Seattle Schools Community Forum

Join a discussion with southeast Seattle families and teachers Standardized Testing and “Opting Out”:  What are the impacts on our region’s diverse schools and students? Wednesday, March 25, 6:00-7:30 pm   Hillman City Collaboratory 5623 Rainier Avenue South Seattle, WA  Seattle 98118 Sponsored by parents from Dearborn Park, Hawthorne, Orca, Leschi, John Muir, Graham Hill, Concord and Beacon Hill Elementary Schools;  Families of Color Seattle ;  and  Seattle Opt Out Group

Garfield teacher (and activist) Jesse Hagopian has edited a new book on student testing called More Than a Score: the New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing (with a foreword by Diane Ravitch).  The book is a call to action but more than that, a good book for those who want to action but wonder if they can really make a difference.  The answer is, you can.  Hagopian calls those willing to stand up for opting out, testdefyers.  More Than a Score brings together stories of the fight, poems and interviews with leaders about what testing does to students and how to fight for the right assessments and testing. What I really liked were the voices of students because like most of us when we are young, we don't know enough to be scared. 

Monday began the voting period for teachers in SPS to elect the leadership of their union the Seattle Education Association (SEA). The RESPECT slate is hoping to win office and I’m hoping they do too.  The voting continues for the next ten days. The RESPECT platform proposes a new way of collaborating with parents and community members in the interest of unifying the power of those fighting for genuine reform of our public schools. Many of us believe Seattle needs its own research-based vision for the schools our children deserve. Those developed in Chicago , Portland and St. Paul through a collaborative process between teachers, parents and the community became a foundation from which strong alliances blossomed. With the RESPECT slate leading the SEA I’m confident that we will move forward on creating such a vision that meets the needs of Seattle Schools' students. I also believe the RESPECT slate will help us come closer to achieving the kind of partnership between tea...

Good story on Garfield teacher Jesse Hagopian in Seattle Met . The Times editorial board weighs in on the North Center Kids/Cascade program and oddly, completely leaves out Cascade.  Naturally this baffled a couple of readers who ask, "What is the about?  Why would the district do this?"  But paint a complete picture?  Not the Times. Best wishes to all your loves this Valentine's Day - be they big or small. What's on your mind?

Garfield teacher and MAP boycott leader Jesse Hagopian was named the " Secondary School Teacher of the Year" last Saturday by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences International in Washington, D.C.  His "Bammy" award was also joined by a "Grammys for Teachers", a special achievement award, for his work. The annual Bammy awards recognize educators from across the education field: teachers, principals, librarians, nurses, school-board members, superintendents, and others. The presenter told the audience this Bammy was for “a demonstration of courage” because, he said, courage is necessary “when doing what’s in the best interests of children…” He added that sometimes courage “means going against accepted policy, going against what is accepted convention.” “This is a victory for all of the students, parents and teachers at Garfield who refused to give the Michelle Rhee-endorsed MAP test, and who stood strong in the face of education-corrupting...