Seattle Schools Community Forum

I mean, seriously, why does this district bother?  To explain, it was noted by several readers that the testing schedule for Advanced Learning programs is NOT in the school calendar.  And, by law, they have to supply public notice (at least for APP).  You'd think the calendar , going to every single family in the district, would be the ideal place.  You'd think the first-day packets , going to every single family in the district, would be the ideal place. You'd apparently be wrong. So I wrote to the Board and the Superintendent: Special Service Program Highly Capable Students WAC 392-170-042 Annual notification. Annual public notification of parents and students shall be made before any major identification activity. The notice shall be published or announced in multiple ways in appropriate languages to each community in school and district publications or other media, with circulation adequate to notify parents and students throughout the distric...

From SPS Communications: Seattle Public Schools would like to thank those organizations and businesses that sponsored the District’s 2013-14 wall calendar and family guide, which will be mailed soon to Seattle Public Schools students, families and staff. Sponsors include : Boy Scouts of America, Comcast, Defensive Driving School, Delta Dental, Foster Pepper, PCC Natural Markets, The Northwest Network, Safeway, Seattle City Light, The Seattle Public Library, Sound Mental Health, and Stevens Pass.  “We appreciate the support of our sponsors who ensure we can continue providing the calendar to our families,” said SPS Chief Communications Officer Lesley Rogers. “Without these businesses and organizations, the district would eventually have to stop producing this important publication, which provides families and staff with important news and information throughout the year.” The calendar, which features photos of students and staff, is scheduled to be mailed...

From SPS Communications: Families, staff and community members should receive the calendar the first week of September Seattle Public Schools would like to thank those organizations and businesses that sponsored the District’s 2012-13 wall calendar and family guide, which will be mailed soon to Seattle Public Schools students, families and staff.  Sponsors include KOMO, Allstate, Camp Fire, City of Seattle, Comcast, Every Block, PiPlus, the NW Network, Seattle Committee to Save Schools, Stevens Pass and Swerve driving school and Defensive Driving.  “We are thrilled to partner with these businesses and organizations to ensure our families have access to this important information,” said SPS Chief Communications Officer Lesley Rogers. “Without these sponsors, the district would eventually have to stop publishing the calendar, which our families and staff rely on for news and information throughout the year.” The calendar, which features photos and ...

From District Communications: Local businesses, nonprofits and other organizations can now partner with Seattle Public Schools to help defray the costs of our annual calendar, while at the same time reaching a large audience with sponsored advertisements. The calendar, which reaches an audience of 55,000 families, staff and community members, is an essential resource to the district. Becoming a sponsor is a great way to help support the district, staff and students by helping us to fund the printing of the calendar and increase community involvement.  “During these lean budget times, many school districts have eliminated their calendar or placed it in an online-only format, which isn’t easily accessible to all families, especially those without regular Internet access,” said Lesley Rogers, Chief Communications Officer. “With these sponsorship dollars, we can continue to provide our staff and families with this useful information.” Interested busi...

Here's a list of upcoming meetings: Wednesday, September 29 District VI Community Meeting (Sundquist) 11:00am - 12:30pm at the Delridge Branch - Seattle Public Library Board Workshop re Budget Goals 4:00pm - 8:00pm at the JSCEE Thursday, September 30 "Welcome Back" Regional Meeting – West Seattle 6:30 - 8:00pm at Chief Sealth International High School Wednesday, October 6 Board Works Session re School Reports 4:00pm - 5:30pm at the JSCEE Regular School Board Meeting 6:00pm at the JSCEE Thursday, October 7 Superintendent "Coffee Chat" 6:00 - 7:00pm at the SBOC Saturday, October 9 District II - Community Meeting (Carr) 8:30am - 10:00am at the Greenwood Neighborhood Service Center District I Community Meeting (Maier) 10:30am - 12:00pm at Bethany Community Church District VI Community Meeting (Sundquist) 11:00am - 12:30pm at the High Point Branch - Seattle Public Library

Monday, September 20 at 6:30 – 8:00pm Northeast Regional Welcome Back Meeting at Eckstein Wednesday, September 22 at 10:00-11:30am Director Maier Community Meeting at Lake City Library Wednesday, September 22 at 6:30 – 8:00pm Central Regional Welcome Back Meeting at Bailey Gatzert Thursday, September 23 at 4:00 – 6:00pm Audit & Finance Committee Meeting at JSCEE Thursday, September 23 at 6:30 – 8:00pm Northwest Regional Welcome Back Meeting at Hamilton Saturday, September 25 at 10:00-11:30am Director Smith-Blum Community Meeting at Douglas Truth Library Saturday, September 25 at 10:00-noon Director Patu Community Meeting at Tully's Coffee @ Rainier / Genesee Monday, September 27 at 4:00 – 6:00pm Curriculum & Instruction Policy Committee at JSCEE Tuesday, September 28 at 6:30 – 8:00pm Southeast Regional Welcome Back Meeting at Aki Kurose Wednesday, September 29 at 11:30am-12:30pm Director Sundquist Community Meeting at Delridge Library ...

The School Board has a meeting this Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. The agenda is quite full. Among the items: approval of the NTN contract for STEM for $800,000. As has been widely discussed here, there are some troubling aspects of this contract with the bottom line being that it might not be the best and most cost-effective way to set up STEM at Cleveland. The Board has pushed back a lot and now we will see if they stand by their objections or not. From the agenda item: "The funding source for this project will be a combination of Learning Assistance Program (LAP), Building Excellence (BEX), and Cleveland High School budget dollars. Federal and private grant opportunities are also being pursued. " Which BEX and how much from each source? It's this kind of vagueness that always comes back to bite the Board. High school LA arts adoption. The 2010-2011 schedule is being introduced on Wednesday night.September 8th will be the first day of school and June 21 (!) the...

FYI, the 2009-2010 school calendar is up at the district website. First day of school is Wednesday, September 9th and the last day is Tuesday, June 22nd (we must be the latest running school district in the country).