Seattle Schools Community Forum

In the category of "fix this and soon", comes news of who is heading T&L until a new person is hired.  Marni Campbell might be okay but I have never had much faith in Mr. Tolley (a MGJ holdover).  They need to get someone good and qualified and stat. From SPS: Dear Seattle Public Schools staff, I am pleased to announce an interim leadership plan while we conduct a national search for an Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning and Executive Director of Curriculum and Instructional Support. Executive Directors of Schools Michael Tolley and Marni Campbell will serve as co-Interim Assistant Superintendents for Teaching and Learning.  Michael and Marni will provide leadership in all areas of teaching and learning for the next several months. We do intend to fill the position of Executive Director of Curriculum and Instructional Support, and hope to announce an interim plan soon. I want to thank Kimberly Kinzer and Paul Robb for filling in for the last several...

What's on your mind? First day of school? Seattle Times stories? Upcoming Board meeting? Tell us all about it.

The agenda for the September 5, 2012 regular legislative school board meeting is now available online . Let's review it!

Here is the status report on MTSS from the Friday Memo to the Board on August 17, 2012 :

The District will soon adopt a new policy on Advanced Learning to replace policy D12.00, Highly Capable Student Programs . A draft policy was shared at the Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee on August 13. Since the committee was seeing the policy for the first time at the meeting they were not prepared to refer to the full board for an approval decision. That's why you don't see it on the agenda for the Board's September 5 meeting. Allow me to offer a little history and context.

Seattle Public Schools is joining with six other local school districts in an application for a federal Race To The Top grant. This year, the competition for federal education grants has been expanded from just states to include school districts. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Seattle, has teamed up with the school districts in Auburn, Tukwila, Highline, Renton, Federal Way and Kent, to submit a shared application. Details are available in a press release here .

I have been an education activist for over eleven years. Over those years I have devoted thousands and thousands of hours to efforts to get Seattle Public Schools to fulfill its commitments. I have never asked the District to do anything more than what the District promised to do. I have worked for community engagement, for transparency, and, more than anything else, for the District to keep its commitments to students and families. I have worked really hard at it for a really long time, and I must admit that I have not had any effect at all. Frankly, I'm getting tired of it. At what point is it appropriate for me to stop? At what point should I determine that Seattle Public Schools is irreparably corrupt and incapable of reform? When should I quit? And what then? Work to establish some alternative structure, like charter schools? Work to dismantle the district and make every school independent? Work for a City or County takeover of the schools? Just stop working on public...