Our sister-site MyBallard spoke with Ballard High alumni-turned principal Kevin Wynkoop last week, who had no idea when he graduated 17 years ago that he’d be running BHS one day.

Wynkoop earned his teaching degree after graduating and returned to BHS in 1999, where he taught U.S. History, World History and A.P. Government for several years (including when I was a student there from 2001 to 2005). After earning his Masters in Education, Wynkoop came back to BHS once again, serving as interim principal over this past school year, an ultimately becoming the high school’s official new principal.

MyBallard has a great interview with Wynkoop about his last year and what he sees for the future of Ballard High School. Read the full story here.

Seattle Public Schools is asking for community-input on their Strategic Plan. They have put together a 21-question survey which will close next Tuesday, May 31. “As we are in the mid-point of our 5-year Strategic Plan, Excellence for All, it is a good time to look at our progress and evaluate whether any adjustments are needed going forward,” the top of the survey states. All responses will remain confidential and anonymous. You can take the survey here.

Queen Anne’s own Coe Elementary and local nonprofit Successful Schools in Action will be hosting a screening of Race to Nowhere, a film about “the dark side of America’s achievement culture” at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday, May 31 at Coe, located at 2727 7th Avenue W.

From the Race to Nowhere website:

Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.

Communities around the country are using the film as “a call to action for families, educators and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.” By engaging in a grassroots effort to organize screenings in in schools and neighborhoods nationwide, the filmmakers are hoping to turn the project into a catalyst for education reform–”using the film as the centerpiece for raising awareness, radically changing the national dialogue on education and galvanizing change.”

Tickets to attend the screening are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door, and are available for purchase here. For more information on the film, check out the Race to Nowhere website.

May is National Teacher Appreciation month and Ivar’s restaurants want to honor the area’s top teachers. The grand prize winner will win a $500 gift card for school supplies and of course the bragging rights as Ivar’s Teacher of the Year. Four teachers will receive first prize of $150 gift card and 30 teachers will receive second prize of a $25 Ivar’s gift card. The nominating student of the top teacher will win a classroom chowder party, complete with Ivar’s famous dancing clam. Students 14 years or younger can visit any Puget Sound-area Ivar’s and fill out an entry form or nominate the teacher online. Entries must be received by May 22, 2011.

Seattle Public Schools is looking to the community for opinions on its middle school language arts curriculum. From the SPS website:

Parents, families, students, teachers, staff and the community are invited to review and provide input on the instructional materials being considered for Middle School Language Arts.

The materials will be available for viewing from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Monday, May 2 to Friday, May 6, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 7 at McClure Middle School, located at 1915 1st Ave W.

For questions or more information on the curriculum and instructional materials under review, contact SPS literacy manager Dan Coles at (206) 252-0231.

A few years ago, changes were made to the English Language Learner (ELL, formerly ESL) program in Seattle Public Schools. These changes have taken non-native speakers out of one classroom and put them in the traditional classroom with native English speakers. Our sister site, MyWallingford, has more on these changes and how they’re affecting students and teachers at Hamilton International Middle School.

Read: Final bell for self-contained bilingual classes

Local education non-profit Successful Schools In Action is hosting an open house fro 3 to 6 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, March 29 at McClure Middle School, at 1915 1st Ave. W. in Portable 1. SSIA invites commuting members to stop by and learn about the programs and plans the organization has in the works for the 2011-2012 school year.

Also coming up on the SSIA calendar:

Readers Workshop for Parents – Make reading fun – for you and your student! Every Wed. for five weeks beginning April 27th. Register Here

Spring Break Art Camp – Choose from Painting, Cartooning, Improv, and Plushie Monsters! Tues. – Thurs., April 19, 20, & 21, For 3rd – 6th graders. Register Here

Find more information on SSIA, its work, and programs in the community on the SSIA website.

John Hay Elementary has received a Washington Achievement Award from the State Board of Education for Overall Excellence in 2010 (it won an award in this category last year, and in 2008, too).

These awards are handed out every year in recognition of the top-performing schools across the state, selected based on statewide assessment data collected over three prior consecutive years and analyzed using a school Accountability Index (.pdf). (Read up on the methodology here).

You can read more about the achievement award in the state’s award letter to John Hay here (.doc).

Last week the Pacific Science Center received a sizable grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in the amount of $1.1 million to be used to develop a new education outreach program focusing on the earth and space sciences called NASA Now. The goal: To inspire young adults to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

The five-year grant will help expand the Science Center’s efforts to engage diverse audiences and make valuable science learning experiences available to everyone, especially those who would otherwise not have access to such opportunities.

“Being selected by NASA for this award is gratifying for so many reasons,” said Bryce Seidl, president and CEO for Pacific Science Center said in a press release last week. “This grant allows us to reach underserved audiences, takes advantage of our existing Discovery Corps program, links to other partners like the UW and aligns so well with the science outreach objectives of NASA.”

The Science Center was among nine informal education providers chosen by NASA to receive its 2010 Competitive Program for Science Museums and Planetariums, a still young program put in place by Congress back in 2008. Through the grant, PSC will create the NASA Now program, emphasizing three aspects of its development:

1. Updating the PSC planetarium with a state-of-the-art digital projector system
2. Adding a second portable digital projector to the PSC Science on Wheels Space Odyssey program to expand outreach offerings to schools and communities and incorporate more up-to-date scientific research and discoveries (NASA Now will also subsidize the cost of this program delivery for schools that have a large percentage of students participating in free/reduced-price lunch programs)
3. Creating the Track for Earth and Space Science Achievement (TESSA) program, which supports the exploration of earth and space science careers for teens who will be engaged alongside undergraduates studying astronomy

TESSA’s participating youth will help write content for Pacific Science Center’s planetarium shows, assist in delivering programming, update our exhibit floor with current space science information and receive mentoring opportunities with the University of Washington Pre-MAP (Pre-Major in Astronomy Program).

“Science centers and planetariums contribute significantly to engaging people of all ages in science, technology, engineering and math,” James Stofan, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Office of Education said in a press release. “NASA wants to give the informal education community access to a variety of agency staff and resources while offering professional development opportunities for informal science educators and encouraging the formation of collaborative partnerships.”

On Monday evening Mayor Mike McGinn and El Centro de la Raza Executive Director Estela Ortega met with community members to discuss issues pertaining to today’s youth at the Youth & Families Initiative community caucus at Ballard High School.

More than 40 people attended, covering topics including violence prevention, minority empowerment, and improving education both in school and at home. One of 75 Youth & Families Initiative caucuses citywide, all remaining meetings will be held before May 14. Those who weren’t able to make it to the caucus can read about it at our sister site, MyBallard. There’s still time to attend another caucus or host your own. Read the full story here.

Queen Anne’s own John Hay Elementary will be receiving a Washington Achievement Award for Overall Excellence, as well as a Special Recognition Award for high performance in math education from the State Board of Education this coming May!

These awards recognize top-performing schools across the state, selected based on statewide assessment data collected over three prior consecutive years and analyzed using a school Accountability Index (.pdf). (Read up on the methodology here). John Hay also received these same two distinctions last year. See previous award recipients (.pdf). From John Hay’s blog,

The Overall Excellence award places John Hay in the top 5 percent of all elementary, middle and high schools across the state.

Congratulations to all of the hard working teachers,  staff, volunteers and parents that made this happen, and make John Hay such a special place.

Read more on the Washington Achievement Awards here. And congratulations Hay!

Local non-profit Successful Schools in Action, which works to provide support and resources for schools, students and teachers at seven schools in Queen Anne and Magnolia, raised just shy of $30,000 at their 4th annual community breakfast last week, making the event the most successful breakfast fundraiser they’ve ever had!

SSIA says the funds are essential to their operations, enabling them “to continue providing tutors for struggling students, debate for every student who wants to participate, and Collaborative Conversations to support our teachers, empower our families, and engage our community.”

In a letter sent out today the organization thanked the community for their continued support.

We appreciate the incredible sponsor support we received this year from so many local businesses and organizations. Special recognition and thanks to our Signature Sponsor, Vulcan, and our Table Sponsors, JAS Design Build and King & Oliason.

Read up on the some of the past work SSIA has done in the community here, here and here. If you’d like to support SSIA, make a donation here, or eat out through the Celebrated Chefs program and have 5 percent donated on your behalf. See participating restaurants here.

(Photographer: Samuel Kuntz. Photos courtesy of SSIA).

Queen Anne’s own academic non-profit Successful Schools in Action and the Alliance for Education will be teaming up to host a community discussion on the topic of teacher quality for residents in the Queen Anne and Magnolia communities on Wednesday, March 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the McClure Middle School lunchroom, located at 1915 1st Ave W.

“This is a subject very much on the front lines of public education these days, both nationally and here in Seattle,” writes SSIA Executive Director Lisa Moore. “This is a great opportunity to participate, engage, and learn more about this subject.”

Moore encourages interested parties to pass along invitations to neighbors, preschool families, neighborhood businesses and other local organizations. “We are reaching out to schools and the larger community as well,” she said.

Dinner will be provided by The Alliance. To RSVP for the talk, email solynn@alliance4ed.org or call 206-205-0329.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has awarded Successful Schools in Action, an educational non-profit organization formed in 2003 as part of a grassroots effort to improve neighborhood schools, with a $5,000 grant to support the organization’s Math Assistance for Public Schools (MAPS) program.

SSIA is located in Queen Anne and is made up of the six public schools in Queen Anne and Magnolia, serving over 3,000 ethnically, economically and racially diverse students and families throughout Seattle.

(Photo courtesy of SSIA Executive Director Lisa Moore)

Through SSIA, school communities work together to reduce eduction costs, bolster successful practices and maximize resources. The organization received the grant from Bank of America in July, but waited until the start of the school year to announce the award.

According to Executive Director Lisa Moore, “The grant will go directly to providing trained math tutors to work with individual or small groups of students who are struggling with math.”

Due to decreased budgets, increased class sizes and programming cuts in public schools, Moore says the value of individualized tutors “cannot be overstated.”

This program, she writes,

Will ensure that any student struggling with mathematics will have access to a trained math tutor. Individualized instruction is critical to assisting students who are falling behind their peers, and in many cases the help – as well as the relationship -  can make the difference between success and failure at school overall.

The six schools currently part of SSIA are Coe, John Hay, and Lawton elementary, Blaine K-8, McClure middle, and The Center School. This is the fifth year SSIA has provided tutoring programs, and the second for the MAPS program, which began in 2008, to meet a increasing demand for trained and dedicated math tutors. According to Moore, 23 students participated in the first year of MAPS, with tutors providing 25 hours of instruction each week.

Past donors to SSIA include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods. See the full list here.

Constant Contact, quickly becoming one of the web’s fastest growing e-newsletter service providers, will present a series of workshops in the Seattle area.  Click for a complete list of seminars and to register.  All workshops are free. The Swedish Cultural Center in Queen Anne will host next week’s workshop on Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

 Swedish Cultural Center
1920 Dexter Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98109 
 
10am – 12pm
“The Power of Email Marketing”
Learn how to make email marketing work for you!
 
You will discover how email marketing works and obtain useful email marketing tips. Email marketing is about getting your message heard in a world of increasing email communications.  
 
Topics to be discussed:
*Understanding Email Marketing — why and how it works.
*Components of an effective marketing campaign.
*Creating professional looking emails to WOW your customers.
*Developing mailing lists and subject lines to get your emails opened.
*Email Marketing Best Practices — tips, strategies, and techniques.