Seattle Schools This Week (Reflecting on What Banda Should Do in July)

This is last week of any public meeting for SPS until August.

There are two events this week, both on Tuesday.  

First there is a required public hearing from 4-4:30 p.m. to hear testimony from the public about raising the amount the district will pay for the Associated Student Body fund.  This was previously discussed at Board meetings.  I still have not heard the explanation as to why this occurred and where.  I may go review the Board meeting tapes to see if I missed something.  The Action Report gives all kinds of policies and legal reasons why they can raise the amount but not why.  It says this:

Expenditures are now at a higher percentage of the total annual expenditures than in any previous year, and may exceed the original estimate (adopted budget).   (bold mine)

They exceeded the budget by more than $200k.  How did that happen and when it started and it was apparent they were going over, did anyone do anything?

After that, there is the Board meeting at 4:15 p.m.  The speakers list is not up yet so I don't know if it is full (I doubt it).  As I stated previously, this is Banda's first appearance as Superintendent and this is usually a less-than-full meeting so it's a good opportunity to have his attention and the Board's.

July is the powerdown month for the district.  This is the ideal time that Banda can get the lay of the land. 

He can meet heads of departments, ask for overviews/priorities/needs, take input on what his priorities should be from parents/communities that he either meets with or hears from via e-mail or mail.   Most important is HR's role in laying out who needs to be hired and in what kind of timeframe that can/should be accomplished.  We need permanent hires to get this work done. 

So I'll put this to you in case you are thinking of contacting our new superintendent: 

What would your recommendation for priorities be to Banda at this moment in time?

- what would be the biggest change you might recommend that you believe would help the most number of children?  Math reform?  We can't start over (no money, no time) but what about a quicker waiver process or no mental cap by staff on the number of waivers? 

- what is your biggest worry for when school starts in the fall?  Transportation?  Overcrowding? 

- what would you tell Banda and the Board about selling BEX IV?  Some of you have said certain things would make you vote against it - what would change your mind?

- what would you tell Banda to do to unite our district (a la John Stanford) or is that important?  

- what program/issue do you think gets undue attention?  

- is the biggest academic problem the math program?  Is our biggest logistics problem overcrowding? 

- what three things would you tell Banda if you could meet with him privately?

Comments

Eileen said…
Three thing I would tell Supt. Banda:

1. We need a strong, knowledgable SPED Director ASAP

2. SPED self contained programs need IAs who can be available to support kids in the GEN ED classroom.

3. Related service providers need adequate materials to do their jobs. Especially updated assessment materials.
Anonymous said…
1. Math curriculum reform. The curriculum must be improved for students to succeed instead of landing into remedial math in college. Tutoring does not take the place of a solid math curriculum.

2. More stability with principals. Do not move them around so much. Parents expect good leadership and it is demoralizing to schools when principals are moved around for no reason.

3. More flexibility in program offerings. I would love to see more Montessori programs in the District. The expansion of choice could help head off competition from charter schools.

Those are my wish list items. I have addressed the School Board many times about the math and urge other parents to contact Banda about it.

S parent
Charlie Mas said…
The more I think about it, the more I believe that our education system needs a pretty radical overhaul so it can be re-designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities, students living in poverty, English Language Learners, and, while we're at it, every other student as well.

Mr. Banda, whether he knows it or not, whether he recognizes it or not, whether he appreciates it or not, has a broad license to re-design Seattle Public Schools any way he likes. He is not actually constrained by Board policies - they won't enforce them. He is not actually constrained by state or federal law - they aren't really enforced either.

He has a free hand.

If he were to design public school all new from the ground up, how would he do it? He's free to realize that vision.

Not only will people allow him to do it, but people will support him in it.
Jamie said…
I cannot say it any better than S parent. Those are my three things as well.
Anonymous said…
I agree with Eileen's post on Special Education. Getting our students to general education requires IA support AND GenEd teacher willingness. Everybody has to make accommodations to make it happen. Everybody. It has to matter. It comes down to the principal making it a value and a priority and being an advocate.

(Ok I know ... wrong district for that.)

Students in self-contained classes are ALREADY paying for their GenEd seats. 100%. It is the school double dipping - accepting the 100% money for students in self contained classes and using it to reduce class size in GenEd.

No Special Education Director will make a difference until the leader of the district recognizes how little regard there is for our students and families, except lip service, from the education directors and principals.

Syd
Anonymous said…
Better Math curiculum. More than anything else this will drive parents to private schools and/or charters.

FHP
Patrick said…
Make plans for a vacation somewhere sunny in February or March. Most people who move here from somewhere sunny have a terrible time the first few winters.

Oh, you mean job-related?

Make sure every district employee knows how to report possible child abuse -- to whom, to who else if the first person isn't responsive, what principals or supervisors should do if it is reported to them.

Work on duplicating Mercer Middle School's success in math. The books, yes, but also their collaborative teaching method. A healthy organization should be trying to duplicate good results, not hush them up because they were achieved by a non-District-approved method.
Jet City mom said…
Everyone in district should be here because they want to improve education for all children, ( & because they have appropriate skills and character)
Every training & hire should have this in mind, and those who do not should be shown the way out.
Anonymous said…
I'd tell him to respect his students first, and his teachers second. Those two should always be the apex in any decision he makes. If he does this one thing in honesty and fairness then expect a revolution to occur.

Mr White
Jan said…
In July? What can he do in July? Well, other than getting a new Lowell principal in place, I would second some of the above suggestions, with minor modifications.

Math: My recollection is that we were up for new math materials last year for either elementary or middle school, but didn't make any decision on what materials to buy, or what approach to use, because money was tight. If I were Mr. Banda, I would start the process, in July, of getting new materials.

Are there schools that want(ed) waivers for next year? Or who are using different approaches without waivers? I would grant them, or grandfather them in, or whatever, and work with those schools to make sure they have whatever support they need to get the materials they are looking for -- by September. I would specifically talk to the SNAPP parents to coordinate what is going on at TM with what is going on in math at SNAPP -- and maximize the outcome (same materials? different ones?) I would use this exercise to also assess the degree to which the SNAPP principal and Ed Director are, or are not, supporting their teachers and the SNAPP families in a critical area (math instruction). Rina's beginnings were not promising, but I have no clue whether things are better now. The fact that TM is switching, and SNAPP is not, makes me wonder about both Rina and Nancy Coogan (assuming she is still their ed director).

I would also inventory what different approaches were used last year in which schools, and then plan on evaluating the EOC and HSPE scores when they come in, with a view towards a decision this year on one or more District wide purchases for next year.

Maybe I am overly optimistic, but I think that Mr. Banda can move the needle, almost immediately, in small ways on math.

Special Ed: This is the Lazarus project, and he might as well start over the summer. I think it will take him a little time to figure out just where the holes in the boat are (or, maybe, where there is any boat left, amidst the many holes), and a bit longer to find someone to take on this herculean job. But he can let all principals know that this will be a primary focus -- starting in the fall -- and that he expects significant attention to and progress on restoring special ed programs and services. For starters, he could pull the ed directors together and require that they report on what has happened, in their schools, to special ed over the past 4 or 5 years, and what the results have been for sped kids. He could also meet with the sped pta for feedback on what has been destroyed, and how to prioritize the restoration, given that there are a plethora of smaller groups and programs, with very different needs and populations.

On the child abuse reporting stuff -- I think he needs to set up some sort of a task force (I would include the two SLPs from Lowell, the people they reported to, and the investigator they hired. There needs to be a clear understanding of what behaviors are clearly not "child abuse" but require referrals for follow up and retraining, etc. (an example might be like Scouts, which now has a two adult rule that strictly forbids any adult from being alone with a boy (other than a child) unless another adult is present. If this rule is violated -- it is not child abuse, but is a violation of policy that requires follow up, retraining, or other disciplinary action for repeat violations). There needs to be a clear understanding of who gets notified (CPS, the police, etc. and at what points). And then there needs to be a training program, and regular follow ups at PD sessions, just to keep people up to date. And, of course, they need to discuss (and train to handle) retaliation issues with respect to those who are the recipients of the reports.
mirmac1 said…
I see the SAO has posted its findings for its most recent audit. They can be found here Seattle School District No. 1
Report Date June 27, 2012
Report No. 1007982


"The District spends over $16 million of local levy proceeds in addition to state special purpose funds to support Special Education services. However, we understand that accuracy of our financial records are required and an important part of running our District. We will continue to monitor and partner with the Special Education department and school staff to ensure that salaries are recorded in the correct program."

It's funny, because in other audit findings that found the district misspent public funds, I don't remember the SAO saying "oh well, they spent levy money on those things too so it's all good. These kinds of rationalizations, that you will hear our Board president trot out whenever that darn $$ SpEd comes up, are never used to rationalize when capital funds are used improperly, or basic ed funds are used improperly.

I guess it is just those SpEd students (who are "general ed students first!" remember) who are supposed to just use "their" money. Our students come with SpEd money AND Basic Ed money AND local levy money, one does not supplant the others.

So, we will see if OSPI finds that those Ballard students got their 3X money's worth.
KG said…
Have the district tell the legislature that Boeing and Microsoft need to pay their part to public education meaning tax dollars. Microsoft is already evading 400 million per year in taxes to K-12 education.
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Charlie Mas said…
"We will continue to monitor and partner with the Special Education department"

They are going to partner with their own department? How messed up are they?

What does this even mean? Aside from the dreadful practice of using "partner" as a verb.
Anonymous said…
Get rid of MAP testing???

ELB
Maddow said…
With regard to Sped funding at Ballard HS ..., mirmac1 said last week...
"There will be a link tomorrow. They will be forced to stop, and it'll cost the district to provide compensatory services to these young people." So...thank you for posting the link to the SAO rport.
However, I see no mention of BHS being forced to stop , nor any mention of compensatory eduacation.
mirmac1 said…
You're welcome Maddow. If you are unfamiliar with how audits work, the State Auditor cannot make the district do anything. But there are those that can, beginning with a superintendent who has a commitment to following the laws, and has sounder ethics than our recently-departed interim supt and some of our board.
Disgusted said…
http://www.sao.wa.gov/auditreports/auditreportfiles/ar1007982.pdf

How about holding staff accountable for taxpayer dollars intended for education. Some of these items are repeats.
Disgusted said…
http://www.sao.wa.gov/auditreports/auditreportfiles/ar1007982.pdf

How about holding staff accountable for taxpayer dollars intended for education. Some of these items are repeats.
Floor Pie said…
Totally agree with what Eileen and Syd said. You can't really have successfull special ed inclusion without IA's and a welcoming classroom teacher.

It doesn't have to be IA's that hover above one student's desk all day (unless the IEP require it); just IA's who circulate and support multiple kids in multiple classrooms.
Floor Pie said…
And I can't spell. Oops.
Anonymous said…
Take a long, hard look at ELL. Not unlike SpEd - full of incompetance, inconsistent models, inequity.
Anonymous said…
Take a long, hard look at ELL. Not unlike SpEd - full of incompetance, inconsistent models, inequity.
David said…
Agree that the biggest academic problem the math curriculum (which needs to be more rigorous, like Singapore Math, really anything that gets better results) and biggest logistics problem is overcrowding (especially after we closed buildings in 2008).

I'd add that we have quite a maintenance backlog and central administration still appears bloated.

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