Seattle Schools Community Forum

The Times is reporting that the City will be installing speed cameras at five more school zones this summer.  They are Roxhill Elementary (WS), Dearborn Park Elementary (Beacon Hill), Bailey-Gatzert Elementary (Central) and Eckstein Middle (NE).  They will be used starting Sep. 2nd.  For the first 30 days, you'll get a warning and then the ticket is $189.  They will be used one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon most of the time. The Times is also reporting that the Bellingham School district is installing a panic button in every school office in their district using a grant from OSPI.   (As I previously reported, SPS also received money from this grant but I am unsure what it will be used for in our district.) The UW's Computer Science and Engineering Department recently honored 57 teachers in our region for being "Inspirational" teachers.  They include Assegid Derseh from Chief Sealth International High School and John Boucher f...

Naturally, in Seattle, the first "summer" holiday and it's raining.  At the Columbus College of Art and Design, two anonymous students create art for all to enjoy. Something to show the artist in your home. New names to look for in, say 2019, in SPS classrooms: And once again, Game of Thrones rules. There were 1135 Aryas, 241 Khaleesis and 67 Daeneryses born in 2013.   As well, for girls there is Vanellope, Pistol, Prim, Rarity (from My Little Pony?), Charlemagne and Rebelle.   (Editor's note; because "Rebel" is just too tough for a girl's name? I assume she'll be a feminist rebel.) Brand new boy's names included Rydder, Jceion, Hatch, Tuf, Lloyal, Xzaiden, Charger, Kyndle, Power, Warrior, Kaptain, Subaru, and Vice.  (That second one - Jceion - I believe is a new way to spell Jason.) The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is awarding nearly $7 million this week to 80 school districts to help them install emergenc...

Good morning and it was a great talk by Diane Ravitch last night.  I'll have a wrap-up.  A new program from Seattle Police: Do We Have Your Bike ?  via Twitter. Right now, SPD has about 500 “found” bikes in storage at our Evidence Warehouse. Each one of those bikes was abandoned somewhere in the city, then later recovered by officers. We may have your bike, and we’d like to reunite you with your wheels. Also, from the State of Washington, the Governor's office has an initiative , Results Washington , where you can register ideas on five goal ideas including "World Class Education."  (Still hate that "world-class" term which Diane Ravitch can easily refute.)   They seriously want the ideas so let them know. The other initiative is The Great Washington Shake Out on October 17th to practice earthquake drills  (So far SPS has not registered to participate and it's only Bryant, South Shore, Stevens Wedgwood and West Woodland that have registere...

A headline from the Huffington Post - Oklahoma Schools Lacked Consistent Tornado Shelter Rules.   From the article (highlights mine): The two elementary schools leveled by the deadly tornado that swept through the Oklahoma City area Monday lacked designated safe rooms designed to protect children and teachers, despite state warnings that the absence of such facilities imperils lives. At least two other schools in Moore -- the epicenter of the disaster -- did have safe rooms. So far no fatalities have been tied to those schools, whose buildings were fortified after a devastating twister hit the area in 1999. These disparities in structural standards speak to the seeming randomness of who lived and who died in a natural disaster now blamed for taking the lives of at least 24 people, including nine children. Requirements for safe rooms in public schools vary from community to community across the swath of Midwestern and Southern states so accustomed to letha...