Open Thread
I hope each of you has a safe and fun 4th of July holiday weekend.
What's on your mind?
What's on your mind?
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
http://westseattleblog.com/2013/07/new-chief-sealth-international-high-school-principal-aida-fraser-hammer
http://westseattleblog.com/2013/07/6th-principal-change-for-west-seattle-public-schools-alki-elementary
-yumpears
http://westseattleblog.com/2013/07/another-west-seattle-principal-change-this-time-gatewood-elementary
One by Brian Rosenthal in the Local News section.
One by Brian Rosenthal in the Politics Northwest section.
If you like your principal - better buy him/her a farewell card. They won't be there long.
-tired of district tactics
S parent
THII for example has been at Garfield since fall '04.
If Summit k-12 still had Cathy Hayes when MGJ came to town, they would still be around.
& I think the district would be better for it.
Mr. White
Reader
Kessler Stevens
Floe Fan
http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/FullDayKindergartenResearch.aspx
For Seattle, it includes: Graham Hill, John Muir, Sanislo, Maple, South Shore, Kimball, Pinehurst, and Broadview-Thompson.
Can anybody confirm that all of these schools were already receiving free full day K?
Half-Dayer
"On June 30, Governor Inslee signed the 2013–15 state biennial operating budget that provides funding for 43.75 percent of kindergarten students in the state to receive full-day kindergarten in the 2013–14 and 2014–15 school years. In the 2012–13 school year, funding was available for 22 percent of kindergarten students."
With a 21.75% increase in funding, families who are paying for all day K, should see at least a 20% decrease in tuition, don't you think? That would bring it down from $311 per month to around $250. Who do I contact to make sure this actually happens. My board director? Who else? Thanks!
Half-Dayer
Eleven "Steve Jobs schools" will open this fall in the Netherlands
Not even sure what to make of this. It seems like it could allow some atypical kids to thrive, but somehow I'd see "Fail" written all over this if it were to be implemented on any kind of wide scale.
I do see the possibility that systems like this could work well in specific areas, like math, where there is a well-defined path of topics to work through and master. I don't see it working nearly as well in something like social studies (the conversations with teachers and among peers need to be fluid and shared), and not very well at all in writing. Also, I don't see how they could even attempt to have instrumental music or team activities (think PE or sports) without some kind of fixed schedule for at least those classes.
Also, TechyMom said elsewhere the "data could also be misused if the system is not designed well".
Let me modify that slightly to the "data will eventually be misused if the system is not designed well". In fact, I'll say that any large-scale data that can be tracked down to individual students is extremely likely to be misused no matter how it's designed. The only way to prevent abuse is to never let the data be distributed beyond the individual school or district data systems, and to attach "kill dates" when the data is automatically and irrecoverably destroyed. Sadly, programs like RoadMap and inBloom are currently taking the opposite track.
Without knowing anything at all, I wouldn't assume that this funding is going to be equally distributed across the state (or, in fact, distributed according to population or students). Look forward to seeing what answers you get. I still think it's crazy that people have to pay for full-day kindergarten, even when their neighborhood school offers nothing else.
zb
"Some of the ideas that may have occurred to Jobs are now on display in the Netherlands. "
Yech. I personally think (and, of course, you should listen to me) that Jobs would invent an entirely different kind of school.
"Some 1,000 children aged four to 12 will attend the schools, without notebooks, books or backpacks. Each of them, however, will have his or her own iPad."
I cannot imagine in a million years signing on to this for my children. A classic example of a tool driving a solution instead of the other way around.
zb
Link to SPS page listing their most current list of schools with/without free all-day K.
I don't know about the other schools, but I know Broadview- Thomson and Pinehurst K-8 changed status to free for next year.
Link failed, just go to SPS home, click on Schools and the drop down has Kindergarten Enrollment info page.
That's the lazy man's "differentiation". Without this dossier at their fingertips, these adults would actually have to suspend their presumptions and get to know the student. They'd have to assume this student could learn as well as any other, and should be allowed access to anything the school/enrichment programs have to offer.
I've sent it to Sherry Carr, who is my Director, and it's being well "shared" on Facebook. I will send it on to district admin. I'm upset at the precedent this sets, and hope we can get Mr. Greenberg back where he belongs. Not that there's anything wrong with middle school....
There were hundreds of students who were impacted positively by this class and one family should not torpedo it. This curriculum is not transferable to a middle school and Greenberg should be reinstated at the Center School. If parents want action, they need to keep pressure on the district.
Georgi and Steve Krom
She also has a history of being particularly catty toward, and dismissive of, Melissa, Charlie's co-blogger. Too bad Charlie doesn't reciprocate Melissa's loyalty (though she sometimes goes beyond when defending him), but instead can be found championing and cozying up to Bailey-Fogarty on a consistent basis.
Also ironic that there was a reference to Martin Floe in this thread. Bailey-Fogarty was at Ingraham and was a good friend (and staunch defender) of the ED who tried to fire Floe, even though the ED was a short-term principal who did not possess the credentials to have the job in the first place.
Some of us may be losing our short-term memories, but remember clearly when people have been treated unjustly.
--enough already
June Rimmer was the worst I ever saw. If she told me that the sun rose in the east, I would question it - but I wouldn't deny it without checking. And if it proved true, I would acknowledge that she got it right. Either way, I would let people know that she said it.
I have seen folks who think that loyalty requires them to disagree with rivals on every point. It isn't productive and loyalty doesn't ask for it.
Like any friend, we occasionally disagreed on things, but I still consider her a good, true, (and incredibly smart!) friend.
Floe fan
I am a staunch defender, and though Jon Greenberg is not a friend, I'm hoping you can resist the urge to be gossipy and mean and instead put your energy toward asking the district to reverse its decision on the Center School situation.
Thanks Floe Fan. I miss you guys, but it's really satisfying to catch kids up before they start high school.
On the other hand, using your name on blogs and in print as a practicing teacher, while talking about colleagues publicly, is very troublesome. In fact, when someone puts down their colleagues when attempting to look better by comparison, I call that "trashing."
You may have another word to describe it:
"Speaking of Ingraham teacher, Kristin Bailey-Fogerty (and to connect a few more dots), apparently she has drunk the ed reform, test-obsessed, anti-seniority, 'more effective than thou', Kool-Aid, and seems to intimate that she is the only teacher at Ingraham who wants to be more than "satisfactory."
Not surprisingly, she is featured on LEV's web site. (http://www.educationvoters.org/2011/04/13/teacher-evaluations-a-teachers-perspective/) LEV, of course, is also a corporate ed reform front organization funded by Gates.
Here Bailey-Fogerty makes some comments about her "colleagues" that are less than collegial, shall we say. But perfectly in keeping with the TFA,Inc. dogma."
"Here's the SaveSeattleSchools thread where Dorothy Neville got a nasty email from Ms. Bailey-Fogerty, who at the same time "reported" Dorothy to Melissa:
Dorothy: "I received an email from a teacher at Ingraham, Kristin Bailey-Fogarty, a friend of Bree Dussault and former TfA corps. She cc'd Melissa as blog administrator to let her know that my comment about Bree and Chris was inappropriate on many levels. She called me an idiot. Now, I've been scratching my head to figure out why she would feel the need to do that. And why cc Melissa? Was Kristin feeling threatened? Was her tattling to Melissa trying to get me censored? Was it meant as fear and intimidation?"
"And now for our morning dose of irony...
First, quoted from the Crosscut article "Less insult, more discourse..."
“The mud-flinging is hard,” says Kristin Bailey-Fogarty, a Seattle public school teacher who has been outspoken in her support of education reform and the A+ Washington initiative and, as a result, has sometimes been viciously attacked in the blogosphere. "I've found the best strategy is to assume your attackers care as much about an issue as you do," she says. "People come out of the gate in attack mode, but eventually they can come to a place of reason."
And now from Ms. Bailey-Fogarty's response to Melissa Westbrook's comment on "Why I Like A+ Washington"...
"Are we stupid? Are we so stubborn and paranoid we can't learn from others? I would hope not. We are complete fools if we do not examine successful schools in an effort to learn from them. I would hope we're not fools.
If you're going to load every verb up with your own fears and negative expectations, you're going to hate everything." "
Being a staunch defender is a virtue when one is defending what is ethical and fair. Just because Bree Dusseault is your friend is no excuse for defending her unjust actions when she attempted to fire Marin Floe (while you were a teacher at the school, no less). Ethics supersede relationships.
My references to your actions and words do not constitute gossip, but hold you accountable. You have made yourself a into public figure by roles on the LEV board and Teachers United (Gates funded) and being on a state educational committees. You have chosen to be in a position to be held accountable.
Bringing attention to your cattiness toward Melissa in no way implies that Melissa can't take care of herself. That woman is strong on her own terms, and has a long track record to prove it.
--enough already
On the other hand, using your name on blogs and in print as a practicing teacher, while talking about colleagues publicly, is very troublesome. In fact, when someone puts down their colleagues when attempting to look better by comparison, I call that "trashing."
You may have another word to describe it:
"Speaking of Ingraham teacher, Kristin Bailey-Fogerty (and to connect a few more dots), apparently she has drunk the ed reform, test-obsessed, anti-seniority, 'more effective than thou', Kool-Aid, and seems to intimate that she is the only teacher at Ingraham who wants to be more than "satisfactory."
Not surprisingly, she is featured on LEV's web site. (http://www.educationvoters.org/2011/04/13/teacher-evaluations-a-teachers-perspective/) LEV, of course, is also a corporate ed reform front organization funded by Gates.
Here Bailey-Fogerty makes some comments about her "colleagues" that are less than collegial, shall we say. But perfectly in keeping with the TFA,Inc. dogma."
"Here's the SaveSeattleSchools thread where Dorothy Neville got a nasty email from Ms. Bailey-Fogerty, who at the same time "reported" Dorothy to Melissa:
Dorothy: "I received an email from a teacher at Ingraham, Kristin Bailey-Fogarty, a friend of Bree Dussault and former TfA corps. She cc'd Melissa as blog administrator to let her know that my comment about Bree and Chris was inappropriate on many levels. She called me an idiot. Now, I've been scratching my head to figure out why she would feel the need to do that. And why cc Melissa? Was Kristin feeling threatened? Was her tattling to Melissa trying to get me censored? Was it meant as fear and intimidation?"
"And now for our morning dose of irony...
First, quoted from the Crosscut article "Less insult, more discourse..."
“The mud-flinging is hard,” says Kristin Bailey-Fogarty, a Seattle public school teacher who has been outspoken in her support of education reform and the A+ Washington initiative and, as a result, has sometimes been viciously attacked in the blogosphere. "I've found the best strategy is to assume your attackers care as much about an issue as you do," she says. "People come out of the gate in attack mode, but eventually they can come to a place of reason."
And now from Ms. Bailey-Fogarty's response to Melissa Westbrook's comment on "Why I Like A+ Washington"...
"Are we stupid? Are we so stubborn and paranoid we can't learn from others? I would hope not. We are complete fools if we do not examine successful schools in an effort to learn from them. I would hope we're not fools.
If you're going to load every verb up with your own fears and negative expectations, you're going to hate everything." "
Being a staunch defender is a virtue when one is defending what is ethical and fair. Just because Bree Dusseault is your friend is no excuse for defending her unjust actions when she attempted to fire Marin Floe (while you were a teacher at the school, no less). Ethics supersede relationships.
My references to your actions and words do not constitute gossip, but hold you accountable. You have made yourself into public figure by roles on the LEV board and Teachers United (Gates funded) and being on a state educational committee. You have chosen to be in a position to be held accountable.
Bringing attention to your cattiness toward Melissa in no way implies that Melissa can't take care of herself. That woman is strong on her own terms, and has a long track record to prove it.
--enough already
--Eckstein Mom
Does anyone know anything?
Thanks
-slp
I don't have to agree with everything a person posts in order to respect and appreciate their perspective.
I'm not a fan of Kristin's ideology but I do appreciate her thoughts in the face of such retaliation. I hope you keep posting, Kristin, because I really appreciate your points of view whether I agree or not.
Also, my principal was under Bree and I liked her. However, we had few interactions and my school didn't seem to be in turmoil at that time. Sometimes I do think people in the hierarchy can get sucked in by bureaucratic demands and quit really looking independently at what is best for the school and kids. I suggest that only because I've witnessed it myself and I have always been on the side of the oppressed when I felt their treatment was unfair.
That's probably a little obtuse but just saying that I've been on both sides. And people - colleagues - can gang up on you mercilessly for having a different point of view. No real names for me I'm sorry to say.
PS: How did you approach a dyslexic reader? I've had training (Slingerland) and I still can't figure out how to get it into the day for one student. I always refer outside the District. Perhaps the dyslexia was minor . . . I really would appreciate knowing what you do. Thanks.
Maureen and Eckstein mom (of one of the greatest kids ever!) thank you.
Great news about your son's progress, and kudos to the good teaching by Kristin Bailey-Fogarty.
Her teaching is not the issue I raised, but I did raise the issue of hypocrisy. Coming to the defense of Greenberg like a knight in shining armor, but participating in near-destruction of Floe's longtime career as a devoted professional is hypocritical. Coming to the defense of a teacher while having a record of putting down teachers (on your own team) to look good publicly is not appreciated by colleagues, to put it mildly.
I almost avoided talking about her cattiness toward Melissa, but Charlie deserved a wake-up call.
--enough already
The new building for the K-8 at Pinehurst is to be completed by Fall 2016 (it will not be built by Fall 2014).
The following email letter was sent out (5/15/13) to families in the probable Jane Addams Middle School (JAMS) feeder pattern. It may (or may not) be helpful to your neighbors.
Dear Seattle Public Schools families of John Rogers, Olympic Hills, Olympic View and Sacajawea Elementary Schools:
Seattle Public Schools is growing. This means we need to plan for more students in the next decade. Seattle voters approved the Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) capital levy in February which will allow us to increase our capacity and help meet the demands of our growing enrollment.
The northeast region of the District will benefit by the addition of new buildings over the next several years, including a new elementary on the Thornton Creek (Decatur) site, a home for the Jane Addams K-8 program on the Pinehurst site, a new building at Olympic Hills and new elementary and middle school buildings at the Wilson Pacific site.
Another important step to address growing enrollment is the creation of a comprehensive middle school at the existing Jane Addams building, which is scheduled to begin receiving students in September 2014.
We are in the process of selecting a planning principal for the Jane Addams Middle School program. The planning principal will be responsible for collaboratively working with the Jane Addams Middle School community to develop the educational program. The comprehensive middle school will be opening in September 2014.
A school design advisory team for the Jane Addams Middle School will be selected. The team will include school and District staff, the architect and community members - led by the planning principal. We will notify the community and send out applications for design team membership at a later date.
The Jane Addams building is a BEX IV project and will be repurposed to address the educational needs for the Jane Addams Middle School students and staff. The remodeling work will be done in phases over upcoming summer breaks from 2013-2017, even though the Jane Addams Middle School will open in the 2014-15 school year.
The Jane Addams K-8 program will eventually move to a new building on the Pinehurst site, but will remain in the Jane Addams building for now. We are in the process of planning for our enrollment growth over the next 2-4 years, which will help us determine whether it may be necessary for the Jane Addams K-8 program to move to an interim site until the Pinehurst site is ready in September 2016.
Boundaries will need to be aligned with the new BEX IV building projects – and with enrollment growth in mind. Equitable access to services and programs will also play an important role in boundary revisions. The initial focus of boundary revisions will be at the elementary, middle and K-8 schools levels, with high school revisions to be addressed at a later time. This September, we will hold growth boundaries community meetings to share information and ask for public input and feedback before the Board adopts changes for the 2014-15 school year and beyond. It’s important to note that there will be no boundary changes for the 2013-2014 school year.
In the meantime, we are continuing planning for enrollment growth and developing Jane Addams comprehensive Middle School enrollment information. Updates will soon be available at http://bit.ly/SPSBEX.
Best Regards,
Michael Tolley,
Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
Seattle Public Schools.
-North-End Mom
Congratulations to your neighbors on choosing a fine school and a fine principal.
And I hope they come up with a new name before this gets any more confusing.
It's indeed a fine school. We'd still choose it if we had to do it all over again, in spite of the building craziness.
-slp
-BT
Odd bit of phrasing there, BT. Perhaps it should be. If a child has, say autism spectrum disorder or severe anxiety, perhaps it should be a "right" to have a loving sibling close by (particularly an older sibling). It is also in the best interests of the child to NOT force him to move every few years - something that has been inflicted on many special education students as they age out of oddball K-3, then 3-5 programs. Finally, as many SpEd parents have often expressed, how is it that our disabled children are denied a cohort, particularly those students who struggle with social skills and now have some friends?
Your comment was perhaps meant to snark in another direction...
Bzzzt! Apparently NOT a priority here. What you describe is regression; a critical concern for special-needs students and their parents. But apparently not for Enrollment. While admin and the board will bend over backward (even drop a few hundred thou, along with forcing neighborhood families to cough up a few hundred thou more) to open a new language-immersion school within blocks of JSIS (just to get to parents at board meetings off their backs), if it just means your child will move to a new school to be scrutinized by new kids and teachers and served (or ill-served) by a new school's administrators, then no biggie.
Perhaps it WAS your mistake to not get your K child enrolled in time. At the same time, it will cost the district less to pick up BOTH your children on the bus, then it will to pick up a child in WS or Magnolia or wherever to transport them to TOPS. Having heard the discussion at board work sessions, it is clear to me that a) the loudest complainers; and b) the cheapest transportation costs, weigh more than the piddly problems of a disabled child and his family. Sad to say.
No snark intended. This is the reality as I have seen it over the years. I wish your son the best.
-BT
If you can reach your principal by email during the summer, and if they are familiar with your child, then it's possible that they could step in and advocate for your son to stay at TOPS. If you know a particular teacher or two that you can refer the principal to, that might be helpful as well.
That said, if you missed the deadline it seems unlikely that your daughter will be attending TOPS this fall. Chalk it up as a very unfortunate Oops, suck it up and live with kids in two buildings for one year, apply ASAP for first grade and get on any wait list, if required as soon as possible. Make sure the administration at TOPS (principal, counselors, registrar) all know exactly what happened this year and that your goal is to have your daughter there as soon as possible. (everyone: are the buildings still managing their own wait lists for Sept changes, or has that all been centralized now?)
I say "suck it up" for a year not to be mean, but because EVERY parent of (non-twin) multiple kids needs to deal with this. It starts with preschool and elementary, then as the older child ages out of elementary, you'll have one kid in elementary and one in middle school. As they age out of middle school, you'll have one in MS and one in HS and maybe even another in elementary. It sucks, but there's absolutely nothing to do about it. By choosing a K8 you've minimized this scenario (good for you), but even in the very best case it will exist for as many years as separate your kids.
Good luck, and give your principal shot at helping. I don't think it can hurt.
Sped par
Your son should be able stay where he is, but your daughter will probably need to go to k at your assignment school. If you apply for 1st grade on time, she is very likely to get in as a sib.
Grumpy
No one is making the older child move and no indication that subling a was placed at TOPS. The parents picked an option schools for sibling and then for I identified reasons didn't pursue option enrollment for sibling b. Now sibling b is assigned to attendance area school. They have been given the choices of maintain sibling a at TOPS and sibling b at neighborhood school or to have both at neighborhood school. Not unreasonable, given that alternatives are setting up the kindergarten class at TOPS tobe overloaded, to the detriment of students presently in the class and to the taxpayers who then have to pay for the overload or pluck an already assigned student (whose parents followed the process) out of TOPS for assignment elsewhere. You are giving unrealistic advice.
-Realism
Sped par
Apparently the legislature funded it, but failed to authorize it.
"There were some complications and we ended up not enrolling our daughter, who is entering kindergarten, until after the official enrollment period ended. Now, they apparently want to punish our children for our silly mistake and they're insisting our son at TOPS simply leave TOPS and go to his sister's neighborhood school."
Please tell us, Mike, how - exactly - did you fail to register your daughter for TOPS? As the sibling of a current student, she would have gone to the front of the line for assignment.
What were these "complications"?
What was your "silly mistake"?
Why do you think that the rules that apply to everyone else should not apply to you and your family?
Why can't your family have children in different schools like a lot of other families can and do?
As for Ms. Bailey-Fogerty, I only know of her through LEV and she and I have never personally exchanged any "strong words." I find it interesting that she comes here to this blog to defend her name but she's willing to publish her own writing at LEV's site where they allow no such allowance to anyone who comments there.
There's the difference. It's who you choose to align yourself with and their tactics that make the difference.
As for Ms. Bailey-Fogerty, I only know of her through LEV and she and I have never personally exchanged any "strong words." I find it interesting that she comes here to this blog to defend her name but she's willing to publish her own writing at LEV's site where they allow no such allowance to anyone who comments there.
There's the difference. It's who you choose to align yourself with and their tactics that make the difference.
"I'm hoping you can resist the urge to be gossipy and mean.."
Our blog prints all comments except "anonymous" ones. As well, we do not allow name-calling and your statement comes quite close to that line. For your future reference.
still waiting
I don't know Ms. Fogarty, but I find her posts on stories from school to be constructive, reasonable, and engaging, something you don't often find on education blogs.
Ms. Fogarty, you seem to be hated by all the right people. You must be doing something right.
Words have meaning. Don't inflate this into something it's not.
And Michael, if you are saying that this education blog isn't to your reading needs, then why are you here? LEV has a wonderful (if one-sided) blog you might like better.
Some of the links on the right navigation column, below the Blog Archive index, point to pages that are now obsolete thanks to SPS's new content management system. I know you're too busy to keep track and search for replacement assets: shall I send "most likely" URL updates via the contact address?
SPS mom
SPS Mom, well, I have found, over the years, that many people have very different ideas about what is gossip and what is news and what is "mean." There are some very sensitive people out there so I actually think it's a lot about perception. My goal is to not have name-calling going on because it doesn't help the blog
I can also only say that at least we're willing to roll with the punches and allow people latitude. You aren't going to find that almost anywhere else. Certainly not at LEV or DFER.
And odds are I'd agree with her on about 50% of education matters, while being firmly opposed to a lot of other stuff she favors. Either way, MW is right: Words Matter, and KBF's are dead-on correct. I think we should all be thankful for that piece, regardless of where she stands on other matters. She didn't have to stick her neck out and write anything, but she did. And kudos for it. My .02, anyways.
WSDWG