Education

Seattle Public Schools has sent an invitation to attend the grand opening of Chief Sealth International High School on Sept. 7 at 9:30 AM.
Attendance at the event is limited however so you must RSVP to Dick Lee at 206) 252-0476 or email at rjlee@seattleschools.org

Sealth has been undergoing a $50 million remodel and renovation for the last 2 plus years and will be ready to open for students.

Here's the official invitation wording:

Seattle Public Schools and Chief Sealth International High School
cordially invite you to help celebrate the:

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
9:30 a.m.- 10:30 a.m.
Please assemble at the main entrance
At 2600 SW Thistle Street at 9:15 a.m.

Please R.S.V.P. to Dick Lee
at (206) 252-0476 or email at rjlee@seattleschools.org
by Monday, August 30th, 2010 - 4:00 p.m.

The Swinery at 3207 California Ave. S.W. not only has a new Operations Manager, in the person of Chef Joseph Jimenez but they have formed an agreement with South and Seattle Central Community Colleges to help educate their culinary students on butchery and animal breakdown techniques and practices. The program is called the Seattle Central Culinary Academy.

"I personally learn more every time I instruct other people in how to do this. It gives me a chance to really look deeper at the whole process," said butcher Joey Brewer.

Through Head Chef Garrett Daugherty's connections (he's a graduate of the SCCC program) he arranged to bring in the students to gain some real world experiential training. "When we took over the shop, Sarah Wong, who is a fifth quarter instructor at the school, decided to come over here on Friday's and help us out. We said we were going get a cow and she rallied up some troops to help us break it down, "
Daugherty said.

Former Highline School District athletic director Jackie Lewis filed a claim Tuesday against the district alleging he was unfairly demoted from an assistant principal to a teacher because of the actions of former Evergreen campus athletic director Daylene Boehm.
Daylene Boehm is no longer on leave and has been reassigned as an elementary teacher, according to district spokeswoman Catherine Carbone Rogers. Daylene Boehm has a continuing contract with the district. The specific elementary has not been determined.
"She still has a job in Highline," Rogers reported.

Rogers noted the investigation of Daylene Boehm has not been concluded.

Lewis has been reassigned to a secondary school, yet to be determined, according to Rogers. Lewis also had been assistant principal at Highline High in Burien.

In the claim, Lewis said Daylene Boehm's direct supervisor, Evergreen Principal Paula Montgomery was not significantly disciplined. Montgomery, one of the principals of three small academies on the Evergreen campus, also supervised Evergreen's athletic program last year.

The West Seattle Herald recently toured the refurbished Sealth International High School, now two and a half years into construction. Robert Evans, project manager for Heery International and sub consultant to DKA Architecture the Construction Program Manager for the project, and Principal John Boyd were our guides for the two-and-a-half hour peek at what they believe will be a world-class facility. Absher Construction is the General (primary) Contractor.

Other adults present were heard commenting that they wish they could go back to high school as they seemed in awe of the modernization.

A construction levy in February 2007 provided 125 million dollars for two buildings in the West Seattle area. One was the construction of a new Denny Middle School and the other was the renovation of Sealth. Denny was allocated funds to build a new school (75 million dollars) and Sealth was allocated 50 million dollars for remodeling. The work on Sealth is nearly complete and they will open this fall.

A complete overview of the project is available online at http://bex.seattleschools.org/chiefsealth.html

Seattle Public Schools made several announcements today regarding personnel, but the most significant for West Seattle was the naming of the new principal at West Seattle High School, to succeed the departing Bruce Bivins. They also named new principals for Alki Elementary and Madison Middle School.

Here's the SPS press release:
Ruth Medsker has been appointed interim principal at West Seattle High School.

For the past five years, Ms. Medsker has served as an education director for Seattle Public Schools, during which time she directly supervised nine middle schools and 10 K-8 schools in the district.

Prior to that time, she was principal and assistant principal at Seattle’s Mercer Middle School. In 2004, Medsker received the Alliance for Education’s Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence for outstanding leadership. She also received two awards from the Association from Washington School Principals: as a Seattle Regional Distinguished Principal in 2004 and as a Seattle Regional Distinguished Assistant Principal in 2003.

Two unexpected speakers added extra drama June 23 to the Highline School Board's regular meeting.

Ayanna Brown, mother of 12-year-old Alajawan Brown who was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity in the Rainier Valley April 29, urged school officials to listen to at-risk students and provide them with activities to keep them out of trouble.

Burien resident Lorin Sandretzky, better known as "Big Lo, Seattle's biggest sports fan," requested district staffers find a better field for the Burien Bearcats youth football team.

Brown also supported the Bearcats' request, noting, "Kids need something to do" to keep them out of gangs.
"A 35-year-old gang member shot my baby," Brown declared.

She also spoke in support of The Movement, a nonprofit Tukwila-based group that works with high-risk youth through mentorship and personal development training.
Big Picture High principal Jeff Petty said the group has worked the past two years at his school "using the power of story to reach out to kids." Big Picture is an alternative high school that emphasizes learning through internships. It is housed at the old Glacier High building in SeaTac.

Following an investigation of the athletic program, Highline Public Schools administrators have posted job openings for a new district athletic director and Evergreen High School campus athletic director.

Jackie Lewis, the district's athletic director is on leave following revelations that Jayson Boehm, a substitute Highline Field stadium manager, had given physicals to male students without appropriate medical supervision. Boehm, who had been hired to provide first aid at athletic events, was not licensed to give physicals. The district fired him.

Daylene Boehm, Jayson Boehm's sister, was also placed on leave. The district is now advertising an opening for her former position.
The district is also advertising for a coordinator of athletics, which is a lower job classification than district athletic director, according to spokeswoman Catherine Carbone Rogers.

However, the job is a full-time position. Lewis served part-time as athletic director.
He was also an assistant principal at Highline High School. Whether Lewis returns to Highline High or the Highline district is on hold, pending the conclusion of the investigation and an athletic program audit.

The audience laughed heartily during Schmitz Park Elementary School's production of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, Thursday night, June 17. The performers, and director and other behind-the-scenes crew were from Craig Parsley's fifth grade class. In the play, a man and his slave become mistaken for another man and his slave as both are identical twins. The four meet at the end and the confusion is cleared up. While the slave-owner actors, Vincent Paddon and Ryan Kimsey resembled each other, their slaves are real-life twins, Anna and Lea Zuckerman, a nice dramatic touch.

Highland Park Elementary School teachers were surprised by retiring fellow teachers, Debbie Richter and Marilyn Nelson, and administrative assistant, Margaret Young, with a party in the library, Wednesday afternoon, June 16.

Richter, a special education teacher, has taught 21 years at Highland Park.

"It's time to say goodbye, said Richter, a Bellevue resident. "I've seen many students come and go. I'm going to travel. I have a new grandchild. This is going to be the next phase in my life."

"I'm going shopping when the stores are empty, and traveling when it's not tourist season," effused Young, who lives near the school, and still has a graceful North Carolina lilt even though she moved here 40 years ago. She was an office assistant at Highland Park School for six years before she moved into the Administrative Assistant position which she has held for the last 22 years.