Governor Files RTTT Application
As noted by Publicola, the Governor submitted the Washington State application for the second round of RTTT money. Editor Josh Feit takes a wait-and-see attitude but as I wrote in my comments:
RTTT money looks and sounds an awful lot like the Gates Transformation money of the '90s. Gates had given Seattle Public Schools money for each school to take a hard look at itself and create a "transformation" plan. Now I think it's a great idea to make every single person working at a school be part of a hard look at what is happening, not happening and how they serve the students at their school.
However, we had every school do this and then, because Gates wasn't happen with the pace/outcomes/you pick, they pulled the money a couple of years later. So naturally, with no continuing money OR long-term funding, the plans were doomed (although some schools did try to carry them on).
And, we don't have charters so we'll get dinged for that. I really doubt we will get the money and frankly, I think, in the end, we won't miss the money.
So what will RTTT money do? It's easy to start something, it's another thing to keep it viable without continued funding.
RTTT money looks and sounds an awful lot like the Gates Transformation money of the '90s. Gates had given Seattle Public Schools money for each school to take a hard look at itself and create a "transformation" plan. Now I think it's a great idea to make every single person working at a school be part of a hard look at what is happening, not happening and how they serve the students at their school.
However, we had every school do this and then, because Gates wasn't happen with the pace/outcomes/you pick, they pulled the money a couple of years later. So naturally, with no continuing money OR long-term funding, the plans were doomed (although some schools did try to carry them on).
And, we don't have charters so we'll get dinged for that. I really doubt we will get the money and frankly, I think, in the end, we won't miss the money.
So what will RTTT money do? It's easy to start something, it's another thing to keep it viable without continued funding.
Comments
The formula is pretty straight forward -
ALL Problems = Blame Teachers.
I work with scores of people who'd change everything tomorrow if it would help our kids - and some of us are a bit tired of the consultant change-du-jour used to justify the consultant's existence and the consultant's paycheck.
When one considers all the local "journalists" who've given up comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted in order to take 6 figure paychecks as public relations flacks, one SHOULD ask - why all the favorable ink, Josh, for billionaire astro-turf organizations?
BM
See BERC group, Alliance for ED cronies, Gates Foundation, New Technology Network (KnowledgeWorks Foundation), Broad Foundation, etc.
The Enrons of Education.
NSF/EHR grant recipients that never produce improvement or even report on results .... just reports on how grant recipients are going to spend money and then how it was spent. I found that out with an NSF FOIA request. Results not required or important.... (Insane ... but true).
Universities love those grants.
Thus change everything tomorrow because UW got a grant. The 2.5 decade NSF math fiasco rumbles on.
OSPI wants "Bold and Disruptive" because some moron consultant wrote a book with that phrase in it. The teachers would like something based on practices and materials proven to produce success but that is never advocated by those "in charge".
Race to the Top is more of this nonsense on steroids.
I want a new Gov. and new WEA and SEA leaders. These folks are complicit in money grabbing for comparative pennies while ignoring what is needed to effectively overhaul education.
Try how well "innovative schools" are working in Cleveland Ohio HERE.
Seattle is being killed by Superintendent MGJ .... bye bye alts. bye bye sanity..... Hello Big Money Boys looking for lots more.
So true. I was reading about the "star" awards for GS, a public service project, recently. I was intrigued to see that "sustainability" is one of the major goals for the "Gold Star." You're supposed to identify a community need, come up and implement a plan, and then work on ways to make it sustainable without your presence.
So, thinking about sustainability is well within the ideas being discussed in the philanthropic community.
Did anyone else here the NPR news report about Sharon Rings and the school community at a SPS elementary school, that pulled together to provide help to a family whose father was being deported? The school pulled together to form a community for the family (meals and the like), helped get them in touch with an immigration attorney, wrote letters in support of the family. And Sharon Rings, a teacher at the school, drove the family to pick up the father from the detention facility when he was released.
It was a pretty amazing story about the community schools are providing for families, including vulnerable ones.