Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: Former state legislator, Larry Seaquist, has dropped out of the race for state superintendent.   He has decided to try to shore up Dems in the state House. 

Where we are today? There have been two of the district's four School Bell Times Community discussion events.  (Anyone go to New Holly on Tuesday night or Garfield on Thursday night?)  I reported back on what I saw and heard at Hamilton. The district has chosen to NOT go with the Taskforce's top picks, citing the Taskforce's agreement with the district on transportation costs.  I would like anyone on the Taskforce who might be reading this to contact me (sss.westbrook@gmail.com) and let me know if this is completely accurate.  This is only what I heard from the district. The last discussion event is on Tuesday, May 12th at Chief Sealth at 7:00 pm  I'll just state a couple of things that I believe.

I attended yesterday's Audit and Finance Committee meeting which had several fascinating discussions (and non-discussions). In attendance were Chair Sherry Carr and members Sue Peters and Harium Martin-Morris.  Also in attendance was Superintendent Nyland. I had wanted to attend because of a couple of issues of interest to me.  And naturally, one item on the agenda that I really thought would be dry and not-so-vital turned out to be great.  That's why I go to these meetings - you really learn a lot. The items I had wanted to hear about were: - MOA with Africatown - MOU with the Alliance for Education So what turned out to hold my attention? The presentation on Nutrition Services given by Nutrition Services staff, led by Wendy Weyer.  First, kudos to Ms. Weyer.  While her presentation was long, it was detailed and well-organized.  She laid out the information to the Board in a manner they could follow and then connect the dots.   ...

You may recall the district's press release on this subject said this: Lunch/Recess Times -          We understand the concerns of parents regarding lunch and recess times. This is an issue we are taking seriously and are working to address. -          A Wellness task force has begun looking into the concerns and issues surrounding lunch times throughout the district. The purpose of this 18-month long task force is to examine nutrition, physical education and physical activity. -          The task force will provide recommendations to the superintendent at the end of this time period. -          Creating daily school schedules has become increasingly complex, due to multiple factors and requirements. This includes: o   State Board of Instruction require...

I attended (and spoke at) the City Council meeting yesterday where the two pre-K for all programs were discussed and voted on.  Boy, you want to see a president of a group control the conversation, look at the master, Tim Burgess.  I'll have a thread on this but it is astonishing the City did not work with pre-school teachers and their union on this issue.  Both measures will be going before voters in the fall, not as complimentary measures on the same topic but competing ones.  It's a pity. Wow, big news out of Milwaukee.  NPR is reporting that in order to boost attendance they are bringing back art, music and PE .  Milwaukee Public Schools is one of several school systems across the country — i ncluding Los Angeles, San Diego and Nashville, Tenn . — that are re-investing in subjects like art and physical education. The Milwaukee school district is hiring new specialty teachers with the hope of attracting more families and boosting academic achiev...

There will be a Work Session today from 4-5:30 pm that could be of some interest as it covers a variety of topics.  It's the Oversight Work Session on Coordinated Health, Safety & Security  (Coordinated Health and Safety & Security are two different presentations).  This is Pegi McEvoy's area and she tends to be fairly straight-forward so at least there's a fighting chance of understanding the presentation. I do have to wonder, though,  at the ability of staff to cover such large presentations AND allow for questions from the Board. As usual the S.W.O.T. page has the most intriguing information  (that would be Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats/Risks).  From the Coordinated Health presentation:

Update:   it seems that despite the fact the ConnectEdu has declared bankruptcy last week, they may trying to forge on.  I will ask about the contract that SPS has with this organization and the SPS student data they have. End of update. The district recognized some Nutrition Services staff as part of School Lunch Super Hero Day.  This week is School Nutrition Week so thank a kitchen staff member for watching out for students at your school. It is also PTA Teacher Appreciation week so please do thank your child's teacher for their hard work.  May 6th is National Teacher Day.   It is also Choose Privacy Week as observed by the American Library Association .   It's a time for discussion about "privacy rights in the digital age."  Something for everyone to think about considering the district has is using ConnectEdu and havd kids sign up WITHOUT previously explaining to parents what it is and what student information is being put into th...

From Mary Griffin of the Seattle Special Ed PTA:   SHB 2605 is a step backwards in Washington state’s efforts to make our education system more transparent and accessible for parents. That’s because this bill will make it harder, not easier, for parents to know and understand school district policies regarding restraint and isolation of students with disabilities. Right now, for students with IEPs and 504 plans, districts must provide parents with a written copy of their seclusion and restraint guidelines. This is a smart policy because it helps parents understand up front the limited circumstances under which seclusion or restraint may be used with their children. Yet under SHB 2605, school districts would only be required to share that information on their website; if parents wanted a copy or an explanation, they would have to ask for it. Common sense tells us it’s impossible to ask about a policy you don’t know exists, and yet that is precisely what SHB 2605 re...

From SPS Communications: Symetra and the Seattle Seahawks honored Nathan Hale High School teacher Doug Edelstein as a “Symetra Hero in the Classroom” on Sept. 18, during a classroom presentation. Edelstein is a Social Studies instructor for Grades 10–11. “Doug Edelstein is a remarkable individual and educator, who is celebrating his 20th year as a teacher. He has given his heart and soul to students at Rainier Beach High School, Cleveland High School and now Nathan Hale High School. I have had the pleasure of working with him since 1999 and consider him a mentor and a role model,” said Jessica Torvik, a teaching colleague.  Edelstein is one of 16 K–12 teachers across the Puget Sound area who will be honored for educational excellence in the Symetra "Heroes in the Classroom" program during the 2013 NFL season. Teachers are recognized in front of their students and peers at surprise in-school presentations, and they receive a $1,000 donation for classroom bo...

I recently became aware that just like start times, lunchtime varies widely from school to school.  There is a Board procedure - H61.01 that states: "Meal periods shall be long enough for students to eat and socialize – a minimum of 10 minutes are provided to eat breakfast and 20 minutes to eat lunch with additional time as appropriate for standing in line". "It is the policy of the Seattle School District, that each school located in a District building participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Providing quality, nutritious meals that appeal to students in a safe, clean, pleasant dining environment shall be a priority." As Charlie likes to point out, a procedure or policy is only as good as those who will enforce it.  In this case, that would be the Superintendent.  What has come to light is that a growing number of elementary schools are having lunch periods of 20 minutes or less.   While some kids eat quickly, others don'...

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...

This was in Publicola today (bold mine): More names are circulating as contenders for two open seats in the state house: The 36th District position 2 seat, currently occupied by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, and the 46th District position 2 seat, held by Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney. Both Dickerson and Gutierrez Kenney announced earlier this year that they plan to retire at the end of their current terms. In the 36th, which covers parts of Ballard, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Phinney Ridge, Fremont, and Belltown, several folks are rumored to be considering a run. They include John Burbank, head of the progressive Economic Opportunity Institute (and father of the infamous “latte tax”); Progressive Majority’s Washington State director, Noel Frame; Seattle School Board member Michael DeBell; Brett Phillips, son of King County Council member Larry Phillips and the director of sustainability at Unico Properties; and Jeff Manson, chair of the 36th District Democrats. It is unclear to m...

No district meetings this week because of the Mid-Winter Break.  (At Michael DeBell's community meeting, he noted this is the last long one SPS will have as it goes to a shorten one starting next year.) Charter Legislation One meeting to put out there: the 43rd Dems will be considering on a resolution to oppose charter schools at their meeting this Tuesday night that starts a 7:00 p.m. (this resolution is at the end of the meeting). That makes the 34th, 36th, 37th,46th, King County Dems and Washington State Dems have passed resolutions against charter schools.  And, adding to PTAs that have passed resolutions against this charter legislation, is the Loyal Heights PTA Board.  They crafted a beautifully-written and detailed letter to Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles as well as Frank Chopp, Speaker of the House. Speaking of Chopp, he's MY rep, and I hope to be meeting with him soon to discuss the charter legislation.  As I pointed out to his staff, I am a constituent a...

There have been a couple of stories about the school district appearing in the Seattle Times of late. Among them: Schools face $50M in 'glass palace' debt about the money owed on the purchase and construction of the JSCEE - a scheme that was doomed from the start. School board may ease ban on junk food about proposed changes in the district's policy on vending machine food. This was followed by a weird and misguided editorial (as all Times editorials about Seattle Public Schools are weird and misguided), The Seattle School Board has the budget munchies .

Busy week in SPS. Monday, November 28th Curriculum & Instruction Committee meeting - 4 p.m.  Topics include: skills center update, Board policies on hostility/defamation/discrimination and retaliation, waiver policy, and innovation schools' policy. Capacity Management meeting at Denny at 6 p.m. Tuesday, November 29th Work Session on Board policy Series 6000 (which I believe is about fiscal management.) Capacity Management meeting at Eckstein at 6 p.m. IB at Rainier Beach High School meeting , 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 30th Oath of office for newly elected Board members at 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Work Sessions Nutrition and Advertising 5-6 p.m. Athletics 6:30- 8 p.m. Nutrition Services 8-9:30 p.m. Thursday, December 1 Capacity Management meeting at Washington Middle School, 6 p.m. Saturday, December 3 Board Retreat - NE Branch Library, 6801 35th Ave NE from 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Now this should be interesting.  New Board members, probably some ...

Did you know pizza is a vegetable ?  According to our Congress it is. The House of Representatives dealt a blow to childhood obesity warriors on Thursday by passing a bill that abandons proposals that threatened to end the reign of pizza and French fries on federally funded school lunch menus. The scuttled changes, which would have stripped pizza's status as a vegetable and limited how often French fries could be served, stemmed from a 2010 child nutrition law calling on schools to improve the nutritional quality of lunches served to almost 32 million U.S. school children. Who got this pushed through?  Why our friends in the AFFI (American Frozen Food Institute) with members like ConAgra, Heinz, General Mills and Kraft.  The USDA wanted at least one-half cup of tomato paste on a pizza to qualify as a vegetable serving instead of the current two tablespoons.  Even Italians wouldn't call pizza a vegetable.  Boo to Congress. Heard back from on...

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...

There's a story in today's Seattle Times about the re-assignment of the former head of Nutrition Services, "Seattle schools nutrition director tried, now he's off the menu" . The article is by Nicole Brodeur and it provides about a third of the story, so it's impossible to determine the actual course of events, but the former nutrition director of Seattle Public Schools, Eric Boutin, is no longer in that role. There is some vague, dark talk that suggests that he was somehow forced out by the union, but there are no facts and there's no explanation. Ms Brodeur only tells one side of the story and doesn't even tell all of that, but it clearly prompts union bashing (which dutifully appears in the comments after the story). Where is the District's Communication department riding to the rescue? Nowhere.

First day of July so bring on the summer weather.  (I'm an Arizona girl so about this time of year I get mighty jumpy.)  From the district: The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation has donated musical instruments to four Seattle elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.  The Foundation, which donates new and refurbished musical instruments to under-served schools, community music programs and individual students nationwide, awarded $130,574 worth of instruments to the following schools: Bailey Gatzert, Concord International, Highland Park and Northgate elementary schools, Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School.  Also, more good news: Seattle Public Schools has been awarded $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand a program that provides a fresh fruit or vegetable snack to every student nearly every day. The money will go to 14 elementary schools where 70 percent or more of students re...

From the SPS press release: In May, local band Death Cab for Cutie held a surprise concert for Seattle fans, with all proceeds benefiting Seattle Public Schools' lunch program. The concert raised $7,185.06, which will provide a nutritious lunch to hundreds of students who otherwise couldn’t afford it. The donated proceeds will be administered during the 2011‐12 school year, when kitchen managers at all 20 SPS secondary schools can help students access the funds based on need. This is the second time that Death Cab for Cutie has donated money to support the lunch program at Seattle Public Schools. In January 2009, the band contributed $2,200 in ticket sales from shows played the previous year to help students access nutritious meals they might otherwise have gone without. Eric Boutin, Director of Nutrition Services for Seattle Public Schools said: "There's a direct connection between good nutrition and academic achievement, and we appreciate the efforts of Death Cab...