Seattle Schools Community Forum

The reporting on the School Board meeting will be in two parts as there was major discussion around the Gates grant for a preschool at Bailey-Gatzert and discussion around funding a downtown school building. Part One. It was an evening of back-and-forth about the Gates Foundation grant for a preschool at SPS, curious claims on room at that school (for preschool AND for downtown kids) and not one, but two, mariachi performances.  Director Blanford was not present for the majority of the meeting (but came in later).

(Yes, I know I'm supposed to be gone but I saw this in my mail and wanted to pass it along to any interested groups.) The W.K. Kellogg Foundation yesterday  announced  a $5 million investment to identify and expand promising family engagement efforts that support early childhood educational success. Given your interest in education and family engagement issues, I thought you might be interested in sharing this news with your networks. I’ve included more information and a sample tweet below. The foundation is seeking initial submissions of intent from organizations and groups striving to build innovative, equitable and effective family-engagement approaches and will invest up to $5 million in 2013-14 with possible funding of up to $500,000 for one to three years. Applications, available on  this website  which includes more information, are due  Sept. 23, 2013 . From First Book Seattle: If you work with children from low income families or i...

Monday, October 15th Superintendent Banda will be busy as he bounces from the Seattle Special Education PTA meeting and the Seattle Council PTA meeting .  Both are from 7-9 p.m. The Seattle Council meeting is in the auditorium but it is unclear where the Special Ed PTA is meeting.  I'll find out and post it. The Seattle Council PTA meeting includes Q&A on I -1240.  It also includes a presentation of the BEX IV levy. Tuesday, October 16th Operation Committee Meeting from 4-6 p.m.  Agenda .  To note, Pegi McEvoy will give an update on the BEX IV levy to the group.  Other items include the Student Assignment plan for 2013-2014. Wednesday, October 17th School Board meeting.  Agenda . A rather important one as this will introduce the BEX IV levy list AND the Board will vote on a resolution of a NO against I-1240.  I suspect quite a run for the speakers list especially from those supporting charters and the downtown folks. To get ...

From SPS Communications: Seattle Public Schools has been awarded a 2012 Partnership District Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University.  SPS was honored for making excellent progress in developing its leadership on partnerships and for guiding schools to develop goal-oriented programs of school, family and community partnerships. “Seattle Public Schools is demonstrating that research-based approaches can be used to make every school a welcoming place and to improve student attendance, behavior, achievement, and high school graduation rates,” said Dr. Joyce L. Epstein, Director of NNPS. Seattle Public Schools, a member of NNPS, received the award after providing detailed descriptions and evidence of specific strategies for helping schools improve their partnership programs to support school improvement goals.  Essential elements of district leadership on partnerships include teamwork, systemic approach, le...

Love those Seattle sunsets - stunning.  From the West Seattle Blog , it's not Apocalypse Now or M*A*S*H - it's the Museum of Flight taking delivery of 23 (!) helicopters today and tomorrow for their show, American Heroes Airshow , “Courage at the Speed of Flight."  It's a free show at the Museum tomorrow between 10 am and 3 p.m.   From Ed Week , a summer reading list around family engagement in schools .  Fun fact that I learned from doing some research on SPS, the late John Stanford, beloved superintendent?   He modeled some of his reforms on charter legislation that was in the Legislature.  But charters themselves?  Not so much.  He said, " We've prepared ourselves to be competitive. "  Interesting. Hearing rumblings of a couple of parent/community driven campaigns against I-1240.  Gee, I thought it was only the union against it.  Guess not.  One early "no" out the gate?  Those solid citizens at the...

A new Gates Foundation report (with Scholastic) has just come out called Primary Sources: 2012 - America's Teachers on the Teaching Profession. They surveyed about 10,000 teachers via e-mail and in person about schools, their classrooms, student and teacher performance and assessment, tenure, family involvement, job satisfaction and digital content.  It was not revealed to the teachers who was sponsoring the survey.  One chart that jumped out at me is on page 12 called "I mpact that various effects would have on improving academic achievement". Will you look at that - Family involvement and support was picked to be "very strong" or "strong" by 98% of the teachers.   High expectations was second at 96%.  Principals was the third choice at 91%.  And coming in fourth (Earth to Bill) - lower class sizes at 90%. Interestingly, lower class size was more important to teachers of older students.  What came in low on the scale for teachers?  A longe...

Good for the district; they are reporting that more than 500 people attended their Family and Community Engagement Symposium last Saturday.    Their account of it included some good photos. B.F. Day Elementary is redesigning its school playground and looking for input.  There will be a meeting on Tuesday, November 15th at 9:15 am with parents, staff and community to seek ideas.  Lowell APP students got very lucky with a visit from children's author (and member of the Decemberists), Colin Meloy.   What I thought was great is that he talked about the book, Wildwood, , did a Q&A and then asked them to imagine Discovery Park as a new setting for the book.  The kids came up with - what else? - Candy Country. 

Just received this (partial) notice from Dr. Enfield and SCPTSA President, Lauren McGuire (highlights in red mine): On Monday, Oct. 17, we are jointly hosting an SCPTSA Fall General Meeting from 7-8:30 p.m. at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, 2445 3rd Avenue South, to talk about how to best ensure all of our families are truly engaged and connected to our schools.  Have you ever wondered about how to get involved or what role you can play in your school’s decision-making process? Join us next Monday, Oct. 17 and get your questions answered . We will be there, along with School Board Vice President Michael DeBell and members of the District leadership team, to discuss and answer questions about the School Board's policies on School Governance.  All school communities and family members are welcome, whether or not your school has a PTSA. As part of our work together, we want to remind families how important it is to get involved in your school.  R...

Monday, October 10th CPPS' "Parent Friendly" School Board Candidate forum at Washington Middle School, 2101 South Jackson St. from 7-8:30 p.m. The district  is having an Early Enrollment evening with the help of the Asian Counseling /Referral Service from 5:30 pm- 7:00 pm.    Here's a blurb from ACRS's website about them: Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization offering a broad array of human services and behavioral health programs to Asian Pacific Americans in King County. ACRS is the largest multiservice organization serving all the different Asian Pacific American communities - immigrants, refugees and American born - in the Pacific Northwest. Tuesday, October 11th Audit and Finance Committee Meeting (Audit) from 4-6 p.m.  The agenda reflects the following: audit response performance audit (capital) follow-up Special Investigation (Pottergate) 09-10 Audits (I have no idea what this is...

Family Symposium on October 15 From the District: We at Seattle Public Schools are committed to preparing all of our students to graduate ready for college, careers, and life. A component of this commitment is strengthening Family and Community Engagement District wide. We would like to invite you to participate at our Annual Family and Community Engagement Symposium scheduled for Saturday, October 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Garfield High School located at 400 23rd Ave Seattle, WA 98122. The goal of our Family and Community Engagement Symposium is to support our families as critical partners with us in their student’s academic success. At this Symposium, we will offer workshops for our families and community partners on research-based best practices and practical strategies to help them support student academic achievement at home and in the community. PLEASE JOIN US! Light Breakfast and Lunch will be provided. Date: Saturday, October 15 Time: 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ...

Spoke with Pegi McEvoy, assistant superintendent for Operations, and guess what?  Roosevelt is finally getting its security cameras by the end of the summer.   Cross that one off my "to-do" list. I knew RHS had been put on the BTA III list for the cameras and had advocated for them to get moved up the list (the $80-90k cost and the time it would take was a complete drop in the bucket for the district under BTA).  Kay Smith-Blum had even asked for this at an Operations Committee but former head of Facilities, Bill Martin said they had a schedule and Peter Maier backed him up.  I think Pegi might have gone to bat on this one (she's the former head of SPS Security) so I owe her.  From the Seattle Council PTSA: This Tuesday, June 28 , the Washington State Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the McCleary v. State of Washington case.  The plaintiff is arguing the State of Washington is not meeting its constitutional responsibility to fully fund...

From: Bill Williams, Executive Director, Washington State PTSA I am pleased to announce that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a grant to Washington State PTA in the amount of $191,424.  Among other things, funds from the grant will be used • to enhance communications with and among our members; • to strengthen efforts to engage all parents, especially those from communities who have historically been underrepresented; and • to undertake a public information campaign about the importance of every student graduating ready for college or a career.   WSPTA is very appreciative of the generosity of the Foundation in supporting our efforts to achieve our vision that every child’s potential becomes a reality.  More information about specific initiatives being funded through the grant will be forthcoming in future issues of the Leadership News.   I can hear some of you now, " But Melissa this could be a good thing.  It's nice...

Sherry Carr still has a community meeting but now Steve Sundquist is having one.  (I'm thinking he knows he should be out talking to people.) Sherry Carr - 8:30-10 am at Bethany Community Church  Steve Sundquist - 10-11:00 am at Fauntleroy Church in the Fellowship Hall There is also the district's Family Symposium: From Cradle to College & Career.   This is at Ballard High School from 9:30 am to 2:00 p.m. Families can get information and resources on early learning, math, apprenticeships, college readiness and more. Seattle Public Schools is committed to preparing all students for graduation – ready for college, careers and life. An important component of this commitment is strengthening family and community engagement Districtwide through sponsorship of seminars and workshops, such as the Family and Community Engagement Symposium. Here's a link to the workshop schedule.   They will have activities for kids.  ...

Sorry this took so long. As I stated previously, I did not stay for the budget portion of the Work Session so this is only about the Strategic Plan. Here is a link to the presentation . Betty Patu was not there and so they recorded the meeting (both audio and video) so it should be available somewhere. Michael DeBell stated that this was to listen to the information but not to set any priorities. What ended up happening was that there were 88 slides to cover and yet for some reason they let the Family Engagement section go on for about 35 minutes. It was interesting info from each of the schools with a FEAT team (Family Engagement Action Team) but I didn't feel it was the right time to present it. So by the time Dr. Goodloe-Johnson got started, she really whipped through the slides. (I've stated in the past that I think the staff presentations are too long and I still believe that is true.) I stepped out as they went into 2010-2011 Governance Priorities starting on slide ...

The Family and Community Engagement Committee is seeking new members. I looked over who is currently on the list and see a lot of good names (including Charlie). Here's a link for more info.

The public is invited to attend a June 2 symposium regarding gang violence in Puget Sound. Keynote speaker will be the Hon. Richard A. Jones, U.S. District judge. National and local experts, community leaders and involved citizens are also scheduled to attend to discuss the growing problem and work toward finding real solutions. The event is free. For more information, contact event organizer the Thomas C. Wales Foundation, at (206) 233-2801. Seattle Public Schools' Safety and Security Department is a co-presenter of the event. Click on the links for the Web page and flier. Gang Violence: Real Problems and Real Solutions for Puget Sound Tuesday, June 2 7-9 p.m. Seattle City Hall, Bertha Knight Landes Room 600 4th Ave.

There is an upcoming event in the district called "Inaugural Family & Community Engagement and RtI* Symposium". From the district's website: "Would YOU like to know how to better assist your child at home with Math and Reading? Would YOU like to know what SPS is going to implement to support your child? Save the Date—Saturday,May 16th You and your family are cordially invited to the Inaugural Family & Community Engagement and RtI* Symposium For our Seattle Public Schools’ Families and their Communities Where: Stanford Center (JSCEE), 2445 3rd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134 Auditorium When: Saturday, May 16, 2009 8:30 – 2:30 ♦ Keynote Speaker and Breakout Session Presenter: Dr. Steven Constantino, Nationally renowned Family & Community Engagement Expert and founder of Family Friendly Schools ♦ Specialists from UW in the *Response to Intervention Model (RtI): “Linking Academic Progress with Behavioral Health” ♦ Workshops on how to support your student with Math ...