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...

 Update: From KPLU comes news that the City Council has delayed their vote on the Pre-K plan, apparently because a separate referendum (I-107) will likely be on the ballot in November.  The Mayor had wanted his proposal to go on the ballot in 2015.  Councilman Burgess says it might loosen the city's control over the qualifications for teachers.  But the I-107 side says that with their initiative more of the existing teachers would get professional development while with the City's proposal there would be many fewer current preschool teachers eligible.  end of update. Again, like mom, apple pie and the flag, we can all like the idea of providing enriching activities to stimulate the brains of our Seattle toddlers.  Research has shown that kids with good preschool do better when they enter kindergarten. Over at the Seattle Education blog , Dora Taylor does an incredibly heavy lift over the question of what exactly is being promoted (and by who) for t...