tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post627286346067449685..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Principal MovesMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-80656130048562289922010-02-27T11:14:33.692-08:002010-02-27T11:14:33.692-08:00I wonder if anyone bothered to do a background che...I wonder if anyone bothered to do a background check on Greg King and the circumstances surrounding his moves from Atlanta City Schools and Fulton County Schools' Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary. <br />http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14730384/detail.htmlwaterweimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17571545922721732293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-3909398490323923542010-01-26T23:12:09.251-08:002010-01-26T23:12:09.251-08:00Anyone know anything about the abrupt move of McGi...Anyone know anything about the abrupt move of McGilvra's principal a few days ago...<br />http://madisonparkblogger.blogspot.com/2010/01/mcgilvra-principal-is-out.html<br /><br /><br />http://madisonparkblogger.blogspot.com/2010/01/day-two-for-mcgilvras-new-principal.html<br /><br />Charlie/ Melissa, do you know?<br />ThanksHuh ??https://www.blogger.com/profile/08429576746560125495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-7631542324956618392009-05-20T13:54:47.088-07:002009-05-20T13:54:47.088-07:00When policies are violated, it not only makes that...When policies are violated, it not only makes that policy meaningless, but diminishes the significance of every policy. More, it makes the policymaking body, the Board, meaningless.<br /><br />The Board is supposed to make policy, which must include enforcing it. But the Board has no mechanism, no process at all, for enforcing Policy.<br /><br />Take this example. Suppose that the Board insisted that the Superintendent get community participation in the selection of principal for TOPS. How would they do that? No one Board member speaks for the Board. They would have to vote on it. Can any of us imagine that? Can any of us imagine the Board voting to direct the Superintendent to follow a specific policy in a specific case?<br /><br />Here's something interesting:<br />According to <A HREF="http://www.seattleschools.org/area/policies/b/B61.00.pdf" REL="nofollow">Policy B61.00</A>, it is the superintendent's duty to "Recommend candidates for election as principals or teachers." but it is the Board's duty to "Elect principals and teachers upon recommendation of the Superintendent."<br /><br />I think this has more to do with hiring than assignment, but it is up to the Board to interpret it. It could be read to mean that the Superintendent only recommends principal assignments to the Board, but that the Board needs to approve them.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91791516577463083432009-05-20T09:25:53.532-07:002009-05-20T09:25:53.532-07:00So we can assume that the violation of policy for ...So we can assume that the violation of policy for the Alternative school appointments is A-OK?<br /><br />So, why have policies if that do not have to be followed?<br /><br />Very diconcerning.ParentofThreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15853045587227159562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-42048367423160280192009-05-20T08:33:35.419-07:002009-05-20T08:33:35.419-07:00So how many principals are there in the system? T...So how many principals are there in the system? This looks like 20% of principals are moving this year. Is that typical?north seattle momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398949285827606629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-61261554477053812772009-05-20T08:00:45.059-07:002009-05-20T08:00:45.059-07:00We have, at long last, a press release from the Di...We have, at long last, <A HREF="http://www.seattleschools.org/area/news/0809/20090519_principal_appointments.pdf" REL="nofollow">a press release</A> from the District on Principal Moves dated May 19.<br /><br />It announced:<br />Cothron McMillian from Whittier to Brighton<br />Chris Carter from AAA to Hamilton<br />Katie Cryan Leary from Hamilton to Leave<br />Beverly Raines from Brighton to Lawton<br />Cashel Toner from Loyal Heights to Leschi<br />Wayne Floyd from the JSCEE to Loyal Heights<br />DeWanda Cook Weaver from Lowell (Asst) to McGilvra<br />Jo Shapiro from McGilvra to Hamilton (Asst)<br />Jo Lute-Ervin from Leschi to TOPSCharlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-84731429147184712822009-05-19T12:29:00.000-07:002009-05-19T12:29:00.000-07:00The contracts, including the SEA teachers and for ...The contracts, including the SEA teachers and for the principals are all on the Labor Negotiations tab on the SPS website homepage.<br /><br />http://www.seattleschools.org/area/laborrelations/cba.xml<br /><br />Also, lots of interesting reading there about proposed contact changes from both sides.SPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12726295210572942506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-7479254625262220742009-05-19T07:24:00.000-07:002009-05-19T07:24:00.000-07:00Josh, the principals do have a union (PASS) and I ...Josh, the principals do have a union (PASS) and I know less about it than SEA. And certainly school closures makes the situation that those principals at closing schools have to go somewhere. Maybe Charlie's query about "why move B if A could just go straight to C?" is about seniority?<br /><br />But the speed and lack of any staff/parent participation seems discomforting. I guess it's because if you see it happening at someone else's school, you think it could happen at yours. If you are a part of the day in and day out at a school, you see the effect of a principal, good, bad or indifferent.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-39695399104095508752009-05-18T22:24:00.000-07:002009-05-18T22:24:00.000-07:00I'm sure someone can correct me on this, but I hav...I'm sure someone can correct me on this, but I have the vague understanding that principals - or, I guess, Principals - have their own negotiated contract with SPS. I further understand that there are seniority issues addressed in that contract -- so displaced Principals can bump others with less seniority, much as other certified professionals in SPS can.<br /><br />In other words, this may not be down to the district directly, but rather, a consequence of school closures and related stuff.<br /><br />Again: this is just what I've gleaned from conversations with other possibly ignorant parents, so dump a whole cup of salt on it. I'm as willing as anyone to impute questionable motives to SPS central, but I'm not sure this is (directly at least) their fault.Josh Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242600011474990770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60837916037009665162009-05-18T21:31:00.940-07:002009-05-18T21:31:00.940-07:00If I was a cynical person- I would think that by m...If I was a cynical person- I would think that by moving principals around every couple years might be motivated by<br /> <br />thinking that Principal A would be a quick fix for School D- but either the school started moving either the " right way" and District then wanted to move the " magician" to another school <br />or seeing that anticipated progress was actually continued decline so needed to move them to a "better fit" ASAP-<br />or parents/teachers were starting to compare notes and build a case about the suitability of the hire- so the principal was moved before it could hit the papers.<br /><br /><br />In the past we have had to get at least a few principals out of retirement- in order to head schools- that bailed them out when particularly bad principals finally were booted-<br /> but have they changed procedures so that only effective principals are still in the system or are they still holding their breath that " best intentions" means something?Jet City momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14804841958585043967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-12182260497826145062009-05-18T20:01:00.000-07:002009-05-18T20:01:00.000-07:00Why all of the extra moves?It sort of reminds me o...<I>Why all of the extra moves?</I>It sort of reminds me of how they move Catholic priests from parish to parish every five years so they won't develop too close ties with the families they serve. Is that the point; to remind them that they work for the District and not for the families or the teachers (as Jules' post implied)?Maureenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18444916440000921599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-42385336530905366212009-05-18T19:33:00.000-07:002009-05-18T19:33:00.000-07:00I have been on several principal /teacher hiring...I have been on several principal /teacher hiring committees in SPS, when the school committee was able to have input into the decision-<br /> Although the candidates that were chosen by the district were an uneven bunch- one I wouldn't hire to walk my dog- and a few others who just wanted in the district- not really a fit for our school.<br /><br />The approved choice from that decision stayed three years.- I guess which is unfortunately typical in SPS.<br /><br />Because our school had a unique identity, the school was promised better candidates next time, including a national search.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the district didn't think they would have to make good on their word so soon, and the interview pool was pretty dry when we needed the next principal- BUT, even though we were assigned a " temporary" principal- we were also given the chance to meet and interview, in the case that the candidate was absolutely unsuitable.<br /><br />A committee of teachers and parents decided that even though the candidate was clearly not an alternative educator and had little interest in becoming such, that she would be fine for the one year period- at which time we would again meet with the community to determine to resume the search for a principal or not.<br /><br />It was a difficult year- given that the assignment was not permanent, the school community did not expect for the principal to attempt to dismantle longstanding programs and attack closely held values of the teachers/students and families, some who had been in the building for decades.<br /><br />However- we HAD, been given the opportunity at the outset, to hire or not & we were given the opportunity at the conclusion of the year to make permanent or not.<br /><br />We did decline to make the position permanent- and that has it's own story, but I can only imagine, if an administrator had been assigned to the school, without even the input that we had, how much bloodier it could have been.<br /><br />Im not saying that the principals are poor choices- I don't know most- some I have heard of & think they could be a great fit- but teachers/families/students, stay in a school much longer than the year or two that some principals do and they are at least as important to the success of the school. <br />To behave as if their experience and insight is superfluous, is arrogant and increases the divide between those in the schools and those out.Jet City momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14804841958585043967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-17855756693484386842009-05-18T17:55:00.000-07:002009-05-18T17:55:00.000-07:00"If they had just put Linda Robinson at Lawton the..."If they had just put Linda Robinson at Lawton they could have left Cothron McMillian at Whittier"<br /><br /><br />Remember your post about Whittier several weeks ago, that is your answer there.<br /><br />Also, we do not know how many, if any, of these moves were prompted by the principals themselves. What I hope is that all the principals are happy with their assignments because forced moves simply will not work!<br /><br />There is no press release because they are still trying to figure out how to dance their way out of the Alt School policy violation, with the blessing of the board, of course.....or maybe the board will force the super to adhere to the policy which means two schools will need a new process!ParentofThreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15853045587227159562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-45142507853893346102009-05-18T17:43:00.000-07:002009-05-18T17:43:00.000-07:00If it were NCLB-related, wouldn't they be moving K...If it were NCLB-related, wouldn't they be moving Karen Andrews at Madrona? (In step 4, likely to go into step 5 after this year's WASL is graded)TechyMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04650916001250022778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-85133394812702203172009-05-18T17:35:00.000-07:002009-05-18T17:35:00.000-07:00The District-wide NCLB status does not require the...The District-wide NCLB status does not require the District to re-assign principals. It was a good thought, but that's not it.<br /><br />I can't help thinking that if they just moved Winifred Todd from Thurgood Marshall to Hawthorne they could have left Greg Imel at Dunlap, Norma Zavala at Bailey Gatzert, and Sandra Scott at Concord. If they had just put Wayne Floyd at TOPS they could have left Cashel Toner at Loyal Heights and Jo Lute-Ervin at Leschi. If they had just put Linda Robinson at Lawton they could have left Cothron McMillian at Whittier and Bevery Raines at Brighton. Even if they had to move Ms McMillian, they could have moved her to Lawton and left Beverly Raines at Brighton.<br /><br />Why all of the extra moves?<br /><br />Another day and still no press release from the District.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-11399535201985534142009-05-18T17:08:00.000-07:002009-05-18T17:08:00.000-07:00back to Principal Moves:
I talked to a longtime t...back to Principal Moves:<br /><br />I talked to a longtime teacher today who reminded me that our whole district is in "Step Two" of the NCLB Act. This means that the district must start making changes to jumpstart their academic improvement progress.<br /><br /> Maybe some of the principal moves are related to this? I don't know, just asking if anyone knows the NCLB status of any of the impacted schools?SPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12726295210572942506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-78645368955673409692009-05-18T16:06:00.000-07:002009-05-18T16:06:00.000-07:00Oh, and now that I have checked out the survey -- ...Oh, and now that I have checked out the survey -- I agree with Helen that the homework amount question doesn't permit easy answering, because in my view the homework amount is "too much" and that view is bottomed on the fact that much of it seems to be make-work; my six-year-old spends more time every week cutting out words for one day's homework than she does on the substance of the rest of the week's homework.djhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720927162286657378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-1530209557446004262009-05-18T16:02:00.000-07:002009-05-18T16:02:00.000-07:00I am not sure how the Lowell parents have been "pl...I am not sure how the Lowell parents have been "played for fools." I thought it was pretty clear throughout the various proposals to split the school that there was no concrete or promised up side for the students involved in the split and that there were a lot of possible down sides (multi-age classrooms being one that I specifically recall being suggested to respond to the fact that the split might mean that one school or the other would have half-empty classrooms, and we know that small classes aren't something the district will permit now).djhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720927162286657378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-57549219245183614062009-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:002009-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:00I'm not eligible to complete the survey, but how c...I'm not eligible to complete the survey, but how can "amount of homework" be judged from "strongly inadequate" to "very acceptable", even when content is judged separately? "Strongly inadequate" suggests that there isn't half enough homework, and many parents want to express the opposite, that there is too much homework. <br /><br />Helen Schinskehschinskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10316478950862562594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-40461420833160582562009-05-18T14:06:00.000-07:002009-05-18T14:06:00.000-07:00Dunno what's happening right now, but a bit of his...Dunno what's happening right now, but a bit of historical context: traditionally at Lowell children have NOT been in multi-age classrooms two years in a row. I don't know if that has changed recently. What used to be the philosophy is that they tried to make up the multi-grade classrooms based on grouping some of the oldest children in the younger grade and some of the youngest children in the older grade, so that as far as possible there would be not much over a year's gap between youngest and oldest, and their developmental stages might be similar. That is, the students would still need two different levels of math and so forth, but they would be as likely as any class to have similar levels of wiggliness, for similar discipline methods to be appropriate, that kind of thing.<br /><br />Helen Schinskehschinskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10316478950862562594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16461914942858351002009-05-18T13:33:00.000-07:002009-05-18T13:33:00.000-07:00Sorry to butt in, but I don't know where else to p...Sorry to butt in, but I don't know where else to post this. It's about the design teams and their promises. I received this from another Lowell parent today...<br /><br />"It has come to my attention that, despite being told otherwise, there is a chance there will be no "standard" classrooms for our kids next year. From what I understand, the Design Team is still considering creating all multi-age classrooms at the 1st and 2nd grade level. I have rather strong feelings regarding this, and before I talk to the design team, I thought it would be better to have an idea how the rest of the people involved feel.<br /><br />There are several different classroom styles which I will briefly explain (sorry to those of you who already are in the know!)<br /><br />Standard: What we have this year. Kids of varying abilities all the same age. <br />Multi-age: Kids from two different grade levels (in equal numbers). Generally the teacher teaches grade specific curriculum one year, then switches for the next. i.e. Next year the classes would be mixed 1st/2nd and the teacher would teach the science and social studies units from the 2nd grade curriculm (since we already did first grade) and the following year the remaining kids (now 2nd graders) and the incoming 1st graders would study the first grade curriculum. Areas such as reading, math and writing would hopefully be adjusted to each child's needs. The kids usually have the same teacher 2 years in a row.<br />Split: Kids are from two different grade levels-not necessarily in equal numbers. The two different grade level curricula are taught to their respective kids. Sometimes kids travel to another class to receive instruction in science, social studies or wherever necessary. You may have the same teacher two years in a row depending on if another split is needed the following year, and which grade the teacher teaches the following year. Often, schools try to ensure kids aren't in a split two years in a row, unless requested by the parent.<br />Looping: The teacher remains with the same kids for 2 years and the teacher teaches a different curriculum each year (1st this year, 2nd next). After the 2nd year, they return to the lower grade where the process begins again. Kids are all in the same grade.<br /><br />Part of my concern regarding the Multi-age is the fact that I don't feel my kids were particularly challenged this year and I envision it being harder to do when there are 1st graders in the class. This is why I included the second question on my brief, 2 question survey. <br /><br />I'd appreciate you taking a minute to fill out the survey so I can have more to go on when I next contact Greg and the Design Team.<br /><br />http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=HDRh9bah9OvXzbpWHNoRAQ_3d_3d<br /><br />Treena, Julita, Jana, Mark/Diane and Monica-if you know folks from your classes who will be at Lowell, could you please forward this to them, the more responses I get the better idea I have if this is worth pursuing. "<br /><br />Are we being hoodwinked yet again? I feel like we've been played for fools....Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08485291708614130340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60242214118782192442009-05-18T11:21:00.000-07:002009-05-18T11:21:00.000-07:00Update on Cothron McMillian. She is going to Brigh...Update on Cothron McMillian. She is going to Brighton.<br /><br />Also, it has been circulated that Beverly Raines, the current Brighton principal who is moving to Lawton is only a year from retirement. This would mean inconsistent leadership at Lawton. That means all long-term projects end and none start for at least two years.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58574169297654977302009-05-18T10:15:00.000-07:002009-05-18T10:15:00.000-07:00The SPS Enrollment home page says school assignmen...The SPS Enrollment home page says school assignment letters will be mailed on Wednesday, May 20.Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05819084615108966185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25999085256210776342009-05-18T10:07:00.000-07:002009-05-18T10:07:00.000-07:00School assignments are supposed to go out by the e...School assignments are supposed to go out by the end of May. So, hopefully within the next two weeks we should hear something.anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03716725891562757052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-57199660253012978492009-05-18T10:00:00.000-07:002009-05-18T10:00:00.000-07:00When are school assignments going to come out? (I ...When are school assignments going to come out? (I mean, for kids who participated in on-time enrollment?)zbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13205346985598789513noreply@blogger.com