Seattle Schools Community Forum

Here's a great website from the DOE, chock-full of good advice and information. Whether you’re a student or parent, years away from college or just about to start, the following checklists will help you get ready. Elementary School Checklist : Student and parent checklists that start the student on the road to enjoying learning and point the parent to resources for college savings accounts. Middle School Checklist : Student and parent checklists that get the student thinking about high school and possible careers and encourage the parent to keep an eye on the student’s progress. High School Checklist: Student and parent checklists that help the student focus on succeeding academically and learning about financial aid and provide the parent with tips for supporting the student and participating in the financial aid application process. 9th Grade Checklist 10th Grade Checklist 11th Grade Checklist 12th Grade Checklist

Not sure that ROI (return on investment) is really the best way to look at what college/university you pick but for some degrees, it could make a difference.  The Atlantic has a comparison.  Look at where UW is. It's important to be clear about what this study is telling us and what it's not telling us. The fact that the most valuable colleges here seem so predictable is an interesting data point, because the predictably best colleges tend to get the best students. So what you're seeing here isn't just the quality of the school's education but also the quality of the students it attracts.  Indeed, that's one reason why it's important to not conflate "highest ROI" with "best" or "smartest."

Wednesday, October 23 Work Session: Strategic Plan Performance Measures from 4-5:30 p.m.  No agenda available. Work Session:Distribution Services from 5:30-6:30 p.m. (hard stop at 6:30 pm as they have an Executive Session at 6:30 p.m.)  Agenda Thursday, October 24th Road Map to College event from 3-6 pm at Chief Sealth Int'l High School District IV School Board candidate forum at Lawton at 6:45 p.m., featuring Suzanne Dale Estey and Sue Peters. Saturday, October 26th Community Meeting with Director Patu from 10 am to noon at Cafe Vita. iCollege event with Washington State University faculty, staff and alumni, from 10:30 am- 1:30 pm. at Seattle City Hall. No registration needed, free lunch for the first 300 students who show up.  Looks like a great opportunity to learn about WSU and get help with the college application process with multiple workshops.  They are raffling off a free iPad mini as well.  Also to note on your calendar:

An article in the Huffington Post about college costs caught my eye. Over the past three decades, the inflation-adjusted income of the median American family has basically remained stagnant. The same can’t be said of college costs, which have simultaneously surged to almost unrecognizable heights , according to a new report by the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Costs at private nonprofit four-year colleges have increased by more than 150 percent since 1982, but the real trouble is at four-year public schools, where inflation-adjusted costs have experienced a startling 250 percent jump. Yikes.

I had heard of this but never checked it out before - the online Visual Dictionary .   It could be helpful (and fun) for kids who are visual learners.  If only we had known this sooner about Michelle Rhee .  Interesting article from John Merrow- Who Created Michelle Rhee?  Turns out, all of us.  From Ed Week , School Board Transparency in the Digital Age. As online and digital interactions increase, so too does public concern that officials have more opportunities to violate state open-meetings and open-records laws meant to prevent them from communicating secretly. Maryland is among several states that are taking other steps to bring such laws into the 21st century. The legislature set up a joint committee on transparency and open government in 2011 to examine how Maryland can promote government transparency—in the state capital, Annapolis, and locally. Committee members evaluate current policies and practices on meetings and records and make recommendat...