Eager to help more students pass the state's standardized math test, some school districts are turning to instructional coaches to give teachers real-time advice as they try to sharpen students' skills.
It seems to be working for Brian Coffey, a first-year science teacher at Seattle's Aki Kurose Middle School who was assigned to fill in for a math teacher who recently went on maternity leave.
Two math coaches, one based at the school and another who travels the district, regularly sit in on his classes and offer tips on how to connect better with students.
"It's been a wonderful experience," said Coffey, who took calculus in college but no math-education courses. "It's always good to get feedback about teaching, but math-specific feedback is really helpful."
Seattle has five district-wide and 10 school-based math coaches and hopes to hire more this spring, Rosalind Wise, the district's K-12 math-program manager, told The Seattle Times.

The New School Foundation has awarded a $1.3 million grant to Seattle Public Schools to benefit the…

Southeast Effective Development and the Seward Park Environmental & Audubon Center will join forces for the launch of SEED's 30th annual Concerts in the Park series. The free concert features the award-winning Garfield High School Jazz Band, Washington Middle School Senior Jazz Band and the New School Ensemble.

The Black Press of America's National Convention will be held in Seattle on June 20-24  hosted by The Skanner at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Save the dates! For full details go to http://www.nnpa.org

Read here a day-by-day diary of free community events to fill your week...

Neil Kelly Memorial 2007 Scholarship Award winners (from left to right) Ashley Taylor, Benson; Angel Ajtum-Sanchez, Roosevelt; Suada Ibrahim, Jefferson; and Huyen T. Hoang, Madison, stand with Al Jubitz, keynote speaker at the scholarship awards luncheon, held May 11. All of the students are going on to college in the fall of this year.

ATLANTA, Ga. — Yolanda King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died. She was 51.
King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. The family did not know the cause of death, but relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said.
"She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," the King family said in a statement.

Stacey Triplett was 28 years old when her doctor found fibroid tumors in her uterus. AnnMarie Rainford was 32.
Both women faced the possibility of having a hysterectomy in the prime of their lives.
"When I was diagnosed, they told me my tumor was the size of an orange," says Rainford. "I was asymptomatic and unsure about my plans for childbearing, so I decided to wait and see."
Triplett also waited. Every six months, for 12 years, Triplett visited her gynecologist for regular ultrasounds. The tumors continued to grow, but Triplett wanted to save her uterus.

Carmen Butcher, a family intervention specialist with the Touchstone program, recently helped a…

Grammy award winning singer Fergie autographs a poster for Franklin High School student Mizan Demissie on May 8. Demissie was one of the trend-setting students from Franklin who helped win a free concert by Fergie after the high school was named "most glamorous school" in a Verizon Wireless contest open to high schools throughout the West Coast. Fergie performed in Franklin's gymnasium May 8.