Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: of interest this week is the Board Work Session .  The topic? HR.  More on this in the thread, Seattle Schools This Week to come. end of update Neither Roosevelt nor Garfield placed in the top three for the Essentially Ellington competition in NYC but congrats to all these musicians for getting there and representing Seattle. The Times has two articles of note on Seattle Schools. One is about librarians and libraries in SPS.  A group of SPS librarians did their own research on funding for libraries and the fruit of their work is troubling.   For many libraries, the library fund is very dependent on the PTA.  From the article:

The American Library Association sponsors Baned Books Week every year to highlight censorship around our country.    From The Answer Sheet : "More than 11,300 books have been challenged in libraries and schools since 1982, when Banned Books Week began. The 10 most challenged books in 2012 were: Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , by Sherman Alexie Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group Thirteen Reasons Why , by Jay Asher Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group Fifty Shades of Grey , by E. L. James. Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit And Tango Makes Three , by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group The Kite Runner , by Khaled Hosseini. Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually ex...

Seattle Public Library created an enormous (over 2300 books) book domino chain and let it loose last Friday.  It took them five tries to get it right.   Bravo! This is in support of their 2013 Summer Reading program (have you signed your kid up yet?).

Garfield's library has entered the Follett Challenge.  "The Follett Challenge was designed to reward school libraries for their work applying technology, content and creativity in ways that engage students, foster literacy and promote critical thinking. " The video is called " One Book, One School; Community Wide Reading for Plugged-In Teenagers " and was made one of our contributors, Johnny Calcagno and Garfield librarian, Janet Woodward.  The entire freshman class did a field trip to the International District, met with internment survivors, and did papers and projects on the book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet .  If you have the time, please check out their video in support of their submission and give them a vote.  It's money that could go to serve the many students who use the Garfield library. 

Yesterday, Superintendent Banda and Mayor McGinn announced a new partnership called " Evening Community Meetings in School Libraries " that would open every school library for use by community/neighborhood groups.  The cost would be $15 for meetings held after school hours. From SPS Communications: Any local community group or nonprofit organization is eligible to sign up, but the libraries are not available for business or commercial uses, nor for events that have admissions or fees. Reservations will be available from 6 – 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday during normal school calendar academic business days.  Visit http://tinyurl.com/9ltgx4q where you can sign up for a user account, submit a request for space, and read the Seattle Public Schools rules and regulations (including the payment process and insurance requirements).   The fee is $15 plus any applicable custodial or heating and cooling costs. Rental does not include use of computers in the lib...

The National Center for Family Literacy is offering grants for their Libraries and Families Award.   Three library literacy programs that serve families will win $10,000 each and scholarships to the National Conference on Family Literacy in 2012 and 2013. Applications are due by Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. If your library is doing a great job connecting parents and children with books or if your school librarian has a great idea for that, let him or her know about these grants.

Good news from both the district and the Times , West Seattle Elementary has a brand-new library with new books, paint, carpetings and 10 iPads via a partnership between Target and the Heart of America Foundation.   The projected cost was $200k.    Mayor McGinn attended the ribbon-cutting.   Motivational quotes are part of the new library:  She pointed to new motivational quotes on the library's walls such as "Un libro es un amigo que nunca te dara la espalda" (Spanish for "A book is a friend that will never leave you") and "It is important to remember that we all have magic inside us" (from J.K. Rowling). Ballard High School student Meron Kasahu , along with 826 Executive Director, Teri Hein , were awarded the 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from first lady Michelle Obama at the White House on November 2nd.   The award is the highest recognition for community-based arts and humanities programs, such as 8...

Wednesday Work Session on Integrated Capacity Management - 4:00 - 4:45 p.m.  No agenda/presentation available yet. Exit Conference for Financial Statements and Federal Single Audit Report - 4:45 -5:30 p.m. - This would appear to be for the State Auditor's office.  I'll call for more details.  Board Meeting - 6:00 - 9:00 pm.  Agenda Highlights: Science update by Cathy Thompson - ( for fun, look for those grammatical errors).  They feel they need to keep explaining what alignment is and is not but teachers, how are you seeing the alignment as it rolls out?   Page 8 gives the science scores for last year - there is quite a clear divide and I'd be interested to know what factors are in play.  (It can't be facilities; Nova does almost as well as the higher ranked schools like Garfield and Center.)  There is finally a written validation process - again, teachers how likely is it an alternative science course can be validated as this is ...

Did having a budget survey done matter? On the face of it, no, it did not. I say that because (1) it has not been referenced by staff at all during any budget talks except that it occurred, (2) there is no analysis of the specific questions and (3) the comments section was not broken down at all. However, I'll do it if only to let the Board know what was said. What to keep in mind? This was a poorly design survey (numerous respondents said this so it's not just me). Judging from the answers, the district likely got a certain sub-set of parents/staff. That said, they did receive 2700 responses which is still pretty good. Some respondents clearly did not know certain things about the district so you have to keep that in mind. (It was things like not knowing that high school students only use Metro, APP is not a program at Garfield, etc.) However, 2700 parents, community and staff took the time so let's not make it an exercise in window dressing. Demographics...

I thought that all schools would have the same size libraries (in terms of books) but live and learn. Many elementaries don't have as many books as others. I do recall that there was money spent so that each K-2 (or 3rd) would have a small class library in each classroom. Here's a plea from SPS Parent. From Rainier Valley Post: “I think we have a LOT of challenges, and with the economic situation being what it is, some problems seem hard to solve,” said Graham Hill parent volunteer Anna McCartney in an email to the community. But she added that there is at least one idea that strikes her as fairly simple, and that’s collecting as many new and gently-used books as possible for the budding readers at Graham Hill and other schools. In her plea to the community, McCartney underscored the importance of every classroom having a wide array of interesting books at a variety of levels so students are challenged without being bored or frustrated. She asked community members...

The Times this morning has a story about the great librarian at Roxhill Elementary, Pat Bliquez. She recently on a Golden Apple teaching award for her work. From the story: "Four-fifths of the kids are on free or reduced-price lunch. About half live in households where English is not the first language. About 40 percent live in homes without two parents." "Her principal, Carmela Dellino, is direct about her librarian's value to the school and its 335 kids: "In many ways she's the heart of the school," Dellino said. Bliquez is petite, gentle and soft-spoken, but she's "incredibly effective in fostering books and a love of reading. I can honestly say that her library is more full than the playground at recess. They're grabbing books, they're reading, they're exploring books in that way that we want them to." Bliquez works collaboratively with teachers, to make sure the reading concepts she's imparting align with...

Questions and Answers - NSAP Q: Jane Addams only has a 3-year commitment as a K-8. There is concern that we won't be able to attract parents in January if they don't believe the program will continue. A: Dr. Goodloe-Johnson initially seemed confused (even though it was a pretty clear question, maybe she forgot where she was or the circumstances in the new JA creation). Anyway she said there were 3 factors to consider. One, the comprehensive school report. Two, enrollment at JA. Three, we are going into year 2 of the NSAP. Geographic zones are going to be drawn for option schools. There may be a boundary issues for Garfield. Between November and January we should know. (So the enrollment number analysis plus the geographic zones created should give us the answers to what tweaks may occur for the NSAP. This would be a good time to stay tuned in and not zone out during the holidays.) Q: Will boundaries for neighborhoods be redrawn? A: That's always a question mark...

I was reading the Washington Post Answer sheet (about education) and the question was ask, "What's the number one thing parents can do to help teachers?" The answer was, in an admittedly small survey, make sure your child gets adequate sleep . I was a little surprised, not because it isn't important, but that it would be the main thing that teachers thought of as an answer. Teachers, what do you think? On the subject of parenting , I read this article in the September O Magazine with suggestions from a teenager about how to talk to teens. It's useful info but with some cavets: "When I talk, please turn off the tv, phone, computer - it's frustrating to have to compete for your attention." "Bring up dicey subjects in a natural way; don't interrupt breakfast to ask if I'm taking drugs." "Because I said so' isn't helpful; if I don't know why I shouldn't do it. I'll probably do it again." "Yes,...

Do you use our public libraries? I do. I think our libraries are one of Seattle's greatest gifts to its citizens. We taxed ourselves to renovate them and nearly every neighborhood can see the benefits. The City is proposing a 23% reduction in hours. The City Council is having a public hearing today on the budget. I don't say go down there (unless you are so moved) but please take a minute to write to our City Council members and tell them the benefits to your family as well as to others in these hard times. Here's info from an article in the Times this morning: "Under the proposal, 21 out of 27 branches in the city would be closed Fridays (when all branches are now open) and Sundays (right now, 16 out of 27 branches are open). On Wednesdays and Thursdays, these 21 branches would open an hour later (11 a.m.) and close 2 hours earlier — 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. On Saturdays, they would open an hour later, at 11 a.m., closing at 6 p.m. (the way they do now) . ...

There was this article in the Seattle Times today that got me to thinking: "To some Bellevue parents, it's hard to believe that all five of the city's high schools made it onto Newsweek's list of 100 best schools in the U.S. — and all five are about to lose their school librarians. " How was this decided? "The decision was made by each one of the school principals, said School Board President Chris Marks, and the board does not intend to overrule them because "principals really ought to know what the actual needs are, and serve them the best," she said." "Littrell-Kwik and others say they wish Bellevue had used a process like neighboring Lake Washington School District, which held several large public meetings and conducted an online survey, to help decide where the cuts would be made.' Public meetings to ask the public's opinion and an on-line survey? Good job, Lake Washington. Now I generally hold school librarians in high rega...

I just wanted to provide the links to the Seattle Public Library and their summer programs for kids and teens . They are free and provide a link to reading activities plus fun.