enews bulletin logo
In This Issue
Last Day of School for SPS Finalized as Friday, June 22
Building Excellence IV Capital Levy Projects Options Meeting and Survey
SPS to Host a Meeting to Discuss Environmental Impact of BEX IV
SCPTSA General Meeting
SCPTSA Nominating Committee Seeks New Board Members
Seattle Council PTSA Wants to Give Your PTA Money

Important Dates:  

April 10:

Community BEX IV Meeting, Mercer MS, Seattle

 

April 11:

Public Meeting on Environmental Impact of Bex IV, JSCEE, Seattle

 

April 30:

SCPTSA General Meeting, JSCEE, Seattle

 

May 4-6:

WSPTA Convention, Doubletree Hotel, SeaTac

 

More Information 

 (206) 364-7430 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear PTA and PTSA Leaders,

 

The Seattle Council PTSA will be holding its General Meeting on April 30 at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence. We will be discussing how to navigate SPS. Ron McGlone, the new SPS Ombudsman, will be there, along with other district staff.

 

Please feel free to share this information with your school community.

 

Sincerely,

Lauren McGuire

President, Seattle Council PTSA

 

Last Day of School at Seattle Public Schools Finalized as Friday, June 22

-From SPS

 

The Seattle School Board on Wednesday decided to extend the school year by two days to make up for January's inclement weather.

 

The last day of school will be Friday, June 22. Seattle students lost three days of school in January because of severe winter weather conditions. One day was made up on January 27.

The School Board voted 0 to 7 against applying for a waiver from the state, which would have allowed Seattle Public Schools to not make up those two days. Not making up the days would have saved the district about $500,000.

 

"This is a statement on the value of classroom instruction," said Board President Michael DeBell, after the unanimous vote.

Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy Project Options Meeting and Survey

 

Seattle Public Schools will host one more community meeting on April 10 to share information and ask for feedback about options for possible building construction projects to be included in the Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy package. Two community meetings were held this past week. Once final, this list of construction projects will be in front of Seattle voters in February 2013.

The Building Excellence capital program enables Seattle Public Schools to continue renovations and improvements to the buildings where teaching and learning takes place, to make each school an excellent school and where each student is being prepared to graduate from high school ready for college, career and life.  

 

The last community meeting will be held:

Tuesday, April 10

6:30-8:00pm at Mercer Middle School

 

This meeting will include presentations by Capital Projects and Planning staff members, followed by a question and answer period with community attendees. Comments from the community will be collected, recorded, reviewed, considered and included in considering the Building Excellence IV Capital Levy projects package.

 

BEX IV Presentation

Proposed BEX IV Projects: To view the proposed BEX IV projects, visit the SPS website.

BEX IV Survey: SPS is conducting a survey on the BEX IV options. Click here to take the survey.

 

The capital levy is part of Seattle Public Schools' long-range plan to upgrade and renovate aging school facilities on a planned and predictable timetable. BEX III was approved by Seattle voters in 2007 and included the major renovation of Chief Sealth International High School, Hamilton International Middle School, Ingraham High School, Nathan Hale High School and Rainier Beach High School, as well as the new school construction of South Shore Pre k-8 and Denny International Middle School.

For further information, please contact Tom Redman, Capital Communications Manager

Email: [email protected] Phone: 206-252-0655.

SPS will Host a Meeting to Discuss the Environmental Impact of Potential Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Projects

-From SPS

Wednesday, April 11

7-8pm at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, 2445 3rd Ave. S., Seattle, 98124

 

Seattle Public Schools will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, April 11, to discuss the Environmental Impact Statement process now being conducted for the Building Excellence Projects. The meeting will provide information on the BEX IV Environmental Impact Statement process, content and schedule. The Draft EIS will be published for public comment on Monday, April 9, and the comment period will extend through May 9. The Draft EIS will be published and available for review at the Seattle Public Schools District office in hard copy and CD. The District is providing a CD to each of the city's branch libraries and the Central Library.

 

The evening's agenda includes a description of the alternatives being considered for BEX IV, an overview of the EIS, and opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of the environmental team.

 

The Building Excellence capital program enables Seattle Public Schools to continue renovations and improvements to the buildings. While the public is still weighing in on the three levy options, the district needs to move forward with the environmental impact process. The School Board will vote in October on the final list of projects for the levy, which goes before voters in February 2013. 

 

In addition to the April 11 public meeting, Seattle Schools will hold a public hearing on the Draft EIS on May 3 at 7pm, also at the John Stanford Center.

SCPTSA General Meeting - Navigating SPS: Steps for Positive Advocacy

Monday, April 30 in the Auditorium at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence, 2445 3rd Ave. S., Seattle 98134 

6:30pm - Snacks and socializing

7:00-8:30pm - Meeting

 

Join us for a conversation on navigating Seattle Public Schools. We'll have three speakers discuss how families can advocate for their students.

 

Ron McGlone, SPS's new Ombudsman, will discuss his new role and how parents can advocate within SPS.

Adie Simmons, Director of the State of Washington's Office of the Education Ombudsman (OEO), will discuss her organization and give parents tips on how advocate for their child from the OEO's family advocacy class "Finding Your Voice."

Bernardo Ruiz, SPS Manager of Family and Community Engagement, will discuss the upcoming Family Connectors program that will connect school communities to SPS's Central Administration.

 

This meeting is for PTA Leaders who want to learn about resources for families and for all families who are interested in advocating for children.

SCPTSA Nominating Committee Seeks New Board Members for the 2012-2013 School Year

 

Are you interested in helping to serve kids in all of the Seattle Public Schools? We'd love to welcome you to Seattle Council PTSA! To find out more, please contact our Nominating Committee, Andrea Bown, Monica Mace and Caroline Webster, at [email protected].

Seattle Council PTSA Wants to Give Your PTA Money


 
Did you know that SCPTSA has some funds set aside specifically for our PTAs?  Grants in support of new PTA startups, Leadership, and Family Engagement are available starting now. To find out more about grant due dates and details, see the applications available online under Grants at www.seattlecouncilptsa.org. Contact us at [email protected] to ask questions or for help in completing the very simple forms!