tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post6529108373082965345..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: NCTQ "report" wastes Alliance moneyMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-62255204521912416572009-10-17T15:23:02.688-07:002009-10-17T15:23:02.688-07:00First, let me say that I didn't know anything ...First, let me say that I didn't know anything about the NCTQ and not much about the Alliance until a few days before this event when I heard that this report was coming out.<br /><br />I would see e-mails and comments about these two organizations but I had so many other irons in the fire that I felt like I would go into information overload with yet another issue to look at.<br /><br />When the report came out the day before this presentation, I looked it over and made my comments on this blog and my seattle-ed blog. <br /><br />I had planned to go to this presentation and I didn't know what to expect. I was very surprised at how it was handled from the moment I walked into the door. That is why I put my report in a narrative form. You had to see what I saw.<br /><br />By the way Melissa, I can write a mean set of minutes. That's what I did for about 20 years as an architect working on corporate projects but I felt that this required something different, a sense of the event as well as the content itself. <br /><br />I did change the narrative later to "a very happy person in a red jacket" which I think better described the scenario and the red jacket was important because it was an A+ red jacket. That was part of the theme for the evening. The greeters were in red t-shirts with an A+ on their chests. It was context. Kind of corporate, staged, happy people spreading the good work<br />disneyesque kind of context that I was describing. I thought that "I Sing America" was going to pop up any minute with a catchy lyric and have everyone swaying, clapping their hands and singing along. (I couldn't help that one.)<br /><br />About the parent who spoke, Charlie and others are correct. What she was referring to did not have a connection to what the presentation was about. <br /><br />Well, next week I'll be off to the Town Hall meeting regarding K-12 funding. It will probably be similar to the one that I attended a few weeks ago that was sposored by the PTSA. Representative Chopp spoke, he was great by the way, and a few board members were there. The focus was on the education reform bill.<br /><br />I'll take notes and put it on the seattle-ed blog, context and all.<br /><br />http://seattle-ed.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Happy trails.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-4588758195004617912009-10-16T17:17:40.934-07:002009-10-16T17:17:40.934-07:00Charlie: Stop making things so simple. You'l...Charlie: Stop making things so simple. You'll put all the Edu-Consultants and coaches out of work!<br /><br />The parent who thanked the NCTQ could just as well have blogged right here or confronted their principal to get something done about a bad teacher. Anyone can. The boogeyman "union" scapegoating never ends, and never will. How about the worthless P.O.S. so-called negotiators from the district who SIGN THE UNION CONTRACT? Where is the blame they should get if they area selling us parents down river by signing a bad contract? <br /><br />It's all negotiated people. Blame the teachers union all you want, but it takes two sides to agree to and sign a contract. <br /><br />Now go ahead and flame me with all the horror stories of "the union did this, or won't allow that." But wake up and smell the coffee. The unions power comes directly from the contract the district signs and agrees to. <br /><br />If you aren't happy with what the union contract does or doesn't do, start talking to your school board and administration now, and tell them what you want. There's a new contract being negotiated again this summer - which, I needn't tell anyone is why the NCTQ was just here. <br /><br />But let's get off this anti-union diatribe. They can't do anything the district didn't previously agree to and sign off on. Where does the accountability really belong?wseadawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08750439461734046035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-77946796097274749672009-10-16T15:27:05.094-07:002009-10-16T15:27:05.094-07:00If there is a teacher who isn't doing his or h...If there is a teacher who isn't doing his or her job, and that teacher isn't dismissed, then there is also a principal who isn't doing his or her job.<br /><br />If all of our principals did their jobs, then we would know that all of our teachers were doing theirs.<br /><br />The key to teacher effectiveness - whatever that means - is principal effectiveness. Nothing else is needed.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-38966353209067984492009-10-16T13:01:13.250-07:002009-10-16T13:01:13.250-07:00Bulldogger,
If there is a problem with removing te...Bulldogger,<br />If there is a problem with removing teachers, is this not a problem that can be resolved by the District and SEA (and the teachers!) without relying on input from an organization (NCTQ) that has an agenda beyond this issue?<br /><br />It DOES matter if we "like" NCTQ or not - we might not "like" it because it is somehow holding itself up as a neutral research group that has supposedly neutral suggestions to fix the "problem" when in fact it is NOT neutral.<br /><br />To fix the problem, hold everybody accountable to existing (or modified) procedure - don't throw out the whole system (and it's accountability) by tasking outside groups to have their way with the District.seattle citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16724175257161649500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58692410795250121192009-10-16T11:43:21.475-07:002009-10-16T11:43:21.475-07:00Dora said
"Some of the questions were kind ...Dora said <br /><br />"Some of the questions were kind of off track and one mom towards the end got up and thanked the superintendent and NCTQ for having the guts to "do this". What? That was out of the blue. In fact, besides myself, there was one other parent there."<br /><br />I was there along with 3 other parents. I thought this question your referencing was the most powerful one of the night. The parent went on to say how her second grade son had a good teacher but the teacher in the next class was the worst and then commented on how 25 students have had a years worth of education wasted.<br /><br />Whether you like the NCTQ or the price paid for them does not matter. That parent is speaking a basic truth in how unsatisfactory teachers are not either improved or removed easily at SPS. .5% teacher removal rate is fairly astounding. In my experience it should be far higher. Could SEA and SPS please fix this for the sake of our children.BullDoggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12522189257797698683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-29704932057742405942009-10-16T11:06:27.575-07:002009-10-16T11:06:27.575-07:00Sahila, I know Laura has posted here before. I...Sahila, I know Laura has posted here before. I've been posting here for a very long time. She has always used her name. I'm not sure what your point is but I would let it go.<br /><br />I will write a post on the report and the event I attended. (did anyone read the report?) It had some interesting data even if you don't like their recommendations.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16246972903028563612009-10-16T09:01:48.769-07:002009-10-16T09:01:48.769-07:00Melissa, my impression from Dora's report is t...Melissa, my impression from Dora's report is that the Alliance meeting was a dog and pony show. Kate Walsh didn't stand up to scrutiny. They're a PR machine managing millions in grants. Their findings, if credible, would be important toward doing what everyone says they want to do. What frustrates me is the appearance of an endless circle that sustains itself and uses words like "powerful" and "passionate" while doing nothing to help teachers move beyond test prep. Also, please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't someone from the Alliance conduct MG-J's last review?WenDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07754473793580185814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-6744594676250156322009-10-16T09:00:27.295-07:002009-10-16T09:00:27.295-07:00I clicked on her name when she first posted on the...I clicked on her name when she first posted on the thread, to get her profile details...blogger says she joined in October 2009... maybe she contributed under a different name...or via a different ID mechanism... I havent seen her name in the 10 months I have been active here...Sahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-51296718529574999362009-10-16T08:24:24.496-07:002009-10-16T08:24:24.496-07:00Laura Kohn has blogged here before.Laura Kohn has blogged here before.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-48425526631335024222009-10-16T00:41:10.396-07:002009-10-16T00:41:10.396-07:00Start connecting the dots like Dora is doing and y...Start connecting the dots like Dora is doing and you'll see its all so incestuous it absolutely sickening...<br /><br />So the Alliance, which refuses so far on its own blog to answer questions as to its relationships with Broad/Gates/charter schools/reform, pays $14K (of Gates/Broad/Boeing money) to the NCTQ for a formulaic (insert the name of the school District) teacher bashing report and the NCTQ Board of Advisors is made up primarily of charter/Gates/Broad-linked people....<br /><br />And our Broad Board Director Superintendent MGJ (earning $264K+) reportedly sends her daughter to the New School/South Shore, which is a charter school in everything but name - because Washington doesnt allow charters yet - funded by Stuart Sloan and aimed at helping low income minority children bridge the achievement gap, where her (not low income)child gets the best that a private/public education can buy, while the rest of us poor plebs have to watch our SPS kids scrambling for educational rations, and we're all the while fund-raising like crazy and begging the District - please Ma'am, can we have some more for our kids... and the Alliance, which is supposed to be fund-raising for our kids (though none of the money they do score from their reformist backers ends up in the classroom), spends $14K on blatant reformist propaganda....<br /><br />And then, on this blog we have Laura Kohn, Director of the New School Foundation, which funds the school where MGJ's daughter reportedly attends, remember, joining Blogger on October 14 2009 (check her profile), dipping her virginal blogging toe into the water specifically to post in support of the NCTQ report on the thread that's running hot in criticism of the Alliance and the report...<br /><br />And MGJ being on the Board of the Alliance - such a busy woman with all these Director duties, how does she have time for SPS? Oh that's right, she doesnt... she has to attend the Alliance launch of the NCTQ report, rather than dialogue with SPS parents at a community meeting on the SAP proposals...<br /><br />And they wonder why some of the natives in Seattle are restless?Sahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-50786528542328488262009-10-15T22:14:05.708-07:002009-10-15T22:14:05.708-07:00Oh, and one more.
NCTQ Board of Directors' Ch...Oh, and one more.<br /><br />NCTQ Board of Directors' Chair<br />Founding Director and Principal of a charter school in Boston (name not provided).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-78275723275786689362009-10-15T22:04:26.466-07:002009-10-15T22:04:26.466-07:00Tell you what, I'll post what I learned from g...Tell you what, I'll post what I learned from going to the media event in the afternoon. I'm a little surprised at the community meeting report. Is there a relevance to what color of hair the greeter had or that she was friendly or the food to the actual report? <br /><br />At the media event, I got to ask questions about the content of the report and got some interesting answers. <br /><br />So are we hear to get a full picture or blast the Alliance and NCTQ? I'm not their friend or their enemy. I'm just trying to figure out what will help make public education better. For me, the jury is out on both groups.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-30053391294951054812009-10-15T21:48:32.083-07:002009-10-15T21:48:32.083-07:00Yes, a short list of the Advisory Board for NCTQ. ...Yes, a short list of the Advisory Board for NCTQ. Let me first say that all of these organizations and individuals are intertwined and interrelated. Gates in particular will fund one organization for testing and assessment of students and then another organization for assessing the "effectiveness" of teachers and all of those groups are associated with charter schools to one degree or another.<br /><br />Case in point:<br /><br />The Advisory Board for NCTQ<br /><br />Michael Feinberg, Founder<br />The Kipp Foundation, charter school franchise<br /><br />Michael Goldstein, CEO and Founder<br />The Match School, Massachusetts<br />It's actually the Match Charter School<br /><br />Paul T. Hill, Director<br />Center for Reinventing Public Education <br />This organization is all about charter schools and receives Gates' money<br /><br />Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder<br />Teach For America <br /><br />Michelle Rhee, Chancellor<br />DC Public Schools<br />Huge supporter of charter schools<br /><br />Stefanie Sanford, Senior Policy Officer<br />Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation <br /><br />Laura Schwedes, Social Studies Teacher<br />KIPP: STAR Prep, NYC, New York <br /><br />Deborah McGriff, Partner<br />New Schools Venture Fund<br />Backed by GatesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-87901823602999100982009-10-15T21:31:35.326-07:002009-10-15T21:31:35.326-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03716725891562757052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-59382465163500037782009-10-15T20:07:58.973-07:002009-10-15T20:07:58.973-07:00Dora: Next time, bring that laptop! Great recap.
...Dora: Next time, bring that laptop! Great recap.<br /><br />Kate Walsh is confusing me with this notion that new teachers are toxic. Teach for America strongly encourages rookie teachers (the ones without ed clock hours or credentials), to move into managing their own schools very quickly, well within three years of hitting the classroom. Teach America is on board with the Alliance, part of the same edu-industry cabal, yes?WenDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07754473793580185814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-87978936744686811022009-10-15T20:03:43.639-07:002009-10-15T20:03:43.639-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.WenDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07754473793580185814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-59400845196178532832009-10-15T19:48:17.987-07:002009-10-15T19:48:17.987-07:00TeacherMom, thanks for taking the time to answer m...TeacherMom, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Great answers and a lot for me to ponder.<br /><br />I would like to maybe have coffee with you if you're up for it. I really want to get an understanding of the environment directly from a teacher. If you're interested, please email me at trishmi@techaccess.org. You name the place and I'm there.LouiseMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10952249428140176717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-40396443711380452842009-10-15T09:07:22.171-07:002009-10-15T09:07:22.171-07:00There was another question about continuing educat...There was another question about continuing education for teachers and its’ value, same answer, and another question about how they would evaluate teachers whose subjects are, for example, art and foreign languages. The answer was the same as per her presentation. That teachers in those subjects could decide on district wide “benchmarks”.<br /> <br />They had us break up into groups to discuss the presentation and I took the opportunity to get more information from one of the questioners on the McKinsey Company, the Center for Reinventing Public Education and other good stuff.<br /> <br />FYI. The League of Education Voters is associated with this Alliance group. They have someone representing them on the Alliance Emeritus Board. They also got a mention during the meeting. My buddy, Brad Bernatek, is on the Alliance's "Educational Investments Task Force". Also, 46% of the Alliance's total grant revenue comes from Gates, the Broad, the Stuart Foundation an Boeing. The Alliance also mentions "Stand for Children" in their literature as a local education advocacy group that they recommend joining.<br /> <br />That's all I got out of that meeting except for the cool stuff that I found out about. I will share that at a later time. <br /> <br />Signing off for now.<br /><br />Post Script: Fasten your seat belts, the Alliance plans more community outreach in the next three years to spread the good word. See: <br />http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=15788Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37233047088532031742009-10-15T09:06:52.698-07:002009-10-15T09:06:52.698-07:00After that, the SEA Director got up and did damage...After that, the SEA Director got up and did damage control about first year teachers and mentors, about losing $9M in state funds and about errors in the report that had not been corrected.<br /> <br />Our superintendent then got up in her red jacket and said a few words like this would provide "more information for dialogue", something about "date points" and the "horrific gap" in terms of, I guess, black students and white students.<br /> <br />Then there was time for Q and A. Someone got up and challenged girl wonder Kate about continuing education. He mentioned the fact that doctors and other professionals take courses that benefit their practice and how could she say that courses taken by teachers and Masters' degrees had no value? He also mentioned the fact that the study that she was referring to that made her case about the fact that additional education was not needed to be an "effective" teacher was paid for by Bill Gates. Oops. She started to back peddle and said that it was the structure that is in place and not the course work itself that was not effective. What? Well, she said, that teachers choose the cheapest courses that they can find to take because they have to pay for them and...<br /> <br />Her sentences were incomplete and when she said "Do you understand what I am saying?". I had to shake my head and audibly said "No" although she was not asking me the question. <br /> <br />Some of the questions were kind of off track and one mom towards the end got up and thanked the superintendent and NCTQ for having the guts to "do this". What? That was out of the blue. In fact, besides myself, there was one other parent there. The rest of the folks were related to the Alliance, Broad or Seattle U with some other educators there who I didn't recognize. Someone thought that the comment had been staged but I don’t know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-80444547431682532852009-10-15T09:06:02.331-07:002009-10-15T09:06:02.331-07:00And after that she said "So that's you pr...And after that she said "So that's you primer."<br /> <br />So OK, let’s see, we are to believe this premise, no questions asked. Well, that's a lot to swallow. So, she is saying that you don't have to be that well trained or educated to be a good teacher. In that case, maybe my dog could qualify in her program.<br /> <br />She goes on to say that every, and I do emphasize EVERY, study that has been done so far shows that not only does teacher training not have a positive impact on teaching but that sometimes it even hampers the effectiveness of teaching. Please note: The word "effective" and "effectiveness" comes up in about every other sentence. Kind of how the term "9/11" used to be used in every sentence that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld said.<br /> <br />She made a big deal about teacher absenteeism in Seattle. We saw a few graphs and charts on that and then she went on to "objective data to evaluate" a teachers performance. This part got interesting. She said "not necessarily standardized tests" but could have a district-wide conversation about how, let's say, French teachers know when they are being "effective". Whoa, I think that there is a third rail appearing and it might be standardized testing and student assessments.<br /> <br />Again, "huge achievement gap" was thrown into her presentation kind of out of the blue.<br /> <br />Then it was over. Wait a minute. What about all of that stuff in the report about student assessments and teacher's performance being evaluated by, gee, I don't know, using standardized tests? Not a word. It was over and from what I could see, the people were left wanting.<br /> <br />$14,000 for this? I could see people kind of wondering what this was all about. It didn't seem like much from all of the hoopla that had been generated about this presentation. What they didn't know about was the rest of the report.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37009803237993404472009-10-15T09:05:23.376-07:002009-10-15T09:05:23.376-07:00Finally, the lights go up, such as they are, the m...Finally, the lights go up, such as they are, the mic finally works and the show is on.<br /> <br />D'Amelio says a few words like there will be a "series of community engagement opportunities" and throws in an "equitable access for every student" thought and then the show is on the road.<br /> <br />Oh, just saw our superintendent at the front table and oh, there is Brad Bernatek to the left of me. I wonder if he knows who I am. Hmmm.<br /> <br />Then George Griffin III gets up and talks about the achievement gap, particularly in the African American community. Is it at all a coincidence that this gentleman is African American? Either way, this will be an on-going theme throughout the presentation.<br /> <br />Then finally, Kate Walsh, a no nonsense kind of gal with a lot to say and so little time comes to the microphone and begins her PowerPoint presentation.<br /> <br />She started by saying that she does not bring local context into this report (OK) but can compare other districts with ours. I'm with her so far.<br /> <br />But first, she wants to reiterate that the NCTQ gets all of their funding from private sources. That we know. (Gates, Exxon and Milken, as in junk bonds, to name a few.)<br /> <br />Then she starts in on how no one is able to tell how well a teacher will do and that it is not based on the amount of education that they receive or the courses that they take. She says that someone with a Masters degree is no more effective a teacher as a teacher without an advanced degree. She said that it has to do with experience and that teachers do not reach a point of being "effective" until their 4th or 5th year of teaching. She went on to say that the worst teachers are first year teachers. They are the worst teachers that a child can have. That's what she said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-5466670774978199672009-10-15T09:04:38.506-07:002009-10-15T09:04:38.506-07:00The NCTQ Presentation
Note to self: Bring a lapto...The NCTQ Presentation<br /><br />Note to self: Bring a laptop next time so that I look like a blogger.<br /> <br />I walked into the ballroom early hoping to pass out flyers and was almost immediately greeted by a happy blonde (no disrespect to other people who have blonde hair) in a red Alliance jacket who introduced herself and asked me who I was. I gave my name and she said "Oh, I know who you are. I've seen your picture!" I asked where she had seen my picture and she said "Well, you posted on our blog". No further introduction was necessary. That “oh, she is that troublesome troublemaker” expression came over her face but I kept smiling and continued the light banter about being a parent of a high school student, etc. She ended the conversation by saying that she hoped that they could dispel some of the pre-conceptions that people had about.... she kind of left that part hanging, but apparently a lot of us have preconceptions about things and that is our only problem. <br /> <br />It was obvious that no Gates or Broad money was spent on this affair. It was cold cuts and mayonnaise with Diet Pepsi's in a can. Two huge containers of water but no coffee. Where do these people think they are?<br /> <br />While I was waiting for the show to begin and munching on turkey and cheese, people in red shirts with A+ on them were walking around and shaking hands with people. I guess they were the Wal Mart greeters.<br /> <br />Looked around the room. No other familiar faces. Oh well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-78459583899826787592009-10-15T08:56:57.639-07:002009-10-15T08:56:57.639-07:00Andrew said:
A big issue that I discovered via som...Andrew said:<br /><i>A big issue that I discovered via some very unhappy parents is that -- per the current teacher contract -- once a teacher with an unsatisfactory rating earns a satisfactory rating then NO RECORD is kept of the unsatisfactory rating...</i><br /><br />Andrew, could you supply the text from the CBA that says this? I have not read the thing myself but I have heard this refuted by prople who have. Thanks.Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17016898261120819596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-61686962196562128102009-10-15T08:51:34.016-07:002009-10-15T08:51:34.016-07:00Also in NY times:
U.S. Math Tests Find Scant Gains...Also in NY times:<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/education/15scores.html?_r=1&th&emc=th" rel="nofollow">U.S. Math Tests Find Scant Gains Across New York</a><br /><br />"Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, the city teachers’ union, said the federal results showed that the state tests were not reliable yardsticks. <br /><br />“We’ve designed a school system that is just test-taking prep, and we have teachers saying, ‘I know I am not teaching children what they need to learn,’ ” he said."Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17016898261120819596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-86465662672681705192009-10-15T07:48:55.668-07:002009-10-15T07:48:55.668-07:00See NY Times Op-Ed today on the arguable harm done...See NY Times Op-Ed today on the arguable harm done to children in today's public schools<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/opinion/15kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinionARBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07219946488545334090noreply@blogger.com