Alternative School Article
There is a nice story in the Times today about Ida B. Wells School, part of the Middle College, by Jerry Large.
It's very clear that this school, which is an Alternative Learning Experience, is not part of the Curricular Alignment effort. That bodes well for the NOVA Project, another ALE that cannot standardize texts and course titles.
It's very clear that this school, which is an Alternative Learning Experience, is not part of the Curricular Alignment effort. That bodes well for the NOVA Project, another ALE that cannot standardize texts and course titles.
Comments
There was also in today's Times a long editorial on "the rise" of Seattle Public Schools. Just in time for the Supe's evaluation, this cheer from the rah-rah section:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.
com/html/editorials/2012093820
_edit14skul.html
Noted by SC above
We put forward our own candidates... as so many people have suggested to me via phone and email - there are well qualified candidates here in the District... people who are trusted, who have a track record, who are sound in both education and management skills, who know the district and have shown they care about our kids... we ask them to come forward...
We vet whoever is brought to the interview stage.... we are much more adept at research than the District is and we publicise the results of our digging... we lobby to have community involvement in the selection, as they have just done with the search for a new police commissioner, for example...
And then to get rid of the rest of the corporatist privateering influence in the District, we replace the "bought and paid for" members of the board when we can at each election cycle... considering the amount of work involved, much as I'd like to get rid of them all in one bunch ASAP, I dont think we can manage that...
A Board member told me last week that he/she thought the District would manage fine for a year or so without a Superintendent... we can take our time in this process, and not make the same mistakes they did last time round...
Yes, it's semantics. But I think using consistent terminology and descriptive terminology are key to clarifying the goals of non-traditional programs in a public school system.
This is, of course, idiotic. But it does provide comfort to the idea that each cluster need only have one "alternative" school, because, hey, every alternative school is the same as all the others, right?
And this is entirely separate from the reality that the existence of a school in one's cluster doesn't mean one can get one's kids in there (e.g. I live, supposedly, in the Salmon Bay catchment, although I'm four miles from there - and my kids will NEVER get in).
But it's good to see someone at the ST giving some love to anything non-traditional. I wonder how he got that by the editorial board?
And Community No Confidence signatures have hit 300... thank you Josh for signing.... and Charlie and Melissa and everyone else...
Think we can get to 500 by Wednesday afternoon?
Seattle is among the highest around when it comes to total funding per student for districts above 5,000 (and spends more on central admin 9% than any except for Clover Park at 10%).
So why the alternative school bias? Guess it just does NOT fit HER model.
From OSPI web page for Seattle
Financial Data
Per Student Amounts Percent
Total Revenues $11101 100%
State 6730 61%
Federal 1078 10%
Local Tax 3120 28%
Other Sources 173 2%
Total Expenditures $11062 100%
Central Administration 991 9%
Building Administration 677 6%
Maintenance and Operations 972 9%
Food Services 255 2%
Transportation Services 594 5%
Teaching 7337 66%
Other 235 2%
Compare with Bellevue – Financial Data
Per Student Amounts Percent
Total Revenues $9790 100%
State 6025 62%
Federal 543 6%
Local Tax 2977 30%
Other Sources 244 2%
Total Expenditures $9923 100%
Central Administration 567 6%
Building Administration 526 5%
Maintenance and Operations 887 9%
Food Services 257 3%
Transportation Services 225 2%
Teaching 7137 72%
Other 324 3%
======================
MGJ needs RIFing
It's a pity that ten or twelve students, parent/guardians, and staff spent a year on this committee to produce this report, which was accepted by CAO Santorno (who was the convener of the Committee), and the report basically hasn't been seen since. It's good reading and I recommend it to anybody looking to see and interesting framework illuminating some darn good pedagogy.
Helen Schinske
There is certainly precendent here for alternative schools that are option and not reentry: Many of the first true alternative schools (AS1, Summit, Nova, NOMS...Marshall...) were NOT reentry programs at all, but rather true alternatives (in some iteration, depending on how they look using today's alt checklist.
This is part of the confusion: Alternative schools are NOT inherently reentry schools. Two different animals (tho' I've maintained for some time that they share one thing: Picture two students, exactly the same. Neither does well with a traditional school, wants something different. One has engaged and savvy parents, the other does not. Engaged parents/student CHOOSE to find an alternative; non-engaged parent/students don't, student struggles against pegagogy that doesn't work for him or her, gets into trouble, is kicked out and becomes a reentry student.
Helen Schinske