Tuesday Open Thread

Upcoming events:

CoolMom's 'Think Outside the Car' Celebration, Tue Jan 15, 6:30–8:30pm, Fauntleroy Church UCC, 9140 California Ave SW, free.

Education Without Borders: Transforming Learning for the 21st Century, Wed Jan 16, 4:30–7:30pm, Seattle Children’s Theatre, 201 Thomas St, free.  This one is brought to you by the World Affairs Council and will have ed experts from different countries discussing education and educational system.

Also of interest, this Times article about speed cameras around school zones.   What's interesting is that the projections of the number of tickets that would be issued were much lower than what is actually happening which would lead you to think that maybe people are being really blase about speeding through school zones.  

The cameras are at Thurgood Marshall, Broadview-Thompson, Olympic View and Gatewood Elementary.

To emphasize that the cameras were installed to increase safety, not swell city revenues, Mayor Mike McGinn said at a late November news conference that any ticket revenue exceeding initial expectations would be spent on public-safety improvements near the schools with the cameras.

"We're not interested in raising money off this," McGinn said at the conference. "We're not going to use it just to support the general fund. We'll put it right back into safety around our schools."

Wyeth Jessee, principal of Broadview-Thomson K-8 School, said the public-safety improvements around his school would be more than welcome.

"Many of the roads in the north end of the city don't have sidewalks, including parts of Greenwood Avenue," Jessee said. "Some of the road signs and lights are dated."

Don't even read the comments.  Many people say it is WRONG to have a speed limit around a school (and ask where the flagperson is as if there isn't a cost to that as well) and even if there is a speed limit, that the fine ($189) is too high and 20 mph is too slow.

Amazing.  One minute out of the day to slow down for children and parents crossing the street.  

What's on your mind?

Comments

Maureen said…
Come see A Midsummer Night's Dream at Ingraham High School if you can! Jan 17-27 (six shows). It's in the small theater so may sell out. Tickets are available via Brown Paper Tickets: ingrahamdrama.brownpapertickets.com
Anonymous said…
Pretty irritated by the old ladies who came to Directors Carr and Martin-Morris' community meetings on Saturday to protest the proposed new K-5 on the Thornton Creek site and said they will vote against the BEX IV levy because of this. Selfish, thoughtless, short-sighted, greedy NIMBYs. Let's hope lots of their neighbors see sense and vote for the levy and our kids' futures.

--Flibbertigibbet
Anonymous said…
The objections in the comments are not so much about speeding but rather paying a private, Arizona-corporation the bulk of the fines...

--Policing by police please
Watching said…
Keep an eye on Ross Hunter- House Representative from Medina. He might propose taking the state's lowest performing schools and placing them under state control.

Isn't it bad enough that this guy supproted charter schools? Now, he may want the state to take control of lowest performing schools.
Eric M said…
Garfield teachers and those in solidarity, Rethinking Schools just received this statement of support from educator Nancy Carlsson-Paige and son Matt Damon:

We are writing to support all of the teachers at Garfield High School. We admire your strong and unified stand against the district mandated standardized test. Teachers, students, and parents do not have to accept practices that are harmful to them and to the whole meaning and purpose of education. We know it takes courage to risk your jobs in order to stand for what you know is right. But your example holds the promise of inspiring teachers in school districts all over the country to take similar action. Thank you for your strength and courage. We admire you and are behind you all the way.

Nancy Carlsson-Paige and Matt Damon
Anonymous said…
The capacity scenarios being presented to the Board on Thu. have been narrowed to three (in order from most expensive to least expensive):

1) 6th grade academy @JM

2) Middle school housed @JA

3) do nothing but in-school adjustments for next year

Same scenarios discussed at Peaslee's meeting. Nothing new from staff.

just fyi
Anonymous said…
Another armed bank robbery in Magnolia close to Blaine K-8. This is the 3rd in recent months. I wonder if they have new safety measures in Blaine?
http://magnolia.komonews.com/news/crime/814857-police-masked-man-robs-magnolia-bank-gunpoint
Magnolia mom
dan dempsey said…
Perhaps it is time to stop teacher bashing and end the Top Down Ed reform.... look at this Data =>

Report: International tests severely misrank U.S. students
Experts say U.S. education policy based on misleading analyses

The truth, says the report, is that—when comparing apples to apples in weighing U.S. student performance against that of other industrialized countries—U.S. students don’t rank 25th in math, but 10th; and in reading, the country is not 14th, but 4th.

Carnoy suggested that U.S. education policy might be influenced by inaccurate data, noting that because Education Secretary Arne Duncan “talks about how we’re making small gains,” he’s not receiving accurate information—and therefore policy directions “should be changed.”

Conclusions based on these averages “ignore the complexity of test results and may lead policy makers to pursue inappropriate and even harmful reforms,” said Rothstein, who also is senior fellow at the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute of Law and Social Policy at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law.

The report describes how, in TIMSS reports from 1999 to 2007 (2011 data will be analyzed when available), disadvantaged U.S. students have made consistent gains.
dan dempsey said…
From Ed Week:

Global-Achievement Study Casts U.S. Scores in Better Light

In addition, the study finds that while the achievement of disadvantaged U.S. students has been "rising rapidly over time," test scores for such students in some nations to which the United States is frequently compared, such as Finland and South Korea, have been "falling rapidly."

So much for all that talk about falling schools and Arne Duncan's turnaround models.... looks like positive change is occurring.
dan dempsey said…
The report is from the Economic Policy Institute at Stanford University.

What do international tests really show about U.S. student performance?

By Martin Carnoy, Stanford Graduate School of Education and EPI
and Richard Rothstein, EPI

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