Tuesday Open Thread
I worry about the school year for those students in Texas plus all the possible ruined schools.
Help those affected by#HurricaneHarvey. Visit http://redcross.org , call 1-800-RED CROSS or text HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Interesting story about the influx of Chinese students in American universities. It's not quite what we all thought - full-pay students helping to prop up universities.
The new business kid in public ed? None other than Amazon. From CNN:
Help those affected by
Interesting story about the influx of Chinese students in American universities. It's not quite what we all thought - full-pay students helping to prop up universities.
Out of the almost 1 million foreign students attending U.S. universities this fall, almost one in three will be Chinese. This marks a fivefold increase over the 2004–2005 academic year, when there were 62,523 Chinese students stateside.
For America’s state schools, faced with diminishing resources and budget cuts, the prospect of thousands of Chinese students paying full freight is too good to be true.CTE news from Seattle Schools.
The result? In this year’s entering class, there will be thousands of Chinese students who lack the education, the language ability, and the critical facilities necessary to benefit from an American education. That’s because many of them were given a slot at a U.S. university almost solely based on their parents’ ability to pay.
The new business kid in public ed? None other than Amazon. From CNN:
Companies, such as Amazon and Microsoft, that do not pay their fair share towards infrastructure and investment in Washington sure are trying to make money off education. "[F]ollowing in the footsteps of other tech giants like Google and Apple, [Amazon] is also quietly coming for the classroom. . . . The move is the latest effort from a big tech company to get into the education space. In 2016, U.S. sales of mobile PCs and tablets purchased for kindergarten to 12th grade classrooms rose 18% to 12.6 million units, according to Futuresource Consulting. . . . Earlier this year, Microsoft unveiled a new and cheaper Surface laptop and a special version of Windows 10 for students."Really great story from The Olympian about finding homes for homeless families in the Tumwater School District.
Soon, those five Tumwater families will be moving into brand new, fully-furnished homes right across the street from their children’s elementary school.This video - apparently by a real mom with students who is also a comedian - is making the rounds. She's in Target buying school supplies and has some thoughts on those who complain about doing so for their child. Funny but with a sharp edge.
It’s the product of a unique partnership between the Tumwater School District and the Housing Authority of Thurston County. And it’s the first of its kind in Thurston County, according to Tammie Smith, director of housing services at the housing authority, which reserved five units in the new Allen Orchard housing development specifically for homeless families with children at Tumwater’s Peter G. Schmidt Elementary School.
“These teachers have been making plans to teach your kids, and you’re all complaining about some pencils? Some pencils! Are you kidding me? Do you know how much I would pay them just to get my kids out of my face,” she joked.What's on your mind?
In response to some criticism in the comments section, the mom clarified that she wasn’t directing her rant toward parents who are struggling to make ends meet and feed their families. Rather, she said, the video was for parents who can very much afford school supplies yet complain endlessly about having to buy them.
Comments
In addition to sitting on a charter board, Vasquez has accepted full campaign contributions ($1K) from Democrats for Education Reform and Vulcan. Vulcan supported I 1240 and provided the campaign with $1.6M. Democrats for Education Reform support candidates that will promote privatization of public schools.
We learned yesterday that our child (incoming 6th grader from Cascadia HCC program) would be placed in 7th grade math next year, which is purportedly what she studied last year at Cascadia. We were told that 40% (!) of incoming HCC 6th graders are being placed in 7th grade math, and that SBAC scores were the main determinants for this.
40% is a big percentage. I believe in past years nearly everyone from 5th grade HCC went into Math 8 at Hamilton, with some petitioning to go into Algebra I. If this is the case, there are going to be a lot of surprised parents since this is different than what they were told last Spring. And does this all mean that nearly half the 5th graders at Cascadia weren't actually working 2 years ahead in math, which I think is a "requirement" for HCC eligibility? Also, I don't believe parents were told that SBAC scores were going to be used in this way. Not saying all this isn't right and good, but...different that what we expected. I'm hopeful that we get to experience just one year at SPS without unannounced changes like this...
Mathiness
Fix AL
good luck
good luck
goose/gander
good luck
Go Hmmm
My son was also assigned to 7th grade math when he entered middle school from HCC elementary two years ago. We had received a notice from the district that test scores would determine math placement (I think he scored a 3 on the SBAC that spring). Though he had technically studied 7th grade math at Cascadia, we didn't challenge his middle school placement because 1) He started HCC in 3rd grade and played catch-up with math all the way through and 2) He was more or less a B student in math, and we weren't confident he had really mastered the accelerated material. It turned out to be a good placement for him to "redo" 7th grade math. It reinforced concepts he hadn't fully grasped, and he wasn't bored or unchallenged. Plus he was even better prepared for success in 8th grade math last year.
Long story short, if your kid has a solid foundation and strong grasp of the concepts, by all means appeal the placement. But please don't push for higher-level math just because she already studied 7th grade math last year. The accelerated pace at HCC doesn't always ensure mastery of the subject matter--at least it didn't for our kid.
--Been There
Home school math. Have your child take the tests on AOPS site to see what he is ready for. Much more rigorous if he's mathy. He'll be challenged, and if he works hard, will be ready for anything. Our child took All 1 in 6th (based on her performance on an Algebra readiness test) then took serious Algebra the next year on AOPS. After acing All 1 in 6th grade without breaking a sweat, she was seriously challenged and learned how to wrestle with math. Painful for her, as it was her first experience being really challenged. About 3 weeks in when she was tearful and frustrated I told her not to worry about getting everything right or making the top grade. I said that anything she learned in this class (Introductory Algebra, part 2), was gravy....a bit more Algebra to add to her skills. She told me then, 3 weeks in, that she'd already learned more in 3 weeks than she had in the entire previous year in SPS Arg 1. So she relaxed, and learned to deal with being challenged. We did Geometry at AOPS the next year and last year she started HS in Honors Algebra 2/Trig, and felt it was mostly review. Still loves math tho. SPS short-changes mathy kids. Don't just go up a level, outsource math.
JMHO
Serious question, folks.
goose/gander
Thanks in advance.
goose/gander
If a student has already taken 7th grade level math, but is placed in 7th grade math again, they are not asking to opt up when asking for 8th grade level math. They are simply asking for placement in the next course in the sequence, just how everyone else is supposed to be placed.
For homeschooling, the district cannot dictate what curriculum or provider is used, but must treat students as they would private schooled students (that's per WA state rules on home based education). If the parent says their child completed a high school level Algebra 1 course, for example, they should be placed in Geometry next, just as a private schooled student would be had they taken Algebra 1.
an fyi
My child was not enrolled in HCC. I don't think we'd have been able to convince our principal of anything. If my kid hadn't been promised Alg 1 in 6th before that principal was assigned to the school, I honestly believe she'd have been placed in 6th grade math. Principal was hostile to kids working ahead.
JMHO
Thanks for the homeschool info.
goose/gander
goose/gander
Dream On
If appeals are permissible, they should be clearly spelled out and fully communicated to all families, not just the ones who are connected enough to find out about loopholes and exceptions.
goose/gander
http://www.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=17572
AL testing information is not yet translated into several languages although I knew an HCC student who navigated the information herself as her parents did not speak english. She translated for her parents.
Hermaphrodite
Deal
-B
I thought you were an education advocate. If pertinent information is not being communicated to parents and families, I'm surprised that you have used a snarky tone in response to my concerned postings instead of welcoming the information to this forum, so that it may serve as an awakening to school board members and district administrators regarding a gap in their provision of equitable student services.
goose/gander
My understanding is that prior to the first split of APP, students entered middle school taking 6HH, which was a compression of 7th/8th grade math, then went into Algebra 1 in 7th. It was both accelerated and advanced, as opposed to just being accelerated 2 years. A few students took Algebra in 6th, leading to Algebra 2 in 8th. With the split to Hamilton, there was suddenly some school pushback about 6th graders taking Algebra 1. So much pushback, that some parents resorted to homeschooling for math (With the adoption of the Discovering Algebra and Discovering Geometry, perhaps homeschooling was a better option anyway. Can you believe the last high school math adoption was 10 years ago?? Can you believe SPS is still using texts that would be better used as doorstops?).
Each year, the rules would change and they finally created a math placement matrix based on MSP and MAP scores. This was actually an improvement in transparency. Around the same time, SPS made middle school math placement less connected to AL standing. Spectrum students were generally one year ahead in math (Algebra in 8th) and APP/HCC students generally 2 years ahead (Geometry in 8th), but now any student could request to opt up a year on the typical pathway. Single subject acceleration in math added some flexibility for students. It increased access. Schools still kind of did what they wanted, but at least there was some sort of written policy.
The only reason SPS seems to have a math placement policy is that a handful of parents agitated for years and years. You know what info was available to parents 5-10 years ago? Zip. Nothing.
progress
Parent
Fix AL
It feels like you are saying that HCC parents have knowledge that other parents don't and why isn't that readily available to all parents? To which some parents said they only heard it from other parents (not the school) and to which I said that the school needs to provide the info and, if it means so much to you, you should advocate for that.
-sleeper
And yes, the original point was about getting the right placement given the previous class taken. It's not clear why a number of students would now need to ask for what should be the next class in the pathway, without any explanation given by the school about placement. Scheduling snafu or intentional?
progress?
Wonder if 8th grade math teachers (you know, the professionals) also got tired of having to pretend those students were all actually performing two grade levels ahead.
Now we are hearing about how the "pathway" isn't guaranteed for all 6th grade HCC to automatically take 8th grade math.
Can't have it both ways, people.
Read it
The complaint doesn't seem to be about the lack of a guaranteed pathway (it was never "guaranteed" if a student was struggling academically), but about the randomness of the assignment, after being told students would advance to Gr8 math in 6th.
@Read it, you just seem to be searching for a reason complain about HCC.
getting old
Math sad
Why wouldn't the HCC be just as ill-managed as everything else?
The board/administration relationship is nearly disfunctional, with the district continuing to sneak around any actual oversight.
Facilities continues to allow deferring maintenance in a wasteful fashion.
Enrollment procedures and planning are cloaked in mystery.
GenEd struggles with its own issues surrounding below grade level student needs and SpEd inclusion programs.
Where isn't there a problem?
6 more
I started being an activist because of the confusion and lack of transparency in AL. A looong time ago.
I agree that there are problems in all directions and we'll be talking more about that.
"...so there is equitable and transparent access for ALL students and your pathway doesn't have to be dependent on which school you came from and if you were able to get into HCC early."
cp
Not everyone wants to be in a cohort with all advanced students, but everyone deserves challenging material and instruction that matches what they are ready for. We've gone round and round on this, I know...but it is so frustrating.
Fix AL
OSPI requires HC students to receive services at their location, whether or not they participate in a cohort.
OSPI also requires single subject HC students to be identified and qualified for services.
Just more ways that SPS is breaking the law and leaving many HC students in the dust.
Read it
Broken Promises
There was talk last night at the Board meeting about waitlists, thanks to the testimony of parent Eric Blumhagen, who raised the idea that they could just leave them open a couple of weeks to see who actually doesn't show up at schools. If people don't show up the first week, the district could then move the waitlists and thus, filling seats and programs.
And kudos to the Board for having a period after public testimony to ask questions of staff about issues raised during that time.
But, staff, especially Budget's JoLynn Berge, pushed back and the waitlists are gone.
It was suggested to me that the more savvy companies in town may know to tell new hires with families to actually wait until the waitlists dissolve and THEN apply to SPS.
Broken Promises
FHS85
OMG, what? I've seen multiple elementary schools refuse to level a child's reading. They ONLY check up to benchmark and then stop leveling. So... if your kindergartener can read, that means they check him to see if he knows what sounds the letters make AND THEN THEY STOP. Forget providing services to HC students. They can't even provide readers at an appropriate level if they don't LEVEL THE STUDENTS. What, do parents have to pay extra to get the teachers to keep level above benchmark?
Seriously, if equity is an issue, that would involve leveling all students at all schools even if they exceed benchmark. You can't give them the right stuff to learn if you don't even know what level they're at.
“…students who perform or show potential for performing
at significantly advanced academic levels when compared
with others of their age, experiences, or environments.
Outstanding abilities are seen within students' general
intellectual aptitudes, specific academic abilities, and/or
creative productivities WITHIN A SPECIFIC DOMAIN. These
students are present not only in the general populace,
but are present within all protected classes according to
chapters 28A.640 and 28A.642 RCW.”
WAC 392-170-036
“…students who are highly capable may possess, but are
not limited to, these learning characteristics:
(4) Ability to learn quickly in their area(s) of intellectual
strength
Read it
The state definition acknowledges single domain giftedness, but where is the accompanying mandate that districts provide programming specific to single domain giftedness?
WAC 392-170-078 Program services.
Districts shall make a variety of appropriate program services available to students who participate in the district's program for highly capable students. Once services are started, a continuum of services shall be provided to the student from K-12. Districts shall periodically review services for each student to ensure that the services are appropriate.
It's pretty broadly written. This is not to argue against providing services for single domain giftedness, just that the WAC wording does not explicitly state what you claim it does.
getting old
Have you even read what how districts are qualifying and serving students? They are qualifying (after it has been been determined by the selection committee) students who are HC in a single domain who need services--because the state law clearly spells it out. Look into other districts, too. They have been getting on board with this since they know it is mandated. It also is part of adhering to addressing the HC needss of 2E students, who may have a learning disability in a specific area.
Shoreline, for example:
Only students who demonstrate the following are eligible for Highly Capable Program service in the District:
1. Exceptional English Language Arts and/or mathematical ability;
2. Exceptional academic achievement; and
3. Exceptional academic aptitude.
Using this methodology, a single piece of evidence will not qualify or disqualify a
student.
What's "getting old" is that SPS continues to defy the law, which is spelled out clearly. Whether I'm posting it, or Daffy Duck is posting it, that doesn't change the WACs.
Read it
in seattle you need a helmet to ride a bike. there are now 4 bike share companies authorized in seattle and no helmets. call the cops!
in other cities no helmet needed but you can't ride on their sidewalks.
you see fwiw there are things like local control. you know a bit about that because of social studies for all at tm. that is analogous as it is katie may exerting her local control. of course she did that without permission. the current approved policy for hcc has been submitted several years to ospi and no objections.
show me a program that is working as well as hcc at sps regarding selection and services. sped? nope. option? nope. ell? nope. spectrum? nope.
it could be better at selection and services but that doesn't make it illegal. pay attention to who regulates this.
no caps
Newsflash: it wouldn't matter so much who gets into HCC or not if the other 90+% of kids in Seattle were allowed to read books at the reading level they're actually reading at. It shouldn't require referrals and weekend testing and specific MAP/SBAC scores and switching schools to find out what level young kids are reading at and give them books to read at an appropriate level. They could be given just-right books in every classroom in every school IF THE DISTRICT MADE PRINCIPLES MAKE TEACHERS MAKE IT HAPPEN.
no caps
My understanding is that while WA state has codes for serving HC students, local control means the state does little to play enforcer. Local school boards have that authority. Aren't happy with SPS and their implementation of the HC program? Appeal to the school board as they approve the program policy. Perhaps the most the state could do is withhold funding. Unlikely that will happen with HC funding as long as SPS meets the basic OSPI reporting requirements.
Should SPS look to other districts who perhaps better serve students? Yes! Could SPS do better for all students? Yes! But OSPI is unlikely to provide that impetus.
truth-o-meter
cash strapped?