Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, February 3, 2014

2-3-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:








When/Should the City Step In? You Tell Me
Here are the new Transportation Service "Standards" for 2014-2015.  I can't even read it because it has been hacked up so much.  (I note that elsewhere parents have attempted to figure out what it means.)In my opinion, it is messy and a hack job that the Board should reject simply on principle. (The principle being that parents were pretty much left out of the process, it has been done a



Here's a Question


Sorry Kids, No Superbowl Champion Parade for You
From SPS:Seattle Public Schools to remain open on Wednesday. From Superintendent Jose Banda: Congratulations to the @Seahawks on an amazing season and Super Bowl win! I It’s been so fun to see our school communities get into the spirit these last few weeks. I've enjoyed seeing the photos and videos of our students and staff celebrating the Seahawks. We have received questions about the parade



Charter Schools And Washington State
After the flurry of activity around charter approval/denial last week by the Charter Commission, let's take a step back.First, a great piece of work by Professor Wayne Au, at UW's education program in Bothell, and Joseph J. Ferrare, a researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UWisconsin/Madison.  Valerie Strauss covered it at her blog at the Washington Post, The Answer Sheet.  T

Washington State Legislature Education Bill Update
The Legislature has had its usual flurry of ed bills, some quite random, some with focus and a couple that have/will pass.  Here's a comprehensive list from Parnership for Learning.  There are many returning bills like one for teacher/principal evaluations (SB 6055); old ideas but repackaged to look new. I believe that tomorrow, the 4th, is the Washington State PTA Legislative Focus Day in Olympia


Behind Every Promise - An Educational Journey for Two Boys
PBS is showing a documentary called Behind Every Promise about the journey, over 13 years, of two African-American boys and their education.  I heard about it on NPR and it sounds very good.  American Promise spans 13 years as Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, middle-class African-American parents in Brooklyn, N.Y., turn their cameras on their son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, who make the


Seattle Schools This Week (and News)

Tuesday, Feb 4thSpecial Education Advisory and Advocacy Council Meeting starting at 6:30 p.m., JSCEE, room 2700Wednesday, Feb. 5thParade for the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks 11 am (I put this in because if you are going to the district headquarters that morning, you might be aware of this because of the traffic.  The parade is to end at Century Link Field which is only about a mile north of JSCEE.




2-2-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Arts and EducationTwo items of note:Your youth jazz story can become a KCTS film!Do you have a connection to a jazz program, jazz teacher or jazz student, and have an idea for a story you think should be told? The instructors at KCTS’s 9 Media Lab can help you tell it and share it with our viewers. Beginning in March, we will be offering free workshops to individua