tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post3462304030208843853..comments2024-03-29T02:41:52.718-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: What's wrong with the District's narrative on NatureBridge?Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2011936758541350402014-09-09T05:27:37.525-07:002014-09-09T05:27:37.525-07:00Irresponsible Charlie:
Yes. Both families.
Now d...Irresponsible Charlie:<br /><br />Yes. Both families.<br /><br />Now don't you have a question from me to answer?Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-17734570474211229792014-09-08T22:44:33.986-07:002014-09-08T22:44:33.986-07:00I'm no translator. I merely state how I take ...I'm no translator. I merely state how I take something to mean. Just like I think No means No, not maybe. Or how I take everything coming out of English's mouth to be an untruth. You are welcome to form your own opinion of her words, and completely disregard what I have to offer. And I mean that respectfully. mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-22739530078586048212014-09-08T22:21:23.944-07:002014-09-08T22:21:23.944-07:00I have to think about whether it is helpful or unh...I have to think about whether it is helpful or unhelpful to have a sitting SPS board director (Sue P) get involved in this blog post. <br /><br />But respectfully, it is not helpful to have other bloggers (Mirmac) offer translations of her comments. We don't need self-appointed interpreters when the situation is already complex and Mirmac has offered many of his/her own thoughts on the issue. <br /><br />Seen ItAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-4915615921876318032014-09-08T22:10:25.782-07:002014-09-08T22:10:25.782-07:00Irresponsible etc,
There is information from the ...Irresponsible etc,<br /><br />There is information from the perpetrator himself. It's good enough for me. <br /><br />Still i believe in a different course of action - one that leads to the best outcome for the victim and leads to English's departure. mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66435479055124189732014-09-08T21:47:29.625-07:002014-09-08T21:47:29.625-07:00Charlie says: " I actually have a lot of inf...Charlie says: " I actually have a lot of information, directly from the family. "<br /><br />Do you have information from both families?Irresponsible Charlienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-26021661809871467812014-09-08T21:14:19.685-07:002014-09-08T21:14:19.685-07:00I believe the more stringent overnight chaperoning...I believe the more stringent overnight chaperoning requirements came about because of this travesty of justice. Unfortunately, staff at JSCEE think that, just because they edited a procedure and posted it somewhere (where most of us can't see it), that somehow building staff either know or care about it. Further proof of downtown's irrelevance.<br /><br />I heard about this change just short of a year ago at an A&F meeting. I made sure to tell the staff at my child's school. They had no clue. Recently, a different building's staff told me they don't agree with it.<br /><br />Sorry. Compliance is not an option. Except when there is no consequence for failing to comply then...who cares, right?mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37334761041825584392014-09-08T12:45:02.801-07:002014-09-08T12:45:02.801-07:00"are in the works" - these are things th..."are in the works" - these are things that will be done in the future - maybe.<br /><br />"has been done" - these are things from the past.<br /><br />Nothing has been done. That doesn't mean that nothing ever will be done, only that nothing has been done in the past twenty-two months.<br /><br />The claim that something may be done in the future does not make false the statement that nothing has been done to date.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-48855447716421285802014-09-08T06:11:44.654-07:002014-09-08T06:11:44.654-07:00Sue is not saying there is information that exoner...Sue is not saying there is information that exonerates the district. I read her comment to mean that it is incorrect to say: "No one in Seattle Public Schools has paid more than lip service..." The matter remains open and I believe that more actions and remedies are in the works.mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-56494685693758907792014-09-08T05:58:17.167-07:002014-09-08T05:58:17.167-07:00If Sue can't correct me, then she can't sa...If Sue can't correct me, then she can't say that I'm incorrect. I actually have a lot of information, directly from the family. I have had access to all of the documents and reports. I'm not buying the claim that there's some secret information somewhere that exonerates the district's failure to follow policy, procedure, regulation, and law.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-43285192504184003452014-09-08T00:37:02.972-07:002014-09-08T00:37:02.972-07:00melissa,
the school transfer was granted with the...melissa,<br /><br />the school transfer was granted with the garfield rape as the basis, not any old unspecified rape. request the oct. 18, 2103 report and you'll see the transfer document<br /><br />A 504 plan was granted because of debilitating PTSD from the garfield rape with medical/drs verification. The district inexplicably withdrew the plan probably because it demonstrated that a rape occurred. The district wouldn't give us the signed plan but we discovered it recently through a public information request. The district is under investigation for violation of 504 for many other reasons as well.<br /><br />parentsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-89211341999427404092014-09-08T00:15:29.985-07:002014-09-08T00:15:29.985-07:00Aghast:
Did you see the Al-Jazeera story on the D...Aghast:<br /><br />Did you see the Al-Jazeera story on the District in July. National news. Stay tuned, something is brewing. . . .<br />good tip on NY times!<br /><br />MomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-86337142835017349812014-09-07T21:10:48.506-07:002014-09-07T21:10:48.506-07:00I believe Sue is in a better position to know abou...I believe Sue is in a better position to know about this Charlie, but is not at liberty to say at this time. mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-20093951435069408952014-09-07T16:38:37.969-07:002014-09-07T16:38:37.969-07:00suep - then correct me.suep - then correct me.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60499871982027985562014-09-07T14:07:22.802-07:002014-09-07T14:07:22.802-07:00Charlie -- You are incorrect about this point.Charlie -- You are incorrect about this point.suep.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17281578510716234624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-26171650742466131882014-09-06T18:45:13.001-07:002014-09-06T18:45:13.001-07:00No one in Seattle Public Schools has paid more tha...No one in Seattle Public Schools has paid more than lip service to addressing the District's failures around sexual harassment and sexual assault.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-72541987734339851972014-09-06T18:44:28.123-07:002014-09-06T18:44:28.123-07:00I have seen the Critical Incident Response Plan. I...I have seen the Critical Incident Response Plan. I requested a copy and got it. I read it. It is a PR plan. It is not a plan for taking the right action, but a plan for managing the District's image in the media.<br /><br />Those who are interested should read the minutes of the Audit Committee. Read the minutes from March 2014 in particular. The agenda for that meeting includes the audit response log, which lists all of the required actions from past audits which have not yet been taken. You'll notice that Mr. Apostle had a lot of incomplete assignments that had extended deadlines twice - most recently to September 2014, three months after his retirement.<br /><br />Also, please read the response to the OSPI Consolidated Program Review. Starting on page 82 you'll find the issues that are relevant to this case. There you'll get a sense of the depth of the non-compliance. You'll also note that for all of their talk about how important this is to the Board and the senior staff and for all of the talk about how committed they are to fixing it, they are overdue with their work. If they really cared about it, they would do the work.<br /><br />Oh and please, please, please, read the sexual harassment policy and procedure and see what they require. Read that and you'll begin to get a sense for how dismally the District performed - and continues to perform. The policy calls for an annual report. If the Board really cared about this, then why haven't they demanded that report? The policy is three years old and there has yet to be a single annual report.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-69983986458631361222014-09-06T18:35:59.869-07:002014-09-06T18:35:59.869-07:00Every District official - Board, Superintendent, A...Every District official - Board, Superintendent, Assistant superintendents, Executive Directors, and program managers should be confronted at every opportunity about compliance with procedure, policy, regulation, and law. In this case and in every case. They need to learn that even if they don't care about compliance, the public does.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-51450757819010030472014-09-06T15:29:13.174-07:002014-09-06T15:29:13.174-07:00Parents, but you have to consider that either you ...Parents, but you have to consider that either you got that school transfer based on you telling Enrollment there was a rape (and them finding out the district didn't agree) OR the district might say, "well, she could have been raped but not on this date by this person." <br /><br />Again, any way to get away from the central issue of not following policy.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16594960863900154232014-09-06T15:16:14.796-07:002014-09-06T15:16:14.796-07:00Melissa and Others,
This is first and foremost a...Melissa and Others,<br /><br /> This is first and foremost about the negligence that allowed a sexual assault to occur. Principals signed off on the trip without a male chaperone, teachers and so-called chaperones never read the rules. Teachers abdicated their responsibilities and slept in a distant location to enjoy themselves. The message that the public needs to get is that THIS COULD HAPPEN TO THEIR CHILD--and guess what--victims are coming forward with their stories too. We were very clear in our documents saying we don't need the District to tell us what happened that night when our daughter was raped. We knew she was and so did the medical professionals. From the inception, our complaint was always about the negligent chaperoning that could allow a predatory student with a history of sexual misconduct to rape. We only learned of Title IX from OSPI--when the District should have immediately informed us. Thankfully the Title IX complaint turned national attention on this story. But the first and foremost issue is the deplorable negligence that allowed for an easily preventable assault. <br /><br />Melissa, the school transfer was granted with rape as the basis. The district knows she was raped. The assailant admitted it to the investigators and the District read the report. <br /><br />Charles is correct in what he wrote. <br /><br />Parents<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-47000839455685598492014-09-06T13:45:48.726-07:002014-09-06T13:45:48.726-07:00Unfortunately, I see that this travesty is just a ...Unfortunately, I see that this travesty is just a logical outcome of the past and current bull crap shitstorm we hear about "governance" - Board, you have this box and you can't step outside that box with out being accused of overreaching, damaging the district, acting outside your expertise, bullying etc etc.<br /><br />In a similar (but not) manner, we witnessed the board being told you can and cannot do X or Y re: the math adoption. Staff said "here is the question before you and we will provide you nothing else to enable you conclude anything else."<br /><br />Their legal counsel will stand there and lie to their faces. What is their recourse? Hire an outside counsel who is not beholden to Ron English? Good luck with that. I have seen so many crap legal analyses prepared by these $250/hr clowns that essentially parrot English's party line. And they would still lose without any consequence. <br /><br />But who cares! No one is going to fault these folks with an ethics violation. Ethics does not seem to be in their vocabulary (unless it is useful to achieve their ends).<br /><br />Guess what I found out recently. You know all those high-level "Superintendent Cabinet" meetings where decisions like program placement, capacity, reforms du jour, etc are discussed. Gee, they don't keep minutes... Yes. These overpriced folks sit around, discuss, and make major decisions without any record (so they say).<br /><br />I think the board should vote to waive attorney-client privilege to expose this stinking pile of offal.mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-74838112286650851302014-09-06T13:18:21.974-07:002014-09-06T13:18:21.974-07:00Well done, Charlie!
The District legal team has v...Well done, Charlie!<br /><br />The District legal team has viewed this as a liability matter from day 1. In their minds, crisis management = liability management. Accountability be damned.<br /><br />That's why the District communications obsessively repeat "no charges were filed." Because in the minds of a lot of people "no charges were filed" means "it didn't happen." If it didn't happen, then it doesn't matter if the chaperoning was abysmal, that safety procedures were ignored, that district policies were ignored, and that no one had the faintest idea about Title IX regulations.<br /><br />It also implies that the victim lied about being attacked, that all of the medical and mental health professionals who treated her were deceived, and that the parents are raving crazies for making an issue of this.<br /><br />The whole point of "no charges were filed" is to make the District look blameless and unjustly beset upon. <br /><br />And they're hoping that most people will buy that.Puffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18098194506781307270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75630884427133146172014-09-06T13:11:57.054-07:002014-09-06T13:11:57.054-07:00Charlie,
Would you pls. Wrap your fine brain arou...Charlie,<br /><br />Would you pls. Wrap your fine brain around the fact that we apparently now have "Critical Incident a response Plan" and the fact that the FIRST thing the District did was to fire off emails and start framing the issues rather than take the victim to the Hospital for a rape examination and kit?<br /><br />And how a new event will somehow be handled differently?<br /><br />Thank you in advance. <br /><br />Leslie<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-53504553390605609932014-09-06T12:14:22.062-07:002014-09-06T12:14:22.062-07:00What an excellent critical analysis of this issue,...What an excellent critical analysis of this issue, Charlie. I really appreciate your investigation into this.SPSmomof2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-72765823506753845442014-09-06T11:43:18.321-07:002014-09-06T11:43:18.321-07:00Aghast, your point made me realize that the girl&#...Aghast, your point made me realize that the girl's family doesn't necessarily have a full-out court battle. The district can still get a public scolding from the feds. That would be something at least.<br /><br />Title IX, you are entitled to your opinion but the Board has its own role to play in this.<br /><br />"..ongoing investigations..." What investigations are you speaking of? Title IX? Civil rights? the district?<br /><br />I also concur that Banda got out of town to avoid this issue (and I think Apostle did as well).Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-19258269501625517592014-09-06T11:37:59.077-07:002014-09-06T11:37:59.077-07:00I am often on the other side of the fence from the...I am often on the other side of the fence from the viewpoints on this blog, but I have to give you all the credit in the world for keeping this issue alive. It is Exhibit A for how a bureaucracy should NOT handle an issue and provides another head-shaking example of the clusterf*** that is going on with central admin. Keep up the pressure and spelling it out for those of us who aren't so knowledgeable about how things work (or don't work) at SPS. Thank you!! <br /><br />-Floss Your BrainAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com