Friday Open Thread
Update: in the "We Must Keep Our Standards High" category, from Diane Ravitch:
end of update.
Finishing the first early days of the school year; how goes it?
I would urge you to consider carefully the FERPA form you will get in your First Day packet. Personally, I would sign away as little as I could. I will verify this but I have been previously told that it is a principal decision about whether students can or cannot be in the student yearbook if their parents don't sign the FERPA form. Ask your principal. Keep track of where your student's data goes.
From the Washington Charter Commission:
The Court should allow these schools to stay open and receive public funding throughout the 2015-16 school-year so that Washington’s lawmakers can fix this law. During this time, the Commission itself would remain operational to provide oversight and continue to ensure the highest level of accountability for these schools.
I have a couple of long-overdue threads on the charter school ruling. In some ways, I'm glad the strike interfered with my writing of them as there has been much said (and now debunked) about this ruling. I think the Charter Commission is wrong - if the law is wrong, you don't keep using it. Again, the Commission and the schools KNEW this outcome was a possibility and did little to nothing to warn parents.
Donald Trump threw off a line to Jeb Bush at this week's debate (and honestly, the entertainment value of these things makes it worth it) that Common Core was a "disaster" under Bush. That was the only mention of public education but CNN also didn't ask any education questions. One interesting statement, through, that parents of teens might consider was from Carly Fiorina. The discussion was about legalizing pot and she explained that she and her husband had lost a child to drug use (her 35-year step-daughter died a couple of years ago). She said,
Today is PARKingDayPlus in several neighborhoods in Seattle, sponsored by Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.
Look at that, another Director cancels a Saturday community meeting - Director Blanford's community meeting for Sat. the 19th has been cancelled. However Director Peters IS having her community meeting tomorrow from 11 am to 1 pm at the Queen Anne Library.
What's on your mind?
Malala Yousafzai is the Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban on her way to school; she survived to became a world-famous advocate for girls’ education.I think this is one reason why my husband liked Berkeley over Stanford (he had degrees from both).
She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy and courage. She decided she wants to go to Stanford University to study politics and philosophy.
But Stanford will not accept her unless she takes the SAT and presumably scores the requisite points.
end of update.
Finishing the first early days of the school year; how goes it?
I would urge you to consider carefully the FERPA form you will get in your First Day packet. Personally, I would sign away as little as I could. I will verify this but I have been previously told that it is a principal decision about whether students can or cannot be in the student yearbook if their parents don't sign the FERPA form. Ask your principal. Keep track of where your student's data goes.
From the Washington Charter Commission:
The Court should allow these schools to stay open and receive public funding throughout the 2015-16 school-year so that Washington’s lawmakers can fix this law. During this time, the Commission itself would remain operational to provide oversight and continue to ensure the highest level of accountability for these schools.
I have a couple of long-overdue threads on the charter school ruling. In some ways, I'm glad the strike interfered with my writing of them as there has been much said (and now debunked) about this ruling. I think the Charter Commission is wrong - if the law is wrong, you don't keep using it. Again, the Commission and the schools KNEW this outcome was a possibility and did little to nothing to warn parents.
Donald Trump threw off a line to Jeb Bush at this week's debate (and honestly, the entertainment value of these things makes it worth it) that Common Core was a "disaster" under Bush. That was the only mention of public education but CNN also didn't ask any education questions. One interesting statement, through, that parents of teens might consider was from Carly Fiorina. The discussion was about legalizing pot and she explained that she and her husband had lost a child to drug use (her 35-year step-daughter died a couple of years ago). She said,
But we are misleading young people when we tell them that marijuana is just like having a beer. It's not.You could take that statement a couple of ways. One, a teen having one beer is less problematic than smoking one joint, either from a health perspective or an effect perspective. Not being someone who used pot, I can't say for certain about the effect. But two things. Alcohol is a drug. And, alcohol is very serious issue for teens, maybe more so than pot.
Today is PARKingDayPlus in several neighborhoods in Seattle, sponsored by Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.
Remarkable people in Ballard, Rainier, Bryant, and Ravenna are erecting PARK(ing) Day projects to make their streets safer on Friday, September 18 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.New Zealand needs your help picking a new national flag design.
Four winning designs from the first annual Seattle Neighborhood Greenways PARK(ing) Day Design Competition will be built this Friday. These are tactical urbanism projects – quick, inexpensive, and effective demonstrations of how streets can be safer for all of us. PARK(ing) Day celebrates streets for people. #PARKingDayPLUS celebrates SAFE streets for people.
Look at that, another Director cancels a Saturday community meeting - Director Blanford's community meeting for Sat. the 19th has been cancelled. However Director Peters IS having her community meeting tomorrow from 11 am to 1 pm at the Queen Anne Library.
What's on your mind?
Comments
Lassie
Last year was great with Math in Focus' straightforward language.
Everyday Math seemed to put emphasis on proprietary language for math, rather than teaching math.
Flat Out
--Coerced
I would appreciate any advice folks here have as to next steps for making sure my kid gets in a class.
-- what now?
EdVoter
-NP
Thanks Ragweed for that FERPA info. Good to know.
A math thread coming.
Yes, I think you should go and listen to the podcast of KUOW's Week in Review. The discussion on the strike in the first part of the show was interesting. Knapp made it sound like their strike strategy was based on getting parents involved. That's fine but Soup for Teachers seemed more organic than that.
Spectrum eligibility for grades K-2 now requires an 87th percentile or higher score on the CogAT screening form and 87th or higher math or reading achievement. (In the past, students in every grade were given the actual CogAT test and kindergarteners did not need math or reading scores for Spectrum qualification.) This appears to contradict 2190SP which states that Kindergarten students with cognitive scores at the 90th percentile or higher do not require achievement testing to be eligible as Advanced Learners.
Spectrum eligibility for grades 3-7 now requires an 87th percentile or higher score on one CogAT composite score and 87th percentile or higher math or reading score. This also contradicts 2190SP which states Identification as an Advanced Learner requires:
87th-plus percentile in at least two areas on CogAT (e.g., verbal, quantitative, non-verbal, or composite scores)
87th-plus percentile in reading and math on district approved or other nationally normed achievement tests (self-contained elementary programs require BOTH reading AND math)
The advanced learning page now states that District achievement testing in reading and math (MAP or SBA) is required to determine Advanced Learning eligibility. Candidates are required to participate in district achievement testing.
http://sps.ss8.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/Migration/General/2190SP.pdf?sessionid=3aaaa7f7b114dd0c2772b0207d758701
I have just heard that the requirement that your student be ENROLLED in a Spectrum program to be eligible for HCC middle is no longer a requirement, too.
(Sorry for cross-post from Tuesday, put in wrong spot)
I don't understand how the Cogat testing of K-2 will work? Will they ALL take a screener form, and then those who achieve a threshold score will get access to the full Cogat? Or will MAP scores determine who gets the screener and who gets the full? HCC still requires the full Cogat for K-2 qualification.
Can anyone help me understand?
Confused/Sad
Yelling
Whitman/Whittier Parent.
Interesting. What happens to families that opted out of SBA testing in the Spring? Do they have to appeal? Take the MAP? Will appeals allow outside testing? It reminds me of the matrix for math placement that was announced after students had taken the test. I don't think it should be a surprise to parents that SBA will be used as the achievement requirement, because that's what the district administered, but a clarification prior to testing would have been useful. Have parents even seen their children's SBA scores?
-more questions
HCC parent
It's free
So, now you have a bunch of 4th, 5th and 6th graders who didn't take MAP last year, and some of whom opted out of SBAC.
What a mess! It used to be that all your child needed to be eligible to take the CogAT was a teacher's recommendation. Seemed like a good system.
- North-end Mom
Interesting to note that no mention of SBAC on the newly launched Source:
State Assessments - HSPE, MSP, and WASL
SBAC ???
I agree with you and see a couple of other issues. When the advanced learning office says the requirement is at least 95th percentile scores in math and reading, what does that mean? Is it the 95th percentile for the district or the state or for the 20 or so states that administered the SBAC? Does the advanced learning office have access to the score report for whichever group they're using? Advanced learning applications are due October 8th. Shouldn't parents have their child's scores before that date (and hopefully with a few days to consider the results?)
I think we can expect another year of delayed eligibility results and enrollment data.
Make a quick call to (360) 725-6348, OSPI Assessment Department of Operations and see what BS they give you.
SBAC ???
How many times can you take PE? It is ridiculous. My kid would like to take physics at 3rd period but that class is overfull and they are trying to get kids to switch out. I really don't understand why 3rd period is an issue every year. Obviously the kids in 3rd period physics don't want to switch out because there are no classes to take at 3rd period.
Also, if I had to do it over again, we would have skipped PE until senior year. My kid plays a sport so got a waiver for 2 PE credits and only needed 1 but has taken PE twice already due to the 3rd period drought of classes.
HP
I agree that BHS continuing to penalize kids at the end of the alphabet is ridiculous.
Lauren
Garfield
Before MAP tests, robust, nationally normed standardized tests were used for APP candidates for their achievement scores. Then, along came MAP, given to every child in every grade every year, and, that was a convenient vehicle to grab an achievement score and that was used for advanced learning purposes. MAP was newish as standardize tests go, and the MAP percentiles were 'renormed' ONE TIME because MORE data came available as more students took more MAP tests over the years.
So now that MAP seems to have gone away (really?), the SSD is "forced" to use the new "standard" standardized universal achievement test. Is it Beacon Amplify? Is that what every child in every grade will now take? SBAC is the OSPI-driven assessment only given to certain grades - so it can't cover students in 1st or 2nd grade. It is critical for all candidates to take the SAME achievement assessment to ensure consistency throughout the entire district because these highly capable students will blend together in classrooms as they matriculate up for 3rd to 4th and so on.
MAP was not bad. It was adaptive, so it was good until about 5th grade when APP students would 'break the test'. It was straight-forward general questions asked in a very simple, clear way. It gave a reasonable 'thumbnail' picture of where a student was at for achievement purposes. Perfect? No. Does any test get it perfect? No. Some are better than others, some are worse. Having seen both SBACs and MAPs, MAPs are far better. SBAC is far worse.
Spectrum? This district seems to hate advanced learning. The current Supe and head of Teaching and Learning and the head of Curriculum and Instruction really seem to detest advanced learning. They talk about 'authentic learning experiences' that come when you group students with very dissimilar abilities. Hummm. Please, no debates about this: there are umpsteen threads debating this. As Spectrum is not legally protected, and principals seem very anti-Spectrum (Wedgwood, Lawton, Viewridge, etc) it will continue to be battered unless and until Spectrum parents band together across the district and demand a universal student learning experience.
Eric Anderson, the Director of Research, Evaluation and Assessment for the District has said: "if 10% of Seattle students scored at the 95th percentile or higher on a given test, it is likely that a similar proportion of Seattle students (i.e., approximately 10% would score at the 95th percentile or higher on a new test (even if the new test was more difficult) if the population of students that Seattle students are compared to does not change."
He said SBAC will be State normed; whereas MAP data is nationally normed.
Sticking with MAP as the universal yardstick for all SSD students makes sense. MAP is more 'stable' than this new SBAC: witness the churn from WASL to MSP, and now to SBAC.
The CogAT 'screener' is an abridged version of CogAT and will be given to all 2nd graders in Title 1 schools or schools with high ELL. It is intended to identify advanced learners who may not score high on achievement tests. They can then be streamed into talent development programs (currently being developed) so that they will then actualize on their inherent cognitive talents and become fully qualified for APP/HCC. It is outreach that is a good start. Before, you had to test high on achievement to be able to take the CogAT. This flips it, so that high cognition tips off teachers to nuture talent that may be masked by poverty or language barries.
Old Dragon
Schoolology: yuck.
I'm not a luddite, the Source, is fine; but the whole mystery box of Schoolology? No thanks.
What if we do NOT opt to get an account? What about families with no computer access? Is schoolology going to displace the Source? Will you be left in the dark if you don't sign on? Will our children's teachers only communicate through schoology, so we won't get news about assessments or projects?
I really resent this District jumping on board with a vendor that can and will sell my chilren's data and personal info. They say they won't, but then you read their sublet language embedded in their agreement, and it is clear that is is a free-for-all.
When it comes to the net, what we teach our kids is 2 absolutes:
There is NO SUCH THING AS PRIVACY no matter what anybody or any company says
and
There EVERYTHING YOU EVER DO ONLINE IS PERMANENT no matter what anyone or any compay says about how you can delete or opt out later.
No Schoolology
"We utilize certain third-party services to help us understand certain activities, so that we can improve the quality of our service."
"We may disclose your or your child’s personally identifiable information in connection with business transfers and purchases."
"We may also share de-identified and/or aggregated data with others for their own uses."
"In order to create an account, Schoology does require that all users create a screen name and password, which is stored on the site, and collects personal information such as name, address, email, or other information if necessary, depending on the needs of your school or the service."
And of course...
"Schoology shall not be liable if a security breach occurs, if the site malfunctions, or if information is misused or mismanaged in any way to your detriment or the detriment of a third party, whether by Schoology, your school, your teacher, or an unauthorized third party."
Is Schoology the engine behind the Source or is it the replacement for Fusion pages?
Beacon?
Beacon?
BT mom
Annoyed by the opacity
It is totally wrong to say a kid can't have their photo and name in a school yearbook (that is sold to their fellow school families and does not contain any demographic or personal info) if you say 'no' to allowing all your kids data to be given away/sold by the district to any interested entity. My kids would be devastated not to be in their yearbook but there is no way I will opt in on that FERPA form. I believe our school sent out a waiver last year near the end of the year so we could give permission to be in the yearbook, so I am hoping it will be the same this year. Otherwise - sad kids I guess.
And SPS - what is wrong with you? You know school yearbooks are totally different. More obfuscating so you can get what you want.
Annoyed
First, the Source is separate from Schoology. The Source gets you to student assignments and grades that were keyed into the Power Teacher gradebook software (now, no longer owned by Pearson).
Schoology replaces the classroom information pages that were part of the old Fusion software. The public-facing website part of Fusion has been replaced by "Sharp School". Luckily, most of you don't need to know that, as you don't have to log in to Sharp School for anything.
Schoology picks up the pages that students, teachers, and families logged into Fusion for. Fusion used to have daily (ugly!) email dumps of page activity, and Schoology allows families to tailor that kind of activity. There are plans for the grade book software to also add assignments directly into Schoology, but for now it doesn't. Schoology also adds a bunch of behind-the-scenes collaboration opportunities for teachers. We can build curriculum projects, share them, and assign them to classrooms.
Not IT Guy
Not IT Guy (again; I wear several hats)
Annoyed
Annoyed
Not IT guy
Call them out on their lies. Make them show you how they are differentiating instruction. Demand rubrics. Picket the schools. Hold your children out of school testing activities. Especially that. Boycott tests en masse until they fulfill their promises.
Anyway here is the group that devised much of this.. The Danielson Group after Charlotte Danielson. http://danielsongroup.org/charlotte-danielson/
Question is there actually a Charlotte. Apparently she quite renown and a very distant picture of a woman receiving a diploma is on her site Then what looks like a stock photo of a nice woman very "teacher like"
Then I read this in Huffington Post asking who is Charlotte Danielson? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/who-is-charlotte-danielso_b_3415034.html
Diane Ravitch linked to the story and the comments are interesting yet who is this woman and what the hell is going on http://dianeravitch.net/2013/06/15/alan-singer-who-is-charlotte-danielson/
Lord is the biggest hoax since Howard Hughes diary?
I love the quotes on the website that go "The Danielson group saved my teaching.." - A TEACHER 2014. How specific "teacher" no names no actual people signing anything that documents their involvement. And they all seem rather recent although the HUFFPO piece was 2013.
Well I was looking for a career change. I am going to consult.
- SPS Ignored Staff
Now SPS is making it so you can't have an innocent photo with your name and class in a yearbook that distributed at your own school unless you also allow them to give your kids (and therefore your) name, address, contact details, photo, grade, employment status, awards, sports teams, etc to ANYONE, including but NOT LIMITED to the media, colleges, military recruiters, youth groups?!!! Cause that is like, totally the same thing, right?!
This was never the case before - i have always checked the 'no' box and my kids have always been in the yearbook. How can they do that?? What can we do about it?
If SPS thinks its can pull this fast one to ride over my FERPA rights, well sorry, it's not gonna work for me and I hope other families won't be sucked in either.
Even more annoyed
Even more annoyed
Another Annoyed
- B
As FERPA is a national law it just strikes me as super odd that an individual principal could give a thumbs up or down on compliance. It would be more believable to me that a) The District didn't want to hassle with extra paperwork so pressured principals to float the "No Opt In" for Yearbooks to parents, b) Principals don't want to hassle with the extra paperwork and/or want to get along with the District, c) The District views selling our kids personal information as a way to add funds to their coffer.
I would love to hear from an attorney about what the true legal rights we parents have. Can we 'Opt. In' to the Yearbook even if we check "No" to the District selling our kids info.? I suspect many parents would be willing to join together for expert advice.
-StepJ
The rainy day policy is for each school to work out. Space, staff, etc. will limit the options available. My experience is that most schools send kids out for recess unless the rain is torrential. We are in the northwest after all.
-J
I totally agree. The June trainers called it schoo-ology, but we were informed in the fall that it is supposed to be called school-igy. Seems affected to me!
L
Schoology: just one more marketed program/communication tool to learn. I understood Source and used it. I barely understood Fusion and rarely used it. Schoology - back to school for me. Maybe this one will be better. Do you have any idea how much time learning and using technology takes up for a teacher? I'm not anti-tech nor am I tech-ignorant. The reality is it takes a lot of time esp. in a school that can't afford to keep it working.
High School Football Inc.
From a NY Times Sept. 18, 2015 article ....
The latest experiment in prep football is taking
root, and coaches and officials around the
country are watching with curiosity and wariness.
The huge beyond big bucks "IMG" football academy.
-- Dan Dempsey
I don’t believe this is a subversive attempt from the district to widen the net of student data that can be released. (And I have students in SPS.) From what I understand, when people “opt-in” and sign a separate release giving permission for their child’s photo to be used in yearbook or other document, that release will need to be kept for the entire time the photo is in district use. Since each school typically keeps a copy of their past yearbooks, this means these releases would need to be kept for years and years – a record keeping nightmare!
FERPA states that unless parent signs form to opt-out, the district default is to release; FERPA is really an opt-out form. We’re told that law doesn’t require keeping opt-out forms from year to year, so FERPAs do not need to be kept after the end of any school year. By having the FERPA rule all photo release (including yearbook), each school should have less paper/records to manage from year to year.
I agree that it’s a shame that it impacts yearbook inclusion. I’m not sure what the best solution is for this? It seems that district is trying (in this case) to minimize potential violation and legal exposure?
School Office Staff
I do wonder about the inclusion of photos from around school, from sporting events, group photos for teams, performance photos from band, choir, drama, drumline, etc. They aren't being released by the school per se, although they are released as part of a school publication.
HP
Is that Dr. Nyland's embodiment of "Excellence for ALL?" (except for the ones who have the temerity to want to take Physics and Environmental Sciences?)??
Oh, wait, is the current catch phrase something like Every Student. Every Day. Every Something. Or is it 53,000 journeys? I can't remember.
But this is crap. This is an EMERGENCY. This is getting ready for College, Career, Life. They should find the money NOW to hire another teacher for Hale RIGHT NOW. Remember the scramble to keep the Latin teacher at Garfeild last year? Why do we scramble for actual teachers when the District hires $100K+ whosits to do not-so-clear-what while principals scramble for budget?
This is so unacceptable. The amount of energy Nyland spent on preschool or charter schools this last year, and yet actual K-12 kids NEED A TEACHER TO TAKE A COURSE, and they get shown the door?
Fire the new head of the heads of the principals... and/or Charles Wright, and, use those dollars for the Hale teacher.
I am disgusted at this District. If funding is that bad, then we have to do without something, and that something should be the costly bodies hanging around the glass palace who are not directly making this ship go. Bye bye, Mr. Wright!
I am so, so sorry, and, this may seem counter-intuitive, but, I will be voting to fail the levy. That is the only way to thin out superfluous at the glass palace. The only way. They will truly have to prioritize if we spank them this way. Then, and only then, and with a supremely angry, petulant and entitled attitude of a surly teenager, will they "RIF" the deputies and extra executives, and once they do I will happily pass the levy 6 months later. We will never get their attention so long as we dutifully pass the levy. We will never get them to shed the high honchos who feed at the trough as long as the green keeps filling the trough. Tough love time, for the sake of the kids, who need a science teacher.
Teachers Rock
Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson, at the request of private charter school operators, has agreed to petition the court to reconsider its decision, allowing these private charter schools to continue to receive public taxpayer dollars.
Please consider signing petition asking Bob Ferguson to drop charter school motion:
http://action.washingtonea.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=11649
I agree with Teachers Rock that the district should ensure they have teachers hired to offer these classes to their students. I'm sure every student in these classes is interested in going to college and taking the requisite courses to be best prepared. It is such a shame that this is happening. It shouldn't be like Survivor...who's going to get voted off the island?
Parent @ Hale