Tuesday Open Thread
A bit late; I was covering the Loyal Heights protest which I'll have in a separate thread.
The district is looking for members for the Equity and Race Advisory Committee. This is not in their news page but I saw it in a tweet today. Oddly, it was first put out in August with a September 9th cutoff but that they are tweeting it out may mean something changed. I'll let you know.
There seems to be no end to the comments on the Black Lives Matter shirts that John Muir teachers wore last week at a welcoming event for students as well as the news that the Garfield football team knelt during the national anthem. Director Geary reports this comment sent to her about the team:
Good article on why third grade is so crucial. I just attended my high school reunion in Arizona and apparently if third graders don't pass their state test, they are held back.
What's on your mind?
The district is looking for members for the Equity and Race Advisory Committee. This is not in their news page but I saw it in a tweet today. Oddly, it was first put out in August with a September 9th cutoff but that they are tweeting it out may mean something changed. I'll let you know.
There seems to be no end to the comments on the Black Lives Matter shirts that John Muir teachers wore last week at a welcoming event for students as well as the news that the Garfield football team knelt during the national anthem. Director Geary reports this comment sent to her about the team:
Makes me sick to think I put my life on the line for these useless N******S (both white and black). I hope that your football team of monkeys experience many injuries this year so they may know how the many military members who lost life and limb for these worthless POS feel.This person is talking about children. Sickening. And naturally, it flies in the face of our First Amendment.
Wishing you all the worst!
Good article on why third grade is so crucial. I just attended my high school reunion in Arizona and apparently if third graders don't pass their state test, they are held back.
What's on your mind?
Comments
Unfortunately, the recommended amendment does nothing to address the potential for Cedar Park to become a very high-poverty school while neighboring schools become less diverse.
Here are some stats:
First, the Cedar Park projected numbers from the current, board-approved boundaries for 2017-18:
38.6% English language learners (ELL)
65.3% free/reduced lunch (FRL)
72.2% historically underserved
Then, the projected Cedar Park numbers for the proposed amendment.
43.8% English language learners (ELL)
69.0% free/reduced lunch (FRL)
76.2% historically underserved
IMO, the actual percentage of FRL at Cedar Park could be much higher, if non-FRL families in the Cedar Park attendance area chose to go elsewhere.
For more details, see this blog post from the Olympic Hills PTA: http://olympichillspta.org/2016/09/20/cedar-park-racial-equity/
North-end Mom
yumpears
Is this sort of thing really allowed? It all seems
Very Odd
And yes, that video appears to be shot at Garfield. Who paid for that?
Principal Howard works hard and cares deeply but there have been several very problematic things that happened under his watch and yet it seems like he has very little oversight.
Tee
-BeenThere
There are two problems with the boundary changes.
1) The boundary changes were based on 2012 enrollment data. Things have changed significantly and there are serious questions about whether or not the boundary changes even make sense in the first place.
For example the plans are based on alleviating the crowding at Broadview Thompson. However BT has some of the lowest class sizes in the area. There is no need to change that boundary and therefore a whole bunch of the subsequent changes also are NOT necessary.
2) Even if the changes were necessary, grandfathering is a viable option. OV is the lynchpin of the student grandfathering issue and OV can take a significant number of portables if required.
If OV took a few portables, you would be able to grandfather everyone. You could determine the number of portables after open enrollment.
As the geo-split are primarily impacting the FRL community, IMHO, a few portables are more than appropriate to protect this community from this level of disruption.
If Broadview Thompson has some of the lowest class sizes in the area, why do they not allow grandfathering for kids at that school? At least for 1st-5th grade? I am so not getting the reasoning behind these decisions that the district seems so reluctant to be flexible on.
"Elementary School Change Area 18
2016-17 elementary attendance area: Broadview-Thomson K-8
2017-18 elementary attendance area: Viewlands
Staff recommendation on grandfathering: No grandfathering
Reason: Capacity constraints"
It seems like if that were the done then grandfathering at Viewlands would not be as much of an issue?
"Elementary School Change Area 117
2016-17 elementary attendance area: Viewlands
2017-18 elementary attendance area: Olympic View
Staff recommendation on grandfathering: 4th and 5th grade only
Reason: Relieve Olympic View"
I imagine that most families (if they are even aware of the upcoming change) want their kids to remain at their originally assigned school. This is a huge mess.
Tee
I really can't answer on behalf of the district because I don't understand either.
What I do understand is that it takes space for the dominos to fall. They are making enough changes that there is not any space for the inevitable "swirl" that happens when there is grandfathering.
However, adding a few portables would add that space for the dominos to fall.
- attendance matters
This is a new term for me. Can you elaborate? Thanks.
72.2% historically underserved
just curious
The reason for the change was the POSSIBILITY of better student outcomes. There is absolutely no guarantee of better outcomes, and the impact on elementary students is really unknown at this point. I can tell you my older children are now flat out tired when they get home from school. They are not getting more sleep, and it's harder to keep up with the homework load.
-liked 7:50
I would be surprised to see research that supports the claim that organized competitive team sports are necessary for good health.
"for teens the strongest circadian “dips” tend to occur between 3:00-7:00 am and 2:00-5:00 pm, but the morning dip (3:00-7:00 am) can be even longer if teens haven’t had enough sleep, and can even last until 9:00 or 10:00 am."
https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/sleep-drive-and-your-body-clock
"Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood teens will suffer myriad negative consequences, including an inability to concentrate, poor grades, drowsy-driving incidents, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and even suicide attempts."
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/10/among-teens-sleep-deprivation-an-epidemic.html
like 8:45
Yes, they were vocal but nothing stopped anyone else from organizing against it. And no one really did. As for unintended consequences, I disagree. Many of the outcomes were discussed and the bottom line was academic outcomes are the most important. Go back and look at the taskforce's work.
There are no guarantees of anything in life but yes, the research shows better academic outcomes for later start high schools (plus, in one study, fewer car accidents by teens who drive.)
"Necessary" for good health? That's a higher standard, and many studies, including those for later start times, will not speak in such absolutes. I read some of the studies used to support the bell time change, and you know what? Some were based on moving from a 7:00 start to a 7:30 start (uh, SPS still started later). Studies about possible negative impacts of early starts for elementary students did not seem to be considered. Impacts on day care costs and options? And how many SPS students actually drive to school? Seriously? Most students walk, get driven by parents, or use district provided or public transit, and the safety issues are around safe routes to school.
Way back when, we had a two-tier transportation system. Middle school/high school started around 8 and elementary started around 9. It worked.
I am tired of "wishful thinking" solutions to improve academics (the 3x5 schedule proposal, for example, is full of wishful thinking). SPS needs to actually improve academics. My child's high school science text is from 1993. The district tried to subvert it's own adoption process for elementary math materials and now they are delaying a middle school adoption (CMP needs to go). Readers and Writers Workshop in middle school? They need an actual writing curriculum. I could go on.
If mental health is truly a concern of SPS, then they should have counselors in every school.
-liked 7:50
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26545246
Summary
Many schools have instituted later morning start times to improve sleep, academic, and other outcomes in response to the mismatch between youth circadian rhythms and early morning start times. However, there has been no systematic synthesis of the evidence on the effects of this practice. To examine the impact of delayed school start time on students' sleep, health, and academic outcomes, electronic databases were systematically searched and data were extracted using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Six studies satisfied selection criteria and used pre-post, no control (n = 3), randomized controlled trial (n = 2), and quasi-experimental (n = 1) designs. School start times were delayed 25–60 min, and correspondingly, total sleep time increased from 25 to 77 min per weeknight. Some studies revealed reduced daytime sleepiness, depression, caffeine use, tardiness to class, and trouble staying awake. Overall, the evidence supports recent non-experimental study findings and calls for policy that advocates for delayed school start time to improve sleep. This presents a potential long-term solution to chronic sleep restriction during adolescence. However, there is a need for rigorous randomized study designs and reporting of consistent outcomes, including objective sleep measures and consistent measures of health and academic performance.
-Fedmomof2
-Divide and Conquer
-Deficits
Total Chaos
--Divide and conquer -- thanks for the reminder that the tier thing is still only partly done. My kids are no longer in high school, but I would love to know if there is any sort of organized group out there advocating for further changes to the bus schedule so that we don't address the health needs of just "some" kids -- but of all of them. Having gone through much of my life sleep deprived, I am a big believer now in the physical and mental health benefits of sufficient sleep. I would love to know if this is being addressed in any "big group" way -- or only by individually affected families / schools.
Jan
Also right now, in the 3 tier system, 1 bus does maybe 3 to 4 schools. That's not possible in a 2 tier system - again, you not only need more drivers but you need twice as many busses. This is actually the "scam" involved in cost savings claimed in the 3 tier system - it has always been dependent on making the carrier do more with less.
Its all entirely doable, but there are costs involved.
reader47
-waterlogged
Frankly, I am a little confused why people think this provides more sleep. We all just went to bed earlier (9pm, yes, 9pm) for the earlier times.
-SPSParent
"Historically underserved" (students) was language taken from the Race and Equity analysis of the Cedar Park attendance area boundaries.
It took some digging, but I think it refers to students who identify as Black, American Indian, Hispanic, or Pacific Islander.
-North-end Mom
However it is predicted to cost $11m to go back. That is not possible.
The reason for the discrepancy is that the three tier system removed all of the "home grown" efficiencies that was built into the old two tier system. In the old system option schools shared busses. Schools that were geographically close shared busses with a 10 minute staggered times. And other innovations.
"I'm at a Tier 3 school and it sucks. After school activities that my child can attend are significantly limited because most of the elementary schools are Tier 1. Also, my child is exhausted when they come home from school. They still get up early, but just hang around until school finally starts. I sure am glad for the rest of you who are really enjoying your new times that would not be possible without screwing us over. Thanks everyone for the all for one and one for all togetherness. You got yours and the hell with the rest of us"
You do know that there were many many elementary schools at Tier 3 for many years that were switched to Tier 1 that didn't want to be on Tier 1? This wasn't an elementary school effort designed to "screw over" a few other elementary schools. I preferred our old Tier 3 for my elementary kid because he could take language classes in the morning and other "fun" stuff after school. Now we have to choose and those choices are limited as well in Tier 1.
BUT - I do have a high school student and the later start time is much better for that age. I'll take the trade off in elementary inconvenience for HS benefit. More sleep, happier moods, etc.
QA Parent
I suspect a lot of what happens at SPS that claims to "save money" is a very similar game. I only know for sure this particular game was always a bad decision and it may well take more to undo it than we'd like. That's partly because the cost of more buses, (without which 2 tiers is impossible to achieve), has gone up quite a bit in last few years. There were also multiple carriers back then. Now it's a monopoly with a serious driver shortage.
So while the $11m is probably overkill, it's also probably not terribly far off either.
reader47
-early birds
Garfield's staff survey reveals that just 37% responded favorably to questions on the school's instructional practices (down 10 points from the prior year.)
Here are most of the results:
Staff at this school share a common understanding of instructional best practices. 44% agreed (This sheds some light on the veracity of the claims that the staff are unanimous in agreement on the decision to drop honors classes.)
I receive the support I need to differentiate and modify instruction for my students. 39% agreed
I have access to strategies and materials to support all learners in my classes. 34%
This school has a consistent process for identifying students who struggle academically. 44%
This school implements a clear plan of action when a student struggles academically. 20%
I receive the support I need to address student behavior and discipline problems. 32%
The professional culture looks a little better except for:
This school has an effective process for making group decisions and solving problems 25%
and
Conflict among staff is resolved in a timely and effective manner. 29%
—FamilyTime
I do know that some elementary schools wanted to be late and some wanted to be early. But by isolating us in Tier 3, we end up with the burden of kids (and teachers) who don't fit into the right time for community after-school activities or trainings. We should all be at the same time..early, late, or perhaps a reasonable time for elementary school like 8:30 or 9:00.
I thought it back when it was decided and I still feel the same way. 9:35 is too late to start elementary school, especially when it gets out at 3:45 and even later next year. I'm also a teacher at a Tier 3 school. The late time definitely impacts the younger kids. I think it is fine for high school to start late, but why do we have to sacrifice the younger kids. It's not right.
Fed Up
There is no way the costs could possible be that much.
Despite enrollment growing ever year both the total number of students and the percentage of student receiving transportation has declined. The assignment system has radically changed the need for busses.
Additionally, the City of Seattle has stepped in and is now funding a healthy percentage of ORCA cards.
a) the focus on "etiquette" of the anthem as opposed to discussion about the actual issues being protested was disheartening; and
b) the vitriol and hate directed at these teens was disgusting and heartbreaking. What have we become?
reader47
BLMS
High School Enrollment
Ballard High School 1,849
Chief Sealth International High School 1,120
Cleveland STEM High School 854
Franklin High School 1,260
Garfield High School 1,759
Ingraham International High School 1,346
Nathan Hale High School 1,180
Nova High School 331
Rainier Beach High School 700
Roosevelt High School 1,741
The Center School 230
West Seattle High School 997
This is NOT okay. My brother in law was very nervous and had to show him a pay stub to prove he is a productive member of society to this jerk.
Can you imagine not feeling safe listening to music on a park bench in the middle of the day because people might assume you're a bum because of the color of your skin? And even if you are a "bum" (what a horrible word)...why shouldn't you be able to sit in peace?
Back to your question...sadly, I don't know the answer but we can start with empathy and compassion. Start by understanding that my example story is happening here in Seattle to great people.
Skin Deep
High School Enrollment
Ballard High School 1,849
Chief Sealth International High School 1,120
Cleveland STEM High School 854
Franklin High School 1,260
Garfield High School 1,759
Ingraham International High School 1,346
Nathan Hale High School 1,180
Nova High School 331
Rainier Beach High School 700
Roosevelt High School 1,741
The Center School 230
West Seattle High School 997
I had seen these numbers and hope to put up all the numbers today. Ballard appears stuffed to the gills. The number at Hale seems low to me and I have wonder about that. Ditto on Cleveland. Is something being capped at those two schools? Those numbers in West Seattle, for both Sealth and West Seattle, also seem somewhat low.
Another Name, I have some questions into the district on your topic which I will write about in a separate thread when I get the answers. One interesting thing is that I cc'ed my questions to the Board. Director Blanford wrote to the Communications lead and asked for those answers to be sent to the directors. That is the first and only time that Blanford has ever acknowledged that he has read anything I have sent to directors. (And it wasn't even to me.)
High School Enrollment
Ballard High School 1,849 (1702, +9%)
Chief Sealth International High School 1,120 (1174, -5%)
Cleveland STEM High School 854 (842, +1%)
Franklin High School 1,260 (1308, -4%)
Garfield High School 1,759 (1714, +3%)
Ingraham International High School 1,346 (1235, +9%)
Nathan Hale High School 1,180 (1179, +0%)
Nova High School 331 (344, -4%)
Rainier Beach High School 700 (671, +4%)
Roosevelt High School 1,741 (1715, +2%)
The Center School 230 (270, -15%)
West Seattle High School 997 (994, +0%)
-another anon
Total Chaos
Activists are printing Black Lives Matter t- shirts for teachers. Has anyone developed an appropriate curriculum for K-2 students?"
If I see one teacher wearing one these shirts on the job...it's the end of me donating to the PTA fund. What they do one their own time is their business, but I oppose dragging our students into this narrative.
--Rose
https://aclu-wa.org/docs/free-speech-rights-public-school-teachers-washington-state
PTAs are not to be involved in political activity. "Activists" printing t-shirts could be anyone. I'd address concerns to the principal or school board if a teacher's political activity in the classroom is seen as disruptive.
-parent
I'm cutting all donations to SPS, PTSA and any other related charities just over the mentioning of black lives matter and SPS. I recommended that other "privileged" ones do the same.
Unapologetic Privileged
Skin Deep
That's why oppressors are afraid.
vine maple
I'm cutting all donations to SPS, PTSA and any other related charities just over the mentioning of black lives matter and SPS. I recommended that other "privileged" ones do the same.
Unapologetic Privileged"
I plan on writing about this upcoming event. I am trying to do some research so I fully understand who is doing what and what the district thinks.
Anyone can do whatever they want with charitable giving but it might be better to find out what teachers are doing and why before you cut off funds to your child's school. Or, you can contribute but direct that it only goes to certain items.
Of course teachers can have political views. And, if there is context within curriculum - history, civics, etc - certainly teach about it. But I do not agree that a teacher should be speaking out on political views to students especially younger ones who might not understand.
I am not sure how to classify Black Lives Matter. It seems more a movement like the civil rights movement, than a political group. So certainly, within a curriculum context, a teacher could talk about it.
-sleeper
I have no problem for standing up for kids of color but there are many ways to do that.