Tuesday Open Thread
It is a fast and furious news cycle for public education in Seattle and our state.
On the overturning of the charter school law, there is so much to say that I will be putting up a separate thread. There is an telephonic Charter Commission meeting tomorrow where the issue will be discussed.
On the state of the strike in SPS, the word is that, despite movement on the contract, that it seems unlikely they will get it done before tomorrow and highly likely there will be a strike. You will have to use your own best judgment about how you, as an SPS parent, want to view this strike. Of course, it would be a terrible imposition for parents - there is so much organizing of daily lives to do, explaining to your children and the worry about how long it would be for and those outcomes to your student's academic life.
I do urge you to consider that the union has been careful to say that the district has dragged its feet in coming to the table over and over. Will it do any good to blame anyone? Probably not but it may influence who you support. I myself will be supporting the teachers.
Latest SEA update.
From KING-5:
Meanwhile, parent groups are expressing frustration at being left out of important decisions that could impact their student's lives. Specifically, two key items at the bargaining table, set recess times and possible expansion of the school day, are being negotiated behind closed doors.
"Again and again and again, as a parent, you often feel that you're sidelined and it's very difficult to feel that you're listened to," said Ramona Hattendorf, parent of two Seattle Public School students and vice-president of Community and Parents for Public Schools.
The district's had another update yesterday, mostly with childcare information, should a strike happen.
The Seattle Education Association and Seattle Public Schools continue in mediation to reach agreement on a contract. Progress is being made, and updates will continue to be posted on the district web site, as well as through local media.
While negotiations continue, parents are encouraged to have contingency child care plans for Wednesday and beyond, in the event a strike occurs.
The Board is to have a special board meeting tonight with a Resolution on the labor issue. However, the Resolution will not be available until tonight which I find odd. They are wordsmithing all the way up to the start of the meeting? I have requested a copy.
Meanwhile, life goes on in the district.
There's a Board meeting tomorrow night and boy, it's full of some interesting items. I'll do a thread on it as well but here's the link. No mention of the Resolution on the possible strike nor the charter school ruling.
On the overturning of the charter school law, there is so much to say that I will be putting up a separate thread. There is an telephonic Charter Commission meeting tomorrow where the issue will be discussed.
On the state of the strike in SPS, the word is that, despite movement on the contract, that it seems unlikely they will get it done before tomorrow and highly likely there will be a strike. You will have to use your own best judgment about how you, as an SPS parent, want to view this strike. Of course, it would be a terrible imposition for parents - there is so much organizing of daily lives to do, explaining to your children and the worry about how long it would be for and those outcomes to your student's academic life.
I do urge you to consider that the union has been careful to say that the district has dragged its feet in coming to the table over and over. Will it do any good to blame anyone? Probably not but it may influence who you support. I myself will be supporting the teachers.
Latest SEA update.
From KING-5:
Meanwhile, parent groups are expressing frustration at being left out of important decisions that could impact their student's lives. Specifically, two key items at the bargaining table, set recess times and possible expansion of the school day, are being negotiated behind closed doors.
"Again and again and again, as a parent, you often feel that you're sidelined and it's very difficult to feel that you're listened to," said Ramona Hattendorf, parent of two Seattle Public School students and vice-president of Community and Parents for Public Schools.
The district's had another update yesterday, mostly with childcare information, should a strike happen.
The Seattle Education Association and Seattle Public Schools continue in mediation to reach agreement on a contract. Progress is being made, and updates will continue to be posted on the district web site, as well as through local media.
While negotiations continue, parents are encouraged to have contingency child care plans for Wednesday and beyond, in the event a strike occurs.
The Board is to have a special board meeting tonight with a Resolution on the labor issue. However, the Resolution will not be available until tonight which I find odd. They are wordsmithing all the way up to the start of the meeting? I have requested a copy.
Meanwhile, life goes on in the district.
There's a Board meeting tomorrow night and boy, it's full of some interesting items. I'll do a thread on it as well but here's the link. No mention of the Resolution on the possible strike nor the charter school ruling.
Equity and Race Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations.
The deadline for nominations or applications for the Equity and Race Advisory Committee is Friday, Sept. 18, 2015.
School Family Partnership Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations.
The deadline for nominations or applications for the School-Family Partnership Advisory Committee is Friday, September 18, 2015.
What's on your mind?
Comments
;)
http://www.seattlewea.org/images/static_content/BARGAINING/SEA%20Bargaining%20update%2021%20-%209-8-15%20AM.pdf
-sleeper
-sleeper
I agree--the instructional hours issue needs a lot more discussion, community engagement, and analysis. The district is charging full steam ahead, but doesn't seem to have a clear plan or rationale.
HF
Mom of 8th grader
Striking isn't illegal for public school teachers - a 2006 Attorney General opinion said that teachers have no right to strike, however. That said, the opinion was written by Rob McKenna, so unsure if Bob Ferguson has the same view.
As a Garfield student I have always received a textbook, primarily in foreign language, science, and history. A lot of the times the textbook can be found online but this is not always a guarantee, especially for science textbooks.
Also, what do you mean your student hasn't learned to "take notes and study"? These are skills needed for any class that has tests, or even classes that require essay writing.
Didn't we just have a committee last year in the Equity and Race Relations Department? Didn't we begin these Task Forces/committees in 1975 with the first Disproportionality Task Force? How many committees have we had since then in order to discuss, study, and make recommendations? It seems like millions with these committees making many of the same recommendations that were made in 1975.
The Committee that was formed last year made recommendations yet again and presented them to the Superintendent and Board.
What does this imply? Why are we forming another committee?
5. Approval of Compensation Bulletin for Management Staff – (A&F) Approval of this item would approve the Compensation Bulletin for Management Staff and authorize staff to increase salaries on the salary schedules by 1.8% starting September 1, 2015, and an additional 1.2% starting September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2017. (from the agenda for tonight's Board meeting)
Wow that looks bad. Any Board member who votes yes for that and also for Nyland's injunction might as well just pack up their office tonight.
Negotiations started on May 20th. What good is starting earlier if the district frequently doesn't show up, doesn't respond to proposals, and then drops something as major as a longer school day without compensation on August 17th. The district had a deadline of August 24th for the SEA general meeting to vote on a contract. They should have taken that seriously and not stalled for three months.
Cameo
Hale Parent
Finally, I let the board know that I resent the manipulative emails sent by Superintendent Nyland that are sent on the pretext of informing parents, but are actually just propaganda emails to communicate the district's messaging on the SEA demands. It doesn't seem right that Superintendent Nyland is allowed to use the district email list to communicate biased messaging on an ongoing dispute.
I believe in supporting our teachers, and I'm appalled at the way the district is treating them. It's no wonder that we have a shortage of teachers in our state, and if we don't start treating our teachers better, it's only going to get worse.
-Seattle parent
He is a bad, bad man. How dare he use the power and authority of his office to communicate directly to parents/families in a way that supports his and his office's point of view?
Shame on him.
Citizen Kane
Funny Bulldog
Any opinions on where this is headed?
I think the Charter Commission may be sussing that out tomorrow.
My latest thread explaining that private donors will step in if the State won't give the dollars.
I believe that since the Supreme Court threw out the entire law, that the State can't just fund them. (Not against the backdrop of McCleary.)
That's my take.
Garfield counselors are working today. He or she may have put an auto-responder on his email proactively, but when I was there speaking to the counseling office staff person this morning, I heard that counselors were taking appointments with students who needed schedules, and taking schedule change forms for those who needed changes.
GHSmom
-sleeper
Special Attention Items
• Notification of Contract Exceeding $250,000 (Anderson)
Eric Anderson spoke about Amplify contract chosen in RFP process for access and likening itself. As a possible renewal was getting closer, we contracted with them for creation services. These services included two workshops $13,500 for assessment creation services. This is just a notification of that amount exceeding the 250k.
Directors question the new core is selling amplify will that affect us. Mr. Anderson spoke about how this year it will not effect. What impact that might have for future services is unknown. But they have been in contact with us and do not expect any interruption.
What does this mean? Do the board members even read these?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joebehr/albums/72157655597071514
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/national-merit-scholarship-program-announces-semifinalists/
The usual suspects of course- Bellevue SD and Lakeside are up there. But tiny Holy Names and good on Renton's Liberty HS and Mukilteo's Kamiak HS placed well too.
Congrats.
reader
reader
-sleeper
Yeah, my student's primary lessons this school year are identifying what is administrative bogus (i.e. providing no benefit to student or family, does not contribute to learning) and developing persuasion and critical thinking skills, researching and presenting legal precedents to evade that bogus. Not getting assessments results until four months later or whenever the district feels like it is one part of the multi-faceted bogus.
Check this gem from Smarter Balanced FAQ page: "Because the assessments are administered online, teachers, principals, and parents can receive results end-of-year assessments in weeks, not months. Faster results also mean that teachers can quickly use the information from optional interim assessments to check student progress and plan instruction during the year."
My kid never brought home a report card or test scores at the end of the year because, apparently, he still had a classroom book he hadn't returned. We left of vacation for about a month immediately following the end of school, so couldn't sort out the details with the report card with his teacher after school ended.
I was hoping to take a look at his test scores online, but the source has been offline whenever I've checked it this summer, and it looks like it may have been replaced with some new system that appears to be half broken when I look at it.
This frustrates me. My kids has been struggling academically and received an IEP at the very end of the year. I'd like to have the information that the state test provides, though really it may be of limited value, since I can't compare it to previous tests -- another frustration, constantly changing testing strategies make it hard to compare his progress.
Jan