Seattle Schools Community Forum

The Times editorial board - doubling down on their views on McCleary funding - wag their collective fingers at State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, telling him to "rein in local school levies."   I'm not sure that's Reykdal's lane, to tell districts what their ask of their local communities should be.

The Seattle Public Schools Special Education department is aware that many of our students have experienced, or are still experiencing, inconsistent and unreliable transportation services since the beginning of this school year. We recognize and acknowledge the disruption this has caused our students and families. We are also frustrated and appreciate your patience during this time as we work with First Student, our service provider, to resolve a driver shortage.

Here's the agenda for today's Board Work Session on boundaries.  It's mostly about Magnolia, Licton Springs/RESMS and Maple/Van Asselt elementaries.

Specifically, do you have a middle school child at JAMS, Whitman, Madison, HIMS, Meany or World School? If you do, I urge you to tell them that if they are asked to take a survey called Check Yourself, that they refuse.  (It goes by the moniker "SBIRT" which stands for Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral To services. I would give you the webpage at SPS but it is broken .  Here's the flyer .  Here's the district's webpage on Prevention and Intervention. It does not state that parents can opt their child out of SBIRT. 

I read what I think is great op-ed in the New York Times - How Plato Foresaw Facebook’s Folly by Bret Stephens. His premise? Technology promises to make easy things that, by their intrinsic nature, have to be hard.

Update  To put on your radar - the Board is having a Work Session on Boundaries on Monday the 19th from 4:30-6:00 pm.  I would think they would be discussing Licton Springs/RESMS as well as Maple Elementary.  I will be attending. end of update A couple of good articles have crossed my desk via my kids' former (and amazing) Montessori teacher, Gail Longo. The first is on getting your kids to go to sleep from Parenting Science .  One addition I make is anxiety.  I see a lot of anxious looking kids and that could come from a variety of reasons.  It couldn't hurt to ask your child - carefully - about what worries they have.

In a great piece of news, today Rainier View Elementary principal Anitra Pinchback-Jones won the Milken Educator Award. Congratulations! From the Miklen Family Foundation: Pinchback-Jones was named a 2018-19 recipient of the national recognition, which comes with an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize. She is the only Milken Educator Award winner from the state of Washington this year, and is among the up to 40 honorees for 2018-19.