Sunday Open Thread

Sorry, I just flaked out on Friday.

I am reading and posting all comments (but the amount of spam we get is pretty amazing.)

What's on your mind?

Comments

Anonymous said…
What's the big secret with Amplify results? Last week I tried to get my student's results from last year and got a big runaround. Told the school I'd tried to get them from the district months ago and had gotten no response. Counsellor said: The district doesn't have them. They are used only at the school. Me: Oh, ok. Well, can I have them? Counsellor: Stammer, stammer. Me: I'm a parent asking for my child's score. Counsellor: I'll talk to the principal.

Later, I get an email from her referring me to the district. Weird. I really don't care about my student's score as I know how she's doing. I only asked because the counsellor had called me about something else, and my daughter had just come home that week telling me they'd taken this year's Amplify. But when someone makes such an obvious effort to conceal something, well, it piques my interest.

Second weird Amplify thing. Daughter tells me this year's math Amplify was only questions on slope. Every single question was slope. Her friend, who was in the car with her confirmed that it was all slope, and easy.

So does anyone know what is going on with this test?

Curious
11/29/15, 9:53 AM
Anonymous said…
What's the big secret with Amplify results? Last week I tried to get my student's results from last year and got a big runaround. Told the school I'd tried to get them from the district months ago and had gotten no response. Counsellor said: The district doesn't have them. They are used only at the school. Me: Oh, ok. Well, can I have them? Counsellor: Stammer, stammer. Me: I'm a parent asking for my child's score. Counsellor: I'll talk to the principal.

Later, I get an email from her referring me to the district. Weird. I really don't care about my student's score as I know how she's doing. I only asked because the counsellor had called me about something else, and my daughter had just come home that week telling me they'd taken this year's Amplify. But when someone makes such an obvious effort to conceal something, well, it piques my interest.

Second weird Amplify thing. Daughter tells me this year's math Amplify was only questions on slope. Every single question was slope. Her friend, who was in the car with her confirmed that it was all slope, and easy.

So does anyone know what is going on with this test?

Curious
11/29/15, 9:55 AM
mirmac1 said…
That's okay Melissa. It was a slow weekend.

I look forward to the new School Board requiring staff to do its due diligence with respect to drafting policies and procedures on the very limited use of restraints and isolation on students, most with disabilities. As it stands, staff has just phoned it in on this one.
11/30/15, 8:02 AM
Another Name said…

LEV and DFER will be hosting an event on Feb. 10th:

http://educationvoters.org/get-involved/speaker-series/
11/30/15, 5:04 PM
Carol Simmons said…
Exactly Mirmac 1

The use of restraints and isolation of students, most with disabilities is barbaric. I can recall observing an Administrator describing and presenting this use at a School Board meeting. It was something out of a horror film.
11/30/15, 6:23 PM
Anonymous said…
Just once, I would love it if the district would trim the budget of the muckety mucks at the downtown administration, instead of on the backs of our Special Education students. My students are not widgets where you can cut spending, they have very real needs and those needs cost money! They have now trimmed the classroom budgets of Special Education classes. My own was cut by $450, leaving $1000 in the building for our use, and $250 that is being held downtown for curriculum and supplies. That might seem like a lot of money, but after I purchased ink for the color printer and velcro which is a much needed item, as well as one assessment book and some small testing objects to go with it, I have gone through my building budget. There is no policy or procedure that has been shared with SPED teachers on how to access the money at the district level, so I will be a pest until I figure it out. When I inquired about this shortfall at the West Seattle Community Special Education meeting a couple of weeks past, I was assured by the top admin at that meeting that our budget was exactly the same as before. Last year it was similar to this year but we were sent extra money mid way through the year, for a grand total of about $1700, which is what SM2, 3 and 4, as well as medically fragile, have gotten in the past few years I have been in this district. We don't have the same curriculum as other grade level students because my students have unique needs. I have students at multiple levels within multiple subjects and none of them are at grade level, or even close. I have students with no academic skills to students that can read and write and do simple math. Setting up programming for my students is expensive and the needs change every year as my students come and go. I am getting super tired of spending my own hard earned money in order to educate my students.

Tired teacher
11/30/15, 6:44 PM
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