Seattle Schools Community Forum

 Updated with Pinehurst news Monday, October 28th Operations Committee meeting from 4-6 p.m.  Agenda .   It includes the policies on weapons prohibition for both students and adults/visitors, data sharing (clarification on opting out procedures) and discussion of the green resolution impact on policies and procedures.  Pegi McEvoy will also report on transportation service standards. SPED PTA meeting at 7pm at JSCEE .  Tracy Libros of Enrollment Planning as well as Sped Director Zakiyyah McWilliams will be there.  Everyone is welcome.   Tuesday, October 29th Performing and Visual Arts College Fair from 7-9 p.m.  List of colleges/programs at this fair.  This is not a district event but sponsored by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Final Hearing for Pinehurst K-8 from 7-8 p.m. at the Pinehurst building.   Apparently, Thornton Creek principal, John Miner, will be there to speak on the feasibility ...

(Forgot I wanted to fire this off so it's on the fly.) When we last left this discussion , the district had received a $1M grant from the Wallace Foundation to improve arts education in SPS.  The money was enough to allow surveys among parents and school staff, create a plan and then plan how to roll it out. The district did not get the implementation grant money (very few districts did) BUT the City of Seattle discovered more revenue from the Seattle Great Wheel and the Chihuly Museum.  We should all be grateful that Mayor McGinn and the City Council directed $500,000 towards arts education in Seattle Schools. The name of the plan is The Creative Advantage.   This program will be rolled out over several years so you may not see the impacts for several years.  However, discussions are starting in schools. SPS is encouraging you and I do, too - ask your principals, "What's the plan for arts at our school?"  Get your PTA to be proactive now and get ideas o...

I recently had good conversations with both Carri Campbell, Visual&Performing Arts Program Manager for SPS, and Calandra Childers, Communication and Outreach Manager for the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs about what is happening in arts education for Seattle Public Schools. I want to thank them both for their time and efforts.  Both conversations were enlightening and heartening.  (After speaking with Ms. Campbell, I now live in the fear that, like many other really good people who join SPS, she'll leave.  I hope not because she's a gem.) Part One is about what has happened with the planning.  Part Two will be about what is to come. Background: SPS has had a five-year partnership with the City of Seattle - called the Arts Education Partnership - to help build a system and share resources to put arts in all our schools with the understanding that arts are not just a creative outlet but can develop life/job skills.  They have had so...

Friday, April 13th Swing Fling 2012 at Rainier Beach High School Swing Dance Party (with lessons!) Lessons at 6 p.m., Dance at 7 p.m. Crawford Court Rainier Beach High School, 8815 Seward Park Avenue S. RBHS collaborated with The Center School's graphic design program to develop the posters for this event.  The RBHS Jazz Combo will be your dance masters for the evening.  There's will be a photo booth and a raffle.  Among the prizes are tickets from the 5th Avenue Theatre and the Seattle Theatre Group (Paramount, Moore and Neptune Theaters) for Rent and Cats, respectively.   More info, contact Director of Music Brian Dyson, 252-6414 Saturday, April 28th Washington State TIOS Mini-Conference @ ACT 700 Union Street The Washington State TIOS Mini-Conference will connect classroom teachers with theatre companies, teaching artists, and arts organizations.  Keynote speakers will inspire, and breakout sessions will provide opportunities for each gro...

I did not know this but there is an e-newsletter, Arts eNews (Seattle Public Schools Visual and Performing Arts eNews). In the Dec-Jan issue, there is a survey about arts in SPS. Gotta say, a good newsletter with a LOT of grant funding opportunities for both teachers and students. Here's a link to the e-news page (with a link to subscribe).

So following up on yesterday's thread, is foreign language instruction and/or arts instruction part of basic education? Kids could live without having either and could be educated without either. But that's not really the point (I know it is for Tea Party people - the "basics" and nothing else). But I would say for 21st century learning, a foreign language is going to be very useful. And not just learning the language, but the learning that comes from finding out where a country is on the globe, its culture, etc. are all part of a 21st century America. Arts. Well, how do we live without them? The world and the school experience would be so much less without music, theater, video production, painting, etc. Arts like sports is something that keeps kids in school. But it's a cost. So should the state help at all?