as a nearer opponent: Aki Kurose. Tugade said that after losing to Aki in seventh grade, the players wondered, "Why be mad at them? They made good throws and good points. These guys aren...

From the district website: Ed Lee, a 1970 graduate of Franklin High School , won San Francisco's mayoral race Nov. 8, becoming the city’s first elected mayor of Chinese descent, as well as the first Asian-American elected to the office. Lee was born in 1952 in the Beacon Hill neighborhood and attended Beacon Hill Elementary and Asa Mercer Middle School. Seattle Sounders FC presents America SCORES Seattle’s 9th Annual Poetry Slam! on Friday, November 18th. The Poetry Slam!, the culminating event of the SCORES Fall Season curriculum - The Power of Poetry, will feature more than 160 elementary school students from Seattle’s underserved neighborhoods performing their own original works of poetry. For many of our children, reciting their original poetry on a public stage is the first time in their lives they have been publicly celebrated for their accomplishments. The event will feature poets from Bailey Gatzert, Dunlap, Highland Park, Maple and Roxhill Elementary Schools.   Town Ha...

Franklin High School Kicks Off Centennial Year on Friday, Sept. 30th Franklin High School turns 100 years old in 2012, and one of Seattle’s oldest high schools will kick off a year-long centennial celebration in the gym Friday afternoon. The event will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school’s newly-renovated gym and a proclamation by King County Councilmember (and Franklin alumnus) Larry Gossett, who has declared Sept. 30 Franklin High Day in King County. The proclamation will also recognize the school’s significant improvements in student test scores and college acceptance rates. Principal Jennifer Wiley predicts that other big-name Franklin athlete alums, along with Seattle School District leaders who are also Franklin graduates, will be in attendance. Officials of the National Achievement Scholarship Corporation named three students from SPS as Semifinalists in the 48th annual National Achievement Scholarship Program. These academically pr...

Not a big crowd for the School Board meeting last week but traffic was lousy and it's the end of the school year.

Been doing research and while I keep diving, the water is still murky. What have I learned? Yes, Ingraham is at Level 5 under NCLB.   Yes, Ingraham has not met AYP for 6 straight years.  BUT, Franklin and Ingraham have the exact same record for the past 6 years.   Three years at Level 5, then 4, 3, 2 after that.  Both have failed to make AYP for the last six years. (To note, the steadiest school in the district is The Center School which has only missed AYP once in the last six years and has never been higher than Level 1.) What is equally troubling is that there has been a steady decline, across the board at nearly every high school.  We have six high schools at Level 5. We had just one school in the last three years meeting AYP.  Just one in three years.  The decline starts around 2004-2005 and I have to wonder what happened that so many schools just started a downward trend. Back to Ingraham.  Thanks to several commenters (in...

Thursday, May 12th The " Friends of Cleveland " group is holding their annual Red & White auction.  This year, the auction will be held on Thursday, May 12th, at the Museum of Flight, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm.  They are raising funds towards next year’s First Robotics fees for the School of Engineering and Design, and toward the purchase of video equipment for student projects in the School of Life Sciences.  Those who wish to support could do so by purchasing a ticket to attend, then bidding on items.  It is also possible to donate without attending. The last day to reserve a seat is Monday, May 9.  Contact Catherine Brown cmbrown@seattleschools.org or Dick Lee rjlee@seattleschools.org , 252-0476 at Cleveland for more info. Saturday, May 14th The Franklin High School Arts Festival is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., May 14 at the school, 3013 S. Mt. Baker Blvd., and will feature student art, ceramics, woodcrafts, lion dancers, fa...

A couple of fun things coming up for this weekend for kids so put them on your calendar. First up, the FIRST FRC Seattle Regional which is a high school robotics competition.  It's March 18th and 10th (Friday and Saturday) at Qwest Field Event Center, from 9-4 pm (with a lunch break for the participants from noon to 1 p.m.) It's free to the public.  From the website: Event is for all ages. Self guided Robot Pit tours are available, but closed toed shoes will be required (no sandals or open footwear). Eye protection is required and available for loan. Baby strollers not allowed in Robot 'Pit'. Seattle is represented by teams from Franklin High, Ballard High, Nathan Hale and Cleveland High.   They are looking for volunteers if you are interested in helping out. Also to note, students from Coe Elementary will competing in a national robotics contest using Lego in Carlsbad, California in May. (Not to plug Legoland but it's a far be...

Looking at the School Board agenda for tonight's meeting, there are many changes. (One thing that hasn't changed is that there is no information what the Superintendent's update, CAO update or COO update will be about tonight.) One big change is that Kay Smith-Blum has withdrawn her amendment . Her statement seems to reflect having listened to her constituents and finding their reasoning plausible. First, I have withdrawn my amendment from tonight's agenda. I greatly appreciate your input and sincerely apologize for any anxiety caused. My amendment would NOT have reassigned any student, but I appreciate neighbors who would like to see their children continue to be assigned to the same school and greatly appreciate the upheaval the NSAP/TT Minor closure has had on the neighborhood. The numbers the board received LAST NIGHT from Tracy Libros show that Steven's enrollment will be up from the already 111% capacity, and do not include siblings of current Stev...

I attended the BEX Oversight Committee meeting on Friday. As usual, interesting stuff. No Board member attended. Here's a recap. the problematic Small Business Hub program seems to be dismantled and nearly shut down. What is interesting is that they absorbed all the 4 employees into the Facilities department. I don't want to be unkind but why? If that program is no longer going to exist, why did we need to keep four people? (This is the program that the State Auditor called out for having morphed from a policy that the Board created to make sure the district did outreach to small/minority businesses wishing to do business with SPS into a $1M a year, 40 class program. Most of the people attending these classes never did any business with SPS which is why the audit said it was improper use of capital funds.) Nearly 2 million dollars will leave our Operations budget and go back to Capital. So we don't even have to wait for the state to cut funding to our district - we do it do...