Seattle Schools Community Forum:
The Third Rail in Education; Parents
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Now we come to that third rail of education - parents. I have said this a lot in person but naturally, it's a dangerous subject. Just like the first rule of Fight Club is not talking about Fight Club, the first rule of parenting is you don't criticize others' parenting. Everyone has their own ideas about what is "good" parenting. What might really help the education conversation - is for districts to express to parents what would help teachers/schools to do a better job. This is NOT telling parents "here's what a 'good' parent does" but "here's what would help your
Wow. Listen to this less-than-3 minute video of noted teacher evaluation expert, Charlotte Danielson, talk about teacher evaluation. My favorite line? "You can't fire your way to Finland." Should be required viewing for every school district administrator. Next favorite line? "What can count as evidence and how can that be attributed to an individual teacher?" She also says, at the end, "No one on the planet has figured out how to do that." Boom!Shout out to the Chief Sealth Marching Band who appeared in yesterday's Macy's Holiday Parade. Good job, kids!I
Here's a video from Night of Too Many Stars (back in October) where we meet Jodi DiPiazza, an 11 year-old with autism. She and Katy Perry sing "Firework."Jodi's father said:Her father explained: "We were afraid she would never speak. Never dreaming she would sing, or even be able to understand. I've taken off the idea that there is some limit on her, as she continually proves that that's not true." As Jon Stewart, the host of the event said:"People with Autism shouldn't be written off. They deserve, like everyone, the chance to reach their potential," he said. &
NOV 26
Gates Foundation Going All In to Support Charters in Washington State
From the Gates Foundation website:LEV Foundation Date: October 2013 Purpose: to build capacity for a state-wide public charter school support organization in Washington State Amount: $4,200,000 Term: 24 Topic: College-Ready Regions Served: GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA Program: United States Grantee Location: Seattle, Washington So let's review. Lisa Macfarlane co-founded the League of Education
Washington State Charter Commission Has 22 Charter Applications
Update: I think some of my confusion over who's in and who's out is that some of the letters of intent were filed under the non-profit name and then the actual charter school name was used for the application title.Figuring this out, I learned (via a California activist) that the Coral Academy of Science is a Gulen-affiliated charter school. Gulen is the largest charter operator in the country
Tuesday Open Thread
News that President Smith-Blum fell on her way to a restaurant and broke her arm. We wish her a speedy recovery.From The Guardian, kids of today can't run as fast as their parents.On average, it takes children 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts did 30 years ago. Heart-related fitness has declined 5% each decade since 1975, for children aged 9 – 17.If you have a girl, you migh
NOV 25
Education News Roundup
Locally (and thanks to reader Carolyn), news from Real Change newspaper about getting food to needy students for the weekends. While the kids of John Hay Elementary School play outside, LaRock carries bags of food into classrooms and surreptitiously slips them into the backpacks of 15 kids at the 500-student school on Queen Anne Hill. Each bag contains cans of soup, crackers, tuna, granola bars a
NOV 24
Advanced Learning Taskforce
Work is continuing of the first of two Advanced Learning Taskforces. I have only been able to attend one meeting (on November 5th) but it was a good one. The oversight and facilitation of this Taskforce is quite different from the last one and for the better.Here's a link to the AL webpage; details of the meeting schedule,minutes and PowerPoint presentations are available at the bottom of the pa
I-1240 Litigation
I attended the first hearing on the constitutionality of I-1240, the Washington State Charter School law.To be clear, this hearing was pretty meaningless. No matter who wins or loses, this case will appealed all the way to the State Supreme Court. None of the decisions in any of the lower courts will matter. Only the one decision from the State Supreme Court will decide this.The hearing was pretty
NOV 23
Finding the Gifts of the '76 Schimitz Park Elementary Students
My husband and I have been doing these various stairwalks around Seattle (we've done 14 so far, all over the region). Great exercise (you'll find stairs you never knew existed), wonderful neighborhoods and, of course, the beauty that is Seattle.On today's walk around Alki Beach and environs, we went into the Schmitz Park Reserve, a bucolic and muddy, area. I found this sign and it made me smile
Gates Versus Duncan - Who's the Bigger Ed Reform Problem?
Or, what does the fox say? Bill Gates June 13th, 2012A relatively tiny donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has created quite a stir over the past several days. News broke that Clemson U. had late last year obtained a nearly half million dollar grant from the foundation to conduct a pilot study with Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) bracelets, wireless sensors that track physiological