Seattle Schools Community Forum

I note some running threads through the various regions and their threads on growth boundaries.  For example, there seems to be confusion over how JAMS will open.  Could you write one single burning question (per commenter) that you are either confused about OR seems in direct contradiction to the comments made by parents/community.   I will try to get them together and send them off to Tracy Libros and Flip Herndon. Also, tomorrow morning is the sign-up for speaking at the School Board meeting on Wednesday, the 16th.  It starts at 8 am so do it first thing. If you want to speak, you must either call 252-0040 - you will get an automated instruction.  OR, e-mail boardagenda@seattleschools.org.  Include your legal name, phone number, e-mail address and your topic.  You will be given priority if your topic is on the agenda as an action or intro item.  If you do NOT give complete info, your name will NOT be on the speakers list.  Y...

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.) Please note; be useful/polite or be deleted.

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

Let's hear your thoughts on any changes (as I write this, I have not read anything yet). 

I have not read one word of it yet.  Read away. Attachment A:  Recommended Growth Boundaries, Feeder Patterns, and Option School Geozones Attachment B : Reference Materials Attachment C: Summary Information on Public Input

Our friends over at CPPS (Community and Parents for Public Schools of Seattle) are looking for your stories. From Stephanie Jones, Executive Director: I am seeking parents who may have been involved in boundary conversations around the NE or AP.  (Editor's note: this is her need here as Stephanie went to most of the other meetings.) CPPS is working on a newsletter that will highlight parent/community stories from around the city about the impacts of boundaries and some of the change themes that are repeating from region to region. I am really interested in perspectives that highlight the community level concerns – walkability and community integrity are things I’m hearing a lot, as well as equity.   Anything else?  In particular, do you have a personal story or can you refer me to someone who does about how boundary changes? I’d like just a paragraph or a few sentences, but am happy to see any background info (letters to board, etc) that people are ...

I was quite startled when a reader, TC,  put in this comment taken from the district's Enrollment Planning - Growth Boundaries page : The information from the September 17 draft is now obsolete. Recommendations to the Seattle School Board, dated October 16, will be available after they are posted with the Board agenda at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 11. Many of the recommendations are different from the earlier draft due to community input. Of course, it IS great the district is listening.  However, it makes it quite difficult to know what may be coming, what will be on the survey and when to given NEW input. Needless to say, if you have not already commented on this, by all means, chime in. If you have commented, I would wait until we see the new recommendations tomorrow and/or see what the survey says (which is to be on-line sometime early next week) to give further input to staff/Board. Since the recommendations will not be available until very late Frid...

A heartfelt message from David Elliot, principal at Queen Anne Elementary expressing some anguish for a situation out of his control.  (Principal Elliot's data on QA/Magnolia growth/enrollment.) I was aware of the unhappiness at Coe over their tight quarters AND that there was some advocacy for QA Elementary's   geozone to change to include more neighborhood students but it looks like it went a step farther. I feel this is an important part of the discussion and find no fault with concern on the part of any parent.  But when you pit school against school, it does no good.  The fine regional group cited in the message is no more but I believe each region should have its own group just to prevent this kind of distrust and unhappiness. To note: this blog hears from many parents on many topics.  If you are planning something at your school or region and believe no one outside the school or region will find out, you'd likely be wrong.  It might make sense t...

No time to do a complete write-up to several major items of note: It appears that some changing are coming to EOCs for algebra and geometry .  It looks like there will be some sort of comprehensive exam coming in the next four years.  Michael Tolley reported this as coming from OSPI and that he had had a meeting with high school principals.  Most seem on-board but a few felt there was too much testing and would only want to give it to students who hadn't passed a class. A lot of talk around the agenda for working with the State Legislature this session .  Director Peaslee asked for a clear document around the costs of services to students, where WA State ranks nationally for per student funding, and class size.  She said there seems to be a disconnect between the realities in the district and what the Seattle delegation understands.  She said a few of them seem to think the new money makes up for all the cuts and it does not.  Cliff Traisman, the ...

Coming just one day after the Introduction of the new boundaries to the Board, the Work Session on on the Growth Boundaries will be Thursday, Oct. 17th from 4:30-6:00 pm in the JSCEE auditorium. There is an Operations Committee meeting right before the Work Session in the Board conference room from 4-6 p.m.

I learned some new things at last night's Board meeting about the growth boundaries and decided to pull them out as a separate thread. 1) There is to be an added Work Session on growth boundaries in the next couple of weeks.  President Smith-Blum stated this but no date was given.  She also stated that a big concern for the Board is that "we don't compromise instructional quality" in these discussion. UPDATE: The Work Session will be AFTER the Intro of the plan to the Board, sometime between Oct 16th and Nov. 20th.  I wish it was before Intro, given we are two weeks out from that.   2) The Superintendent and various Board members specifically said thank you to all who have given comments on the boundaries.  It seems pretty clear that they ARE listening.  And, I believe the Board is listening enough to push back in some areas.  I'm not sure which ones but I believe the plan is definitely fluid. 3) One issue has risen to the top of my radar (t...

I recently wrote to the Board with some of the bigger ideas that I have heard here and percolated up from the Growth Boundary meetings.   Here's what I told them about Wilson-Pacific: What I hear from parents is that they do NOT want to share their valuable neighborhood space with any program if they don't have to.  APP is NOT a beloved program and it will not be welcomed with open arms anywhere in the N/NE.  Why set up a situation like that especially if it may end up that the program might need to be exited? I honestly believe the right course is to leave APP elementary North at Lincoln.  Permanently. (Clearly, not the whole building but it sets up great possibilities.)  You could even have an APP 1-8 there and believe me, it would make many people (pro and con APP) happy.  But what about Lincoln as a high school?  Look, it is really close to Roosevelt already, has virtually no field space and needs massive updates.  So the sol...

Interesting six-part series on math in the NY Times, Me, Myself and Math . Oh those kids! Looks like LA high school students found it quite easy to hack into their new school-issued iPads. One week after students started receiving their iPads, students attending at least three Los Angeles high schools had figured out how to disarm a built-in security lock that was supposed to limit what they could do with the devices. This freed them to use the iPads to surf the Internet, send tweets, socialize on Facebook, stream music through Pandora, and who knows what else besides homework and school assignments.  Student access to social networks and tweets will of course invalidate any of the online exams. All the students had to do to trick the system was to delete their personal profile information and then they were free to use the iPads any way they wanted to.  Last Growth Boundaries meeting at Ballard tonight.  Anyone going?   Update: Stephan Blanf...

 Updates: - there were full tables and most were about one school or area.  There was a Coe table, a Beacon Hill table (with some hard facts about the changes for that area), a TT Minor table, Montlake, etc. - I found these to be people who knew their facts and, if they didn't, wanted to find out more.  One man pushed back against the format, asking why staff couldn't explain who thought up the boundaries and explain them.  He was told they just wanted "comments and feedback."  I don't think many were satisfied with that answer. -Rep Jamie Pedersen was there and he spoke as a father of four (one in school).  I think he's getting a good picture of the issues. Takeaways : - this region HAS had a lot of push-pull from the district.  I honestly had not realized how bad it has been.   And, like other regions, the boundaries are NOT taking into account established "community boundaries or geographical features.  For example, one are...

The FACMAC made a response to the Growth Boundaries plan. You can read the summary of the response here . Here's the short version: Include high schools now. They take the longest to address, there isn't that much time, and the system is integrated. Instead of messing with nearly all of the elementary school attendance areas and middle school assignments, leave most of them essentially unchanged and put all of north-end 1-8 APP at Wilson-Pacific. Put APP there and you can leave almost everyone else alone. Adjust elementary attendance areas only as needed. Re-assign the elementary school - middle school feeders only as needed to add a middle school and adjust for the removal of APP from Hamilton. Rethink some of the BEX IV investments to more closely reflect what we will need and when we will need it.

Monday, September 30th Growth Boundaries meeting at Meany from 6:30-8:00 pm Tuesday, Oct 1st Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Council Meeting from 6:30-9:30 pm at JSCEE, room 2700 Growth Boundaries meeting at Ballard High School Commons from 6:30-8:00 pm Wednesday, Oct. 2nd School Board Meeting from 4:15 pm to 8:00 pm.  Agenda . It's quite a light agenda and this should be a fairly short meeting.  One item of note is acceptance of work performed for Montlake and Thornton Creek.  It's of interest because of the number of times the district performs upgrades to old buildings like Montlake and, if  you totaled all the money put into these buildings over the years, it would have been simpler and better to just rebuild.  Another item is the acceptance of all the portables purchased, moved and set-up for various school sites.  The costs is nearly $1M.  This part of the project will provide 25 classrooms for 10 schools.  (The o...