Seattle Schools Community Forum: What's a Program? Why does it matter?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What's a Program? Why does it matter?:

What's a Program? Why does it matter?

by Charlie Mas

The Board will soon adopt a new Program Placement policy. The new policy, if it isn't amended, won't do much. It won't give the superintendent any guidance on how to make program placement decisions, it won't direct him to make good ones, and it won't require transparency. But it will do one thing: it will define a program. You will be very surprised to learn what is a program and what is not. Very surprised.



The new policy defines a program this way:

"This policy addresses the development of new programs or services, the replication of existing programs or services, as well as the closing and/or relocation of existing programs or services throughout the district, to the extent that those programs or services have an impact on budgets, hiring or placement of staff, or on space within a building."

A program, according to this, must have an impact on budgets, staffing, or space. All of those alternative