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June 2 ,
2006
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District
News
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Superintendent Announces
Preliminary Recommendation on School Consolidation and
Closure--Superintendent Raj Manhas
announced his
preliminary recommendation for school consolidation and closure
today. In addition to listing specific school and program closures;
and program moves and mergers, the Superintendent outlined his
academic vision for the future of Seattle Public Schools. For
additional information, visit the
Investing in Educational Excellence website and review the
news release on this topic.
Earlier this
week, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) on School Facilities
and Programs presented its final recommendation for school
consolidation and closure on Tuesday, May 30. The district is now
in the process of a period of review and community input that is
scheduled to end with the final School Board vote on July 26. For a
complete timeline and for more information about the school
consolidation and closure process, go to the
Investing in Educational Excellence website.
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Around the
Community
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Seattle Head Start Program
begins enrollment for 2006/2007--The district has begun
enrollment for its Head Start program for the 2006/2007 school
year. Children who are three or four by August 31, 2006 are
eligible to apply to the preschool program, which offers
comprehensive and high-quality services designed to foster healthy
development of children from low-income families. In addition, the
program strives to be responsive and appropriate to each child's
and family's developmental, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic
heritage and experience.
The district
offers more than ten sites across the city. Applications to the
program should be submitted as soon as possible to avoid being
placed on a waiting list at the most popular sites. For more
information go to the Head
Start website or call (206) 252-0960.
Coe
Elementary students using technology to connect with international
peers--In the past year, Coe teachers have received
support from the International Education and Resource Network
(iEARN) and Passport School NW to implement a series of learning
projects to connect students with their peers around the globe.
Teachers and students have entered online forum spaces to meet one
another and get involved in ongoing projects with classrooms in
other countries who are working on the same project. The projects
are focused on developing students’ research and critical
thinking skills, experience with new technologies, cultural
awareness and the habit of getting involved in community issues.
Projects have included:
- Coe students
collected nearly $7,000 over two years to build a school for
Afghani girls.
- Second grade
students joined a class in San Luis, Argentina and exchanged
messages and journals about friendship, favorite foods, daily
routines and how to treat guests. With the help of Coe’s
Spanish teacher, Nelly Zambrano, the entire exchange took place in
the Spanish language.
- Fourth/fifth
grade teacher Kevin Crozier’s class exchanged essays with a
class in Bogata, Colombia and discussed them through online forum
dialogues.
- Elsie
Miller’s fourth grade students researched Seattle history to
create an iMovie with the Local History Project to exchange with
students in Hyderabad, India.
In addition
to connecting students' learning with local issues and meeting
specific curriculum needs, every iEARN project proposed by teachers
and students has to answer the question, "How will this project
improve the quality of life on the planet?" This vision and purpose
enables students to become global citizens who make a difference by
collaborating with their peers around the world. For more
information visit the iEARN
website.
Elementary students to
compete in inaugural debate tournament--Seattle elementary
students from Blaine K-8, Coe, Lawton, and Hay elementary schools
will compete in the inaugural Elementary School Debate City
Championship on June 7. The fourth and fifth grade students will
debate in two-person teams on the topic of mandatory school
uniforms. For more information, go to seattledebate.org.
Museum of Flight hosts
Middle School Science Fair--More than 100 top science
students from middle schools across the city will compete at the
eighth annual Seattle Public Schools Middle School Science Fair. As
part of the regular science curriculum, all Seattle middle school
students participate in a year-long science unit in the sixth,
seventh and eighth grades covering the physical, earth/space or
life sciences. In addition to complementing the middle school
science program, the science fair was designed to motivate students
to use their imaginations in the scientific process. The Middle
School Science Fair is a partnership between the Seattle Public
Schools, the Reynold Atlas family, the Museum of Flight and the
Alliance for Education.
Summit K-12 receives
City of Seattle neighborhood grant for mural project--Last
March, Summit K-12 art teacher Karen Kosoglad received a City of
Seattle Neighborhood Association grant to produce an art mural for
the Ballard community. Kosoglad’s students participated in a
charette with environmentalist Marty Brennan from ReStore to
discuss sustainability issues and how to present those ideas in the
mural. The students decided to redraw the streets of Ballard and
how they may look with their ideas in place. Working with San
Francisco graffiti artist David Benzler, the students completed
work on the mural this spring. The official unveiling took place on
May 13 at ReStore in Ballard. The mural remains on view at ReStore,
1440 NW 52nd Street, Seattle.
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Celebrations
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Academy of Finance seniors win
top award--Franklin High School senior
Jessica Young and Chief Sealth High School senior Lisa Tran are the
recipients of the prestigious Citigroup Academy of Finance $20,000
Scholarship. Only 20 students nationwide receive this top honor. In
addition to the scholarship, the Seattle students will be paired
with a Citigroup mentor and will be provided with a summer
internship at one of the Citigroup subsidiaries
worldwide.
Chief
Sealth High School student receives Gates Millennium
Scholarship--Jessica Fernandez, senior at Chief Sealth
High School, was chosen to receive the Gates Millennium Scholarship
this year. The scholarship provides full tuition expenses at the
college or university of the student’s choice. Fernandez
plans to attend Seattle University in the fall. The Gates
Millennium Scholarship (GMS), funded by a grant from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, was established in 1999 to provide
outstanding minority students with an opportunity to complete an
undergraduate college education, in all discipline areas and a
graduate education for those students pursuing studies in
mathematics, science, engineering, education, or library science.
The goal of GMS is to promote academic excellence and to provide an
opportunity for thousands of outstanding students with significant
financial need to reach their fullest potential.
Fifty-three Seattle
students named to Rainier Scholars program--Fifty-three
students from 34 Seattle elementary schools have been selected to
participate in the Rainier Scholars program. The Rainier Scholars
program offers students access to exceptional educational
opportunities and ongoing academic and financial support. The
program works with students of color to increase their college
graduation rates and to develop new generations of leaders in this
region. The program provides a comprehensive support system to
selected students from grade six through college. To view the list
of students selected for the program, click
here.
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Coming
Up
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Groundbreaking for
Garfield High School set for June 6--A groundbreaking
ceremony for Garfield High School will be held on June 6. Speakers
include Chancellor Dr. Charles H. Mitchell of the Seattle Community
Colleges, King County Councilmember Larry Gossett, School Board
Director Mary Bass, Superintendent Raj Manhas, and Student Body
President Tatiana Gallein. Garfield High School is heading toward a
major renovation and addition, which is scheduled to begin this
June and end by September 2008. The work will remodel the historic
three-story building and replace the old gym and teen life center
with a new athletics facility, performing arts auditorium, and
updated teen life center. Project funds come from Seattle Public
Schools’ $398 million Building Excellence II levy, approved
by voters in February 2001.
Garfield High
School groundbreaking
Tuesday, June
6
10:00
a.m.
400 –
23rd Avenue
Garfield High School
hosts “Bash Before the Smash”-- On June 10,
Garfield High School will be celebrating 83 years of history and
the upcoming building renovation. Alumni and supporters are invited
to attend this free, community open house. There will
be mini-grad year reunions in classrooms, entertainment,
refreshments and souvenirs for sale. The event is sponsored by
the Garfield High School Foundation, GHS PTSA and the GHS Golden
Grads. For more details, visit the Garfield Foundation
website.
Garfield High
School "Bash Before the Smash"
Saturday, June
10
10:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
400 –
23rd Avenue
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 June include:
* Friday,
June 9, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 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,
June 20, 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 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.
School and District Events
Calendar
If you would
like to know about current special school events, fundraisers or
other district events, go online to the District
Events Calendar where you can see what’s going on monthly
at Seattle Public Schools or search for specific events by date,
school and event type.
We Need Your
Ideas
The
Communications office is always looking for stories on interesting
classroom projects, inspirational people, or events in our schools
to share with the greater Seattle community. We often highlight
stories submitted by school staff for potential media coverage as
well as district and community publications. For examples of
stories we have published in the past, please visit this link.
We would like to hear from you. If you have a unique story to share
please send your ideas directly to goodnews@seattleschools.org.
In the
News
For a
sampling of this week’s local newspaper stories on Seattle
Public Schools, please click here.
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