Seattle Schools Community Forum

I attended the Mayor's Education Summit ( Pursuing Equity and Excellence for Every Seattle Student) at the end of April.  I attended the morning session.  (Powerpoints here near the bottom of the page.) Why have I not written about this until now?  Well frankly, I'm not sure what to make of it.

This story was on KUOW today. "Perhaps the greatest challenge we face in addressing the opportunity gap is the persistent disparities in our public schools," said Murray, in an statement promoting the event. schools," said Murray, in an statement promoting the event. "This is not just the responsibility of the Seattle school district. This is clever way for the Mayor to get the City more involved but really he should have said: "Perhaps the greatest challenge we face in addressing the opportunity gap is the persistent disparities in our city.." Because that is equally true AND his turf.

It would seem a simple enough premise - Mayor Murray cares about students in Seattle and wants to find new/effective/supportive ways to help students enrolled in Seattle Public Schools (heck, maybe even the kids in so-called charter schools but that's unclear.)  Here's what's been happening so far. The agenda was published this week.  (See below.)  The Summit is this Saturday, starting at 9:00 am.  T hey have moved it to Garfield High School's Commons due to popular demand.  ( I am a bit mystified about that location, despite it being in a central location.  The street Garfield is on - 23rd - has major construction going on and Garfield has very little of its own parking.  They are warning people about the traffic and have a list of parking lots for attendees to access.) They will be serving a free lunch. So the first half of the Summit is sitting and listing to a lot of people talk?  And why Michael Tolley and not Steve Nielsen or the Superi...

Tuesday, April 26th International School and Dual Language Immersion Programs Meeting Chief Sealth International Schools from 6:00-7:30 pm Seattle Public Schools invites families, community members and staff to share thoughts and ideas on our International School and Dual Language Immersion programs. The district is examining these programs in order to make recommendations about potential changes in the 2017-18 school year. Boundary Change Community Meeting Roosevelt High School from 6:30-7:30 pm Mayor's community conversation on education , hosted by SEA.  Van Asselt Community Center from 5:30-7:30 pm. Mayor's community conversation on education , hosted by SEA.  Northgate Community Center from 5:30-7:30 pm.

The Times had two items of note this weekend; one is an editorial and the other is an article. The article is about field trips and how difficult it is to write a comprehensive policy that everyone can understand and cover.  I feel like this commenter, Teresa A., at the Times: "Without clear guidelines, some teachers and parents say, districts and individual teachers open themselves up to liability." This is all that is really needed.  IF students know what the expectations are AND they know with absolute certainty that the teacher will check on them  and enforce those rules AND they know with absolute certainty that they will immediately be sent home (at their parents expense) if they violate the rules AND they know that no amount of whining will change the teachers mind, then 99% of the students will follow the rules with no problems.  That is all that any reasonable person can expect. Students are going to try and break the rules, t...

Seattle City Club is having a Town Hall event - Seattle Speaks: Making the Grade - to talk about Seattle School district. As the State Legislature defers fully funding public education for yet another year, what are the implications for the Seattle school district?  The first City of Seattle Education Summit in 25 years will happen this spring, and there’s a lot to discuss:  an overcrowded district, the achievement gap, discipline inequity, new programs and decaying buildings.  Are we on the right path to funding and providing a quality education for our students? How can we improve graduation rates? What can the community do to ensure students are prepared to succeed?  Join host Brian Callanan for a town hall discussion on our live, interactive show Seattle Speaks. Presented in partnership with Seattle CityClub, Town Hall and Seattle Channel. Tuesday, April 19th 6:00-8:00 pm Town Hall, 1333 Fifth Avenue In advance of the Mayor's so-called "Edu...