Race to the Top Winner: Puget Sound ESD
The Puget Sound Educational Service District was one of the 13 winner in the latest round of Race to the Top.
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
I have participated in many collaborative efforts and this is the first one that truly included everyone and was not a top down approach. That's why it took so long, but it's going to stick.
I hope that folks can get behind this and help bring a better education to the students in the Road Map Project region.
Anyone know which company gets the online learning contract?
And what was promised in order to qualify for these funds?
One, it was a joint effort which means no one district. I like districts working together towards a common goal.
Two, this was in process and in the approval process BEFORE charters were passed. Previously you had to have charters or were heavily dinged. Naysayers like the Washington Policy Center and the Times said Washington State would never get these funds. They were wrong.
Thanks Trish for that input. I feel better that I know some of the people involved. Trish knows her community.
I had to smile when I read that Mary Jean Ryan, the lead on the Road Map Project, said that she screamed. Mary Jean is a pretty quiet person so clearly, she was happy.
But yes, it will be important to continue to follow this project as it progresses.
There is no Ed Reform jargon, no talk of charters, etc. Everyone is working within the current confines of the system and bringing much needed resources for the region.
I somewhat understand the skepticism, but really hope that people see this for what it is and not spend time trying to figure out the conspiracy or whatever.
There are some good people working on this and every single Superintendent has bought into the level of change that is needed to get the work done. What they need now is support to help the principals, teachers and families through implementation.
1. Minimum federal requirements – these must be met to be eligible for the grant:
Strong focus on personalizing education (not sure what this means, computer based "learning"?)
Stronger teacher, principal and superintendent evaluations by 2014 (I know what this means.)
Complete implementation of Common Core State Standards by the 2014-15 school year (even if the CCS are in some subjects lower than what we have now in WA state?)
Transparent reporting of data and school-level expenditures.
I'm with Sue on this. So far nothing good has come out of Arne Duncan's initiatives. I hope for Seattle students something positive comes out of this.
And yes, I am also curious who is going to cash in on online learning in our state.
Dora
Road Map On-Track Indicators
The following is a list of the Road Map Project on-track indicators. These are reported annually against specific targets.
% of children ready to succeed in school by kindergarten
% of students who are proficient in:
3rd grade reading
4th grade math
5th grade science
6th grade reading
7th grade math
8th grade science
% of students triggering Early Warning Indicator 1*
% of students triggering Early Warning Indicator 2*
% of students who graduate high school on time
% of graduating high school students meeting minimum requirements to apply to a Washington state 4-year college
% of students at community and technical colleges enrolling in pre-college coursework
% of students who enroll in postsecondary education by age 24
% of students continuing past the first year of postsecondary
% students who earn a post-secondary credential by age 24
* Early warning indicators are for 6th and 9th grade students. EW1: Six or more absences and one or more course failure(s). EW2: One or more suspension(s) or expulsion(s)
Other Indicators to be Reported
The following is a list of the Road Map Project contributing indicators. These are reported annually or whenever possible, but do not have specific targets. These contributing indicators combined with the on-track indicators make up the full list of Road map Project indicators.
% of children born weighing less than 5.5 pounds
% of eligible children enrolled in select formal early learning programs
% of licensed childcare centers meeting quality criteria
% of families reading to their children daily
% of children meeting age-level expectations at the end of preschool
% of children enrolled in full-day kindergarten
% of students taking algebra by the 8th grade
% of students passing the exams required for high school graduation
% of English language learning students making progress in learning English
% of students taking one or more Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses
% of students absent 20 or more days per year
% of students who make a non-promotional school change
% of students motivated and engaged to succeed in school
% of students attending schools with low state achievement index ratings
% of females age 15-17 giving birth
% of 8th graders reporting select risk factors on the Healthy Youth Survey
% of students exhibiting 21st century skills
% of students who graduate high school by age 21
% of high school graduates completing a formal career and technical education program
% of eligible students who complete the College Bound application by the end of 8th grade
% of graduating College Bound students who have completed the FAFSA
% of students who directly enroll in postsecondary education
% of students who did not complete high school on time who achieve a postsecondary credential
% of students employed within 1 and 5 years of completing or leaving postsecondary education, including wage
So when does educating our students begin to happen?
Dora
Will this get us much needed counselors, smaller class sizes or safer school buildings?
How much more testing will be involved to get all of the required "data" on students?
For the additional testing that will be required, is that covered in this grant money?
Hopefully someone has these answers and will be able to provide them here.
Dora
Enfield bought into it and Goodloe-Johnson bought into it or brought it with her. I remember her mentioning it in a board meeting when she was here. Banda is not on your list so I wouldn't imply that ALL supe's bought into this.
Dora
Most of the indicators are being track now by various entities including the feds, state, districts and community agencies. The Road Map Project (RMP) folks spent well over a year pulling in all that data for the RMP region and figuring out how to make that data follow each kid so when the kids move from district to district (which happens often) the receiving district has something to work from.
There is no new testing in the works. Districts may want to beef up their current interim assessments, but nobody is suggesting new end of year testing.
Each of the seven districts is committed to the RMP regardless of who the superintendent is, so while this happened before Banda, he is committed to seeing it through.
From what I understand, and I can be wrong, there are no vendors chosen and no contracts promised or signed.
I hope this helps. For more official answers to anyone's questions, contact Mary Jean Ryan.
As noted by others, some of the strands of this grant represent the usual "reform" agenda: On-line, CCSS, et al.
While there is certainly something to be said for some aspects of these things, their placement in a grand and bureaucratic endeavor all but guarantees the whole system will be jerked willy-nilly into these sorts of machines. For there is no doubt that machines they be.
Taylorism is overcoming education - "scientific" management of all aspects. We see that in the calls for "data," in the Danielson Framework, in online systems, in CCSS - everything identified and put in its place. Someone said that anything that can measured isn't worth measuring, and they are right: Heart, civility, even knowledge at its root, can't be measured, yet the "reform" systems will measure it, anyway, and make it theirs. With concurrent profit, for some...
Yes, there are some valuable tools in this grant, but as a package it is, even merely because it is a RTTT product, tainted with the smell of "the system," in this instance the federalized "reform" system, and systems aren't educators, people are.
Attributed to Einstein
Did it cost $3M to provide all of the information that was required?
According to how I am reading the information on the CCER website, the extensive list of information as shown above will be required again each year that grant money is received.
Does that mean that each year millions of dollars will need to be spent again just to provide the government, or whoever else can get their hands on it, with this information?
If so, when do we start to use the money to educate our children providing them with necessary resources and an enriched curriculum?
Dora
The Puget Sound Educational Service District is made up of 35 school districts:
Auburn School District
Bainbridge Island School District
Bellevue School District
Bethel School District
Carbonado School District
Clover Park School District
Dieringer School District
Eatonville School District
Enumclaw School District
Federal Way School District
Fife School District
Franklin Pierce School District
Highline School District
Issaquah School District
Kent School District
Lake Washington School District
Mercer Island School District
Northshore School District
Orting School District
Peninsula School District
Puyallup School District
Renton School District
Riverview School District
Seattle Public Schools
Shoreline School District
Skykomish School District
Snoqualmie Valley School District
Steilacoom Hist. School District
Sumner School District
Tacoma School District
Tahoma School District
Tukwila School District
University Place School District
Vashon Island School District
White River School District
And the grant award was for $40M.
That is a little over $1M per district.
That's what it will cost just to get together the "data' every year.
What am I missing?
Dora
Puget Sound was able to document sufficient autonomy and state support for the changes proposed. The state allows Alternative Education plans that individualize or personalize educational experiences that may include parent partnerships,
online courses and other approaches.
There it is...online learning, the cash cow of ed reform.
Dora
All students would have the chance to enroll in distance or blended learning programs.
"Blended learning programs" is the phrase used for online learning.
Isn't it ironic that Don Neilson is all set up and waiting to cash in on his investment in our state with his online learning company.
Dora
Dora
So out of the 35 school districts that make up the Puget Sound Educational District, 7 districts applied and "won" the money.
As I just posted on Seattle Ed:
According to newspaper reports only 7 out of the above 35 districts will be receiving the grant money. Seattle Public Schools was one of the “winners”.
As always with Race to the Top, there are winners and there are losers.
Dora