Seattle Schools Community Forum

The district is still doing its website survey so weigh in if you, like many of us, find it less-than-useful. I gave Roosevelt my younger son's graduation gown so that another student could use it.  But I do have a black gown and a navy blue gown if anyone wants them or knows a kid who can't afford one. (sss.westbrook@gmail.com.)

It's quite the mash-up of topics for this week's Board Work Session on Wednesday the 24th from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm: Early Learning/Seattle Preschool Program 4:30 pm- 6 pm SMART Goal #4 - Early Hiring 6 pm - 6:45 pm SMART Goal #6 - Customer Service 6:45 - 7:30 pm Each of the presentations is quite different. Early Learning starts on page 3 of the agenda.  Staff claims that there are 60 students in the three SPS-located City Pre-K.  But they also claim that there is space available at all three locations.  Which naturally begs the question - what is the stated class size limit for these classrooms? (Answer: 20 students per class so I'm unclear how there is still space available.  (The graph shows 20 students in each location.)  They also don't say that it has taken months for the two City-enrolled SPS classrooms - Original Van Asselt and Van Asselt - to get to this level.   Then, there are pages of "data" that I'm not sure adds much to the...

More fleshing out tomorrow but: - Lunch/Recess Matters made a huge impact at the Board meeting. Armed with signs, cute kids (and a couple who were great speakers "We need to get the wiggles out") and, most of all, research and facts to back up their argument, speaker after speaker asked how so many schools were cutting back on the length of time for lunch/recess.  The press release about the lunch/recess issue did not entirely jibe with what Pegi McEvoy told the Board about what the district is doing.  She said there were two taskforces so I'm unclear if the one referenced in the press release is a new one or one of the existing ones.  I'm seeking clarification. - Directors Carr and Patu were not in attendance. News that Communications head Lesley Rogers is leaving was sad news for all. Rogers is one of the most hardworking yet cheerful people in SPS and she will be missed.   - The Board voted 5-0 to reject the district going forward with applying to a...

Further Update:  I asked about Seattle School District's request for a district waiver for NCLB.   (Banda did this back in early July.)  I hadn't heard anything and Communications says time is running out for waivers so an answer will likely come in the next week or so.  I doubt if the district will get it but if they did, that would be good news.) Update: - also Dr Nyland is working this week.  It is unclear to me whether there is any contract in place (despite me asking the question.) - info on the Source from the district: SOURCE is normally down during the summer, this is not unique to this year.  SOURCE is taken down because schools are not in session, and work is going on behinds the scenes to 1) complete end of year processing, 2) implement and update student/academic schedules (which change right up until the final day) for FY15, and 3) complete software upgrades to PowerSchool and related applications.  As a result, we take SOURCE...

Even though school is out there are several important meetings this week. Tuesday, June 25th Work Session on Growth Boundaries , 4:30-6:30 pm, no presentation yet available. This is the Work Session that Tracy Libros referenced in her remarks to the Board at the School Board meeting last Wednesday.  She mentioned that Lucy Morello of BEX would also be presenting in conjunction with capacity management. Community Meeting about the Wilson-Pacific projects , 7:30 pm at W-P Wednesday, June 26th Work Session on Strategic Partnerships and Communications , 4-5:30 pm  (I have no idea of how anyone thinks there could be any real discussion of any of these departments in this amount of time.  It's just ridiculous unless, of course, the idea is to NOT have discussion.) - Government Relations presentation - Office of Public Affairs and Communications presentation . - School and Community Partnerships Department presentation .  Oddly, this one includes the new - - - ...

In her letter to the community regarding the appointment of Marni Campbell to the position of Executive Director of Schools in the northwest region, Dr. Enfield wrote: We know quality teaching is the number-one factor for student success. This statement is totally false. We actually know that the number-one factor for student success is the active involvement in the student's education by an adult in the child's home. It has been demonstrated time and time again that home influences utterly swamp school-based influences on student achievement. Dr. Enfield knows this statement to be false, yet she wrote it. What does that mean? A) She was trying to misinform and deceive the public. B) She is misinformed herself. C) She is a sloppy writer who neglected to add the word "school-based" between "number-one" and "factor". I don't know. I can't make conjecture about it. I do know that I called district communications and asked them and t...

Here is the presentation from today's Work Session on the Strategic Plan with survey results.

Just so we all keep up to date, looking at the district website, it appears we now have four Assistant Superintendents.   Pegi McEvoy - Operations (interim) Robert Boesche - Business and Finance (interim) Cathie Thompson - Teaching and Learning  Noel Treat - Deputy Superintendent (interim) It states at the Superintendent's page: The process of restructuring central office at the John Stanford Center has a near zero budget impact.  What?  Cathie Thompson has a new job title and her old job is being filled by someone else.  Don Kennedy was COO/CFO and now those jobs are split into two.  Noel Treat isn't being paid more for his new workload?   So that statement about zero budget impact is a little hard to believe but like most statements about money in the district, no data is ever given. Also, I see they are advertising for not only Cathie Thompson old job, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, but also for the additional Executive Dir...

Just got word that as Lesley Rogers comes in to the district as the new head of Communications, long-time Communications manager Patti Spencer-Watkins is leaving.   Her last day is tomorrow.   Here is a list, for future reference, of who handles what in Communications: Paige Hatcher, 206 252 0200, pihatcher@seattleschools.org - general inquiries about communications support Teresa Wippel, 206 252 0203, tewippel@seattleschools.org - media or communications planning advice; support for principals Robert Teodosio, 206 252 0104, roteodosio@seattleschools.org - web, publications, logo queries Bev Shanahan, 206 252 0200, bshanahan@seattleschools.org - principal communicator

Just when you think you've heard it all - this from the Seattle PI blog (and our alert readers here): The financially-struggling Seattle Public Schools has paid an outside consulting agency for public relations help since October. Patti Spencer, school district spokesman, said Seattle-based Strategies 360 was retained after the district’s executive director for Public Affairs left on leave. “We brought in Strategies 360 in to help until such time as a new person is appointed,” Spencer said Thursday. I'll interrupt here to say that is just nonsense. We live in a major metropolitan center full of smart PR people and we're in a bad economy. Bridgett Chandler (the former head of Communications) left months ago. They really couldn't find anyone? FYI, Communications, since MGJ, has been one part communications and two parts public relations for MGJ. Spencer didn’t know how much the consultants were being paid, but said their fee was coming out of private donor ...

So SPS: Why is there no news and information on the News and Calendar page for 2011? Not one item. Also, no new SPS Schoolbeat e-newsletter since December 2, 2010? ( Update: so on a hunch, I went and checked the new SPS website and lo and behold, there was calendar information for Jan. 2011. So now, until the old website is gone, we get to check TWO websites for information. I thought the link to the new one was just for observational/input, not that it would have information not available at the old one. It would be nice if the district had told people this.) In the job description for the new communications director, there is mention of a "School Board communications point person." Who is that? Why doesn't the job description for the new communications director mention something like "effectively communicating information and issues about SPS to the parents, community, voters and elected officials?" It seems odd that communicating with your ...

First up, Bridget Chandler, the head of Communications for SPS, has resigned to take over as CEO of the Central Puget Sound Council Campfire group. This is effective Jan 3. 2011. Bridget always struck me as pretty smart so naturally I had to wonder how much she could take at SPS. (I'm thinking the next 6 months could see many central administration figures leave.) Second, guess who was in town today (and shhh, was it state secret or something)? Michelle Rhee. Yes, over at LEV, they mention she visited and... Rhee spoke to a diverse audience of parents, teachers, principals and other education advocates about a new initiative she founded to drive reforms and improve student achievement in education. Rhee will continue her listening tour tonight in Seattle with students and parents. Really? I wonder who those teachers and principals could be given it was a school day. Or who she is talking to tonight. Weird how LEV heavily promotes every event and yet this one comes up...

I would like to believe that the district wants to effectively and in a timely fashion communicate information to parents. Is that what they do? No. I actually don't know whose duty it is write what shows up on the webpage. I don't know whose duty it is to put up the information on the website. Are they told "Get this up ASAP, parents need to get this information quickly." (I have the smile when I write that - who am I kidding?) Like the Superintendent, I think most of the people who work in Communications have the skills necessary for their jobs. But they get their direction from top and basically, they serve as public relations for the Superintendent. Not the district and certainly not the Board. (I've heard complaints from the Board about being able to get their own message out. What they might want to say might not always jive with what the district has to say.) The Superintendent has completely taken over Communications and she decides what we hea...