Town Hall Meeting with Mayor McGuire and SPS Interim Superintendent Susan Enfield
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 South Shore Elementary School Rotunda
4800 S. Henderson, Seattle, WA 98118 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Mayor Mike McGinn & Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield invite you to join them for an open community meeting and Q&A session, featuring entertainment by the hit band School of Rock and information about city-wide youth programs and opportunities, the proposed Families & Education Levy, and more. Parking is available at the school and supervised activities for young children, along with water and light snacks, will be provided.
Interpretation and translation will be provided in the following languages: American Sign Language, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Somali, Tagalog, Amharic, Tigrinya, and Oromo
Please RSVP to: publicaffairs@seattleschools.org
This meeting is part of an ongoing series of community outreach meetings as part of the Mayor's Engage Seattle and Youth & Families initiatives (www.seattle.gov/engage; http://youthandfamilies.seattle.gov/).
To be included in the contact lists for future Mayor's Office events or to receive regular news from Mayor McGinn, visit www.seattle.gov/mayor/signup.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
"Race to Nowhere" Screening at Hamilton
Race to Nowhere Public Showing at Hamilton International School on Wednesday, June 15th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
A concerned mother turned filmmaker aims her camera at the high-stakes, high-pressure culture that has invaded our schools and our children’s lives. This remarkable new film shines a light on the price young people pay for this “race to nowhere.” High-stakes testing has replaced meaningful teaching and learning. Cheating is commonplace. Stress-related illness, depression, and burnout are rampant. Many young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired. Race to Nowhere is 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. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.racetonowhere.com .
Garfield Tracks moderator's note:
I'll pass this along with a recommendation to anyone who has not seen this film yet, in part as an antidote to the "Waiting for Superman" film hype that washed through the media this past year.
A concerned mother turned filmmaker aims her camera at the high-stakes, high-pressure culture that has invaded our schools and our children’s lives. This remarkable new film shines a light on the price young people pay for this “race to nowhere.” High-stakes testing has replaced meaningful teaching and learning. Cheating is commonplace. Stress-related illness, depression, and burnout are rampant. Many young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired. Race to Nowhere is 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. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.racetonowhere.com .
Garfield Tracks moderator's note:
I'll pass this along with a recommendation to anyone who has not seen this film yet, in part as an antidote to the "Waiting for Superman" film hype that washed through the media this past year.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Garfield Student wins Edward R Murrow Award for journalism
Garfield High School Senior Sam Heft-Luthy won 1st place for in the Edward R. Murrow High School Journalism Award (http://communication.wsu.edu/symposium/hscomp/hscomp2011.html ) for Best News Story for his well-written and rather positive article on counter military recruiting.
Army Strong
The Garfield Messenger
By Sam Heft-Luthy
Published December 3, 2010
On the corner of 23rd Avenue and S. Jackson Street, an indistinct beige shopping center buzzes with the weekday rush of Garfield students. They pour into Red Apple, crowd the faux-beach-bum décor of the Taco Del Mar, and make a steady, snaking line at Subway.
Yet next to all of these bustling storefronts is a sight that has become all too familiar in this current economic climate. A row of several businesses stands closed for good, several “For Lease” signs the only clue that the now lifeless facades were ever once occupied.
However, among the abandoned windows and signs is one tenant who is as active as ever. Although the curtains to the windows are drawn, a bright red lettering above the door proclaims “U.S. Navy Recruiting”.
This lone open storefront in a tide that is decisively turned against it is indicative of the nation as a whole – publicly released military figures show that any 1 percent increase in civilian unemployment yields a 0.6 percent increase in recruiting.
A Princeton University study shows that “Voluntary military enlistment during wartime” depends on three factors: “college aspirations, lower socioeconomic status, and living in an area with a high military presence.” Garfield parent and prominent anti-war activist Kathy Barker says that it’s her duty to influence the latter. For the past five years, Barker has led the campaign to counter the presence of military recruiters in Seattle Public Schools.
“I got involved through anti-war work during the time that the [Iraq] war was starting. That’s when I became aware of No Child Left Behind,” she tells me.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was one of the earliest Congressional acts supported by George W. Bush. In addition to a subtle endorsement of public school prayer and an education reform plan based on standardized test scores, the bill requires that military recruiters be given the same level of access to student information as institutes of higher education, specifically names, addresses, and phone numbers.
“From both an anti-war perspective and as a parent, I found that horrendous, that they would mandate that we had to have military recruiters in schools getting access to kids.”
Although she had a child attending Garfield when she started her work (Zoe Barker-Aderem is a 2009 graduate), Barker’s campaign focused on other schools.
“There was a coalition at the time,” Barker tells me, “teachers and activists who wanted to let students know that they had the right to opt-out. That was all it was, just letting people know that they have the right not to give their name to the military” (The NCLB mandate on recruiters also includes a right to request that information not be released to military recruiters).
At first, the coalition did nothing but hand out papers; Barker and her compatriots stood (off of school grounds) and handed students the very same opt-out forms that now come in the start-of-school packets. Eventually, the group, along with several school PTSAs (including Garfield’s) worked out a compromise with Seattle Public Schools to redefine official military recruiter policy.
Seattle Schools’ official stance is fairly strict towards military recruiters on school grounds. Policy states that recruiters must stay in uniform, must identify their branch of service and the visit’s intention, and are held to strict expectations. Garfield rules allow counter-recruiters (including Kathy Barker) to be present at all recruiter meetings, as long as they do not “interfere or confront the recruiters”. The guidelines for principals state that although SPS is required under threat of loss of federal funding to give recruiters certain admissions, “equal access does not require more access.”
Yet at Garfield’s 2010 – 2011 homecoming assembly, three army representatives stood in the audience. After the dougie-ing and introductions finished, they walked up and called down Pierre Wright. Wright had recently been an integral player in Garfield’s 35 – 28 victory over Roosevelt, where he had rushed for 261 yards and passed for 104 — an achievement that’s difficult even in Madden.
The three men in full uniform, along with a representative of the Seattle Seahawks, presented Wright with the “U.S. Army Player of the Week” award. According to the award’s official website, the $250 prize is awarded to the ASB of a player who displays “Army Strong” traits of “loyalty, duty, respect… honor… and personal courage.”
Though the presentation was fairly respectful, and focused mainly on Wright’s impressive achievements, the army connection felt forced. Says Junior Grant Bronsdon, “I thought it was great that Pierre was recognized, and I didn’t feel that the Army presence was a big deal — although it was a little overblown and unnecessary when they started talking about the army’s ‘core values’.”
“I was really honored to receive the award.” Wright says. “It made me want to work even harder to follow my dream.”
Garfield Principal Ted Howard explains his reasoning behind approving the presentation: “Any time a parent calls me saying that their kid’s being honored, it doesn’t really matter which organization…I would lean toward the side of ‘this kid is being honored, why take that honor away from the kid?’ And that’s the question you have to weigh between the sides: is that message going to get lost in [the Army connection]?”
Kathy Barker maintains the position that such an award is a form of recruiting just as influential as direct informational meetings. Recruiters are held to two Career Center visits per year, but community outreach events such as the U.S. Army POTW award are not subject to that limit. “This is what recruiting is,” Barker asserts.
“The Recruiter Handbook”, published by the United States Army Recruiting Command and freely available on the internet, outlines many “tools, tips, techniques, and insight” intended to help recruiters “provide a continuous supply of quality volunteers”. Among the most repeated aspects of the manual is the importance of involvement in the community. The manual implores recruiters to “participate in public events such as high school sports functions, community fundraisers, or Army-sponsored events” and says “this type of involvement will demonstrate your willingness to be a viable part of the community.”
In addition to lauding the effectiveness of being a visible member of the community, the “Handbook” also suggests finding and addressing “student influencers” by informing them about the benefits the Army can provide. It states, “Students such as class officers, newspaper and yearbook editors, and athletes can help build interest in the Army in the student body” (Italics are my own).
Yet for all of the recruiting tactics Kathy Barker fights against, there are some people who made their military decision earlier than high school.
Garfield class of 2009 alum Kyle Dofredo says he can’t remember a time when he didn’t want to be a soldier.“To be honest I believe I was born with that mind set,” he tells me. “People joke that I was born with an M16 in my hand and cut my way out. Since I was 3 years old I was going out on Halloween in army gear, drawing pictures of battles and constantly playing with army men. So the whole family knew where I was headed.”
Dofredo enlisted with the U.S Army Reserves before graduating high school. He says that his decision was made completely independent of any on-campus recruiters. In his junior year, he dropped into to a U.S Army recruiting center for advice on how to sign up, and then attended basic training in between 11th and 12th grade.
“The recruiter would call every so often or swing by to make sure you were still game,” Dofredo says, “But if you’re wondering if they were pushy or unprofessional like the rumors say, they were the complete opposite.”
Dofredo is currently a Private First Class in the U.S Army.
Kathy Barker tells me that one time this year she had an appointment to be in the room with the Navy recruiters, as is protocol. Career Center director Leanne Hust told her she could arrive at noon, and would be allowed to set up a poster next to the Navy presenters.
Two days before the meeting, Barker received a call saying that the recruiters would be at the school at ten o’clock. When she arrived at Garfield, Ms. Hust said that she had heard nothing about the visit being pushed forward.
“I ran into the navy guys in the parking lot,” Barker tells me. “There were twelve [recruiters].”
“They completely broke protocol.” Barker continues, “The way you get an appointment is supposed to be very strict, but they went over the head of the person who was supposed to be scheduling, and brought all these extra guys… I had to stop one of them from going out into the hall and grabbing students, which you are not allowed to do.”
Barker claims she was met with hostility and dismissive attitudes, and that she was told by the lead recruiting officer told her that he “could push for more visits if [he] wanted”.
Since the appointment was not properly scheduled (no invitations were sent to students), it will not count towards the Navy’s 2 visits per school year.
Although there is a limit on the number of visits per year recruiters can make, Nicole Petty (who is currently starting the job of leading the Career Center) tells me that any organization (including a military organization) can bring as many representatives as it deems necessary.
“Nothing was done — from my knowledge, and from that of my communications with the Seattle Public Schools legal department — that was against any school rules,” Petty tells me.
William Li, another Garfield alumnus, didn’t grow up with quite the same certainty in his future as Kyle Dofredo. He tells me, “As a younger kid and teenager I probably had the same kind of interest in the military that the average male movie theater-goer would have, kind of an abstract sense of heroism and adventure, mixed with the glamor of going on super-secret missions behind enemy lines. But nothing to seriously consider the military as a profession.”
Before graduating high school, Li had only heard about military recruiters through the Garfield PTSA’s efforts to bar them from campus. Eventually Li came to the realization that another four years of traditional schooling would not be the way he wanted to go. In the summer after graduation, Li met with a Marine Corps recruiter who steered him towards officer training.
“He pretty much just gave me the information I needed to make my own decision,” William explains.
When Li explained his choice to his family, he was met with nearly unanimous negativity. “There was an overwhelming feeling of disappointment in my decision. ‘You could do so much better’ thus became the unspoken sentiment.”
Li went through Basic and was preparing for deployment when he was assigned to the Naval Reserve Officer Training (NROTC) program at the University of Washington. There he is learning the skills and techniques necessary for his future job as a commissioned officer.
“Now that I’m going to school, my family has cooled down considerably, and has even warmed to the idea of my being a Marine. There will always be concern from my family for my safety, but there is greater respect for the decisions I make on my own.”
“Unconditional love is a great safety net,” Li adds, “but [it] can sometimes feel like a trampoline.”
As of November 30, Garfield High School updated their military recruiter rules for the first time since the 2007 – 2008 school year. The rules, which are to be posted on the Garfield website, have several changes to those from the past. Ms. Petty will keep a monthly calendar of all upcoming visits which will be posted in several places; also, recruiters may not make private meetings with students without the consent of the administration. Finally, recruiting is not allowed during an assembly — however Mr. Howard tells me this rule will not actually affect awards such as the one given to Pierre Wright earlier this year.
Kathy Barker stands in Garfield’s Career Center, folding up a poster explaining “the realities of war.” It has pictures of wounded soldiers, and testimonials of veterans who didn’t get the school benefits and bonuses they were expecting.
“The reality of even not killing someone, but crashing into their house and taking them hostage, I think that’s really hard on people…the reason why we can’t get Iraq vets in to speak to kids is because they’re so messed up. PTSD is such a ubiquitous factor in active duty.”
“What I want is for people to make deliberate decisions. If they’re going to go into the military, I hope that people will look at more facts than what the recruiter presents to them.”
http://www.garfieldmessenger.com/focus/2010/12/03/army-strong/
Copyright © 2009 The Garfield Messenger. All rights reserved.
Army Strong
The Garfield Messenger
By Sam Heft-Luthy
Published December 3, 2010
On the corner of 23rd Avenue and S. Jackson Street, an indistinct beige shopping center buzzes with the weekday rush of Garfield students. They pour into Red Apple, crowd the faux-beach-bum décor of the Taco Del Mar, and make a steady, snaking line at Subway.
Yet next to all of these bustling storefronts is a sight that has become all too familiar in this current economic climate. A row of several businesses stands closed for good, several “For Lease” signs the only clue that the now lifeless facades were ever once occupied.
However, among the abandoned windows and signs is one tenant who is as active as ever. Although the curtains to the windows are drawn, a bright red lettering above the door proclaims “U.S. Navy Recruiting”.
This lone open storefront in a tide that is decisively turned against it is indicative of the nation as a whole – publicly released military figures show that any 1 percent increase in civilian unemployment yields a 0.6 percent increase in recruiting.
A Princeton University study shows that “Voluntary military enlistment during wartime” depends on three factors: “college aspirations, lower socioeconomic status, and living in an area with a high military presence.” Garfield parent and prominent anti-war activist Kathy Barker says that it’s her duty to influence the latter. For the past five years, Barker has led the campaign to counter the presence of military recruiters in Seattle Public Schools.
“I got involved through anti-war work during the time that the [Iraq] war was starting. That’s when I became aware of No Child Left Behind,” she tells me.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was one of the earliest Congressional acts supported by George W. Bush. In addition to a subtle endorsement of public school prayer and an education reform plan based on standardized test scores, the bill requires that military recruiters be given the same level of access to student information as institutes of higher education, specifically names, addresses, and phone numbers.
“From both an anti-war perspective and as a parent, I found that horrendous, that they would mandate that we had to have military recruiters in schools getting access to kids.”
Although she had a child attending Garfield when she started her work (Zoe Barker-Aderem is a 2009 graduate), Barker’s campaign focused on other schools.
“There was a coalition at the time,” Barker tells me, “teachers and activists who wanted to let students know that they had the right to opt-out. That was all it was, just letting people know that they have the right not to give their name to the military” (The NCLB mandate on recruiters also includes a right to request that information not be released to military recruiters).
At first, the coalition did nothing but hand out papers; Barker and her compatriots stood (off of school grounds) and handed students the very same opt-out forms that now come in the start-of-school packets. Eventually, the group, along with several school PTSAs (including Garfield’s) worked out a compromise with Seattle Public Schools to redefine official military recruiter policy.
Seattle Schools’ official stance is fairly strict towards military recruiters on school grounds. Policy states that recruiters must stay in uniform, must identify their branch of service and the visit’s intention, and are held to strict expectations. Garfield rules allow counter-recruiters (including Kathy Barker) to be present at all recruiter meetings, as long as they do not “interfere or confront the recruiters”. The guidelines for principals state that although SPS is required under threat of loss of federal funding to give recruiters certain admissions, “equal access does not require more access.”
Yet at Garfield’s 2010 – 2011 homecoming assembly, three army representatives stood in the audience. After the dougie-ing and introductions finished, they walked up and called down Pierre Wright. Wright had recently been an integral player in Garfield’s 35 – 28 victory over Roosevelt, where he had rushed for 261 yards and passed for 104 — an achievement that’s difficult even in Madden.
The three men in full uniform, along with a representative of the Seattle Seahawks, presented Wright with the “U.S. Army Player of the Week” award. According to the award’s official website, the $250 prize is awarded to the ASB of a player who displays “Army Strong” traits of “loyalty, duty, respect… honor… and personal courage.”
Though the presentation was fairly respectful, and focused mainly on Wright’s impressive achievements, the army connection felt forced. Says Junior Grant Bronsdon, “I thought it was great that Pierre was recognized, and I didn’t feel that the Army presence was a big deal — although it was a little overblown and unnecessary when they started talking about the army’s ‘core values’.”
“I was really honored to receive the award.” Wright says. “It made me want to work even harder to follow my dream.”
Garfield Principal Ted Howard explains his reasoning behind approving the presentation: “Any time a parent calls me saying that their kid’s being honored, it doesn’t really matter which organization…I would lean toward the side of ‘this kid is being honored, why take that honor away from the kid?’ And that’s the question you have to weigh between the sides: is that message going to get lost in [the Army connection]?”
Kathy Barker maintains the position that such an award is a form of recruiting just as influential as direct informational meetings. Recruiters are held to two Career Center visits per year, but community outreach events such as the U.S. Army POTW award are not subject to that limit. “This is what recruiting is,” Barker asserts.
“The Recruiter Handbook”, published by the United States Army Recruiting Command and freely available on the internet, outlines many “tools, tips, techniques, and insight” intended to help recruiters “provide a continuous supply of quality volunteers”. Among the most repeated aspects of the manual is the importance of involvement in the community. The manual implores recruiters to “participate in public events such as high school sports functions, community fundraisers, or Army-sponsored events” and says “this type of involvement will demonstrate your willingness to be a viable part of the community.”
In addition to lauding the effectiveness of being a visible member of the community, the “Handbook” also suggests finding and addressing “student influencers” by informing them about the benefits the Army can provide. It states, “Students such as class officers, newspaper and yearbook editors, and athletes can help build interest in the Army in the student body” (Italics are my own).
Yet for all of the recruiting tactics Kathy Barker fights against, there are some people who made their military decision earlier than high school.
Garfield class of 2009 alum Kyle Dofredo says he can’t remember a time when he didn’t want to be a soldier.“To be honest I believe I was born with that mind set,” he tells me. “People joke that I was born with an M16 in my hand and cut my way out. Since I was 3 years old I was going out on Halloween in army gear, drawing pictures of battles and constantly playing with army men. So the whole family knew where I was headed.”
Dofredo enlisted with the U.S Army Reserves before graduating high school. He says that his decision was made completely independent of any on-campus recruiters. In his junior year, he dropped into to a U.S Army recruiting center for advice on how to sign up, and then attended basic training in between 11th and 12th grade.
“The recruiter would call every so often or swing by to make sure you were still game,” Dofredo says, “But if you’re wondering if they were pushy or unprofessional like the rumors say, they were the complete opposite.”
Dofredo is currently a Private First Class in the U.S Army.
Kathy Barker tells me that one time this year she had an appointment to be in the room with the Navy recruiters, as is protocol. Career Center director Leanne Hust told her she could arrive at noon, and would be allowed to set up a poster next to the Navy presenters.
Two days before the meeting, Barker received a call saying that the recruiters would be at the school at ten o’clock. When she arrived at Garfield, Ms. Hust said that she had heard nothing about the visit being pushed forward.
“I ran into the navy guys in the parking lot,” Barker tells me. “There were twelve [recruiters].”
“They completely broke protocol.” Barker continues, “The way you get an appointment is supposed to be very strict, but they went over the head of the person who was supposed to be scheduling, and brought all these extra guys… I had to stop one of them from going out into the hall and grabbing students, which you are not allowed to do.”
Barker claims she was met with hostility and dismissive attitudes, and that she was told by the lead recruiting officer told her that he “could push for more visits if [he] wanted”.
Since the appointment was not properly scheduled (no invitations were sent to students), it will not count towards the Navy’s 2 visits per school year.
Although there is a limit on the number of visits per year recruiters can make, Nicole Petty (who is currently starting the job of leading the Career Center) tells me that any organization (including a military organization) can bring as many representatives as it deems necessary.
“Nothing was done — from my knowledge, and from that of my communications with the Seattle Public Schools legal department — that was against any school rules,” Petty tells me.
William Li, another Garfield alumnus, didn’t grow up with quite the same certainty in his future as Kyle Dofredo. He tells me, “As a younger kid and teenager I probably had the same kind of interest in the military that the average male movie theater-goer would have, kind of an abstract sense of heroism and adventure, mixed with the glamor of going on super-secret missions behind enemy lines. But nothing to seriously consider the military as a profession.”
Before graduating high school, Li had only heard about military recruiters through the Garfield PTSA’s efforts to bar them from campus. Eventually Li came to the realization that another four years of traditional schooling would not be the way he wanted to go. In the summer after graduation, Li met with a Marine Corps recruiter who steered him towards officer training.
“He pretty much just gave me the information I needed to make my own decision,” William explains.
When Li explained his choice to his family, he was met with nearly unanimous negativity. “There was an overwhelming feeling of disappointment in my decision. ‘You could do so much better’ thus became the unspoken sentiment.”
Li went through Basic and was preparing for deployment when he was assigned to the Naval Reserve Officer Training (NROTC) program at the University of Washington. There he is learning the skills and techniques necessary for his future job as a commissioned officer.
“Now that I’m going to school, my family has cooled down considerably, and has even warmed to the idea of my being a Marine. There will always be concern from my family for my safety, but there is greater respect for the decisions I make on my own.”
“Unconditional love is a great safety net,” Li adds, “but [it] can sometimes feel like a trampoline.”
As of November 30, Garfield High School updated their military recruiter rules for the first time since the 2007 – 2008 school year. The rules, which are to be posted on the Garfield website, have several changes to those from the past. Ms. Petty will keep a monthly calendar of all upcoming visits which will be posted in several places; also, recruiters may not make private meetings with students without the consent of the administration. Finally, recruiting is not allowed during an assembly — however Mr. Howard tells me this rule will not actually affect awards such as the one given to Pierre Wright earlier this year.
Kathy Barker stands in Garfield’s Career Center, folding up a poster explaining “the realities of war.” It has pictures of wounded soldiers, and testimonials of veterans who didn’t get the school benefits and bonuses they were expecting.
“The reality of even not killing someone, but crashing into their house and taking them hostage, I think that’s really hard on people…the reason why we can’t get Iraq vets in to speak to kids is because they’re so messed up. PTSD is such a ubiquitous factor in active duty.”
“What I want is for people to make deliberate decisions. If they’re going to go into the military, I hope that people will look at more facts than what the recruiter presents to them.”
http://www.garfieldmessenger.com/focus/2010/12/03/army-strong/
Copyright © 2009 The Garfield Messenger. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
LAX Bulldogs
The Garfield Girls Lacrosse team has had a winning season this year! Come cheer them on as they play Overlake School Wednesday May 18th at 6:00 PM in the Division 2 semi-final playoff game for the Washington Girls Lacrosse State Championship. The game is at Overlake School in Redmond http://www.wslax.org/fielddirections.php
Come see the fastest growing sport in the Northwest played by the Garfield Girls Lacrosse Team!
Margaret Sandvig
Garfield Girls Lacrosse Co Manager
Come see the fastest growing sport in the Northwest played by the Garfield Girls Lacrosse Team!
Margaret Sandvig
Garfield Girls Lacrosse Co Manager
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