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Middle College Continues Its Steady Decline
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Is there an explanation for how quickly Middle College is sliding downward in just a matter of months? And, with very little in the way of real explanation to the SPS community?
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Anonymous said…
This isn't a surprise. Associate Sup Michael Tolley has repeatedly stated that he doesn't support "alternative" education. He has systematically eliminated nearly all options that are not in line with corporate ed, most recently using HR policies to do his dirty work. He closed the Interagency Programs in 2008, which were only reopened due to failed political maneuvers. Middle College has always also been a target--as were AS#1, AAA, Ed Service Centers, John Marshall, among many other less known programs.
The attacks on Choice School-Queen Anne Elementary principal David Elliott can also be included. His failure to complete evaluations was a ruse to oust him; Many many administrators have never evaluated all of their staff.
~Brokenhearted
Carol Simmons said…
I am also brokenhearted. We cannot allow this to happen to Middle College. They eliminated it from High Point and now are working to eliminate it from the UW campus.
We have to save Middle College. The new board must make this a priority - starting with amending the policy to make it clear that the board and the board alone have the power to close programs. And then they have to direct the staff, from the Superintendent on down, to restore Middle College.
This is an immediate and critical test for the new board and it is essential that they pass. This sets an important tone. If the staff are allowed to destroy Middle College, nothing else in this district is safe from them.
We used to ask for clarity. We asked: what is a program, what is a service, what is a school, and who has authority over them? These questions were, supposedly, answered in the superintendent's procedure for policy 2200. Once these definitions and limits of authority were set, however, district officials started violating them.
The board, lead by Michael DeBell and Harium Martin-Morris, broke the rules when they took back the superintendent's authority to place programs. They overrode his decision to place north-end middle school APP at Eckstein (where it belongs).
The Superintendent and staff, in turn, refused to treat Montessori or language immersion as programs. They also eliminated Spectrum by merging it with ALO and changing it from a program into a service.
They said that they didn't have to hold a hearing on the closure of Summit because the building would be continue to be used as a school. They said that closure hearings are for buildings, not schools. But then they also refused to hold a hearing on the closure of the Middle College in West Seattle saying that the school is continuing and they only have to hold hearings when the school is closed, not the building. Tricky.
So before we didn't have rules or definitions and everyone did whatever they wanted. Now we have rules and definitions, but people still do whatever they want.
Anonymous said…
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Carol Simmons said…
The University of Washington would like to keep Middle College on it's campus but the decision is up to the Seattle Public Schools. Who in SPS has made the recommendation to move it from the UW campus? Where will it move? Why? Is there a commitment to support it at another site?
Anonymous said…
There is something in the air at the Seattle University one as well.
- Curious
Wanda said…
The culture of lawlessness is contagious, being benignly being fed and growing.
Do we have to wait for the next superintendent to deal with it?
Nope, we're getting 4 new members of the School Board in less than 24 hours. I think on issues like non-compliance with board/district policy, these directors have a different outlook.
The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested. It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio. (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
This may only be a partial list of reasons; please, add anything else in the comments. The deadline to file to run for the Board is May 19th. Entire Board Majority NOT vetting the Superintendent in any way, shape or form. Even the Seattle Times thought that was wrong. It was just absolute hubris and it was wrong. For the second time in just over a year , board members voted to negotiate a superintendent contract during a special meeting with no opportunity for public comment. This time, they showed an even deeper disregard for their responsibilities as public servants: Aborting a national search for a new superintendent and denying Interim Superintendent Brent Jones a chance to show students, parents and taxpayers that, indeed, he is the best person for the job. Government bodies can’t fast-forward through transparent processes just because they think they know the right answer. One other odd thing about the hiring of Brent Jones - most permanent SPS superintendent contracts ar
Update 5 It appears that there is another person running in Director Rankin's district, Michael Christophersen. He has run before. From past interactions when he was running before, he's not school board material in the least and he comes off as creepy. (The King County Elections listing is unclear; he's on there as both running and withdrawing.) If he stays in the race, it will mean a primary for that district. That could be interesting because then you would see if Rankin - after pretty much ignoring Ingraham High parents as well as Broadview-Thomson parents and their safety concerns - truly has support in her own district. As well, there is another contender in District 6 and she's Maryanne Wood. Ms Wood's LinkedIn page says she is a "shift lead" at Kinetic Builders but there are no dates for her employment. The company is a general contracting company. I can't find much more about her. end of update Update 4 - To make it clear: District 1 (Ranki
Comments
The attacks on Choice School-Queen Anne Elementary principal David Elliott can also be included. His failure to complete evaluations was a ruse to oust him; Many many administrators have never evaluated all of their staff.
~Brokenhearted
This is an immediate and critical test for the new board and it is essential that they pass. This sets an important tone. If the staff are allowed to destroy Middle College, nothing else in this district is safe from them.
The board, lead by Michael DeBell and Harium Martin-Morris, broke the rules when they took back the superintendent's authority to place programs. They overrode his decision to place north-end middle school APP at Eckstein (where it belongs).
The Superintendent and staff, in turn, refused to treat Montessori or language immersion as programs. They also eliminated Spectrum by merging it with ALO and changing it from a program into a service.
They said that they didn't have to hold a hearing on the closure of Summit because the building would be continue to be used as a school. They said that closure hearings are for buildings, not schools. But then they also refused to hold a hearing on the closure of the Middle College in West Seattle saying that the school is continuing and they only have to hold hearings when the school is closed, not the building. Tricky.
So before we didn't have rules or definitions and everyone did whatever they wanted. Now we have rules and definitions, but people still do whatever they want.
- Curious
Do we have to wait for the next superintendent to deal with it?