Calendar items

Here are a few interesting items from the Board calendar:

January 23 - 3:30pm - 5:30pm: Board Work Session: Facilities Master Plan

This could be illuminating. Is the new FMP as much a botch-job as the current and previous FMP's? There is another work session on the FMP scheduled for February 27. They sure are talking about this thing a lot.



February 6 - 4:00pm - 8:00pm: Board Workshop: Student Assignment

I can't wait to see what news after all those months of modelling. What results are there? What are the priorities of the Board members? They have scheduled four hours for this, so I expect it to be pretty meaningful. I expect some real talk about program placement, reference areas, and capacities. I also want to learn the difference between a work session and a workshop.



February 13 - 4:00pm - 5:30pm: Board Work Session: SE Education Initiative

Maybe this is when we will finally learn the benchmarks and goals for the accountability elements of the Southeast Initiative.



March 5 - 4:00pm - 8:00pm: Student Learning Committee - Quarterly Meeting

Ah!! So this is when the Student Learning Committee will meet. And it appears that the committee will only meet four times a year. I'm sure that's plenty of time for them to get their work done.



March 12 - 4:00pm - 5:25pm: Board Work Session: High School Math Adoption

I can't wait to see this decision. Hmmm... what do you think? After Everyday Math in elementary school and CMP II in middle school, do you think the District will want to continue with reform math, or do you think they will expect all of the students to switch to traditional math in high school? I can't wait to learn the answer to that one.



March 26 - 4:00pm - 5:30pm: Board Work Session: --topic TBD--

The Board knows that they will want to get together to talk about something on this afternoon. They just don't know what the topic will be.

Comments

Melissa Westbrook said…
Sadly, I won't be around for the Facilities Master Plan workshop (at least the first one).

I resigned from the Sounding Board for the new FMP and that was because it was pretty much a sham. Meaning, they weren't all that interested in reviewing or changing anything. I was only 1 of 3 outside people on the Committee and it was clear that the rest of the Committee, the staff members, weren't exactly happy to be there. Michael de Bell, the one Board member, didn't come to a single meeting.

It was weird, meeting after meeting, to be the only one with notes and raising issues. It finally dawned on me that it was likely that I was there for window-dressing of some sort and they weren't interested in anything I had to offer.

Also, there is no "plan"; it's a hodge-podge of information. Maybe in the intervening weeks since I left things have changed but I doubt it. How this will help guide the district I really don't know.
1/16/08, 12:15 PM
Anonymous said…
"March 12 - 4:00pm - 5:25pm: Board Work Session: High School Math Adoption"

Oh so there it is. I was up on SPS Math site and there is NOTHING about math adoption NOR is there any information about HS math curriculum, current or proposed. Very frustrating to evaluate HS math programs. IMP versus Core Plus? Let alone understand how long those programs will even be used!

My feeling tells me CorePLus will be the winner all around as it appears to be the continuation of CMP2.
1/16/08, 12:57 PM
Charlie Mas said…
Here is a quote from the minutes of the Sounding Board meeting when Mel resigned:

"Melissa Westbrook – Citizen Activist expressed frustration with Seattle Public Schools and their method of doing things. She walked out of the meeting stating that she did not want to be associated with the Sounding Board and did not feel all her input was being valued.

After Melissa Westbrook walk out, a short discussion followed on how her input and questions were of great value and how no one understood what she was trying to express. The meeting continued on as per the agenda."
1/17/08, 3:51 PM
dan dempsey said…
Hey this should be really interesting:

March 12 - 4:00pm - 5:25pm: Board Work Session: High School Math Adoption

How can these folks even talk about high school math until they undo the incredible mess they have created k-8?

They need a K-8 math meeting first.

Most of the kids can not do high school math. At least the kind of high school math that serves as the basis for well paying careers.

If SPS adopts any high school math now it will have to be from the Math-O-Babble category.

Anyone care to read the recommendations that the SBE paid $150,000 to Strategic Teaching.
These are continually ignored by the SPS. Even Dr Bergeson is trying to ignore them despite being bound by SHB2 1906 to follow them.
The Plattner Recommendations

Oh what an interesting Spring it could be if Reality ever collides with the authors of these fairy-tales. Bergeson and Santorno beware.
1/19/08, 12:28 PM
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