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.)
Comments
Anyway, two events are coming up. The first is an invitation for parents, teachers and students to join Parents Across America, Seattle in a meeting at Volunteer Park on May 7th at 2:00 PM.
We will be meeting at the Noguchi sculpture, what I refer to as the big tire, and from there we will select a good spot. Family members and children are welcomed to join us.
For additional information, you can contact me at dora.taylor@gmail.com.
Fighting Racism in the Public Schools
Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Mt. Zion Baptist Church
1634 19th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98122
Sponsored By: Social Equality Educators (SEE), Parents Across America , Seattle Education: News and Commentary
Featuring:
James Bible
Civil rights attorney and the President of the King County chapter of the NAACP
Wayne Au
Professor of Education at the University of Washington, Bothell, editor of Rethinking Schools magazine, and author of Unequal by Design: The Standardization of Inequality
Jesse Hagopian
Teacher at Garfield High School, contributing author to the forthcoming Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation, and founding member of the Social Equality Educators (SEE), a rank and file committee of union teachers.
Olga Addae
President of the Seattle Education Association
Gabriella Gutierrez Y Muhs
Seattle University Professor, Latin American & Women Studies
Rickie Malone
Former Principal, African American Academy and current teacher, Seattle Public Schools
This line up of speakers guarantees a lively discussion.
For additional information, go to:
http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/3772/
(Blogger is not allowing me to post the link in html.)
Here's the notice:
CPPS ANNUAL MEETING - 21st Century Parent Engagement
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 6:45pm
Lincoln High School Library
4400 Interlake Ave N
Come learn about our Parent Leadership Training, encounter action opportunities where you can make a difference for our schools, and help define parent engagement for quality neighborhood schools in our city.
Special guest, interim superintendent Susan Enfield, has promised to bring regional directors to engage in conversation about district AND local level community/parent impact, and we want you to be a part of the conversation.
What a waste of money!!!
http://westseattleblog.com/2011/04/congratulations-to-schmitz-park-elementary-concord-international
The district has set aside $1.9M General Fund dollars for "Performance Management".
The district recommends elimination of a District Truancy Representative, Drug/ Alcohol Intervention Specialist, Re-entry Intervention Student Assistant(4), Instructional Assistants (4.2), Interpreter for deaf, Substance Abuse Awareness Training Specialist, HS Language Arts(4.6), Social Studies (4.3), Elementary School Counselors (8.5 FTE) and more.
12.5 Elementary counselors will be funded with discresionary dollars or "other funds".
I know of atleast one HS Language Arts class whereby a teacher has above legal allowance of 150 students. Any more?
Higher burn out rate, less one on one... but hey, what is the cost of human capital.
-ttln
The difference between believing you are smart and having your teacher believe you are smart - and being put in a class you and your teacher believe you shouldn't be in can be huge. Just yesterday, I told my kid's new LA teacher (who is frustrated with his writing skills) that indeed, my child only seems to progress in writing in the years he has a teacher who is able to convince him that secretly, he is a great writer, and he just needs to work on a few things. Otherwise, he languishes. The harder it is, the more he can't meet the requirements, the more he believes he's stupid and can't. My son, for one, would not be helped by being placed in a class above his level.
Anonymom Today
I think many more kids in this District could be taught at Spectrum levels (as I understand them from years ago at Wedgwood). And I wish that there were more opportunities in the District for parents to opt their kids into accelerated learning without having to pass some stupid test -- because the tests are so flawed for some kids, and it is so unfair to treat them as infallible, which we do.
But -- it is not a one size fits all deal. There are still kids who require direct instruction (which I would NOT impose on most gifted kids -- it would be a waste of their time) to learn well. Teachers and administrators need to stop thinking that they "teach" a curriculum, or a course, and start internalizing that they teach each child -- each separate mind -- with all the ramifications that imposes on teaching styles, curricula, etc. We do a huge disservice both by underteaching kids who could do more, and by refusing to repace, or reconfigure teaching to reach those whose minds are sufficiently different that the "regular" methods don't work.
I think it is WAY more than PR, but is mostly good intentions. While those are necessary prerequisite for doing a good job (and I personally don't think MGJ ever had them -- harsh though that may sound), they don't get you all the way to actual improvement.
Dr. Enfield still needs to fix much of the remaining disfunction downtown.
Dr. Enfield should start making meaningful efforts to pull in community involvement BEFORE decisions get made (it would be nice if the Board would insist on this, but they haven't -- and she could take the lead here). We could avoid the ridiculousness of the science waiver stuff if parents had been consulted FIRST about the ramifications on transcripts of moving Biology I to the sophomore year, etc. Parents are such a resource -- and this District squanders that resource time and time again. When they DO engage parents (as in the NSAP), it doesn't fix everything -- especially since they ignore so many good points, but it sure helped.
Dr. Enfield needs to pull together the report that really tells us what is going on with the Strategic Initiative -- what is in it, what got dropped, how much we are spending, what is being delayed. IF she did this, she could also follow up on stuff that should NOW be dropped (like the STEM contract for the project software that evidently no one uses (again, -- lots of NOVA parents could have headed THAT one off at the pass, but they were never asked for input).
She needs to go to bat for alt schools, the alt policy, and educational excellence as it manifests itself in each school (not as it is imposed from downtown).
Dr. Enfield needs to fix the SPED problems with the new delivery system.
Can I say Amen to that?! It seems there's a push for more time between introduction and acceptance of Board agenda items. That's a positive. But we need a coordinated community engagement plan that does more than count bodies or web clicks! How about true partnerships with families? Not psuedo-grassroots lobbyists?
I am keeping fingers crossed that those children that fall between the cracks of minimal support to self-contained, are provided what is their right by law and humanity: a continuum of alternate placements that let's them learn along with their peers.
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Tacoma-official-suspended-for-links-to-Seattle-Schools-Scandal-121004739.html
Layers in an onion. I guess the bottom line for me is that each and every kid needs, and on some level wants, to be pushed up to and beyond their comfort zone of self-defined ability. Gifted programs encourage that kind of teaching and teachers often feel more comfortable demanding more effort out of a classroom of the identified gifted. I believe these teachers can use these methods on "average" kids and get superior results and that is exactly what this study has illustrated. It was funded by the US Dept of Ed and you can Google Project Bright IDEA and read news articles or the complete reports.
Gifted programs like Spectrum self-contained are used, among other things, to incubate new teaching models and introduce them to all classrooms if they are successful. Like AP classes in high school. When I was young, AP was new, limited and considered only for the very ambitious or very bright. Now AP classes are expected of all kids going straight into a 4 year college. Standards get raised for all sometimes by raising them for a few at first. I don't follow the logic of parents who insist on "blending" Spectrum students into gen ed classes instead of demanding that their non- Spectrum children get teachers who have taught gifted ed and will treat their kids' classrooms with the same level of expectations. This study, and it encompassed 4 years, shows that we need more gifted teaching methods and the expectations associated with that style, not less.
When his father decided to give all his money to charity, Peter and his wife went out and researched charities with the express purpose of not becoming "colonial philanthropists". The term so resonated with me and his rationale that just because you have a lot of $$ doesn't mean you have the right to tell folks what to do.
Food for thought on a sunny Saturday.
Kitsap School
Enjoy...
Parent
One repeated point of contention in the district's budget has been its goal for keeping a 5 percent contingency fund. Board members said they would consider reducing it but needed more information.
Board members also directed staff to look for other cuts, possibly in administration, and to talk with union leaders about what they'd be willing to give up, such as professional development funds or salary.
"We'd all like to hear what they're willing to give up to save jobs," board member Kathleen Dassel said. "We'd like to hear from them, and put that into the mix."
Members of the Public School Employees already have agreed to give up $45,000 slated for professional development, Anderson said. Chris Fraser of the North Kitsap Education Association, which represents teachers and other staff, said union leaders have talked with administrators about other cuts but have not yet made a decision.
"We would need to know that that money would be used for jobs," she said.
The Trust Issue.....
So why did the WEA endorse 6696 in March 2010?
Because WEA wanted RttT money.
So why has the WEA continued to push for the adoption of the Common Core State Standards, which is an unfunded mandate that will require districts to pay $165 million over the next 5-years?
165,000,000 / 100,000 = 1650
1650/5years = 330
That equates to at least 330 fewer teaching jobs each year statewide.
So members pay $75 / month to a Union, for what?
To have the leadership support anti-teacher policies and mindless reforms as exemplified by the RttT 4 turnaround models.
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Teachers need to wake up and expand that trust issue to Union Leadership.
Seems that $75 / month supports bloated out of touch Union leadership, which mirrors many School District Central Offices in far too many ways.)
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If the good of the teachers is the primary goal and if the good of the students is any kind of goal, then Evidence Based decision-making is certainly not happening in the WEA or the SEA.
WEA Pres. Mary Lindquist and her crew should be tossed out by membership at the next opportunity.
Note: SEA leadership has supported WEA on the 6696 and the CCSSI. Why?
Not being a teacher, I can't really speak to teacher union leadership, except to say that I do support rank and file union activity. But this bothered me a bit:
"Teachers need to wake up and expand that trust issue to Union Leadership."
Maybe it's just me, but I find it offensive when somebody tells people to "wake up." I honestly don't think teachers are asleep. :)
CHS Music will be hosting a great big Rummage Sale on May 7th in the cafeteria to benefit the program!
We hope everyone turns out to support us, and will be accepting donations to our cause for the next week.
Thanks for reading!!!