Education

The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department will offer a variety of programming for children and adults at the Alki Community Center and Alki Bathhouse this fall.
 
CHILDREN’S PUPPET THEATER 

The area’s best puppet entertainers are coming to Alki Bathhouse on Saturdays. Mark your calendar so you won’t miss these outstanding performances.

All performances begin at 1 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale at Alki Community Center, 5817 S.W. Stevens St., or by calling (206) 684 -7430. This program is appropriate for children ages 1 and older.

Location: Alki Bathhouse, 2701 Alki Ave. S.W.
Cost: $5 per person 

Saturday, Sept. 19: CLAY MARTIN PRESENTS:"THE MATCHBOX AND OTHER TALES"

Saturday, Oct. 24: PENNY'S PUPPETS PRESENTS: "MOTHER GOOSE ON THE LOOSE"
 
ALLEYOOP STORYTELLER

Join Alleyoop for this one-time-only family experience for free. Enjoy music, games, stories, and puppets with one of Seattle’s best children’s entertainers. This show is appropriate for children ages 3 to 8.


Location: Alki Community Center, 5817 S.W Stevens St.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 24
Time: 1 p.m.
 

The free fifth annual Duwamish River Festival took place Saturday, Aug. 8 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Duwamish Waterway Park, 7900 10th Ave. S., in South Park, to celebrate the cleanup and restoration of the Duwamish River.

The family-friendly environmental festival provided updates on the Duwamish River Superfund cleanup, kayak tours on the river, live entertainment, water taxi rides, food, children’s activities, health information, natural yard care tips, give-aways and more.

A trio of plaintiffs has challenged Seattle Public Schools' recent adoption of the Discovering series of high school math texts.

The three Seattle citizens—a parent of a Seattle schools student, a grandparent, and a University of Washington professor of atmospheric sciences, contend that the textbooks will fail to adequately reduce the achievement gap between Caucasians and non-Caucasians, and between wealthy and poorer students. This failure will result from lack of "explicit instruction," according to the plaintiffs.

An appeal of the Seattle School Board's controversial decision on May 6 to adopt the Discovering series of high school math texts was filed in King County Superior Court on June 5. Plaintiffs are DaZanne Porter, a mother of an 8th grade student in Seattle Public Schools, Martha McLaren, retired Seattle math teacher and grandparent of a Seattle Public Schools fourth grader, and Cliff Mass, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Washington.

Seattle Public Schools celebrates the academic achievements of its high school graduates with commencements occurring throughout the city, Tuesday, June 9 through Thursday, June 18.

Here are the dates and times for West Seattle High Schools:

West Seattle High, Thursday, June 11 at 5 p.m. at Memorial Stadium

Chief Sealth, Saturday, June 13 at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium

Cleveland, Tuesday, June 9 at 5 p.m. at Cleveland High School

Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D., will be speaking at four high school commencements this year: Ingraham High School, Rainier Beach High School, Roosevelt High School and South Lake High School.

Since the Student Assignment Plan Part I was introduced by Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, new details have been made regarding the choices parents will have regarding where they send their children.

Tracy Libros, Seattle Public Schools enrollment and planning manager, met with media on June 2 to discuss details of the plan. She explained that district staff have designed the new Student Assignment Plan to be much easier to understand and accessible to families.

“We’re going for clarity or simplicity,” said Libros.

The biggest change parents will see compared to the current plan is that their students will start with a predictable assignment to a local school based on their address. Each elementary school will have a specific reference area and groups of those schools will filter into middle schools and, later, high schools.

To ensure that all students have equal access to special services, middle school attendance areas will also become service areas. The district aims to offer all basic services in each of these areas and Libros ensures that all students with special needs will have access, including transportation, to the services they need.

Seattle City Council member Tim Burgess is seeking candidates to fill two council positions on the Families and Education Levy Oversight Committee.

Passed in 2004, the levy provides funding for early childhood developments, school-based student and family services, out-of-school activities, middle school support, and student health services.

The Levy Oversight Committee reviews and advises the implementation and evaluation plans, the City of Seattle/Seattle School District Partnership Agreement, expenditures and allocations of levy funds and makes recommendation on the implementation of particular programs.

These positions are open to Seattle residents who are interested and have a background in education, youth and family services.

Applications, resume and cover letters can be sent to council member Tim Burgess at tim.burgess@seattle.gov and will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 12.

Through the overactive imagination of a fifth-grader named Alexander, a knight with a backpack for a shield and an umbrella for a sword, Ballard students learned that bullying, and allowing bullying, is not right.

On May 15, the Road Company of Greenwood's Taproot Theatre performed "Alexander and the Dragon" for the students at North Beach Elementary.

The play is based on curriculum on bullying prevention developed by the Committee for Children, a Seattle-based non-profit organization.

It follows Alexander, a fifth-grader who likes to pretend he is a knight. On the first day of school, he watches as his friend bullies another student. Alexander is stripped of his knighthood for not doing anything about the bullying and must find a way to earn it back.

"Alexander and the Dragon" is fun and entertaining, but the Committee for Chilrden curriculum makes it effective, Road Company member Soloman Davis said.

After every performance, the company members have a dialogue about the performance with the children.

"Some students just want to know how we change costumes," Davis said. "But, some want to know what to do about problems with specific bullies."