Starting the List
Thinking about the comments in my thread about coming changes in public education, there was the issue of textbooks. The thought is that hard-cover textbooks will go away and on-line curriculum will be the norm.
Except that it isn't playing out that way even in 2017.
The parents who commented expressed frustration over not enough books. I have heard this comment, over and over. I'll be honest; I don't remember ever not having a book for school. They may have been old but we all had books.
Made me think, "There's one more basic that SPS doesn't provide."
So let's start a list of tangible items. I'll start.
- cleaning classrooms on a more regular basis for sanitation purposes. Meaning, beyond just vaccuming/sweeping and emptying garbage cans.
- textbooks.
- basic supplies especially for elementary school, like scissors, tape, rulers, etc.
- properly maintained buildings. This includes replacing carpeting, new desks, etc.
I was really peeved to listen to the discussion at last night's Board meeting about the district spending money from BEX II and BEX III on solar panels at several schools. Richard Best of Facilities was quite excited about this project which would seek to get a federal grant in order to complete the project. He said they could even build a kiosk at each school to let kids know how much energy was being generated and the savings to the district.
I do like these kinds of projects and the district loves them because it makes them look forward-thinking. Director Burke seemed wildly enthused. So what's my issue?
Well, as district watchdog, Chris Jackins, said, "BEX II was the levy that had Garfield High School and that project went way over budget and had to take money from other projects to complete it. How could there be any leftover dollars?
I'd say the same for BEX III. How can any BTA and BEX fund beyond the latest ones still have unspent dollars? There is so much maintenance need in the district and yet it feels like staff holds money for the projects they want instead of getting the basic needs met.
The BAR says this:
Except that it isn't playing out that way even in 2017.
The parents who commented expressed frustration over not enough books. I have heard this comment, over and over. I'll be honest; I don't remember ever not having a book for school. They may have been old but we all had books.
Made me think, "There's one more basic that SPS doesn't provide."
So let's start a list of tangible items. I'll start.
- cleaning classrooms on a more regular basis for sanitation purposes. Meaning, beyond just vaccuming/sweeping and emptying garbage cans.
- textbooks.
- basic supplies especially for elementary school, like scissors, tape, rulers, etc.
- properly maintained buildings. This includes replacing carpeting, new desks, etc.
I was really peeved to listen to the discussion at last night's Board meeting about the district spending money from BEX II and BEX III on solar panels at several schools. Richard Best of Facilities was quite excited about this project which would seek to get a federal grant in order to complete the project. He said they could even build a kiosk at each school to let kids know how much energy was being generated and the savings to the district.
I do like these kinds of projects and the district loves them because it makes them look forward-thinking. Director Burke seemed wildly enthused. So what's my issue?
Well, as district watchdog, Chris Jackins, said, "BEX II was the levy that had Garfield High School and that project went way over budget and had to take money from other projects to complete it. How could there be any leftover dollars?
I'd say the same for BEX III. How can any BTA and BEX fund beyond the latest ones still have unspent dollars? There is so much maintenance need in the district and yet it feels like staff holds money for the projects they want instead of getting the basic needs met.
The BAR says this:
BEX II Unallocated funds Transfer $ 647,816
BEX III Bond Underspend $ 947,816
Now Mr. Best said he did not know what "unallocated funds" meant. He seemed to think it was a fancy accounting term and, when Director Pinkham asked about it, said he would check with Accounting.
What else should make the list?
Comments
1) science
2) environmentalism
3) Seattle
4) public education
Let's get serious on SPS priorities and funding possibilities.
DistrictWatcher
No books, so where is that working well and for what population?
Oh right the population of publishers of online materials.
-- Dan Dempsey
what-the-what
how about teachers. duh!
no caps
Ummm, and for middle and high schools?
This thread reminds me of Sherman Alexie's oft-told autobiographical tale )which he included in his National Book Award winning, often censored book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian) about how when he was in school on the very poor Spokane Reservation he found his mother's name on list of student names on the inside cover of one of his textbooks. Finding that indicator that his text we over twenty years old, he decided to he needed to get off the reservation - go to the white school off-rez, which had the resources to at least buy new textbooks once in awhile...
We could quote Jerry Maguire (it is St. Patrick's Day after all) and say: Show me the textbooks!
-reading phonetically
-cursive
-typing
-basic grammar and punctuation
-math facts
-adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing with standard algorithms (these were the days of TERC and EDM)
-real algebra
What I wish we had more time for:
-history, lots and lots of it
-writing skills
-counting down
Reluctant tutor
Dad said, it was clear the only way she would learn grammar was if I taught it to her.
So the lack of grammar is way more than an SPS problem.
Let us look at SPS Readers and Writers workshop instructional models.
Are the teachers not teaching the curriculum pushed by the SPS?
California public schools suffered through a 20+ year instructional disaster known as "whole language". The reading deficits of the children were quite obvious from the beginning but philosophical theories trumped reality.
To improve a system requires the intelligent application of relevant data.
If there is a grammar deficit in student performance?
Is grammar of any importance?
If the above two answers are yes, then what is the district doing about it?
[Ed schools seem bent on producing philosopher kings when it comes to thinking. Perhaps reading and writing skills should be a higher priority.]
The district, in the interests of teacher accountability, seems more interested in having all teachers follow the mandated program than effectively and efficiently educating the students. .... Remember Carla Santorno and Everyday Math with Fidelity of Implementation and at least 75 minutes of math per day (complete with Math Police er coaches) .. results were abysmal for a large number of students, but Sylvan and Kumon did well.
Could building based decision-making bring back grammar competence or has the situation become so bad that teachers also have huge grammar deficits?
What is the SPS doing about grammar? Apparently very little.
-- Dan Dempsey
Alexi was in school at Wellpinit HS (home of the Redskins)
He transferred to Reardan HS (home of the Indians)
Alexi remarked about the Reardan HS mascot, that he was the only Indian enrolled at Reardan HS.
Today Readan HS has 4% American Indian enrollment.
Wellpinit HS has 73% American Indian enrollment.
-- Dan Dempsey
I have been appalled at some of the things I've seen come out, in writing, from teachers. Typos are one thing, but clear spelling errors and incorrect grammar are unfortunately pretty commonplace. The same is often true with letters from principals. And superintendents--although I loved the repeated references to data "breeches."
My favorite, though, was when the middle school APP LA teacher got confused by her own vocabulary words and wrote a nearly impossible quiz. For example, who would have guessed that the "correct" vocabulary word to fill in the blank in the sentence "Early man had to overcome many ______(s) to survive" was "hurtle"?
oopsie