Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools and Planning for Reopening for Fall 2021

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools and Planning for Reopening for Fall 2021

Seattle Schools and Planning for Reopening for Fall 2021

The Board had a “special meeting” yesterday afternoon to vote on a reopening plan. The Board rarely has this types of meetings because when all seven of them are together AND voting outside of a regularly scheduled Board meeting, it’s a big deal. (Director Harris was calling in from a beach and Conzie Pedroza, head of, said she, too, was on vacation.)

Why this reopening plan now? In a word, OSPI. The State Superintendent’s office required all districts to submit a reopening plan - per OSPI template - by June 1st. 

Here’s an overview with the link to the plan from the district’s webpage about this action.

The biggest takeaway that district staff told the Board was that this plan is NOT the entire plan and staff are still working on that. Rob Gannon, Deputy Superintendent, said this is a plan but it is “not comprehensive.” He said there is more engagement to come and this is “just a moment in time.”

The district promised a FAQ on June 7th.

The SPS Academic and Student Well-being Recovery Plan addresses six themes, required by OSPI: CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools and Planning for Reopening for Fall 2021

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle School Board - A Roundup of Who is Running

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle School Board - A Roundup of Who is Running

Seattle School Board - A Roundup of Who is Running

The great folks at the 36th Dems invited all candidates for an endorsement interview before their Elections committee so here’s a link. Makes for interesting listening. The 36th will take a vote of their membership tonight and I’ll have an update here tomorrow.

Candidates - if one media outlet does a profile of a single candidate, you have the right to ask for an interview as well, especially if it is local media.

 District 4 - Covers south Ballard, Queen Anne and Magnolia

There is no true incumbent as Eden Mack vacated her post months ago and the Board settle on Erin Dury to fill out her term. Here’s their info as provided to King County Elections.

Candidates

All candidates in this race except Herb Camet, Jr have webpages. See the KC Elections page (link above). At this time, it appears that only Dury and Song Maritz have live pages.  CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle School Board - A Roundup of Who is Running

Seattle Schools Community Forum: SPS Continues Its Long History of Rushed Surveys; Is OSPI Getting the Real Story?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: SPS Continues Its Long History of Rushed Surveys; Is OSPI Getting the Real Story?

SPS Continues Its Long History of Rushed Surveys; Is OSPI Getting the Real Story?

 Seattle Schools, like all school districts in Washington State, are required to submit a reopening plan to OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction). 

In the Board agenda for the May 19th, we see SPS’ plan. 

There is a survey attached for parents; I have no idea how many parents know about it and are weighing in but considering the district gave it about a week, I feel confident in saying they are not particularly interested in parental input.  You have until Tuesday noon to give input. I can say it’s quite the word salad and it’s complete bullshit to submit it to OSPI and say “yes, we asked for input.” 

SPS Academic and Student Well-Being Recovery Plan

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 4:30 PM-6:00 PM

Meeting to be held remotely

By SPSTV Broadcast and YouTube Streaming (See details below) By Teleconference: 206-800-4125 (Conference ID: 279 213 332#)

What does this Reopening Plan say?

- It’s a “model of Listen, Act, Deliver.” Sure.

- It’s “a comprehensive plan for the well-being of students” in a “Culture of CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: SPS Continues Its Long History of Rushed Surveys; Is OSPI Getting the Real Story?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools - The State of K-5 Math

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools - The State of K-5 Math

Seattle Schools - The State of K-5 Math

As I mentioned in another post, the minutes from the Board’s committee meetings are being written in a manner that makes it difficult to ferret out information. But what IS useful is when staff comes with a presentation so the entire thing gets uploaded and attached as documentation.

I was looking at the documentation for last week’s Student Services, Curriculum & Instruction meeting, agenda here.  

Under “Special Attention Items,” we see K-5 Mathematics. The adopted curriculum is Math in Focus. I’ll cut to the chase but flesh out details below  - Math in Focus is NOT being used in any real way in elementaries. 

Here are the basics on Math in Focus in SPS (except for the cost but we’ll get to that).

• Math in Focus was adopted in 2014 for a 7-year period.

• The adoption expires in 2020-21 school year.

• In 2014, instructional materials were used nearly exclusively in print CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools - The State of K-5 Math

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Broadview-Thomson K-8 School Encampment: Hubris and Inaction May Mean Trouble

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Broadview-Thomson K-8 School Encampment: Hubris and Inaction May Mean Trouble

Broadview-Thomson K-8 School Encampment: Hubris and Inaction May Mean Trouble

Editor’s note: I apologize for the wonkiness of the look of this story. In the time I stepped away from blogging, I think Blogger changed some formatting and I’m struggling to understand it. 

As most of you know, the district reopened schools and three schools had homeless encampments on or nearby their campuses. 

The district had this to say on the subject back in April 2021 (partial):

Most importantly, we are working with school principals, the schools' Parent Teacher Associations, outreach organizations, and the city to address this issue with the sensitivity that defines Seattle. 

Homelessness has been a crisis in our city for years, and it has only been exacerbated by COVID-19. We support the city's efforts to find long-term solutions for community members who are experiencing homelessness. We take this issue seriously and are actively working with the city to compassionately address encampments of unhoused people near our schools, while keeping the safety of our students and staff at the forefront.

Yes, Seattle can have a level of sensitivity that other cities don’t but that is parallel to the fact that Seattle has a loooong process to deal with many issues. Homelessness is currently the most apparent one.

Lowell Elementary’s encampment got moved fairly quickly and it was the one CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Broadview-Thomson K-8 School Encampment: Hubris and Inaction May Mean Trouble

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Remote Learning - What Have We Learned?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Remote Learning - What Have We Learned?

Remote Learning - What Have We Learned?

Update from Massachusetts:

Beginning May 29th, masks will no longer be needed at recess, students can begin sharing school items in the classrooms, and no masks for outdoor activities. 

Via Twitter today:

No remote education option next year in NJ. "All students will be back in school for full-time, in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year. Full-time remote learning option for families will be removed."

I’m not sure that is a good idea for the next school year but, as states make their own choices, we’ll all have a front row seat to see how it works out.

One item to note - even before COVID, districts around the country were absolutely trying more online learning and some of it WAS remote. For CONTINUE READING:  Seattle Schools Community Forum: Remote Learning - What Have We Learned?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who’s Running for Seattle School Board?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who’s Running for Seattle School Board?

Who’s Running for Seattle School Board?

 As of May 17th at 3 pm, it’s pretty sparse.

For Eden Mack’s seat in District 4, only interim director Erin Dury has filed. 

For Zachary DeWolf’s  seat in District 5, no one has filed. DeWolf declined to run again which was probably wise as he would have lost. 

For Betty Patu’s seat in District 7, only interim director Brandon Hersey has filed to run. 

Per this story from the South Seattle Emerald, Michelle Sarju announced her candidacy for the District 5 seat but it appears she has not yet filed with King County Elections. She is endorsed by Zachary DeWolf which normally I would consider a bad thing but as I said the last time she filed (and then withdrew), she’s an intriguing candidate who I believe would be her own person. 

I feel sure that there will be challengers to Hersey and at least one will probably be Emijah Smith who lost to him during the appointment process for that District 7 seat. 

And I hope there are other candidates than Dury for District 4 because 1) I think every race should have two people in it and 2) Dury should have to fight for that seat.

The final day for filing is May 21st. Updates to follow.

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who’s Running for Seattle School Board?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Council PTSA Meeting with Dr. Jones

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Council PTSA Meeting with Dr. Jones

Seattle Council PTSA Meeting with Dr. Jones

There were about 75 participants at the Seattle Council PTSA’s meeting last week with new superintendent, Dr. Brent Jones. Included in that count were Board members Lisa Rivera-Smith, Liza Rankin and Chandra Hampson.

In his introductory remarks, Jones said that he was a current SPS parents with a Cleveland High grad. 

Jones went on to say he had five goals.

1. He said that he was committed to having “the right people in place” to work on racial equity issues and being responsible to parents. Director Hampson chimed in and said they were there to provide “oversight and accountability.” 

1. He wants to “create conditions for students to thrive” and provide for their “well-being,” both mentally and physically. 

2. He wants the whole system thriving, not just barely functioning. (Not clear if he meant that the current system is barely functioning.) He wants students “Seattle-ready” and “competitive in their chosen field” as well as “being good citizens.”

3. He said it was important to have interesting and culturally responsive CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Council PTSA Meeting with Dr. Jones

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Guest Post - HCC and SPS

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Guest Post - HCC and SPS

Guest Post - HCC and SPS

Editor’s note: I’m happy to publish any essays about SPS or public education in general. This one is from Megan Hazen who has three children in Seattle Schools.

Last Tuesday the Seattle School board passed an amendment to board policy 2190, which governs how Highly Capable (HC) students are served in Seattle. These students have demonstrated an atypical cognitive capacity to learn academic subjects quickly and deeply. State law says that basic education for these students includes specific adaptations from general education programming. The foundation of the state law is research and scientific understanding about the variance in human learning as well as recognition that students who learn atypically must be specifically served atypically in order to be served at all.

The changes to policy 2190 reflect a multi-year effort on the part of SPS to change the HC service model, but this specific step (which removes the guarantees of the old policy) is highly contentious. The proponents will claim that they need these changes to address the racism visible in the current service model, while the opponents claim that they need to retain the current model in order to get any service at all. Watching the debate is like watching two trains speeding towards each other, but on different tracks. There is no hope they will ever meet in the middle because they are holding different arguments.

The proponent side of the argument recognizes visible racist inequity. They appear to believe that they can solve the problems by treating the symptoms - take away the current model and you will take away the problem. The arguments for the changes all focus on historical barriers to access, not on the CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Guest Post - HCC and SPS

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Reopening School Buildings

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Reopening School Buildings

Reopening School Buildings

I am interested in your thoughts about school building reopenings.

1) How has it been for your child to be back in their school buildings, even in a limited way?

2) Do you see safety protocols being enforced?

3) Do expect/want school buildings to be fully reopened on a regular school schedule in the fall?

Here’s an article from The Atlantic that says that right now, some of the concern over COVID appears to be performative, either thru habit or fear or both. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/05/liberals-covid-19-science-denial-lockdown/618780/

Alex Goldstein, a progressive PR consultant who was a senior adviser to Representative Ayanna Pressley’s 2018 campaign, told me. “Either you believe that you have a responsibility to take action to protect a person you don’t know OR you believe you have no responsibility to anybody who isn’t in your immediate family.”

My take is the former because I choose to live in a society. On a day-to-day basis, sure, my family comes first for me. But we do live in a society.

 I don’t have a problem being outdoors and not wearing a mask (and by that I CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Reopening School Buildings

Seattle Schools Community Forum: This and That District News

Seattle Schools Community Forum: This and That District News

This and That District News

From SPS Communications via Twitter today:

1/2) Student transportation is impacted by several factors that SPS is working to address. These challenges make it impossible to provide transportation to all eligible students at this time.

(2/2) If additional bus drivers become available, we will focus on establishing limited transportation based on the highest needs. The Transportation Department is also looking into alternative solutions to provide families as many options as possible.

Also, of interest, SPS is to have an official deputy superintendent. This would be Rob Gannon who worked for several years for King County, left and moved to Montana and somehow Superintendent Brent Jones (who also worked for King County) got him to come back. I have to say that Mr. Gannon looks very qualified. I sense from this appointment that Jones will leave a lot of the operational issues to Gannon and Jones will work on social justice issues and be the public face for SPS.

FYI, the district has changed some questions in the student survey. 

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Question for Student Surveys

Elementary CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: This and That District News

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The New Way in Seattle Schools

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The New Way in Seattle Schools

The New Way in Seattle Schools

What the “New Way?” Encompassing the entire district, we see changes aplenty with near zero explanation. I’ll start but do chime in with yours.

- Minutes of committee meetings. Man, these are starting to look like charter school board meeting minutes. Which is to say, sparse and just the facts (and maybe not even all the facts). 

Example: the scribe appears to have been told to not flesh out any discussion with back-and-forth. So you see this: “Questions were asked and answers were given.” Seriously, that’s what is written. Clearly, of little use to any parent, teacher, administrator, student or taxpayer. 

I do have my suspicions that there are TWO sets of minutes. I say that because if someone internal to JSCEE needed info on what happened at a particular meeting and all they see is, “People were here and talked,” it just might make their job harder.

Another example of this is when Keisha Scarlett leveled her accusations about racism at Chandra Hampson and Zachary DeWolf, her complaint named a specific committee meeting. Let’s go to the minutes and....nothing. I wouldn’t expect the scribe to make judgements about what was said but there is nothing wrong with “a lively discussion ensued.” I did find someone who was at the meeting who confirmed Scarlett’s account and said it was very uncomfortable. 

- Work Session documentation. To review, a citizen has to make a request to the Board office for documentation attached to a committee meeting. The reasoning here is that staff may change something at the last minute.  So for CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: The New Way in Seattle Schools

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Brent Jones Speaks

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Brent Jones Speaks

Brent Jones Speaks

Here is the first public statement from new superintendent, Brent Jones. As statements go, it’s about what you would expect but some editing might have helped. 

One key item - he does not say schools will reopen in their buildings in September. He just vaguely talks about “prepare for fall.” 

Also of interest is the fill-in form to contact him available at the district’s website.

Dear Seattle Public Schools Families: 

 

It’s a privilege to return to Seattle Public Schools as the interim superintendent. As I came to work this morning, it felt like coming home. 

 

I have spent more than half my life in SPS. I started at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and graduated from Franklin High School – go Quakers! Most recently, I served as the district’s chief of equity, partnerships, and engagement and helped lead creation and adoption of the district’s bold strategic plan, Seattle Excellence. The five-year plan is laser focused on supporting students of color who are furthest away from educational justice. Unlike past plans, Seattle Excellence acknowledges that until our district changes systems and disrupts legacies of racism, we can’t fulfill the promise of a high-quality, world-class education – an education that every student deserves. I am also a parent of a graduating SPS senior. 

 

My commitment to SPS is personal.

 

Our city’s public schools need to offer students and their families the very best – rigorous learning, a deep commitment to educational justice, innovation, and a clear CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Brent Jones Speaks

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning to Change

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning to Change

Advanced Learning to Change

The Seattle School Board and the district are poised to change the Advanced Learning program in a major way. Interestingly, the BAR (Board Action Report) on this change has a fairly bland title - Rename and Amend Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning.

I am NOT advocating for anyone to write to the Board because this was a done deal a long time ago. 

The district is going to have a new enactment of Highly Capable Services (kicking out the wording “Advanced Learning”) and having “building-based services” in General Education classrooms rather than separate cohort groupings. There may or may not be other eligible students in the class. There is a carve-out for “upper edge” students. (See below.)

To note, the wording “highly capable” comes from the state and it is a state mandate that comes to districts complete with funding for transportation.  

The district plans to enact this new programming over the next six years, to school year 2026-2027. They are currently piloting the program at one elementary school. Students in the current program will stay with their cohort until then 2026-2027. 

The district is paying at least three consultants to plan how to enact the new HCC. 

The district claims that the current program is “inaccessible” without explaining why. In the past, some schools with minority majority CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning to Change

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What Did I Miss? #tBATs

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What Did I Miss?

What Did I Miss?

Why hello there! Long time, no see. 

I first want to acknowledge and bow my head to all that has happened to our country and countries throughout the world  I have continued to monitor several parent Facebook pages and one WA state teacher page (not WEA). It has been a deeply frustrating, frightening, exhausting time for teachers, parents, and students. I cannot imagine being a parent who has to keep explaining, month after month, why your child cannot go back to school, go be in sports, play with friends, etc. Or a teacher who has to flip learning on its head, keeping it going as the teachers ALSO learn. And administrators who had to try to figure out how to serve and keep a school community together. When I think of the kindergarten class that I tutored in for three years, I cannot imagine having small children try to comprehend their schooling on a screen. 

I most of all feel sadness for students. School is their second life, their second home and where  a lot of teaching and learning beyond the classroom happens. I acknowledge that some children faced far more injury than others but I know that ALL kids suffer from this time and that should be noted. 

I urge you to have your child either dictate their thoughts to you or have them write about their COVID experience. This is an important time to document, if only for your family’s future generations.You can tell your children - no one ever gets to pick the history that they live through but other generations will want to hear their stories.

SPS

One of the many vagaries of COVID is that we all had time on our hands (or at least far fewer events to be at). However, because most government meetings, including SPS’, were held online, I was able to go to quite a few Board meetings, committee meetings and work sessions.

As the year went on, I kept wondering, what the heck was happening in SPS? My verdict is that it was a year of power struggle, largely based on personality. And it was largely among a small circle of people who, CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: What Did I Miss?