Here are some important dates for the Eckstein 2009/2010 school year:
September
9—First Day of School
29 – 2 Hour Early Dismissal (Eckstein) PGE
30—2 Hour Early Dismissal – Technology (District)/ After school Dept.
October
27—2 Hour Early Dismissal (Eckstein) PGE
28—2 Hour Early Dismissal TBD (District)/ After school Dept
November
6—End of First Quarter
11—No School (Veteran’s Day)
25—1 hour Early Dismissal
26, 27—No School (Thanksgiving Holiday)
December
18—1 hour Early Dismissal
21-1—No School (Winter Break)
January
18 No School (MLK)
28—Last Day of Semester
29—No School (Day Between Semesters)
February
2—2 hour Early Dismissal (Eckstein) PGE
3—2 hour Early Dismissal (District) TBD/After school Dept
15—No School (President’s Day)
16-19 No School (Mid-Winter Break)
March
2—2 hour Early Dismissal (Eckstein) PGE
3—2 hour Early Dismissal (District) TBD/After school Dept
19—Professional Development Day (District) PGE sharing
29-2—No School (Spring Break)
April
16—End of 3rd Quarter
May
18—2 hour Early Dismissal (Eckstein) PGE
19—2 hour Early Dismissal (District) TBD/After school Dept
31—No School (Memorial Day)
June
22—Last Day of School (1 hour Early Dismissal)
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ECKSTEIN
THROUGH YOUR GROCERY SHOPPING!
**** $10,650 RAISED THROUGH SAFEWAY & PCC THIS YEAR! ****
(more…)
A parent sent the following to Siva Bala Narayanan, PTSA President. If you have a student going to High School next year this is of particular interest to you.
Good morning, Siva,
I wasn’t sure if you were aware or not, but the Seattle public schools is attempting to change the curriculum at all high schools that will impact incoming freshmen next year. 8th grade Eckstein students who are moving to Roosevelt will be affected immediately. I’m attaching a letter from David Groskopf, the Shakespeare teacher at Roosevelt, who is leading an effort to defend the academic curriculum changes. Details of the efforts and the reasons behind them are included in his letter. Additionally, there is a group discussion forum that parents can join, details of which I’ve attached.
Please alert the Eckstein parent and student community of this proposed academic change so that they may act accordingly in their child’s best interest.
Also, thanks for being the PTSA president at Eckstein last year. We are much appreciative of your efforts.
Mary Hood
——-
Copy of letter:
May 14, 2009
Dear students, former students, and parents,
I am writing to you in defense of the Language Arts program at
Roosevelt High School. Seattle Public Schools is currently working on
aligning-or standardizing-all high school English classes across the
district to fit into year-long, grade level classes each year with a limited
number of selected texts.
While the alignment potentially includes clear and specific
reading and writing standards at every grade level and we at Roosevelt
support such a move, it also includes themed grade level classes, one text
per semester mandated to all Seattle high schools, and eight lists of
permissible books-one for each semester-to which all additional choices must
adhere. Any surviving Language Arts elective, anywhere in the district,
would have to be offered on top of the four year-long classes now being
hastily designed by the district.
Implementing such a plan at Roosevelt would replace our mixed 11
th and 12th grade Language Arts Options. Specifically, the structural change
would look like this:
From this:
LA 9
LA 10
LA Upperclass Options:
Advanced Creative Writing
African American Lit
Asian American Lit
Creative Writing
Early American Lit
Expository Writing
Hands for a Bridge
Journalistic Writing
Living in Place
Modern American
Modern World Lit
Native American Lit
Philosophy and Lit
Poetry
Science Fiction
Shakespeare
Speech
Sports Lit
The Short Story
Women’s Lit
To this:
9th grade: Introduction to Literature and Composition
10th grade: World Literature and Composition
11th grade: American Literature and Composition
12th grade: Comparative Literature and Composition
If you are receiving this letter, then you or your child has
probably taken Philosophy and Literature from me, or Shakespeare, or both.
You may have thoughts or feelings about that event. More importantly, you
have experienced the LA Options program at Roosevelt, and are in a position
to judge its value-to either welcome its end or to despair at it.
I’m writing this letter in case you don’t want to do either, in
case you want to protect the 11th and 12th grade offerings, in case you want
to protect the academic freedom that honors current events, local
communities, and personal passions. If this is the case, or if you more
generally object to the district’s mandate or process; if you want to be on
the contact list I will update from now on; if you want to write a letter or
provide a story or otherwise testify or protest; if you want to contact me,
or the department head, Tom Nolet, or Roosevelt’s principal, Brian Vance; if
you want to write or phone the school board or superintendent, or the person
leading the alignment charge, the literacy coach, Kathleen Vasquez (
kavasquez@seattleschools.org), or her supervisor, Michael Tolley (
mftolley@seattleschools.org); if you know people in the media or have the
ear of a player with sway, I welcome you to the charge. To start, let me
know if you want further contact on this issue and I will put you on my
list.
I hope you are doing well out there in the world. Thank you for
your consideration.
David Grosskopf
———
Addendum: Here is the Google Groups link:
Group Description:
Seattle Public Schools is currently undergoing major alignment projects across its high schools. This group is intended to provide each other with information and ideas in response.
———————- Google Groups Information ———————-
You can accept this invitation by clicking the following URL:
http://groups.google.com/group/SPSaligning/sub?s=pn4wTQgAAADKx0puPW0BAmTUID_apOrs&hl=en
