Friday Open Thread
Update: forgot to include this fascinating piece of news.
Sarah Morningstar, the late Cheryl Chow's partner, applied for Sally Clark's soon to be vacant City Council seat. Morningstar mentions her work as a school administrator in Seattle Schools in her application. Morningstar is currently assistant principal at TOPS.
The City Council will announce the finalists on Monday at 2 pm. There will be 3-minute presentations from the finalists on Friday, the 24th with an announcement of the winner on Monday, April 27th. Good luck, Ms. Morningstar.
end of update
In news about First Place Scholars, it's good news. Apparently, they have shown enough progress for their turnaround for the Charter Commission's Executive Director, Joshua Halsey, to say that things are looking good. They just need to turn in their documentation on Special Education to meet what the CC asked for in changes at FPS.
Did you get a robo-call from Ready Washington (brought to you by OSPI and the Gates Foundation) about SBAC? From Seattle Education:
People around the state are receiving robo-calls from a (Gates backed Teachers United) teacher who was declared “Teacher of the Year” by The Office of the State Superintendent (OSPI) which is headed by the State Superintendent Randy Dorn. Mr. Dorn is also on the board of CCSSO which is an organization receiving $84M from Bill Gates to promote the Common Core Standards.
Interested in civil rights data collection? Here's a place to search.
Robert Kennedy, Jr. continues his ranting over vaccines and autism. Recently, he had to walk back this statement:
This is a Holocaust, what this is doing to our country.”
Here's a test question from Singapore that seems to stump everyone - When is Cheryl's Birthday?
From KUOW, a entirely outdoor preschool here in Seattle. Wonder if they would qualify for the City's program? Nah.
Time for your science lesson - Finding the Speed of Light with Peeps
Coloring Books - they're not just for kids.
What's on your mind?
Sarah Morningstar, the late Cheryl Chow's partner, applied for Sally Clark's soon to be vacant City Council seat. Morningstar mentions her work as a school administrator in Seattle Schools in her application. Morningstar is currently assistant principal at TOPS.
The City Council will announce the finalists on Monday at 2 pm. There will be 3-minute presentations from the finalists on Friday, the 24th with an announcement of the winner on Monday, April 27th. Good luck, Ms. Morningstar.
end of update
In news about First Place Scholars, it's good news. Apparently, they have shown enough progress for their turnaround for the Charter Commission's Executive Director, Joshua Halsey, to say that things are looking good. They just need to turn in their documentation on Special Education to meet what the CC asked for in changes at FPS.
Did you get a robo-call from Ready Washington (brought to you by OSPI and the Gates Foundation) about SBAC? From Seattle Education:
People around the state are receiving robo-calls from a (Gates backed Teachers United) teacher who was declared “Teacher of the Year” by The Office of the State Superintendent (OSPI) which is headed by the State Superintendent Randy Dorn. Mr. Dorn is also on the board of CCSSO which is an organization receiving $84M from Bill Gates to promote the Common Core Standards.
Interested in civil rights data collection? Here's a place to search.
Robert Kennedy, Jr. continues his ranting over vaccines and autism. Recently, he had to walk back this statement:
This is a Holocaust, what this is doing to our country.”
Here's a test question from Singapore that seems to stump everyone - When is Cheryl's Birthday?
From KUOW, a entirely outdoor preschool here in Seattle. Wonder if they would qualify for the City's program? Nah.
Time for your science lesson - Finding the Speed of Light with Peeps
Coloring Books - they're not just for kids.
What's on your mind?
Comments
LAUSD ditching Pearson iPad program software, demanding multimillion dollar refund
Some of the headlines make it sound like this is an Apple/iPad problem, but if you dig in, it's mostly about Pearson.
LA schools iPad project: How it started... before the bidding began
"(Superintendent) Deasy also personally pitched Apple on working with Pearson, according to the emails."
Troubling behavior:
"Early emails show Pearson’s Codding did not want the district to solicit bids from other companies – known as a request for proposals, or RFP."
And here's something to take note of, because it happens everywhere, not just in LA:
"Feng sits on a committee overseeing the use of bond funds for neighboring San Gabriel Unified School District.
She likens it to being wooed by the pharmaceutical business, which spends billions annually to wine and dine doctors, reward them for participating in trials, provide free samples and other perks.
“In a similar way, when you have limited number of contracting companies, they will develop very strong relationships with school administrators and not because there is even necessarily corruption, it’s just because they have special access others don’t they are considered at the front of the line,” Feng said."
-NNNCr
I guess you missed the part where the "Cheryl's Birthday" problem came from Singapore. An independent country, with it's own language use, complete with slang, idioms and a rich history of its own.
That aside, it's sad that so many people seem to find this problem difficult. It's quite easy, a simple 3-step logic problem without any math involved. If you expose kids to these kinds of fun puzzles (along with lots of other things) from the time they're young, it helps with brain development. The problem is that if, as a parent, you can't understand the logic, then you're unlikely to encourage your kids to partake. Sad.
Write it in proper English then.
How hard would that be.
Probably like most test questions, bumblese.
-NNNCr
While I am sympathetic to PE teachers' concerns, this seems to go against the whole point of PE--which is to get kids moving. It's never been specifically about competition.
North End Parent
Ya, interrupt my Diane Ravitch time, here's your golden can of Spam.
-NNNCr
A17
I was trying to do enrichment as well but no time and when I send it home, few parents will do it with students. I don't know what to do.
Tests ask questions that require thinking/problem solving but that's not what we are asked to teach these days. Common core supports thinking but curricula does not.
Hmmm, thinking perhaps I need to devote some reading time to math problem solving...
HP
This year has been exceptional in that we've really had few rainy days. I like rain. My yard and garden need it.
I'm stunned. I don't know why, but I am. What about individual sports such as gymnastics, tennis or golf? Are they only teaching competitive team sports in PE?
Unfortunately, each school has its own policy on PE waivers. Eckstein has a different policy than JAMS and HIMS. A district policy for all schools would be nice.
-lcp
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=392-410-135
Waivers are allowed for "directed athletics." Kirate class, yoga, dance...those are all directed athletics, yes? Call BS on the "competitive sports" requirement.
http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.230.040
Many students get PE waivers in order to participate in music. This benefits the school because they can squeeze more students into a music class than into an art class or other elective. It actually helps a school with capacity issues.
-push back!
HP
I suggest either homeschooling PE or having your child complete one of the courses available in BYU's online high school program.
HP
North End Parent
Can your daughter do gymnastics with team at Roosevelt and get credit? That is how it works at Hale. No credit for outside gymnastics but if you are on the team, go to practice and compete twice (only have to do one event) - you get 1 semester of PE.
HP
Spring breaker
She now does do a school sport so we haven't checked in a couple of years.
That's annoying.
-Garfield Mom
The state code on waivers says nothing about "competitive" sports. It specifies "directed athletics," which allows for much broader athletic participation. If you are getting nowhere with the school, I'd take it up with the school board (before school is out for summer).
crazy SPS
-rhs alum
To answer the inquiry of why she doesn't take school gymnastics: She happens to be a kid who enjoys doing gymnastics but who doesn't enjoy competing with other people. She also took a year of archery in middle school and, again, it wasn't competitive. Therefore I'm guessing that it would not be acceptable at Roosevelt, either. The system is a bit bonkers on this. What kind of message is this sending the kids?
@rhs alum: I'm not sure when you went to high school, but you can take 2 "electives" during each term--one of which can be PE. But, you have to do something related to PE. So, if you don't take PE as an elective (e.g., if you take a language and orchestra instead), the district gives you the option of doing a directed sport outside of school--you have to do a certain number of hours and you have to have letters sent to the school signed by the coaches of the sports.
North End Parent
sidneyd
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/04/los-angeles-school-district-demands-multi-million-dollar-refund-from-apple/
From the article: It was a "$1.6 billion plan to give every student in the nation's second-largest school district an iPad .... While Apple and Pearson promised a state-of-the-art technological solution ... they have yet to deliver it ... The vast majority of students are still unable to [even] access the Pearson curriculum on iPads."
"Only two schools of 69 in the Instructional Technology Initiative ... use Pearson regularly,” according to an internal March report from project director Bernadette Lucas. “Any given class typically experiences one problem or more daily. Teachers report that the students enjoy the interactive content — when it’s available. When it’s not, teachers and students try to roll with the interruptions to teaching and learning as best they can.”
The remaining schools, she said, with more than 35,000 students, “have given up on attempting regular use of the app.”..
The materials are not readily adaptable for students who are not proficient in English.
Nearly a year ago, L.A. Unified sent Apple a letter demanding that it address problems with the Pearson curriculum.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ipad-curriculum-refund-20150415-story.html#page=1
SPS better revisit contract with Pearson, make sure expectations are clearly stated, with clause for complete refund if product is substandard. Make sure ALL Ts crossed etc. because Pearson is "standing behind quality of their product and saying "no digital product should ever be considered completed".
Looks like Apple is now going to use Microsoft's philosophy - put out unfinished substandard product and send patches when scammers find weaknesses. SAD!
CCA
--- swk
If Pearson isn't responsible for the multitude of problems with SBA, who then should we hold responsible, swk? Who can we fire for this boondoggle?
The only thing wrong with American schools - is the ed reform.
Reader
As has been shared multiple times, our State Board of Education will be setting a cut score for high school graduation separately from the cut score for college and career ready.
--- swk
However, their textbook is one in the running for the middle school social studies adoption.
-katydid
It wouldn't be an awesome test if minorities and/or students with disabilities could pass it. Obviously too many low lifes were passing HSPE, and that needed fixing! We already have ACT and SAT to let us know about "college ready". But those are no good because they don't punish the losers.
Reader
We know 10th graders are not really ready for Medical school, and they will mostly all fail the MCAT. Probably a few will squeak through. We know they've not been taught the materials for Medical school. But what the heck, why not just extrapolate a wrong level test and fiddle with the "cut score" and call it a day? That's exactly what we're doing with the SBAC.
If we give the MCAT instead of the SBAC, we will save student time - because the MCAT is shorter to administer than the SBAC ELA. And, it isn't as idiotic. Go take any practice ELA SBAC. You will find incomprehensible, poorly written drivel. At least the MCAT results wouldn't really be random. And, the graders of the MCAT are probably people who can find jobs for more than $11/hr.
Reader
--- swk
Reader