Seattle Schools Community Forum

The action at the Seattle Public Schools on the budget has picked up.  They had a Work Session yesterday about it; I have not yet watched it. Here's are some key items via parent Beth Day via Twitter (and BIG thanks to Beth and all bold mine): Hersey Hersey says habits and patterns are hard to break. Everyone bashes SPS because they take up the most resources.  Hersey is also PISSED AT THE Seattle Times Editorial Board. No one asks the board for information before running stuff. Hersey is more concerned with how conditions were created by the board that allows articles like this to exist. Need to get ahead of it and get the information about what’s going on out, whether the papers take it up or not. Hersey seems to be bringing us back to how we communicate to the community the budget situation. Use clear plain language that is easily shareable. Really? The link to the new budget initiative - Funding Our Future - is in a plain green box on the homepage and says, "Budget develo...

I've said this, over and over. But here I go again. When you vote for school levies, you are voting for a pot of money. Oh sure, there's a lot of projects listed but you never see an actual yearly "here's what we got done." I had a recent email back and forth with Director Liza Rankin over what was stated in a Seattle Times article about safety updates as well as what the district told voters about the use of taxpayer dollars when BEX V was voted in. The Seattle Times is reporting this on safety measures: There are about 15,000 locks that need to be changed and the district is about halfway done, Robinson said. The work should be completed in the next two years. This initiative started about three years ago, and is being paid for through a voter-approved capital levy. You'll note that the name of the levy is not there. I think that was on purpose from district communications. Director Rankin claims that lock set replacement is part of BEX V. No, it wasn...

I found this information from several sources but I again recommend the once a week civics roundup from realtor Sol Villarreal. It helps me to keep up with happenings in Seattle and it's super helpful.  Education Bills and their Status (way too many to list but ones I find would be the most helpful or make me shake my head). Let us know in Comments if you are tracking one I don't have listed. SB 5257 would require schools to give elementary students a minimum of 45 minutes of recess per day. It passed out the Senate on Feb. 20th and has a hearing in the House Ed committee on March 1st. Wonder what teachers would think. SB 5019 concerns use of wellness funding going to nurses, counselors, social workers, etc and NOT going to school resource officers and other school security staff. Districts that have been using funding for safety officers would likely now not be allowed to do so.  Still in committee. HB 1479/SB 5559 would ban the use of isolation and several forms of restr...

The identity of the Franklin High teacher who had sexual relations with a student has been revealed - Pawares “Mac” Pathompornvivat, It appears it might be this person who, at that time, seemed like a great guy. The student in question seems to be fully cooperating with the police. The teacher allegedly told her that they "needed to get our stories straight" but the student told the police everything.  Very interesting stats on teacher retention in Washington state from researchers at CALDER , Teacher Turnover Three Years into the Pandemic Era: Evidence from Washington State. Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic era, concerns about teacher turnover and teacher shortages remain at the top of the education agenda. But contrary to media reports about a “wave of resignations and retirements” (e.g., Heller, 2021), early evidence from state databases showed a more nuanced picture: teacher attrition was actually down during the pandemic’s first year (teachers lea...

With the culture wars sweeping the nation and especially public schools, it wasn't going to be long before actual academics became the issue.  Many parents know that AP courses tend to be "a mile wide and an inch deep." They also know that not all college and universities give AP credits. They also are aware that many colleges and universities are starting to back away from the SAT. So change is happening and more to come.  One thing to consider (which is, sadly, true for all of life) - it's about the money. The College Board is a business and makes huge sums of money. However, one thing you could say for AP courses is that there is a strong curriculum and a standard for teachers. (This is even more true of the International Baccalaureate program.) Colleges and universities know that "honors" is a term that varies from state to state, district to district and even school to school. Those institutions are looking for students who pushed themselves the hardes...

Folks, I do this work as a labor of love. Public education matters greatly to me and since I've invested so much time in learned about Seattle Public Schools, I write about them a lot. You also know that I put up so many other links like good news, state education stories, national education stories, educational opportunities, etc.  At any given time, I have at least 5-10 stories in the hopper because I know that I HAVE the time to go out and find, read and write about these stories and most parents don't. Some stories just have to wait because of breaking news.  So it stings a little when I see comments about how I don't cover Story X (but I print that comment anyway). If you think I'm missing a big story, could you just email me (sss.westbrook@gmail.com) rather than try to make some public point? I would appreciate that.  Thanks!

  Going Dr. Rocky Torres , the assistant superintendent of student services for Seattle Public Schools in Seattle, will take over as the new School District of Lancaster Superintendent in July.  Staying The Edmonds School District Board of Directors selected Dr. Rebecca Miner as the district’s permanent superintendent, pending successful contract negotiations, during a special meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Miner was one of two finalists for the superintendent’s job, along with Dr. Concie Pedroza who is the associate superintendent for Seattle Public Schools.  This is at least the third try by Pedroza for a superintendent job in the region.