Seattle Schools Community Forum

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...

Just to remind you that Open Enrollment ends this Friday, the 15th at  4 p.m .  Postmarks do NOT count.  Here's a link to the enrollment page for more info. Also, know an outstanding educator or education volunteer?  KCTS Channel 9 is accepting nominations for their Golden Apple Award .  Any person contributing time or services in Washington state schools from pre-K through grade 12 can be nominated. Nominations can be made online at KCTS9.org/goldenapple or you can request a nomination form by calling (800) 766-0900. Nomination forms must be postmarked by April 30.   The Good News - Washington Middle School student, Deanta Kelly, won the Regional Spelling Bee for King and Snohomish Counties and will advance to the Nationals (it appears there isn't a state championship).  It looks grueling with 3 rounds over 2 days in Washington, D.C. in June.   Deanta won on the word "obfuscatory." I can't spell well at all so I am always v...

The Times this morning has a story about the great librarian at Roxhill Elementary, Pat Bliquez. She recently on a Golden Apple teaching award for her work. From the story: "Four-fifths of the kids are on free or reduced-price lunch. About half live in households where English is not the first language. About 40 percent live in homes without two parents." "Her principal, Carmela Dellino, is direct about her librarian's value to the school and its 335 kids: "In many ways she's the heart of the school," Dellino said. Bliquez is petite, gentle and soft-spoken, but she's "incredibly effective in fostering books and a love of reading. I can honestly say that her library is more full than the playground at recess. They're grabbing books, they're reading, they're exploring books in that way that we want them to." Bliquez works collaboratively with teachers, to make sure the reading concepts she's imparting align with...