The Seattle School District paid some education Ph.Ds to assess the district's gifted program, the Advanced Placement Program (APP). [Full Disclosure: We were in APP (then called "IPP") from 1st-8th grade.] The Ph.Ds produced a report containing a bunch of observations that are incomprehensible to anyone that isn't a Ph.D., such as the need for "socio-emotional counseling" and "overall curricular vision." [Full Disclosure: In IPP we had this goofy slogan that went "You pee-pee, I......

Is a new front opening up in the Culture Wars? Seattle school officials say no, but King 5's producers not-so-subtly imply yes. "A letter from the Seattle School District is raising some eyebrows about Thanksgiving and how it should be handled in the classroom," writes King 5 News' Eric Wilkinson. "The letter tells school district staff that the holiday is seen by many Native Americans as a 'time of mourning.'" Specifically, the letter cites this......

Over at new Crosscut.com, Knute Berger reports that the Seattle School District will send four local high schoolers to the White Privilege Conference in Colorado Springs. Hoorah! We can think of no better place than Colorado Springs to teach all about the wonders of white privilege--proximity to ski resorts, an overwhelmingly melanin-free population, an outsized number of John Denver fans to convey the magic that is singing-songwriting...wait, what's that?the goal of the gathering is to......

We heard a rumor and since rumors are one of our favorite things to propagate (second only to "the species") we're getting off to a good Friday. Unfortunately, while there are potentially lots of good rumors surrounding the Seattle public school district (no school closures, across the board school closures, Gates Foundation bought the district) AND lots of good rumors surrounding Apple (new wireless iPod will get you chicks, Apple recalling those crusty and yellowing......

Seattlest regrets there isn't a "Delete All" button when it comes to Port leadership. One of the Port of Seattle's organizational objectives is to "Enhance Public Understanding and Support of the Port's Role in the Region." Now the State Auditor's office has found that the Port could not "demonstrate the appropriateness of certain expenditures, made inappropriate expenditures and paid vendors in advance of receiving services." They may want to rethink just how much the public......