Advanced Learning Work Session

Change is coming and I believe it will be tough love all the way around. 

Now could they all be blowing smoke?  Sure, I've been fooled before.  Except that this is a new superintendent who I continue to believe is charting her own course.  She finished her Listening and Learning tour; here's her report about that work.  I'll have a separate post on this report but she says:

Two main points of concern across the SPS community emerged that will require further consideration, thought, and engagement:

• Parent fundraising varies considerably across schools, which has resulted in equity concerns from many stakeholders. However, there are different opinions on the extent of the challenge and potential solutions.
• Enrollment in the Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) don’t reflect district-wide enrollment patterns. There are a wide range of viewpoints regarding the root cause of this discrepancy and ideas on what the district should consider in response.

That she heard about the issues around this program from across the district surely seems to have struck a note with her.
I note the absence of Director DeWolf.  This is the second work session that I have attended where he has not been there.  I also see that he has yet to have a community meeting this year. 

Work Session Notes (agenda - both the Budget work session and AL work session documentation are together in one doc.  AL starts on page 20.)

Prior to the Work Session, there was one on the Budget for next school year.  One interesting piece of information from that session that ties to the one on Advanced Learning is that the district is going to have new categories of underserved students, expanding that group from about 15,000 to 18,000.  (See page 17.)  It was stated there is a need for subgroups of Asian/multi-racial students.  Director Burke said he like the "granularity" of this work but President Harris she wanted the general counsel to review this for risk analysis.

Starting the Work Session on Advanced Learning, Mr. Jesse said that that the State had come up with new guidance on this work, focused on better ways to engage schools and families.

He said the program needed to have a mission and vision for advanced learning in Seattle Schools.

He stated that services needed to be defined.

He emphasized the need to "promote equitable identification and access" and that there needed to be "district-wide implementation."

As the discussion went on it became clear that this means not just creating a feel-good mission/vision but that there would be clarity on what the program provides and that it will NOT be for principals to decide what those services look like. 

He also spoke about the consistency and quality of services especially in secondary.  He talked about what courses are available to whom and right--sizing schools for the master schedule.  (A big shout-out to Kellie La Rue who has consistently point out the huge influence of the master schedule in high schools.)

Harris talked about the frustration about the program.  She said Spectrum had been "dismantled" without transparency to families.  She said it was a polarizing conversation with talk about HC students "getting more" than others when the program has no curriculum, little PD for teacher and lack of clarity over definition.  She said 2E kids aren't truly addressed.  She also noted no spot on the Listening and Learning tour for this topic.

The Superintendent said that yes, that was true but that she heard from parents at nearly every one of her stops on this topic.  (Which should have told her something, no? But, still she didn't include a stop for Advanced Learning.)

Slide 9 of the presentation showed what documentation that the Advanced Learning Task Force is using for its work.  I noticed it did not have work from past task forces nor the presentation from local gifted ed expert, Austina De Bonte, to the Board in Spring 2016.

Director Patu said all of the mission/vision statements were great but "what does it look like in reality?"

Director Mack said that if they are talking about differentiation, then it has to be more than "do more worksheets" rather than engaging students.  She said, "The 'what' is a big hole."

Mr. Jesse said that staff was going "to do a road show and pull parents in for in-depth conversations."

Director Geary said that so much of the conversation about identification of student "it's like it's on the student."  She said there was a cultural shift around believing in intelligence in different forms and not just in acceleration.

Ms. Hanson and Mr. Jessee had drafts of mission and vision statements (see slide 7 of the presentation).  Director Mack said that it is important to have specifics about delivery of services.  She said there used to be a definition of APP and that no longer exists.

Jesse said, "We are purposefully going into complex issues so that we can have that understanding about systemic failures."

Harris also spoke of the issue of "building-based management" where HCC is placed and leadership is not engaged or supportive.  She said she has heard this anecdotally but "we need leadership to say I'm not sure your dislike for this program is acceptable.  It's non-negotiable because this is about students." 

Burke chimed in, "We are the leadership and we have to be united about what this is."

Geary climbed on the bandwagon.  "Our responsibility is to make sure that adults are not fighting the identification of students based on any dislike.  Differentiation dislike or bias around who should be in Advanced Learning.  These statements (meaning the Mission/Vision ones) are not capturing it for me.  We need to have hard adult conversations."

Superintendent Juneau added, "It's missing the heart of why it's important and why it's a hot topic.  We need to get the work done around it."  She continued, "We need to call out the elephant in the room that is racial equity; those who are underserved and not in the classroom."

Jesse pointed out that this was initial work from the Task Force.  He said it was time "to get about what the expectations are for consistency and it's not up to individual adults if they want to be in."  He added that they need to nail down expectations so that people know what is expected.  Director Patu said this needs to be in every school.

Harris chimed in that it's about accountability and review.  As an example, she called out the Honors for All at Garfield and said it has never been evaluated.  "Did it water down the rigor?  We don't know." To which I'll add, is it working? If so, how can it be expanded to other schools?  But again, there has to be consistency in what is done, not every school for themselves.

Jesse then said, "Yes, there will have to be a reset."

Harris added that she's for pilot programs but they need evaluation.

Jesse referenced Slide 11 which came from Whitworth College (it's a pyramid of services for Highly Capable students).  Burke said that at the top are apprenticeship and internships and perhaps that should be at the bottom.

Director Mack added that, around HC, is the understanding that there are many kinds of intelligences.

Jesse said that it is important to think of the CSIPs as "our binding document."  He said parents should be able to look at it and know what is truly happening in their child's school.   Director Mack concurred saying that "the intention is to create consistent statements of purpose.  We don't have consistent CSIPs and you can't manage it if they all do different things."

She continued, "We can put it in a document and say it will happen but where is the accountability?  Schools can say it's happening but it's not."

Burke chimed in, "What are the things we hold true to be common and below that is are individual buildings, innovating, applying and adapting to circumstances."

Geary added, "CSIPs can be very boiler-place and we can't give them words they just fill in."

Jesse then spoke about high schools and having a common set of AP courses at all three schools that are HC pathways.  He said they needed to get away from inconsistencies but it's a tight timeline.

Ms. Hanson said they are committed to a communication plan for parents, "We need to get this right for families."  She said they had looked at every school's CSIP and they know what is being promised.  She said they plan to follow-up, looking at growth data for each school and comparing it to the CSIP.   She said there would be regional meetings in Jan/Feb and that they are encouraging schools to have topics around AL and supporting students.  She said schools should be delivering on the questions from parents themselves.

Director Mack stated that there is pattern of referral and testing and that it should changing.  She said it should be "ongoing and rolling so kids can get in anytime."

Hanson then said that some kids don't test but under MTSS, we expect schools to look at data and serve those kids.  "If I'm  HCC-qualified, I may not get to be in the cohort but can I access services? Basic education says they should."  She said this is a mindset change that schools may understand but parents may not yet.

She also noted that the district now has a specialist for twice-exceptional students.  I'll have to find out who this is and how his/her services are accessed.

President Harris stated that Jesse and Hanson had not been in charge when the current AL programming was developed and "I know you didn't cause these problems."  She said there is a trust issue.

Jesse concluded, "Special Education is hard but so is this issue.  Rocks need to be upturned and owned because this has been a systemic failure." 

Hilariously, at one point, Mr. Jesse made reference to his own lasagna-making skills and suddenly, it was on between he and President Harris (who is also legendary for her lasagna).   It's good to see the Board and staff interact like this.

After the completion of this Work Session, I went up to the table where the Board, the Superintendent and Wyeth Jesse and Kari Nelson were seated.  I told them that I had been waiting 20+ years for a united answer to the Highly Capable/Advanced Learning program and its issues.  This is the first time I have ever heard a united front from both Board and staff. 

To hear staff say that schools - especially principals - are not going to be interpreting what services look like was incredible.   And, that it will not be about any single leader or administrator's feelings about gifted education but it is part of the district is something I have called for to happen for years and years. 

 To hear staff say that even if a student has not been tested for AL but the school has data that the student is advanced, even then that student should be served was incredible.

To call out 2E students as part of the work to get done was incredible.

It takes humility to say words like "systemic failure."

I do now see why this will take longer than most of we impatient people had wanted.  But, getting it right AND enacting change properly will be worth it.  It will - down to the school level - say that there has to be advanced learning for all students who seek it and schools have to find those students and fill that need.