Seattle Schools Community Forum

Yet another stupid, yet potentially lethal, "no you do it" challenge is racing around the country.  It's called the Cinnamon Challenge and basically, it's swallowing a teaspoon of it without water.  (I recall this as trying to swallow a half-cup of flour in my day.) Now you think, "Cinnamon - how bad can it be?"  The issue is that cinnamon is a minor caustic that can burn mouth tissue and, worse, can cause breathing difficulties.  If a child has respiratory issues such as asthma, it could be life-threatening (as has been the issue in several cases throughout the country where children had to be put on ventilators.  It seems like you wouldn't have to tell a kid not to do this but I can see how they think cinnamon is sweet and delicious as it seems it is on a Cinnabon. Fantastic guest column in the Washington Post's The Answer Sheet by Ronald Willett, a former university professor, researcher and administrator and former corporate executive.  Th...

From one reader about exiting poorly performing teachers: What is "the process" and how can parents provide support and documentation? How does a parent know if the process is underway? What timeframe does it involve? What constitutes a "bad" teacher according to the District?  All good questions.  I don't know the whole process.  It is likely detailed in the teachers' contract.  What I do know is that the first step is to go to the principal and ask.  He or she should be able to tell you what you, as a parent, need to do and what next steps are.  If he or she is unwilling to do so, document your outreach and go to the Executive Director (and, of course, cc the principal).   I believe the timeframe is at least 6 months to a year (unless there is gross negligence or abuse) because if the principal believes the action is warranted (again, is this based on the number of parent complaints?  I'm not sure), he has to sit down with the...

Some items of interest from the district: Open Hours with District Leadership Do you have a topic about Seattle Public Schools that you want to discuss face-to-face with District leadership? Open office hours are available Thursdays from 3-5:30 p.m. rotating between Dr. Susan Enfield,Interim Superintendent; Dr. Cathy Thompson, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning; Pegi McEvoy, Assistant Superintendent of Operations; and Bob Boesche, Interim Assistant Superintendent forBusiness & Finance. Click here for the full Open Office Hours Calendar These 15-minute appointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call or email to schedule time to talk about schools,curriculum, transportation, finance, enrollment, policy or whatever topic you choose. Better Food, New Items in Cafeterias Seattle Public Schools Nutrition Services Department has launched "Family Night Recipe Tastings" at several area schools to try out some new proposed menu...

(Actually I'm one of those Seattle freaks who doesn't drink coffee. Tea drinkers unite!) It was a little funny. I called Jane Addams at 8 to find out what time the coffee chat truly was. I was told she was running late but on her way. I got there at 8:30 and she still wasn't there. She came in about 5 minutes there. There was her intern, Bernardo Ruiz from Family Engagement and my favorite translator (whose name I always forget but he has a wonderful smile). In the end there were about 25 parents (I think people were confused on the time as people wandered in all during the coffee - we told her intern that this was not good). She said a number of very interesting things and I have to wonder if I heard correctly (so if you attended, help me out). So she started off thanking us for coming and briefly touched upon continuing Strategic Work on curriculum alignment (don't call it standardization!), school reports (which I think confused people, some thought she me...