"This is the power of an informed public."
So says Edward Snowden in an op-ed in today's NY Times.
I'm not Ed Snowden, nor will I ever be, but as I have stated in the past, sometimes you have to be the cheese who stands alone if you are trying to shine a light in the darkest of corners.
Our school district is not corrupt nor is it run by venal people. But I do believe some in senior leadership are listening more to outside influences than to parents, teachers and administrators. I think they may even be trying to be helpful to those outside forces to allow them to seep into and then, take root in the workings of our district.
I think we are back to the old "need to know" basis at SPS - they'll tell you what they think you need to know.
I even think that perhaps the powers that be - given who is running for School Board - have given up on trying to control the Board - they will get control of this district in other ways.
I received an e-mail yesterday from an education writers group about finding stories for the summer months. I never, ever am at a loss for stories. And summer is the time when parents and the public look away and get distracted from what may be happening in the district. The district leadership counts on this inattention.
But with what is happening now, I think I have a lot of work ahead of me.
I'm not Ed Snowden, nor will I ever be, but as I have stated in the past, sometimes you have to be the cheese who stands alone if you are trying to shine a light in the darkest of corners.
Our school district is not corrupt nor is it run by venal people. But I do believe some in senior leadership are listening more to outside influences than to parents, teachers and administrators. I think they may even be trying to be helpful to those outside forces to allow them to seep into and then, take root in the workings of our district.
I think we are back to the old "need to know" basis at SPS - they'll tell you what they think you need to know.
I even think that perhaps the powers that be - given who is running for School Board - have given up on trying to control the Board - they will get control of this district in other ways.
I received an e-mail yesterday from an education writers group about finding stories for the summer months. I never, ever am at a loss for stories. And summer is the time when parents and the public look away and get distracted from what may be happening in the district. The district leadership counts on this inattention.
But with what is happening now, I think I have a lot of work ahead of me.
Comments
I am trying hard to remember to write "corporate ed reform" because yes, nearly everyone I know believes in some kind of ed reform.
Lurker
Lurker
Look, I know I can certainly get arrogant and opinionated, and I'm no angel, but let's not get all holier-than-thou. : )
Peter Maier has already invested in one candidate for his old seat.
Will Sundquist be next?
CT
Did you attend the Seattle Times "Discipline that works for all" workshop at South Seattle College, I'm pretty sure he was there sharing his experiences with Ted Howard.
I'm thinking he's out there actually talking to voters, but what do I know.
On somewhat of a regular every-other-year basis, someone subverts the bidding process, steals funds, sells valuable property for cheap,and that's really unfortunate. I get it.
But seeing evil conspiracies within SPS for responding quickly to the voters' will on universal preschool? What entity do you think the Seattle voter expects the city to partner with? Would you praise SPS for refusing to respond to the will of the people because it was a municipal election and not an SPS election?
When school communities are concerned with street safety around the schools, is it wrong of SPS to involve SDOT? Is SDOT conspiring against the city when they help? No! This is how partners with the same or with an overlapping constituency work together.
Sincerely,
Marty Green
Here's the deal. Put up or shut up and get your own blog going.
Lurker
So true. It is never a comfortable feeling, but the voice of dissent is often the most important voice.
Thanks for your work, Melissa and all that have the courage to take a stand- even if it means standing alone.
"SDOT does not want to be involved with running SPS policies, etc. The mayor's office does. BIG difference"
Adding on to seattle citizen- Keep watching the City of Seattle and the manner in which they pulled funding from Sandpoint elementary because the principal decided to move to Washington DC with his family, and the new principal is on board with the principal's plan. Nyland will be working with the city to reinstitute funding. At what price?
It is also worth noting that the district hasn't funded the WSS by $11M. SPS still hasn't funded elementary school counselors and a variety of funding that would help those that need support. Why would any director sign onto an initiative without full knowledge that the city will reimburse the district for expenditures?
Oh yea, and the city will be conducting research on children- poor children. They need an Institutional Review Board to protect the children from psychological harm. The city always wanted data. One would think the city simply wanted test scores- they don't.
Lastly, how many dollars will the city be providing for research?
I think he was busy today at a local school clean-up project.
Why don't you try emailing him at christophersen4schools@gmail.com, you never know he might have some time to answer you.
I'm with Seattle Citizen; most people don't have to track down candidates - candidates go out and actually campaign.
"Do you have the password? You need the confidential password to gain access to your Director. And sign here, here, and here to attest that you are not one of those 'usual suspects'; He won't talk with THEIR ilk."
Yay!
Seattle Citizen, when I write up my thread on the candidates, I'll explain what I think this mystery candidate is doing (and why he thinks it might work).
While I am glad you advocate for those with dyslexia/dysgraphia, I must admit to some concern when I see that, above, after reading (if I'm not mistaken) TheGoodFight suggest SPS support of Hamlin Robinson school, perhaps even that school as a charter.
Are you in favor of charters?
Who is helping fund your campaign, if anyone?
Please share with us your platform. Music...arts...great! Skill-based learning? What do you envision?
What IS an "alternative campaign"?
Thank you.
I did a search with a few different search terms about SPS mission statements.
I saw 2 from recent years. One was during the Goodloe-Johnson reign and the other during the Banda reign. In my opinion, they both seek partnering with other entities and also expanding SPS further into preschool. Here are the quotes I'm relying upon.
1] From the Goodloe-Johnson era... [the quote I'm taking is from this document as it's presented on the following website] http://seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/Migration/How%20do%20I/SPS_Strategic_Plan_2008.pdf
"Helping families prepare their children for kindergarten is particularly important, given what researchers have learned about the importance of early learning to students’ future success. The District currently provides high quality pre-kindergarten programs through Head Start and through preschools for students who need special education services. We are working with the City of Seattle, State agencies and local community-based organizations to ensure high-quality
preschool for all four-year-olds. Through these partnerships, the District plans to develop a way to assess kindergarten readiness within the next several years." [Page 10]
Now we have the WA-Kids assessment and it's being implemented in the Jump Start program which has been rolled out by your "conspirators" at Early Learning. WA-Kids comes from the state as does, I believe but could be wrong, the funding for Jump Start. Furthermore, since the assessment takes place in Jump Start, there is technically no reason to partner with preschools for assessment.
However, there is more called-for in this roadmap than partnering for assessment. Specifically, SPS is directed to partner with a wide variety of entities for the purpose of establishing high quality preschools for all 4 year olds. That the form this can take is to have the Board oversee the establishment of a partnership between SPS, Seattle and particular preschools does not appear to be at all deviant.
The second mission statement is from the following website: http://seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/Migration/How%20do%20I/Strategic_Plan_2013_2018.pdf
In the statement about "Ensuring Educational Excellence and Equity for Every Student" we run into this page:
"Strategy 3: Commit to early learning education as the foundation for future academic success
Initiatives/Objectives
A. Further develop and align city, state and federal partnerships to enhance
kindergartner readiness
o Metric 1: Increase # of entering kindergarten students who participate in
preschool partnership programs"
Once again, having the Board oversee a partnership and developing it in the deliberate manner presently being approved is not in the least abherrant. The most recent SPS mission statement could easily be brought to support the Board's approach.
Sincerely,
Marty Green
SLD parent
That said, running one issue is going to be a tough climb. Good luck.
And once again, Mr. Green, until something changes in state funding, K-12 is SPS' only funded concern (except for Sped pre-k). That our own Supreme Court says we do not fully fund K-12 means that the district does not have the resources for preschool. If the City wants to pay for everything - staff,resources and facilities - fine by me.
That partnership agreement - as I have previously stated - is vague and broad. The Board should not have approved it.
Speddie
But back to my questions - Whaddya think about charter schools? What do envision for skills-based learning? What will you do to advocate for a wide range of learning styles and ability levels? What sort of discipline policies do you see as effective?
(I have more, but that's a start.
: )
Also, it's s little strange to solicit targeted advocacy requests. People who are good at it, don't usually need to solicit on blogs! Usually they have to sift through through the piles and piles of requests for assistance to figure out who they can and are willing to help. I'm sure Mirmac could fill you in, on what that feels like.
Speddie
Way to alienate people, Mr. Christophersen. I don't know what your intentions are in running, but you've just lost my vote and I will actively advocate against you. We don't need self-righteousness, such self-important arrogance, on our Board. We need those who can talk articulately about a variety of issues, not dismiss active and concerned citizens as cranks.
Robin Andersen
Yeah. Pretty weird to start loving the alt thing now. Michael previously lambasted all the alt features of Salmon Bay, and the staff, and said students got an inferior education there because they spent all their time skiing instead of Slingerland slogging. Also blamed autistic kids for most of the district's sped problems (wink, wink, pervasives).... spending a whole bunch of money and still being disabled and hopeless. Then there are all those horrible sped parents, you know, the cheats. They gained favorable status for their kids by badgering the district at sped meetings. Badgering by Michael is so much more effective. Everything is so much better now that there's no real SEAAC or Sped ptsa. Probably annoyed that wifey can't get elected though. Michael, exactly what is your platform, and who is endorsing you? 7 years of free advocacy surely must have produced an advocate for you somewhere.
Speddie
Momof2
"Why can't the Special ED commentators act civil?"
Generalizing a bit aren't we?
Speddie
Mr. Christophersen - Due to your obstinate refusal to provide information to us, and due to the lack of any information available on any webpages (where are the links TheGoodFight suggested we look at?), I have been trying to find a place where your platform, allies, etc might be posted. I've had very little luck.
I found a couple articles in the newspaper on Google: One is about you and your partner, the other is more disturbing and I hope you can clarify whether you are the author of the comment contained therein or not. I certainly hope not.
One Michael Christophersen, Seattle, commented on a 1999 Seattle Times story, E-Mails, Phone Messages Full Of Threats, Invective about the Makah Tribe’s whale hunt. Is this your comment, or some other Michael Christophersen of Seattle?
“They are a modernized welfare race. I personally hate the Makah Tribe. I hope and pray for a terrible end to the Makah Tribe, very slow and very painful.”
Momof2
So what if it's 1999? It's deeply disturbing. If this was him, he was about 35 when he wrote this. Words matter. Yes, I've said and done some things I regret, but since we know NOTHING about him, things like this are all we have. Go ahead, do a search - you'll find this and little else. What else are we supposed to do to find out about him? I'm not against HIM; I'm against the wall of silence. (That is, until I found this disgusting and hateful comment....if it's his. Who knows?)
You clearly don't know the meaning of the word "advocate".
Advocate - a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. (usually followed by of): an advocate of peace. a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor. a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.
Back peddle all you want, but your motivations are clear here whoever you are, you seem obsessed with smearing him, you must be an republican. I'm moving on.
Momof2
"Advocate - Verb; Publicly recommend or support"
This can include a position, including a negative position such as in their example:
"He has often publicly advocated a life ban for those athletes who test positive"
Ergo ipso facto, I can advocate against something - I can advocate FOR not voting for him.
: )
I will not engage you in character assassination on this blog. If you want me to take you seriously you can contact me directly, if not then by all means get out there and "advocate" against me.
Have a good day.
Sincerely,
Michael Christophersen
Director District 1 candidate
email - christophersen4schools@gmail.com
I appreciate you wanting to help students.
I wonder what "stopping distinctions" means - is not each student distinct?
straw man
You should resign your position ASAP. You are the main reason I and so many other parents stopped attending SPED PTSA meetings! Don't believe me go ask a few parents.
If you have something to say officially as the SPED PTSA president you should use your real name and stop hiding behind all the aliases.
Apparently you don't like Mr. Christopherson much, then step out of the shadows and add some credibility to your claims by using your real name.
Concerned Parent
APP parent
Most of us know who she is including including SPS staff and SPS directors. They're all cozy with her.
Wrong Mirmac
Sorry, I should have wrote "SPED president elect"
Concerned Parent
Concerned Parent
Unless you can tell us where to look up these supposed comments, they remain purely anecdotal.
Michael, continuing to complain about people with autism will not help your cause, even if you change your moniker. (eg, your snide remarks about "pervasives" pretty much lets everyone know who you are) Students with autism do not get 1 or 2 unskilled IAs attached to them. And, parents of students with autism do not get the benefit of some body of neuroscience backed by them either. (Most parents of autistic students want a researched backed program called ABA - and, like you, they don't get that, because people don't get to dictate the type of education. And research? Well, there are millions of different forms of research, and the district can always march out something and claim it's doing research.) Really, there aren't supposed to be any programs for "autism" or pervasives, or dyslexia btw, or any diagnosis. That is illegal.
If you want parents to rise up and fix the problem (as you say you do), you would be wise not to exclude great swaths of the people you think you represent.
It's true that IAs and other staffed might not be well trained, or smart, or good. That can be said of any staff. And when you pay $15/hr - you better do good job of interviewing and training. At your kid's school, there are many excellent IAs. Not sure why you can't figure out how to get them to do what you want.
The fact is, most schools have MANY IAs, for all sorts of reasons - and yet, they can't figure out what to do with them. And that isn't a problem with the IAs - it's a problem with teachers who insist on "stand and deliver" to 35 students - which precludes the effectiveness of any type of resources, no matter how smart, trained, and available. If you're just going to stand and deliver - nobody can really help you with that. And it is a problem with administration who really doesn't care.
Another Parent"
"Anonymous said...
Can't be any worst than the last 10 years. You can continue to drink the cool aid or not, I have no glass!
I'm ready for the city to run the whole show, no more hobbyist!
Lost myvote"
"Anonymous said...
As a special-education advocate I am sure you [Michael] are aware of that. There is serious talk about a class-action lawsuit and complaints to the White-house about some of the failings of SPS to serve Native students, especially around 504 and IEP compliance.
Natural allies? Michael doesn't have any. All he has ever done is complain about everybody ELSE'S kid. The autistics are too creepy (or something) to partner with. You can call them "pervasives" if you like, Michael likes euphemisms. Any kid with an out of district placement is a cipher, with a rich entitled parent, sucking money from his kid. Immigrants are pesky new arrivals that should be sent away. Evidently, Native Americans are evidently a problem too... maybe because they are old arrivals. Who knows. There's no winning with Michael.
And despite an appropriate special education himself - he never has learned the difference between there, their, and they're. Seems the really great special education didn't work for him! Wonder why he thinks it would work for anybody.
Reader
5/15/15, 1:21 AM
Anonymous said...
Wow!
I just agreed with reader. How?
Cool!"
Anyway. There seem to be plenty.
That Mr. Christophersen wants to have a phantom campaign or make voters come to him is not of much interest to me. I'll be interested to see if he even shows up for any candidate forums. Then he will have to stand by his words.
We'll end this here.