March 18, 2008

Photography ? Susie Fitzhugh

District News

Seattle School Board Update: March 12 meeting highlights

Seattle Center/Memorial Stadium
     Prior to the School Board meeting, City of Seattle officials presented the draft Century 21 Master Plan for Seattle Center. The plan includes proposed changes to the District’s property at Memorial Stadium. The proposed plan would retain a playing field for high school sports, and would relocate the Memorial Wall that honors students of Seattle Public Schools who died during World War II. School Board members and District staff said they are open to listening to and working with the Century 21 committee, but indicated that the final design must accommodate the needs of Seattle Public Schools students. The City emphasized that this is a draft proposal, and that no decisions or commitments have been made. Information about the draft master plan is available at the link above.

School Board Meeting Items
     Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D., updated the Board on the Instructional Staff survey conducted by the consulting firm, Pyramid Communications. The summary of the report can be viewed at this link.
     Glenda Morgan presented an overview of Summer School and Summer College plans for Summer 2008. Summer school will be available to students in Grades 2, 3 and 5, and 9-12. Summer College, a partnership with the City of Seattle and Seattle Community Colleges, will serve students in Grades 10-12.
     A contract for the third phase of the South Shore project was approved. The new building is scheduled to open in fall 2009.
     The Board also approved an update to transportation service standards, including a pilot program that supports the Southeast Initiative.
     Items introduced to the Board and scheduled for a vote at the March 26 meeting include a resolution to adopt the Facilities Master Plan 2020 Update;  a new procedure for Sales and Rentals of Closed Facilities, and collective bargaining agreements with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO and Seattle King County Construction and Building Trades Council.
     The School Board will hold a public hearing on the Facilities Master Plan on Wednesday, March 19, from 6-6:30 p.m., and the next legislative meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, at 6 p.m. Information about the meetings is available on the School Board Web site.

Strategic Plan development update
     On March 7, the School Board heard the final presentation from the consulting firm, McKinsey Corp., about the District's strategic plan framework. The presentation was organized into the five key theme areas based on the initial stakeholder interviews. Those areas are: learning and teaching, talent, central office, performance management, and stakeholder engagement. The School Board considered and discussed a list of potential high-impact initiatives for focus through 2008/2009, some potential activities to implement those initiatives, and opportunities to measure the District's progress. The School District will soon receive a final report from McKinsey on their work. The next steps include:
     • Integrate McKinsey report and peer reviews into draft priorities – March-April;
     • Engage internal and external stakeholders and community members to gain feedback and develop a comprehensive District Strategic Plan – March-June; and
     • School Board Review and Action – June.



Photography ? Susie Fitzhugh

More than 720 million words logged in 'Read A Million Words' campaign
     All Seattle School District middle schools and two-thirds of the District’s elementary schools are participating in the “Read A Million Words, Seattle!” campaign launched on October 16, 2007. More than 720 million words have been read so far with the campaign continuing throughout the city. The concept of the "Read a Million Words" campaign is for participants to read the equivalent of one million words per year from books, newspapers, Web sites or digital text. Research consistently demonstrates the importance of reading for academic achievement. For additional information about “Read a Million Words, Seattle!” contact Cathy McLeod, Seattle Public Schools Library Services Supervisor, at 252-0500 or csmcleod@seattleschools.org. Click here to read the full news release.

Student Celebrations

Ballard High filmmakers to be featured at national festival for talented youth
     Four short films by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been named Official Selections of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. The festival opens at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall on Friday, March 28 and continues through Sunday, March 30.  It features 73 films from across the country by filmmakers age 21 and younger. The honored Ballard films are:
     ● Bittersweet by Coburn Erskine, Becca Rice, Devan Sizemore and George Westberg;
     ● Nice Touch by Alec Maclurg, Ben Steiner and Kevin Vitz-Wong;
     ● The End is Near by Will Livesley-O’Neill, Vange Spracklin and Ben Steiner; and
     ●  Spaced Out by Justin Amorratanasuchad, Mike Hipp and Devan Sizemore.
      Among these shorts, several have previously been honored by the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences, the Westport Youth Film Festival, the Young People’s Film & Video Festival, the Derek Freese High School Film & Video Festival, and the Northwest High School Film Festival. For a complete schedule of events, show times, and ticket information, visit http://www.nffty.org/festival.html.

Roosevelt High Orchestra wins first place in National Orchestra Cup
     The Roosevelt High School Symphony Orchestra competed and won first place in the National Orchestra Cup at Lincoln Center in New York City on March 1. The students also won several other awards including: Best Overall String Section and Best Wind Section. The Best Woodwind Soloist went to Mika Aoyama on clarinet, and Best Brass Soloist went to Sam Sherwood on French horn.

McClure eighth-grader’s winning essay takes her to WrestleMania XXIV
     Emily Hardy, an eighth-grader at McClure Middle School, was chosen for writing a winning WrestleMania Reading Challenge essay. Emily's paper, "How wrestling inspired me to read," was selected along with four other seventh- and eighth-grade finalists from around the country. Emily won airline tickets to Orlando, Florida, hotel accommodations, spending money for two, and tickets to see WrestleMania XXIV. A $2,000 gift will be awarded to the McClure Library as well. Emily will also compete with the other finalists in a reading challenge focused on the book Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman. They will be competing for an opportunity to sit ringside at WrestleMania on March 30.

Staff Celebrations

Madrona K-8 Principal Kaaren Andrews receives Foster Award
for outstanding leadership; $50,000 award to benefit school
     The Alliance for Education and Seattle Public Schools announced on March 12 that Kaaren Andrews, Principal at Madrona K-8, is the recipient of the Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence for her outstanding leadership. Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson, Superintendent, said Andrews’ relentless focus on the academic success of all students has resulted in seventh-grade writing gains of nearly 30 percent on the WASL between 2005 and 2007. Madrona K-8 students also had excellent gains at the fourth-grade level – up 13 points in reading to 74 percent; up 34 points in writing to 54 percent; and up 19 points in math to 46 percent. The award includes a $50,000 grant to support student success at the school. Click here for the full news release.
     The Alliance for Education and Seattle Public Schools also announced that two previous recipients of the Foster Award — Chief Sealth High School Principal John Boyd and Meany Middle School Principal Princess Shareef — will be granted additional $25,000 awards, bringing their total awards to $50,000 each.

Lisa Dawson

Lisa Dawson honored as Middle School Counselor of Year      Lisa Dawson, a school counselor at McClure Middle School, was recognized as Middle School Counselor of the Year at the Washington School Counselor Conference on February 29. Lisa has been a school counselor at McClure Middle School for the past 18 years. According to the Washington School Counselor Association, she was honored for her boundless energy and passion toward advocating for her students. She was also recognized for her warm and caring heart for students, and commitment to promoting academic success.

Summit, Daniel Bagley, Graham Hill students to perform with PNB dancers
     Students from Summit K-12, and Daniel Bagley and Graham Hill elementary schools will join Pacific Northwest Ballet Company Dancers and other schools around the area for a performance at McCaw Hall on March 22. The performance will include original works created by the students and their PNB Teaching Artists. Graham Hill (2nd- and 3rd-graders) and Daniel Bagley (4th-graders) have been working with PNB Teaching Artists since January.  Summit 7th- and 8th-graders have been working with a PNB Teaching Artist since October.  As a part of this partnership, students learn dance steps and choreography principles, attend free PNB performances, visit PNB studios, meet with PNB dancers, and create original works of choreography. Also featured in the performance are REACH Student Dance Group and the Graham Hill Chorus. Graham Hill students also designed the set. Information about the performance, including a press release, can be found at: http://www.pnb.org/outreach/discoverdance.html.

     ‘Discover Dance’, A Portrait of Community
     Saturday, March 22
     2 p.m.
     McCaw Hall
     321 Mercer St.
     Tickets: $12

Theatre to help provide quality performing arts program at Rainier Beach

Members of the Ritz Chamber Players work with students at the African American Academy. The chamber music ensemble includes some of the world's most accomplished musicians who play music spanning the African diaspora.

Students from New School play some traditional African and Caribbean instruments during a recent performance. Most of the students attend an after-school program that allows them to work on putting together multimedia performances.

New School students have developed a multimedia performance that incorporates instruments and songs from the African diaspora – and are taking their show on the road at school and club events.      Over the last few months, Erie Jones, a music teacher at The New School, and Jah Breeze, artist-in-residence, helped the students put together the African American Musicology. Using projected images and narration, the students play instruments, sing, and perform some traditional dances. Students plan to take their show later this year to the African American Academy, Broadview Thompson Elementary School, and elsewhere.