Seattle Schools Community Forum

Dear Directors, I am asking you - as a Board - to put forth clarification on this issue of the City's PreK for All and Seattle Public Schools. I spent the afternoon reviewing what the City has at their website and I found a lot of it deeply troubling. Of course, like many things, pre-K for all IS a good idea.  (I will quibble whether Pre-K is the same as preschool as the former seems more school-like and the latter seems more play-based learning with a shorter day.)  But the devil is in the details.  And there are many details that are troubling with this plan but I'll just address the issues for SPS.

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...