November 26, 2008


Photography ? Susie Fitzhugh

District News

Recommendations for capacity management and preliminary
building closure outlined at School Board workshop
     In order to strengthen academic programs across Seattle Public Schools and protect its long-term financial health, the School District must consider building closure as it implements its Strategic Plan, Excellence for All. At a November 25 School Board workshop, Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson released preliminary recommendations on Districtwide capacity management.
     Under the recommendations, six school buildings are recommended for closure and an additional building is recommended for a temporary closure; one new elementary school will be opened and one elementary school will be expanded to a K-8; nine programs will relocate from one building to another; and five programs will be discontinued and their students reassigned to other schools. Click here for more information on the Superintendent's presentation, the news release, the preliminary recommendation report with appendices and a list of frequently asked questions.
     Comments may be e-mailed to capacity@seattleschools.org, schoolboard@seattleschools.org, or mailed to School Board, P.O. Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA, 98124-1165. Community members may also attend community workshops scheduled for Dec. 4 and 6; and public hearings scheduled for December 15, 16 and 18. Details are listed below.

Community invited to consultative workshops, public hearings
     As part of the engagement process for building closure, the community is invited to two consultative workshops on Dec. 4 and 6 to discuss preliminary recommendations. The purpose of the community workshops is to consult with the public, present information, and listen to concerns and ideas. Interpreters will be at the workshops for the following languages: Amharic, Cambodian, Chinese, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tirigna and Vietnamese. Click here for meeting times and locations.
     Community members may also attend public hearings scheduled for December 15, 16 and 18 at the buildings proposed for closure. Click here for meeting times and locations.

Jan. 10 School Fair canceled; open enrollment rescheduled for March
     The Citywide Kindergarten and Middle School Fair scheduled for Saturday, January 10, 2009, has been canceled due to the timing of the school closure process. Information on school tours and open houses will be posted on the District Web site the first week of December.
     Open enrollment for the 2009-10 school year has been rescheduled to be held between Monday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 31. Enrollment Services will extend its hours until 8 p.m. on the last two evenings – March 30 and 31. Families can also submit applications by mail or fax. Assignment letters will go out by the end of May. For more information, please see the Enrollment Services Web site or contact Enrollment Services at 252-0760.

Superintendent invites support of United Way campaign
     Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson. Ph.D., invites all school employees to join her in supporting the United Way of King County. United Way invests in organizations that work together on pressing community problems, and makes positive impacts that directly benefit Seattle Public Schools. School employees should have received a flier from United Way along with an instruction sheet for online pledging. Please click on the links to view a short video or read the text on Dr. Goodloe-Johnson’s call of support for United Way. For more information about the campaign, please contact Ronic Lirio at rrlirio@seattleschools.org  

Student Celebrations

Ingraham High marching band takes first at Auburn championship
     The Ingraham High School Marching Band placed first in Division A at the Auburn Veterans Day Field Show Championship on November 8. The Ram Band brought home awards for Best Music, Best General Effect, Best Auxiliary and Best in Class. The field show, titled Flight, featured contemporary wind ensemble compositions combined with corps marching techniques. This is Ingraham's first win at the Auburn show.

Julia Sievert, a 2008 Nathan Hale graduate, demonstrates how to use several tools at Earth Day 2008, while Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels looks on. For the past three years, Sievert has been in significant leadership roles with the Seattle branch of the Student Conservation Association.

Donald Kennedy, Chief Financial and Operations Officer, honored as outstanding school business official      The Council of Great City Schools announced that Donald Kennedy, Chief Financial and Operations Officer for Seattle Public Schools, is this year’s recipient of the Bill Wise Award. The award recognizes and honors outstanding school business officials who have distinguished themselves through services to urban education.      The award is named for Dr. Bill Wise who was the senior business official and superintendent of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Kennedy joined Seattle Public Schools in November 2007, assuming the newly configured position of Chief Financial and Operations Officer. In this role, he has leadership responsibility for the school district’s business functions of Capital Projects Program, Enrollment, Facility Services, Finance, Information Technology, Planning, Procurement, and School Support Services, among other district operations. Read more. Donald Kennedy, right, receives the Council of Great City Schools' Bill Wise Award at the Chief Financial Officers Annual Meeting in Maryland.

Lynn Ronald, left photo, helps distribute shoes at one of the schools in Mexico through the nonprofit group she and her family started, SoleSalvation. A group of children, right photo, shows off the shoes.

Seattle Public Schools employees from left: Mohamed Roble, Fikre Yohannes, Khanh Cao, and Hung Pham provided a workshop on 'Culutural Cues in the Tutoring Relationship' last month as part of a seminar presented by the Seattle Tutoring Coalition and All City Tutor Trainings. This is the third year that the event was offered at Aki Kurose Academy, with the support of Seattle Public Schools.

Upcoming Events

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 December 1 for the December 5 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.