Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: And now the Times editorial board weighs in.  Yawn.  Same old, same old (you'd think they would try a new tack but no.)  The Times absolutely refuses to acknowledge the reasons for the turnover in Seattle superintendents.  What is the Board to do in the fact of not one but two financial scandals?  Keep those superintendents?  C'mon.  Then they speak of "a curiosity for a change in governance."   I hate to break it to them but that "curiosity" is only Tim Burgess, LEV and the Seattle Times.  Not in progressive Seattle. And they speak of respect "for staff" as they incessantly berate the Board.  Oh kettle, it's the pot calling. End of update. Of all the issues for the Times to cover about Seattle Public Schools, they pick the issue of superintendents working with school boards. This is an old, tired issue that the Times has covered...repeatedly.  In fact, it seems their go-to, defacto answer to ANY issue in Seattle...

The Alliance recently had an press "event" during a national urban school board directors convention held here in Seattle in late July.  The theme of the convention was "Building Educational Communities to Close the Achievement Gap" but that was not what this event was about at all. I had hoped this would be a press conference but no, it was really a dog-and-pony show to somehow drive home this point of what Seattle's School Board should be.  There was a smattering of press with Directors Peaslee and Smith-Blum in attendance as well.   I was confused as to who was in the room until I realized that some attendees from the convention had joined us as well. The speakers on the panel  - billed as "experts in the area of school board research and effectiveness" - were: Roger Eskine - on the Alliance's "School Board Task Force" and former Executive Director of the SEA Thomas L. Aisbury - Ed professor at Seattle Pacific University - ce...