Seattle Schools Community Forum

From Erica C. Barnett (of C is for Crank): Tomorrow, the city council plans to fund nine new legislative assistants, one for each council member, bringing the total number of legislative assistant salaries for each office to four. (Council members can divide up those salaries however they want, for example by hiring multiple part-time aides, but council members' budgets will increase to add the new full-time equivalent position.)  The reason for the change, according to a staff report, is that council members have mor e work to do now that they represent districts, instead of the entire city. (This is the first council under the new system, in which seven council members represent geographic districts, and two are elected at large).  "The additional staff support provided by the new positions in this ordinance will be used to address the increased workload resulting from this switch to district elections," the staff report says. The legislation does...

Computer science and young women - a great article from the NY Times that includes mention of a great computer science and engineering department at UW.  Behind the scenes of many of these colleges’ efforts is an organization called the National Center for Women & Information Technology . It provides consultants to college faculties on how to change their programs to recruit and retain women. On Thursday, the center is giving the University of Washington its first award, sponsored by Google, for colleges that have succeeded in this effort. The center hopes to give the award annually. Thirty percent of University of Washington bachelor’s degrees in computer science last year went to women. Ed Lazowska, chairman in computer science and engineering at the university, called that share “not great.” Still, it is twice the national average and up from 20 percent in 2010 and 15 percent in 2005. I had to smile at this article from WHEC in Rochester, New York ove...

I attended the Executive Committee meeting of the Whole this week.   It was actually a pleasure to be at the meeting and I hope to see more of what I heard and saw. It's kind of sad, really, that it was just me, the Board and staff.  (Long-time watchdog Chris Jackins came in briefly but left.)  Because I wish more people could have been there.  And, especially critics like the Times, Crosscut and Joel Connelly, who you virtually never see at any district meeting but they do like to go on at their outlets as if they really seeing the Board and staff in action firsthand. What did I like? - I liked how the meeting ran smoothly. - I liked how the mood seemed relaxed and easy-going. - I really liked how staff and the Board interacted with respect and kindness. Maybe this is the influence of Superintendent Nyland or maybe they have all decided the way forward is thru cooperation and honesty.  What were they discussing?  The agenda was the Superin...

The Times has an article about the idea of paying School Board members of the largest districts (likely to be Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma) a real salary.   This idea is being spearheaded by Rep. Reuven Carlyle and I agree with him.   "State Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, is trying to improve the job by proposing members be paid what state legislators are, about $42,000 annually. Right now, they are eligible for $4,800 a year in reimbursements and per diems." You might recall my thread about the school board directors convention that happened in Seattle this summer.  The idea of paying Board members came up at a press event there and was poohed-poohed by the panel at the event.  That thought is echoed here: If Carlyle’s bill passes, it could make Washington’s school boards the highest paid in the nation, said Tom Alsbury, a professor in educational leadership at Seattle Pacific University. Alsbury, who studies school boards as director of a na...