tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post2996983186920935653..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Board Meeting and STEMMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-39161314045977949462010-01-13T11:30:37.571-08:002010-01-13T11:30:37.571-08:00Danny K said:
If the Board really believes in acc...Danny K said:<br /><br /><i>If the Board really believes in accountability they should either defer the STEM decision until such time as the Superintendent can get her ducks in a row or they should just say no.<br /><b><br />I'd really love to see this! "Dr. G-J, I'm sorry, but you didn't do your homework so you can't have your new project. Come back next year..." Too bad it will never happen.</b></i><br /><br />=================<br />This could happen. Cheryl Chow's board is gone. Director Betty Patu although new to the director position and faced with a steep learning curve has lots of experience with the district.<br /><br />Betty P. has seen over many years the chaotic way that the district spends and changes direction. She raised the question about what gets shorted from other programs to make STEM happen in a budget restricted year. She knows that the funding shortfall is likely going to be more than one year.<br /><br />She is NOT Cheryl Chow. Eventually Patu in place of Chow will make a huge difference for SE students and likely all students in the district.<br />She gets it that STEM will not help the vast majority of students in the district but rather hurt them by restricting funding to things Non-STEM.<br /><br />The DeBell board asks a lot of good questions ... they just never close the deal on those questions. Betty Patu will not just sit by and let MGJ continue with her chaotic leadership.<br /><br />Director Patu is more than willing to admit there is lots she does not know ... but she is a listener and learner.<br /><br />Some directors, Sundquist for sure, resemble slick politicians (preparing for high political office) rather than effective directors.<br /><br />Sundquist's statment about pouring over NMAP's "Foundations for Success" report during the math adoption was total bunk. You will not see Director Patu spinning fairy-tales to support MGJ.<br /><br />I think there is a real chance that in the current environment and with MGJ's failure to perform that STEM maybe Stopped with:<br /><b>Dr. G-J, I'm sorry, but you didn't do your homework so you can't have your new project. Come back next year...</b>dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58473081902338941452010-01-10T14:51:53.298-08:002010-01-10T14:51:53.298-08:00Common sense and empirical data suggest that conve...Common sense and empirical data suggest that conventional forms of distict intervention are destabilizing socially and/or academically.<br /><br />By "conventional," I mean the four models desribed, in detail, in the Race-to-the-Top program announcement.<br /><br />I suspect that a distinctly different model for district intervention might be very much more effective for promoting GENUINE student success than the conventional models. <br /><br />I'd like to know what others think would need to be a priority in a district intervention, in order for the intervention to have a strong positive impact on socio-academic lives of the affected students. <br /><br />Here is my answer to this question.<br /><br />1. De-emphasizing high stakes testing in favor of alternative forms of assessment. <br /><br />2. Ensuring that students have time in every school day for at least one high quality, self-selected, engaging elective course.<br /><br />3. Professional-standards for teacher evaluation, wherein the principal has the duty and the requisite authority to dismiss teachers that have received unusually high frequency of poor parent/student evaluations, and who do not show the ability or interested to identify the cause of the poor evaluations and to develop, with the principal's input, and then follow through on a sound plan to remedy the identified performance deficiencies.<br /><br />4. High quality K-12 social skills/anti-bullying/conflict mediation curriculum<br /><br />5. Intellectually challenging and engaging curriculum <br /><br />6. Culturally relevant curriculum and pedagogy<br /><br />7. Emulation of SPS' extraordinarily successful but little-known Middle College High School program.<br /><br />8. Full-time school nursing services (currently elementary schools have a nurse on site only one-day per week)<br /><br />9. Ample psychosocial counselling services for students whose academic progress is stymied by high stress circumstances; <br /><br />10. Sufficient quantity of effective high school career and college counselling services.<br /><br />11. Having security personal on site if needed to manage student conflict, with staff that is well-trained in how to develop trust-based, constructive, respectful, effective relationships with students, to support the goal of promoting an safe learning environment.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810050976533673804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-9556781192513731822010-01-10T08:44:38.749-08:002010-01-10T08:44:38.749-08:00Danny, one reason we are suspicous of intervention...Danny, one reason we are suspicous of interventions (which has been discussed elsewhere on this blog) is that they are generally school-based and disruptive. Is that sometimes needed? Yes. Unless the building leadership is truly dysfunctional, it is unfair to to "shake things up" because a subset of teachers or students are failing.<br /><br />School-based intervention should be a last resort after student-based and teacher-based interventions.<br /><br />Another reason we are suspicious of "intervention" is the NCLB trick of using "intervention" to channel public funds to private companies. Are you aware that we are giving almost 1M taxpayer $$ to Sylvan this in the name of ______. (fill in the blank.)Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17016898261120819596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-41786311106510527992010-01-09T15:32:42.219-08:002010-01-09T15:32:42.219-08:00Melissa - thank you for reminding me to be better ...Melissa - thank you for reminding me to be better mannered. I am sorry especially to Danny for giving a non-answer and for the aggressive tone of my response to his question. I am going to try to do a better job self-filtering.<br /><br />A couple months ago (late Sept.), when I first heard of and wanted to know more about the Broad Foundation, I spent many hours on the internet seeking out information and news stories about what was happening in other districts around the country that are heavily influenced by the Broad Foundation. <br /><br />I found out that SPS is on the same reform path as these districts. I realized we can look to these districts' histories to understand what the future holds for SPS if we stay on this path. <br /><br />In my informal research effort, I kept encountering the term "district intervention." I found many stories that were negative; I don't recall finding any that were positive. Of course, in the news we only generally hear the bad news, and rarely the good. <br /><br />I suggest that a person who wants to form their own opinion about "district intervention", put this term in quotes, and then couple it with the name of a big city or big school district, such as Chicago, New York, LAUSD (that's Los Angeles), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, OUSD (Oakland), Washington D.C. Another good search string could be something like ["district intervention" definition "Broad Foundation"]<br /><br />I can dig out some representative articles, and provide the links.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810050976533673804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-87035034082997182292010-01-09T11:59:02.798-08:002010-01-09T11:59:02.798-08:00Joan, Danny just expressed an opinion. He didn...Joan, Danny just expressed an opinion. He didn't say you were bad or even wrong. Enough with the flame throwing.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-42723491419294388722010-01-09T00:47:53.643-08:002010-01-09T00:47:53.643-08:00Anne - I clicked on the professional development l...Anne - I clicked on the professional development link that you provided in your brief, cryptic post. I found this: <br /><br />"Maintaining Creativity while Increasing Student Achievement (7.5 or 15 Clock Hours) <br /><br />"This one-day workshop provides innovative strategies for creatively raising student achievement. In an age of accountability, much of what used to be referred to as 'creative license' has been stripped away. Find new ways to make teaching fun again, all the while helping your students to succeed!"<br /><br />Yep, this is a propos of regressive school reform. And this is what LEV, SchoolsFirst, MGJ, SchoolBoard, PTA, Ron Dorn, State Board of Education, Seattle Times, Arne Duncan's U.S. Dept. of Education, Broad Foundation, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, Sen. Oemig, Rep. Ron Hunter of Medina, Washington Business Roundtable, ..., want for SPS.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810050976533673804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-41706078058866253982010-01-09T00:34:09.383-08:002010-01-09T00:34:09.383-08:00Oh dear! The gears are in motion to get legislati...Oh dear! The gears are in motion to get legislation passed that favors state "interventions" into persistently failing schools. <br /><br />http://www.educationvoters.org/2010/01/04/sbe-adopts-accountability-framework-legislation/<br /><br />This article is undoubtedly referring to the Race-to-the-Top program, and the legislation, if passed will strengthen the State's anticipated RTT application.<br /><br />It will take a very smart grassroots action plan to be able successfully oppose these awful reform initiatives.<br /><br />If you are one of those who wish to be more than a passive observer as the ship goes down, please make yourself known to others of your ilk. <br /><br />Please write to me at joan@mathascent.org if you have ideas about how to block this legislation, and/or want to meet like-minded, action-oriented folks.<br /><br />Here is the full text of the article:<br /><br />The State Board of Education adopted legislation related to its accountability framework today in a special meeting in Olympia.<br /><br />The approved legislation now goes to the Legislature for its approval during the 2010 session beginning next week. If passed by the Legislature the SBE will implement a system of identifying and assisting low-performing schools and districts, and gain intervention authority. The new system would also identify and reward the state’s top-performing schools and districts.<br /><br />This work is the much-anticipated result of the many, many months of work by the SBE’s System Performance Accountability workgroup, as well as the Board itself. The U.S. Department of Education deserves a mention, as the intervention models in the plan are required for School Improvement Grants (as well as future receipt of Title I funds).<br /><br />George Scarola testified on behalf of Excellent Schools Now, along with Caroline King. They spoke to the merits of the framework and the need for accountability at all levels.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810050976533673804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28176653108750038082010-01-09T00:00:44.413-08:002010-01-09T00:00:44.413-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810050976533673804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91204518056553822702010-01-08T22:37:06.920-08:002010-01-08T22:37:06.920-08:00I'm hoping that Cleveland STEM will help fix t...<i>I'm hoping that Cleveland STEM will help fix that, by being attractive to middle and upper income families with higher educational levels.</i><br /><br />I would bet that none of these students would consider moving to STEM until the program has proven itself. These are families who've made a pretty strong decision about the child's education; they'd have to have some pretty big guarantees to move to a new program.<br /><br />By the way, I agree with what Charlie said about proximity. We live in the Northeast area and, although our son loves science and math, would be hard pressed to consider STEM for transportation issues alone.<br /><br />Just for the fun of it, I checked the online Metro trip planner to see the shortest bus trip from our intersection to CHS, this coming Monday, with an arrival time of 7:50 am. The shortest trip was 1:04 and takes three buses. Same thing on the return trip, though I didn't check during rush-hour if our son wanted to stay for an after-school activity; three buses and a little over an hour.<br /><br />stuStuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11769983958729170219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-35070377523502808782010-01-08T22:18:54.081-08:002010-01-08T22:18:54.081-08:00WOW! I'm so thankful too!!! Not really words t...WOW! I'm so thankful too!!! Not really words to express it.<br /><a href="http://azseitraining.com/Arizona_teacher_workshops.htm" rel="nofollow">Professional Development Workshops for Teachers</a>Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13496553399039133756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-11897535547619288672010-01-08T20:26:38.419-08:002010-01-08T20:26:38.419-08:00Here's another thing about the STEM budget tha...Here's another thing about the STEM budget that doesn't make sense to me: software costs. They list software purchase as a one-time expense with no recurring annual expenses. In what alternative universe?<br /><br />So there are now three big questions about the budget:<br /><br />1) Where are the philanthropy dollars that STEM was supposed to attract? All of the money in the budget shown to the Board comes from the District.<br /><br />2) What will fill the gap for the funding listed as TBD? Is the Board going to approve this with all of that To Be Determined funding in the budget? I sure hope not.<br /><br />3) Where is the budget for recurring software purchases. Why do they pretend that there won't be annual expenses for software?<br /><br />By the way, if you were wondering who was supposed to be out there raising the cash for STEM from donors, it was the STEM Steering Committee, lead by Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson. That's the group who has utterly failed to perform in the preparation for the STEM program.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76374435591584651292010-01-08T17:10:14.523-08:002010-01-08T17:10:14.523-08:00Joan NE, why are you so opposed to District Interv...Joan NE, why are you so opposed to District Interventions? I think they can serve as a way to shake up failing schools. <br /><br />When used as a management gimmick, they will fail and perpetuate dysfunction, just like every other management gimmick in education for the last 50 years, but that's not the tool's fault.Danny Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07632244455766365141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66734482851201609602010-01-08T17:06:14.240-08:002010-01-08T17:06:14.240-08:00If the Board really believes in accountability the...<i>If the Board really believes in accountability they should either defer the STEM decision until such time as the Superintendent can get her ducks in a row or they should just say no.</i><br /><br />I'd really love to see this! "Dr. G-J, I'm sorry, but you didn't do your homework so you can't have your new project. Come back next year..." Too bad it will never happen.Danny Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07632244455766365141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25391015854718242522010-01-08T16:55:52.911-08:002010-01-08T16:55:52.911-08:00Seattle Citizen, thanks for the effort to verify m...Seattle Citizen, thanks for the effort to verify my report from the Garfield mtg. Do you agree that these assessments qualify as High Stakes Tesing (HST)?<br /><br />I doubt that many parents outside of those who read this blog have a good understanding of HST.<br /><br />Lack of knowledge among parents as to what is meant by HST and related terms oft used by the Superintendent (e.g., Data-driven decision making and performance management systems) works in the District's favor. <br /><br />I am sure that the District has little interest to educate the public. The more the public understands these terms, it is to be expected the less they would support the initiatives.<br /><br />Do you agree or disagree with this last statement?<br /><br />This quote from your post sounds like a coded reference to "district intervention."<br /><br />"common assessments will also inform building improvement... “.<br /><br />District intervention, in my view, is, is very often very harmful to students, is immoral, and, because Title I schools are the main targets of intervention, appears to me to be racist. The Race-to-the-Top program strongly encourages "district interventions," especially the more severe of the four forms listed in the final program announcement.Joan NEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810050976533673804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-6218706849621039762010-01-08T16:39:14.069-08:002010-01-08T16:39:14.069-08:00Re Joan's Garfield meeting: I believe there wa...Re Joan's Garfield meeting: I believe there was a "community engagement" meeting on curriculum alignment in early December at Garfield that she went to. It was the same night as another meeting, of course, and we heard about it at the last minute...Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17016898261120819596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-62442833711777110662010-01-08T16:01:22.397-08:002010-01-08T16:01:22.397-08:00And remember there is always Running Start.....cou...And remember there is always Running Start.....could go full time, earn dual credits and SPS pays for it. <br /><br />I think I would give CHS a shot if I knew that RS would be a good fit by 11th grade.ParentofThreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15853045587227159562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16950735813089096482010-01-08T14:30:40.900-08:002010-01-08T14:30:40.900-08:00Well, Stu, there's no way they'd pull the ...Well, Stu, there's no way they'd pull the plug in just a year or two. During that time, a child who is motivated and interested could very well have had some great opportunities and a chance to shine in a small group. A chance to network. Could be a lot of opportunities opening for someone like that if the program fails before they graduate. Nova with a self-created program, UW Academy for Young Scholars, private school with scholarship, "home" school that builds on the projects or internships... <br /><br />Yes, the program might fail, but that doesn't mean the kids would start over, they might have to be creative, but could build on what they did at Cleveland.Dorothy Nevillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17108759281089768738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-52631950403805627682010-01-08T14:25:35.334-08:002010-01-08T14:25:35.334-08:00Melissa, regarding Joan's post on mandatory st...Melissa, regarding Joan's post on mandatory standardized testing after each core class:<br />Below is some information from two District Curriculum Alignment pages. Reading them, it's easy to see how a standardized test at the end of each class would be seen as necessary to ensure vertical progression: A student would need to know the standards in the class as part of the progression.<br />Now, using this as a "pass/fail" gate is not mentioned, but seems to be implicit: if common assessment shows that student is not "ready" for next vertical step, then the student would either have to not pass, or progress with the caveat that they receive remediation.<br /><br />Here's the info from the two pages:<br /><br />http://www.seattleschools.org/area/curriculumalign/index.dxml<br />“In an aligned system, common rigorous expectations for student learning in any one grade level are consistent across the district, grade level expectations build on the prior year’s work and feed into the next year…Each course in the SPS curriculum will be aligned horizontally with identified course outcomes so that courses with the same name across SPS high schools reach established goals and expectations. Content courses will be aligned vertically to ensure students possess the knowledge and skills to be successful in the next course in the sequence.<br /><br /><br />http://www.seattleschools.org/area/literacy/Alignment.html<br /><br />LA Curriculum Alignment:<br /><br />“coherent and consistent progression of content, instruction, and assessment within and across a course of study….Horizontal and Vertical Alignment<br />Furthermore, each course in the core curriculum will be aligned horizontally with identified course outcomes so that courses with the same name across SPS high schools reach the same goals. Some content courses will be aligned vertically to ensure students possess the knowledge and skills to be successful in the next course in the sequence…<br />Common Assessments<br />In addition to measuring student progress, guiding teachers’ instruction, and focusing student learning, common assessments will also inform building improvement and district-wide decisions pertaining to curriculum and instruction. “seattle citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16724175257161649500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25128916240531852542010-01-08T13:53:28.464-08:002010-01-08T13:53:28.464-08:00Charlie said: 1. Even if the lessons aren't al...<i>Charlie said: 1. Even if the lessons aren't all project-based, there will be more project-based work than at any other school (other than NOVA).<br /><br />2. Even if the lessons aren't all at grade level, grade level work will be available.<br /><br />3. If she doesn't get all of the classes she needs in one semester, she'll get them in another.<br /><br />4. There may not be many intern opportunities, but there will be some.<br /><br />5. I am relying on the low enrollment to translate into small class sizes and lots of individual attention.<br /><br />Add to that the fact that Cleveland is an easy twenty minute walk or five-minute bike ride or bus ride from our house, and it is a pretty strong case.</i><br /><br />Every one of these things is a excellent reason for your daughter to attend the STEM program. I'll give you the one argument against sending her . . . will the program be there the next year? And the next year?<br /><br />The problem I see with the STEM program, especially at the beginning, is that it's one thing to enter the program but another to leave it . . or be left. What if your daughter goes and it's everything you dreamed it would be: small class sizes, individualized programs, mints on every pillow? Then what if they pull the plug, or change the whole program again the next year? Your daughter has to start all over with another school, another program, another group of friends . . . The thing that you call "small class size" the district calls "lack of interest." What happens then?<br /><br />Just a thought . . . <br /><br /><br />stuStuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11769983958729170219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-21801600998709193222010-01-08T12:39:13.154-08:002010-01-08T12:39:13.154-08:00Charlie great job on the analysis of the SE initia...Charlie great job on the analysis of the SE initiative. Guess MGJ must have new and improved metrics that she is using to find success in SE.<br /><br />I can hardly wait for how TEAM MGJ will deal with the fiscal problems in the coming two years.<br /><br />Team MGJ lives in upside down world.<br /><br />District school board buys Santorno's statements that Everyday Math will eliminate the math achievement gaps in 5 years. EDM expands every achievement gap. The board then sees EDM and CMP2 use as justification for adopting HS "Discovering" in the interests of vertical alignment of instructional materials.<br /><br />Cleveland's population has been 50+% Black students. The Cleveland STEM program aims for Calculus competency for all students. Unfortunately the district seems to believe that students coming from a defective k-8 math program can somehow with extra periods learn Calculus in HS for STEM careers.<br /><br />This belief is so strong that money will be diverted into this STEM program from other areas in a huge budget deficit year. <br /><br />I would love to see a well designed and carefully implemented STEM program ... but this one does not fit with current reality.<br /><br />Perhaps MGJ would like to release those PSAT results to show us how well the SE initiative is working.<br /><br />In Seattle 54% of all 8th grade students passed the Math WASL, while 24% of Black students passed.<br /><br />There is no plan to fix k-12 math but these STEM students will become Calculus proficient in High School. Director Patu asked Tolley about entrance requirements to get into this STEM program. She learned there are none.<br /><br />What has worked successfully under MGJ? This lady could not even put out 4 quarterly reports in one year as required by her strategic plan. Now with a pathetic math program swept under the rug it is onto STEM spending with little thought.<br /><br />Will the board ever hold TEAM MGJ accountable for anything?<br /><br />How about starting with a useful release of PSAT data.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-57732992727440365102010-01-08T12:06:48.600-08:002010-01-08T12:06:48.600-08:00Now that I mention it, where is the private fundin...Now that I mention it, where is the private funding that was supposed to pay for much of this STEM program. All I see is money from the District.<br /><br />Where are the philanthropy dollars that this program was supposed to attract?Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-6189000307860386712010-01-08T12:05:40.446-08:002010-01-08T12:05:40.446-08:00So here's the funny thing.
I have some GRAVE ...So here's the funny thing.<br /><br />I have some GRAVE doubts about how well Cleveland STEM will work. I seriously question how much of the work will really be project-based. I question the teachers' ability to present, conduct, and manage a project-based lesson when they have never done it before.<br /><br />I question how much of the work will be at grade level. There are likely to be some students in the room who are not ready to work at grade level.<br /><br />I question the school administration's ability to write a functional schedule. You wouldn't believe how complex it's going to be with the block classes and non-block classes, with some 9th grade students in Algebra and some in Geometry. It's going to be a nightmare.<br /><br />I don't see any of the promised partnerships with outside institutions. Where will there be internships? I don't, for that matter, see any of the private funding that was supposed to pay for all of this. All I have seen so far is an in-kind gift for the wireless network.<br /><br />And I seriously question the school's ability to attract very many students. I think a lot of the juniors and seniors are going to leave and I don't think they will attract many freshmen.<br /><br />Yet I still think it will be the best choice for my daughter.<br /><br />1. Even if the lessons aren't all project-based, there will be more project-based work than at any other school (other than NOVA).<br /><br />2. Even if the lessons aren't all at grade level, grade level work will be available.<br /><br />3. If she doesn't get all of the classes she needs in one semester, she'll get them in another.<br /><br />4. There may not be many intern opportunities, but there will be some.<br /><br />5. I am relying on the low enrollment to translate into small class sizes and lots of individual attention.<br /><br />Add to that the fact that Cleveland is an easy twenty minute walk or five-minute bike ride or bus ride from our house, and it is a pretty strong case.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-10537863091742504202010-01-08T11:23:52.973-08:002010-01-08T11:23:52.973-08:00I am one private school southend end parent who ha...I am one private school southend end parent who has no interest in STEM. My child does OK (Bs at a college prep school) in math and science, but they are not her passions. A quality, comprehensive high school with similar offerings as Roosevelt or Garfield is the only ting that would get me to consider switching BACK to public school.<br />Add that to the dysfunction I see in the District's day-to-day operations and the chances we return are extremely low. My husband is facing a layoff and we still aren't considering a return to public. We're willing to cut to the bone to get our child a quality education that serves her needs.SolvayGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12709893209963350066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-36737001160881605032010-01-08T10:53:34.008-08:002010-01-08T10:53:34.008-08:00I think there are a lot more high-achieving kids l...I think there are a lot more high-achieving kids living south of Garfield than public school enrollment numbers (including those who bus north) would lead one to believe. They go to private school, Mercer Island, and Vashon. The public school population in the south end doesn't currently reflect the racial, economic, and educational level diversity of the neighborhoods there. I'm hoping that Cleveland STEM will help fix that, by being attractive to middle and upper income families with higher educational levels. Those families ARE part of the south end community, just not part of the schools at the moment.TechyMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04650916001250022778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76184875190640231802010-01-08T10:34:32.039-08:002010-01-08T10:34:32.039-08:00blumhagn writes:
"I'd like to see clarif...blumhagn writes:<br /><br />"<i>I'd like to see clarification on how many students they expect the first year, and how the population is expected to grow over time if it's starting half full.</i>"<br /><br />There have been no public projections on the expected demand for Cleveland STEM in 2010. They simply have no idea.<br /><br />I have written here that I expect the incoming 9th grade class to be about 50 students, but I have no way of knowing either. I think I will know more after I count the crowd at the January 23 Open House.<br /><br />The District and the school have, as always, done a perfectly dreadful job of promotion. Only really engaged people even know about the thing.<br /><br />Numbers may improve with the publication and distribution of the Enrollment Guide. We'll see. We'll see if Cleveland is shunted off into a separate little ghetto for Alternative and Non-Traditional High Schools with NOVA, The Center School, and the Homeschool Resource Center (as was done last year). If so, people may just miss it.<br /><br />Let's remember that before the Open Enrollment period even begins, every student family will get a letter saying "Your student is assigned to school X for the 2010-2011 school year." Only the people who don't accept that assignment will even participate in Open Enrollment and only people who participate in Open Enrollment can ever have their child assigned to Cleveland STEM. My expectation is that a great number of southeast Seattle families will get the assignment letter and consider the decision made. They will not heavily consider the opportunity to choose Cleveland STEM.<br /><br />Further, I don't expect a lot of families from outside southeast Seattle to seriously consider Cleveland STEM. The school is rather inaccessible from the rest of the city. Only one METRO route serves it, the 60. And the 60 runs only every half hour from Capitol Hill and First Hill to Beacon Hill. It never gets any closer to downtown than 9th and Madison. It does stop across the street from the Beacon Hill light rail station, both for north-end students that would require a bus ride downtown, a transfer to light rail, and then a transfer to the bus again. The southbound 60 stops by the light rail station once around 7:00am and then at 7:30am, so what time would students have to arrive downtown to catch a train that would allow them to catch one of those buses?<br /><br />I'm not seeing it. Also, how many families will reject a guaranteed place at Garfield, Ballard, or Roosevelt for Cleveland STEM? I'm thinking of a number close to zero.<br /><br />And how many students will make the trek to Cleveland all the way from north of 85th Street? I'm thinking of another number close to zero.<br /><br />It's not much easier to get to Beacon Hill from West Seattle. Students would have to go through White Center and catch the 60 coming out of Georgetown. How many students who have guaranteed assignments to West Seattle or Chief Sealth will make the journey? A few. Not many.<br /><br />So almost all of the STEM students will have to come from the Franklin and Rainier Beach attendance areas. Honestly, I'm not sure how many will turn down a guaranteed seat at Franklin and I'm not sure how many families in the Rainier Beach neighborhood will buy the District's promises and take the chance on Cleveland STEM instead of trying for a seat at Sealth, Hale, or Ingraham.<br /><br />STEM could get a lot of students who name it as a second choice school.<br /><br />Still, no one will list it if they have never heard of it. I expect a freshman class of about 50. I'd love to be wrong.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.com