Friday Open Thread
A class size bill, HB 2589 is making its way thru the Washington State Legislature. Interestingly there is a column at The Olympian by Dick Cvitanich, the Superintendent for Olympia Public Schools, who advocates for spending McCleary money on smaller class sizes.
A story of contrasts between that bill and Bill 5246 for teacher evaluations which would no longer allow districts to use years of teaching experience in their hiring except as a tiebreaker and would rank order all teachers and principals based on student growth in their evaluations (mandating use of state test scores for teachers).
I'll try to do a complete round-up of education bills including the student data privacy bill.
What's on your mind?
A story of contrasts between that bill and Bill 5246 for teacher evaluations which would no longer allow districts to use years of teaching experience in their hiring except as a tiebreaker and would rank order all teachers and principals based on student growth in their evaluations (mandating use of state test scores for teachers).
I'll try to do a complete round-up of education bills including the student data privacy bill.
What's on your mind?
Comments
That's what SPS needs! A Performance-based Compensation System!
-Was There
-elementary parent
Thanks! That makes more sense. I assume that is the case at all schools.
VAM - value added measures are completely unreliable. Check the sats. More legislation based on fairy tales.
Common Core is an illogical expensive approach to improvement. It looks exactly like what Kentucky attempted in the 90s which was an expensive failure.
One size fits all only works for vendors not students. Pearson publishing and hardware vendors love Common Core with all the testing.
The biggest positive change I've seen in the last 20 years in K-12 education took place in Florida when students needed to read proficiently to enter grade 4. The improvement seen in FLORIDA over the last 5 years has been amazing. Schools are doing a much better job of teaching reading in k-3. The resulting improvement shows all through middle school.
The Legislature would be wise to stop wasting money on Common Core which was adopted with zero thought because Gates designed and push it. Remember the WASL math fiasco and the WASL math testing ....... SBAC testing has Dr WASL Joe Wilhoft as executive director.
What a pathetic mess because of pathetic leadership.
To improve a system requires the intelligent application of relevant data -- W. Edwards Deming
Meanwhile we get snake oil salesmen.
-- Dan Dempsey
I remember testifying when the Board bought that nonsense. It was at the same meeting that Everyday Math was adopted. .... Another piece of statistical nonsense. So teachers are expected to improve student learning by following District mandated fidelity of implementation of Everyday Math.... just hope students have lots of outside tutoring.
Note that your linked letter has US Dept of ED making sure about VAM component..... A clear violation of US Constitution but who cares about laws these days.
-- Dan Dempsey
If a school has 95% of the kids test in the 98-99%ile on the MAP, every year, how can the "growth" be measured? Will those teachers end up being the "worst performing"? One size fits all is such a crock.
Signed: Math Counts
These were some very reliable sources. Maybe someone can ask her about how and why she has changed her tune. Denying that she said it won't fly in this particular case.
--enough already
insider
Where will that money come from now?
Someone at the last board meeting mentioned the 3.4 million from sunsetting would be a one time savings. The state will reduce their contribution to busing next year
if the district reduces it's costs this year.
Does anyone know any details about this statement?
JAMS Information Nights
Feb 11th and Feb 25th, 6:30-7:30 pm
Jane Addams Auditorium
For all prospective JAMS families.
JAMS information meeting for current Jane Addams K-8 families.
Feb 11th, 5:30-6:30 pm, JA Library
JAMS Special Ed Information Meeting
Feb 25th, 5:30-6:30 pm, JA Library
JAMS Music Leader Announced
We are incredibly pleased to announce that Debra Schaaf has accepted the position as the Music Leader for Jane Addams Middle School.
Debra has built the instrumental music programs at both Orca k-8 as well as Aki Middle School. She has developed significant arts partnerships for students throughout the district and also serves as lead teacher through our Career ladder teacher program. With nearly 20 years of music experience, Debra has the right skill set to lead the development of the Jane Addams Middle School music program. She will be a great addition to the great cadre of music educators in North Seattle. Please join us in welcoming her as the first Jane Addams Middle School teacher!
See the JAMS Fusion Page for more announcements.
(http://jams.www.seattleschools.org)
- North-end Mom
There was a capacity management item on the agenda for this week's board meeting which would authorize the use of $4.2M in BEX IV funds for the purchase of 22-28 portables. Some of this could be related to the changes in transportation. I am suspicious of claims that we'll be returning students to overcrowded neighborhood schools though. I don't think most families are choosing busing to escape successful, popular schools.
The state calculates a district's expected transportation costs for the year - that figure is then compared to the prior year's costs. The reimbursement amount is the lesser of the two. Here's Tacoma's report for last year as an example.
Is the Seattle School District squelching candid talk about race?
We're making this s**t up as we go along
Even Teachers United thinks this is a load of hooey!
Interesting documents:
"We however recognize that Student Growth Ratings for individual teachers can be influenced by school leadership and curricular and instructional practices instituted at the building level. This is a key reason that Student Growth Ratings are merely a trigger for an inquiry into practice, and are not a weighted component of a teacher’s evaluation rating."
Then, why did Codd testify in Olympia, before the Senate, in FAVOR of incorporating test scores into teacher evaluations?
insider
HP
I can see not funding cheer but gymnastics is a sport. Are they not receiving funding from the school like other sports?
Also, many sports have their own fundraising boosters; does gymnastics at Hale?
After the school's support, there are two groups that in the past have supported sports and other activities: Booster groups and ASB.
There are several booster groups at Hale: Sports Boosters, Drama Boosters, Music Boosters, Science Boosters, Robotics Boosters. The booster groups distribute money that is parent raised money. Both Cheer and Gymnastics are a part of Sport Boosters. Any money raised by parents for Cheer or Gymnastics, goes into a Cheer Booster Account or a Gymnastics Booster Account. The coaches can use this money for whatever is needed for their sport with the Sports Boosters approval. It is usually used for new equipment or buses or uniforms.
The second group is ASB. Any fundraiser a student does, that money goes to ASB. So if the Cheerleaders have a car wash, all funds from that go to ASB. If the Gymnasts have a cartwheel-a-thon, all that money raised goes to ASB. In order to access that money from ASB, the coach has to fill out a budget and submit it in April. The gymnastics coach did that and now ASB has said that they won't fund any sport even if that sport contributed to their account with student raised funds. If this is true, I will not be supporting the cartwheel-a-thon as I have in the past. By ASB not supporting sports, it essentially eliminates all possibility of the students raising funds for their activity.
HP
What does the ASB intend to do with the money? I wonder too if the officers realize this is a one-time deal. Students won't continue to fundraise if they have no ability to direct the use of those funds. If I were you, I'd contact the staff member who advises the officers.
Can we rate the district with a VAM and student growth report based upon a failing math curriculum?
Or, should we blame the teachers?