Seattle Schools Community Forum

I am on a mailing list and received this: Why Students Struggle with Algebra and How Schools Are Helping When: Tuesday, February 10th at 1pm Eastern time. Free registration is now open at: http://edweek.org/go/algebra One of the biggest challenges in K-12 education today is how to help students overcome their struggles in introductory algebra. Many students fail or are barely able to keep up in their first algebra course, typically taught in 8th or 9th grade. In response, state and school district officials are trying to solve this problem in several ways, such as by encouraging better teacher preparation, including an emphasis on algebra, and by revamping courses and curricula to help struggling students, such as through the creation of "algebra readiness" classes aimed at girding students for the challenges of that class. In addition, policymakers at all levels have called for an improved, more streamlined approach to teaching elementary and middle-grades math as a way of p...

I received this information from Sharon Rodgers, president of the Seattle Council PTSA. I'm going to condense it somewhat. Here are the links to the design team documents ( document 1 and document 2). Document 2 (template) is labeled "draft". I have not combed through these myself. Just looking at the team membership on document 1, I see only 1 parent/community member listed whereas in the other document, I see it says 3-5 reps. A bit confusing. Just so you know how hard the people at the Seattle Council work: "Over the course of the last two weeks, your Seattle Council PTSA Board met with all seven school board directors and Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson and Chief Academic Officer Carla Santorno to share the concerns we continued to hear from families about the impact of the proposed closures/moves on their students, especially those already in fragile situations." Details on transitions: "Our first goal is to make sure that School Design Teams...

Our blog was mentioned (but sadly, not named) in this discussion between Times' editorial writers, Lynne Varner and Bill Ramsey (I know them both). Interesting. Lynne seems to think there were racial overtones and Bill thinks the district should focus on bad buildings because programs can be moved. On other topic, this op-ed about the upcoming lose of the PI appeared in Saturday's PI by Hubert Locke, a professor at the UW Evans School of Public Affairs. He brings up one very important point (well, to me at least): "But what about the blogs? Those individual Web sites are hailed by some as the contemporary, technological successors to the famed pamphlets that circulated during the Revolutionary War era. Blogs ostensibly permit public opinion to circulate in a new and rapid fashion, and to a far wider extent than their colonial counterparts could ever imagine. But it's hard for others, and I'm certainly among them, to see how what are frequently little more than ...

All of the stages of grief are present at this time throughout the SPS District. Mourning is extremely prominent in the emails and conversations of Summit K-12...I have yet to be back in the school building myself since the vote (stupid work schedule), and have only the highest regard for our teachers who continue to teach their quality classes as they, too, mourn for our community. My oldest turns 13 tomorrow. I'm still stunned that he's that old. He doesn't know it, yet, but his mom has arranged to send some sugar-laden snack of some sort to school tomorrow as a surprise (his teacher said it was okay). I am not the only parent with 3 children who have been happily in school at Summit K-12. This having to probably find more than one school is daunting, to start with, not to mention when the heck am I supposed to visit these other schools 'cuz I work full time for a social service agency? The fact that other parents are already through some of this process amazes m...

Basic Education Funding Forum TOMORROW Tuesday, Feb. 3, 6:30-8 p.m. Coe Elementary cafeteria, 2424 7th Ave. W in Queen Anne If you missed Ross Hunter’s presentation earlier this month at the joint Seattle Council/LEV “Critical Conversation” you might want to stop in. Rep. Hunter will present the findings of the Basic Education Finance Joint Task Force, the basis of two bills working their way through the state House and Senate. This go-around is sponsored by the Coe Elementary PTA and Successful Schools in Action. The District has a monthly Arts eNews services which lists arts education programs, events, and activities available to the SPS community. You can read the news there or subscribe via e-mail. For more information, contact Kathleen Allen, SPS Community Arts Liaison at kpallen@seattleschools.org. Camp Fair 2009 , Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 at St. Thomas School, 8300 NE 12th St., Medina, from 11-3 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, directions and a list of participa...

MadronaGreen had asked my opinion about APP and its future. That's a tricky question for me as I have never had a child in APP (one son who I thought would test in, didn't, and the other one did but we chose to keep them at the same school). I toured APP when it was in Madrona. I thought I saw good things happening but I could sense the tension the moment I walked into the building. Things seemed separate and it just had a bad vibe. I can't really describe it any other way. The tour guide did not mention any interaction with the regular ed students. So, I would ask APP parents what their perceptions are. The question was also what do I think APP does well and what could be done better? I won't go into APP (formerly IPP) history. It was started before Spectrum so I believe there was the recognition the these were students who had learning needs that needed to be served. Even for people who don't like separating kids there is a realization that some gifted k...

The PI had a follow-up closure story on the buildings that will now be closed. Some history: "The district owns 27 closed school buildings citywide and an assortment of other properties, many for years. Some are leased out to community groups, and four of the district's long-shuttered school buildings are in the process of being purchased, said property manager Ron English. (Here's a link to the Facilities Master Plan with all the properties the district has. See page 39-45 for the chart .) But of the five buildings closed in 2006 and 2007, only one -- Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary in Madison Valley -- was declared "surplus," paving the way for it to be sold. On a tiny, 2-acre lot, it's too small to be used by the district in the future, English explained. Usually, though, the district errs on the side of keeping its buildings, even if they're not immediately needed, he said. It still owns the former McDonald Elementary, a 1913 building near Gre...