Seattle Schools Community Forum

Notes from an attendee who seemed to think that it was mostly calm.  The upshot is the district will need to have real plans for those who have major concerns but Interagency is going into the Queen Anne gym. From this person's notes:

In reaction to the less-than-kind, less-than-welcoming actions of others in Queen Anne, a group has been formed to explore how to make the placement of Interagency, across from John Hay Elementary, a win for all.  As you may or may not be aware there has been an incredibly misleading campaign against the placement of Interagency Recovery School program at the site of the Old QA High School Gym across from John Hay Elementary.  I, amongst many many others, strongly support the implementation of this clean and sober academic wrap-around program at this site. The program is unique and small, and will begin with less than ten students and will eventually grow to a maximum of 80 students. It fills a critical need for students whose success is so vital. The program supports students who have addressed and made the commitment to facing their addictions and remaining clean and sober. For many of these students this is their stepping stone to also returning onto a path towards a...

I attended the BEX IV meeting at McClure last Thursday.  More on that in a moment. Want to make your voice heard?  Write the BOARD.  Don't write the district, write the Board.  They will make the final choice. Let me say that given the push from the Downtown Association, they have heard loud and clear from some of those folks.  (And, they have probably heard from the City Council and the Mayor as well.)  They need to hear from YOU. Write them at schoolboard@seattleschools.org. Now our friends at the Times printed an op-ed from a nice parent on Queen Anne/downtown.   I would gently say this woman gets a few things wrong but she is certainly entitled to her opinion. I would say, though, that EVERY neighborhood should be entitled to ITS own op-ed to advocate for the schools in its region.   So here's the link to the Times' op-ed guidelines and I urge you to write one for your region/school. There is no reason why the Times should show...

It's Labor Day weekend and I decided to labor by reorganizing my upstairs files. Naturally, most of it is SPS information. It's a little overwhelming trying to look through and then decide what to keep. However, at the end, less paper and more organization. And you know what? You never know what you might find. I've found information that, at the time, was not so important and now, after the Auditor's report, might be quite useful. But all that requires more work before disclosure. However, I thought I would pass along some info that I've come across to put on your radar as we move towards planning BEX IV . Having done nearly all the high schools (sorry, RBHS, Sealth and Ingraham; although Sealth just got quite a nice upgrade) and a couple of middle schools, it seems like BEX IV will be heavy on elementary schools . (I do believe the district is likely to do either Eckstein or Whitman or Washington under BEX IV but given the huge amounts we need to spend now ...

So I received this joint press release from SPS and SSIA (Successful Schools in Action, a local non-profit created to support public schools in the QA/Magnolia area) about what sounds like a wonderful event. From the press release: Successful Schools in Action (SSIA), which runs Seattle’s only elementary school debate program, announced the date for their spring debate tournament. It will take place Saturday, May 22, at Catharine Blaine K-8 from 9 a.m.-noon. Close to 40 fourth- and fifth-grade students from four Seattle public schools – Coe, John Hay, Lawton, and Catharine Blaine, currently participate in this highly successful program. The debate topic is: Seattle Public Schools should change to a year-round schedule. The SSIA debate program is unique in Seattle, and remains one of the only elementary programs in the country. Now in its fifth year, it continues to receive extraordinary accolades. Coe principal David Elliott said, “I have seen the profound and transformative impact ...

The Seattle PI has links to various neighborhood blogs around the city. It's always good to keep up so I like to pick one and read it. Today I picked the South Lake Union blog and it's by a woman who lives in South Lake Union. The title is "Vulcan's Grip on South Lake Union: the how and why of managing a neighborhood". From the blog: Y our average developer creates spaces for living, working and playing and then moves on to the next project. Vulcan's role is unique because they have the power to shape not just one building, but an entire neighborhood and they will always have a presence in South Lake Union, even after the last brick is laid. Naturally, the Vulcan team is acutely aware of their special status, which is why they also envision themselves as being responsible for connecting people in the neighborhood, their prime example being the South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce . I was also surprised to learn that, since the new public school...

About the Sharples renaming. Linda Shaw of the Times did a piece about this and there were a few Board comments. Apparently, the district and the family could not reach agreement on several issues (not all of them named). From the story; "But several of Sharples' grandchildren, although happy the school district was finally attempting to uphold its commitment, felt it had set an unreasonable deadline. Gloria Sharples, a granddaughter who lives in Oakland, Calif., said she and her siblings only learned about the proposal in October and that she hasn't had a chance to visit the Old Hay site. The family, she said, is willing to consider an elementary school to honor her grandfather, but had a number of conditions. One was that Sharples' name would not be overshadowed by any program at the school. Another was that the name Hay be removed from the two buildings on the site, which the district couldn't guarantee." Holly Ferguson, a district staff person, s...

Well, we squeezed in like sardines in the Ballard library last night. (Apparently the cheerleaders had the Commons area so we had the library. Hard to believe.) I guesstimated the crowd at over 200. Directors Carr, Maier and DeBell were there (I think Sherry and Michael may be trying to attend all these meetings). Dr. Goodloe-Johnson was not in attendance. There was quite a different focus at this meeting than the Eckstein one I attended. And that focus was the high school boundaries. So first, did you know that the Ballard area goes north almost to N 125th? I didn't but several Blue Ridge, Crown Hill and other far northwest parents assured me it did. (I should have asked, "When people ask you where you live, you really say Ballard?") I don't mean this in a snarky way, honestly, but it's just not what I always thought. Many people did not like the format for the meeting (big surprise) although somehow, this meeting had a much longer Q&A at the end th...