Center School Ruling
From Superintendent Banda (partial):
The committee made the following recommendations, which I am implementing.
The race and gender units of the course are to be reinstated, with the following actions occurring as soon as possible:
· The race unit curriculum should be age appropriate and taught in a non-threatening manner. The class should not use the “Courageous Conversations” activities, which were intended as training for adults. The District has used this as professional development and it was not intended for use with students.
· When classroom activities could potentially cause a high degree of emotion for students or potential distress,
The committee made the following recommendations, which I am implementing.
The race and gender units of the course are to be reinstated, with the following actions occurring as soon as possible:
· The race unit curriculum should be age appropriate and taught in a non-threatening manner. The class should not use the “Courageous Conversations” activities, which were intended as training for adults. The District has used this as professional development and it was not intended for use with students.
· When classroom activities could potentially cause a high degree of emotion for students or potential distress,
Curiouser and Curiouser
The more we consider the situation with Contemporary Issues/World Literature, the 12th grade humanities class at The Center School, the more puzzling it becomes. While there are a number of missing details from the public record, the elements in the public record simply don't reconcile. We are told that the District is following some kind of process in response to a complaint, but the process they are following is not the complaint process. We are told that the complaint was about personnel, but the curriculum has been subjected to suspension and review. Nothing adds up, the people who should be involved have not stepped up, people who should not be involved are deeply involved, and none of the people who are supposed to oversee this mess are doing it.
If we break it down, then maybe we can make sense of it.
Mr. Greenberg has been teaching this class for years. It is an established part of the Center School curriculum. The district has been through a number of curricular reviews and all classes now in the high school course catalog - including this one - have district approval. The district paid a lot of money to consultants to clean up the
Mr. Greenberg has been teaching this class for years. It is an established part of the Center School curriculum. The district has been through a number of curricular reviews and all classes now in the high school course catalog - including this one - have district approval. The district paid a lot of money to consultants to clean up the
Lunchtime - How Much Time?
I recently became aware that just like start times, lunchtime varies widely from school to school. There is a Board procedure - H61.01 that states:
"Meal periods shall be long enough for students to eat and socialize – a minimum of 10 minutes are provided to eat breakfast and 20 minutes to eat lunch with additional time as appropriate for standing in line".
"It is the policy of the Seattle School District, that each school located in a District building participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Providing quality, nutritious meals that appeal to students in a safe, clean, pleasant dining environment shall be a priority."
As Charlie likes to point out, a procedure or policy is only as good as those who will enforce it. In this case, that
"Meal periods shall be long enough for students to eat and socialize – a minimum of 10 minutes are provided to eat breakfast and 20 minutes to eat lunch with additional time as appropriate for standing in line".
"It is the policy of the Seattle School District, that each school located in a District building participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Providing quality, nutritious meals that appeal to students in a safe, clean, pleasant dining environment shall be a priority."
As Charlie likes to point out, a procedure or policy is only as good as those who will enforce it. In this case, that
Friday Open Thread
Oh boy, what a week.
For the story of the week, look no further than Center School. Over at the Times, they simply can't seem to get it right. First, they have a story about the issue. But they either didn't do their research or ask the right questions because they don't seem to know the investigation did not go according to procedure AND that no students, except the one in question, were ever interviewed by the ad hoc committee.
Yesterday, Lynne Varner got very touchy-feely on the topic of race, veering completely away from the disproportionality issue/Center School into her own raising of her son. She says some pretty personal things and it comes back at her in the comments.
Today the Times want you to tell them:
In one word, how do you feel public schools treat students of color, either your own children or minority students that you know? I’ll start with a few: Gingerly. Awkwardly. Sometimes sincerely.
We are talking about a serious subject and they reduce it to one word? They also want YOU to tell them how
For the story of the week, look no further than Center School. Over at the Times, they simply can't seem to get it right. First, they have a story about the issue. But they either didn't do their research or ask the right questions because they don't seem to know the investigation did not go according to procedure AND that no students, except the one in question, were ever interviewed by the ad hoc committee.
Yesterday, Lynne Varner got very touchy-feely on the topic of race, veering completely away from the disproportionality issue/Center School into her own raising of her son. She says some pretty personal things and it comes back at her in the comments.
Today the Times want you to tell them:
In one word, how do you feel public schools treat students of color, either your own children or minority students that you know? I’ll start with a few: Gingerly. Awkwardly. Sometimes sincerely.
We are talking about a serious subject and they reduce it to one word? They also want YOU to tell them how