Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: KUOW is reporting a deal has been struck but there are no details as the budget writers now have to go and sell it to their caucuses.  I am appalled at this push to "get it done" when legislators literally had years to get this done.  I hope legislators of good faith will refuse any deal on this basis if the budget - especially for education is not equitable and fair for all. This is no way to create a budget and has pretty much complete lack of transparency for the public AND no way for the public to weigh in on specifics.

Ah, the first day of summer vacation and, of course, it's overcast. Checking the PDC for school board candidate contributions , I see this: District IV: Eden Mack, $6K District V:  Alec Cooper, $2K; Andre Helmstetter, $835; Zachary DeWolf, $4K and Omar Vasquez, $8K District VII: no contributions to any candidate Story in the Times about the possible closure of Fircrest School in Shoreline puts a spotlight on how we serve students with developmental issues. Here's what I'm seeing from posts (from readers, not the WPD) at the Washington's Paramount Duty Facebook page on budget/McCleary negotiations :

Editor's note: this event was not sponsored by TFA but by their Washington Alumni group.  I'll just note that the TFA website has pages with links to all alumni groups.) end of update Dear Directors, I am tracking the school board elections and I attended two events last night. One was at the NAACP where they hosted the national education director who was speaking on ESSA and how states will be enacting those regulations.  I was unable to stay for the full program as I had planned to go to another event and the NAACP program started late. The other program was at a group called General Assembly and it was sponsored by Teach for America Washington Alumni .  They allegedly invited all the candidates (but I heard from at least one who only got the reminder, not the invite) but only two came and, of course, were both former TFA members.  That would be Oscar Vasquez in the 5th and Chelsea Byers in the 7th.  The moderator for the evening was Di...

Always fun, always bittersweet.

This post will be the first of a two-part series on the issue of segregation in schools.   This is not just a Seattle Schools issue; it's a national issue.    (The second part of the series will be about the HCC program and the presentation the Board hear at their last retreat from an expert on gifted programs who gave the Board many ideas on how to expand the make-up of the program.) Today's Landscape Segregation in schools is on the rise.  From Business Insider: The number of students attending "High-Poverty and mostly Black or Hispanic" (H/PBH) public schools — including charter and magnet schools — more than doubled between 2001 and 2014.

The Board is having a special Work Session this week along with the regular Board meeting .   The Work Session will address: There will be a special School Board work session on June 28 to discuss the budget, waitlist process and a path forward. The work session will take place at the beginning of the regularly scheduled School Board meeting.  Additional Background: The district has started to move waitlists at Option Schools where seats are available, and at attendance area schools that can accommodate additional students with their current staffing allocations. At the June 28 work session, staff will present recommendations on waitlist moves, various scenarios and implications.   A path forward on what?  Waitlists or the budget?

I've managed to interview six of the top eight candidates for mayor of Seattle.  (I previously said seven, my error.)  Those are:  Cary Moon , Mike McGinn , Bob Hasegawa , Jessyn Farrell, Casey Carlisle and Nikkita Oliver . I reached out twice to Mary Martin (Socialist Workers Party) with no reply.  I also reached out three times to Jenny Durkan's campaign (both in person and via email).  They promised an interview but it never materialized.  Given what Durkan said to the 36th Dems in her interview with them (see end of this post), I would not recommend her as the mayor to watch over public education in our city. My Recommendations The candidates I think have the best grasp of what is currently happening in Seattle Public Schools as well as good ideas about how the mayor can work with the district are Jessyn Farrell, Mike McGinn and Nikkita Oliver.   Farrell and McGinn are current SPS parents and Ms. Oliver works in SPS schools. In speaking wi...