Month: January 2016

Two ways to advocate for our students

Kathy Austin

1. Make your voice heard in Olympia
The WA State PTA’s annual “Focus Day” in the State Capitol is coming up fast – Wednesday February 3rd. Join other parents from across the state in Olympia by registering here. If you can’t make the trip to Olympia, we will be taking some time at our February 9th Bryant PTSA meeting to send short messages to our legislators. This will be easy and motivating to do as a group, so please join in.

2. Vote For Seattle Schools on February 9th!
On February 9, 2016, Seattle voters will be asked to renew two expiring levies that provide essential funding for our schools. Neither of these levies is a new tax; they renew expiring levies. The Operations levy provides a quarter of the day-to-day operating budget for Seattle Public Schools. This levy funds everything from teacher and principal salaries to textbooks and classroom supplies – basic essentials that students need to succeed. If renewed, the Operations levy will direct $758 million to public education over three years. Read more →

From the District: Special Ed parent focus group

Kathy Austin

All parents of students receiving special education services within the Northeast Region are invited to join us for a focus group:

March 3rd, 6:00-7:30 PM
Olympic View Elementary Library

This focus group will provide an opportunity for you to share the experience of your student and family and will be facilitated by representatives from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The focus group is one component of the District’s Memorandum of Understanding with OSPI and our ongoing efforts to build and sustain systems that ensure substantial compliance in our services for students with disabilities. If you are interested in attending, we ask that you kindly RSVP to Pam Klopfer at paklopfer@seattleschools.org or 206-252-0054. We have capacity for the first 30 parents who respond to participate. Please specify if child care or interpreting services will be needed. Light refreshments will be provided. Read more →

Bryant PTSA Board Meeting Minutes – January 2016

Kathy Austin

January 12, 2016, Library
7:04

ATTENDEES
Patricia Parker, Mary-Britt Love, Julie Ohrazda, Rachel Gleeson, Leeann Huntington, Dan Sanger, Jason Smith, Tiffany Morgan, Jennifer Mahlum, Joan Crooks, Whitney Griesbach, Lauren Abraham, Michelle Ireton, Phil LeTourneau, MC Schmitt, Kristin Zwiers, Smriti Shetty, Gina LaPorta, Kim Larsen, Carleen Confer, Amy Shanafelt, Meghan Delaney, Anna Marburg

December Board Meeting Minutes – Approved

Officer/Standing Committee Reports

  1. Treasurer’s Report & discussion of PTSA budget process (Lauren Abraham & Jennifer Mahlum)
    See attached budget – Large SPS invoice came in.
    First Budget Committee will be March 30
    Will meet 2-3 more times and approve at June General Meeting
  2. Legislative Update & recap of Board vote to support Schools First and the upcoming schools levies on the February ballot (Joan Crooks)
    State session has just started. Email your legislators and start a relationship discussing schools now. Schools/Education in subject line. Feb 3 is State PTSA Focus Day (lobbying event) in Olympia. Joan will organize a Bryant contingent.
    Feb 9 is the Seattle school levies election which would provide for 25% of the schools budget for operations and capital needs.
    PTSA has pledged $500 to Schools First to promote the passage of the levies and voted over email to support Schools First both monetarily and by promoting to the Bryant Community
  3. Recap of Board vote to fund the 4th Grade ceramics program at $950 from unallocated funds (Leeann Huntington)
    PTSA voted over email to support the 4th Grade ceramics program with $950 from unallocated funds
  4. Recap of Board vote to fund staff PLC training this summer with $8000 from unallocated funds (Leeann Huntington)
    The PTSA voted over email to fund $8000 of the staff PLC training out of unallocated funds. This training will be for 24 staff members to build on the the work that Bryant staff and administration have started this school year to build collaborative teaching communities. This leaves about $6200 in unallocated which is low compared to how much has been kept in unallocated in the past.

New Business

  1. General Membership discuss and vote to move over-budgeted monies from the current 2015-16 PTSA budget to unallocated to fund staff PLC training this summer. (Leeann Huntington)
    The total cost to send 24 staff members to the training is about $15,500.
    The PTSA advocates moving $2000 previously budged for Math Champs, which is no longer a program at Bryant, having been replaced by the 5th Grade team’s walk to math curriculum.
    Motion to approve moving $2000 from Math Champs to the new line item to fund PLC training. The building will fund the balance of the $15,500 training fees by spending supplies funds.
  2. Presentation on what Bryant students and classrooms have accomplished in the first year of the Tech Lab program. (Patricia Parker)
    See slide presentation. Review teacher survey results online 
  3. Discussion of 2016-17 bell times and creation of task force to look into how this would affect operations at Bryant (Leeann Huntington)
    2016-17 school hours will be 7:50-2:10. ASE and LASER programs will likely be affected, and the school day change will be a major operational change for families. The PTSA is looking to start a task force including ASE, LASER and staff/administration to plan to help families adjust to the different start/end times. The team will look into current LASER and ASE usage and likely after school needs with the new hours.
  4. Looking for Blast leadership team. Many of the planning positions have already been filled. But we’re still looking for a couple of lead coordinators to run the show.

Meeting adjourned 8:26

Bryant’s Student Hunger Service Project packs up its first 60 weekend meal packs for NE Seattle students

Kathy Austin

Bryant’s pilot program, in conjunction with the Hunger Intervention Program (HIP), culminated its first month’s food collection with a packing party to assemble 60 weekend meal packs to send home with students facing hunger every day in northeast Seattle. The 5th Graders collected food items through December and came together Friday night to complete their work of preparing packages of food that will be discretely distributed to students by HIP. Next up will be the 3rd Graders, who have already started collecting food for the next delivery to HIP at the end of January.