Seattle Schools Community Forum

From the NY Times, a story about a CDCP  advisory committee recommending vaccinating boys and young men against human papillomavirus ( HPV ). The committee recommended that boys ages 11 and 12 should be vaccinated. It also recommended vaccination of males ages 13 through 21 who had not already had all three shots. Vaccinations may be given to boys as young as 9 and to men between the ages of 22 and 26. HPV infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease — between 75 percent and 80 percent of females and males in the United States will be infected at some point in their lives. Most will overcome the infection with no ill effects. But in some people, infections lead to cellular changes that cause warts or cancer, including cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancers in women and anal cancers in men and women. A growing body of evidence suggests that HPV also causes throat cancers in men and women as a result of oral sex. And not to get too graphic here, folks, but for those...

From the district: As part of its commitment to making our schools and community safer, Seattle Public Schools is partnering a second time with the Nick of Time Foundation to host free youth heart screenings on Wednesday, August 24, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. , at Chief Sealth International High School. All students age 14-24 are eligible for a screening, regardless of enrollment status. According to the American Heart Association, one in every 350 young people has an undetected heart condition. The best way to detect these conditions is through a heart screening using an ECG (electrical test) and Echocardiograms (ultrasound) of the heart. The test is painless and takes about 25 minutes. Athletes especially are encouraged to sign up for a cardiac screening. Those interested can download forms at www.nickoftimefoundation.org . To pre-register your child for a screening, email appt@nickoftimefoundation.org . Please include the following information: ·    ...

I wrote an article for Crosscut (the on-line e-zine of the Northwest) about the upcoming Families and Education levy . I talked to both people on both sides of the issue, read all the supporting materials and did research on what the levy has done in the past. I wholeheartedly support this levy . It covers so much ground from pre-K thru high school. New to this levy are programs that the district has eliminated like college counseling and summer learning. In addition, it will have a program the district doesn't have but is working in other schools districts - direct interventions for struggling students. Unfortunately these programs will only be available at the high poverty middle and high schools but better it is there then not having it at all. Most of all this levy has oversight, accountability and transparency. For me, those are the ding-ding-ding "we have a winner" words for a levy. I want to know exactly where the money is going. I want to know that on...

From the AP (picked up by the Times ): "State health officials reported Thursday that California is on track to break a 55-year record for whooping cough infections in an epidemic that has already claimed the lives of nine infants." " Whooping cough is a cyclical illness that peaks in number of infections every five years. Symptoms are similar to the common cold, making it a challenge to diagnose , which in turn makes it difficult for officials to determine if the worst has passed, said Dr. Gil Chavez, an epidemiologist for the California Department of Public Health. A persistent cough that lasts weeks is the tell-tale symptom of the illness , which is also known as pertussis." "The federal numbers for nationwide cases were last updated Sept. 12 and represent 519 more cases than the same period last year, according to the CDC. Other states with high numbers of infections include Texas, where health officials reported 1,783 cases, and Ohio, where fe...