The Charter School forum has been rescheduled to February 29th, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Washington Middle School. The following link contains the agenda and address. http://www.wastatepta.org/advocacy/headlines/PTA_Public_Charter_School_Forum.pdf

February 20th is the PTSA Legislative Focus Day. You can join other PTSA members to show your support for the issues that matter to you. There will be a rally and other activities  in Olympia. While you are there you can stop in to visit your elected representatives.

The following link has the information for this event.  (sounds very kid friendly if you have children who are too young to be in school that day) http://www.wastatepta.org/meetings/focus_day/index.html

Your legislators and their location at the Capitol can be found at the following link. http://www.leg.wa.gov/pages/home.aspx

The following link contains the state PTA’s legislative priorities for 2011 and 2012 as well as an update from the 2011 session. http://www.wastatepta.org/advocacy/archives/session_2011/2011_Focus_On_Schools.pdf

For information about the current status of the PTA’s legislative priorities go to: http://www.wastatepta.org/advocacy/session_2012/index.html

2012 High School Information Night, is taking place at Roosevelt on February 2, 2012. This event will give potential 9th grade families and other families new to the RHS community a chance to listen to a student panel talk about life at Roosevelt, to meet with department heads about curriculum, tour the school, and visit with club and sports representatives. The event will start at 7:00 p.m. in the Roosevelt Theatre. Contact the Counseling Office, 206-252-4827 or the Main Office, 206-252-4810, with questions.

Nathan Hale High School Informational Evening for Prospective Families:
Tuesday, February 7th 6:00 – 7:00PM

• Table Fair in the Commons area will include information about student activities and parent groups.
• Building tours will leave from the Commons area
• NHHS Presentation at 7:00 – 8:30PM, Questions & Answers in the Performing Arts Center
• Note – changes from previous years: This event is not the “Rigor and Relevance Night” format of previous years with the panel of teachers. The format this year is similar to what our day tours have been in the past – tours of the building then a presentation by Jill followed by a student panel for questions and answers.
• We will not be doing a day tour this year. With the new student assignment plan, a number of schools have moved away from scheduling day tours.

Tina Tudor, 9^th grade coordinator. Her contact info is tmtudor@seattleschools.org and 252-3706.

Ingraham High School Open House Information:

Open House 2012
February 1^st – 7:00 PM – Ingraham Auditorium

IB Information Night
February 8^th – 7:00 PM – Ingraham Library

APP Information Night
February 15^th – 7:00 PM – Ingraham Library

Daytime Tours
February 15^th – 8:15 AM – 9:45 AM
March 7^th – 8:15 AM – 9:45 AM
Daytime tours begin in the school Auditorium.

Questions? Call the Main Office #206-252-3888.
All Tours and Open Houses are for parents and students. There is no need to RSVP for tours or the night open houses.

Tours at Cleveland High School:

The school tour on February 15^th has been postponed. More information will be posted when available.
The March 21st tour has been rescheduled for March 6^th (Tuesday) because the Open Enrollment form is due to the district on March 9, 2012.

Interested families should email Tina Camero to reserve a spot on the tour. Families must arrive by 8am and check in with the main office where a student representative will escort them to room 1201. There is a brief presentation and then proceed with a tour of both academies, School of Life Science and School of Engineering & Design. There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions.

Chief Sealth International High School Prospective Student Open House:
Thursday, February 9, 2012
5:45 – 8:00 p.m. / main entrance
2600 SW Thistle Ave, Seattle WA 98126 / (206) 252-8550
http://chiefsealthhs.seattleschools.org/

You are officially invited to our annual open house for prospective students and families. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from administration, teachers, parents and students. Activities include:

• Entertainment by the CSIHS Marching Band
• An information session on the International Baccalaureate program
• Building tours
• Desserts and beverages provided by the PTSA and YMCA
• Surprise student performances

In addition, interested families will have the opportunity participate in a series of school-day tours.

• NEW DATE! Tuesday, February 14 - 10:00-11:30am (Madison & Pathfinder students)
• Tuesday, February 7 – 10:00-11:30am (Private schools and other middle schools)
• TBD – Denny Middle School Tours
• Shadow Day – current 8th graders can shadow a 9th grade student for the first 3 classes of the day: Monday, February 13, 8:15-11:30am. Parents of interested students should email Laura Robb at lkrobb@seattleschools.org.

STEM @ Cleveland High School, Campus Tours:

Middle school students and their families are welcome to visit Cleveland High School. We will visit classrooms to observe, to ask questions and to participate! Tours begin at 8am in the school auditorium and end at 10am. Please email Tina Camero at ticamero@seattleschools.org to reserve your tour date. Cleveland High School | 5511 15th Ave. S.| 206.252.7800

Plus receive more information on:

• School of Engineering & Design – February 15th
• School of Life Sciences – March 21^st

Dear Eckstein Middle School students and families:

I am writing to you today with important information about how Eckstein places student and staff safety as our top priority, and how we ensure a safe learning environment.

There have been reports in the media related to student offenders who attend schools across the State of Washington. It has been reported that one student sex offender attends our school.  That information is correct.

Seattle Public Schools complies with all laws and statutes that govern the enrollment of student offenders, including laws related to notification.

When the juvenile rehabilitation system has determined it is time for a student offender to continue his or her education within a school setting, then Seattle Public Schools develops a comprehensive plan to ensure a safe learning environment for all students.

SPS works very closely with the justice system, probation officers, the student, the school and parents/guardians to create an educational and safety plan including a behavioral contract. The behavior contract includes a commitment to attendance, academic and behavior goals. It could include restrictions that students must follow and is closely monitored. If the student is out of compliance, we work with family members, the student, probation officers and other community supports to correct the issue.

As the school leader, I also want to share with you that state laws determine who should and can be notified when a student offender enrolls in a school. In general, notification is prohibited. The exception is that principals have discretion to inform certain staff within the school for safety purposes. The extent of notification is established in the law. That means SPS is specifically prohibited by law from notifying other students, family or community members.

I am very proud that Eckstein has a safe and welcoming environment focused on student learning.  That environment has been created due to the dedication and commitment of everyone in our community.  Thank you for your on-going involvement in and support for Eckstein and for our students.

Please let me know if you wish to discuss this matter further.

Sincerely,

Kim Whitworth, Principal

Bad puns aside, the Cafe is one tool used at Eckstein to help all students succeed.  The idea came from a conference attended last fall be several staff members.  Another school at the conference reported great success with the idea.

The problem being addressed is the number of students, especially 8th graders and second semester 7th graders, doing poorly in class simply because of missing work.  Students are getting worse grades than they otherwise would, not because they don’t understand the material but because they’re not completing work.

The Cafe’s goal is to improve student achievement by providing a place, during school hours, for students to do homework and other missing assignments.  The Cafe also emphasizes to students that homework is important and that all students are expected to complete their work.

Students who are missing work are referred to the Cafe by their teachers.  The Cafe takes place during lunch and students are required to attend and continue to attend until they are caught up.

When the Catch-Up Cafe was first implemented over a quarter of the student population, 318, were referred.  The numbers quickly fell as soon as students realized they were giving up lunch time socializing because of missing homework.  Now about 170 students a week are in the Cafe.

It appears that the Cafe is helping students shore up their grades.  For example, students who were on the border between a B and a C are now getting a solid B.

Another benefit of the program is identifying students who were not turning in homework because they didn’t understand the material.  These students are now referred to an after school homework program where they can get more intensive tutoring.

The Catch-Up Cafe has also caused teachers to start having conversations about the purposes and importance of homework.  Over time and in conjunction with conversations about grading practices this will lead to more consistent grading policies across the school.

Eckstein is committed to seeing all of its students cut the mustard.  The Catch-Up Cafe is one tool being used to help them succeed.

Comments below are welcome.

Eckstein Middle School

www.kingcounty.gov/health/h1n1

October 26, 2009

Purpose: The purpose of the Full Inclusion Committee is to review research and data regarding full inclusion and to make a recommendation to Eckstein staff and families for the ‘10’11 school year.  This movement would only affect Language Arts and Social Studies; Math would continue to offer Honors classes.

Attending: Kara Golgert, Liora Minkin, Kathy Sherman, Eric Miller, Ruthann Allan, Josh Hanson, Kim Whitworth, Miriam Hart, Stacey Norman, Jodi Gedansky, Terry Elrand

Summary of Meeting: At this meeting we read an article out of Education Leadership that outlined the rational to replace tracking with heterogeneous grouping in schools.  This helped us identify benefits and challenges to this model.

• Benefits:
  • High expectations for all students
  • Differentiated instruction that meets the needs of all students, including advanced learners
  • Our science and elective classes are already heterogeneously grouped
  • Acknowledgement that students come with multiple intelligences that are not identified in our current advanced placement testing
  • Students who didn’t get into Spectrum but are highly capable would be better served
  • This addresses working on 21^st Century skills
  • Many of our students are already coming from a full inclusion model
  • This model moves us closer to fulfilling the Districts philosophy of social justice as well as Eckstein’s philosophy of inclusion for all

• Challenges:
  • There would be more pressure for teachers to articulate how they are meeting the needs of all students
  • We would need to provide ongoing professional development for teachers in the areas of differentiation and rigor
  • We would need to ensure that the classes are balanced in terms of the program ratios
  • Parents will want to have their children in a pull out Spectrum model regardless of our assurances that we will meet the needs of students in a heterogeneous model

• Next Steps:
  • Gather feedback from the full inclusion pilot we’re doing at Eckstein
  • Look at more research on heterogeneous grouping
  • Gather input from Language Arts and Social Studies teachers
  • Get information out to families via, PTSA meetings, website and listserv

• Calendar:
  • November 9 – Share our work with PTSA in an open meeting
  • November 23 – Full Inclusion Committee meets to share information on benefits and challenges
  • December 14 – PTSA Parent Forum
  • Parent and Staff survey during this process

Supporting Documents

The Case for Untracking (.pdf)

Tracking and Ability Grouping in Middle Level and High Schools (.doc)

• the Daily Bulletin including PTSA and school-related information
• the monthly ECKO newsletter
• important information about volunteer opportunities and special events
• information about how you can support your school through fundraising programs
• the student directory

Do I Need to Opt In This Year?

If you are a 7th or 8th grade parent and you replied to Susie Petersen’s August email about remaining on the Eckstein email list, you don’t need to do a thing. Your information has been converted to the new email tool.

If you did not reply to Susie’s email, are a new parent to Eckstein or have not received parent Yahoo Groups email from Eckstein in the past, follow these simple steps to opt in. Your email will only be used to send the information listed above and will not be given to any outside groups. Click on the PTSA page (http://ecksteineagles.org/ptsa/), in the Sign Up area in the upper left hand corner, type in your email address and click Subscribe. It’s that simple.

What if My Email Address Changed from Last Year?

It’s easy. Click on the PTSA page (http://ecksteineagles.org/ptsa/), fill in your old email address and click Subscribe. You will receive a message in your old email inbox. Simply follow the instructions.

Can I Opt Out of the Eckstein Email List?

Yes. You can do this at anytime and it’s simple.  Every email you get from us will contain an option to unsubscribe.  Just click on the link and follow the directions.

Please contact info@ecksteineagles.org if you have more questions about the Eckstein Email list.

• PTSA Co-President – This is a 2 year commitment. In the first year you learn about the school and the PTSA’s role in it, the next year you take the lead position. You will need to attend board meetings on the second Monday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30. A great opportunity to know what’s going on in the school!
• E-Mail Moderator – This person is responsible for managing the e-mail communication system and sending messages as necessary, with the exception of the Daily Bulletin (That task is handled by the main office).
• Urgent: First Day Packet Lead – This person is responsible for coordinating a group of people to collate first day packets during the week of August 25th through 29th (you can choose exact days and times).
• First Day Packet Volunteers – Collating first day packets during the week of August 25th – We will need a small army of volunteers to collate enough packets for our entire school. Both parents and students are welcome and you can choose the day and time that works with your schedules. This is a great way for high school students to get their community service hours.
• Family Directory – Job consists of entering family contact information into a database, from which a directory is created.

If you have additional questions, please contact me at caklein1@comcast.net or 522-4292.

Thanks,
Cheryl Klein
PTSA Co-President