Seattle Schools Community Forum

The minutes from the last Operations Committee meeting shed some light (if somewhat dimly.) From the December 17, 2015 minutes: FACMAC:   Resurrecting FACMAC was discussed. Dr. Herndon explained that the FACMAC was a superintendent advisory committee working on the operational side which is different than the BEX Oversight Committee, is a professional advisory board appointed by the Board of Directors. The committee expressed concerns that the former FACMAC had been primarily run by two people and did not represent the school district equally. Dr. Herndon will be discussing the committee with the superintendent in the next few months when current workloads have lessened. 1) Which "committee" expressed these concerns - BEX Oversight or FACMAC?  2) Who were the two people?  (I have my own thoughts but I don't really know.) 3) Finally, it would be GREAT to see FACMAC back but that "discussing in next few months after workload lessens" doesn't exactl...

From SPS: Lunch/Recess Times -          We understand the concerns of parents regarding lunch and recess times. This is an issue we are taking seriously and are working to address. -          A Wellness task force has begun looking into the concerns and issues surrounding lunch times throughout the district. The purpose of this 18-month long task force is to examine nutrition, physical education and physical activity. -          The task force will provide recommendations to the superintendent at the end of this time period. -          Creating daily school schedules has become increasingly complex, due to multiple factors and requirements. This includes: o   State Board of Instruction required educational hours o   Recess times o ...

 Anybody get a call from the Gates Foundation survey folks?  My household did. According to my son, they asked some general questions and then got very specific.  What did he think of the efforts of the Gates Foundation in public education?  What did he think about the Gates Foundation's efforts around Common Core? They really need a poll to figure out what they are doing wrong?  I am assuming the Gates Foundation is doing the poll because 1) they fund everything and 2) who else would fund a poll on them? From SPS Legal about Title IX (bold mine): At this point the staff commitment is to create the very best Title IX program we can, complete with notices, training, and effective responses to incidents. This requires a clear chain of responsibility. Our first step was to create a Title IX web page, designating the key individuals. We are updating it frequently. We've recently provided sexual harassment prevention and response training to every school a...