tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post4518171859247336937..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle’s Families and Education Levy is losing its wayMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75717730124549239692016-01-10T21:03:13.394-08:002016-01-10T21:03:13.394-08:00.Under the McCleary decision, the Washington state....Under the McCleary decision, the Washington state Supreme Court found that the state should fund public education. The justices ruled that, “Pouring more money into an outmoded system will not succeed.' They also found that “special interests tend to distort the true picture of public school finance to expand their own budgets.”<br />Under this ruling, it is illegal for Seattle Public Schools to use levy money to fund teacher salaries; however, they are trying to sell this operations levy to the public by allotting 25.2% of the overall budget to just this. The literature that has been sent out to the public obfuscates this fact. Furthermore, the District says it has cut the budget of Central Administration to 5.8%, but have in actuality have separated it out of the “school administrative budget” (6.1%) In total that is almost 12%.<br />If the District wants to play the shell game with public dollars, it's our responsibility to reject this levy. They pull at the public's heartstrings by saying, “but it's for the children. “ But according to their lack of transparency, we aren't who the money is for. Until Seattle Public Schools can better, (and legally) account for where your levy dollars go, I would encourage a “no “ vote on this levy on February 9, 2016.Nick Esparzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-65547840681016060822015-06-09T17:44:16.755-07:002015-06-09T17:44:16.755-07:00Kiro reports on Sandpoint and loss of Family and E...Kiro reports on Sandpoint and loss of Family and Education dollars. These dollars are needed to provide support services to a school with a high percentage of English Language learners.<br /><br />http://mynorthwest.com/11/2766592/Seattle-school-parents-outraged-by-city-pulling-grant-funding-over-principals-departureKiro/Sandpointnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-31916772703607151502015-06-08T23:27:41.240-07:002015-06-08T23:27:41.240-07:00Partnership Agreement between SPS and City of Seat...Partnership Agreement between SPS and City of Seattle- prek<br /><br />http://sps.ss8.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/14-15agendas/060315agenda/20150603_SPP_Agreement.pdfJibJabnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-39468092836666383252015-06-08T23:22:38.449-07:002015-06-08T23:22:38.449-07:00Time 2:14 and beyond- Charles Wright tells the boa...Time 2:14 and beyond- Charles Wright tells the board MOU is a TWO year agreement(2:15:38) and the district will always have an opportunity to exit-out of the contract. <br /><br />Toner talks about making amendments and course corrections, and does not answer the question about exiting contract. She "imagines" a process.<br /><br />http://www.seattlechannel.org/SPS/?videoid=x55631<br /><br />The MOU is clear: The MOU is 2015=2019JibJabnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-36104257297455771642015-06-08T23:13:21.846-07:002015-06-08T23:13:21.846-07:00I agree with the need for qualitative data, Po3. I...I agree with the need for qualitative data, Po3. It's amazing how often the qualitative piece is ignored or dismissed. Mixed methods - utilizing both forms of data - would be the strongest, but qualitative makes it harder to do a quick and dirty study/results/proof that so many people and companies want. I read a good study one time on a reading program/curriculum adoption. Curriculum person had one in mind, but they trialed 2 or 3. Quantitative showed that with the "favored" curriculum, test scores increased. But qualitative for that one showed kids were bored, teachers were bored; no one was truly engaged in reading. In the end, the district in the study went with the curriculum that didn't necessarily produce the highest test scores, but which was rated well by teachers and students in the qualitative portion. If they'd only used quantitative data, they would have missed a huge chunk of info and adopted a curriculum that would have been dumped by the really good teachers (where possible, without retribution and mandates), and followed dutifully by the less inspired teachers, or those stuck in a "fidelity" type of situation. Kids would have been bored, disengaged. Quantitative alone is like FM mono, while mixed methods is more FM stereo. A fuller picture emerges. IMO. <br /><br />CT<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-72543482244892355252015-06-08T15:56:50.160-07:002015-06-08T15:56:50.160-07:00I think there should be some sort of evaluation on...I think there should be some sort of evaluation on how well a program is doing, but it should be qualitative, not quantitative.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Po3noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91069456882203706642015-06-08T14:39:18.351-07:002015-06-08T14:39:18.351-07:00Po3, DEEL would tell you that voters demand accoun...Po3, DEEL would tell you that voters demand accountability so therefore they need data on how everything is working. <br /><br />Problem is that in education there are a lot of moving parts and issues so saying "our program made this number of kids do this" is near impossible to prove given that there could be other factors affecting that performance.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-71918783782363270442015-06-08T12:00:56.702-07:002015-06-08T12:00:56.702-07:00Over the years, many middle schools have been able...Over the years, many middle schools have been able to provide free after-school programs to students thanks to this levy money. My own students had the opportunity to do activities that we could not otherwise afford. And they were also exposed to some wonderful arts. <br /><br />To tie this money to any sort of test results just means that these kids will lose out on wonderful opportunities that may help them discover untapped talents and interests.<br /><br />And it also goes against the will of the voters, which is criminal, IMHO.Po3noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-74612561704597467972015-06-08T07:54:50.498-07:002015-06-08T07:54:50.498-07:00"Change Management". Isn't that par..."Change Management". Isn't that part of Lauren McGuire's stump speech? Why am I not surprised.mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-65631613236080048972015-06-08T07:53:07.661-07:002015-06-08T07:53:07.661-07:00In 2009, the City was all hot for the MAP test bec...In 2009, the City was all hot for the MAP test because it would give them "proof" that levy investments were paying off in student growth. <br /><br />The City and the Alliance/Gates pushed the Community Partnerships deal where "institutional service" providers like the Y, Causey Child care etc could access your child's data on the Source or, better yet, get daily data dumps straight from the district's data warehouse. <br /><br />The FEL oversight committee and Burgess are just tools for Gates.mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-47997945851931238872015-06-08T07:33:20.585-07:002015-06-08T07:33:20.585-07:00Support Jon Grant and his effort to unseat Tim Bur...Support Jon Grant and his effort to unseat Tim Burgess! I would like to see Jon add another priority to his list: getting the city out of SPS management.<br /><br />Jon is having a campaign kick-off event today.<br /><br />When: 7pm Monday June 8th<br />Where: Impact Hub (Pioneer Square) 220 Second Ave South, Seattle WA 98104<br />Please RSVP Here on Facebook if you can.<br /><br />Join candidate Jon Grant to kick off his campaign for Seattle City Council, and help elect a strong progressive who will fight for tenants' rights, police accountability, and getting money out of politics!<br /><br />We will be joined by special guest Jimmy McMillan III; activist, founder of “Rent is Too Damn High” Party. When running for New York Governor in 2010 Jimmy McMillan called out “THE RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH,” a declaration that resonated in every American city. He joins us in Seattle to talk about economic justice and supporting City Council candidate Jon Grant!<br /><br />Bring as many friends as you can! It will take a grassroots effort to win, and we need to pack the house to show our support!<br /><br />HP<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-62463567460221563722015-06-07T22:51:31.038-07:002015-06-07T22:51:31.038-07:00The city has over-stepped their boundaries. Teache...The city has over-stepped their boundaries. Teachers are feeling fatigued by the amount of initiatives- including city. The city's answer: Change Managers<br /><br />"..replied that she believes it’s not just a matter of more resources but the guidance and support<br />of how to utilize those resources.<br />S. Everlove stated that there have been a number of initiatives that have come down to<br />teachers (e.g. Common Core, Next Gen, etc.) that have produced fatigue in teachers. She has<br />recognized some savvy principals that excel at change management and wondered if we could<br />build in the idea of change management in some of these workshops."<br /><br />http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OFE/AboutTheLevy/LOC/2015/LOC_051215.pdfWatchingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-57115547936461228212015-06-07T22:40:18.724-07:002015-06-07T22:40:18.724-07:00Special thanks to Robert and Melissa for writing t...<br />Special thanks to Robert and Melissa for writing this piece.<br /><br />I couldn't help but notice this:<br /><br /> "This appears to be the justification used to slash Sand Point's Levy grant. And the word “principal” isn’t even in the original partnership agreement the City and the District signed for the F&E levy grants."<br /><br />There is NO reason to believe that the city will work within the spirit of the pre k MOU. I fully expect the city to continue changing the rules. Burgess, Miller and an unelected Family and Education Committee will continue to insert themselves into K-12 system. I was rather disturbed to hear Nyland say that he will work with the city to restore funding to Sandpoint. Will he sell his soul to do so?<br /><br />I was rather disturbed by a link in this blog post:<br /><br />"The reason the Y, Parks and Rec, and Tiny Tots do it rather than Arts Corps is that those larger organizations have access to something called The Source, which provides otherwise protected information about individual students to community groups." <br /><br />This article, written by The Stranger makes it abundantly clear- Holly Miller has too much power:<br /><br />http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/03/13/is-this-what-we-voted-for-arts-organizations-deemed-unqualified-for-education-levy-money-theyve-been-getting-for-years-while-mayor-hosts<br /><br />Members of the community were not surprised to see Eric Pettigrew introduce legislation which would allow the mayor to appoint school board members. This piece of legislation didn't gain traction and I suspect Burgess et. al will take an Arne Duncan approach to controlling SPS and I'm seeing a compliant superintendent.<br /><br /><br />Watchingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-80146675051013493162015-06-07T21:41:59.074-07:002015-06-07T21:41:59.074-07:00And look for support from the Arts communities as ...And look for support from the Arts communities as well. As a taxpayer, I would much rather have my tax dollars back to contribute to art education and the kinds of things that USED to be funded, rather than help the city pursue its current direction.<br /><br />JanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-9926816284500887792015-06-07T21:40:24.159-07:002015-06-07T21:40:24.159-07:00Bravo Melissa and Robert:
It is useless to expe...Bravo Melissa and Robert: <br /><br />It is useless to expect the ed reform-shilling ST to print this as an op ed piece, but it would be worth seeing if we can get the Stranger and the good neighborhood blogs (including the ones in West Seattle, the CD, Capitol Hill, etc. to cover it, and provide a link. I think that many of us (including me) will be willing to work HARD to defund the FEL levy the next time around. I thought I knew what I was voting for. I clearly did not. I would imagine that there are (or certainly could be, with not a lot of work) spme very energized communities, at Sand Point, Rainier Beach, etc., who would lend a hand, and a voice, to defund the levy if its purposes are going to continue to be political, and not educational.<br /><br />JanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com