Seattle Schools Community Forum

I spent all of Saturday - from 10:30am to 5:00pm - at the School Board Retreat along with the school board directors (except Director Martin-Morris who was at a school board directors conference in Washington, D.C.) and much of the senior staff. The morning session was focused on relationship and trust. The afternoon session was focused on setting the Board's priorities for the coming school year. I will spare you news of the morning, though it did feature a number of belly laughs about transparency, keeping commitments, and such. I may have actually barked out "HA!" at one point. The afternoon was the business part of the meeting. It began with a review of the previous year's priorities and a status report on them. I fell in love with Director Smith-Blum all over again when she called bullshit on Michael Tolley's report on the status of the Equitable Access Framework. She made it clear - in no uncertain terms - that the Board had asked for and still wanted a ...

The Schools Board met in retreat with the senior staff today to discuss, primarily, the Strategic Plan. While I could easily list a couple dozen quibbles (I could, don't challenge me on this), the meeting was, for the greatest part actually productive and useful. They did some tangible work, but they also did some very important intangible work today. The group went a long way towards coming together as a team. That's critical if this plan is going to be successful. In the morning and early afternoon they spoke about the Strategic Plan. It isn't bad, it has some focus, and the staff appears sincerely committed to performing an effective implementation. That's all you can hope for. From the mid-afternoon on, the talk was about working together. It was more candid than I expected. Respectful, but candid. Other than the staff and the meeting facilitators, the only other people there were me, Melissa, and Dean McColgan, one of the candidates for District IV. Karen Dem...

Well, that didn't take long. At the retreat, the agenda has the Alliance logo right at the top of the agenda. At the retreat, the Alliance person explained how they had been organizing the retreats for the last 5 years.  The facilitator explained the agenda.  But Sharon Peaslee stopped him and asked how the agenda got shaped. Peaslee said that she had appreciated how, in the past, Board members were queried about what they wanted to discuss.  She said she had not been consulted (nor had Michael or Marty).  They said they "tried" to talk to everyone but didn't.   Peaslee said that it was a Board retreat and if they didn't weigh in, it might not be addressing what they want. Superintendent Banda said they did want the retreat to be about the Board. So I was told the Alliance doesn't shape the agenda.  They sure did today.  And the Alliance didn't have time to touch base with each Board member before the retreat that bears their name.

I finally did find details of the Board Retreat this Saturday, the 1st of March. It's at a place called The Hub Seattle , 220 2nd Avenue South in Pioneer Square from 10:30 am to 5:30 p.m. And once again, you have to pay for parking.  I find this quite off-putting for members of the public given the number of venues in this town (and particularly the number of  - free - SPS ones).  But if you are staff, the Board, or the Alliance, of course, you won't be paying for parking. Then again, I'm not sure the Board or staff really cares if any member of the public comes. The Hub Seattle sounds like an interesting place. HUB Seattle, Bainbridge Graduate Institute, and Social Venture Partners have teamed up to launch a Center for Impact and Innovation in the heart of downtown Seattle. Housed in the historic Masin’s furniture building in Pioneer Square, this unique facility houses one of the largest concentrations of social entrepreneurs in the country. Together, we’re...

Monday, Feb. 25th Open Enrollment starts today and ends on March 8th.  Info on enrollment. Wednesday, Feb 27th Oversight Work Session :  Technology Services - 4 pm - 5ish Work Session: Budget - 5:30- 6:30 pm Saturday, March 2nd Board Retreat - no details available about where or when.   A few words on the retreats.  The Alliance for Education has been gracious enough to sponsor Board retreats, probably for the last several years.  Usually this has been in the form of finding a site (although I don't know why they pay for an off-site rather than using one of the many SPS sites for free), food, printing, etc. However, at the last Board retreat, the Alliance staffer sat at the table, with the Superintendent and the Board.  This was not the norm.  She then gave input during the discussion.  I was completely dumbfounded as this retreat is for the Board, the Superintendent and the staff.  I asked the facilitator (also paid for by t...

There are no Director Community meetings tomorrow as they will all be at the Board retreat.  It is open to the public for observation only.  Agenda .   Their stated "outcomes": Team (working as), Roles (Board roles) and Strategic Plan (affirming Core Beliefs for the development of a strategic plan). I'm sorry but I thought the policy worked out last December/January DID define Board and Superintendent roles.   A whole day to talk about how to work together and what their core beliefs are to move the district forward and no specifics?  This smacks of the Alliance and I have wonder who came up with this agenda.  And we wonder why more doesn't get done in our district. One (slightly) humorous note is that they will be discussing the Senior Leadership Survey.  Many of senior leadership are either brand-new or interim and I'm sure their input could be valuable but again, the most important thing to discuss?  And really, I think all the ...

Monday, November 26th Superintendent Banda's meeting with the Latino community from 6-8 pm at El Centro de la Raza. Feedback, concerns and questions are welcome. Tuesday, November 27th Work Session: Strategic Plan Guiding Principle s from 4:30-6:30 pm.  No agenda available. Work Session: Ethics Training from 6:45-7:45 pm.  (I'm not sure who this is for - the Board or staff or both.) No agenda available. Wednesday, November 28th School Board meeting starting at 4:15 pm.  Sign up first thing Monday morning if you want to speak. Agenda. Action items reflect the 2013 Legislative agenda, approval of "superintendent evaluation instrument: the CSIP approvals, voting in a new Policy 1400 about Board meetings. To note about Policy 1400, it appears the start time is to remain at 4:15 p.m.  It also changes the policy that saying that any changes in the prepared agenda may be requested by the Superintendnetn or a Board member and is approved by majority vote (an...

The Board held their fall retreat on September 22. Here are the minutes . It includes both the worst and the best thing I think I have ever read about Seattle Schools leadership.

The School Board is having an all day retreat from 10:30 to 5:30 on Saturday, September 22 at El Centro de la Raza on Beacon Hill. This is a public meeting. You are welcome to come and watch. Here is the agenda . Most of the meeting will be about developing a Strategic Plan. If that work is getting started, then I guess Mr. Banda isn't actually going to take much more time to listen and get to know the community before he decides what big changes are needed.

This story from the Times on Roosevelt's Ruben Van Kempen , drama teacher and director extraordinaire who will be inducted into the Educational Theatre Association's Hall of Fame in San Diego this week.  One interesting item that most don't know - RHS offers the only full-time theater program in SPS with multiple classes.   His legacy (but he's not going anywhere) - this from a student: "He instilled a belief in me, a belief in following my passions and dreams. Whether I'd gone on to be an engineer or a teacher or anything else, I'd appreciate what he gave me at a really important time." An accomplished stage director as well as an innovative teacher, Van Kempen has trained and inspired dozens of theater professionals, working from here to Broadway. They include Chad Kimball, a recent Tony Award nominee in the Broadway musical "Memphis," as well as Noah Racey, a busy performer-choreographer who'll be the lead in the 5th Avenu...

The School Board had its retreat on Saturday, June 2nd.  I attended most of it.  I have to say it was a bit annoying for them to choose a downtown hotel to meet in as 1)who paid for that? and 2)it means that you have to pay for parking.  Not so encouraging for the public. They had a couple of facilitators who were low-key and kept things on track.  There were several members of the public, one Alliance person and Brian Rosenthal from the Times.  All the Board members were in attendance along with Superintendent to-be Banda.  DeBell was seated next to Banda which is where DeBell usually sits (next to the superintendent).  I'm thinking President DeBell will have a very different relationship from the one he enjoyed with Enfield.  They were quite close. The facilitator had the Board fill out index cards with their "hopes and fears" for the retreat.  (I hate this kind of facilitation but apparently it helps draw people out.)  What seemed...

Wednesday, May 30th Work Session: Special Education from 4-5:30 p.m. at JSCEE - no agenda available yet. Thursday has two great events on solutions, yes solutions, that education experts are going to be presenting to parents and communities.  I have a feeling that this discussion will not be around charters, testing and TFA so if you want to hear different expert voices, attend one of these meetings. Thursday, May 31st Community &  Parents for Public Schools (CPPS) Annual Meeting from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at JSCEE Agenda: CPPS Highlights for Year, Parents' Bill of Rights Overview, Guest Speakers, Board Election.  "Building Quality Neighborhood Public Schools: What Can We Do?" Speakers:  Dr. Margery B. Ginsberg, Associate Professor of Education at UW and co-director of the AIM Center at Cleveland High School Dr. Joshua Garcia, Federal Way Public Schools' Assistant Superintendent of Teaching for Learning.  More info: cppsofseattle.org Parents Across ...

I attended part of the Board retreat last Saturday and part of the (kind of funny) School Board meeting last night.  If you've been around this district awhile, you could definitely feel a change. 

Busy week in SPS. Monday, November 28th Curriculum & Instruction Committee meeting - 4 p.m.  Topics include: skills center update, Board policies on hostility/defamation/discrimination and retaliation, waiver policy, and innovation schools' policy. Capacity Management meeting at Denny at 6 p.m. Tuesday, November 29th Work Session on Board policy Series 6000 (which I believe is about fiscal management.) Capacity Management meeting at Eckstein at 6 p.m. IB at Rainier Beach High School meeting , 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 30th Oath of office for newly elected Board members at 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Work Sessions Nutrition and Advertising 5-6 p.m. Athletics 6:30- 8 p.m. Nutrition Services 8-9:30 p.m. Thursday, December 1 Capacity Management meeting at Washington Middle School, 6 p.m. Saturday, December 3 Board Retreat - NE Branch Library, 6801 35th Ave NE from 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Now this should be interesting.  New Board members, probably some ...

Here is the agenda for the Board Retreat of September 17, 2011. Here are the minutes of the retreat.

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...

Sherry Carr still has a community meeting but now Steve Sundquist is having one.  (I'm thinking he knows he should be out talking to people.) Sherry Carr - 8:30-10 am at Bethany Community Church  Steve Sundquist - 10-11:00 am at Fauntleroy Church in the Fellowship Hall There is also the district's Family Symposium: From Cradle to College & Career.   This is at Ballard High School from 9:30 am to 2:00 p.m. Families can get information and resources on early learning, math, apprenticeships, college readiness and more. Seattle Public Schools is committed to preparing all students for graduation – ready for college, careers and life. An important component of this commitment is strengthening family and community engagement Districtwide through sponsorship of seminars and workshops, such as the Family and Community Engagement Symposium. Here's a link to the workshop schedule.   They will have activities for kids.  ...

I attended about three hours of the Board Retreat today, and I'm glad I was there for the parts I watched. I was the only member of the public in attendance from 10:00 to 12:00 when Sara Morris arrived. The Retreat was primarily focused around one thing: a class on Governance from Don McAdams. He stressed the need for the Board to do the work of oversight. The oversight that he said the Board - any Board - needed to do was three types: 1) To confirm that management decisions (regardless of whether they were good decisions or bad decisions) were compliant with policy 2) To confirm that policies were followed 3) To evaluate performance relative to pre-determined benchmarks I was freakin' THRILLED to hear him say these things. Before I left at 1:00 I suggested that he get an independant perspective of the Board - rather than just hearing about them from them. He asked for the two-minute version (because I was leaving) and I told him that the Board was not doing ANY of t...

Just found out that the Board retreat tomorrow is an open meeting but it's like a committee meeting - no interaction permitted. So if you are interested: Capitol Hill Public Library 425 Harvard Av E Seattle WA 98102 Board Retreat March 13, 2010, 10:30am Oddly, the agenda for the Board meeting for next week on the 17th is not yet available. I suspect that it will be a dogfight for the speakers list so get that phone call or e-mail into the Board office right at 8 am. Your best chance is to be addressing an Action item or Intro item so check that agenda . Also, just to follow up, there is a chart at the SB webpage on previous meetings. It says this about the Jan. 10th meeting: Approval of NTN contract for Cleveland STEM Michael De Bell just let me know that the NTN contract will be introduced at the meeting this week. So what did they vote on in January? I think they voted on picking NTN to be the provider, not the actual contract but that's what we were told.