Seattle Schools Community Forum

I have now written three e-mails to the Board today. The first one I sent was about the issue of the school calendar, namely October 9th.  That I have asked - three times via three methods - and there is no reply tells me something is wrong.  There is not really a good reason to not have the calendar nailed down by now. The second e-mail was about FERPA and the ability to opt out of releasing data on your student while still allowing your student to be in the yearbook, newsletter, etc.  That this issue is ALSO not nailed down is wrong. The last e-mail was something that many of you have been plaintively asking for months - where are the SBAC scores?  For all the issues with giving them, parents got the promise of fast results that could be used to help their kids.  Crickets. From Annoyed's comment: Why doesn't the district live up to its own promises and why doesn't anyone hold them to them (and that goes not just for this but for many things). Yes...

The C & I meeting on Monday began with a change to the agenda. An update on Advanced Learning was added as an eighth discussion item.

Did you know the district has an extensive archive (complete with a trained archivist)?  They do and it's a valuable resource.  They have all manner of memorabilia - bound volumes of School Board minutes, uniforms, yearbooks, letters to the School Board, newspaper clippings - you name it.  Archivist Aaren Purcell would be more than glad to look at what any school, group or individual has to offer the archive.  I asked her about limits and she said, "I'll look at anything."  She recently received boxes of materials from Ingraham that had been sitting in some closet for years.   I myself helped to organize the archives at Roosevelt High and they have some pretty amazing artifacts. I put out this information for a two-fold reason.  One is that rarely are these items being stored properly at schools and will deteriorate much more quickly if stored improperly.  Two, you have no idea how important any one item might be historically. Even thoug...

This comes from a reader whose child is at Washington.  I am appalled at the poor judgment on the part of these teachers.   Why, in 2013, does anyone have to tell teachers and administrators that awards should ONLY be positive?  That they think - after the fact - that some "humorous" awards might even be the cause of bullying is deeply troubling. Dear Senior Music Families, We are sending this letter home to address what has become a concern to many. As a “fun activity” that was planned for the upcoming Senior Trip this weekend (May 17, 18, and 19), an “awards ceremony” was devised with varying types of awards that were to be created for serious effect, and for humorous effect. It is our observation that some of the awards that were created are coming off as offensive to many. Please understand that the intention in the awards ceremony was not to be offensive. In hindsight, it is easy to understand why many are feeling this way right now. We now clearl...