Thanks and Best Wishes

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)

 

 

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

T.S. Eliot

 

 

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.” 

Gandhi

"Thank you for listening. Thank you for abiding me. And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I bid you goodbye and take my leave."

Frank Deford

 

Thank you for listening. Thank you for abiding me. And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I bid you goodbye and take my leave. Frank Deford
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/goodbye-quotes

Thank you for listening. Thank you for abiding me. And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I bid you goodbye and take my leave. Frank Deford
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/goodbye-quotes

Thank you for listening. Thank you for abiding me. And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I bid you goodbye and take my leave. Frank Deford
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/goodbye-quotes

Thank you for listening. Thank you for abiding me. And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I bid you goodbye and take my leave. Frank Deford
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/goodbye-quotes

Last Resources

A couple of readers asked about resources on public education.  I honestly cannot recommend any local education blogs.  I wish there were one to recommend but there isn't.

Nationally, I would recommend:

People To Thank

Just so many people to thank for their support of this blog and my efforts to bring transparency and honesty to this district.

Back to the beginning.

Anyone Want These?

Getting ready to move, I am naturally going thru many items.

I have three SPS items if anyone wants them:

Friday Open Thread

The last Friday Open Thread (for now).  Here's hoping you all had a satisfying Thanksgiving with friends and family.

Be Thankful on Thanksgiving But Remember Who Got Hurt By It

Thoughts on Thanksgiving from Native Americans

Revenge of the Students - Garfield Speaks

From the student newspaper, The Garfield Messenger (bold mine):

Dear Superintendent Juneau,

In the past months, you have made it your mission to make the district more equitable by ending the Highly Capable Cohort (HCC). We know from firsthand experience that the HCC program has its flaws, and we appreciate that you want to make it equitable for all. However, we don’t believe that your approach to this issue is appropriate.

Despite your good intentions, The Messenger feels that your perspective on the issue and the words you have used have alienated the people you are attempting to help. By using terms like “slave ship” and “Apartheid High” to describe the most racially diverse high school in Seattle, you not only disrespect and belittle the students of Garfield, you also oversimplify the effects of a complex issue the district created in the first place.

Tuesday Open Thread

From SPS Communications:

Sped and the Superintendent

Editor's note; I took out the reference to a "swarm" of people, forgetting that swarm actually implies a large group and that was not my intent.  As well, I had one unpleasant comment saying I was comparing people to insects. Not the case because there are many words used to describe a group. Swarm is one of them.  You can look it up.

end of Editor's note

The Superintendent visited the Special Education SCPTSA last week.

Juneau and HCC Grouping

A thoughtful reader sent me a couple of links around the issue of grouping for highly capable students.

I first want to say - as I have said all along - if the district wants to return all HCC kids to their attendance area schools, that's fine.  As long as they do/understand several things:

Ask a Therapist: Framing Limits for an Adolescent

The South Seattle Emerald is a gem of community media.  I suggest you check in there regularly if you want to know about the issues that south Seattle cares about.

They have a great on-going column - Ask a Therapist.

Restorative Justice: Like Most Education Measure, It Needs Resources to Succeed

There's this phrase - "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" - that I see used quite often when speaking of public education initiatives especially in defense of charter schools.  And then, districts, states, the feds plunge on into initiatives, apparently hoping it will all turn out well (see Race to the Top, remember that one?).

This issue, restorative justice, is a very good example. "We've got to do something" -  because student discipline is so skewed towards two groups of students - Special Education students and Black students is the cry from many in leadership.  But the work, the actual work, falls to those in the trenches.