Seattle Schools Community Forum

 Note: if you are a teacher or counselor who wants to nominate a worthy student and worry about the fee, please contact me at sss.westbrook@gmail.com.  I'll be glad to try to help. From the Mayor's Office: YMCA B.O.L.D. - Boys Outdoor Leadership Development is offering teachers, counselors or any professional youth worker the  opportunity to award scholarships for our summer Mountain School .  Our 6 - 22 day backpacking, rock climbing, goofing off, fishing, mountaineering and outdoor photography expeditions provide an opportunity for young men 10 - 18 years of age to develop communication, decision making and multi-cultural leadership skills through outdoor adventure, challenge and fun!  Information on our exceptional summer programs can be found in  this brochure  or at  ymcaleadership.org Currently B.O.L.D. has 45 scholarships left for young men 10 – 18.   These scholarships are on a first come first serve bas...

Rainier Community Center is part of an event tomorrow, National Park Family Day 2012. "It has been said that the National Park System, which includes many of our nation’s most precious, revered and significant treasures, reflects who we are as a people and as a nation– that America’s spirit is reflected in the National Park System.  National Park Family Day is a FREE, family-friendly event that brings your northwest national parks to you! This year’s event will be even bigger and better than before with a multitude of hands-on, kid-friendly activities. Park Rangers from Olympic, North Cascades, and Mt. Rainier National Parks will be on-hand for demos and to answer all your park questions. Local organizations will be on-site teaching families about the wonders, culture and history of our national and local parks, conservation, and wildlife.  Kids will also have the opportunity to become Family Day Jr. Rangers and win prizes! EVENT SCHEDULE- Saturday, May 19th...

From City Year, jobs for adults: It’s an exciting time for City Year Seattle/King County.  We are growing, and we are looking for the best talent around to join our team, and we need your help to do so. We are hiring for four different positions: ·          Director of Impact, who will powerfully lead our entire effort and our team in our mission to maximize the number of at-risk kids we bring back on track to graduate. ·          Training and Events Senior Manager , who will create and implement a potent, rigorous and exemplary training strategy for City Year corps member development and classroom practice. ·          Senior Program Manager , who – like the Program Manager – will with great skill lead his or her team of corps members toward remarkable impact in a single school and will cement a seamless and organic partnership betwe...

According to the Detroit Free Press  Gregory King has been hired as a principal for one of the elementary schools in the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan, the school district of struggling schools administered by Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson. The press release from the EAA referred to his twenty years as a teacher and a principal and that he won an award in Atlanta. It doesn't mention his service in Seattle and it certainly doesn't mention his recent ethics violation. EAA elementary school principals will be paid $120,000 a year. And that's in Detroit. I guess Lowell should be looking for a new principal.

  Update: the district is saying that the HR investigation of the "Lafayette issues" will be completed early next week.  That's pretty fast considering how long this has dragged out.   I'm hoping the district has really done a complete investigation along with an explanation of how it got to this point.  I also hope that Dr. Enfield will be making some kind of statement of assurance to parents about principals and their understanding of how to handle these kinds of issues. This is a serious subject with serious allegations.  That there appears to be many witnesses and e-mail evidence to nearly everything said and done is clear.  I lay this out as clearly as I know it from extensive input I have received.   I have a statement (at the end of this thread) from the district that I believe would cover any statement from either the principal, Jo  Lute-Ervin or Aurora Lora, Executive Director for that region. I have known La...

Dear Seattle Public Schools families, I am writing to provide you with an update on changes to transportation for the 2012-13 school year, and also to apologize for the concern and confusion transportation issues have caused in the past couple of weeks. After several years of budget shortfalls, we have been working hard to develop a balanced budget for the 2012-13 school year, with a goal of keeping budget cuts away from the classroom. As part of this effort, the School Board recently requested an analysis of options that could generate more savings from transportation. We responded to this request with an option that would have saved approximately $1 million. In response to this option, we heard from many families who were concerned about the potential impacts and the lack of time to provide community engagement. We know that transportation changes, which in turn affect when school starts each day, may be unpopular. We also know that we did not have enough time to thoughtfully...

Lowell Elementary Chess Team wins 24th Place at National Elementary Chess Championship This event was held May 11-13th in Nashville Tennessee.  Lowell was the only team with just two players (they could have had up to four).  Jan Buzek, 4th grade, placed 47th out of 284 players and Marcell Szabo, 5th grade, was co-National Champion in the K-5 section.   Note:  these blurbs were either submitted or the work of SPS Communications.  I did not write any copy so create due to those who did. B.F. Day Elementary School received the Outstanding School Award May 15 from the Seattle Special Education PTSA for its work in building an inclusive school community. Toby Jarman, who nominated B.F. Day, gave a glowing account of the contributions of special education teacher Maki Ichikawa, instructional assistants Jillian and Francina, general education teacher Mike Agrellas, and Principal Susan McCloskey. Susan Sturms, Presiden...