Seattle Schools Community Forum

From SPS: The fall Family Symposium originally scheduled for Oct. 12 has been rescheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23 because of conflicts in scheduling and availability. Seattle Public Schools is committed to preparing all of our students to graduate ready for college, careers and life. The goal of the Family Symposium is to support our families as critical partners in their students' academic success. At this symposium, families and community partners will learn how to support student academic achievement at home and in the community. PLEASE JOIN US! Saturday, Nov. 23 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Garfield High School 400 23rd Ave. Seattle, WA 98122 Supervised child activities for ages 4 and up Light breakfast and lunch will be provided Community Resource Fair Learn how to support your child/youth with: Math, Science, Reading/Writing, Early Learning, Community Arts, Understanding School and Student Data, College and Career Readiness, and much mor...

As we grapple with the minutia of boundaries and enrollment, here's some higher level thinking on education to challenge you. From Ed Week , "What the Goal of Public Education?" , author Tom Segal offers his and others' ideas: Reform, however, has more to do with the learning experience itself. What should we be teaching? How do we think about accountability? How do we balance standards with the complexities of population diversity? Undoubtedly, technology is typically an offshoot of this dialogue, a tool through which much of this reform can be delivered and administered. But they are not the same thing. Reform is a big fancy buzzword that floats around one particular concept: what are we trying to get out of this educational experience, and how do we adjust the current system to reflect these changes?  In your opinion, what is the current goal of the American Public Education System? and.. What should be the goal of the American Public Education Sys...

From SPS Communications: Seattle Public Schools has been awarded a 2012 Partnership District Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University.  SPS was honored for making excellent progress in developing its leadership on partnerships and for guiding schools to develop goal-oriented programs of school, family and community partnerships. “Seattle Public Schools is demonstrating that research-based approaches can be used to make every school a welcoming place and to improve student attendance, behavior, achievement, and high school graduation rates,” said Dr. Joyce L. Epstein, Director of NNPS. Seattle Public Schools, a member of NNPS, received the award after providing detailed descriptions and evidence of specific strategies for helping schools improve their partnership programs to support school improvement goals.  Essential elements of district leadership on partnerships include teamwork, systemic approach, le...

I had planned, nay, attempted to make my way down to SeaTac for tonight's voting on resolutions set forth at the Washington State PTA Convention.  But it is Friday, after 3 pm. and raining.  I tried to take city streets down as far as possible to try to avoid I-5.  But they were terrible (and some kind of incident happened around UW because 3 ambulances had to crawl by).  I gave up.  But it struck me, as I drove back home, why have voting on Friday night?  It's the end of a work week and Friday is notorious for bad traffic.  Why wouldn't you have voting on Saturday morning or afternoon?  You'd have given people from around the state who needed Friday to even get there, the time to arrive and get a night's rest.  Or why not allow units to vote electronically.  It could have been done, with nearly all the units and you'd have the best gauge of what REALLY matters to people. I get there's a lot to stack in at a convention.  But...

The Washington State PTA holds its annual convention on May 4th, 5th, and 6th in SeaTac.   I've attended a couple in the past and, as a former PTA Board member, I found them energizing (if not overwhelming).  You kind of get the sense of being at a poker game and that there are major players holding the cards and you are there just to watch. Your unit has to send a delegate to vote at the Convention.  The Convention costs $190 per delegate.  The Legislative Session in October is $140.  (You can request a scholarship or work as a volunteer to waive this fee.)  That's a lot of money for a PTA to give up and yet decisions are being made in the name of PTA and that name carries a lot of weight with legislators. Region 6 that includes Seattle as well as Shoreline, Northshore, and Vashon Island has a large WSPTA membership (about 75 PTAs) and yet a fraction of eligible delegates attend. What this means is that it is possible for the Convention to be co...