Seattle Schools Community Forum

Dear Families, It is an exciting time for science instruction in our district! We are currently in a Science Curriculum Adoption Process for grades K-12. This process will provide new instructional materials and support for all our classrooms teaching science for the 2019-20 school year. Our last elementary adoption was in 1995, middle school in 2002 and high school various times before 2000; not only has science changed significantly in the last twenty years, but we know so much more about how children learn. Washington State adopted new science standards in 2013, and it is our obligation to our students to align to these new standards. The biggest shift in science instruction has been from “learning about” to “figuring out” where students work through a series of connected lessons anchored in explaining a compelling science phenomenon. This revolution in science education will provide a rigorous, engaging experience for all our students and will ensure they are colleg...

Update:   here is the list of school funding so far. The highest funded schools are Franklin at $31,600 and Mercer International at $26,500; the lowest funded schools are Dectaur at $1100 and Cedar Park at $1400. I would urge everyone to speak to your principal about a school need that could be met with this funding when school resumes. end of update As you may recall, I recently asked about the $2M that Amazon had donated - via the Alliance for Education - to SPS "student needs."  I had wondered where it went; here you go. (Bold mine) From: Superintendent Sent: Monday, December 10, 2018 1:19 PM Subject: Right Now Needs Funds Dear School Leaders:

Opting out of testing in one Oregon district just got a lot harder; I'm hoping SPS doesn't try this stuff.  From Opt- Out Oregon:

Two interesting articles on parenting; I'll be interested on your take of either or both. The first is from Mother Jones on school discipline .  I absolutely agree with trying to help kids figure out what is really upsetting them (and giving them tools to deal with anger).  Punishment doesn't really work for a child with real issues so more care needs to be taken. But, as someone in a classroom on a regular basis, I will push back a bit.  If a teacher has a large class plus the kid in question is endangering other students (not just stopping the teaching and learning), the teacher needs the ability to act.   And sometimes, it won't be nuanced. Has your child ever complained about another child disrupting class?  Is kindness taught for other children's issues?   The other article is from the New York Times , The Relentlessness of Modern Parenting .  (I actually heard something on NPR this morning about Amazon's own relentlessness and t...

Sadly, I see no information at the SPS website but I presume everyone is on vacation.  (I also received no press release.) However, on KUOW this morning, they reported that SPS believes it will get hit with timing issues for school bus service when the Viaduct closes forever on January 11th.  The story stated that they will be sending the bus drivers out 30 minutes earlier than usual in an effort to get to kids on time.

Dear Readers, I know many of you are long-time readers (thanks!) and some of you are new (welcome!) and I thought it useful to review blog policies.

From The Columbian , Battleground SD has taken to ditching the cardboard single use milk cartons in their cafeterias.  Wish SPS would consider this; in my tutoring time, I go to lunch with the kids and see a lot of waste. Where's the greenest school classroom in the U.S? In Seattle (but not at a Seattle public school).  From Crosscut: