Press Largely Uncritical

Overall, press coverage in Seattle has been uncritical of the school closure plan. Both the PI and the Times, had editorial statements in support of the plan issued before any of the Town Meetings happened. Were the editorial boards so knowledgeable about Seattle schools that they could draw a conclusion about the worth of the plan without hearing a single public comment?

After the editorial statement, the Times treated Seattle readers to articles like Closure strategy is valid, which described critics of the school closure plan as "lost in emotional diatribes and conspiracy theorizing." Other prominent stories covered the emotional upheaval in the community, but didn't dig deeply into the facts.

Tomorrow, the PI publishes the first article I have seen that actually questions the statements being made by the district. Be sure to read Will school closures do job?.

We need more articles that:

  • Explore the hidden costs of the proposed closures and consolidations.
  • Question the data, particularly the demographic data, presented by the district.
  • Discuss the political pressure that is motivating the closure plan.

Thank you, Jessica Blanchard, for writing an insightful article on school closure. Here's hoping we see more.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, gr...
Read more

Education News Roundup

From the ever-amusing Washington Policy Center : Vouchers are Pell Grants for students under 18.  Vouchers are no different than Pell Grants or GI benefits, except the money goes to the families of students younger than age 18.  Except they are. Pell Grants were created to help needy students and that's not really the goal of the voucher program.  The Pell grant website does have a couple of great studies on why low-income students drop out before finishing their higher ed and what makes a difference.
Read more