Seattle Schools Community Forum

I thought that all schools would have the same size libraries (in terms of books) but live and learn. Many elementaries don't have as many books as others. I do recall that there was money spent so that each K-2 (or 3rd) would have a small class library in each classroom. Here's a plea from SPS Parent. From Rainier Valley Post: “I think we have a LOT of challenges, and with the economic situation being what it is, some problems seem hard to solve,” said Graham Hill parent volunteer Anna McCartney in an email to the community. But she added that there is at least one idea that strikes her as fairly simple, and that’s collecting as many new and gently-used books as possible for the budding readers at Graham Hill and other schools. In her plea to the community, McCartney underscored the importance of every classroom having a wide array of interesting books at a variety of levels so students are challenged without being bored or frustrated. She asked community members...

From the blog , " The Adventures of the Kidde Woodward Family" , a SE family's view of the School Reports. It's long but filled with great examples, musings and anguish for what can be done. A few excerpts: First of all: I feel like your relentless reliance on quantifiable data is obscuring some of the things that really matter to me. Now, I know it's important to have specific goals and to track measurable results. But in order to get data tell you anything useful, you have to understand its context. You have to know where the numbers came from, and what their limitations are. You have to ask yourself how (and if) what they're measuring relates to what you think is important. You have to put the data in the service of human connections, experience, and judgment -- instead of the other way around. (bold mine) About South Shore's low scores last year: Do I sound like I'm making excuses? I'm not making excuses. Nor do I mean to imply that...