Tuesday Open Thread
The deadline for input on the Advanced Learning draft updates has been extended until Wednesday, Oct. 22nd.
Hey, guess what? Ed reformers at the Walton Foundation figures out that field trips help kids. From the Russ on Reading blog;
The draft policy and procedures are available through the link in the right hand column on www.seattleschools.org/advlearning. The Oct. 22 public comment deadline will provide time for the Advanced Learning Office to edit the documents if necessary before they are introduced to the full school board at the Nov. 5 board meeting. A vote is expected at the December 3 meeting. Community members who would like to submit a comment should email it to advlearn@seattleschools.org and be sure to include POLICY – in all caps – in the subject line.The district is also looking for input on the "revised Special Education policy related to Commencement Exercises and Certificate of Attendance."
Deadline for comment is Oct. 31, 2014. The draft policy will introduced to the Seattle School Board at its Nov. 5 meeting.Parents working on changing lunch length/recess length will be meeting at the JSCEE before the Board meeting on November 5th.
The draft policy is posted on the district’s Special Education web page. Please send comments to specialed@seattleschools.org, with “Policy” in the subject line.
Hey, guess what? Ed reformers at the Walton Foundation figures out that field trips help kids. From the Russ on Reading blog;
This report follows last year's groundbreaker from the same group that found positive learning outcomes associated with taking kids on field trips to museums. Both these studies fall into a school of educational research that I like to call a "Duh" Study; that is, a study that purports to discover something that veteran teachers have known, like, forever.What's on your mind?
Comments
I think immersion schools are a fantastic idea, but I've never actually visited one, so I'm a little hazy on how they work (like how much time do the students spend studying in their native tongue?).
Seems to me that SPS should hire a super with a strong business background who is tasked with cleaning up district staff: Set goals, make accountable and have clearly stated repercussions.
I think many of the problems in SPS stem from obstinate and ineffective district staff. And we have an opportunity to clean house and change the culture.
Are high school capacity issues going to come on slowly over the next few years at all/most/some/few high schools? Will it happen slowly so that it is easy for the public to miss at first, and then snowball? Any ideas where this is likely to flare up first and worst, based on numbers? What is the district REALLY doing in the background now to plan for this? I have a hard time believing that absolutely nothing is being planned at the district level on this. When will they begin actually discussing this as a real issue with the community and reviewing a real set of options? Will the District design a separate solution for each high school? I have seen split shifts mentioned so often on the blog. But it would seem that this problem is not going to hit all schools alike and that there may be different solutions at different schools.
The parents at our local school have no idea that high school capacity could be an issue. They have not seen it or felt it yet, so it just doesn't exist to them.
--Fedmomof2
I don't want this issue to get lost.
Anyway, does anyone know what happened at Lincoln this morning? There was a shelter in place while police were called to a student acting out in some way in the one of the buildings/programs (probably not APP as it was before school started - these students only just starting to arrive). Wondering if any weapon was involved? Any kids or staff in danger? Is this a common occurrence n K-5 or K-8 (needing to call police to school) - I'd imagine it more likely in high school population….
insecure
I have been given permission to provide more information regarding the shelter in place that occurred before school this morning.
At approximately 9:11 a special education student in the C Wing had a plastic knife in the classroom. The teacher called 911 and district security. The police asked us to put the school in shelter in place to ensure students, teachers and parents were safe. The police also asked that students not get out of their cars or off buses during the shelter in place. We have asked teachers to let students know what happened in case their were questions or concerns. Mr Burke, our school psychologist, is also here to support students.
Email_message
So it's still not clear to me what program the student with the plastic knife belonged to. It doesn't sound like Lincoln APP student since the time is before school. Where is the C wing and who uses it? And…. must have been either a pretty threatening plastic knife or a pretty threatening student for the police to be called - or is this standard protocol?
Insecure
I don't have any details, but the basic issue with high school capacity is that the lower grades are larger than the upper ones, so as these grades move up into high school, the high schools schools will get progressively more crowded. The big jump in size starts with this years 7th graders, and goes on from there, with each grade being 200-400 kids larger than the one before it. This years 6th grade class is 500-600 kids larger than the 9th grade class that just moved from middle schools to high school - that's why they had to scramble to open the new middle school in the north end this year.
The current high school classes average about 3200-3250 per grade. By 3020, there will be over 4000 kids per grade - so a 25-30% increase over the number that are there today. And the grades behind them are even larger - the lower elementary grades right now are over 4500 kids.
Mom of 4
700K screwing
Thank you for the update on the situation at Lincoln.
700, your comment says a lot more about you than any student.
Pretty sure the commenter above meant 2020 instead of 3020.
-North-end Mom
It is not now nor has it ever been a public schools responsibility for the actions of a student when the district is unaware of a potential problem or a students history of problems.
700K screwing
Mom of 4
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/mayor-rahm-opposes-elected-school-board-referendum/Content?oid=15315525
Makes me nervous if the city takes over here.
Data and experience show that children with disabilities are too often the target of bullying and harassment – whether it be through overt physical behavior or verbal, emotional, or social behaviors – and schools, together with families must strive to ensure that every child feels safe and supported at school, on the bus, during recess/lunch and other extracurricular activities. This is an unequivocal message that schools must do everything possible to protect access to a FAPE for every student with a disability and ensure both suspected and known violations are investigated and dealt with in accordance to the law.
The letter gives the following illustrative hypothetical regarding the duties of a school district:
At the start of the school year, a ten-year-old student with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD) and a speech disability is fully participating in the classroom, interacting with his peers at
lunch and recess, and regularly attending speech therapy twice a week. In addition to providing for
speech services, the student’s Section 504 plan also provides for behavior supports that call for all
his teachers and other trained staff to supervise him during transition times, provide constructive
feedback, and help him use preventative strategies to anticipate and address problems with peers.
Because of the student’s disabilities, he makes impulsive remarks, speaks in a high-pitched voice,
and has difficulty reading social cues. Three months into the school year, students in his P.E. class
begin to repeatedly taunt him by speaking in an exaggerated, high-pitched tone, calling him names
such as “weirdo” and “gay,” and setting him up for social embarrassment by directing him to ask
other students inappropriate personal questions. The P.E. teacher witnesses the taunting, but neither
reports the conduct to the appropriate school official, nor applies the student’s behavior supports
specified in his 504 plan. Instead, she pulls the student aside and tells him that he needs to start
focusing less on what kids have to say and more on getting his head in the game. As the taunting
intensifies, the student begins to withdraw from interacting with other kids in P.E. and avoids other
students at lunch and recess. As the student continues to withdraw over the course of a few weeks,
he misses multiple sessions of speech therapy, but the speech therapist does not report his absences
to the Section 504 team or another appropriate school official.
(Continued)
SPED parent
- Data Hungry
In this example, OCR would find a disability-based harassment violation. The student’s peers were making fun of him because of behaviors related to his disability. For OCR’s enforcement purposes, the taunting the student experienced, including other students impersonating him and calling him
“weirdo” and “gay,” was therefore based on his disability.29 The school knew about the bullying
because the P.E. teacher witnessed the conduct.30
Yet upon witnessing the taunting, the P.E. teacher
not only failed to provide the student behavior supports as required in the student’s 504 plan, but also failed to report the conduct to an appropriate school official. Had she taken this step, the school could have conducted an investigation and found that the conduct created a hostile environment
because it interfered with the student’s ability to benefit from the speech therapy services that he should have been receiving and negatively affected his ability to participate fully in P.E., lunch, and recess. The school’s failure to appropriately respond to the bullying violated Section 504.
OCR would also find FAPE violations under Section 504. First, when the P.E. teacher failed to implement the behavior supports in the student’s Section 504 plan, the school denied the student FAPE under Section 504. In addition, and independent of the failure to provide behavior supports,
because the bullying impacted the student’s receipt of Section 504 FAPE, the school should have addressed the student’s changed needs; by failing to do so, the student was denied Section 504 FAPE. The school should have known about the missed Section 504 services and related changes in behavior. The P.E. teacher knew about the bullying but did nothing to report the student’s
behavioral changes (e.g., the student’s increasing efforts to isolate himself from other students) to the Section 504 team members or other appropriate school official. Similarly, the speech therapist knew that the student was missing speech therapy but did not report this to the 504 team or to an
appropriate school official. By failing to address the adverse effects of the bullying on FAPE, the school did not make necessary changes to ensure the student was provided FAPE under Section 504. If, upon concluding its investigation, OCR and the district were to enter into a resolution agreement, OCR could require, for example, that the district (1) ensure that FAPE is provided to the student by
convening the Section 504 team to determine if the student needs different or additional services
(including compensatory services) and, if so, providing them; (2)offer counseling to the student to
remedy the harm that the school allowed to persist; (3) monitor whether bullying persists for the student and take corrective action to ensure the bullying ceases; (4) develop and implement a school-wide bullying prevention strategy based on positive behavior supports; (5) devise a voluntary school climate survey for students and parents to assess the presence and effect of bullying based on disability and to respond to issues that arise in the survey; (6) revise the district’s anti-bullying policies to develop staff protocols in order to improve the district’s response to bullying; (7) train staff and parent volunteers, such as those who monitor lunch and recess or chaperone field trips, on the district’s anti-bullying policies, including how to recognize and report instances of bullying on any basis; and (8) provide continuing education to students on the district’s anti-bullying policies, including where to get help if a student either witnesses or experiences bullying conduct of any kind.
I see a lot of parralels between this and the Title IX Dear Colleague letter of April 2011, which notified school districts regarding their obligations under Title IX that prohibit sexual violence and sexual harassment.
I am hoping that the district can get out in front of this matter and be pro-active rather than reactive. It would be better for the students and better for the district.
I feel quite certain there are individuals within and without of SPS who are planning this.
We have to put up a fight.
Are schools supposed to have all students sign Internet Use Agreements if the student (of any age) is using the Internet (or has access to use the internet)?
Does your school have an internet code of conduct or internet safety guidelines posted at your school or have you sign an Internet Use agreement?
Signed --
Curious
Steve
TC
- Data Hungry
----------
Dear principals,
I am pleased to report that nearly 52,000 students are attending Seattle Public Schools this year, according to our official October headcount. That is an increase of 978 students over last year and is within 1 percent of our enrollment forecast.
Now that we have the official October enrollment counts for each school, as we do every year, we are moving forward with annual staffing adjustments – up and down – based on each school’s enrollment. Some schools have additional enrollment and require additional staff. Some schools have lower enrollments than projected and require staff reductions. We also consider equity factors, such as special education, English Language Learners, free and reduced price lunch qualifications and grade and program configurations. This year our school board has highlighted resource stewardship as a board priority, refocusing the district on the importance of assuring responsible management of our limited funding. While we have more students this year, the number is still lower than we projected, which has left us with $3 million less than we anticipated. With less revenue district wide, we will have to reduce the staffing budget from schools with lower enrollment and add staffing budgets to schools with higher enrollment to assure our class sizes and support personnel are equitably distributed to best support all students’ teaching and learning.
We know these changes are not easy for our schools, students, staff, parents, and principals. As the instructional leader of your school, and with your knowledge of our need to distribute resources equitably across the district, I urge you to help your school community understand this change and our considerations. We need your leadership at your school building to help make this staffing adjustment move smoothly.
Today we are announcing the following changes at schools:
Schools receiving additional staffing budgets:
· Lowell Elementary – 1.0 FTE
· Jane Adams Middle School – 1.0 FTE
· Laurelhurst Elementary – 1.0 FTE
· Rainier Beach High School – 0.4 FTE
· Mercer International Middle School – 1.0 FTE
· Sanislo Elementary – 0.5 FTE
· Concord International Elementary – 1.0 FTE
· Middle College – 1.0 FTE
Schools with reduced staffing budgets:
· Garfield High School – 1.0 FTE
· Stevens Elementary – 1.0 FTE
· Hazel Wolf K-8– 1.0 FTE
· B.F. Day Elementary– 1.0 FTE
· Denny International Middle School – 0.6 FTE
· Madison Middle School – 1.0 FTE
- Data Hungry
------
For the schools listed above, we have written a template letter for you to use in communicating this change to your school communities. Feel free to add additional information as it pertains to your specific school and your plans for the staffing change. Thank you for helping communicate how this change will be made in your school.
Schools losing staff funding will have five days (as required in the Collective Bargaining Agreement) to ask for volunteers or determine with HR the staff with lower seniority to be transferred. Although not ideal, and under review for future decisions, schools are permitted to keep staff if they have building or PTA or other resources to do so.
Here is a timeline for the process:
· Friday, Oct.17: Principals communicate to school staff and community/PTA and start displacement process
· Friday, Oct. 24: Schools have until the end of day on Friday (based on CBA displacement process) to make their decisions and must inform their employment analyst and copy Dana DeJarnatt in Human Resources
· Schools adding staff can post their position from Oct. 20-27, but it is possible they may receive a placement from another school. We should know if there will be a placement before the schools start the interview process.
Carry forward dollars are typically allocated at the end of October. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide that information sooner to meet this deadline. As a reminder, the total amount for non-staff/supplies set aside is less this year ($750,000 in total compared to $1.5 million in FY2013-14) due to more funds distributed in March.
If you have any questions or concerns, please work with the Executive Director of Schools for your region.
Sincerely,
Dr. Larry Nyland
Interim Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools
Follow themoney
It sounds like they must deal with particularly challenging kids if they take a plastic knife that seriously or is this standard procedure for SPS? Glad it wasn't a real knife or a gun!!
In the dark
SPED Mama
There is no reason to assume this could not have been a Lincoln APP student - other than the fact it occurred before school started for APP, and the principals message indicated it was a student in a special education program. APP at Lincoln does not have a self-contained spec ed program, that is true.
2E
It IS weird that we don't know what other programs are in the building at the same time our students are, and that it's somehow blasphemy to ask. I have heard today both that there is and is not an Interagency academy sited there, and that some of the special ed kids from last year left, and that more joined, and that it is medically fragile kids and that it is not them.
-sleeper
1)LIncoln APP
2) Licton springs K-8
3) Skills Center high school career/technical training (says various locations, one of which is Lincoln for health sciences/medical assistant training)
SO - is the medically fragile population still there?
Is the spec ed program the plastic-knife wielding student belongs to part of Licton Springs? If not, then what special ed program is here. Who else has the district hidden away in a dark corner of Lincoln?
Why the secrecy? I mean, it's not like these kids who may be a danger to others or anything, right? Right??
FYI - got nothing against these other programs/populations. They've got to go to school somewhere and they all get stuffed around by SPS too. I just would like SPS/Lincoln folks to be open about - ie. say this is the Lincoln campus: these are the programs, maybe the numbers of students in each, their school hours, and what part of the campus they are on.
No secrecy
Enough discrimination
-HS Parent
NEP
I don't think it does matter what services the student is receiving. It may be that it was unavoidable telling us, if they were going to tell us that the student was in C wing(ie not in the building where APP classrooms are, so it was appropriate to allow APP students in the building while the incident was occurring), if that is all special ed students. But I would want to know if a student in my child's class or program was having threatening outbursts that called in several police cars and apparently an ambulance. This incident shut down the school for a period and apparently happened on campus. I think it is reasonable for parents of elementary aged children to want to know more information. SPS does need to educate some teenaged children who may be a danger not only to themselves but others, and I think it's fair to ask if they are on the Lincoln campus, especially since who knows what all these program names mean. I *think* the skills center is after school. Not sure.
-sleeper
LincolnHS Grad
I am just using the term the principal used. I don't care if it's a spec ed student - that was just how the student was identified. I'm just trying to figure out what school or program or whatever its called they belong to.
Why did SPS not say it was a "Licton Springs" student or a "Lincoln APP Student" or whatever without saying a special ed student? I don't know? All I wanted to know is this - is it a student attending my kids school - yes/no? If no, which school or program that is housed at Lincoln does the student attend. While we're on that subject, exactly what schools/programs are currently located at Lincoln?
The fact that we have not been told but instead told that it was a special ed student is what makes it weird and is the reason I asked what special ed program is at Lincoln (because wouldn't a special ed class or resource room normally be part of an actual school? - so is this something different?)
I'm not getting at spec ed kids!!! I didn't say anything about them being more violent. It never would have occurred to me that it was a kid with special ed needs if the message from SPS did not specifically state that.
Didn't I make it clear that I have no problem with any kind of special ed program being at Lincoln- it's just that no one knows anything about it. I would just like the district to be transparent about it. How does that make me bigoted???
And complaining about my use of the term '"housed" Really??? APP students are currently 'housed' at Lincoln, Licton Springs students are currently 'housed' at Lincoln. Who else is 'housed' there? I make no apologies for using that term as it implies that the site is a temporary location - not their permanent site. For instance I would not say View Ridge elementary is housed at the View Ridge site. It has no negative connotations toward special ed students at all. It is a synonym for 'located at' Sheesh.
It's like you guys are just looking for any excuse to bash APP parents.
2E
"...if they take a plastic knife that seriously or is this standard procedure for SPS? Glad it wasn't a real knife or a gun!!"
Zero tolerance and that means ANYTHING (toy or plastic or not) that looks like a weapon.
"...cognitively qualified student.."
Does Asperger's count?
Concerned, not Surprised, yes, I am aware of the talk around Carlyle.
2E, apparently you are in the reader group that believes I sit here all day every day. I can't and I don't.
I will attend to the name-calling but some of you need to not badger me about what gets "attended to" or not.
Do not call others names. I'm not your mom.
voter
Since Banda promoted her to Director, nobody wants her to find out.
Hint-He retired Sara, get over it.
But by saying "Why the secrecy? I mean, it's not like these kids who may be a danger to others or anything, right? Right??" I being facetious about the district obfuscation, since no one seems to know what this other program is and one of the students did behave in a threatening manner (regardless of whether spec ed or gen ed or whatever). But I can see how it looked. I was not intending to imply that special ed students are danger to others (having 2E kid myself). So I do apologize for that.
I do think it is a stretch call me bigoted on that basis - certainly, clueless about how my facetious question would look in that context though.
It was totally off the mark and uncalled for to generalize that APP parents are bigoted on that basis.
And jokes, and apologies aside, I still want to know all the programs that are 'housed' at the Lincoln campus and why the secrecy.
No Secrecy (aka 2E)
The district has no problem throwing SpEd kids into the dust heap. That makes it easier for everyone else. Think about it. If you had a child who had behavioral or emotional issues, would you be so prompt to excuse everyone else's proclivity to identify and brand your child as 911 material? Wouldn't you want to see some reasonable attempt by others to find a more helpful and humane solution? As the law of the land REQUIRES?! Or is that just a guideline, a suggestion? That's how SPS and its staff treats it - then choose to ignore it
If someone wants to out my kid and brand him/her as a powderkeg, well let's look at your kid, then. Right, how stupid and illogical is that?!
I know the programs at Lincoln, Licton Springs and APP. Any one of those students could have "wielded" a plastic knife, "requiring" law enforcement. Not. Maybe their classmates were tormenting them, or their self-hate overwhelmed them, or the cyberbullying was too much.
Mary's point is well-taken. SpEd students are targeted far more than any other class - yes, more so than your own perfect student facing a plastic-knife wielding classmate. Do you watch youtube? or catch those horribly violent videos of "normals" beating down an unsuspecting student with a disability all in the spirit of sport or viral video?
This subject really riles the hell out of me. Quite trying to label my child as disabled and therefore crazy or out of control. Perhaps those efforts would be better spent on identifying why our society is so violent and abusive of gays, women, and students with disabilities.
No one is saying anything derogatory about special ed kids in general.
Calm down
The mix at Lincoln is no different than that at Old Van Asselt: two Sped preK, three 18-21 transition programs, and an Interagency program - plus, I'm probably forgetting some other SpEd program that is kicked about like a soccer ball.
I appreciate your willingness to discuss.
I wonder what happens to the students whose teacher gets pulled. Students aren't allowed to make a class change request after the 10th day of the semester. I don't think the district should be able to either.
That is what the focus on the words special ed is about in this case. Whether it is a kind if obfuscation. Not a misunderstanding of propensity to violence based on educational label.
-sleeper
Curious
I can believe that a move for mayoral control would be prompted by some crisis, financial or otherwise. Do you know if OSPI is in on this plan? Or are they just unwittingly going along?
And what can we as parents and advocates do to force SPS to fix these problems in advance before they give the city and OSPI a reason to demand a takeover?
Ex-LincolnMom
I wanted a 504 to protect my child's rights and needs due to her medically documented anxiety issues. The school and District 504 coordinators said her IEP for speech would cover her needs. I was specifically told a student could not have both an IEP and a 504. It sounds like from the case cited above that one can have an IEP and a 504. So what is it? The districts 504 person never confirmed my question about that. Same old, same old...just don't respond to emails or phone calls. Very annoying.
Speech IEP and anxiety issues.
ExLincolnMom
I can say that after talking with sources that this would be an incredibly bad idea for anyone up the food chain - Murray, Carlyle, Burgess - whoever to try. They will NOT success without the populace of SPS (and I mean parents) and community rising up to ask for this.
I do not believe that could happen. Why? Certainly there are many unhappy parents (and for good reason).
But the mayoral takeover has not proven its worth in practically any city.
It inevitably leads to mistrust of the Mayor over who he/she appoints to school boards and why.
A different mayor gets elected and boom! change comes (whether parents or staff want it). As Forrest Gump said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you'll get." (I know, that's not the exact line.)
And, as Charlie reminds us, it's not just about governance. It's about follow-thru.
A superintendent who expects and follows thru on operations in this district. Who makes basic operations functionally job 1 until achieved and THEN moves to bigger projects. Who will not allow procedures to be ignored nor auditor findings.
A Board who makes sure policies are followed and adhered to and will not move forward until explanations are made and plans to correct offered.
A Board who will not allow themselves to be short-changed on information/data. If they are, their answer is "I cannot do my job of oversight properly and be responsible to voters if I don't have the information I need to make an informed decision."
More on this on another thread assessing the complete nonsense that is the op-ed written by former Board member, Don Nielson.
You should be able to write accommodations for anxiety into the iep. If your child has an iep, she would be automatically covered by section504. A 504 plan would be redundant.
You can read about the differences on the Wright's Law website. Lots of good info there.
-sped parent
Correct. IEP's cover the bases of 504 and both issues should be covered on an IEP.
The wrightslaw.com website can be difficult to navigate. Here is one page that deals with that issue: http://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=122
Also, you may want to come to the SpEd PTSA meeting next Monday at 7 pm in the John Standford Center. There should be other parents there that night that might be good sources of support.
The "invisible" part has to do with choice seats. Most high schools were drawn much smaller than their capacity so as to create "choice seats" for students outside of the attendance area. As the enrollment pressure on high school began to increase, the first warning sign is that those 10% choice seats "vanish" as the students in the attendance area have first dibs.
If you look at the 2013 High School Annual enrollment report, you can clearly see some disturbing trends, if you scratch the surface pretty hard. On the surface, it looks like nothing has changed. The 2009 enrollment information is nearly identical to the 2013. This is likely why there hasn't been any greater sense of urgency. If you just look at the report, you don't see the "problem."
2013 - 277
2012 - 435
2011- 519
2010 - 525
For 2013, there was only half of the choice seats available as there was in 2010. 2014 will be even smaller.
What this means is that very soon, the system is just going to "lock up" as students won't be able to choose. Why does this matter? Because right now, the flow of choice students is FROM the more crowded schools to the less crowded schools. Once that stops, enrollment at the crowded schools will "hockey stick" and shoot up.
Can you give an example? I don't see the logic.
Try getting an incident investigated, it's like falling into a rabbit hole. And the proposed changes are worse, a different 504 coordinator for every way bullying can be experienced....God help the parent whose kid may experience Mary's example....that parent would have to carve up an investigation request and send it to 3-5 different processes with 3-5 different 504 coordinators. This is so the odds are better for a parent to miss a deadline, get overwhelmed and give the legal team a way to release themselves from accountability on a technicality.
I am not holding my breath for the OCR training.
A far as the comments about SPED student with a plastic knife, given the district offered up that adjective, it is another example of how rampant discrimination is in this district. I think most parents who "step in it" with wrong wording are not meaning to discriminate. The district should be setting the tone here...they are the paid professionals.....or maybe just paid.
Doggirl