Seattle Schools Community Forum

I meant to get this up as a reminder this morning but the League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County is having a forum on Early Childhood Education tonight.  (They will not be specifically discussing the two propositions that will be on the ballot in November but it may come up during Q&A). Thursday, September 4 at 7:00 PM Seattle First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave, Seattle Free and open to the public Research has shown that attendance in high-quality preschools leads to a higher rate of high school and college graduation, a higher rate of employment, and a lower risk of criminal behavior. Given the enormous potential child development and societal payoff, how will we define and deliver this preschool? Attend our September forum to join a public discourse on early learning and the role of public policy. Panelists representing the Puget Sound Educational Service District, University of Washington, and Thrive by Five will speak and answer questions. Wh...

Well, I just finished listening to the Mayor's press conference for the announcement of the new Education and Early Learning department. Is Murray "thinking" about a governance takeover OR has he "considered" it in an abstract way? The press conference video indicates he is aware of what other cities do (he compared the East Coast to the West Coast ) and said that " power is diffused in the West." I believe the Times - in their never-ending vendetta against the Seattle School Board (no matter who sits on it) - took the Mayor's statement about it might be easier to get things done if the City ran public education out of context. It was not any signal but an acknowledgement of how it could be different, but not necessarily better. The Board was NEVER mentioned.   By anyone.

In one of the most shameful and disrespectfully written editorials I've ever read in the Times, they urge the Mayor and the City Council to make taking over the majority of the Seattle School Board positions a top legislative priority. It's a funny thing because I JUST today wrote the Board about a couple of other issues but warned them of this.  Now we all know there is no love between me and the Times so no one gave me a heads up.  You could have seen this coming from the signs put out by Burgess and Murray a mile away. Here's what I just told the Board in an e-mail: No, I'm not clairvoyant - I just can see where Mayor Murray and Councilman Burgess are heading. This from the Seattle Times: But the value of a city department of education is diluted as long as the Seattle school board (sic) remains mired in dysfunction.  With the elected board whipsawed by ideologies and personalities, Seattle is now looking at its fifth superintendent in a decade.  It i...

Title IX Update Update!! New web pages added!! Scroll to the end of the post. As you may know, Seattle Public Schools wasn't quite up to snuff on Title IX compliance. The person responsible for Title IX compliance didn't know his responsibilities and, consequently, failed to perform his required duties. When this dreadful situation came to light (with tragic consequences), the District... well, the District didn't do anything for two years. But when this dreadful situation triggered a federal investigation... the District still didn't do anything about it. But when word leaked out and it appeared in the press and people started to hound the Board over it, then we saw some action. In just a couple months the District has finally pretended to take the quick action it should have pretended to take two years earlier and is now promising to talk about planning to address a long-standing deficiency.

This one is dedicated to Smarter Balanced assessments. This one is just funny. 

I'm not complaining about changing the name; I think people were forever getting APP and AP mixed up.  But why is Spectrum now "Advanced Learner or Spectrum."   Pick a name.  Uh, I see this about the webpage: "... remove unnecessarily repetitive or outdated material,.."   Meaning, we got rid of a lot of historical information that might have explained many things.  Don't worry, we're still here at SSCF. From SPS Communications: SEATTLE-As school begins and the nomination window for Advanced Learning services opens, the Advanced Learning Office has initiated several enhancements to benefit Seattle Public Schools families: changing some service and program names and streamlining its series of web pages. These changes are designed to help the Advanced Learning Office more effectively communicate with families of current and potential advanced learners. Strengthening school, family and community engagement is the third goal of the District...

I do like the Seahawks, really.  (But we are more of Packers/Steelers fans in our house even though no one is from the Midwest.  You may pick who you marry but not what sports team that person is attached to.) The NFL is taking over a section of Pioneer Square for "Gameday Village" with activities starting TODAY (Wednesday) from 10 am-10 pm.   Thursday the "Village" will be open from 10 am to 5:15 pm.  But tomorrow, Thursday the 4th, is going to the opening day for the NFL and, with the Seahawks being Super Bowl Champions, it's going to be crazy.  There will be an free outdoor concert at the North Lot at CenturyLink Field by Pharrell (Happy) Williams and Soundgarten at 2:30 pm.   At the same time, fans will be arriving for the game that starts at 5:30 pm.  Apparently, some new girl singer, Ariana Grande, will be singing the national anthem before the game starts.  I tell you all this to say: THAT AREA WILL BE CROWDED AND TRAFFIC WILL ...