One Mom's No-Nonsense Attitude on Opting Out
As the nation gets into its standardized testing season, the number of parents, in districts throughout the nation, that are opting their children out is growing. In a story from Chalkbeat Colorado, one mom was very clear on her wishes for her daughter. When the school ignored them - placing her daughter in an office with adults who were talking to her about the test and refusing to allow that ch
Google in Big Trouble for Data-Mining Student E-mails
I will be writing a thread about what I learned at the Work Session on data privacy yesterday. Some is good, some not-so-good (with Director Carr asking the best questions). But I can say that SPS has NOT done enough. From Education Week:As part of a potentially explosive lawsuit making its way through federal court, giant online-services provider Google has acknowledged scanning the contents
Fireworks Coming as Parents/School Staffs Clamor for Attention
Tonight is the second of the Superintendent's regional meetings about the Strategic Plan at 6:30 p.m. at Hale High School.I suspect that this particular meeting - coming on the heels of pushback from staff on later start times AND the brewing rebellion by schools over cuts to their budgets - might prove to be larger and more contentious than the one earlier this week. And Hale - having had a late
"Redshirting" Kindergartners
From Ed Week:The youngest kindergarteners in any class are about five times more likely to be retained in school compared to their older peers, a new study states.Moreover, educators don't tend to modify their teaching to include a variety of age groups present in kindergartens—but they should make such accommodations, wrote Francis L. Huang, assistant professor in the University of Missouri Colle
3-12-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Big Data - The New Coin of the RealmMy 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-