Bellevue School District
A reader recently referenced the high PISA-like scores for students in Bellevue School District; I read about it in the Times via this article:
Comments from the Times' article:
EastsideCrawler
Why does Bellevue score so well ? Many reasons:
1. In Bellevue over 62% of adults have a college or graduate degree, which means the population is both educated and values education.
2. Those adults make sure their children work hard in school and if their kids are struggling, they make sure their kids get assistance to enable success.
3. Those same adults pass school operating and capital levies, volunteer in the classroom, fund PTSA which pays for science fairs, field trips, books, teachers aids, reading programs, etc. etc.
4. The school has great facilities due to a capital bond that was passed years ago so the kids are comfortable and have the facilities needed for the various classes.
5. The voters passed a technology levy so today all high school kids (and some middle schools) have personal lap tops, internet at school, smart boards in every classroom, etc.
6. The school funds 7 period high school days (the state pays for 5(?)) which means the students can take more classes which prepare them for college and increase academic achievement.
7. Most Bellevue kids are well fed and have comfortable, supportive homes which makes it easier for the teachers to teach.
8. Bellevue has the funds to reward teachers who have national board certification, which means Bellevue has one of the highest (if not the highest) rate of nationally board certified teachers in the state.
9. Bellevue has a relatively low crime rate and low unemployment rate, therefore, the kids are safe at home and at school so have lower anxiety and can focus on being students, and their parents are most likely gainfully employed so there is less anxiety at home as well.
Interestingly, gifted education comes in:
user202883
Bellevue has one of if not the best gifted program in the state, which those of us in the neighboring districts can only envy. They identify, actively cull and nurture talent from a young age, and the result shows. A lot of East Asian families move to Bellevue because of its excellent gifted program, which further boosts its base results.
MmeZeeZee (partial)
Bellevue does have a great gifted program but it also has great programs for all students. Spiritridge, one of the primary schools where the gifted program begins, has a nearly 100% pass rate in spite of maintaining nearly 50% of spots for neighborhood kids. That means everyone, not just gifted kids, are passing.
It is, on the contrary, an extreme commitment to every last child that is what makes the school district great. Many school districts manage to achieve high results for one group or another, in specific schools. In Bellevue every single school, even those with high special ed program populations, continue to improve.
See: Phantom Lake Elementary, which intakes special education children from its pre-school program and yet for the first time, thanks to dedication of staff, managed to exceed the district average for math scores in the 4th grade. Yes, the special ed program in the poorest area scored above average.
Piscator
I'll let you all in on a little secret, there must be something in the water in Bellevue that makes kids so darn smart! Magically, Bellevue only has 9.5% of its students in Special Education while the state and national averages are both around 13.2%.
Meanwhile, just like Seattle SD, Bellevue has been having programing just for "African, Black, Latino, Native American or mix of any") males (BOOM) and for females (SHOUT).
I also heard about an incident that happened right after the presidential election involving some white female students at Newport High who openly denigrated black students on Snapchat. Apparently it caused a lot of strife at the school with the white students being kept at home for their own good (which is an interesting way to say you are disciplining students.)
From the Bellevue Reporter:
If the Bellevue School District were a nation, its high-school students would rank among the top of the world’s developed nations on an influential international exam.According to the Times, Bellevue pays for their 15-year old students to take the test. (It's a bit confusing because the Times then says they don't take the "official" test.) Bellevue has a "randomly" selected group of 15-year olds but I'd be interested to know if all 15 year-olds in BSD get put into that pool of students.
District officials said they are particularly pleased because Bellevue’s students are more diverse than in many of the countries that traditionally rank high on the PISA.That's probably true but I think it may be racial/ethnic but not economic over at BSD.
Comments from the Times' article:
EastsideCrawler
Why does Bellevue score so well ? Many reasons:
1. In Bellevue over 62% of adults have a college or graduate degree, which means the population is both educated and values education.
2. Those adults make sure their children work hard in school and if their kids are struggling, they make sure their kids get assistance to enable success.
3. Those same adults pass school operating and capital levies, volunteer in the classroom, fund PTSA which pays for science fairs, field trips, books, teachers aids, reading programs, etc. etc.
4. The school has great facilities due to a capital bond that was passed years ago so the kids are comfortable and have the facilities needed for the various classes.
5. The voters passed a technology levy so today all high school kids (and some middle schools) have personal lap tops, internet at school, smart boards in every classroom, etc.
6. The school funds 7 period high school days (the state pays for 5(?)) which means the students can take more classes which prepare them for college and increase academic achievement.
7. Most Bellevue kids are well fed and have comfortable, supportive homes which makes it easier for the teachers to teach.
8. Bellevue has the funds to reward teachers who have national board certification, which means Bellevue has one of the highest (if not the highest) rate of nationally board certified teachers in the state.
9. Bellevue has a relatively low crime rate and low unemployment rate, therefore, the kids are safe at home and at school so have lower anxiety and can focus on being students, and their parents are most likely gainfully employed so there is less anxiety at home as well.
Interestingly, gifted education comes in:
user202883
Bellevue has one of if not the best gifted program in the state, which those of us in the neighboring districts can only envy. They identify, actively cull and nurture talent from a young age, and the result shows. A lot of East Asian families move to Bellevue because of its excellent gifted program, which further boosts its base results.
MmeZeeZee (partial)
Bellevue does have a great gifted program but it also has great programs for all students. Spiritridge, one of the primary schools where the gifted program begins, has a nearly 100% pass rate in spite of maintaining nearly 50% of spots for neighborhood kids. That means everyone, not just gifted kids, are passing.
It is, on the contrary, an extreme commitment to every last child that is what makes the school district great. Many school districts manage to achieve high results for one group or another, in specific schools. In Bellevue every single school, even those with high special ed program populations, continue to improve.
See: Phantom Lake Elementary, which intakes special education children from its pre-school program and yet for the first time, thanks to dedication of staff, managed to exceed the district average for math scores in the 4th grade. Yes, the special ed program in the poorest area scored above average.
Piscator
I'll let you all in on a little secret, there must be something in the water in Bellevue that makes kids so darn smart! Magically, Bellevue only has 9.5% of its students in Special Education while the state and national averages are both around 13.2%.
Meanwhile, just like Seattle SD, Bellevue has been having programing just for "African, Black, Latino, Native American or mix of any") males (BOOM) and for females (SHOUT).
I also heard about an incident that happened right after the presidential election involving some white female students at Newport High who openly denigrated black students on Snapchat. Apparently it caused a lot of strife at the school with the white students being kept at home for their own good (which is an interesting way to say you are disciplining students.)
From the Bellevue Reporter:
The Bellevue School Board passed a resolution Tuesday reaffirming the district’s stance on discrimination, bullying and harassment following parental concerns about incidents of hate over the last month.
It’s words, actions are more powerful, why are we doing this?’ I think that as several incidents have come to light in recent days … I don’t think they’re all election-relation. Things like this happen all of the time in our district and don’t make the radar. But, I see a reason to come out and make a strong statement,” Board President Christine Chew said.
“I have over 65 students who have sent out emails and texts … regarding the issue of racism that’s happening within the school district and has never been resolved… They feel like it’s hidden and nobody wants to talk about it,” Bellevue resident and YMCA volunteer Adam Dibba told the School Board on Dec. 6.
The morning after the election, a group of Puesta del Sol students aboard bus No. 26 chanted “build the wall.” A Bellevue kindergartner was reportedly told to leave the country by a student, and a Snapchat message involving the N-word sent by a Newport High School student was widely shared.
Newport High School student Jahdai Alcombrack teared up on Dec. 13 while discussing the Snapchat incident and others she had experienced over the last four years in the Bellevue School District.
There has not been an uptick in student bullying or discrimination, according to the district, and teachers and other staff are trained on handling such incidents and receive reminders about how to address them regularly.
Comments
Flailing SPS
If SPS earned their trust and participation back, we would all benefit. If my friend who spends $8K on the mediocre catholic school in Bryant would send their kid to any of our good neighborhood schools and donate $4K per year to the PTA or a Foundation supporting SPS, this could be a win-win. But this is never going to happen with the current "leadership" downtown. There is too much money wasted and too much animosity towards effectively meeting students' academic needs, not to mention the years of endless studies and zero action or accountability.
Fix AL
-nc /nocaps
There are plenty of teachers and parents supporting efforts to dismantle advanced learning. Participating principals, teachers and community members share responsibility for dismantling advanced learning.
-2 cents
Also, it's not just advanced learning programs that need improvement if SPS wants to retain students. Plenty of GE kids leave, too. Most private schools don't focus on advanced kearners. Or @ML, are you suggesting we improve AL programs to try to "win back" the right students--those who are high performing? I can't see SPS doing that at all--not only would it be wrong to focus on improving services ONLY for the top performers, but it would increase the achievement gap.
HF
http://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/teaching-parents-how-to-teach-their-toddlers-seattle-area-program-yields-lasting-benefits/
A lot of frustration is misdirected and should be aimed at the Legislators, but our District could be doing more to support the classrooms and all programs.
Fix AL
http://data.spokesman.com/salaries/schools/2013/92-seattle-public-schools/employees/
and see that the top 200 employees all make over $100K and not one of them is a teacher...
PissedOff
Attack the district and discredit as many staffers as possible. Paint the district as corrupt and incompetent.
Attack anyone who wants to change the delivery of HCC from a self-contained exclusionary model.
Call people lots of names.
Trot out anecdotes and and lists of complaints about mistreatment.
Harass anyone who supports a different vision for HC services.
Hire some professional internet trolls to do the above while you're sleeping, on vacation or just because it's cheap.
Rinse and repeat.
Umbellularia
-sleeper
-sleeper
We left for private because of weak AL. Hate paying that kind of money as it is a bit out of our reach, but not enough to qualify for aid. Wish it were different.
Problem is that kids come in on very different trajectories, which would only diverge further if SPS wasn't putting all its effort into closing the gap. Ignoring the kids on the steep trajectories and working like heck with the kids on the lowest trajectories will at best, keep the groups parallel.
Really liked the article in the Times today that someone referenced above. That's where all this effort should be placed, helping parents get kids ready by playing with them and talking to them (many, many words). And ensuring that we have a social safety net that ensures kids have a home and enough food.
asdf
I don't think that is the case. I am aware of some of the parish schools, OLL in Wedgwood, partnering with Hamlin Robinson, on some learning issues programs as such.
I have seen a few students who do attend a parish school then go down the street for some specific Sped services at their neighborhood school for part of the day.
Observation
asdf
mc troll to what advantage would anyone pay to advocate for hcc on this blog? again you are placing an unreasonable, most likely paranoid, importance to something that means nothing. to my knowledge you are the only one who admitted shilling your voice for money. i hope after reading your post for the last few years that you didn't charge too much ar at least gave a discount for poor grammar.
as for name calling, it is the hcc haters who wield the big false racism card in all their post... including you so not going to bite on that one either.
nc - no caps
HF
When I look at the Bellevue site I also notice that they have a lot of summer school options. Could that be part of it? I believe math is the hardest hit by "summer learning loss," which makes sense to me as of course you keep reading just incidentally. Fewer kids keep up their math skills. It also looks like they don't just skip for math levels, but more often place kids in different classes, faster moving "streams." That would result in fewer gaps I imagine.
-sleeper
Potato potahto. You say personalized but ge, I say Ala Carte spectrum. Not hc, but mild advanced learning. Either way we get many of the cheap to educate students back, right?
-sleeper
-sleeper
https://www.bsd405.org/about/
The current Advanced Learning programs have their origins in "magnet programs". Magnet programs were very appropriately labeled because they were designed and intended to draw the upper middle class to public schools in general and to specific public school in particular. The specific schools were either underenrolled or high poverty or both.
This matters because as you see in Bellevue, when the majority of the middle class and upper middle class, buy into public schools everyone wins, because there is more money in the system. When the middle class abandons public education, you have problems that are far worse and more entrenched than Seattle "achievment gap" because the money also leaves the system.
This happened in Seattle in the 80s. After significant "white flight" to the suburbs "for the schools" the levies failed and draconian cuts were made. It is no surprise that shortly after this major loss of funds, there was a renewed focus on advanced learning and "Horizon" the precursor to Spectrum was born along with the old APP program.
When you look at advanced learning programs over decades, there is always a correlation between advanced learning and the desire to attract and retain the upper middle class.
Improving outcomes for struggling students and advanced learning are not mutually exclusive. It is a false dichotomy that hurts all students. If fact, if you follow the money, advanced learning and improved outcomes go hand in hand.
We also know that 76% of the National Merit Semifinalists are not earned by public school kids. 14 out of 48 Seattle NSMF are from public school kids. So, 28% of these private school kids kids are being awarded 76% of these awards. How unfair is that! We need to vastly improve our HCC so that our kids who are a heck of a lot smarter than kids nationally (at least 10x smarter) get a fair shake. Does anyone know how to get racial makeup of the NMSF? If we had that, we could prove once and for all, that gifted black kids are being educated privately and put those awful claims of segregation to rest.
HCC Numbers
Seattle math is getting better, but we cannot compete with better curricula and plenty of outside tutoring.
S parent
"We know the gifted black kids almost be in private because we don't have them in our HCC. Where else would they be?"
What? There are some still in SPS just as there are Hispanic, NA, and nearly every other group.
Why? Because not everyone is tested and yet, their smarts still exist. People don't test their kids for all kinds of reason, people test and don't use AL for all kinds of reasons.
There are smart kids - in every race/ethnic group and grade - in SPS. They just all aren't identified and/or their parents are not interested in those services.
And, once again, a thread gets hijacked out of its original subject.
"When you look at advanced learning programs over decades, there is always a correlation between advanced learning and the desire to attract and retain the upper middle class."
Totally agree. Why is it still happening in 2016?
Nancy
The district's proposed three-year operations levy totals $758 million. About 63 percent of the money going to support teaching and another 9.5 percent to teaching support.
The state supplies the lion's share of the schools budget, but the operations levy accounts for just over 25 percent of the district's spending.
The six-year capital levy is set at $475 million, about $200 million more than the $270 million levy approved by Seattle voters in 2010.
The homeowner who has paid $1,016 in Seattle school taxes this year would, see the tax bill jump to $1,145 to $1,172 in years to come.
If it takes $500 Million or $9,433 per student to operate our district each year that means it takes an average of $1,172 from 437,000 properties to run this district. At some point our levy funding should more than cover expenses and the state funding can be used by more needy districts.
An alternative would be to cap the yearly levy amount and rebate distressed tax payers any surplus. It's really hard to stomach over 200 employees making in excess of $110K many well above that mark.
Money Monster
Your math may be right but your reasoning is flawed. The "average cost" per student is a meaningless figure since it is nothing like the cost of education for a typical student. Likewise the idea of an average cost of $1,172 per property absurdly equates a modest single family home in South Beacon Hill with the Columbia Center. I assure you that the property tax on the Columbia Center is nothing like the property taxes on any single family residence.
So skip all of that pointless math and go straight to your point, which had more validity without the math: The school district central administration is too big and the executives are too highly compensated. Too many of them are doing work that they should not be doing, nearly all of them are failing to do work that they should be doing, and a few of them are doing no work at all.
Reading is another "curricular calendar" put out by that department. We haven't had a real curriculum in years. Same with social studies.
A few years ago a friend who sent her kid to Seattle Schools through third grade gave up on us and chose a catholic school for fourth and beyond and was much happier. The kid is successful and she has become more academic than social. I know parents want their kids to enjoy school but really school is an academic endeavor and at my school, teachers are more afraid of offending parents than demanding that students work hard to learn. I know of few if any private schools that invite parents into the classroom. They are not social places.
We need good curriculum and the opportunity to work our kids hard during school time. If I could end the assemblies and crazy hair days, I would. Who can teach when there's no time to teach and kids have one reason after another to be excited and crazy.
One of our new teachers came from Northshore. I asked her the biggest difference and she said curriculum. She feels like she's making it up as she goes and she really misses having curriculum. It takes twice as long to plan for everything.
checking in
Private schools don't need to accept all students.
I do think some flock to private schools for smaller class sizes. Some attend Seattle Day School for advanced needs.
HCC Numbers
First, the tax rate is not part of the law. Only the total amount to be raised each year is legally binding. If the rate has to be increased to get this amount, the law says it will be. It's hard to imagine the city/district is not collecting more than the law allows. There's probably some sort of over payment clause or second set of books that allows them to keep the money.
Second, the law also specifically outlines that the levy funds can NOT be used for basic education, yet that's exactly what it's used for. If SPS is illegally using levy funds for basic education then those funds S/B returned to the tax payers and the levy amount be reduced to the appropriate amount.
It appears SPS continues to top load it's budget with what it claims to be basic administrators in an attempt to insure it drives up cost and straddles the levy funds lid, thus appears to be poor and in need of further raising taxes. I can't prove it's intentional, but it sure looks like budget loading to me.
It reminds me of the military were we would have to use it or lose it and if we were prudent and cut cost we would have our next years budget reduce by the unused amount.
Maybe that's how Stanford ran the district?
Money Matters
any actual evidence/examples or is this just more hot air?
balloon
Interlake High School is the default placement for gifted high school students in Bellevue and made up 20% of the school last year. Identification for this program required CogAT scores at the 99.7th percentile or higher. There were 323 gifted students at the school last year.
Fix AL
Bellevue Nat boards
The Central office staff are doing work they shouldn't be doing because the administration suffers from mission creep and over-reaching. The Central office should leave the teaching to the schools and focus on the non-teaching work.
The work that they should be doing but are not includes policy enforcement and program evaluation.
The ones doing nothing are the Executive Directors of Schools who are not adequately overseeing principals and the Director of Schools who ostensibly oversees them.
Will that do or do you need something more detailed?
It's good to be back.
-Santa
Santa, all are welcomed here.
But you remind me to make sure that I put up my customary holiday greetings like Happy Kwanzaa (thru Jan 1, 2017), Happy Hanukkah (starting December 24th thru Jan. 1, 2017), Happy Solstice (that was yesterday), and, of course, Festivus (for the rest of us.)
Fix AL
Seattle:Seattle Public Schools is committed to ensuring equitable access, closing the opportunity gapsand excellence in education for every student. (note that the typo is theirs)
Bellevue:
1. Preparing students for academic success in core content areas through achieving proficiency in literacy, math, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), as measured by state assessments.
2. Preparing students for college and career success by graduating high school, meeting college academic distribution requirements (CADR), and earning at least 20 college credits and/or professional certification.
3. Preparing students for a positive and productive life through the development of interpersonal skills and a commitment to the community.
One has measurable goals and is focused on instruction of all students. Another has no measurable goals and is focused on a small percentage of its city's population. Just saying.
-Parent56
Fix AL
This is an example of proper norming on the Eastside. Highly educated parents not living in poverty should have scores normed like this in order to avoid over-identification.
FWIW
-sleeper
Kudos!
A local industry has sprouted up to get your kid into HCC, and PRISM in Bellevue.
Best In Class.
<a href="http://bigbrainseducation.com> Big Brains. </a>
A quick google will find you even more.
It seems like with all these resources, parents can surely assist the district in identifying the best and brightest so that it really knows who needs a challenging education. That way SPS can focus on providing a world class education to students who can handle it.
HCC Numbers
Big Brains.
is another business that gets kids who need an extra boost to get over the HCC and PRISM testing hoops.
Of course there are more too.
HCC Numbers
-sleeper
Now, I realize he's a kid and that's his interpretation, but why can't a school get ALO dialed in so the students are pulled out or walked to classes that meet their needs without the stigma? They walk to multiple levels at Cascadia and it seems to work. Why the resistance at neighborhood schools? Is it the lack of curriculum? Is it parent push back? Teacher refusal?
Kudos
geez mc troll really. "For a pretty small investment, you can get a private school education for your kid, so why not?" that is the dumbest thing you have posted.
average math class size at up, bush, lakeside and sass is 18 at ghs it 27. good luck making that argument. that is 2/3rds as big. oh and your teacher doesn't think you are a racist for ability grouping you. and sorry that is just a tutoring folks mostly focusing on sat.
here is a thought as i know you know something about logic. i did the logical thing. i searched "tutoring to get into hcc seattle public schools" and got 8 results have from sps' domain and the other half coming from this domain. NOBODY IS TEST PREPPING TO GET INTO HCC. stop the misrepresentations.
and no they don't have a ton of walk to at cascadia... unless things have changed dramatically since my kids were there when there was NONE. but you know public schools you are at the whim of the adversarial principles.
nocaps attic / na
/na
Fix AL
just because most kids who are in hcc are white that doesn't mean you have to be white to be in hcc. logical right.
you are putting out a fire that doesn't burn. solve the high ell/homelessness affecting the black households (like in other states) then you we will (or should) see those groups raise.
na
Math hcc
Fix AL
na
wow owler yeah things have changed. my kids either started in an aggressive complete 2 grade skip (3rd grade in 1st) or modified holistic approach to get them up to 4th grade at the end of 2nd and a combination of singapore math too. the former was a result of the splits, a first year app teacher and no real curriculum. thanks for the lies michael tolley! there was never any walk to.
na
Fix AL
There is NO standard walk-to-math at ALO schools. Ours used to do it and has been aggressively phasing it out over the last 3 years. There were a few kids who had been doing walk-to-math and were thus one year ahead. And the principal REALLy didn't want to keep doing the walk-to-math thing. The principal fought and dragged her feet and hemmed and hawed. It took the school over 80 school days before they grudgingly let those kids walk to math. Which meant that they missed all the review of the previous year's math that applied to them. Instead they had to sit in with their age peers who were reviewing the math these walk-to kids had done two years earlier. For 80 days. Lord only knows what the point to that was. Some of the kids probably really needed that reteaching and review, but some of them DEFINITELY did not. Mine begged and pleaded with me every day when I picked her up from school to please, please, please do something. What could I do?
80 days with the fastest learners forced to review and be re-taught math that they'd easily mastered 2 years earlier. They learned nothing in 80 days of math class. Such a stupid waste of human capital. Again, I'm positive the reteaching and review was useful for some of the kids, but what a waste for the ones who didn't need it. 80 days of babysitting.
ml and fix al, i hear you loud and clear. what a shame. and yeah it is all brought to you by michael tolley! his lies cost my kids at least two redo-years thankfully they missed honors for none at ghs. divide, conquer - repeat. eventually we will have nothing worth going to. even mgj didn't bring him with her when she left, says volumes.
-na
It's called "scorched-earth politics".
It basically follows the plan of:
"If I don't get my way, I'll ruin the whole thing and take everybody down with me."
Sounds like you didn't spend much time in your kids' classrooms.
Likewise @Kudos
Really? getting other kids in your post to call kids dumb?
Despicable behavior.
Nikolai Rimsky
Time to move on, quit antagonizing, look forward and realize you control your life from now on, not SPS..
Surya Siddhanta
and no reader na is not mc troll but occasionally mc troll is nc but we both have congenital 5th grade grammar levels. i like no-caps. and i just took two breaths after reading some of your post. i am still alive.
/na
repeating classes is really what sps should be about. ask michael tolley as he has mastered that in his overview of curriculum. does bellevue have kids repeat classes for really no reason? i doubt it. look at those scores; is that why they are so high? i don't know. mc troll you should read your post and then tattoo it right under buddha on your left leg. reincarnation mc troll how many monikers does it take to define a man. you, it seems like to have 12 a thread. again do us all a favor and pick one so we can ignore your dribble
/na
Let's stick to writing that we can all understand. If it was/is so awful, why didn't you send your kid to private school?
reader
That's just ridiculous if only because money is not going to buy lower class sizes (unless it was a lot of money - I think even McGilvra gave up on that.) But I'll bite; what Seattle public school is providing a "private school education" for its students.
That statement also throws a LOT of shade at all Gen Ed teachers; I put both my kids through SPS and felt, for the most part, they did have good teachers especially in high school where there was no Spectrum.
Kudos, your comment points out one problem with pull-outs - either kids think other kids are getting more attention or they think it's for the "dumb" kids. I recall they stopped doing pull-outs at our sons' elementary school (a long time ago) because of this perception that someone was getting something "better."
Cayley, I know of no such map and it would be hard to create given the variations of what parents can do - private school, homeschool and now charters.
And, as I read the last several comments, I am not a happy camper.
1) we don't out people here so please stop doing that
2) no name calling (even troll) Disagree without it.
3) don't comment on other people who you do not know or phrase it in a way that does not sound hostile.
I'm closing this thread now.
Auburn, Bellevue, Clover Park, Federal Way, Franklin Pierce, Highline, Kent, Mount Vernon, Mukilteo, Renton, Seattle, Tacoma, Tukwila
Districts within 2 percentage points of becoming majority-minority
Edmonds, Everett, Fife, North Thurston, Steilacoom, University Place
Kudos
coulda shoulda
-sleeper
My friends in other districts have so much more curriculum support than I do. Vast curricular resources to make their job so much easier. I am not sure I will last more than this year in this district.
-No Support
This is NOT an "HCC is like private school" issue at all. It's not even a "some SPS high schools are like private schools" issue. These schools simply offer many things that high quality public schools SHOULD offer. It's not a private school experience--it's just a good public school experience (mixed in with some of the bad aspects of public school, too, like not being able to get the classes you want/need).
HF
Fix AL
At least, that's my recollection of how it all went down. I'm sure others will clarify if I've got it wrong.
DisAPPointed
bleah
NE Mom
na
HF
-na
The parent moved her kid for academic reasons. It worked. Just an anecdote but a truthful one. You can think what you wish but it doesn't change one mom's experience. By the way, this was an Indian(East) family.
checking in
@Kudos: It is a lack of curriculum and also lack of expectations for what each level is supposed to reach. At my walk-to-math school all levels are using the same curriculum. The high group just works at a faster pace supposedly and the lower group at a slower one. But the high group does not teach a higher curriculum. The math is such a mess in this district. A help would be to eliminate the math coaches, buy good curriculum, and let teachers who are supposed to be trained to teach already teach it. Having said that, we desperately need teachers with better math skills in elementary. But the math coaches are not out there training unskilled teachers. They are down in administration rewriting our purchased curriculum and workings with a few small groups of teachers.
@NoSupport: Exactly. Same with the new teachers I know. It is too much. Simply put, too much.
checking in
For science, while HCC is theoretically two years ahead in middle school, the practical impact is one year. In other words, if you go to Garfield (the HCC pathway school), you get to skip Bio. That's it. And since there are a lot of different science options and pathways, HCC students aren't really "ahead" since it's not linear. They may be able to take an AP corse sooner and thus get in one extra one over the course of their 4 years, although from what I understand there can be challenges getting the classes you want regardless.
For the most part, any acceleration that HCC students are provided in the early grades is systematically eliminated by the time you start high school. Maybe it's all part of their plan to reduce the achievement gap, but SPS seems to do a great job of taking gifted students and making them more average. The idea that Garfield provides a private school type experience for HCC kids doesn't make sense.
HF
Students coming out of HCC in middle school are often 2-3 years ahead in math and 1-2 years ahead in science, leading to earlier academic opportunities such as Oceanography, Physics, Environmental Science, and various advanced math and computer science courses. For example, it is possible to take UW's intro to computer science classes at GHS and place out of those classes at UW. AP World History in 9th grade has been eliminated although it existed before. Taking all those other AP options earlier in your academic career looks great on your college transcript and you can't take those classes early on unless you are ahead to begin with. Often students do have trouble getting the classes they want and are advised to be pushy and tenacious to get the classes they want/need. -NP
Yes, students coming out of HCC in middle school are often 2-3 years ahead in math. So are many students NOT coming out of HCC in middle school. And so are many students who didn't go to HCC elementary school, which is the only level during which HCC includes math placement. This is why we find many of the very same math offerings at NON-HCC pathway high schools as well. If there weren't non-HCC students ALSO taking those same prerequisite courses, why would neighborhood high schools need to offer advanced math? Highly capable students, and many other high achieving students, are often several years ahead of average in whatever the subject--regardless of HCC. HCC might give some of them an opportunity to take a class at their level in those early grades, but it isn't what sets them up for advanced classes in high school. A student doesn't need to have attended HCC middle school in order to take calculus in high school. A student also does not need to attend Garfield to take the very advanced, 2nd year AP Calculus, since it's available at some neighborhood schools, too--even though few HCC students have traditionally opted for those non-HCC pathway schools. Does the fact that Roosevelt and Ballard also offer such high level math mean that we should start saying they are like private school, too? What about middle schools? Is any middle school that allows access to Algebra 1 before 8th grade also like a private school education, since that would make them 2-3 years ahead, too?
HCC students all take a set science sequence in middle school, and since we're talking about Garfield, specifically, my understanding is HCC students are only ONE year ahead. They don't have to repeat the Bio class they've already taken, but the physical science class they took in middle school is meaningless. So HCC students enter with one science prerequisite under their belts, and yes, that means they can start taking AP classes a year sooner. But access to UW's intro to computer science at GHS is not dependent on past HCC status, and non-HCC students at non-HCC high schools can also take courses for college credit. With the exception of maybe starting AP science in 9th grade instead of 10th, HCC students don't special access to AP courses.
Now maybe your real complaint is that Garfield--along with a few of the neighborhood high schools--offers good college prep programs that aren't available at some other SPS high schools? That's a valid complaint--we don't have equal offerings at all high schools. It would be great to get to a point where we DO have strong and equal demand and readiness for rigorous, high level courses in every high school, but until we are there, we'll see disparate offerings.
Since what you're claiming about Garfield HCC isn't really uniquie to Garfield or HCC, it seems that wha you're really suggesting is that any school that offers advanced classes is "like private school at a fraction of the cost," which for some reason is painted as a negative, unfair thing when really that should be the goal for all our schools. Garfield, the HCC pathway high school, does offer a lot of great options, but so do several other non-HCC high schools. There are inequities, but they aren't HCC-dependent. Rather, they are likely reflective of the larger opportunity gap and how parent income, education, language, environment, exposures, etc. impact child development and education.
HF
HCC numbers
Learning Environment
What our small school could not provide, however, was the same variety of classes, clubs, multiple levels of band and orchestra, etc., offered at larger schools. Did it matter? Not much. There was still a good selection of honors, non-honors, and AP classes.
-not even close
HCC numbers
Map of PSAT cutoffs:
https://www.applerouth.com/blog/2016/09/08/psat-redesign-brings-changes-to-national-merit-scores/
Historical NM cutoffs for WA:
2017 - 220
2016 - 219
2015 - 219
2014 - 220
2013 - 216
2012 - 220
2011 - 218
just fyi
children education allowance exemption