Seattle Schools Community Forum

Friday memos , the gift that keeps on giving.

Or, as more commonly referred to, the SAP. Background The district created a new Student Assignment Plan in 2009 that was approved by the Board.  It was a big change, primarily because the district went from a choice plan to a neighborhood plan.  I know that many of you don't like this form of SAP but, at the time, many parents were clamoring for a neighborhood plan because of the assurance of knowing what school their child would be assigned to.  The interesting thing I wonder about is that under the choice plan, 90% of people received their first choice.  That's a pretty good percentage but was that their desired choice or just the best choice they felt they could make in terms of knowing where their child would be?  I haven't heard any numbers on the choice within the neighborhood plan. Then, with the explosive growth in the district, the plan had to be tweeted and so there was a Transition Plan.  What is confusing to me is that the district is stil...

Looks like someone's trying to revive the reviled Inbloom (the $100M public education data cloud that Gates created) by making a kinder, gentler one.  I, along with some other student data privacy advocates, see this as much less threatening than InBloom but I would have to see all the particulars before I could say it was okay.  From Washington Monthly:

From the  Licton Springs Site Council: On the Monday we return - January 5th, 2015 , Licton Springs K-8 and the Urban Native Education Alliance will be hosting a showing of the documentary Eaglestaff , which tells the story of Robert Eaglestaff celebrated Principal of Seattle's nationally-recognized Indian Heritage School. The film will be  at 6:00pm , in the Little Theater at the Lincoln Building,  4400 Interlake Avenue N  (entrance on N43 Street). There will be a Q&A section with the filmmaker and graduates of the Indian Heritage School afterwards. The public is welcome. Also, here is the trailer -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIJa2m1vCng

Friday, August 8th BEX Oversight Committee Meeting , 8:30 am-10:30 am, JSCEE, Room 2750 Minutes from June. It will be interesting to see if the downtown school issue will be discussed.  (Yes, I know that BEX money is spoken for but it might come up as a topic.) No Community Meetings with Board directors on Saturday the 9th. To note: next week, the schedule starts picking up again with two Board committee meetings and one Community meeting.  SPS News: Distinguished Seattle Public Schools Health Services Manager Katie Johnson has been named one of 20 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows for 2014. Johnson joins a select group of nurses from across the country chosen to participate in the final cohort of a three-year leadership development program aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of nurse leaders who are working to improve the U.S. health care system. According to a news release from Mayor Murray's Office on July 21, 2014, five new ...

Sometimes it's not the explosion but the slow burn. After attending the Wilson-Pacific BEX meeting last night, that slow burn on this project may be the fuse that ignites voters to say no to the next capital levy measure.  (That would be BTA IV in Feb. 2016.)  I know.  February 2016 seems like a long way off and voters forget, move on, etc. Except that Wilson-Pacific is an extra-ordinary project that if not done well, could have severe outcomes for the district for BTA IV.  Because, by then, this project will be well underway.  The project was slated for $110M and - big surprise - is now up to $116M (that's the number I heard tossed out last night).  I would put up highlights from the meeting but there were very few (except for the good humor of BEX spokesman Tom Redman who managed to interject some laughs into the crowd of about 140).   Sadly, staff did not seem to anticipate such a crowd and did not have nearly enough chairs out.  ...