Welcome to School Beat, an electronic newsletter covering news from Seattle Public Schools that is published twice a month for our community.

October 28, 2005

District News

Seattle School Board increases ease of access to information on Board activities—The Seattle School Board website now provides significantly increased access to materials and information about matters before the board for consideration and action. This endeavor supports one of the primary goals of the school board, which is to increase community engagement and involvement with the board and the district. The move also improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the board office and board operations.

The new system features an electronic approach to sharing information, board motions, and other materials. On the Friday prior to each board meeting all motions, presentations and supporting materials will be posted on the School Board website. These materials will be available for access and study by community members and staff. Members of the public may still review agendas and materials in hard-copy format at the school board office, and copies of documents are available at cost.

Around the Community

2,000 Seattle students sign up for GEAR UP college fair—Nearly 2,000 students from 15 Seattle Public Schools will attend the third annual GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) college fair. Both middle school and high school students will have the opportunity to speak with more than 30 college and university representatives about the admission and financial aid processes as well as general information regarding college life.

GEAR UP in partnership with the University of Washington and the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Council serves 6th through 12th grade students and is focused on promoting college and higher education access for traditionally underrepresented students. GEAR UP provides college readiness support through college preparation programs for students and parents, college campus visits, instructional coaches for teachers, and by providing both in-class and afterschool tutors and mentors.

Seattle schools join together for “Seattle Kids Have a Heart” fundraiser for hurricane relief—Physical education, music and dance teachers from 15 Seattle elementary and K-8 schools have joined efforts with their students to organize the second “Seattle Kids Have a Heart” fundraiser for hurricane relief. More than 150 students will be showcased through various performances, including gymnastics, juggling, dancing, unicycling and ukelele playing. Proceeds from the event will go to World Vision to support Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Participating schools include: Sanislo Elementary, Lawton Elementary, Dearborn Park Elementary, Lafayette Elementary, Rainier View Elementary, T.T. Minor Elementary, Orca Elementary, Denny Middle School, Fairmount Park Elementary, Kimball Elementary, Beacon Hill Elementary, Pathfinder K-8 and John Stanford International School.

“Seattle Kids Have a Heart” fundraiser
Thursday, November 10
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
West Seattle High School, 3000 California Ave. SW

OneWorld Now! global leadership program hosting college fair for Seattle high school students—OneWorld Now!, an afterschool global leadership program targeting underrepresented minority high school students, will host its second annual college fair at the University of Washington this weekend. Thirty top colleges and universities will be represented from across the United States, including Harvard, Princeton, Duke and Yale. During the two-day event, students will have the opportunity to participate in panel discussions with college representatives and attend a series of one-on-one workshops on the college application process.

OneWorld Now! is a unique and comprehensive afterschool global leadership program that provides language instruction in Arabic and Chinese, leadership training, internships, and study abroad scholarships to Morocco and China. The program serves Seattle students from Cleveland, Garfield, Franklin, Roosevelt and Ingraham high schools. For more information, go to oneworld-now.org.

North Seattle parents host School Board candidate forum—Parents from North Seattle will host a School Board candidate forum where candidates for School Board will have the chance to speak about their positions on key district issues. The forum is co-sponsored by parents from AEII Elementary, Bryant Elementary, Eckstein Middle School, Nathan Hale High School, John Rogers Elementary, Laurelhurst Elementary, Roosevelt High School, Sacajawea Elementary and View Ridge Elementary. It will be open to the public.

School Board candidate forum
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 1
Bryant Elementary School, 3311 NE 60th Street

Student oral history project from Wing Luke Elementary accepted in city library collections—“Our Stories”, a compilation of oral histories from the Chinese, Latino, and Vietnamese families of Wing Luke Elementary, was accepted in the Seattle Public Library and the Wing Luke Museum Library collections. The stories were recorded and compiled by third, fourth and fifth grade students from the target cultures, with assistance from AnhKim Huynh, Chinese bilingual Instructional Assistant (IA), Jim Grunewald, Spanish bilingual IA, and Rusilah Mohmdali, Vietnamese bilingual IA. The project was coordinated and organized by Elizabeth Urmenita, ELD teacher, and was funded by a Title VII mini grant from the Transitional Bilingual Education Office, Seattle Schools.

Rainier Beach High School students participate in Project Linus—More than 30 students at Rainier Beach devoted their time and skills to create five handmade quilts intended for children affected by Hurricane Katrina. The quilts were donated to Project Linus, a volunteer non-profit organization that collects new, handmade blankets for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need.

Celebrations

Seattle Public Schools Family Support Worker honored with James W. Leigh Award—Delores Evans, a family support worker at Thurgood Marshall Elementary, received the district’s 2004-2005 James W. Leigh Award for exemplifying the exceptional qualities of a family support worker and for going beyond the established program expectations.

The district’s Family Support Worker program established this award to honor the memory of Dr. James W. Leigh, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Social Work. As a tireless advocate for families, Dr. Leigh encouraged excellence in service to others and was recognized as a vital resource for the District’s family support workers program.

University of Washington honors Seattle educator with distinguished alumni award—Betty Lau, the head bilingual teacher at Franklin High School and 30-year Seattle school veteran, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award From the University of Washington at the upcoming Multicultural Alumni Partnership breakfast. Lau is being honored for her outstanding contributions to the community by promoting diversity and participation in the UW’s multicultural activities and assisting in recruiting, mentoring and supporting diverse students, faculty and staff at the UW.

Founded in 1993, the Multicultural Alumni Partnership (MAP) supports recruitment and mentoring of students, faculty and staff of color, and promotes diversity within the UW and the UW Alumni Association. Its awards program honors distinguished UW alumni and its many events bind together a diverse university community.

Coming Up

School Board Members Schedule District-Based Community Meetings—Several School Board members schedule meetings in their communities.  Parents, guardians, students, staff and community members are encouraged to attend. This is an opportunity to share thoughts and concerns, and to raise questions.

Meetings scheduled for November include:

* Friday, November 4, 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., District I, Director Sally Soriano, at Meadowbrook Community Center, 10517 35th Avenue Northeast. District I includes schools located in North, Northeast and Northwest Seattle.

* Tuesday, November 15, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., District III, Director Brita Butler-Wall, at Eckstein Middle School library, 3003 Northeast 75th Street. District III includes a portion of the schools located in Northeast and Central Seattle.

In addition, School Board President Brita Butler-Wall invites constituents to drop-in during weekly office hours: At the Stanford Center, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. each Tuesday that school is in session; and on Mondays, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Honey Bear Bakery at Third Place Books Ravenna, at NE 65th and 20th Avenue NE.

In the News—For a sampling of this week’s local newspaper stories on Seattle Public Schools, please click here.