Seattle Schools Community Forum

Email your legislators right now by clicking  here  and ask them to fully fund public schools so they don’t lay off teachers this spring. Dear friend, Please  email your legislators right now and ask them to fully fund public schools so they don’t lay off teachers this spring. Across the state, already-underfunded school districts are being told to prepare for a new round of budget cuts. You may have received letters or emails warning about the possibility of teacher layoffs or program closures. Let's be clear: this is unacceptable. And it's unconstitutional.

Update 3 : partial from letter sent to families that has new information: Next Steps Between Dec. 5, 2016 and Jan. 4, 2017 we will continue to solicit feedback on budget priorities from staff, families, and community partners. I would like to thank the Seattle Council PTSA for hosting three regional meetings for families to provide feedback on budget priorities.  Community Budget Gap Meetings Tues., Dec. 13 , 6:30 - 8 p.m. Ballard High School 1418 NW 65th St. Thurs., Dec. 15 , 6:30 - 8 p.m. South Shore PreK-8 School 4800 S Henderson St. Tues., Jan. 3 , 6:30 - 8 p.m. Franklin High School 3013 S Mt Baker Blvd. Interpretation will be available. To request interpretation please contact publicaffairs@seattleshools.org with your requested needs.  Additional details regarding the budget deficit, budget development timeline, and actions you can take will be posted to the 2017-18 budget webpage by tomorrow, Dec. 2.  If you have specific question...

Washington's Paramount Duty is organizing a trip down to Olympia on Tuesday, September 6th to address the Education Funding Task Force that is working on McCleary funding issues. Yes, I know that's the first day of school but if you can't come, please DO weigh in anyway. E-mail Tali Rausch, who is the head of WPD, with your funding thoughts. She will be compiling these e-mails to present to the committee. A huge stack of statements from parents and communities really would send a message to these legislators. Her e-mail is: tali@paramountduty.org

To note, the Seattle Times has brought on former AP reporter, Donna Gordon Blankenship, as a member of their editorial board. Ms. Blankenship's reporting for the AP was largely around education so she may inform their editorial writing (for better or worse - I always found her reporting less-than-balanced on education with a leaning towards ed reform.) Last summer week for the district with just one meeting this week.  Friday, August 12th, there is a meeting of the BEX Oversight Committee from 8:30-10:30 am at JSCEE, Room 2750.  No agenda yet available.  Next week will see a real pick-up of activity as there all four of the Board's committees will meet plus the first meeting of the Community Engagement Task Force. Also worth putting on the calendar are upcoming ribbon-cuttings for the following schools: - Thornton Creek K-5 - September 1 - 11am-noon - Hazel Wolf K-8 - September 1, 1-2 pm - Arbor Heights - September 6 - 11 am - noon - Genesee Hill -September 6 -...

Update: I forgot to add the new meme on McCleary.  It comes from a guy running against Joe Fitzgibbon in the 34th, Brendan Kolding. He says, yes, THE paramount duty of the state is public education....but nearly everything else should get a cut in order to fulfill it. Clever, no? That way you get to say "I'm absolutely for fulfilling the constitutional requirement" BUT you also get to use that as the excuse for cutting into the health/human services and public safety areas of the budget.

Monday, May 24th Special Education PTSA meeting from 5:30-7:30  7:00 pm , JSCEE Room 2765  (When this meeting was first announced, I gave it a thread by itself and had the correct day/time.  Unfortunately, I checked the district's calendar page when I made up the list for this thread and it was wrong.  I apologize for the confusion.) Board Work Session on governance priorities and Superintendent's SMART goals from 5:30-7:30, JSCEE Room 2750.  No agenda yet available Wednesday, May 25th State Auditor's Office Exit Conference , 4:30-5:30pm Board Work Session on the 2016-2017 Budget from 5:30-8:00 pm.  No agenda yet available. Both in JSCEE auditorium   Thursday, May 26th Washington's Paramount Duty campaign kick-off, Sarajevo Lounge, 2332 1st Ave from 5:30-7:30 pm. Saturday, May 28th Community meeting with Director Burke at the Greenwood Library from 10 am-noon.  Also to put on your calendar: Join the Office of Superinten...

People doing the hard work to get our schools fully funded; let's support Washington's Paramount Duty . Come out for their Campaign Kickoff.   Thursday, May 26 Sarajevo Lounge 2332 First Avenue (Belltown) 5:30-7:30 pm Kids welcome!

Washington's Paramount Duty has a new website and is still working hard to see McCleary fully enacted. Here's how their home page reads: The shameful, endless STATUS QUO Parents and their children live and breathe it every day: overcrowded classrooms ... lack of basic textbooks and supplies ... disappearing arts and sports programs ... unsafe buildings ... overwhelmed teachers ... Pretty much says it all. Now for something pretty funny - former Governor Christine Gregoire is now the CEO of a group - Challenge Seattle - to work on "transportation and education issues."  From Geek Wire:  The new organization officially came out of stealth mode earlier this month, announcing plans  to solve the region’s pressing transportation and education problems with the help of government, the University of Washington, and 17 leaders from some of the largest and most successful local companies. I'll be honest; when I see more business types than any other in a g...

 Update: from the tell-it-like-it-is pages of The Stranger, their view on the current charter school situation in Washington State. end of update. The Governor sounded more annoyed than upset at last night's press conference.  Basically, he asked why the legislature couldn't get its most basic duty done which was to produce the session's Supplemental Budget. Sure, they had hours of time to discuss charter schools and transgendered restrooms but fully-funding schools via the McCleary decision? Nah. The budget?  Ditto. So the Governor held true to his word when he said no budget and he would be vetoing bills and he vetoed 27 bills and signed 10 (most of them about public safety.)  None of them were the charter school bill which got to his desk late.  From Washington's Paramount Duty's Summer Stinson: The legislation can override each veto with 2/3 vote. Or legislature can reintroduce each bill. Bills sent to governor's desk within past five days ...

The Quarterly Journal of Economics put out a report in October 2015 - The Effects of School Spending on Educational and Economic Outcomes: Evidence from School Finance Reforms.   They linked school spending and school finance reforms in public school spending.  (This follows a very long-term study from James Coleman at Johns Hopkins University.  Coleman's work suggested no connection between money and test scores.)  Guess what?  District that had more money, on average, did better.  And their students had higher wages as adults.  The study was not so much about WHY the money affected change but that it DID.

Let's start with charters. You may recall the "yet another faux ed reform group" called Act Now for Washington Students .  This group is organized by the usual suspects - LEV, Stand for Children, DFER and the Washington State Charter Schools Association.  All these get money from the Gates Foundation. They have formed a PAC that hopes to raise (and presumably spend) $500,000 just for this legislative session to influence legislators on charter schools.  They have already spent $20K on 13 House members (each got $1,000) including Seattle's charter cheerleader, Eric Pettigrew.  This is in addition to the number of print and tv ads running.  It is not cheap to run a local ad during football Sunday. 

Update: this is amazing to me (from today at the Facebook Soup for Teachers): Hey Souper Troopers. We have officially checked in with EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT!! ! Last night I got a message from Pam Klein-Farrow with a contact at Seattle World , the last school I had absolutely no word on. They didn't have support this week, so I'm thrilled to say that they're getting coffee, fruit, muffins, and sandwiches today, thanks to Pam, Tully's on Aloha, and Jody Rachelle and her family, who are making sandwiches as we speak. We are here for the teachers because they're here for our students. We will continue to work to support the educators, from within their own communities and communities all across the city, to get them the resources they need to make their schools the places our kids deserve. end of update. I have not heard back from the Soup for Teachers group about what they will do next with their incredibly effective group.  I would love to see...