Thursday, June 6, 2013

School board candidates

By popular demand, a new thread to discuss the candidates for school board, especially the impact they might have, if any, on advanced learning in Seattle Public Schools. To get us starting, quoting from KUOW:
Six candidates are vying for two Seattle School Board seats in the August 6 primary election.

In Director District 5, which includes Capitol Hill, the Central Area, Beacon Hill and downtown, Kay Smith-Blum is stepping down from her board seat after one term.

The candidates for her seat are Stephan Blanford, an educational policy consultant; LaCrese Green, a retired state worker who also ran for the board eight years ago; and Olu Thomas, an unemployed social worker.

In District 4, which spans Phinney Ridge, Ballard, Magnolia and Queen Anne, Michael DeBell is leaving his seat after eight years on the board.

The contenders in that district are Suzanne Dale Estey, an economic development consultant; Dean McColgan, a former Federal Way mayor and city council member; and Sue Peters, a writer and education activist.
Update: Seattle Schools Community Forum has interviews and thoughts on the candidates.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So... for the District 5 seat (being vacated by KSB), anyone have information on who's most likely to be a advocate for both APP / Advanced Learning *and* good education in general?

DonaldT

suep. said...

Hi everyone,

Here is some information about my candidacy for school board.

My early endorsements include State Senator Maralyn Chase, UW Prof. and math advocate Cliff Mass, and School Board Directors Betty Patu, Kay Smith-Blum, Sharon Peaslee and Marty McLaren.

I would value your support.

Best,

Sue

Why I am running for Seattle School Board

For the past nine years, I have been deeply involved in Seattle’s public schools, as a parent of two, a school volunteer, an education blogger, a member of district task forces and as a local and national public education advocate.

I would like to help steer the largest school district in Washington State in a positive direction. I believe that I can serve the Seattle school community even better as a representative on the school board.

As a growing district of almost 50,000 students and counting, in a highly educated, book-loving, growing town, Seattle has the opportunity right now to be a national leader in visionary, progressive public education practices.

Learning from the experience of other states and nations, it is clear that the right direction is away from the current national obsession with high-stakes standardized testing, uniformity, overcrowded classrooms, antagonism toward professional teachers, and instead a move towards richer and solid curricula, creativity, collaboration, respect for the teaching profession and a dedication to promoting the joy of learning in our schools and all our children.

We need to foster a public education system that embraces and celebrates the individuality of all our children and facilitates their ability to reach their full potential, whether that be through the arts, sciences, mathematics, humanities, music, or all of the above.

We need to make fiscally responsible decisions that prioritize directing resources to the classroom.

I believe that too often there has been a disconnect between decisions that are made at district headquarters, and the needs and realities of our schools and families.

So I am committed to making sound decisions and choices that will benefit all the children of Seattle’s public schools, and which correspond to the actual needs and requests of our families and school communities.

I welcome your support.

Sincerely,

Sue Peters

Contact our campaign:
Sue Peters for Seattle School Board
suepeters4sps@yahoo.com
2212 Queen Anne Avenue North, #611, Seattle, WA 98109

suep. said...

Hi everyone,

Please join me for an informal meeting this Saturday at the Queen Anne Library meeting room.

Here are the details:

Meet School Board Candidate Sue Peters & discuss the future of Advanced Learning in Seattle's Schools

WHEN: Saturday, June 15, 2013, 4-5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Queen Anne Library Meeting Room, 400 W. Garfield St., 98119 (enter downstairs off 4th Avenue

DETAILS: Hi fellow SPS parents.
I hope you will join me at this informal gathering before summer vacation lures us all away from school issues!

How the district provides for its advanced learners is one of my many concerns and interests as both a candidate and longtime SPS/APP parent. The district has recently indicated that it plans to locate APP in more places. Meanwhile, Spectrum is being dismantled in various locations. It's been less than 4 years since the elementary and middle-school APP splits, and schools are still recovering. Does such a plan make sense? Why is Spectrum being weakened? What can we do to identify kids who need AL programs? Let's discuss the future of advanced learning in Seattle's public schools in this time of capacity challenges and change in AL leadership (as Bob Vaughan retires).

(Please note: this is not a fundraising event, but an informational meeting, and is not sponsored by the Seattle Public Library).

Free and open to all.

Anonymous said...

Okay... so SueP has introduced herself... where's Suzanne Dale Estey?

I'm curious why there's apparent support of her by a former Lincoln PTA officer;

I'm curious why (the group that said former officer seems to be a part of) put out a character assassination piece on SueP, apparently full of lies-of-omission;

I'm wondering why any APP parents would vote for Dale Estey when she seems like part of the "establishment" and likely to go along with either the existing Board members or Big Money;

And I'm curious what other people have to say about one candidate or the other, of course.


Sue has attended a few of the SNAPP PTA board meetings, and has come across as competent, but not particularly "nice". That seems like a good combination, if one is going to be effective on Seattle's School Board. "Plays well with others" isn't something I'm interested in this time around. :)


DonaldT