Seattle Schools Community Forum

Back down to 12 school districts applying to be charter authorizers as yesterday Eastmont School district in Wenatchee dropped out.  From The Wenatchee World : “I think this isn’t the time,” said Steve Piccirillo.. “We don’t have the time, staff or money,” said Annette Eggers. Both are members of the five person school board. “It seems like an awful lot of work to become an authorizer when they have the option not to go to us. If we were more in control of our destiny, I would support it,” said board member Chris Gibbs.  No kidding.  It's a big job to even apply and I can see where smaller districts might not even want to try. Superintendent Garn Christensen said the district wasn’t advocating a charter school as much as wanting to have the option of involvement in any plans to start a local charter school. “We wanted to keep the door unlocked if this is something we want to pursue. We want to be involved in the review,” Christensen said.  Bu...

 From SPS Communications: Earlier this month, Seattle Public Schools sought applicants for a newly formed Native American Advisory Committee.  A number of applicants have been received but SPS encourages more to apply. The extended deadline is Monday, April 22. The initial committee term is April 2013 to June 2015. Nomination forms are available here  and can be mailed to: P.O. Box 34164 Mailstop 32156 Seattle, WA, 98124 Nominations can also be emailed to naeac@seattleschools.org . From KPLU: Seattle Public Schools wants to add a half-hour to the school day for elementary students by as early as the next school year. But the district must first align a number of variables, including funding and union support.

Is it me?  I don't think so.  Lately there have been a swelling of stories that involve misogyny.  First up, is this story from ThinkProgress from West Virginia where a high school brought in a faith-based speaker to talk to the teens about abstinence.  I think all high school should be talking to teens about sex and abstinence can certainly be part of that discussion.  But this discussion was not just saying "wait kids."  In fact, the fliers that advertised it said "God's plan for sexual purity."  Stenzel has a long history of using inflammatory rhetoric to convince young people that they will face dire consequences for becoming sexually active. At GW’s assembly, Stenzel allegedly told students that “if you take birth control, your mother probably hates you” and “I could look at any one of you in the eyes right now and tell if you’re going to be promiscuous.” She also asserted that condoms aren’t safe, and every instance of sexual contact...

From the Mayor's Office: The Seattle Human Services Department’s (HSD) Child Care Assistance Program helps working families in Seattle pay for high-quality child care for children ages one month to 13 years old. Last year this program had 375 children on the waitlist, so I'm pleased to announce we've expanded the program . The Human Service Department has allocated $2,682,310 in 2013 for child care assistance payments, which will serve approximately 835 children of low- or moderate-income parents who are working or enrolled in job training. These subsidies will help parents find and keep a good job. And while they are at work, their children deserve a high-quality, nurturing environment to learn and prepare for success in Kindergarten and beyond. There are currently about 300 available slots so please help spread the word to families who may have been turned away from the waitlist in prior years. The amount of payment varies according to the income of the...

I actually have a backlog of education news stories but these two from today rose to the top.  One story is about teacher evaluations and the other is about a high-profit "education summit" going on this week in Arizona. From Ed Week : The NEA has filed a lawsuit on behalf of several teachers in Florida against that state's education department, saying that the teacher evaluation formula being used violates their constitutional rights.  They seek an injunction against the state law for teacher evalutions and three districts' policies.  “ The state approved formula for measuring student growth on [the state standardized tests] is being stretched far beyond the limited purposes for which it was designed,” the suit argues. The law requires all teachers to be judged in part on the progress of their students. This growth formula was developed for teachers in those subjects in which the state administers standardized tests: grades 4-8 in math and 4-10 in reading. But b...

KOMO TV is reporting that two 15-year old boys were arrested at Aki Kurose early this morning after the boys tripped alarms and police found the boys in possession of several laptops. Hold your child close today.  One of the three victims who died during yesterday's horrific bombings in Boston was an eight-year old boy.   His sister has lost a leg and their mom has severe head injuries.  What's on your mind?