Looks Like Something Serious Will Get Discussed Tonight

Checking the Board's webpage, as I often do, I find that the Work Session on HR has been stripped down because....

Closed Session, per RCW 42.30.140, and Executive Session: Potential Litigation, Evaluate the Performance of a Public Employee


• The closed and executive sessions will begin at the conclusion of the oversight work session and last approximately 90 minutes. 
When this Work Session was first scheduled, the executive session was to be about a half hour.  Now I see some of the Work Session Power Point has been changed/cut down and about an hour added to the executive session.

It's worth noting that the Power Point hasn't really been cut down so much as changed in places.  Hmm.

Comments

Anonymous said…
GHS Choir Teacher?

-StepJ
Anonymous said…
Well StepJ, it is clear that the District is retaliating against the GHS Choir teacher. The retaliation is plain and the District is nothing if not a sore loser.

reader
Anonymous said…
Hey, retaliating against excellent teachers in the district is what the central administration does best! Except when they are retaliating against the students in the district by dismantling advanced learning opportunities. At least SPS central administration excels at something.......Distilling everything to a dull grey paste.

-SPS Parent
Ann D said…
There is also the situation with Stevens leadership, reports of students teaching classes, and inadequate coverage of instruction by qualified substitute teachers.

With that post about HCC some if the district's comments point to an odd adherence to the concept of school-based (aka site based) management going back to the mid 1990s. It looks like rather than audit and enforce that Building Leadership Teams are structured according to board policy and the teacher contract including bylaws, public meetings, and community involvement, the district staff has abdicated their management to school principals who are given free reign to do as they like. The district staff do not know which schools have recess, have no idea how little seated lunch time students are given, probably don't know which schools have isolation rooms, have no sense of what curriculum is being used for instruction, have nothing more than a few sentences to confirm adherence with ALO requirements at any schools.

I'm sure they are all working very hard at JSCEE but their work makes not a damn but if different if there is no enforcement at the vuilding level. I'm not asking for much more teaching conformity, teaching is an art and is relationship-based. We need to know that there is son insistence and that the kids are being taught from district materials and that teachers have proper training so they aren't left high and dry with a new method such as Singapore-based math instruction.
seattle citizen said…
Are the Regional Directors responsible for evaluating what's going on in buildings in regards to recess, isolation rooms, curriculum, etc...? One would think that these five people would be in the best position to analyze what's going on in the schools as they are tasked with overseeing them and visiting them, then reporting back up the chain to the Supe...?
Where are their reports?
Lynn said…
Are there reports? If there are, we can request copies of those.

seattle citizen said…
I don't know of reports, but if I understand their jobs correctly, they are the intermediaries between Principal (slash BLT, if one considers BLTs to be part of school management) and the Supe. As such, one would imagine that they "report" both ways: pass down policy directives and intentions, and pass up what's happening in buildings?

Might be something to ask about.
Ann D said…
I believe this is the job description for the Executive Directors. Again HR isn't doing any favors as this job description could be a lot more explicit about BLTs and such.

http://www.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=16511
seattle citizen said…
There is no mention of BLTs at all, even though they are contractually a part of building management.
In fact, this job description focuses only on the principal as the leader of the school, to the exclusion of BLT or other sire-based building leadership.

"Works with principals to develop and prepare annual budget for schools" - Budgets are prepared (or should be) by BLT, with Principal obviously having a heavy influence on them.

From the CBA (union contract)Note that that the Escecutive Directors don't appear to be a part of this structure, above it as a liason to District. No mention of them at all in this, the governing committee of schools:

ARTICLE II: PARTNERSHIP FOR CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP
Cert CBA 2015-2018 page 12
a. For purposes of collaborative site-based decision making, each building/program will establish its own committee structure. However, at a minimum, each school/program must form a Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Teams and determine a decision-making
process that meets the needs of the school/program. The collaborative decision-making process will be communicated to the entire staff through a written document, which will include
a decision-making matrix.
b. The Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Team for each building/program shall consist of at least:
1) The principal/supervisor, and
2) Five (5) elected SEA-represented staff. One of the five (5) elected seats will be
designated for and voted upon by classified SEA-represented staff. If the BLT exceeds 7 SEA members, representation of classified staff should at a minimum be two, ideally one paraprofessional and one SAEOP.
3) To the extent possible, the Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Team will
reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the school/program staff and school
community. The Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Team must be
selected by a process that is supported by the SEA-represented staff at the school. The structure of the BLT/PLT will be reviewed with the staff each year. The documents created will be provided to the SEA and Executive Director of Schools with a copy forwarded to the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.
c. The primary function of a Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Team is to promote and facilitate the collaborative decision-making process which affects academic achievement and to identify how to support the needs of students and staff in buildings. The more specific responsibilities of the Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Team are to oversee the facilitation and development of:
For BLTs, a Continuous School Improvement Plan (CSIP) including the configuration
and structure of the school’s classes and/or program offerings, and the school’s efforts to ensure equity in discipline, learning, and opportunity for all students..
For PLTs, a plan of moving and improving program delivery including the configuration and structure of the program’s offerings.
seattle citizen said…
Part II of BLT section of CBA


2) A school-wide/program-wide professional development plan to support the CSIP/plan.
3) The school’s /program’s budget.
4) Creation/review of the Decision-making Matrix (DMM).
d. Because one of the shared beliefs is that those impacted by decisions must be given an opportunity to be involved in the decision making, the parties recognize that extra effort may be required to provide opportunity for representatives of the paraprofessional and office professional staff to participate in the work of the Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Team. Buildings/programs will examine the possibilities of altered work week scheduling, shared office coverage, limited use of voice mail coverage, and other strategies that encourage and enable the participation on behalf of paraprofessional and office staff representatives. Schools will also make an effort to provide an opportunity for itinerant staff to
participate in decisions impacting them, as appropriate.
e. The scheduling and assignment of teachers, the assignment of students to classes, and the daily schedule of classes and activities shall be made with staff participation and be consistent with the CSIP, while recognizing that the principal has the right to make the final decision. In May of each year, employees may submit three choices in priority order for assignment of grade level/subject area for the following year. If the choice cannot be honored, a conference will be held to discuss why an employee will be placed in an area that was not requested.
Programs will carry out assignments and transfers as outlined in their procedures and/or Policy and Procedures Manuals.
f. To ensure staff participation in collaborative decision making, buildings/programs need to establish processes for that involvement. Buildings/programs may wish to identify committees or other means to accomplish the work of the school/program (e.g., health, safety, hiring, and budget) and assist with the responsibilities assigned to the Building Leadership Team/Program
Leadership Team.
g. Processes for establishment of building/program committees and the membership of the committees must be approved by a majority of staff at the school/program. Failing such support, the building/program committees and membership shall be determined by the Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Team.
h. The Building Leadership Team/Program Leadership Team and building/program committees shall include parent/family members, students, and community representatives as appropriate.
Building-based committees will seek input from other organizational structures (e.g., PTSA, site council) as appropriate.
i. If there is a conflict between a decision made by the BLT, or building/program staff, (within the responsibilities set out above) and an instructional council or other faculty representative body (per 5 below), the decision of the BLT or staff will take precedence.
j. When a staff, following the school’s/program’s decision-making matrix, cannot reach consensus or at least a 2/3 vote on budget, the professional development plan, or CSIP, a representative from SEA and a representative from SPS will meet with the staff involved in an attempt to resolve the issues. If after a reasonable attempt the issues remain unresolved, the issues will be forwarded to the Superintendent’s designee for a final decision. Members of the decision-making body may submit a statement to the Superintendent’s designee before a final decision is made. SEA and SPS will strive to have a final decision within five (5) work days
from the date that the issues are initially raised.
mirmac1 said…
Exec Dir job description: Provide CYA for themselves and principals.
Charlie Mas said…
The Executive Directors job started because the principals all used to report directly to the Superintendent, but he couldn't do a hundred performance evaluations. Also, he couldn't supervise them all. When principals got in trouble - and they did a lot - the blame quickly shifted to their supervisor, the superintendent. So the executive director position was created so the Superintendent didn't have to deal with any of the principals and didn't have to take responsibility for their bad actions.
mirmac1 said…
Now they have a Chief of Schools (with 5 reports), the Assoc Supt of T&L, and the Dept Supt. Where's the motherlovin' data to show this has been helping?
Ed said…
Down the drain
Ed said…
Nailed it again Charley.
Anonymous said…
This is a really good dang point. For all that the programs our children are in have to beg and plead and showboat to avoid the axe, it seems only fair that all these new fte's show proof that they have helped *any* children.

-sleeper

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