McCleary Decision Budgeting Looming Large
From my old fav, Horsesass.org (welcome back, Goldy):The indisputable mathematical truth is that we simply cannot meet McCleary and maintain existing government services at constant levels, without raising new revenue. It can’t be done! And anybody who tells you otherwise is either a liar or an idiot. Washington state has a structural revenue deficit. There is absolutely no way we can magically fu
Seattle Schools Education Updates
Thank you to my readers; I can't be everywhere and these are important updates all parents should know.First,Ingraham staff just voted down their budget, 58-1 and released the following statement: " We reject the budget on the grounds that it forces us to compromise basic student and staff safety, requires us to compromise building and community standards for a comprehensive high school and r
Last Hours for the Teacher Evaluation Bill with Duncan Threat Hanging Over It
The Washington State Legislature will adjourn their session tomorrow (unless a special session is called by the Governor). Among the last lame duck bills is the one that would change the wording of the state teacher evaluation bill for the use of test scores in the evaluation from "can" to "must." The latest from Times' reporter Brian Rosenthal via Twitter:WA House ed chair Sha
Ed News Roundup
Think it's just teacher evaluations that Arne Duncan wants to manipulate? Nope, according to this op-ed on Obama and American public education that appeared in the Huffington Post,This past week, as the deadline approached for states to make their submissions to Arne Duncan's Department of Education requesting monies appropriated under the Race to the Top initiative, we were reminded that the DOE
Big Data - The New Coin of the Realm
My predictions for the new coin of the realm for the next 25 years for both business and government? Data and lots of it. And now, we have "digital data backpacks" so that your child's data can be "carried" around AND made use of anywhere your child goes. From The Atlantic (with the what-should-be-troubling-to-you title, Your High School Transcript Could Haunt You Forever, th
3-11-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Tuesday Open ThreadA reader let me know that his/her home got a call from Universal Survey (according to their phone message they do "marketing and political opinion" surveys. The caller said they were doing a survey for SPS. The reader did not continue the call. Anyone else? As well, the APP blog had a comment that one person had not received their s