Seattle Schools Community Forum

No district meetings this week because of the Mid-Winter Break.  (At Michael DeBell's community meeting, he noted this is the last long one SPS will have as it goes to a shorten one starting next year.) Charter Legislation One meeting to put out there: the 43rd Dems will be considering on a resolution to oppose charter schools at their meeting this Tuesday night that starts a 7:00 p.m. (this resolution is at the end of the meeting). That makes the 34th, 36th, 37th,46th, King County Dems and Washington State Dems have passed resolutions against charter schools.  And, adding to PTAs that have passed resolutions against this charter legislation, is the Loyal Heights PTA Board.  They crafted a beautifully-written and detailed letter to Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles as well as Frank Chopp, Speaker of the House. Speaking of Chopp, he's MY rep, and I hope to be meeting with him soon to discuss the charter legislation.  As I pointed out to his staff, I am a constituent a...

Another fine article by Brian Rosenthal in the Sunday Seattle Times, this time about PTA fundraising and our schools.  He certainly did his homework and here's some interesting information: McGilvra Elementary raised over $390K last year.   They have about 240 students.  You do the math. So far this school year, four of the district's nearly 100 schools make up more than one-third of the expenditures. They are all elementary schools in wealthy areas: McGilvra, of Madison Park ($240,280); Queen Anne's John Hay ($215,077) and Coe ($180,000); and View Ridge ($195,000) in Northeast Seattle. Other elementary schools at the top include Adams, John Stanford, Laurelhurst, Loyal Heights and Stevens. At the same time, dozens of Seattle schools, mostly in the South End, don't appear on the list because they don't have PTAs or don't raise enough to go through the central office. Wow.  There is no districtwide database documenting PTA fundraising by school, ...

Okay, Happy NewYear and best wishes for everyone's health, safety and happiness BUT There's work to be done.  First up, charter schools.   I am so unhappy to be having to waste my time on this issue but if not, well then we get to see one more layer of bureaucracy at the state level and more dollars exiting our own district.   (As if we have the money for either thing to happen without a concrete belief that we will get better academic outcomes.) 

A couple of months back, I received a call from Heidi Bennett, the Region 6 Legislative Chair for the PTSA.  She asked me to participate on a panel about charter schools and Washington State.  I have known Heidi for a long time as someone who cares deeply about public education so I told her I would be glad to participate.  I also told her I had been writing a series on charter issues for the blog and felt reasonably well-informed. I told her it was vital to any discussion to have a basic foundation of knowledge or else people would be confusing each other coming from incorrect information.  It does it all no good to advocate pro or con if we don't know the basics.  I also know Ramona Hattendorf who is the Government Relations Coordinator for the Washington State PTSA.   At the PTSA listserv (that I receive), I noted a LOT of discussion around the charter school legislation plank for the PTSA this year as well as charter schools in general.  I...

Reporter Brian Rosenthal from the Times is looking for input: In these days of lean budgets, parents are funneling millions into Seattle schools each year through Parent Teacher Student Associations. That money is paying for everything from computers to music instructors. And of course, the parents in higher-income areas often contribute significantly more money than those in poorer neighborhoods. Many parents also donate their time and elbow grease to ensure their children have a good environment for learning. We're planning a story about these parental efforts, and we'd like to hear your stories. Have you been involved in these funding drives? What kinds of things does your PTSA pay for? What would you like to see done differently? Is this the right approach to paying for public education? Your comments may be used in upcoming stories and it's possible a reporter will try to reach you at the e-mail you registered with. You can also e-mail reporte...

From our friends at the West Seattle blog, news I had to print from Roxhill Elementary: Last Thursday, November 10th, Roxhill fourth graders were treated to a Living Voices performance of Native Vision . Lisa Gladstone, a Blackfoot Indian from Browning, Montana did a remarkable job of engaging our students in the story of Alice, a Navajo girl sent to a government run boarding school in the 30’s and 40’s. Alice became a nurse in the Pacific during World War ll, struggling to keep true to her native culture in a changing world. Before the performance, Roxhill students had read about and discussed how native children fared in the boarding schools and had also learned about the contributions of the Navajo Code Talkers. Their rapt attention during the performance and perceptive questions afterward spoke to how valuable this performance was in enhancing their knowledge of a very complex subject. I am writing to you because this performance was a gift to Roxhill, a gift from th...

Stand has done a couple of puzzling things recently. First, they sent out a postcard supporting Sherry Carr, Steve Sundquist and Harium Martin-Morris.   The question I had was - where's Peter Maier?  Why leave him off?  Damaged goods from Pottergate?  Offended their leadership?  It's just kind of a sore thumb that sticks out. Second, the postcard's top five funders are all from out-of-town except for Jon and Judy Runstad.  Again, I do appreciate that business types from around the Puget Sound area are interested in Seattle public education but I do find it curious that Ballmer, for example, gave no money to Bellevue's School Board races (and yet that's where he lives).    Another couple of funders of the mailer were Jeff Bezos' (Amazon) parents. Third, I received a robo-call about a "Town Hall" that will be held by phone this week.  I'm not sure how it will work but I was told I would receive a phone call about it.  It, t...

(Update: It is with great sorrow that I pass on the news of the sudden death of Senator Scott White who was found dead in a hotel room while attending a leadership conference.  There was no evidence of foul play and an autopsy will be performed to find the cause of death.  Senator White, who had two small children, was a Seattle legislator - Laurelhurst, Northgate, Broadview, Wedgwood, Lake City and Greenwood - who cared deeply about public education.  It is a loss to Seattle.) The Seattle Times has come out with a story about the brouhaha at JSIS over the pledge of allegiance.  The Times does not cover the issue the way we first head it with some parents believing that it is wrong to make undocumented students to recite the pledge.  The Times covers the story as JSIS being a global school and that it is nationalistic to recite the pledge and so hurts the goals of the school. It seems that many parents understand that any child can opt out and as long as t...

FYI from Parents Across America: Parents Across America Seattle respectfully asks PTA delegates to vote NO on charter schools at the Washington State PTA legislative assembly on October 14th and 15th. We are concerned because: * Charter schools are run by private interests, including for-profit corporations. They are accountable to those corporations, not to parents or students. * Charter schools do not solve the opportunity gap. They have a mixed record compared to traditional public schools - according to the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), a full 83% of charter schools do worse, or only as well as, regular public schools. * In an effort to inflate standardized test scores, charter schools exclude some English Language Learners and special education students. * Charter schools have been increasing segregation by race and class, according to the UCLA Civil Rights project. * Charter schools have high levels of teacher burnout, and more than twice...

Just received this (partial) notice from Dr. Enfield and SCPTSA President, Lauren McGuire (highlights in red mine): On Monday, Oct. 17, we are jointly hosting an SCPTSA Fall General Meeting from 7-8:30 p.m. at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, 2445 3rd Avenue South, to talk about how to best ensure all of our families are truly engaged and connected to our schools.  Have you ever wondered about how to get involved or what role you can play in your school’s decision-making process? Join us next Monday, Oct. 17 and get your questions answered . We will be there, along with School Board Vice President Michael DeBell and members of the District leadership team, to discuss and answer questions about the School Board's policies on School Governance.  All school communities and family members are welcome, whether or not your school has a PTSA. As part of our work together, we want to remind families how important it is to get involved in your school.  R...

NBC is gearing up its Education Nation series this week and having a conference in NYC.   Many of the speeches are to be webcast.   Naturally, this is EST so you either have to get up very early or tape/Tivo them.   I haven't been overly impressed with this series in the past but they do have some interesting conversations scheduled. Tomorrow's include an interview with Warren Buffett, Susie Buffett and Melinda Gates at 8:15 am. One great one will be on Tuesday at 9:00 am - a debate between Geoffrey Canada and Diane Ravitch.  I have a feeling they have more in common than might be expected. I'm going to be on KING-5 news at 8:30 am on Wednesday to talk about parent involvement and whether parents need a union.  (This is their phrasing and no, I don't think parents need a union but I do think they need groups who serve as parent advocates.  I don't think that's happening so much now except at a high level - PTSA advocacy for legislativ...

The Times' article this morning on the reversal of the Floe firing has some great quotes.  This from Paul Hill of the Center for Reinventing Public Education: "It kind of gives a blueprint for resistance," said Paul Hill, director of the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education. "It invites a political response to every action." He said it also suggests that Enfield didn't realize Floe could mount a strong political response to what she likely viewed as a straightforward personnel decision. Boy, Professor Hill makes a lot of assumptions.   Blueprint for resistance?  You mean like calling your School Board member, creating a Facebook page, going old school with a peition and talking to the Superintendent?  That kind of scary blueprint? Also, people act like somehow parents are now going to get listened to more often by the Superintendent and staff.  One half-way success does not make parents any more powerful than the...

First up, congratulations to Green Lake secretary, Debbie Passi , the Washington Education Association's Educational Support Professional of the Year.  Also, congratulations to Sandi Whiton, the Academic Intervention Specialist at Chief Sealth High School who received an award from the private college, Whitman.  Her award is called the Distinguished Elementary/Secondary Teacher Award and is given at their commencement exercises to honor an outstanding teacher who contributes significantly to the intellectual development of students.  My puzzlement comes from two places.  One, Ms. Whiton is an academic intervention specialist and what does that mean?  This is something every middle and high school should have.   As I mentioned previously, at the Alliance Breakfast they showed a Denny Middle School video that mentioned an "early incident specialist" who works there.  So obviously these intervention employees exist at some schools but which ones ...

From: Bill Williams, Executive Director, Washington State PTSA I am pleased to announce that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a grant to Washington State PTA in the amount of $191,424.  Among other things, funds from the grant will be used • to enhance communications with and among our members; • to strengthen efforts to engage all parents, especially those from communities who have historically been underrepresented; and • to undertake a public information campaign about the importance of every student graduating ready for college or a career.   WSPTA is very appreciative of the generosity of the Foundation in supporting our efforts to achieve our vision that every child’s potential becomes a reality.  More information about specific initiatives being funded through the grant will be forthcoming in future issues of the Leadership News.   I can hear some of you now, " But Melissa this could be a good thing.  It's nice...

The Board had a half-day retreat last Saturday with all the directors in attendance.   Others in the room included Noel Treat, head legal counsel, Holly Ferguson, director of policy and governance, Susan Enfield, superintendent, Karen Reed, consultant, Theresa Hale, School Board office administrator.  (There was to be someone from the Alliance but she didn't show.  This was somewhat disturbing to me because even though the Alliance states they now want to guide SPS policy, I have no idea why the Board thinks this should be so.) Michael DeBell and Sherry Carr have been the lead directors around this work.  This work is slated to be finished and voted on by the Board by May./June 2011.   Karen Reed led and guided the discussion. This retreat was around revisions/additions to core policies around the Governance and Oversight Policy .  Basically, what is the work that the Board does?  Namely: Board Oversight of Management - purpose, oversigh...

The district has announced the appointment of Robert Boesche as interim CFO for SPS. From the district's news release: Boesche, who started his job Monday, has served as an interim Chief Financial Officer for several Puget Sound school districts, including Edmonds, Shoreline, Vashon Island, Monroe and Kent. He also was employed as Chief Financial Officer for the Northshore School District from June 1989 until he retired in November 2001. He looks like a "fixer" CFO. At least he has a lot of experience. The Times states that Pegi McEvoy, the director of health and safety, is the interim COO. It seems odd that the district didn't include this information with the press release about the CFO. I know Pegi and I like her but I have my doubts that she's the right person. Maybe as a placeholder because while I know she knows the district, her role in health and safety doesn't exactly qualify her for operations. I wish the district had released some more info o...

In all the avalanche of information and stories blasting out over the last week, I have not seen a comment from the Seattle Council PTSA in any news story. Checking their website, nothing. This doesn't mean they didn't say anything; I just didn't hear about it. I ask because, well, they represent far more Seattle parents than the Alliance or LEV. The officers of the Seattle Council PTSA show up to far more events/meetings than staff from the Alliance or LEV. So why so silent? Parents, did anything come to you in an e-mail or kid mail about the crisis from your PTA or the Seattle Council PTSA?

PTA Wars from Time Magazine This article even has quotes from parents at Salmon Bay K-8 (wonder how they found them). We here know the issues: "You now see parent groups paying for a substantial part of the budget," says Julian Weissglass, an education professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "But what happens to schools in poorer areas, where parents can't afford to do this? It's very troubling." But here's a great thing: When the Bellingham, Wash., district cut a conservation program from its budget, the PTA at Carl Cozier — whose leaders say it could have funded the field trip for its own students — asked to spearhead a fundraising campaign so that every third-grader in the district's 14 elementary schools could attend. The district green-lighted the proposal, and PTAs throughout Bellingham joined forces to foot the $30,000 bill. Those are parents committed to equity. The dangers (again, we know this as well): One...