Seattle Schools Community Forum

As a heads up, the district is offering (at nearly every elementary and K-8), Jump Start for kindergarteners.   Sounds like a great program.  From the flyer: It is a weeklong experience for new kindergarteners and their families to learn about their new school. Children will become familiar with the school building, staff, and typical school-day activities and practices. This summer, over 50 elementary and K-8 schools across the city of Seattle will offer Jump Start the week of August 18-22 . Jump Start will run for five consecutive half-days (usually 9 a.m. to noon). Parents/guardians will have a chance to meet with the school principal during the week. Interpreters will be available for children who are English-language learners. Families who have enrolled their child in kindergarten will receive a letter from their assigned school inviting them to participate. Families will need to reserve a space and return needed health and safety forms ahead of time. Not every ...

The district has sent out a letter to "principals, teachers and staff."  It does not include parents but I'm supposing that is not an omission but rather, a separate letter to be sent. I think there will be a few readers here who will say, "I told you so."  I myself have told various Board members, through the years, that in Seattle Schools, if there is smoke, there IS a fire somewhere. Evidence that your voice(s) can make a difference.  I believe in this case, that it has.  (Bold mine) Dear Seattle Public Schools principals, teachers and staff, Making sure each and every student has access to a high quality education is our goal at Seattle Public Schools. As part of this work, we have spent the last several years working to improve our Special Education services. More than 7,000 students receive Special Education services and we know we need to do a better job to meet their needs. Last year, the state Office of Public Instruction (OSPI) dir...

From SPS Communications: When:   Tuesday, July 22, 2014 Time:   6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Where:   Seattle Public John Stanford Center Auditorium, 2445 3rd Avenue South What:   A family meeting hosted by Seattle Public Schools and the TIERS Group (Teams Intervening Early to Reach all Students) to hear about the results of an evaluation of special education services, recommendations and the revised comprehensive correction plan. 

I did not attend but this is an open thread for any discussion for anyone who did attend. 

Tuesday, April 22nd "Open Mic Night" on Special Education , from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Rainier Beach High School, 8815 Seward Park S.  Families of Seattle Public Schools are invited to join experts from Louisiana State University and the TIERS Group (Teams Intervening Early to Reach all Students) during two Open Microphone Nights to give feedback on Special Education services. Seattle Public School’s Special Education Department is undergoing a Comprehensive Corrective Action Plan (C-CAP) to help improve results for our students in special education. As part of this plan, the department is working with experts from Louisiana State University and the TIERS Group for consultation on activities related to C-CAP targets.  They will be visiting the District the week of April 21 to collect data for initial analysis on the Special Education department. Part of their data collection will incorporate family input. Families are invited to give feedback orally or in wri...