Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, June 17, 2013

UPDATE Seattle Schools Community Forum: Sweet, sweet irony

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Sweet, sweet irony:

Sweet, sweet irony

A few days ago I wrote about the Board's role and how they are failing to do their job.

Today, the Seattle Times writes the same.

Funny thing, though, the Times and I have exactly the opposite ideas about what the Board should be doing.



The Times claims that "Time wasted on board dysfunction, including time spent on personality conflicts as well as delayed policy decisions, slows momentum on important improvements."

Really? Like what? What - exactly - has been delayed due to Board disagreement? The replacement of the math materials? The re-opening of schools? What has been delayed by Board disagreement?

Why does the Seattle Times accept disagreement in every other elected legislative body - The Congress, the state legislature, the City Council, etc. - but doesn't want it on the School Board? Disagreement in the State


Info on Charter School Start-up Resources

Just so no one can say I'm not a good sport.

From the Washington State Charter Schools Association website:

The Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement has announced their 2013 grant process for planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools. 
There will be two webinars explaining the application process for the start-up funds:

  • One on Monday, June 17 at 12pm PST (3pm EST) to 1:30 pm PST (4:30 EST)
  • One on Thursday, June 20 at 8am PST (11am EST) to 9:30am PST (12:30pm EST)
To sign up for the webinars, please RSVP to charterschools@ed.gov. Applications for the grant funds are due on July 12, 2013. This is a great opportunity to learn about potential start-up funds and the federal grant 


This Might Be One Way to Keep Kids in School

There's a long interview - with questions by readers -  in The Guardian with Ed Snowden, the NSA whistle-blower.  It's good and I agree with the Stranger with this quote being the best (bold mine):

...it's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are. If they had taught a class on how to be the kind of citizen Dick Cheney worries about, I would have finished high school.

Seattle Schools Announces Community Meetings for New Buildings

From SPS Communications:
Seattle Public Schools will host two community meetings to present information on projects funded by the Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy. The levy was passed by voters in February 2013.

• Wilson-Pacific Elementary and Middle School projects
These projects are to construct a new elementary school building and a new middle school building on the Wilson-Pacific site, both scheduled to open in the 2017-18 school year. The meeting will be presented by representatives of Seattle Public Schools capital projects team and Mahlum Architects. The meeting will include