February 27, 2009


Photography ? Susie Fitzhugh

District News

Implementation stage begins on Capacity Management Plan
Design teams being formed to ensure smooth transition
     Design Teams are being formed as part of the next steps of the District's Capacity Management Plan. On January 29, 2009, the School Board voted to approve the final recommendations for capacity management with specific amendments. The net effect of the approved plan is that: five buildings will be closed, eight programs will be relocated, one new program will be created, and five programs will be discontinued. Program Design and Transition Teams are being set up to ensure a strong academic start for fall 2009 and to ensure that students, families, and staff are well-supported through the transitions. Eleven Programmatic Design Teams are being formed - one for each site directly impacted by the proposed closures and program relocations. Additional teams will support the students and staff at the programs that are discontinued. Read more.

Open Enrollment starts March 2-31; school tours updated
     Open Enrollment for the 2009-10 school year will be held March 2-31. Click on the links for information regarding outreach locations, school tours, enrollment guides, applications and forms, enrollment checklist, and enrollment centers. For additional information, please see the Enrollment Services Web site or contact Enrollment Services at 252-0760. Read News Release.

Capital Projects Senior Manager appointed to oversee projects
     Bill Martin has been appointed as Senior Manager, Capital Projects, of Seattle Public Schools, effective March 2. He will be responsible for overseeing a nearly $230 million annual capital budget. His duties will include oversight of program development and budgets, engineering, architectural design and construction. The new position was created as a result of recommendations contained in a District-requested peer review conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools. Martin has more than 17 years of experience managing large capital projects and since 2003, has served as the Deputy Division Director, Capital Projects and Roadway Structures for the City of Seattle Department of Transportation. Read more.

Public invited to District surplus furniture and equipment auction
     A general public auction of District surplus furniture and equipment is scheduled for March 14. This surplus has been weeded out from the general surplus and is no longer needed in the District.  Items include: shop equipment, computers, cabinets, desks, file cabinets, and vacuums. Auctioneer is Mroczek Brothers Auctioneers. For information, visit the District's auction Web site. For questions, contact Lloyd Wallace at (206) 252-0568.

     Seattle School District Surplus Auction
     Saturday, March 14
     8 a.m. preview and inspection, 9 a.m. bidding begins
     The Hughes Building
     7740 34th Ave. S.W.
     Payment: cash and credit cards

Student Celebrations

Students attend prestigious academy gala in New York City
     Six students from Ballard, Chief Sealth, Franklin and Ingraham high schools attended the National Academy Foundation’s Annual Gala in New York City this week. Students participating from Seattle Public Schools were: Rachel Dejneka, Ballard Academy of Finance; Maureen Gray, Ingraham Academy of Hospitality & Tourism; Dameon Johnson, Franklin Academy of Finance; Mohamed Mohamed, Chief Sealth Academy of Hospitality & Tourism; Alexander Pham, Ingraham Academy of Information Technology; and Michelle Tran, Chief Sealth Academy of Finance. Each student was recommended by their Academy teachers because of their leadership, academic success, and being highly involved in their programs. See news release for a profile of each of the students. Also, students at Franklin's Academy of Finance were the Featured Photo of the Month in the premiere issue of The Academy Leader, NAF's new e-newsletter.

Dunlap third-grader a state finalist in poison center contest Trang Tran, a third-grader from Dunlap Elementary School, is a state finalist for the 2009 Mr. Yuk Poster Contest, sponsored by the Washington Poison Center. She was the only winner from the Seattle area and was awarded $100. Her poster is featured on the Washington Poison Center's Web site. The contest was open to all 6-12 year olds in Washington state.

Brighton student to be inducted into AAA Washington Safety Patrol Hall of Fame      Ian Duro, a Brighton Elementary 5th-grader and school safety patrol captain, was selected to be inducted into the AAA of Washington Safety Patrol Hall of Fame, along with nine other safety patrol students in the state. Ian and the rest of the students will be hosted at a Seattle Mariners game this spring in a luxury suite at Safeco Field.  Before the game, they will be given their awards in an on-field ceremony. AAA will also give other gifts for the ten students.

Dunlap student wins first place in art contest      Thuy Luu, a third-grader from Dunlap Elementary School won first place for her artwork, Lunar New Year Under Palm Trees, in the Northwest Asian Weekly Lunar New Year Art Contest. An awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 14 at the Northwest Asian Weekly's news building lobby to give out prizes to the first-, second-, and third-place winners, as well as Honorable Mention winners. Prizes for winners include a restaurant gift certificate, and passes to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Aquarium, and Woodland Park Zoo.

The 14th Annual Global Reading Challenge is now in full swing. This year, 40 Seattle elementary school 4th- and 5th-graders have formed more than 320 teams (about 2,000 participants). The program encourages children to read from a set of books, then participate in a "Quiz Bowl" challenge. Each of the 40 school challenges will result in a winning team advancing to the semifinal rounds of the Global Challenges to be held on March 16, 17, 18 and 19. Two teams from each of these rounds will advance to the Global Reading Challenge City Final on Tuesday, March 24 at 7 p.m. All semifinal and city final events take place at the downtown Central Library Microsoft Auditorium and are open to the public. The winning team from the city final will advance to a Video Conference Challenge with two teams from British Columbia. That event will take place at 10 a.m., April 8 at the John Stanford Center. For photos, view the Global Reading Challenge wiki page.

Student leaders, above, from Ballard, The Center School, Cleveland, Franklin, Hale, Roosevelt and West Seattle high schools attended a leadership conference at Nathan Hale High School on February 6.

Two Madison Middle School students, top, experience the sounds and feelings of a space shuttle liftoff at a school assembly during Dr. Bernard Harris' 'Dream Tour.' Dr. Harris, right, asks students about the effects space flight has on astronauts.

Franklin High mock trial team members are: Marie Angeles, Charisse Bersamina, Mary Jane Bermudez, Nicole Czubin, Brandon Leonard, Sandy Nguyen, Jenny Pham, Kirsti Jensvold-Rumage, Cameron Springer, Florence Sum, Daniel Trujillo, Dawn Tuason, Taylor Tibbs. The team coach is Social Studies teacher Don Eaton.

People invited for compilation of Meany Middle School memories
     Meany Middle School is closing its regular middle school program after the 2008-09 school year and is looking for former staff, students, parents, and community members to share stories and memories of the school's 107-year history. Part of the District's capacity management plan recommends that NOVA and SBOC programs be co-located at the Meany building and students from the Meany program be reassign based on where they live. To participate and keep in touch with upcoming Meany events and celebrations, fill out a form at http://tinyurl.com/meanyconnector. To be a more active part of the Meany celebration, visit http://groups.google.com/group/meanycelebration. To post messages to the group, you will need to log in to a Google account. (You can get one free on the site or at https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount.) For questions, contact Sarah Evans at saevans@seattleschools.org.


Upcoming Events

Rainier Beach presents 'Night at the Beach' fund-raiser March 5
     The community is invited for an evening of fun and fund-raising for Rainier Beach High School on March 5. The evening's schedule includes a silent auction, appetizers prepared by the school's Culinary Program, buffet dinner, dessert dash and a live auction. Funds raised will benefit the Rainier Beach Arts Program and mini classroom grants. For more information, contact Dick Lee at rjlee@seattleschools.org or (206) 252-0476; or Eleanor Goodall at rbalumni@gmail.com or (206) 409-5068.

     Night at the Beach Auction and Dinner
     Thursday, March 5
     5:30 p.m.
     Rainier Beach High School, Gymnasium/Theater Foyer
     8815 Seward Park Ave. S.
     Tickets: $30/person

District employees invited to retirement plan presentation March 10
     On March 10, a representative from the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems will provide a presentation on the employees' Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and School Employees Retirement System (SERS) state retirement plan, as well as the Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP). Topics will include contribution rates, investment options, retirement eligibility, and survivorship options. For more information, contact Jeff Dixon-Ross at (360) 664-7011 or e-mail at jeffd@drs.wa.gov

     TRS/SERS Plans 1,2,3 and DCP
     Tuesday, March 10
     4-6 p.m.
     Olympic View Elementary School, Cafeteria
     504 N.E. 95th St.

Diversity in the Outdoors Tour at Rainier Beach High on March 18
     The BOLD Mountain School, Sierra Club, and Passages Northwest will be hosting famed environmental and human rights activist Winona LaDuke and celebrated photographer and educator Subhankar Banerjee on March 18 at Rainier Beach High School for a celebration of diversity in the outdoors. View flier.

     Diversity in the Outdoors Tour
     Wednesday, March 18
     7 p.m.
     Rainier Beach High School
     8815 Seward Park Ave. S.

Cleveland High presents 'Red and White Night' fund-raiser March 26
     The community is invited for an evening of fun and fund-raising for Cleveland High School on March 26. The evening's schedule includes appetizers, dinner, and a live auction. Funds will benefit Cleveland High's mini classroom libraries and classroom grants. For more information, contact Dick Lee at rjlee@seattleschools.org or (206) 252-0476.

     Red and White Night at Cleveland
     Thursday, March 26
     5:30 p.m.
     Cleveland High School, Gymnasium
     5511 15th Ave. S.
     Tickets: $30/person

Nomination deadline April 1 for Patsy Collins Award
     The deadline is April 1 to nominate a K-12 educator for the Patsy Collins Award for Excellence in Education, Environment and Community. The award, presented by the nonprofit organization IslandWood, is open to K-12 educators who have made an exceptional contribution to the community in which they live and to the students they teach. The selected educator will receive $5,000 and another $2,500 to donate to a school or charity. Read news release.

     Patsy Collins Award nominations
     Deadline: April 1, 2009
     IslandWood
     4450 Blakely Ave. N.E.
     Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
     Contact: Cathy Sanford at cathys@islandwood.org

Applicants being sought for Page Program at Washington, D.C.
     The Page Program at the U.S. House of Representatives is seeking high school juniors with a 3.0 grade point average or higher in the core academic subjects to serve as support staff for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. Applicants for the summer program may include rising juniors or rising seniors. Applicants must be at least 16 years old by the date they begin their Page term. For a brief history and information on how to apply, go to the Web site of the U.S. House of Representatives Page Program.

Florida A&M seeks black female students for computer scholarships
     Florida A&M University is seeking black female students to study computer science beginning in fall 2009. The deadline to apply for the African-American Women in Computer Science Scholarship is August 1 for the fall enrollment. The grant provides scholarships from $4,000 to $10,000 per year.


School and District Events Calendar
     If you would like to know about current special school events, fund-raisers 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 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. Deadline for submissions is March 2 for the March 6 issue.

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

SCHOOL BEAT is an electronic newsletter covering District and school-based news and is published twice a month for the staff and community of Seattle Public Schools. Community members can subscribe or unsubscribe to this e-newsletter by clicking here.