Seattle Schools Community Forum

There's an article in the Times this morning about IB funding, particularly at Rainier Beach High School.  It reflects a pattern in Seattle Schools that truly has to be addressed.  That pattern is for the district - with a flourish and applause - likes to roll out new and "innovative" programs that are usually wildly popular.  And fund them with seed money and then expect them to continue on (finding the funding themselves.) I truly dislike that the district - and many school boards - like to start programs that they have no idea how to continually fund.  

 Update: I realize my original headline that did contain ("no thanks to the district") and  was not fair.  The district DID create the IB programs at Ingraham, Chief Sealth and now Rainier Beach.  It just that they don't support them in the way those programs should be supported if they expect them to thrive.  Again, the district creates programs they do not support (like IB and dual-language.) end of update The Times owns up to something good happening in Seattle Public Schools (without charters or a state turnaround order).  Tangled in bureaucracy and tradition, public schools need years — often the better part of a decade — for real turnaround, so skeptics may wave off the spike in graduation rates at Rainier Beach High as a mere blip. Or ignore its ballooning enrollment. Or shrug at the dozens of students on track to leave with college credit for advanced studies. No marker is more stunning than Beach’s 25-point increase in graduation r...

Updated from Sunday morning, 1/11, with two Tuesday, Jan. 13th events. Monday, Jan. 12th Financial Aid Event: College Goal Washington Financial Aid Event for Seniors at Franklin High School from 5-7 pm. Curriculum & Instruction Committee Meeting from 4:30-6:30 pm. Agenda A seemingly brief agenda for a two-hour meeting.  The total items seems to clock in at about an hour but two items, Special Education RC-CAP (Jessee/Clancy/Hanson) MTSS (Heath/Dysart) would seem to need a lot longer than 10 minutes each. 

The Shoreline School district is currently in lockdown.  A staff member at Meridian Park Elementary reported seeing a man with a gun. Students on buses currently enroute to school have been rerouted to Spartan Rec Center where parents with ID may pick them up.  The district is asking parents to NOT send their kids to school today.  Also today, Hoquiam School District, Taholah School District on the Quinalt Reservation, Aberdeen School District and South Bend School district - all of these are closed today because of the landslides and flooding in their area. Please send out some good karma/prayers for all these districts and their students and staffs.

I am thrilled to announce that Rainier Beach High School , over three years of hard work, yesterday received their official authorization letter to be an International Baccalaureate high school. From Colin Pierce, the IB Coordinator at RBHS: We are extremely proud of RBHS's new designation as an IB World School, and it is gratifying that the IB Organization - an organization responsible for setting the international standard for high quality curriculum and assessment - has recognized the hard work we have been doing over the past three years.  Their stamp of approval is an affirmation that we have the staff and systems in place to offer the level of challenge and quality of learning required for an IB education.  Our parents, students, and community are beyond excisted to  engage the opportunity this program presents us with.   From the district: International Baccalaureate is a college-preparatory program that includes two years of courses in six subje...

I got a promotional flyer from Rainier Beach High School. It came on an email from the Rainier Beach family support worker/marketing coordinator Virginia Owens.

Monday, Feb. 11th Curriculum&Instruction Policy Committee Meeting from 4-5:30 p.m. Agenda  Tuesday, Feb. 12th Special Education Advocacy &Advisory Council Meeting from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at JSCEE, 2nd floor, room 2700.  The Open Forum & District updates portion of the meeting is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Levy election for Operations and BEX. State of the Union speech by President Obama at 6 p.m.   Wednesday, Feb. 13th Executive Committee Meeting from 8:30-10:00 am.  Agenda .  Review of next couple of Board meeting agendas, government relations, community engagement, strategic plan.  And, the next Board Retreat agenda which I am very interested in because I am hoping to be sponsoring that retreat (just as the Alliance for Education is allowed to). Open House At Rainier Beach High School about their new IB program from 6:30-8:30 .  Any families curious about attending Rainier Beach should plan on attending.  There will be inform...