Seattle Schools Community Forum:
Another Perspective on Seattle Superintendent/School Board Relationship
Education Reform vs. education reform
Seattle Schools Community Forum
Another Perspective on Seattle Superintendent/School Board Relationship
A thoughtful piece from Northwest Progressive Institute by Robert Cruickshank about the ever-popular issue of departing superintendents. The real story, the one the Seattle Times does not want to tell for fear of undermining their anti-democratic agenda, is one of repeated mismanagement by a succession of superintendents and of a central staff that is unresponsive or overtly hostile to the board
Education Reform vs. education reform
The back and forth in the comments section of a Seattle Times story about Teachers United got me thinking about the difference between Education Reform and education reform. I don't know if I have written this out before, but I feel a need to write it out now.The goals of many of the millionaire- and billionaire-funded Education Reform Organizations are focused on either reducing the cost of educa
Garfield Field Trip Rape; More Troubling Info
I myself have not spoken with the family of the victim but Charlie has and believes the sincerity of their story. I see now at their Facebook page -Stop Sexual Assault in High School - that the district is trying to shape the narrative of this incident.Here's what the family says has happened recently:- Yesterday, the District wrote it was sending out the parents' Oct. 18, '13 response to the Di
Seattle Compassionate Schools Movement
Just heard about this event:From Sandy Hook to Seattle: Building the Compassionate Schools MovementMonday, August 11th - 7 pm-9 pm - $10Tuesday, August 12th - 8 am-4 pm - $20Cleveland High School, 5511 15th Avenue S. Register here. Following the tragedy in Newtown, CT, Dr. Christopher Kukk and Scarlett Lewis, mother of 6-year old Jesse Lewis, began work to weave compassion into schools. They met
Brown is the New Rhee
Move over, Michelle Rhee - here comes Campbell Brown.Did you hear about this?Rhee's star is waning. Her StudentsFirst group has closed up shop in about five states and the billion dollars she was hoping to raise didn't materialize. Well, nature abhors a vacuum and so we have former CNN anchor, Campbell Brown. This newest ed reformer on the block is going after the teachers union and, in specific,
Friday Open Thread
Welcome to August - it's nice to still have a lovely summer.I note that SPS is still looking for an Enrollment and Planning Services director. I was a bit startled that the salary is much lower than for an Executive Director (considering how important this job is). Very entertaining interview with Project Runway's Tim "Make it Work" Gunn on mentoring in the NY Times. Last fall, in an i
JUL 31
Stritikus Steps Down
Tom Stritikus announced that he is resigning his position as the Dean of the UW College of Education to accept a position with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.Here is his message to COE students and staff:Dear Students: I am writing to inform you that I will step down from the Deanship of the College of Education in early September. I’ve shared this news with Provost Cauce who is working on
"Do We Really Have a Problem Without a Solution"
(I'm hoping this will be a multi-part thread about public education in this country, where we are, where we are going and what should/could change.) I come to this thread thinking of two different things that really have nothing (but really everything) to do with public education. One is a song by the late Waylon Jennings (a great country/western singer) called Luckenbach, Texas. In it, he is sin
JUL 30
Public Education News Roundup
In the "wait, what?!" category comes this story from the Washington Post's Answer Sheet - School puts nearly 100 kindergartners in one class in a teaching experiment. The first sentence in the article says "no, it's not a headline from The Onion." This is being tried at the lowest-performing school in Detroit. There are three teachers in the class.Incidentally, the lead teac
Seattle Schools Updates
Further Update: I asked about Seattle School District's request for a district waiver for NCLB. (Banda did this back in early July.) I hadn't heard anything and Communications says time is running out for waivers so an answer will likely come in the next week or so. I doubt if the district will get it but if they did, that would be good news.)Update:- also Dr Nyland is working this week. It i
An Alternative Narrative on Turnover
The Seattle Times likes to peddle this story about how a fractious and meddling Board is the driving reason for the turnover of senior staff, including the superintendent, at Seattle Public Schools.It's a good yarn, but it doesn't actually fit the facts. It doesn't fit the facts becauseThe Board isn't all that fractious. Most votes are unanimous or nearly so. And no matter how fractious the Board
JUL 29
Seattle Times "Story" on Superintendents and School Board
Update: And now the Times editorial board weighs in. Yawn. Same old, same old (you'd think they would try a new tack but no.) The Times absolutely refuses to acknowledge the reasons for the turnover in Seattle superintendents. What is the Board to do in the fact of not one but two financial scandals? Keep those superintendents? C'mon. Then they speak of "a curiosity for a change in gove
Tuesday Open Thread
(Not about education but I wanted to get this out there as so many of us have loved ones with cancer. A high school friend of mine does cancer research at Tulane University and they just found out that even low levels of light while sleeping may inhibit breast cancer drugs from working. He also let me know this:"The Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium has special sleep masks that we will
The Anti-Board Advocacy of the Seattle Times
Once again the Seattle Times is whipping up anti-School Board animus.This is an old and discredited lie. And the "news" story is full of misrepresentations and omissions. I'll amend this post when I have time to list them all.
Aspiring athletes, take note of changes to NCAA eligibility
Prep athletes with aspirations to play in college and their families need to be aware of changes to NCAA eligibility requirements. They are stricter than they used to be and they are stricter than the district's requirements.See this story on the Seattle Times web site for more information.
JUL 28
National PTA Sponsoring Common Core Ads on Facebook
I would guess if you are a PTA member and on Facebook, these PTA-sponsored ads will pop up on your Facebook page.Would be nice if someone had proofread it first. Disappointing that National PTA is going this direction rather than having a real conversation about the issue and parents' concerns.
Where's the problem?
Over and over again we see that the problem is not inadequate policies or procedures but the absence of any enforcement and the absence of any accountability for those who violate the policies and procedures.And who has the job of enforcing policy and holding staff accountable? The Board.
Garfield Field Trip Assault: Continuing Questions
Update: So all I was trying to find out - from the FBI and National Park Service - is what was the date that SPS asked them for their investigation report? And what was the date that the district filed their FOIA request when the FBI/National Park Service said no to that request?Those two groups now want me to file a FOIA to find out when SPS filed their FOIA. Kind of funny. (I would ask the di
JUL 27
Downtown School; Maybe Something Deeper Happening
There is nothing on the Seattle Schools calendar for this week. Well, there is one meeting happening and yet strangely, it does not appear on the district calendar. It's almost as if this meeting is really for one purpose or group. It's the meeting at the Downtown Library about SPS taking over the Federal Reserve building. (The meeting is at 6 pm in the "Microsoft" auditorium with a w
Something Horrible Under Every Rock
People frequently ask me "What fuels your activist energy?" and I tell them "Outrage." "But how," they ask,"can you stay outraged for fourteen years?" "I can't." I tell them. "I'm newly outraged every couple days. And you would be too if you watched the District closely. There is something new that crops up - generally twice a week - that is a
JUL 26
Seattle School Board Speaks Out on Garfield Field Trip Incident
Update: Both KIRO-7 tv and KING-5 tv have done stories on this issue. I think that the story has legs and that they may continue on (especially now that the Title IX and the Department of Education has gotten involved.) I note that the KING-5 piece says that the district couldn't get access to the FBI investigation and that the parents of the girl refused to allow the district to talk to her.
Blather from Blethen
Sorry to pick on the Times but their publisher (and fearless leader), Frank Blethen, put up a speech that he gave recently to a Rotary Club. He makes a lot of claims without backing up his stats or explaining his thinking.To whit, We graduate only 18 percent of our high-school students work-ready or college-ready. Let’s break that number down: One-quarter of our high school students fail to grad