West Seattle Herald / White Center News - Education

Letter--High-tech businesses should contribute for STEM education

ericm — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:27:46 +0000

Most of our new college graduates have a hard time finding jobs, yet Boeing has to import young people to fill its positions that need math and science skills.

Well, of course--reducing taxes prevents schools from being adequately funded. If a student, in spite of that, finishes with a good background in technical subjects, he also finishes with a large debt.

He can't afford to pass on his knowledge by becoming a teacher; he needs the much larger pay he can get from a job in industry.

Science and math classes are left to be taught mostly by people whose primary interests and talents aren't in those subjects. Over the decades, fewer and fewer qualified people are available to even consider teaching them.

Should we keep on letting it get worse, or should we ask the investors in our high-tech businesses to pay a little income tax to finance a quality of education that will produce enough talented employees for both our schools and our industries?

Bruce Pringle
Normandy Park

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ericm

04/24/2013

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HCC professor wins prestigious Microsoft award

ericm — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:30:32 +0000

Highline faculty member named Microsoft MVP

Press release:

Highline Community College faculty member Michael Girvin, has been named as a 2013 Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP).

The Microsoft MVP award is presented annually to recognize outstanding technology community leaders from around the world that share their respective expertise with Microsoft.

“Michael Girvin is a great example of the kind of talent, energy and new ideas that our faculty bring to their work,” said Jeff Wagnitz, Highline’s vice president for academic affairs. “The Microsoft MVP award recognizes his exceptional leadership and vision in creatively applying technology to the teaching and learning process. He’s extraordinarily effective both in teaching about technology and in using technology to teach.”

Girvin is nationally and internationally recognized for his over 1,200 Microsoft Excel how-to videos on YouTube. These video tutorials receive more than 15,000 views daily.

He is also the author of Slaying Excel Dragons, a book designed to give readers a comprehensive understanding of Excel and how to use it.

Girvin received the 2011 Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year award from Highline Community College. He was also the winner of the 2012 National Institute for Staff & Organizational Development (NISOD) Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Girvin holds a MBA from California State University–Hayward, a BFA in art history and painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA from the Evergreen State College.

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ericm

01/14/2013

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Highine schools refinance construction bonds, saving $12 million

ericm — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 22:18:14 +0000

Highline Public Schools press release:

Highline Public Schools has refinanced a portion of the district’s outstanding capital bonds, taking advantage of a 40-year low in interest rates.

By reducing the interest rate from 5.23 percent to 2.43 percent, this transaction will save taxpayers over $6.6 million over the next thirteen years.

Combined with two other refinancing transactions over the past year, the district has reduced interest costs by nearly $12 million.

“We are grateful for the generous support of our Highline voters who approved capital bonds that ensure our students and staff have safe schools in which to work and learn,” said Superintendent Susan Enfield. “Refinancing at this time allowed us to demonstrate that Highline Public Schools is a responsible steward of the funds that our voters entrust to us.”

Taxpayers benefit directly from these savings. Refinancing bonds is similar to refinancing a home mortgage. Locking in a lower interest rate reduces the overall cost of paying back the bonds, and the savings stays in the pockets of property owners.

“We have been watching interest rates, looking for opportunities to save the public money,” said Highline Assistant Superintendent Susan Smith Leland.

The bonds refinanced in this most recent transaction were approved by voters in 2002 and 2006, and paid for the replacement of 13 aging elementary schools and Mount Rainier High School.

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ericm

11/28/2012

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Indonesian art exhibit set for Highline College in December

ericm — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 22:11:36 +0000

Highline Community College press release:

The Highline Community College Library Exhibit and Art Gallery is pleased to announce the arrival of the collection, “Indonesian Cultural Arts from Tanah Air Kita—Our Homeland, Our Land and Water.” This collection will feature traditional Indonesian pieces and crafts such as Batik, woven and dyed textiles, ornamental arts and theatrical crafts.

The exhibit comes to Highline through the efforts of 10 visiting Indonesian faculty members with the Community College Faculty and Administrator Program for Indonesia (CCFA). The CCFA professional development program allows instructors and administrators from Indonesia’s technical colleges to witness how community-based institutions of higher education in the United States deliver quality technical and professional education to vital sectors of society. The faculty arrived at HCC this summer and will stay until mid-December.

“We are so pleased to be able to share this piece of our culture, our homeland, ourselves with the campus and community,” said Rina Suprina, visiting Indonesian faculty member. “Our exhibit is one last way to say “terima kasih”—thank you—to our friends and colleagues here.”

The full exhibit will be on display December 1-14, 2012 and a smaller collection will remain until December 31. An exhibit reception will be held Wednesday, December 5 from 1–4 p.m. in the Library Exhibit and Art Gallery. The visiting Indonesian faculty will to present to share their culture and speak about the exhibit. The reception is free and open to the public. For more information on the visiting Indonesian faculty and CCFA, visit highline.edu.

The Library Exhibit and Art Gallery is located on the 4th floor of the HCC Library, Building 25. For gallery hours and additional information, visit exhibits.highline.edu.

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ericm

11/28/2012

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Tukwila board exonerates school superintendent but she resigns

ericm — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 23:24:06 +0000

At the same time as one local school superintendent started work in a new district, another one stepped down.

Ethelda Burke, facing racial discrimination charges, resigned June 26 as Tukwila School District superintendent, effective June 30. Burke had been on administrative leave since March 27, pending investigation of the charges.

On July1, Susan Enfield moved south from Seattle to assume the Highline Public Schools superintendent position.

In its official response to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC,) Tukwila School Board members said they had found no evidence to support charges that Burke had discriminated against African American staff members who had brought the racial discrimination complaints. Burke is also African American.

However, in a letter to board president Mark Wahlstrom, Burke wrote she had decided to resign.
“It would be impossible for me to return and be effective as superintendent,” Burke wrote. “I want the staff and students of the Tukwila School District to remain focused on education.

“My returning, after what has occurred, would be a distraction from that focus.”

The board accepted her resignation. Mellody Matthes, who had been serving as assistant superintendent during Burke's leave, was appointed interim superintendent.

In a press release, district officials said, “The district contends there may have been some comments from time to time that were taken out of context or misunderstood, but they do not support claims of discrimination in any event.”

Nine African-American staff members filed a complaint with the EEOC charging that Burke made the discriminatory complaints against them. Burke is accused of referring to several staff members as her “slaves.”

Athletic and activities director J.D. Hill charged that Burke called him “J. Darky.” He claimed Burke told him he was hiring too many people of color. Hill quoted Burke as saying he was “making the district too black” and was making the district a “ghetto.”

Tukwila’s student enrollment makes the district one of the most racially diverse public districts in the country.

A district press release quoted Burke as declaring, As an African-American woman, born in a charity hospital in New Orleans, I learned at an early age what it’s like to be the victim of discrimination. I clearly understand the magnitude and harm of racially offensive statements and of false accusations.

“I have devoted every moment of my 40-year career as an educator to trying to provide equity in access to learning for all students regardless of their ethnicity, racial heritage or economic level.”

The district has had an interim superintendent since March while board members investigated the allegations.

In March, board members issued a statement that they would not pressured into making a quick decision.
The March statement declared, “Once again we ask that the Tukwila community be patient with the process and support the board’s efforts to keep heated emotion and premature judgment out of the board’s decision making process. It is imperative that we show our children that we are above name calling and can focus on the issues in light of the full facts.”

The Tukwila board’s response, exonerating Burke of the claims has been sent to the EEOC, which will complete its investigation.

In announcing that they will not have further public comments, district officials said, “Although these claims were publicized by the complaining employees at the time they were filed, as personnel matters the district believes they should be addressed privately to the extent permitted by law.”

Concluding her letter to board president Wahlstrom, Burke said, “I hope that if there is a positive outcome from this experience is that you—and other boards and councils—will find a way to protect public servants from the harm that results from sensational but unwarranted claims.

“It is vital, of course, to also honor and protect the rights of employees who have legitimate grievances. Somewhere there must be a balance struck between the two that allows destructive events such as this resignation to be avoided.”

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ericm

07/11/2012

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Burien, SeaTac and Tukwila among All-American cities based on education efforts

ericm — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:56:58 +0000

Press release:

Burien, SeaTac, Tukwila, Seattle and four other South King County cities were named All-America Cities by the National Civic League on July 2 based on the region’s ambitious plan to ensure that more children are reading at grade level by the end of third grade.

Chosen from a field of more than 100 entries, the proposal for Seattle and the cities of Auburn, Burien, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, SeaTac and Tukwila was submitted by the Road Map Project, a cradle-to-college-and-career initiative aimed at improving education in South Seattle and South King County. The community was one of 14 awardees selected from 32 finalists.

The awards were handed out at the conclusion of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading conference in Denver. Awardees will compete again in 2016 based on results obtained from efforts to improve third-grade reading.

Objectives of Seattle and the South King County cities’ plan include building and sustaining a major regional commitment to improving grade-level reading and developing broad public awareness efforts to make third-grade reading a regional priority. The award also recognizes the impressive accomplishments and work already under way in our area:

• Let’s Read is a regional campaign that is underlining the importance of summer reading for children through a partnership of cities, districts, libraries, nonprofit organizations and other groups. So far, the campaign has distributed 40,000 flyers at 123 King County elementary schools and enlisted local mayors to record public service announcements. The effort also aims to connect families to library resources, book recommendations and events.

• Many city of Seattle departments are joining forces with community groups and parents to help improve third-grade reading at Northgate Elementary School. Seattle voters also just passed a new Families and Education Levy, which has a strong focus on improving third-grade reading outcomes.

• Summer Boost, a new project in Highline, aims to support children’s learning over the summer and connect families to the library system. Families participating in the project are connected with library story times and are given materials and activities to take home. 

“We are thrilled to win the All-America City Award. It is an honor to have our region’s ambitious plan for improving third-grade reading recognized on the national stage,” said Auburn Mayor Peter Lewis. “Local efforts, such as Let’s Read, are already boosting awareness of the importance of reading in our communities. All these initiatives are possible thanks to hard work and strong partnerships between schools, cities and families in our region.”

Beyond the award contest, Seattle and South King County’s plan makes the region a charter member in the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Communities Network, a national movement of local and state leaders, nonprofits, and foundations putting a stake in the ground on third-grade reading. That milestone marks the point when children shift from learning to read and begin reading to learn. Students who haven't mastered reading by then are more likely to get stuck in a cycle of academic failure, drop out of school, and struggle throughout their lives.

The awards are given each year by the National Civic League for outstanding civic accomplishments. Ordinarily, applicants choose their own local projects to showcase, but this year NCL is teaming with the Campaign to encourage community-based partnerships to improve reading proficiency among young students.

“This partnership with the Campaign has been an amazing experience for our All-America City Awards,” said Gloria Rubio-Cortes, president of the National Civic League which has sponsored the award for more than 60 years. “We were overwhelmed by the quality, passion and thoughtfulness of all the action plans submitted by more than 100 cities, towns and regions. There is a real and deep commitment to ensuring that our children are prepared to succeed.”

The 124 cities and counties in the network, representing 350 school districts with 8 million students, are adopting a collective impact strategy, engaging the full community around the goal of supporting low-income children from birth through third grade.

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ericm

07/05/2012

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Southwest Seattle Strings project brings music lessons to local schools

patr — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:17:50 +0000

Music and music education are sometimes thought of as secondary when compared to the reading, writing and mathematics basics. But The Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (SYSO) is having an impact not just on music appreciation but on the test scores and lives of those they can include.

In 2008, the New York based Wallace Foundation granted $7.7 million dollars to local arts groups with $500,000 going to the SYSO. They expanded their partnership with the Seattle Public Schools through The Southwest Seattle Strings Project.

A video by Lindsay Thomas has been produced (also funded by the Wallace Foundation) on the program that includes interviews with students, a parent and the Director of Orchestras for Denny International Middle School Heather Shaffer who said, "In two years of coaching we've gone from 16 students to about 45 in the sixth grade orchestra. 16 to 45 is a pretty telling indicator of how successful it is and what a need there is for it."

The program provides selected school instrumental music departments with weekly free group instrumental lessons for students in the early stages of learning on the following instruments:

• Violin
• Viola
• Cello
• String bass

The program supports school instrumental music teachers by providing highly trained teaching specialists that work directly under the supervision of classroom teachers to increase the size, diversity and quality of school orchestra programs.

SYSO Music Director Stephen R. Radcliffe, said, "In the Seattle Public Schools, for the elementary schools there is only funding for a music teacher one day a week and usually it's half a day a week. Schools can supplement that with funds from their PTSA's and contributions, but what we find is that schools that are in more wealthy neighborhoods are able to have more instrumental music instruction. Those that aren't can't afford it."

One goal of the program has been to bring more balance to that picture so, "there's greater representation from all of the neighborhoods (..) The music teacher at Denny has more than doubled her enrollment since the program began and that's just the tip of the iceberg because we're seeing this mass of kids coming up from the elementary schools," said Radcliffe.

SYSO selected West Seattle because it allowed them to have, "a vertically aligned program," said Radcliffe meaning kids from elementary schools would get instruction and it would continue through Denny International Middle School and on up the Chief Sealth International High School. "The thought is that if you sow a lot of seeds you will have a rich harvest and indeed that's what we're seeing.

Lessons occur before, during and after school, as a component of regularly scheduled school Elementary Instrumental Music (EIM) instructional time. Students work with "Artist-Teachers" on beginning instrumental technique, school orchestra material, and selected music for year-end "graduation" concerts. Coaches "team teach" with school music teachers on securing instrumental methods and locating, selecting and maintaining musical instruments.

Students also go to the West Seattle Community Orchestra where the teachers continue the instruction. "The kids are getting three lessons a week instead of just one," said Radcliffe.

The effect of the effort has been extremely positive. "Kids are more engaged at school and we also have data about their test scores that they are doing better than their peer group and it creates a more meaningful school environment. It's a learning mode that translates to other learning."

The West Seattle Strings Project is currently operating in the following Southwest Seattle Schools serving more than 265 students :
• Arbor Heights Elementary School
• Concord Elementary School
• Denny Middle School
• Gatewood Elementary School
• Highland Park Elementary School
• Roxhill Elementary School
• Sanislo Elementary School
• West Seattle Elementary School

Radcliffe also points out that the program saves the school district money, "because if you don't have a robust band and orchestra program in your high school you have to hire three teachers teach classrooms of 20 kids each. School boards across the country are starting to realize this."

The final Seattle Youth Symphony concert of the 2011-2012 season will be an epic performance of Verdi's Requiem on May 20, 2012 at 3:00pm.

For more details on the performance download the linked file above.

This will conclude The Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra’s 69th season with the Giuseppe Verdi's monumental Messa da Requiem, one of the most powerfully emotional classical works of all time. Seattle’s top listener-supported classical music station KING-FM will broadcast this masterful performance on Wednesday, May 23 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are still available for the concert at 3:00 pm at Benaroya Hall. Tickets range from $15 to $40 with discounts for students, seniors, and rush tickets. They can be purchased online at the door or reserved now by calling (206) 362-2300.

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patr

05/15/2012

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SYSO May 20 performance .pdf

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Seattle Youth Symphony

West Seattle string students perform Side-by-Side with members of the Seattle Youth Symphony. Students in the get extra instruction through an outreach program offered by the SYSO. Student involvement with music has proven to be beneficial in several key ways. Their next concert is May 20.

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Register for Burien Goodwill’s FREE classes

ericm — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:14:35 +0000

Free training classes offered in English, Computers, GED Preparation, Math, Customer Service and Citizenship

Press release:

Burien Goodwill’s Job Training and Education Center, located at 1031 SW 128th Street, will register people for free classes May 7 – 11, 2012.

The eight-week session runs from May 21 – July 12, 2012.

Classes fill up fast and sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis!

The center will offer the following classes:

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Basic Computers: Introductory classes for people with little or no computer skills.
Computer Basics
Computer Basics for ESOL
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
Online Job Search

GED Preparation

Basic/Intermediate Math

Retail and Customer Service

Citizenship Preparation

Writing

Open Computer Lab . Open lab time for help with career related activities, practicing computer skills, or practicing English skills using Rosetta Stone.

For class availability and enrollment information, contact the center at 206-957-1026.

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ericm

04/30/2012

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Gold Star winners named at fun Burien bash

ericm — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 05:13:27 +0000

SLIDESHOW

The Highline Schools Foundation held its Academy Awards Thursday night, March 22 and the winners are…..Darcy Smith, Alan Spicciati, Barb Rogers, Astha Tada and David Sabey.

The foundation presents its Gold Star awards annually. This year, foundation trustees decided to announce the winners at a fun Gold Star Bash held at Burien’s newest entertainment venue, the Production Shop.

The Gold Star winners will be formally recognized at the Gold Star Awards Breakfast held Friday, April 20 at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Conference Center, 7:30-9 a.m.

The breakfast is free to attend but a minimum donation of $125 is suggested at the event.

Smith, a 6th-grade teacher at McMicken Heights Elementary in SeaTac was named Outstanding Teacher. Spicciati, interim superintendent, was picked as Outstanding Administrator. Barb Rogers, office manager at Health Science and Human Services High School on the Evergreen campus in White Center, was announced as Outstanding Classified Employee. Astha Tada, former Cascade Middle School librarian, was named Outstanding Volunteer. David Sabey, Sabey Corporation president and 1965 Highline High graduate, was named Outstanding Alumnus.

Foundation executive director Ashley Fosberg told the attendees the bash came about because the annual breakfast is held during the school day so teachers cannot attend.

The annual Gold Star breakfast honoring the winners is held during the school day so teachers can’t participate.

So this year the foundation decided to throw a Gold Star Awards Bash in the evening to announce the winners.

“It’s the schools version of the Academy Awards,” foundation executive director Ashley Forsberg declared.

The bash was a red-carpet style unveiling of the 2012 winners, complete with drinks, light appetizers, dancing and emcee Andy Klietsch.

The bash was the first place the names of the winners were announced.

The venue is an old auto-repair warehouse just east of Ambaum Boulevard that has been turned into an event space.

Fosberg concedes it looks like a dingy warehouse on the outside but inside it was decorated in neon. Beneath a “Lubrication” sign, drinks were served.

In the past 11 years, the foundation has contributed over $1 million in funds to programs and students in the Highline district.

The foundation is the only non-profit organization that supports all the public schools in the district.
It provides private support in areas where state funding cannot through grants for classroom innovation, arts funding, pay-for-play fees and college scholarships.

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ericm

03/22/2012

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Photo by Kurt Howard

An aerial view of the nights event. CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR MORE

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