Seattle Schools Community Forum

I do want to write up a thread on No Child Left Behind.  The poor program is now in a bit of a netherworld limbo as Congress decides what the heck to do with it (they haven't reauthorized it since 2007).   In the meantime, Arne Duncan is preparing to allow states waivers from AYP (annual yearly progress) as many states would have whole districts that are completely failing under it.  According to Duncan, the law has encouraged states to lower their standards. For example, he said, congressional inaction allowed a state like Tennessee to delude itself into deeming 91 percent of its students as proficient in math. By applying higher standards, Duncan said, the state "raised the bar," and coped with the reality that only 34 percent of students were actually proficient by "college ready" standards. "In the meantime, states and districts will still have the opportunity to move forward," Duncan said. In the meantime, I'm having a contest.  What wo...

It would be great if teachers, staff and parents in the know could share what's happening. What turnover has your school seen? What additions to staff, what loss of staff?

From the Grand Rapids, Michigan Press, comes a story about Arne Duncan and what he thinks should happen for teachers and teacher training: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says teachers should be paid between $60,000 to $150,000 – but should be held more accountable. Duncan also told the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards last week that it should be more difficult for prospective students to enter college teacher preparation programs. The latter sentence is part of a bigger discussion over whether colleges of education in this country do a good job of attracting good students and if they are training them properly.   Indeed, a big worry expressed among some UW COE faculty about bringing in TFA is that if the COE doesn't step up and do better they could be shut down.   Some of the UW COE faculty seem to think the TFA training may be the training of the future for teachers.  

Colorado is awaiting the outcome of its trial on school funding by the state .  This article from the Denver Post lays out other states' and their court cases.

I was reading the article on the new Chief Sealth principal at the West Seattle blog and editor Tracy Record pointed out something I overlooked School starts on September 7th so now we are just under a month away from start-up.  Seems like we were just waiting for school to end and summer to start.  Oh right - still waiting for summer to start (weather-wise). 

This question keeps popping up and so here's the answer again. School Board elections in Seattle work in a very different way from other elections.  In the PRIMARY, only those voters who live in a district where a position is up for a vote, will see School Board candidates on their ballot.  In this election, only voters who live in District 1 , District 2, District 3 and District 6 , will see candidates on their ballot.  And, they will see only candidates from their district on the ballot. Basically, you do NOT vote for School Board candidates in the primary UNLESS you are in a district where the position is up for a vote.  That's why some people don't have any School Board candidates on their primary ballot.  When the primary has whittled the candidate pool down to two, then, in the General election, EVERYONE will vote for candidates in ALL 4 races.  The SB elections are then a city-wide race. (In the case of someone running unopposed in a dis...

Email from Dr. Enfield: August 8, 2011 Dear Chief Sealth International High School community, I am very pleased to announce Christopher Kinsey as the interim Principal at Chief Sealth International High School. Mr. Kinsey has spent the past three years as Assistant Principal at Cleveland High School where he helped coordinate and implement the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program and fostered a student-centered learning environment throughout the school. He understands the unique needs of the Chief Sealth community and he will continue the good work of former principal John Boyd. Please join me in welcoming him into the Chief Sealth community! Mr. Kinsey will serve as the Interim Principal for the 2011-12 school year. As is our practice with an interim appointment, the Chief Sealth community will have an opportunity to provide feedback over the winter. Then, we will decide if a national search needs to be conducted for a permanent principal. I know Mr. Ki...