Seattle Schools Community Forum

This apparently happened yesterday and the reactions are quite interesting.  The document is below this text. From the Soup for Teachers Facebook page:

Franklin High ranks #1 in Seattle high schools in sending students to UW and 6th in the state. (I'm assuming the #1 ranking is for public schools and the 6th is includes private schools.)  From a letter from UW President Ana Mari Cauce about the incoming class of freshman (partial): For example, last year Seattle’s Franklin High School ranked sixth among all high schools for sending graduates to the UW, which I imagine is a point of pride for Principal Jennifer Wiley, who herself earned two UW degrees. Her students have faced challenges throughout their lives, with 70 percent qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches and an unknown number having faced discrimination, whether because of their race, their nationality or their language. As someone who knows from personal experience how access to education can change a life, I’m thrilled that we’ll be welcoming students like those from Franklin and beyond who are eager to learn with you. Let's see - positive academic outco...

Last year my daughter graduated from Chief Sealth International High School in a ceremony that included different color robes for boys and girls. Boys walked in one line and girls walked in another, then came together in a boy-girl pair. Except, of course, to accommodate the mis-match in the number of boys and girls. I didn't see any point in that. The students had to meet the same requirements and were getting the same diploma. What, if anything, is gender-specific about graduation? The answer, of course, is nothing. Franklin High School also had gender-divided graduation ceremony, but no more .

From the district (at 2:30 p.m.): The lockdown has been lifted at both John Muir Elementary and Franklin High schools. Both schools are in shelter-in-place and students will be released on time. End of Update. From the Times, a report of a shooting near Franklin High School.  Apparently, it had nothing to do with the school, the person shot was believed to be between 18-20 but not a student at the school.  (The shooter, though, apparently looked to be younger, about 15-16 years old.)  The victim is in critical condition.  This happened at about 12:30 p.m. Franklin was not put into lockdown but students were told to stay in their classrooms. One thing that I did learn is that the district does have the ability to text students as well as parents about on-going issues at school.  After the Cafe Racer shooting and this shooting, where it was lunchtime with students off-site, it might be good to be able to text students on what to do.