tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post6437592236817097445..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open ThreadMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-67877571263505733212018-01-09T14:10:30.648-08:002018-01-09T14:10:30.648-08:00Thanks for all the Running Start info, this is all...Thanks for all the Running Start info, this is all news to me and really informative. I think MLK Gifted hit it on the head: "it appears to be the SPS plan for highly capable students today as well, accelerate students two years and then ship them off to college early via Running Start." Ugh. While I can see this would be a great opportunity for some, it's definitely not the high school experience I had in mind for my kids.ConfusedParentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28462939281564936042018-01-08T17:52:32.463-08:002018-01-08T17:52:32.463-08:00Wrong information. HB 1059 was just sent to the A...Wrong information. HB 1059 was just sent to the Appropriation Committee to delay the implementation of revisions to the school levy lid.Watchingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-11337653608934459332018-01-08T17:51:08.415-08:002018-01-08T17:51:08.415-08:00HB 1959 was just sent to the Appropriations Commit...HB 1959 was just sent to the Appropriations Committee. The intention of the bill is to Delay the implementation of revisions to the school levy lid.<br /><br />http://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1059&Year=2017<br /><br />I hope we aren't held hostage, again.Watchingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-63162596907602612762018-01-08T15:40:41.729-08:002018-01-08T15:40:41.729-08:00I don't know if anything will come of it, but ...I don't know if anything will come of it, but HB 1046-2017-18 reintroduced and retained in its present status.<br /><br />http://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1046&Year=2017<br /><br />-StepJ<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-13797396580829875612018-01-08T11:23:25.828-08:002018-01-08T11:23:25.828-08:00MLKGifted, thanks for those insights; I didn't...MLKGifted, thanks for those insights; I didn't know that about MLK, Jr.<br /><br />Kellie, I'll put up the resolution on this issue but yes, there is not clear thinking here. It's a lot of magical thinking and no one who knows this district can believe it will happen.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-80715597672834236742018-01-08T10:11:56.177-08:002018-01-08T10:11:56.177-08:00The Geary / DeWolf plan will only result in more R...The Geary / DeWolf plan will only result in more Running Start, not more rigor. <br /><br />High School is the Master Schedule, plain and simple. Advanced classes go on the schedule LAST. This plan does not add one more penny to high school and if you are not adding more money, you are not adding more classes. Classes cost money. <br /><br />People seem to think that high school works like elementary and if you have 30 kids that all need the same thing, you can get a class for those kids. Geary seems to think that by sending six kids that need Calc BC to Hale that suddenly Hale will offer Calc BC and other kids will be able to take that class. <br /><br />It doesn't work like that. For a school to offer Calc BC, you more likely have over 40 students who need that class and only the lucky 30 whose schedule line up for the time slot get the class and the rest get running start. <br /><br />It is no a coincidence that the school with the most Advanced offerings is also the school with the highest Running Start enrollment. <br /><br />The Geary/Dewolf motion is what you have when dogma takes the place of real data and logical thinking.<br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-21925935210916823582018-01-08T10:01:53.266-08:002018-01-08T10:01:53.266-08:00Oh, but Director Geary is focused on only one thin...Oh, but Director Geary <b>is</b> focused on only one thing: forcing HC students to attend high schools with principals who ask not to be pathways for them, may not be interested in taking steps to meet their basic educational needs, and in some cases seem to vaguely disapprove of them as human beings. Director Geary <b>sat back and watched while Spectrum suffered colony collapse and she and the board showed no sign of caring about rigor then</b>. Parents know: school board members who don't care about rigor for kindergarten through 8th graders don't suddenly start caring about it for high school students. <br /><br />Our school board is running a large school district. Let us ask them this; <b>Does rigor come from schools or does it come from students? </b> Because if rigor comes from the schools, schools can step up their rigor <i>right now</i>. What are schools waiting for? If ALL students want access to rigor, and rigor comes from the schools, why wait until 2021? <br /><br />Director Geary, however, seems to believe that rigor comes from students, not teachers. She seems to think that <b>highly capable students are like pixie dust</b>- sprinkle them around and rigor will magically blossom around them. <br /><br />If the district sprinkles highly capable students on Hale and Rainier Beach and Interagency and South Lake High School, would those schools suddenly become more rigorous??? If their test scores increased, would this be a reflection of teachers suddenly doing working harder or more effectively??? Would this be because schools are suddenly imbued with rigor that ALL students can access??? Would anything at the schools have changed??? Or just a few of the students? Did you just sprinkle human beings like pixie dust on a building with no attention to providing students with a basic education???<br /><br />Martin Luther King Jr. day is next Monday. Martin skipped two grades in school and started college at age 15. That was the state of the art in gifted education in the 1940s and it appears to be the SPS plan for highly capable students today as well, accelerate students two years and then ship them off to college early via Running Start. I wish we could move beyond what was state of the art in the 1940s.MLK Giftednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28518289864178892792018-01-08T09:37:47.594-08:002018-01-08T09:37:47.594-08:00Our child is very reluctantly doing full-time Runn...Our child is very reluctantly doing full-time Running Start as a senior, and would much rather be at school with friends for the last year of HS. Our child could not get a full schedule of appropriate level classes and the scheduling of core senior classes made it near impossible to do just part-time RS in the morning. Plus, with RS, you don't know when the courses you want will be offered. Sure, you know for Fall quarter, but Winter and Spring are unknowns, and by then you are locked into your HS schedule. <br /><br />The level of rigor in RS varies. Even though courses get the same weight as AP/IB courses, some courses are incredibly basic. I wouldn't consider it the best option for HC students, yet RS may be the only way to get calculus based math and science courses that are more rigorous than some high schools offer (I am seriously skeptical of the SPS plan to disperse HC students in 2021). And a student can get more courses in with RS (3 per quarter, for 9 total) vs only 6 with a typical HS schedule. They can take the equivalent of 2 years of HS math in one year of RS. Another upside is not being tied to the later MS/HS bell schedule.<br /><br />pluses&minusesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28188396448045621682018-01-08T08:15:49.046-08:002018-01-08T08:15:49.046-08:00It will be interesting to see if the new plan for ...It will be interesting to see if the new plan for HC at every high school - therefore bringing in more rigor that ALL students can access - will change those numbers.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-74466816841622711072018-01-08T08:15:13.302-08:002018-01-08T08:15:13.302-08:00Just to note, the district loses money with every ...Just to note, the district loses money with every student who takes Running Start (either full-time or just a class). Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-47885071158985310802018-01-08T07:22:13.893-08:002018-01-08T07:22:13.893-08:00Thank you for your insight, kellie.
Garfield Pare...Thank you for your insight, kellie.<br /><br />Garfield ParentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75986524746197652182018-01-08T07:17:44.163-08:002018-01-08T07:17:44.163-08:00Our next door neighbor is one student I know in Ru...Our next door neighbor is one student I know in Running Start, a Garfield junior who is taking two RS classes by choice. He is quite happy doing it, I asked him directly - he likes the classes and he is taking them alongside a friend also doing Running Start but attending another high school. Living in the Garfield zone transportation is not a concern. <br /><br />Garfield ParentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-77377348447725524302018-01-08T07:06:38.777-08:002018-01-08T07:06:38.777-08:00@ Garfield Parent,
I share your feelings on this...@ Garfield Parent, <br /><br />I share your feelings on this topic. I learned all about this budget practice the year downtown wanted to cut staff at Garfield, despite the simple fact that Garfield had over 100 homeless students and 87 students who were unable to get a full schedule. <br /><br />Please direct your concerns to the board and to the budget office and your elected officials. Our elected officials truly believe that because the students "aren't really attending school" because of the drop out rate, there is no reason to pay for teachers based on enrollment. That does mean that Garfield is staffed with fewer teachers than Roosevelt BECAUSE Roosevelt has a higher graduation rate and a lower RS participation rate. <br /><br />The notion is that those students really aren't at "Garfield." The circular nature of the argument is lost on most people. Because there are fewer teachers because of AAFTE, there are more students pushed into RS. Go figure. I truly believe this is the real equity issue at Garfield. <br /><br /><br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-23875591470420154702018-01-08T07:00:26.118-08:002018-01-08T07:00:26.118-08:00Frankly, IMHO, I wish the district and the board h...Frankly, IMHO, I wish the district and the board had learned from the dramatic over-reach during the 2013 boundary process. Growth is happening so swiftly in Seattle that growth simply outpaces the projections methodology. If you did a simply analysis of what downtown thought would have happened in 2017 for middle school and what did happen, the numbers were dramatically off. <br /><br />Pushing 2,000 high seats into the system in 2019 is already complicated enough and out the outer edge of what the projection methodology can handle. Trying to embed a major program change for 2021 on top of this is over-reach, plain and simple. <br /><br />Bottom line: Opening Lincoln is going to cause some profound ripple effects. Between Running Start and over 70% of high school families having two legitimate addresses already, there is just no way to reasonably have enough certainty around 2021 enrollment to make a decision based on 2016 enrollment data. <br /><br />It would be far better for everyone involved if SPS could just focus on one thing at at time and doing that thing well. Focus on opening Lincoln and don't over-burden the process with a second change two years.kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66330832849829858482018-01-08T07:00:21.358-08:002018-01-08T07:00:21.358-08:00I'm using FTEs as proxy for staffing since it ...I'm using FTEs as proxy for staffing since it IS the budget allocation metric the district uses. I don't claim it is a perfect proxy for staffing, fair enough and I welcome explanations such as part-time RS students, but it is absurd to assert that it is has nothing to do with staffing. Of course it does as funding and staffing are intrinsically linked! Kellie put it in a way that perhaps is easier for some to understand - Garfield receives funding for 94.2% of students compared to Roosevelt's 97.5%, after removing the full-time RS students from the count. Can the difference be attributed to part-time RS students then? Do part-time RS students explain the budgeting disparity between all the north v. south schools?<br /><br />Garfield ParentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-14839888586744071392018-01-08T06:53:51.438-08:002018-01-08T06:53:51.438-08:00The Running Start program is effectively the LARGE...The Running Start program is effectively the LARGEST high school in Seattle and the lack of transparency around RS is why the vast majority of the boundary scenarios are nonsensical. <br /><br />RS Numbers has correctly calculated and labeled the FTE for running start. FTE is full time equivalent. There are over 1,000 FTE of Running Start Students district wide. As Running Start is just a two year program for juniors and seniors, this is the equivalent of over 2,000 in a four year school. Ouch. <br /><br />It's complicated is also correct in that SPS does not release any detailed information on program participation and it is impossible to know the number of unique student involved from public information. My best guess is that about 2,000 unique students participate in running start as either part time or full time. Again that is a huge number. <br /><br />As these numbers have been increasing annually, in 2014, it was only about 700. It is reasonable to assume that many both many students want to do running start as their first choice AND many students are being pressed into running start for capacity reasons. <br /><br />The reason this matters is because the projections are based on 5 year averages. The five year averages blunt the impact of the sharp year over year cohort growth in North Seattle. The most likely scenario is that students who would have been pressured to take Running Start in 2019, will think they can remain because Lincoln opened. A sharp drop in RS participation at Ballard and Roosevelt would have a big impact on the projections. <br /><br />It is my understanding that because RS is a guaranteed program, that is why SPS dropped the geo-splits for 11th graders. There was no way to enforce the geo-split as every 11th grade student would have the option of either RS or Lincoln. <br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-90731876067883025152018-01-07T23:25:35.746-08:002018-01-07T23:25:35.746-08:00I would love to hear more about Running Start from...I would love to hear more about Running Start from families with firsthand info. I had no idea that many students participated! ConfusedParentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-67570110586521168952018-01-07T23:06:40.679-08:002018-01-07T23:06:40.679-08:00@ RS numbers, I don't think they add up quite ...@ RS numbers, I don't think they add up quite like that. Your sub totals look right, but you can't just add the full- and part-time numbers to get the total number of students.<br /><br />The Garfield 106.32 FTE part-time students doesn't represent 106.32 students--if it did, they would be full-time RS. For example, if the FTE were only 1, it could be two students going to GHS half time, or three going 1/3 time, four going 1/4 time, etc. but it. Couldn't be one going f/t or they wouldn't be in that column. This means the actual number of individual students in RS cannot be determined from this, although we know it has to be larger than what you came up with.<br /><br />It's complicated Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-87863229453984150832018-01-07T22:20:43.987-08:002018-01-07T22:20:43.987-08:00Have you seen this? A parent has created a visual...Have you seen this? A parent has created a visualization tool for the hs boundaries. You can select each scenario and a school year to see the impact on capacity at each high school. (Look at it from a computer. The drilldown options didn't show when I looked at it on my phone.) <br /><br />http://discussapp.blogspot.com/2018/01/capacity-scenario-visualizations.html?m=1<br /><br />-GLPGLPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-64842820346053037212018-01-07T21:55:36.372-08:002018-01-07T21:55:36.372-08:00
ouch. what a drain. i know we were encouraged mo...<br /><br />ouch. what a drain. i know we were encouraged more than once to consider running start. really our counselors only real interaction. too bad.<br /><br />no capsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-6617938192114089392018-01-07T21:28:46.925-08:002018-01-07T21:28:46.925-08:00OK, I've followed Kellie's instructions an...OK, I've followed Kellie's instructions and done the math. Here are the running start numbers for Seattle's high schools from largest to smallest. <br />School Name—Full Time Running Start—(full time equivalent of) Part Time Running Start<br />Garfield—83—106.32<br />West Seattle—59—38.48<br />Ballard—51—54.79<br />Sealth—50—54.11<br />Ingraham—48—64.09<br />Hale—44—45.34<br />Roosevelt—30—44.84<br />Rainier Beach—26—31.29<br />Cleveland—22—49.27<br />Center—14—14.89<br />Franklin—0—103.59<br />NOVA—0—6.76<br /><br />So, if we add the full time Running Start students to the FTE part time Running Start students, I assume we get a total picture of the FTE number of students who have chosen or been forced to resort to Running Start:<br />Garfield 189.32<br />Ingraham 112.09<br />Ballard 105.79<br />Sealth 104.11<br />Franklin 103.59<br />West Seattle 97.48<br />Hale 89.34<br />Roosevelt 74.84<br />Cleveland 71.27<br />Rainier Beach 57.29<br />Center 28.89<br />NOVA 6.76<br /><br />So, for the whole district, that's a total of 427 full time Running Start students, 613.77 FTE part time Running Start students, for a combined (full time + FTE of part time) of 1040.77 students. RS Numbersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73296665152553561822018-01-07T21:17:18.188-08:002018-01-07T21:17:18.188-08:00Why does SPS insist on evaluating race versus FRL ...<br /><br />Why does SPS insist on evaluating race versus FRL and ELL when FRL/ELL are a much better indicator of probable achievement on standardized test. In addition the state has asked them to increase outreach regarding FRL/EL and submit their for these. <br /><br />In addition, this would be really serve the same group with over 80 percent being FRL SPS being black and over 25 percent of the hispanics, blacks and native americans being eligible for bilingual services. <br /><br />Basing all our attention on race, which is something that doesn't really factor in my opinion in SPS, instead focusing it towards the real factors of FRL and ELL would great diminish the divisiveness. Why can't we all work together on identifying those individuals in those groups who need more assistance to get the HC services they most likely need. <br /><br />(This blog seems to be running out of names.) <br /><br />Progressive SPS-18 <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-32114601036202264082018-01-07T20:27:50.281-08:002018-01-07T20:27:50.281-08:00For Progress, you need to cease and desist from us...For Progress, you need to cease and desist from using others' monikers. I will delete any comments that are not from those who had the original name. (Yes, I have my ways.)Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76591309748850295112018-01-07T19:09:06.246-08:002018-01-07T19:09:06.246-08:00For Progress is not me.
For progressFor Progress is not me. <br /><br />For progressAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-8792139880775896782018-01-07T18:09:51.074-08:002018-01-07T18:09:51.074-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com