Seattle Schools Community Forum

I'm not advocating either way on this issue. What I want to point out is that a number of new additions have cropped up in the Transition Plan without any public notice or input. I doubt if more than 20 parents know about them. I asked Michael DeBell if the Board only sees most presentations the day of the Board meeting and he said yes. I don't know about you but when I am reading something I have to make a decision on but I need to read through something, ponder it and then look through it again. I certainly can't be reading it, listening to a presentation and then trying to put together good questions. Now these transition changes are not the day of (but some amendments might be) but the additions to the Transition Plan are just a scant few days before. How is this fair to either the Board members or to parents? This is especially true for parents who were all but promised that the Transition Plan would make everything clear and it hasn't. (Honestly, want a cotta...

Now this is not exactly "hot off the presses" news because you'd expect it. What is sad/funny to me is the lameness of their argument. "Voters antsy about taxes should not be confused. The levies are not new taxes, but a renewal of expiring ones." And that's true but the district is asking for a lot more money. Last BTA was $178M and this is $270M. I asked the district guy who does the finances for the levy and he said: "You are correct that the BTA III levy amount of $270M is more than the BTA III amount of $178M and that the entire city of Seattle will share in paying for this increase. However, because the total assessed value of the entire city of Seattle has increased even with the recent housing market crises, the tax rate per $1000 assessed value for an individual tax payer has remained steady. " "But the School Board must provide greater accountability and transparency of the district's capital dollars. Taxpayers deserve to k...

Among the items on this week's Board meeting agenda: - update on STEM from Dr. Enfield - transfer of $1.4M from BEX III (savings) for a new roof at Bailey-Gatzert* - amendment by Director Martin-Morris for the new SAP: "I move that the special program assignment preference for Thornton Creek 5th graders applying to attend Salmon Bay be renewed for three years (2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13) without transportation." (This doesn't preclude any other directors from putting in an amendment but Harium is the most likely one to put forth one.) -introduction of an item to pay $800,000 over three years for technical services from NTN for STEM start-up (Dan D. points out that the district cherry-picked some data here to strengthen the case for New Technology Network.) -introduction of the high school language arts adoption . (They include survey results which are meager to say the least and also very difficult to read. I don't believe the word got out to parents or student...

This editorial , Promises and Facts on Charter Schools, appeared on January 11. For me, it sums up my position on charters and why I am wary of them. The editorial points out the basics: "Charter schools — which are run with public money but subject to fewer state regulations — have a lot of supporters in Washington." "Proponents initially argued that charter schools could provide a better education because they were allowed to operate independently. But the research has turned up mixed results. A Stanford study showed out of 15 states and D.C. "found that only about 17 percent of charters offered students a better education than traditional schools — and that 37 percent were worse. A new study from the center has turned up a brighter picture in New York City, where students at more than half of the charter schools are showing more academic improvement in math than their traditional-school counterparts. The reading numbers were not as strong, but still nearly ...

The New Student Assignment Plan will have some odd consequences that may not be apparent at first glance. First, I cannot overstate the importance of the elimination of the distance tie-breaker. This means that students living in the Rainier Beach attendance area will have the same chance for assignment to Ballard High School as a student living in Crown Hill, just north of the Ballard attendance area. Thanks to the end of the distance tie-breaker and the creation of the 10% set-aside for out-of-area students, 8th graders living in the south-end will suddenly have access to Ballard, Roosevelt, and Garfield like never before. Of course, a lot of those out-of-area seats will go to siblings of students who gained access under the old rules, but that can't last long. Between the greater access to the popular schools in the North-end, the predicted availability of seats at high schools in West Seattle, and STEM drawing away every local motivated student, Rainier Beach High School will ...

I attended Sherry Carr's Community meeting this morning where the topic was largely the Transition Plan and its implementation. Apparently there is a new draft of the plan and, as has been reported elsewhere, it seems some changes are afoot. (There were other parents at this meeting and so if you were there, help me out.) Topics at her meeting: She did a quick update on the issue of taking BMI measurements in PE classes . She said that she had pushed back on this because of the sensitive issues about it and that Dr. Enfield agreed to think about making it opt-in (rather than opt-out). Apparently this will be discussed at the next Board Curriculum and Instruction meeting. The overwhelming point by most parents was that they had been promised that all would be clear once the Transition Plan came out and that is not true. Sherry concurred and said that she thought the Board would see more data at the last Board meeting and that didn't happen. (Just as an FYI, after each Bo...

The UW Department of Psychology is having a lecture series with a couple that might be of interest to parents. The lectures are free but seating limited and you have to register at www.uwalum.com or call 543-0540 Wednesday, 2/17, 7 – 9pm Location: Kane 120 UW Seattle Campus The Development of Thinking About People: From Behavior to Brain Adults are armchair psychologists: we attribute to ourselves, and to our social partners, a host of mental states such as goals, intentions, desires and beliefs in order to explain our own and others' behavior. Drs. Sommerville (UW) and Saxe (Massachusetts Institute for Technology) are investigating the development of thinking about people from infancy through the school years using both behavioral and brain-based methods. Wednesday, 3/3, 7 – 9pm Location: Kane 120 UW Seattle Campus Early Adversity and the Neurobehavioral Development of Children Adversity or disadvantage experienced early in children's lives can lead to enduring social, emoti...