Seattle Schools Community Forum

As some of you may have heard, there was polling done on the upcoming elections by Strategies 360.   They state:  None of the firm's clients paid for the survey, and Strategies 360 is supporting neither client.    (Yes, but someone thought up those questions and I can guarantee it wasn't all Strategies 360.)  The poll was 400 likely voters, 78% white, skewed to the north and highly educated.  Nineteen percent have children in public schools while 11% have children in other schools. Sad to say but in this poll, the School Board ranks only above "Republicans in Congress" and below Obama, Inslee, Democrats in Congress, Ed Murray, the City Council, and Mayor Mike McGinn.  The totals were favorable-37%, unfavorable, 32%, ouch. They asked a number of interesting questions about Seattle Schools, the School Board and the role of the Mayor.   They asked about which of the following items " will be most important to you in deciding who...

I met the Mayor at a Starbucks (on the very day there were flash strikes at a few Starbucks but not the one we were in).  He was in an expansive mood and ready to talk Seattle schools. The Mayor always talks as "we" meaning his team at City Hall.   So he started by saying what "we"  have been doing.  It's a pretty long list: doubled the Families&Education Levy and helped support its passage launched a successful attendance campaign (with private companies and local celeb support) launched an Education Leadership Group, believing that many groups/entities are on the same education road.  It includes Superintendent Banda, reps from our community colleges as well as UW, a Labor Council rep, someone from the Gates Foundation, the Seattle Foundation, and United Way among others. worked on creating programs for pathways to careers, summer jobs  and summer food programs listened to Superintendent Banda's presentation on the district's new Strat...

Or are you waiting to see how it all shakes out after the primary on August 6th?  On the one hand, the one person I did not want to be mayor - from a public education standpoint - was Tim Burgess.  He made it much easier because he walked away.  (But he made it clear he hoped for a new mayor in the fall.)  I am continuing to talk with all the candidates and it makes for some interesting discussions.  What I plan to do is offer tidbits of those conversations and make some suggestions for candidates I think would be good for public education.  There won't be any endorsement per se of one candidate.  There are several mayoral forums coming up this next week: Sunday, June 23rd , the South Lake Union Mayoral Forum at  2 pm at the Immanuel Lutheran Church at Pontinus and Thomas (moderated by C.R. Douglas - I'm a big fan of his).  Wednesday, June 26th , the City Neighborhood Council Forum from 6-8 pm at City Hall, Bertha Knight Landes Room...

From the Times : The candidates who were there had some tough talk for Seattle Public Schools. State Sen. Ed Murray said if he were mayor, he would forge a new partnership with the school district to increase the graduation rate. “The school district has to change,” he said, vowing to make improvements in the graduation rate and how money is targeted — or, he said, “Please yell at me and vote me out of office.”   Usually, the school district blames the state Legislature for district problems, so it was interesting to hear that. Ed Murray is my senator and yes, I am a bit surprised to hear him say this.  He hasn't said a lot about Seattle schools in any pre-mayor bid venue.  His advocacy has been limited (and appreciated) to the Legislature.  Without specifics, this isn't much (and I'm still waiting to interview him so we'll see). Also, note to the Times, the district does not blame the Legislature for all its problems; just the funding ones.  ...

I had a few queries about the upcoming Mayoral Forum tomorrow, May 2nd, at Hamilton.  It is sponsored by the 46th, 43rd, 36th and 32nd district Dems (that's why there is nothing at Hamilton's website).  There will be a meet-and-greet with the candidates at 6:30 p.m. with the forum at 7 p.m.  The forum will be moderated by Enrique Cerna of KCTS.  I will be attending this one.

Did anyone attend this forum last night?  I wasn't able to go.  I'm sure Publicola and The Stranger Slog will have a round-up (and the first one on Monday sounded entertaining).  But since this forum was put on by an education group, I was wondering about the questions.  I will be going to the one at Hamilton tomorrow night. 

The King County Democrats had their endorsement interviews this weekend and have put up the questionaires that each candidate filled out.  Very illuminating. To note: Murray, Martin, Harrell, Steinbrueck all say no to charters (and vouchers) Burgess and McGinn gave "qualified" answers to charters.  Here they are: Burgess I did not support the charter school campaign last year as I viewed that effort as a distraction from some of the larger issues we need to address related to public education. I’m a strong advocate for innovation and reform in public education, but these initiatives should be pursued in cooperation with our teachers, principals and parents. We have seen significant reforms in Seattle Public Schools through the collective bargaining process; for example, teacher evaluation protocols and creative approach schools. McGinn I believe we should monitor the 40 charter schools authorized statewide by the statewide initiative to determine whether they g...

Monday, April 29th Special meeting of Audit& Finance .  One single thing on the agenda - potential RIF presentation by HR head, Paul Apostle. Also, if you wish to speak at the School Board meeting on Wednesday, you can start calling/writing at 8 am on Monday. Tuesday, April 30th Charter Commission Meeting in Bellevue from 10 am - 5 p.m. at the Bellevue Arts Museum.  Agenda .  Open to the public (and people do come and go). They will be having an Executive Session first thing until 10:40 am.  They will then have a presentation about "charter school research findings" from the CRPE's Robin Lake.  (I have heard Ms. Lake speak before and she's a charter cheerleader. I'll be interested to see what the reaction is from the members.) Public Comment is at noon.  They are electing officers and any bets that Steve Sundquist won't be chair?  Mayoral forum from 6:30-9:00 pm at Garfield High School.  

CPPS, Community and Parents for Public Schools, is hosting a Mayoral candidate forum on Education. Tuesday, April 30 6:30 - 8:30pm Garfield High School Commons 400 - 23rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122 Candidates who have confirmed their attendance: Tim Burgess, Bruce Harrell, Kate Martin, Michael McGinn, Ed Murray, Charlie Staadecker, and Peter Steinbrueck Join these seven candidates running for Mayor of Seattle at the CPPS Mayoral Candidates Forum on Education. Ask questions and learn how the next mayor proposes to help ALL Children receive the support that they need to gain a quality education. Let's make our presence known and send a message to the next mayor of Seattle! Be there and please spread the word!

From the press release: Community & Parents for Public Schools (CPPS) Seattle announces the first mayoral election season forum discussing Seattle public education: "Focus on Students, Families, Communities: The CPPS 2013 Mayoral Education Forum." The forum will take place April 30th in the Garfield High School Commons. CPPS will hold its annual meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The 90-minute forum will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. All mayoral candidates who filed prior to March 15th have indicated they will attend. Community & Parents for Public Schools (CPPS) of Seattle is a citywide network of parents and community members working as one to ensure quality public schools for all Seattle children. It is known for its ability to foster authentic grassroots engagement in the public school system. Instead of lobbying for adoption of its own education philosophies, it works to train parents to effectively advocate for their own students and community need...