Seattle Schools Community Forum

A lot to catch up on so here we go. The latest interactive map on our geographically challenged city is out from Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management. Check your home, office and especially, your child's school.   This is not a scare tactic but to get people to think about and get prepared for a natural disaster in our area. Uh oh, the Times is reporting that Washington is one of 12 states whose test-participation rate was lower than 95% and the state could face federal sanctions because of it.   Washington had about a 91% test rate, mostly because of high school juniors (grades 3-8 were fine.)  Among the sanctions, schools and districts have to prove a plan on how they will get those rates up.

Fortune Magazine Fortune magazine has a special report that came out this week on Common Core - Business Gets Schooled. It provides a window into the thinking of big business and public education and folks, it is, by turns, sad and horrific.  This being Fortune, they kind of "tsk tsk" but more over the naviete of some (see Bill Gates) than what these titans of industry say about children and learning. Please - if you don't read the article, don't read my entire thread - scroll down to read what Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil has to say to you as parents about your children. (I'll highlight it in red.) What's equally fascinating is that any dissent mentioned in the article by ordinary folks gets the "blogger moms" attitude with a complete brush-off of what noted education experts have said about CC.  It's like all the dissenters are just the anonymous, ignorant and unwashed masses.  You know, the little people. They also chose to l...

Lately at the blog, my observation is that much of the discussion around charter schools is about whether they are useful, not useful, take resources from other public schools, etc. I'm not going to be talking about those issues any longer. Why? Two reasons. 1) From some comments, I get the feeling there are some charter supporters (employees?) who are here to stir the pot and/or waste my time. Mind you, I do recognize several names of long-time readers who disagree with me on charter schools and that's fine. However, my stand on charters is clear and unchanged. I have done my research, I have visited some charters and I feel my opinion has been created on a solid foundation. If you disagree, again fine, but you won't be changing my mind. (To note, I separate charter school supporters/funders from charter school families. I don't believe the thinking or knowledge base or agenda is the same in both groups.) 2) Like the Supreme Court, I am not here to argue th...

From Director Burke: I'm having a meeting today, Monday, Dec. 28th at the Greenwood Public Library from 6:30 to 7:45 PM.  Sorry about the short notice, but I just booked this last-minute because I wanted to hold a community meeting before the Jan 6th Board Meeting. Approval of school CSIPs are up for action, Acceptance of ORCA card grant from City of Seattle and near-term capacity management actions are up for introduction on the 6th. Of course, anything is up for discussion and I'm happy to hear your ideas for improving the district. Please also share feedback about whether midweek evenings or weekends are preferred for future Community Meetings. If you can't make this meeting but want to bend my ear about anything, please let me know at rick.burke@seattleschools.org.

This will be a bit rough as I am writing it on the fly.  I feel this is important to get out, though. because it has information on the thinking of every single Board member AND marks a significant change from previous Work Sessions. Previously, I had heralded this Work Session as "vital"  and I continue to believe that but the meeting itself did not play out as I thought.

I am very glad to see that a number of charter school proponents have been active on this blog. That's wonderful. We all benefit from an open discussion that includes a variety of perspectives. It's true that Melissa and I both find charter schools an unnecessary distraction that detracts from public education, and it is also true that a large proportion of those who read this blog share that view.

The blog is going to be powering down for a bit.  We all need a break to enjoy our families and our holiday traditions.  No open thread this week unless I see some breaking news to get out to you. I am told there is a Christmas Eve  event in the sky (seriously).  Newsweek is reporting: On Christmas Eve, a gargantuan asteroid is on track to be visible from our planet via telescope. But not to worry: There’s no danger of a Christmas Day apocalypse. The 3-kilometer-long asteroid (named 163899, or 2003 SD220) will be sailing by at a safe distance of 6.7 million miles. Also of interest, there will be a rare full moon before the sun comes up on Christmas Day.  It's the first full moon since 1977 so Santa and all the reindeer will be able to see the way very clearly.