tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post525291401586375090..comments2024-03-29T02:41:52.718-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: First Returns - Incumbents Winning Except for Marty McLaren Beating Steve SundquistMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-71633764865549489292011-11-14T16:35:33.481-08:002011-11-14T16:35:33.481-08:00Sad but true, Charlie. I think the "Don"...Sad but true, Charlie. I think the "Don" whose philosophy is best represented by this Board is Don Nielsen, not Don McAdams. See Melissa's blog post from September 13 (I think), 2008.Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09923777229601243321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-26057242166006181082011-11-12T11:17:34.319-08:002011-11-12T11:17:34.319-08:00Consequently, they have done nothing.
Well not qu...<b><i>Consequently, they have done nothing.</i></b><br /><br />Well not quiet nothing ... three out of four incumbents seeking reelection were reelected.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-27578056095161720082011-11-10T16:38:57.520-08:002011-11-10T16:38:57.520-08:00I have read Don McAdams book and I have spoken wit...I have read Don McAdams book and I have spoken with Mr. McAdams. I assure you that he is very much in favor a STRONG board.<br /><br />Of course, he thinks that a strong board should focus on three things:<br /><br /><b>1. Management oversight.</b> By this, Mr. McAdams means that the Board should judge the quality of the management decisions by the outcomes. They should compare those measurable outcomes to pre-determined benchmarks. This is the brand of accountability that we were taught by Dr. Goodloe-Johnson: work with known metrics, assessments and benchmarks. A strong Board would be different from the Sundquist Board in that they would actually do the work of setting the benchmarks and holding the staff accountable for the outcomes. This Board never did.<br /><br /><b>2. Governance.</b> In the McAdams vision of a strong Board they would enforce policy and absolutely require the district staff to keep their commitments. The Sundquist board, however, refuses to enforce policy (they usually don't even know what the policy is), and they refuse to require staff to keep their commitments. Seriously, a real McAdams led board would have fired Dr. Goodloe-Johnson by June of 2009.<br /><br /><b>3. Community engagement.</b> In the McAdams model, the popularly elected Board act as the liason between the staff and the community. The Board would both represent the community to the District and represent the District to the community. The Sundquist board only ever represented the District to the community and they didn't do much of that.<br /><br />Don McAdams would advocate for a strong Board, not a crowd of rubber-stamping bobbleheads like we have. I will say that Mr. McAdams would say that the board needs to stay on their side of the net, but he would expect them to completely cover that half of the court. The problem with our board is that they won't play on either side of the net. They haven't tried to manage the district, although they have explored further than they should have. But neither have they tried to govern the district. They haven't really tried to do anything. Consequently, they have done nothing.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25263485778298598852011-11-10T10:06:48.376-08:002011-11-10T10:06:48.376-08:00Ack! WSDWGAck! WSDWGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-23098406138614797632011-11-10T10:05:15.028-08:002011-11-10T10:05:15.028-08:00Charlie, I think I agree with you 100%, and you ce...Charlie, I think I agree with you 100%, and you certainly have the facts on your side. <br /><br />But this board has been bought and sold on the Don McAdams/Broad Foundation theory that a good School Board simply hires a strong CEO-like SI, then sits back and let he or she run the show, only looking toward the eventual bottom line of improved test scores.<br /><br />OF COURSE this is a recipe for scandals and disasters as nobody looks, or bothers to pay attention to HOW those scores are actually generated, and whether they have any validity at all, but no matter. We want results! <br /><br />We've practically forgotten about the 17%-Gate story, which is exponentially worse than what Mr. Potter did, as those giant lies led directly to changes in State Legislation, to address a crisis that, in fact, did not exist. That it didn't outrage this board when MGJ and her toady Bernatek dragged SPS's reputation through the gutter by claiming SPS had about the lowest college prep rate in the region spoke volumes to me. If ever there was a firing offense, that case of high treason justified it. <br /><br />I will say again that Sundquist is a decent person, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how he can continue to advocate for his "governance" philosophy and tout his experience, when it has been so terribly ineffective in practice. <br /><br />The only explanation appears to be this board's preoccupation with sticking to its 5 year strategic plan, even when DeBell is sounding alarm bells that it isn't working. Beware ambitious, large-scale plans going forward. <br /><br />Such "action" winds up being in vain, while really important work is left undone. Its a crying shame that a failing ideology has such an iron grip on this board.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-67066703168360520312011-11-10T05:45:38.168-08:002011-11-10T05:45:38.168-08:00This Board spent three years denying their duty to...This Board spent three years denying their duty to oversee management, then, suddenly, couldn't stop talking about it. They have stepped up their game from denial to lip service.<br /><br />Lip service is the level of their commitment to governance as well. They go on and on about their governance role, but never really do much governance work. Yes, they have commissioned this huge policy overhaul, but look how carelessly they have done it.<br /><br />The lip service they pay to management oversight and to governance don't hold a candle to the lip service they pay to community engagement. This is where we see the biggest gap between their rhetoric and their actual performance. Look through the motions and you will find very few of them reach the Board with any community engagement at all. They sure don't get any after introduction.<br /><br />As lazy as this Board has been at legislative meetings they have been even lazier in committee meetings. They allow themselves to be carried along on the staff's current and never dip an oar into the water themselves.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75258081874365465432011-11-10T00:33:16.586-08:002011-11-10T00:33:16.586-08:00WSDWGWSDWGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-81954640684712195452011-11-10T00:32:43.257-08:002011-11-10T00:32:43.257-08:00Well Charlie, that takes us down the rabbit hole o...Well Charlie, that takes us down the rabbit hole of "what is a board member's job, anyways?" Doesn't it? <br /><br />Perhaps the most significant problem with this board has been the adoption of a "hands off the staff" policy. <br /><br />What one calls oversight and policy enforcement, another calls interference or meddling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16690813108593498622011-11-09T21:55:09.206-08:002011-11-09T21:55:09.206-08:00I would actually disagree with the proposition tha...I would actually disagree with the proposition that this board was any more active than previous boards.<br /><br />What did they get done, exactly?<br /><br />When you think of what they got done, please do not include things that the staff got done, but things that the Board got done.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-23232987234959153252011-11-09T19:41:14.080-08:002011-11-09T19:41:14.080-08:00Most of the teachers at the bulding I work at aft...Most of the teachers at the bulding I work at after the furlough day were happy o have it off and judging by the nothingness in the election that they demonstrated shows they are happy with the current board and complicit with the Central admin. beast.<br /><br />Sad news.KGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14120359550438503094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25672466967916861002011-11-09T17:40:58.909-08:002011-11-09T17:40:58.909-08:00The SEA certainly is puzzling. Not much of a publ...The SEA certainly is puzzling. Not much of a public fight (at least not here) against TFA. They seemed awfully quiet in this election as well. You have to wonder.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-49533431179152455662011-11-09T16:32:03.073-08:002011-11-09T16:32:03.073-08:00The Seattle education Association did a very poor ...The Seattle education Association did a very poor job of phone banking for the school board candidates. The result will be many counselors being cut for next school year. They do not care unless it is the teacher position.<br /><br />The SEA must agree with the huge sums spent on Central Admin. and the likes of Duggan Harman whom says he know the hardship of furloughs but gets a 20K raise.<br /><br />LAME SEATTLE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION.<br /><br />Willfull ignorance at its bestKGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14120359550438503094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73853263837065809632011-11-09T16:00:49.646-08:002011-11-09T16:00:49.646-08:00Demo Mom
I echo that - I sent a well considered, f...Demo Mom<br />I echo that - I sent a well considered, fact-based email to as many friends as I could think of to urge them to vote for the challengers. <br /><br />So many came back - but the Seattle Times endorsed the incumbents. <br /><br />Many friends said they appreciated my perspective and would vote challengers but many had already sent in their ballots. <br /><br />boo. Sad today about the board but happy about the levy!<br /><br />PALAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-71891091835041157862011-11-09T14:04:07.966-08:002011-11-09T14:04:07.966-08:00A direct quote from a friend who is thoughtful, a ...A direct quote from a friend who is thoughtful, a former teacher, still engaged in education issues in this area through her work, and a parent with kids in SPS:<br /><br />Me: "I'm voting for all of the challengers. I'm not happy with many of the decisions the current board members have made."<br /><br />Friend: "Really? But the Seattle Times endorsed all the incumbents."<br /><br />And that, my friends, was where she was getting her info on the school board race. And we know how unobjective the Times was in its coverage of the school board candidates.Demo momnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-5514827776946962582011-11-09T10:52:47.673-08:002011-11-09T10:52:47.673-08:00One last thought, and then back to duties-and-resp...One last thought, and then back to duties-and-responsibilities reality. One postmortem theme I'd like to explore when the dust settles is whether the challengers would have made a stronger argument if they had a more articulate, positive, alternative visions for Seattle Schools. The main thrust for the challengers was to focus on what the incumbents did badly, and that did create a receptive space for people to hear about an alternative vision. The challengers had some very good individual ideas, but taken together they were a kind of hodgepodge. <br /><br />People want to vote for something that gives them hope, not just against something that they have come to think of as business as usual. Was an alternative vision adequately articulated? If so what was it? If not, would it have made a difference if one had been? Do you think a consensus alternative vision could be developed? I don't know. Just something I'm thinking about.Jack Whelannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-68820179533434656522011-11-09T10:40:23.933-08:002011-11-09T10:40:23.933-08:00"I think what this really says is that the ma..."I think what this really says is that the majority of people in Seattle pay very little attention to the goings on of the Seattle School Board."<br /><br />Murky disagrees. Murky, do you have any evidence to support your implication that the general public IS paying attention to the school board and district? Beyond reading the Times?<br /><br />One could also interpret the results at success is related to money spent - I believe McLaren had the best-funded campaign among the challengers.Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17016898261120819596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-50311771721517511452011-11-09T10:34:06.283-08:002011-11-09T10:34:06.283-08:00Jack: You might enjoy reading Manufacturing Concen...Jack: You might enjoy reading <i>Manufacturing Concent</i> by Noam Chomsky in a similar vein.<br /><br />SGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-15048111883445480702011-11-09T10:31:29.638-08:002011-11-09T10:31:29.638-08:00Again, I believe that people with skin in the game...Again, I believe that people with skin in the game and those concerned with education as a political issue did inform themselves and did vote as they felt was best, but I personally know a number of people (must I name, names to make "voter" happy?) that really don't pay a lot of attention to the running of SPS. <br /><br />My neighbors on both sides are retired with grown children. None of their grandchildren attend school in Seattle. Across the street, a young couple has an 18-month-old; their toes are barely in the water. They've heard the public elementary up the street is pretty good (it is; they're lucky). Directly across, a single, Orthodox Jewish 40-yr-old guy. He's very political when it comes to City Council etc., but can't even tell me who's on the school board. <br /><br />They don't go to forums or read blogs. They get their opinions from the local media. They do not have a lot of knowledge about TFA or ed-reform. They see that SPS is doing things: NSAP, closing under-enrolled schools, restructuring transportation, aligning curriculum, creating STEM, raising test scores. The Times endorsed the incumbents. The Stranger endorsed the incumbents. They must be good! They vote for the incumbents or skip them at best.<br /><br />I NEVER said they are naive, they are just not very involved in the local school district (I know I had no real clue about it until my child started attending public school). There are so many political issues to concern yourself with these days, that we all tend to pick the ones that affect us personally the most. <br /><br />I know that not everyone shares my view. I've been on the losing side of most elections since I first voted for George McGovern vs. Nixon in 1972 (yup, I'm old, and was one of the very first 18-yr-olds to vote). But just as I marveled then that very few of my college classmates took advantage of the two days off the school gave us to go home and vote, I still am surprised at how few people vote today.<br /><br />So "Murky," please do not put words between my lines. I was just stating my opinion that many people are not as obsessed with the inner-workings of SPS as those of us who read this blog. And, I did acknowledge that even some who do felt that at least some of the incumbents deserved another term. Many of the moves made recently have definitely benefitted some families, and I am sure that if I had been in that camp, I'd be happier about the direction SPS was going too.<br /><br />SGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-41026213431988824742011-11-09T10:31:10.590-08:002011-11-09T10:31:10.590-08:00@Wallflower--well said. The way you avoid the echo...@Wallflower--well said. The way you avoid the echo chamber is to get out there and listen. It's important to be committed to your values but also to be open to changing your mind when facts or good arguments challenge your assumptions. Because most people think something is not, in and of itself, a good argument. <br /><br />Anyway, it's been an education for all of us, and I hope all of us take the lessons learned and build from them and keep pushing no matter who finally winds up on the board this go round.Jack Whelannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-10335285618404911912011-11-09T10:17:29.553-08:002011-11-09T10:17:29.553-08:00After writing my last comment I got this announcem...After writing my last comment I got this announcement about this year's University Faculty Lecuture: <br /><br />The Democratization of Truth: <br />Communication and the Crisis of Contemporary Politics<br />By W. Lance Bennett<br /><br />Wednesday, November 30, 2011<br />7 p.m.<br />Kane Hall, Room 130Jack Whelannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-21134726360431994712011-11-09T10:10:00.267-08:002011-11-09T10:10:00.267-08:00I for one battled severe introversion and shyness ...I for one battled severe introversion and shyness to go out walking with big signs for a challenger, place flyers on vehicles, wave signs at games, talk to strangers about Board decisions in the last few years which cost lots of money the district couldn't afford, and the poor math curricula choices. <br /><br />I wasn't in an echo chamber, but nobody ran up to me stating they were pro-incumbent and debating with me either. Teachers active and retired, and parents whose children are enrolled in public schools were most interested.<br /><br />I did much more than I expected to at the beginning of the campaign, and I credit the encouragement and involvement of savvy and bright campaign assistants for that.<br /><br />If anything I learned that I'm definitely not alone nor way off base in my beliefs and opinions about what makes for better schools, I'm better educated about how endorsements and advocacy groups work here, and the election experience has emboldened me to lob ideas at my son's school's PTSA. <br /><br />The election isn't settled yet for all races, and whichever way it goes what matters to me is that I supported with my available time and money a principled, smart, capable candidate with vision and ideas for an improved School Board and district.Wallflowernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60329872164128756702011-11-09T10:09:30.695-08:002011-11-09T10:09:30.695-08:00I feel pretty good that the people heard and respo...<i>I feel pretty good that the people heard and responded (by voting) as <b>they felt best.</b></i><br /><br />YUP ... how they felt ... based on what?<br /><br />So we will see about 120,000 votes.......<br /><br /><br />As long as too many voters choose to:<br /><b>cast their votes founded<i> in opinions formed by myths and half-truths, rather than the facts,</i></b> ......<br />we will continue to have legislative bodies filled with purveyors of half-truths.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37776082186554990232011-11-09T09:48:30.226-08:002011-11-09T09:48:30.226-08:00I was amazed with the level of attention this year...I was amazed with the level of attention this year's Board races generated. In a variety of ways, in many forums, there was pretty thorough and careful discussion of the races, the positions and personalities of the candidates, as well as bigger picture questions about what a Board should be. More so than I've ever seen in a Seattle school board election. Everybody got their position out there and heard. Perhaps because I'm a regular reader here, I felt that the challengers actually got their message out more clearly and more regularly than the incumbents. <br /><br />In light of that, however these races break over the next few days, I feel pretty good that the people heard and responded (by voting) as they felt best.RosieReaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16509678140588070623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-11572088209004798562011-11-09T09:36:34.779-08:002011-11-09T09:36:34.779-08:00A Friend: Yes and no. I feel credit is due for e...A Friend: Yes and no. I feel credit is due for extraordinary work, but not for simply & competently performing a well-paid job. Meeting expectations, like turning in work on time, is usually not "extraordinary" to me. It really depends. WSDWGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-85316528955631564352011-11-09T09:26:20.978-08:002011-11-09T09:26:20.978-08:00Jack W, that's exactly where I started to go, ...Jack W, that's exactly where I started to go, but decided to keep it brief. My thoughts, almost to the letter. <br /><br />Perhaps to many "unknown unknowns" prohibit meaningful analysis and interpretation at this time. <br /><br />How would I know? WSDWGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com