tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post7886828449134918162..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Guest Post - HCC and SPSMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28641154459785182512021-05-14T15:32:05.546-07:002021-05-14T15:32:05.546-07:00Melissa- it’s all over. I have many friends in ele...Melissa- it’s all over. I have many friends in elementary who are experiencing this situation. Their kids tested in to AL, either through the title one testing done in school or the Saturday testing and now they are getting notified that their kids are HC, under no attempt by the families to pursue or ask about the designation. I assumed it meant there was no more AL? Christinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04365173564184123505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-44739691513411669062021-05-14T15:31:49.898-07:002021-05-14T15:31:49.898-07:00Melissa- it’s all over. I have many friends in ele...Melissa- it’s all over. I have many friends in elementary who are experiencing this situation. Their kids tested in to AL, either through the title one testing done in school or the Saturday testing and now they are getting notified that their kids are HC, under no attempt by the families to pursue or ask about the designation. I assumed it meant there was no more AL? Christinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04365173564184123505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-18145505561282297472021-05-14T14:42:09.240-07:002021-05-14T14:42:09.240-07:00Regarding Christina's comment: one middle sch...Regarding Christina's comment: one middle school I know about formerly had an "honors" tier of classes (somewhat the remnant of the old Spectrum), but cancelled them starting this year. Some students who would have been in those honors classes were instead assigned to HCC, even though the were not HC designated (I am pretty sure). HCC classes are also fairly soft this year, with zero work outside of school hours and not even enough work to fill school hours (not sure if due to instruction being remote, or due to the general dumbing-down trend in SPS.)Outsidernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37814514341862217812021-05-12T10:39:42.624-07:002021-05-12T10:39:42.624-07:00Christina, can you tell us more? What school is th...Christina, can you tell us more? What school is this?Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-70777457077231788792021-05-11T23:43:57.148-07:002021-05-11T23:43:57.148-07:00It should be noted that kids are getting assigned ...It should be noted that kids are getting assigned HC without any referral or testing right now. Many families I know had kids designated as AL because of testing in school in primary and are now “HC.” Christinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04365173564184123505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-78729141561630909662021-05-11T17:10:27.818-07:002021-05-11T17:10:27.818-07:00I concur with much of what Megan has to say. I did...I concur with much of what Megan has to say. I did not listen in to the discussion at the Board meeting because I knew I would not like what I was hearing. I may do so because I would like to hear what each director had to say.<br /><br />In the BAR (Board Action Report), staff talked about how successful they were in bringing Sped students into regular classrooms as well as a successful ELL transition. I think there are those who might not agree. I would also point out that the district has allegedly had ALOs (Advanced Learning Opportunities) at every school ( if you believe what is written in their CSIPs). But ALOs were always a joke and, just like this changed policy, allows schools to do whatever they decide is right for their community. That is NOT a program. It might be something to point out to OSPI. <br /><br />Megan rightly points out the lack of language around 2E kids as well as gender issues is troubling. It’s another example of not listening to Sped parents. <br /><br />I have seen for years and years that the district has tried to attract more students of color to Advanced Learning. But when you allow schools to decide what they will do or what they won’t do to support students who would benefit from the program, then you will never get a base of students of color. When you tie high stakes testing scores to a school score, you can see how some principals might not want their highest achieving students to leave. <br /><br />I can absolutely understand black/Latino/Native American parents not wanting their child to be the only child of color in a classroom. I had advocated for AL parents of color to be the ones to go into schools with high minority populations to advocate and encourage other parents. Especially if it is done in another language that is most comfortable to minority parents. But the district never tried this.<br /><br />I do think that for some parents of color there are many factors as to why they might not want to move their child to another school for a program. This new policy will negate some of that but some watered down version of HC is not going to help their child.<br /><br />I will go out on a limb here and say that the numbers of students of color in the program may go up but I’d bet by high school, not much will look different from what you see today. Not because students are not bright enough to take AP classes but because they did not have the steady diet of rigor that kids from another school may have had. <br /><br />Lastly, I have NO idea how you track how the program is doing if you have 100 schools doing it their own ways. Again,I think OSPI should be notified that this is what is happening.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-64429352896795772552021-05-11T16:47:53.082-07:002021-05-11T16:47:53.082-07:00Anonymous, I need you to give yourself a name next...Anonymous, I need you to give yourself a name next time, please.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-51327592746871413862021-05-11T14:23:16.600-07:002021-05-11T14:23:16.600-07:00Well said. Thank you for sharing this well reasone...Well said. Thank you for sharing this well reasoned argument. One can only hope that the school district will consider it and do the right thing for the kids, rather than whatever optics they appear to be managing to. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66062085720477906972021-05-11T13:34:19.025-07:002021-05-11T13:34:19.025-07:00The state law MANDATES that access to highly capab...The state law MANDATES that access to highly capable is BASIC education. It is specifically FUNDED by the state. This is not an option. This is not fun and games. This is a FUNDED MANDATE passed by the legislature. What Seattle is doing opens the doors wide for waste of human potential, there's no accountability, no visibility of where the money provided by Hi Cap services will go. The law is here https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=28A.185Stuart Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-18040193943718961472021-05-11T13:20:42.947-07:002021-05-11T13:20:42.947-07:00The district's Honors for All report indicates...The district's Honors for All report indicates that the district does not have the capacity to deliver effective differentiation evenly throughout the district. There is no reason to believe the district will be able to deliver HC services via differentiation.<br /><br />The board is setting the district - up for a lawsuit.Welcome Homenoreply@blogger.com