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October 31, 2008
Photography
© Susie Fitzhugh
District News
Excellence for All: Balancing Capacity – Building
Closure
Seattle
Public Schools' Strategic Plan,
Excellence for All, establishes the framework for moving the
District toward the goal of all students achieving at high levels
and graduating ready for college, career and life. Capacity
management and a new student assignment plan are among the priority
areas of the Strategic Plan. On October 29, the School Board voted
unanimously to adopt a
resolution which directs Superintendent Maria L.
Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D., to accelerate the Districtwide capacity
management work and to include an evaluation of building closures.
For more information, please refer to the
news release. District staff will immediately start work to
develop criteria, a timeline and an engagement plan.
Recommendations introduced to
resolve capacity shortages in
North Seattle, Queen Anne/Magnolia; Board to vote November
12
A motion to resolve short-term
capacity shortages in North Seattle and Queen Anne/Magnolia was
introduced at a special School Board meeting on October 29, and
will be considered for a vote at the November 12 meeting.
Recommendations include renovation of existing space, further
evaluations of ways to use space more efficiently, amendments to
the student assignment plan to offer out-of-cluster transportation,
and the repurposing of one building. Feedback on these
recommendations is welcome. E-mail comments to schoolboard@seattleschools.org
or mail to School Board, P.O. Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA,
98124-1165. The School Board office phone number is (206) 252-0040.
For more information about the motion introduced at the October 29
School Board meeting, please click
here. Information and updates on capacity management are posted
on the District
Web site.
Student
preregistration continues for 2009-10 school year
Applications being accepted for sibling early
assignments
Preregistration
for kindergarten and other new students entering Seattle Public
Schools in September 2009 – as well as applications for
sibling early assignments – will continue to be accepted
through November. A checklist, forms and information for
Preregistration and Sibling Early Assignments are available at the
Enrollment Services Web site at
Seattle Public Schools | Pre-Registration and Early
Sibling Assignment Applications. Registration can be done by
mail, fax and in person.
Read more.
School
District to host meetings on new Student Assignment
Plan
Seattle
Public Schools invites families and community members to a series
of meetings to discuss a new Districtwide Student Assignment Plan
as a continuation of its ongoing community engagement process. The
purpose of the upcoming meetings is to consult with the public in
reviewing and commenting on Student Assignment Plan models, based
on academic and operational principles (the impact of various
decisions).
A new Student Assignment Plan is one
of the major initiatives identified in the District?s Strategic
Plan, Excellence for All. The framework for a new Student
Assignment Plan was approved by the Seattle School Board in June
2007. November meeting dates are November 6, 7, 14, 15, 18 and 20.
Click
here for a list of times and locations. Background
information on Student Assignment and on Excellence for All is
available on the
Strategic Plan Web site and on the Enrollment
Web site.
Please
remember to vote on November 4
Please
remember to vote in the 2008
General Election on Tuesday, November 4. On the ballot are
elections for: U.S. President and Vice President, Washington state
gubernatorial and other state executive positions, U.S.
Congressional representatives, state legislators, justices and
judges, as well as several state initiatives. Polling place hours
are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
High
School Math Adoption Committee seeks family
representatives
Seattle
Public Schools is seeking two community/family representatives for
the High School
Math Adoption Committee. The representatives will help provide
insight and perspective as the committee considers what math
materials high school students will use for the upcoming school
years. The deadline for
applications is Monday, November 10 and selections will be made
by Friday, November 14. For more information, contact Anna-Maria de la
Fuente, Mathematics Program Manager.
Read more.
Community invited to nominate projects for next capital levy
scheduled for February 2010; nominations due by December
1
Seattle
Public Schools invites staff, families and community members to
provide input as the District plans for the next capital levy,
tentatively scheduled for a vote in February 2010. Staff and
community members are encouraged to nominate projects for
consideration as the capital program package is developed.
The nomination form, together with
background |
materials and a presentation
shared at a series of community meetings held in October, is
available on the
capital levy planning Web site. The School Board, at its
October 15 meeting, approved a contract with
MENG Analysis for consulting services, which includes providing
the District with a prioritized list of potential projects along
with cost estimates.
Read more. |
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Students explore
future at Districtwide College and Career Fair
Hundreds of
students, parents and teachers met on October 23 with
representatives of 60 local employers, career mentors, service
learning providers, technical and vocational programs, colleges and
universities. The 3rd Districtwide College and Career Fair, held at
the John Stanford Center, allowed students to explore career and
higher education opportunities and plan for their future.
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District honored for technology innovation in digital
education
Seattle
Public Schools placed fifth in the top 10 winners in a national
survey that recognized “exemplary school boards and districts
use of technology to govern the district, communicate with
students, parents and the community and to improve district
operations.” On October 23, the Center for Digital
Education, the National School
Boards Association and Converge Online
magazine announced the winners of the nation’s fifth
annual
Digital School Districts Survey. Seattle Public Schools placed
fifth in the Large Category (more than 15,000 students)
Winners reflected school districts with the fullest
implementation of technology standards in the evolution of digital
education.
Registration ongoing for
teacher Professional Certification
Teachers
who need to begin working on their Professional
Certification (ProCert) this year may
register until November 10 for classes at the John Stanford
Center with Seattle University. Classes will start in January and
will be held on several Saturdays. Two options will be offered: one
for those who already have a master's degree, and one for those who
do not have a master's. Please contact Jane Dudley, ProCert
coordinator, for more information at (206) 252-0067 or jedudley@seattleschools.org.
There
is also a Seattle University cohort in which teachers can start a
master's program and combine it with ProCert work. Contact Margie
Kates at katesm@seattleu.edu for more
information on this program.
Seattle
Schools Scholarship Fund receives about $16,000 for
2007-08
The
Seattle Schools Scholarship Fund Trustees reported that donations
were just shy of $16,000 during the 2007-08 fiscal year. More than
half of the donations came from retired School District employees
(Seattle School Retirees Association). The remaining donations were
from people wishing to memorialize or honor those who have made
significant contributions to the education of our youth. The fund
was able to provide scholarships of $2,000 each to 24 students last
spring. Please click on this
link for more information or to obtain a donation
form.
Staff Celebrations
Two Seattle
teachers receive KCTS Golden Apple award
Rainier
Scholars recognized for academic and enrichment
program
Marjorie
Lamarre |
Megan
Vogel |
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Two
Seattle Public Schools teachers, along with an organization that
partners with Seattle schools to provide academic support, were
among 10 winners in
KCTS Television’s Golden Apple Awards for 2008 –
recognized for making a positive difference in Washington state
education. Honored were:
• Marjorie R. Lamarre, a fifth-grade teacher at John Muir
Elementary;
• Megan E. Vogel, a science teacher at Ballard High School;
and
• Rainier Scholars, an academic and enrichment program
assisting ethnic minority students in Seattle Public Schools.
Along with “Golden Apple”
statuettes, Lamarre and Vogel will receive $250 and Rainier
Scholars will receive $500. They will be formally honored at a
ceremony in January 2009, which will be recorded for later
broadcast on public television stations statewide. PEMCO Insurance,
which helps fund the program, will also award the winners a $1,500
grant to support their classrooms, schools, or educational
programs.
Read more. |
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Marcia
Ventura and her fifth-grade students, left photo, display an
American flag sent by U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Paul Craddick, right
photo with Ventura. Craddick was a pen pal to the students while
serving in Iraq and mailed the flag, which was flown over Camp
Ramadi.
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Maple
Elementary teacher receives award from American
Legion
Marcia Ventura, a
fifth-grade teacher from Maple Elementary School, was honored as
The American
Legion, Department of Washington, Elementary Teacher of the
Year 2008, during a ceremony earlier this month. She received a
plaque and $250 to use in her classroom. Ventura was recognized for
the work she and her fifth-grade class did last year for their pen
pal, Lance Cpl. Paul Craddick, who was serving in Camp Ramadi in
Iraq. The class wrote letters
and sent care packages to Craddick's unit during the surge in troop
levels.
Kodama
receives award for work in promoting world
languages
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Karen
Kodama, International Education Program administrator at Seattle
Public Schools, received the Washington Association for Language
Teaching Pro Lingua Award in October for her advocacy and
support of world languages. Kodama received the award – given
annually to the person who most promotes the study of world
languages in schools – at the annual conference held in
Vancouver. Kodama was the founding principal at John Stanford
International School, which features Spanish and Japanese partial
immersion for its students. She also led efforts to help
Beacon Hill Elementary become Beacon Hill International School,
featuring a Chinese partial immersion program and a Spanish
literacy program to help native Spanish speaking children with
their English. |
Around the Schools
Nathan
Hale groundbreaking celebration set for November
18
A
major renovation of Nathan Hale High School kicks off on November
18 with a traditional
groundbreaking ceremony. The $78 million, 30-month project
includes:
• renovation of about 75 percent of the existing
school;
• a new 14,000-square-foot addition;
• two added classrooms with one additional science lab;
• new synthetic turf fields and landscaping;
• expanded student commons; and
• code-compliant seismic upgrades. |
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| Attending
the ceremony will be District and government officials, Nathan Hale
staff and students, construction and building officials, as well as
community members. Nathan Hale's Band and Vocal Jazz groups will
provide entertainment. For more information, see the Building
Excellence Web site. |
Nathan
Hale groundbreaking
Tuesday, November 18
10:30 a.m.
Nathan Hale High School
10750 30th Ave. N.E.
RSVP: Dick Lee, (206)
252-0476;
rjlee@seattleschools.org
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State
recognizes five schools as 'Schools of
Distinction'
Catharine Blaine K-8, Madison
Middle School, Salmon Bay School (K-8), Washington Middle School,
and Garfield High School, have been named "Schools of Distinction"
by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for
dramatic improvements in reading and mathematics skills over a
six-year period. All five schools received the 2008 State
Superintendent's Learning Improvement Award. OSPI's "
Schools of Distinction" represent the top 5 percent of
elementary, middle and high schools and include 53 elementary
schools, 21 middle schools and 20 high schools and seven
alternative schools – out of nearly 2,500 schools in the
state.
Read more.
| Students in the READ 180
program at Chief Sealth High School, photos above, visit
preschoolers at the Southwest Early Learning Preschool to practice
and improve on their read-aloud skills. |
Sealth
students partner with preschoolers for reading
program
Chief
Sealth High School students in the READ
180 reading program met with preschoolers from Southwest Early
Learning Preschool on October 14 to model what perfect reading
sounds like. READ 180 is a high school reading improvement program
that targets reading skills and strategies for older students. The
class of preschoolers were matched with their high school partners
who had practiced reading aloud children's books and trained for
this precision dramatic reading. The culmination of the project
involved students creating their own storybooks for the
preschoolers in which their reading partners are the main
characters. The 26 Sealth students made cookies for their guests,
read them stories, and took notes for their own creative
writings.
$2.4
million grant benefits Rainier Beach, Cleveland high schools
School/Community partnerships to help achievement
standards for students
Seattle Public Schools has
recently been awarded a highly competitive five-year grant of $2.4
million from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant for the
Seattle Full Service Community Schools Project will provide
support to Cleveland and Rainier Beach High Schools in order to
increase the number of students meeting achievement standards
through the development of school/community partnerships.
Read more.
Sealth
students enjoy private reading, conversation with
author
| Award-winning author Terry
Tempest Williams is surrounded by Chief Sealth students during her
visit October 6 as part of the Seattle Arts and Lecture
series. |
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Writer Terry Tempest Williams
visited Chief Sealth High School on October 6 as part of the Seattle Arts and
Lectures series. Students enjoyed a private reading and
conversation with Williams, who was accompanied by Louis Gakumba, a
graduate student and speaker of six languages. Gakumba accompanied
Williams for part of her travels and assisted with translation.
Noah Zeichner's Global Leadership class, as well as Amber Alison's
12th-grade Language Arts classes attended the presentation, which
included Williams reading from her latest book, Finding
Beauty in a Broken World. |
41
schools register to participate in annual Penny
Harvest
Forty-one
schools in the Seattle School District have registered
for the 2008-09
Penny Harvest – almost a 30 percent increase from last
year. Penny Harvest is a program coordinated by the nonprofit
organization, Common
Cents, in which students collect funds in the fall. After the
fall collection, the students work on neighborhood projects and
form a roundtable to decide who receives the community grants. In
2007-08, students collected $64,333.43, made 90 community grants
and completed 22 neighborhood service projects. The Penny Harvest
helps students apply classroom learning to real-world problems,
teaches analytical skills, increases student engagement in school
and creates a positive school environment. For more information,
contact Maryellen Ferro, Program Coordinator, at maryellenf@solid-ground.org
or (206) 957-4779, Ext. 118.
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Ballard
High marching band takes first place at Leavenworth's Autumn Leaf
Festival Parade
The Ballard High School Marching Band, under the direction of
Michael James, won First Place AAAA Band and Best Overall Band at
the 2008 Autumn Leaf Festival Parade held in Leavenworth on
September 26. The drum majors for the band are Rachael Phelps and
Ben Gunter. |
Completion of 2008 Safe Routes
to Schools projects celebrated
Sanislo Elementary officially celebrated the completion of its Safe
Routes to School Project on October 8 as part of the Seattle
Department of Transportation’s work to enhance
students’ safety near five schools. Sanislo joined
Broadview-Thompson, Dunlap, and Gatzert elementary schools and
Summit K-12 in each receiving about $70,000 for sidewalk
improvements, as well as extra safety education and enforcement
efforts. Work on the five schools were completed before start of
the school year. Sanislo Principal Debbie Nelsen, Seattle Mayor
Greg Nickels, Seattle Councilmember Jan Drago and Feet First
Executive Director Lisa Quinn were some of the guests who attended
a ceremony celebrating the completion of the city’s 2008
Safe Routes to School projects.
Upcoming
Events
Discussion on internet crimes against children set for November
5
Detective
Malinda Wilson, from the Seattle Police Department's Internet
Crimes Against Children Unit, will discuss how to keep kids safe
online on November 5 at the Southeast Senior Center. She will talk
about the variety of risks computers have for children, including
exposure to inappropriate material, sexual solicitation, harassment
and bullying, and theft of personal information. The event is
sponsored by the South Seattle Crime Prevention Council. The event
is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the
council at (206) 723-2583.
Internet Crimes Against
Children
Wednesday, November 5
7 p.m.
Southeast Senior Center
4655 S. Holly St.
GBLT
Families Dinner to be held November 6
Seattle Public Schools' Health
Education Office, along with Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson,
Ph.D., invites the community to join gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender families and friends at a dinner on November 6. The
dinner and activities are complimentary thanks to donations from
the community. The theme is Hawaiian and guests are encouraged to
dress for the theme. For more information, contact Lisa Love at
(206) 252-0982 or llove@seattleschools.org.
Read
more.
GBLT Families
Dinner
Thursday, November 6
6-8 p.m.
Meany Middle School
301 21st Ave. E.
Explorations in Math
celebrates MathFest Fall 2008 on November
13
Explorations in
Math will be hosting a special outreach event called
MathFest Fall 2008 on November 13. The event is designed to
celebrate the achievements of the thousands of elementary school
children the organization has worked with over the past five
years.
The carnival-like atmosphere will
help showcase students enjoying and mastering math games. Attendees
will participate in math-oriented activities, such as working as a
team to solve logic problems at a river crossing and applying the
principles of symmetry to construct a tower of cards. |
Fall MathFest
2008
Thursday, November 13
5-8 p.m.
Rainier Community Center
4600 38th Ave. S.
RSVP: info@eimath.org |
November 20 Art of
Hospitality to benefit John Muir Elementary
The Art of
Hospitality silent auction and art show will be held on
November 20 to benefit the art program at John Muir Elementary
School. In 2006, the event raised more than $8,000 for the school
– almost double the school's art budget. Funds went toward
the purchase of a new kiln, art aprons, new brushes, and paper.
John Muir's art program teaches several hundred children from
kindergarten through fifth-grade the basics in drawing, painting
and ceramics. The Art of Hospitality originated in 2003 to
promote creativity and recognition of Seattle's hotel and
hospitality industry. The event offers original artwork for sale,
as well as a silent auction, including vacation packages, jewelry,
artwork, and dining at local restaurants.
Read more.
Art of
Hospitality
Thursday, November 20
4-8 p.m.
Mayflower Park Hotel
405 Olive Way, Seattle
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| Artwork for the 2008 Art of
Hospitality invitation was drawn by third-grader Chardai Thomas and
is titled 'Mountain Top.' |
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Seattle
Reading Council presents writing workshops for
teachers
The
Seattle Reading
Council invites members and nonmembers to several sessions on
writing scheduled for December 4, 2008; January 29, 2009; and March
19, 2009. The sessions -
Teachers as Writers II: Exploring Writing from the Inside Out -
will feature Carmine F.
Chickadel, an author, educator and co-founder of Hugo Teaching
Studios. Click on the links for program, driving
and registration
information. For additional information, contact Janine King at
(206) 252-0126 or (206) 252-1231 or by e-mail at jaking@seattleschools.org.
MLK Express Yourself Contest deadline December
8
Seattle Public School students from
Grades 3-12 are invited to enter the 2009 Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Express Yourself Contest – celebrating the
life and legacy of Dr. King and his impact on the civil rights
movement. Awards and prizes will be given to the top three entries
in each grade level. Deadline for entries is December 8, 2008, and
winners will be notified on January 5, 2009. Click on the links for
the
entry form and rules and the
flier. The contest is sponsored by City Year Seattle/King
County. For more information, contact Janay McClarin at (206)
306-5729.
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 November 10 for the November 14
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 unsubscribe
to this e-newsletter by clicking here and typing
in "unsubscribe" in the subject heading.
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