Seattle Schools Community Forum:
Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools and Opting Out
I'll have to ask SPS just what happens if a student opts out of a school-wide test. But here is what is happening in other parts of the country (and it's just wrong).From the Washington Post's The Answer Sheet, the policy of "sit and stare." Districts and schools are allowing students to opt out but only if they sit still for the entire duration of the test. No reading, no homework, n
Friday Open Thread
Seattle Education blog is having a Meetup. It's An Opt-Out Workshop with Jesse Hagopian (currently running on the SEE slate- Social Equality Educators - for SEA president).It's Wednesday, March 26th at 6:30 p.m. RSVP: seattled@icloud.com (you must RSVP to attend as it is being held at a private home.) What's on your mind?
MAR 20
Students First? If You Pay Enough
Michelle Rhee's group, Students First, has been trying to get more "likes" at Facebook. Or rather, buying more "likes." From Big Education Ape blog: The most popular country for her Students First group is in Bangladesh? Well, yes because...Search on Facebook for "We Sell Likes in Bangladesh." You'll see that anyone can buy 1000 likes for about $15 bucks. (Click HE
How to Figure Out Who is a "Skilled" Teacher
Mr. Gates? Sec'y Duncan? Anyone want to take a stab at this one? (I do appreciate my readers' sense of humor.)
Seattle Schools Staff Cuts - Not So Restored
Update: here is what Superintendent Banda said in a press release on Tuesday:As a result, each school was given a funding amount based on student population, including weighted discretionary dollars, to make budget decisions that best fit the needs of their school. The goal was to provide as much flexibility to schools to meet the needs of their school population. Subsequently, we have heard from
Common Core Math _ One Parent's Thoughts
Common Core math problem of the day (and look how cleverly they worked in showing your work...in words).
Scenes from Last Night's Board Meeting
Last night's Board meeting saw the honoring of four (!) SPS basketball championship teams. (My apologies to Garfield's boys basketball team - I managed to flub my photos of them.)Ballard High School Beavers -Special Olympics Unified Basketball TeamCleveland High School Lady Eagles- 3A State ChampsRainier Beach Vikings - 3A State ChampionsThe Superintendent in a demonstration of how much a middle
MAR 19
Seattle Schools' Transportation Costs - If We Fund Charter Students, What Will That Mean?
I knew when the charter school initiative was being debated that charter schools were not supposed to get as much money for transportation as real public schools. In fact, one of the main questions in the application was about transport.So now it turns out that in the recently passed Budget bill there was a section to cut down the transportation funding. (This comes to us via the Washington Poli
Seattle Schools Parent-Teacher Conferences - What Works?
From the thread on The Source/Fusion:Also, maybe this is a thread request, and potentially not relevant, but I am thinking about parent teacher conferences and what the expectations should be. What do you learn in P/T conferences, and what would you like to learn? Any hints for making the conference time more effective? Both from the teacher POV and parent POV, what do you want from a parent/teac
The Gap Between Rhetoric and Action
There are a lot of people in Education who say all of the right things, but then, somehow, go ahead and do all of the wrong things. This continues to astound me. We see it all the time from US Secretary of Education, the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Education Reformers, Board Directors, the Superintendent, and the senior staff. No one, however, shows me a bigger gap between
Wilson-Pacific Meeting
Thought I'd open a thread for anyone who attended that meeting to weigh in.As I posted elsewhere, I am baffled by the use of Wilson-Pacific fields for Lincoln High.Why not Woodland Park? Or, near me, they are going to lid the reservoir near Roosevelt High. Why not dedicate one of those fields to Lincoln?I said I think the district is doing the wrong thing on the Genesee Hill Elementary school de
MAR 18
KOMO Helicopter Crash; Please Stay Away from Area
Mayor Murray and SPD are asking people to please stay away from the Seattle Center area in the wake of this morning's crash of a KOMO helicopter that killed the two people onboard and seriously injured a driver in a car where the crash occurred.EMP and the Monorail are closed. It is likely that any school activities that may have been scheduled for that area (like Science Center) are cancelled.
Tuesday Open Thread
A six-year-old calls Hasbro out on its Guess Who game (with 19 men and only 5 women on the game board). They write back with a silly answer and her mom weighs in. A bipartisan bill has been introduced into the House of Representatives to cut down on high-stakes testing. In the on-going debate about discipline, zero-tolerance discipline and how to keep a classroom orderly (while NOT suspending ki
MAR 17
Seattle Schools Backs Off on School Cuts
I have received word of the following:The district is to recind the budget cuts to schools and add $1.8M to the budget to cover these cuts.The union is urging members to still attend the School Board meeting on Wednesday to support later start times.I'll be checking in with both groups tomorrow.Update: Banda's letter to school staff (which I find wordy and not entirely clear). But, the upshot i
Wilson-Pacific Building Meeting Tomorrow
I talked to Mr. Sheppard to ask a couple of questions about this meeting. The notice came out 3-4 weeks ago (and yet, I didn't see it at the district website). The "ask" from the district is about typical but, as he said, different neighborhoods have varying ideas on what impacts look/feel like. NOTICE OF MEETING OF THE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS DEPARTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WILSON PAC
"If you know it’s wrong but remain silent, you’re complicit in educational malpractice"
In a very moving and determined move, this Massachusetts parent tells his district what he thinks about ALL high stakes testing. This comes via The Answer Sheet at the Washington Post.Rosa is an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth who specializes in curriculum and instruction, language policies, Literacy and social studies education. In his letter, he refers to the
Nathan Hale has News You Want to Read
I had reason to check in at the Nathan Hale website and discovered their fine student newspaper, The Sentinel. Very long (I haven't seen such a long student newspaper since I was in high school) and boy, they pack the news in. (I note that The Sentinel took first place at a Western Washington University student journalism competition recently.) From a front-page article, it seems that staff may
MAR 16
The Source/Fusion: Likes, Dislikes, Confusion?
I noted that at the strategic plan community meeting I attended at Hale, several parents said they (and some teachers) have frustrations with using The Source/Fusion.One reader replied:As an SPS teacher I would love to hear what parents like/dislike about the Source & Fusion. Is it limitations in the tool (and if so exactly what aspects)? Is it that teachers don't update the Source? With Fusio
Seattle Public Schools - The Price of Support is Too High
Action expresses priorities. - GhandiI never worry about action but only inaction. - ChurchhillInaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. - Dale CarnegieThe time for action is now. It's never too late to do something. - Antoine de Saint-ExuperyWhat's with all these inspirational qu
Seattle Schools This Week
Monday, March 17thThe wearing o' the Green. Happy St. Patrick's Day.To note: signups for public testimony for the School Board meeting start at 8 am this morning. Tuesday, March 18thAudit&Finance Meeting from 4:30-6:30 p.m. AgendaWednesday, March 19thSchool Board meeting starting at 4:15 p.m. Agenda.I see a LOT of audit update items here that I am unclear about -might be worth attending.Ite
MAR 15
Washington State Passes 24 Credit Graduation Requirement
I'll let Representative Gerry Pollet - who worked his ass off to make sure this law was fair to Sped students - tell you about it (written on March 12th):Earlier today we did something terrific for our children and schools. We were faced with a punitive Senate bill to require every student to finish 24 credits to graduate from high school even if they were sick or homeless for some period of time,
More Things that Make You Go, Hmmm
It appears that the Washington State legislature NOT voting to change the teacher evaluation law doesn't entirely mean the issue is done. Apparently Duncan is still mulling options and talking to Washington State officials. Superintendent Randy Dorn is still willing to talk but apparently doesn't think the waiver will be granted. We'll probably hear something by next week.I received an odd press