Seattle Schools Community Forum

I had read in the Times that Mr. Harvey had been at Garfield High School a couple of weeks ago, speaking to students.   How he got there is a bit of a mystery.  I did ask Communications and they said he had been in Portland and then just dropped into Garfield.  I'm not sure who knew he would be available and then arranged an assembly but it all happened. They said he was not paid. Seattlish blog has the video and details.  (Note: Seattlish uses language we don't - just so you know.)  The video that Seattlish has is only partial.  Mr Harvey said some good things (from Seattle Refined ). "The coolest thing you can do it be yourself." He spoke on the pressures of high school, and not to be defeated when you "tell your big dreams to small-minded people." He encouraged kids to not let others deter them from their own path. but he also said some dubious things.  From his speech: "Everything God made of value, he made hard to get," Harvey s...

The Executive Committee Meeting meets today at 4:30 pm.  Here's the agenda with two very important items - the partnership agreement with the City about their Seattle Preschool Program and Charles Wright's $1M+ Start of School Transformation Project.   The agenda also includes the draft Board meetings' agendas for the next month.   The May 20th agenda is a huge slog of capital projects but also includes review of the Covenant Agreement of Sale for MLK to FAME, RTTT funding for more " community-school partnerships," an OSPI Math/Science grant for middle school science for $1.5M and, of course, buying more portables.  It also has the introduction of the Seattle Preschool Program Partnership agreement.  (Please note that for the draft agenda, not all items are live-linked.) The June 3rd agenda has the approval of the SPP partnership and RTTT funds as well as introduction of an item "Research Activity and Test Administration Procedure" (I'm th...

 In what I believe to be a nuanced letter to school communities about the May 19th walkout by teachers, Superintendent Nyland says this in closing: It is important for families to know that this SEA action is not directed at Seattle Public School families or community, but is a statement to the state legislature about the current lack of adequate state funding for basic education. I note that SEA president, Jonanthan Knapp, speaking on KUOW about two hours ago was also careful to say that the district agrees that McCleary must be enacted and on that point, the SEA and the district are in agreement. Yes, schools will be closed on May 19th and yes, there will be one day added to the end of the school year.

I'm not sure how to view this news but if you have a student with an smart phone, tablet or computer, but I thought parents might want to know this is a possibility for their student. (You may or may not want your child to download Office 365 on his/her devices.) Through an enterprise agreement with Microsoft, Seattle Public Schools is now able to provide Office 365 services to students and staff. The first wave of this adoption includes: Office ProPlus for staff and students Download Microsoft Office on up to 5 personal devices OneDrive for Business for staff Collaborate with colleagues and share documents online To get to Office 365, enter  office.seattleschools.org  in a web browser. Login by entering your SPS username@seattleschools.org and SPS password. Click on the links below to learn more, access frequently asked questions (FAQs) and training resources for these services. Office P...

Tuesday funny - apparently Carly Fiorina , the former head of and failed Senate candidate, announced she was running for President for the GOP.  She forgot to register the domain name "carly fiorina. org."    A former tech CEO forgets to do this?  Whoops.  Today is Give BIG day.  Please consider stretching your donation dollars by donating to your favorite non-profit (especially for public education but please, not LEV, the Alliance, Lakeside, etc.). ( Update: if you give to any group connected to Seattle Schools, your receipt will come back looking as though you gave to the Alliance.  The Alliance is the fiscal agent for many SPS groups but your entire donation will go to the entity you noted.)  ( New update: Give BIG nearly to $8M and there's still half the day left to give.  Here's a plug for the Ingraham Rocket Club. ) The Seattle International Film Festival is starting on May 14th with a raft of great movies.  Kevin Baco...

Update on the teacher walkout: I heard SEA prez Jonathan Knapp on KUOW during the noon hour.  He said that it should be about 5,000 teachers.  They will be having rallies in front of high schools in the morning (I'll try to get details) with teachers busing downtown for a rally (not sure of the location but I'd guess JSCEE). Two main issues: Will schools be closed on May 19th?  I will try to get an answer.  KUOW said they had asked the district but no answer yet (ditto for me). Will a day extra be tacked on at the end of the year if schools do close?  Probably.  Again, I will verify this today. end of update The Times is reporting that the SEA voted to strike on Tuesday, May 19th.  Some districts' teachers have already walked while there are still at least five others in the wings with three more to walk on Friday. While I understand the teachers' frustrations with the Legislature, I'm not sure I agree with the walkout.  If it was d...

I appreciate all the encouragement and offers of help to run for the Seattle School Board but I have concluded that it's just not the right time in my life to do so.   It's bittersweet to say no because I believe that I know this district and I care deeply about public education.  I would have worked my hardest to get elected and, if elected, would have become part of a team - the School Board - to create better academic outcomes for all students in public education.  My husband always wanted me to run.  But he was my biggest supporter, my sounding board and a shoulder to lean on and it's just too soon to do this without him.   Naturally, I will try to interview all the candidates, do my research and come up with my best recommendations.  I will try to announce all candidate forums so you can find at least one chance to meet and hear the candidates for School Board speak.  (Please let me know about any in your neighborhood - I don't want to ...