Separating Fact from Fiction in our schools

Separate Fact from Fiction in our schools
This is a good opinion piece in today's PI. The two authors have a calm tone and good outlook. You should also check out the two sound off letters that accompany it on-line.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh, Melissa. That was such a well-written article and encouraging perspective. As an educator myself, I get caught up in the hysteria.

We do have schools in trouble. Those of us in the north end must recognize that something must be done to help the schools which are having problems if not failing. But, yes, many (if not most), of our schools are doing well; and, we teachers, parents and administrators are working hard to keep them operating successfully.

Let's continue to be cooperative, collaborative, and compassionate. And let's certainly take the long view in trying to determine the next step.
12/15/06, 2:20 PM
Anonymous said…
Take Van Dyk's assertion that Seattle parents are fleeing city schools for the private sector or for such superior school systems as Bellevue's. It is hard to square that with the reality that Bellevue's parents are just as likely as Seattle's to send their kids to private schools. Van Dyk might also be surprised to learn that enrollment in Seattle schools has held steady for 27 years.

Since Seattle is now the 24th largest city nationally according to the 2000 census & has grown 9% in population from 1990 to 2000, shouldn't we expect the Seattle schools to retain the percentage of the populace that was educated in public schools 27 years ago, rather than just the numbers?

Seattle has a smaller percentage of the population under 18, than the county, the state or the country.( and it is falling)
If we are such an attractive place, why would that be?
Why do we have so many more private schools ( with wait lists) than even existed 20 years ago.
Where are all these educated residents ( 53% have college degrees) sending their kids?

What measure are you using to determine our schools are successful?
Graduation rate? WASL pass rate?
12/19/06, 2:54 PM
Charlie Mas said…
Why does Seattle have fewer children than the rest of the county, the state, or the nation? Because Seattle is an urban area. Urban areas, such as Seattle, typically have fewer children than suburban or rural areas.

Not only are we an attractive place; we are an urban place. Duh!

Why more private schools? Because we're a whole lot bigger and harder to move around in. In addition, we're a whole lot richer than we were twenty years ago. These factors have all increased the demand for private schools. In addition, the trend in parenting has turned to very active, the economy has become more competitive and has moved away from people without education, all of which also increases the demand for private schooling. More schools have appeared in response to that increased demand.

Where are all of these people sending their kids to school? Some to public school - particularly when they have access to a high quality program - and some private school. Duh!

How to measure a school's success? What measure would YOU like to use?
12/19/06, 6:22 PM
Saad Amir said…
This option you have given and interesting for the students.It provide necessary help to the students.
Thanks...
regards, saad from
Sri Lanka Institute of Architects
12/12/11, 2:45 AM
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, grief, that is to come fro
Read more

MEETING CANCELED - Hey Kids, A Meeting with Three(!) Seattle Schools Board Directors

 Update 2: So I have seen a message from President Liza Rankin on why she, Director Evan Briggs, and Director Michelle Sarju backed out of this meeting.  In a nutshell: - She says there was no organization to the meeting which is just not true. They had a moderator lined up and naturally the board members could have set parameters for what to discuss, length of meeting, etc. All that was fleshed out. - She also claimed that if the meeting was PTA sponsored, they needed to have liability insurance to use the school space. Hello? PTAs use school space all the time and know they have to have this insurance.  - She seems to be worried about the Open Public Meetings law. Look, if she has a meeting in a school building on a non-personnel topic, it should be an open meeting. It appears that Rankin is trying, over and over, to narrow the window of access that parents have to Board members. She even says in her message - "...with decisions made in public." Hmmm - She also says that th
Read more