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Overkill Leads to...what the U.S. System Looks Like Today
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Remember when I said. let's go back to basics? This might be a good start.
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Anonymous said…
They also have the most rigorous education programs in the world with something like 8 total schools of education that are as selective as their medical and/or law schools. How many collegegs of ed do we have in Washington State alone?
I'm sure they do but the weeding starts out before they do become teachers.
Anonymous said…
WA State doesn't have as many as Texas, where you can essentially buy a certificate. Or Utah, where you don't need a certificate to get a teaching job.
Not all of the WA colleges and universities have something ed-related. A couple of the private colleges (UPS, Seattle U, possibly PLU) offer ed programs as MAT programs for people who have already obtained their undergrad - no undergrad degree in education. I don't recall that Whitman has any form of ed degree. State schools, yes. The usual for-profit vultures - Western Governor's University, where you can get your teaching degree online! - City U, U of Phoenix - all offer ed degrees of some kind. I'd be perfectly happy to see fewer ed programs for more quality, if there were also more opportunities for teachers to rid themselves of student loans for taking on harder assignments -high-poverty schools and special ed, rural areas - and staying put for more than 2 years. Not just new teachers either. I was talking to someone recently who has taught for more than 10 years, but still has 30K in student loans (granted the Bush administration's interest rate hike probably inflated that by about 10K beyond what it originally was).
mag mom, how about we have a way to get rid of ineffective administrators? Teachers in SPS do get dismissed sometimes, there seems to need to be a felony indictment involved before an administrator can be removed.
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.)
Why You Should Care Mr. Crabill has found quite the acolyte in Director Chandra Hampson. In the course of discussions over SOFG, she says his name over and over, "A.J .says we...." Now that's not too surprising given the direction the district is heading and that it is Mr. Crabill's work with the Council of Great City Schools is how we got here. But it appears that Mr. Crabill is working very closely with Hampson and we know she wields some amount of power over the majority of the Board. Mr. Crabill is going to continue to work with the Board as SOFG is instituted in SPS. In fact, his role may become more public as it did at one SPS Board meeting in the spring where he was on the phone during the meeting and suggested the Board stop the meeting to "self-reflect." I also noticed that in a district in South Carolina, when things weren't going to plan, he blamed the Board for not following SOFG to the letter. Look for that to happen here if Board members w
Here's the agenda for tonight's Board meeting. I note that people can no longer sign up to speak at a Board meeting by phone. It is strictly by online sign-up. Not good. Public Testimony seems to cover two topics. Apparently, the Chinese program at West Seattle High School is in jeopardy and there are several speakers for that issue. The other issue is, of course, school closures. There are six people on the waitlist. Here's the latest from the Times which says that " Seattle Could Close about a quarter of its elementary schools." First, that would be a heck of a lot of schools (17) and two, only elementaries? My cynical side is that the district is throwing out a big number so they can "generously" only close 10-12. The article claims that the district is taking "$32M from its reserves" which is not true; they have no reserves. I think the reporter means capital reserves. I'll be tuning in with updates. 4:15 pm and has the 4:15
Comments
TooMany
mag mom
Not all of the WA colleges and universities have something ed-related. A couple of the private colleges (UPS, Seattle U, possibly PLU) offer ed programs as MAT programs for people who have already obtained their undergrad - no undergrad degree in education. I don't recall that Whitman has any form of ed degree. State schools, yes. The usual for-profit vultures - Western Governor's University, where you can get your teaching degree online! - City U, U of Phoenix - all offer ed degrees of some kind.
I'd be perfectly happy to see fewer ed programs for more quality, if there were also more opportunities for teachers to rid themselves of student loans for taking on harder assignments -high-poverty schools and special ed, rural areas - and staying put for more than 2 years. Not just new teachers either. I was talking to someone recently who has taught for more than 10 years, but still has 30K in student loans (granted the Bush administration's interest rate hike probably inflated that by about 10K beyond what it originally was).
CT