Seattle Schools Community Forum

During the discussion at the Boundary Changes thread, I was asked to create another thread on what readers found in the Friday Memo on this subject. One reader noted that two of the attachments that were supposed to be in the original BAR are finally at the SPS website.  (And use that in any argument you want to make about going forward - information was not given to the Board and the community in a timely fashion.)

I do want to put forth an accounting of the Board meeting last Wednesday, the 12th, but the MOST important thing is to tell parents to get your feelings/thoughts/ideas/amendments into the Board as soon as possible. My take from public testimony is that there are a couple of big concerns: - grandfathering (many, many calls for this to be expanded) - uncertain pathways to middle school - boundary changes that affect too many schools and their communities I cannot urge you enought to collaborate with other parents/schools and get those thoughts to the Board ASAP. Either: spsdirectors@seattleschools.org (for just the Board) or schoolboard@seattleschools.org (includes senior management) Here's what was said during the Board meeting on this topic.

News from Olympic View Elementary: Third graders at OV organized to bring back tag at recess---and won. They collected signatures, held lunch meetings, and negotiated with the Principal. One of the agreed upon conditions was the negotiating team would make posters explaining the new tag rules for the school community.

The Lowdown on School Funding - How Can We Fully Support our Public Schools? Our schools are continually asked to do more with less dollars. Join us on March 20th and learn what we can do to secure the funding needed to support our public schools. Guest Speaker: Heidi Bennett, WSPTA Region 6 Legislative Chair We will discuss: How public funding of our schools works. How much the state needs to provide in order to meet its obligation under the McCleary decision. Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 7:00pm until 8:30pm at Sacajawea Elementary School,  9501 20th Avenue NE Light snacks provided. Inquire about childcare. This event is co-sponsored by the Sacajawea and Olympic View PTAs. This event is co-sponsored by the Sacajawea and Olympic View PTAS . Questions can be directed to Carolyn Leith at thunderegg@gmail.com.

I was honored to be asked to be the "expert" and fact-checker at a discussion about charters last night at Olympic View Elementary. It was what should be the example of what PTA units bring to their members (and what both the Seattle Council and State PTSA should be advocating). I went for the fellowship part of the evening (a potluck dinner)and the business portion of the meeting. The discussion took place after these events. First, a shout-out to the Olympic View PTSA Board. Boy, they know how to get things done. They had a great turn-out (which warmed my former PTSA co-president heart) that included their principal and many teachers. (In fact, their PTSA membership includes every teacher in the building - must be some kind of record.) Second, I LOVE a meeting that starts and ends on time. That's being respectful of everyone's time. Third, they have a force of nature in their volunteer coordinator who whipped through all their activities and the help...

Last part - I promise. Q: Olympic View's new Special Ed inclusion program is great. However in one kindergarten class, there are 3 children with behavior challenges. The principal is frazzled from worried parents coming in and asking how all the children are going to learn if the teacher has to direct her attention to those children more often than not. Volunteers can't help because of liability issues. (The parent didn't say if there was an IA but I get the impression there isn't.) A: We needed to give better service to students with special needs. They have a legal right to be in the class. Teachers need more training and yes the process is hard on parens. We intervene when things aren't working. Talk to the principal about providing resources and intervention but yes, it's about money. Q: There was a question about a self-contained autism program that had 4 IAs and now has 1. Where to go to troubleshoot this? A: There's a special ed manager f...