Seattle Schools Community Forum

Interim plan for next year kicked down the road another week.   Will the new enrollment data change anyone's mind? Community meeting with Director DeBell tomorrow from 9-11 am at Cafe Appassionato, near Fisherman's Terminal. Community meeting with Director Patu tomorrow from 10 am to noon at Cafe Vita, 5028 Wilson Ave. S. In the "what?!" category, from the Washington Post, the Texas State House has introduced a bill to stop funding for standardized assessments. " By way of explanation, Speaker Joe Straus said, “To parents and educators concerned about excessive testing, the Texas House has heard you.” Last year about this time school districts in Texas started   passing resolutions   saying that high-stakes standardized tests were “strangling” public schools, and hundreds of districts representing nearly 90 percent of the state’s K-12 students have followed suit. Then Robert Scott, the man who was then state education commissioner,   said publicly ...

From recent elections, there are those who confuse arguing with attacking in order to get what they want or to marginalize others.  I saw this during the charter school election when I got personally attacked by both Lisa Macfarlane and Shannon Campion at several debates.  (What is interesting is that Tim Ceis, the former city official who was known as a pitbull, could not have been nicer at the debates.)  I had thought, in the moment to respond back, but my reward was watching the faces of the audience and clearly, people think little of personal attacks.  Now from Ms. Campion, I expected that.  She's a shill for Stand for Children.  But Lisa and I have known each other professionally for years.  We have stood together on issues around the World School.  I expected better from her but apparently they wanted to win the election at any cost.  Now, over at the Times, there is an op-ed - well, really an advertisement - from the head of th...

From our friends at the Stranger Slog , what librarians are saying: Laurie Amster-Burton, who spoke on behalf of librarians, says she actually switched schools in part because of how invasive MAP testing had become in regard to library time and space. The district has told educators that it thanks them for their concern but it needs time to work out a solution, but Amster-Burton says that these problems have existed for years, and educators have been bringing them up with the district the whole time . She brought with her a letter to Superintendent Banda, signed by 35 Seattle school librarians, in support of the Garfield teachers and in opposition to the MAP test. Excerpt from letter: Librarians, whose role is to teach information skills and support reading instruction, have been required in many schools to spend weeks and weeks as testing clerks. In many schools the first time a student visits the library is not to check out a book or research a topic, but to take a...

It appears that at least some of Chief Sealth teachers will be boycotting the MAP.  (I received this statement via Facebook from a teacher at Sealth.) Be it resolved that we, the undersigned educators from Chief Sealth International High School do hereby support statements and actions of our colleagues at Garfield High School regarding the MAP test. Furthermore, we join our colleagues in their boycott and refuse to administer the MAP test to students at Chief Sealth International High School. 

Apparently, the Superintendent has sent out a letter to teachers that is to read at mandatory faculty meetings today.   It informs teachers of the outcomes of not giving the MAP test.  (I am going to verify what that is but it does involve punishment.) If you support the teachers and believe MAP does not help your student, let the Superintendent know: Phone: (206) 252-0180 Fax: (206) 252-0209 Email: superintendent@seattleschools.org On-line petition . Also, about the interim plan , Apparently Directors Carr and Martin-Morris attended a meeting at Sacajawea last night to allow parents to air their concerns.  I give the directors credit for showing up for what was likely a difficult meeting. What is astonishing is that Pegi McEvoy apparently said that Sacajawea's 5th graders might have to get split up for middle school because of their boundary pattern. Really? Well, I hope that gets changed when they change boundaries because no 5th grade class should...

I suspect that given the district has a media event to explain the interim plan for next year AND the SEA is having a "boycott the MAP" rally at 4 p.m . outside of JSCEE AND the large number of concerns over the interim plan, the Board meeting is probably going to be lively (to say the least).   What questions do you think I should ask at the media event? The speaker list reflects that most of the speakers are going to talk about the interim plan.  The speakers start at 5 p.m with the vote on the interim plan occurring roughly at 6:30 p.m.   Sadly, I think that the directors will all choose to give lengthy explanations of their votes.  I say sadly because sometimes I find it even harder to take a vote based on reasoning I hear given. 

  UPDATES:   The Superintendent's Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Committee has also released a statement (in the comments section) that they support the MAP boycott.  From their statement : Evidence of the lack of care and thought in MAP testing is that our children are REGULARLY denied their accommodations for the MAP. How does MAP testing somehow take precedence over the necessary accommodations on the IEP? In addition, the Superintendent will be holding a media briefing right before the School Board meeting on Wednesday about MAP testing.  Rally for teachers/parents/students against MAP tomorrow, Wednesday, the 23rd, at 4 pm (just before the School Board meeting).  It's billed as "Scrap the MAP; Students are not Test Scores." Also of note, there was another press conference yesterday at Garfield with some updates from teachers. - Noted national educators added their support; Diane Ravitch, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis,...

From the West Seattle Blog: Dear Superintendent Banda, The staff of Schmitz Park, by a unanimous vote, joins in its support of Garfield High and all other schools and individuals around the district that boycott the MAP test. We agree with Garfield’s position about the harmful, ineffective, and wasteful nature of the MAP test and its deleterious impact on instructional time and consequently student achievement. We join SEA in asking you to not discipline our colleagues for standing up and speaking the truth. We also agree with the Sanislo Elementary letter of support, which points out a deep concern around MAP. Apparently, district officials told Garfield staff the test was “not valid” because the margin of error can exceed the expected growth score. Given this information, it seems unthinkable that these scores would be used to determine the “effectiveness” of teachers. The teacher’s collective bargaining agreement allows the use of low scores to impact the pla...

...but they are not boycotting the MAP test.   Their letter to the Superintendent is both alloquent and heartfelt. From the West Seattle blog comes this report about a letter sent to Superintendent Banda from the teachers at Sanislo: We the staff at Sanislo Elementary, by a unanimous vote, write to express our support for Garfield High School’s decision to not administer the MAP test. We share many of their same concerns, including the impact on a struggling student’s esteem and the lack of usability of the results when given the current text adoptions. We similarly decry the loss of instructional time, the loss of computer lab access and the loss of instructional assistants who are used as test proctors, in addition to the financial costs of the subscription itself and the tech support for implementing it. Garfield and all high school teachers find themselves in a Kafkaesque situation in which their employment (including career ladder and terminati...

From Dexter Tang, President of the Seattle Schools Student Senate from their meeting at Ingraham High School: The Seattle Student Senate, the main student advocacy organization of Seattle Public Schools, supports the opposition to the MAP test.   The MAP test inefficiently uses district resources and consumes valuable instruction time.  We support alternative methods of student evaluation.  We encourage the district o explore alternative methods of assessing student academic achievement that are efficient and align with the classroom curriculum.  Furthermore, representatives of the Seattle Student Senate would like to participate in the selection process of a new alternative assessment.

Some pretty funny (and not surprising) public education items in the news. First up in the category of " well, that didn't take long ", the Washington Policy Center opines on Senator Ross Hunter's idea that the state should take over failing schools.  (This is a similar idea to what happens in many other states - the schools become "turnaround" schools.)  Lawmakers should remove the cap that limits the number of charter schools that can open to only eight a year, up to a total of 40. We don't even have ONE charter and they want the limit raised.  Unbelievable. They do use the thought that Charlie had: Removing the cap would benefit all children, because just the possibility of a parent takeover would motivate school officials to improve services for children before that option arises. That, in turn, would give parents the leverage they need to seek positive change in education. Imagine this message from parents, “Give our kids the educ...

So says the Times .  Eleven teachers and instructional assistants at ORCA K-8 have decided that they, too, will boycott district-required tests known as the MAP, according to ORCA teacher Matt Carter. In the letter to district administrators, the Garfield staff members listed nine reasons why they oppose the test, which range from how few students take it seriously to how much time it takes away from class instruction and whether it measures what teachers are supposed to be teaching.  The middle school teachers at ORCA will not refuse to give the tests because they hope to get a grant from the city that requires that they give them, Carter said.  But 11 of the 16 teachers and instructional assistants in kindergarten through grade 5 have decided to do so, Carter said.   The principal apparently will find others to proctor the tests and give them anyway.  (I have heard about issues using non-staff proctors so it's not a...

Superintendent Banda has come out with the district's response to the Garfield teachers' ringing rejection of giving the MAP test.   Basically, it's "we're going to talk about issue this spring; you must continue giving the test now."  Before the issue was raised by our teachers at Garfield High School, the School Board had already asked for a thorough review of our how we assess student learning, including MAP testing.  During an annual report to the Board on Nov. 28, it was agreed that the District would review the effectiveness of MAP testing. We plan to report back to the Board this spring.  Starting in February, I will invite principals and teachers to be part of a formal process to review the MAP test and make recommendations for assessing student learning in Seattle Public Schools. This is the appropriate venue to share concerns and to have an in-depth discussion about the test. We will work together to find the best way to move ...

What a week.  Confusion over the interim plan for the next school year, GHS teachers/staff take a stand against MAP and a chance of snow flurries?  Support GHS teachers (and encourage other SPS teachers/staff) to say no to MAP at their Facebook page .   Don't forget the following activities this weekend: Saturday, January 12th Kick-off for Schools First campaign for the SPS operations and capital levies (Props 1 and 2) from 10:30-11:30 am at McKinstry's Innnovation Center (just sw of Costco), 210 S. Hudson St. Director Carr Community Meeting from 8:30-10 am at Bethany Community Church, 8023 Green Lake Dr North - Main Sancutary Bld, Classroom A Director Martin-Morris Community Meeting from 9:30-11:30 am at Diva Espresso, 8013 Lake City Way NE Director McLaren Community Meeting from 10:15am - 12:15 pm at Delridge Library, 5423 Delridge Way SW Sunday, January 13th Washington Ceasefire march/rally starting at 1:30 p.m .  We will walk from Westlake...

Just back from the well-attended press conference.  To note, educator Diane Ravitch has already blogged about this action and added her support. First up, the district response (partial):  Seattle Public Schools expects our teachers to administer all required tests, pursuant to our policies and procedures. Last fall, during an annual report to the Board on Nov. 28, it was agreed that the District would review the effectiveness of MAP testing. We look forward to hearing from our principals and teachers as part of that process. A report back to the Board is expected to be presented in the spring.   This response seems to indicate the district wants the teachers to continue giving the test BUT that MAP is going to be reviewed with a report to the Board by spring.  Good news.   We are now in the 5th year of MAP and it would seem a review would be in order. The press conference was held with at least 25 Garfield teachers and staff in atte...

In what is a major step, the teachers of Garfield High School will be holding a press conference today to announce they will not give the MAP test.  From the press release: The teachers contend that it wastes time, money, and precious school resources.              “Our teachers have come together and agree that the MAP test is not good for our students, nor is it an appropriate or useful tool in measuring progress,” says Kris McBride, who serves as Academic Dean and Testing Coordinator at Garfield.   “Additionally, students don’t take it seriously.   It produces specious results, and wreaks havoc on limited school resources during the weeks and weeks the test is administered.” Refusing to administer a district-mandated test is not a decision the school’s teachers made casually, or without serious internal discussion.             “Those of ...

A rosy glow this morning across the horizon - maybe a good sign for things to come. It was a HUGE year for public education - in Seattle, Washington State and the US.  For whatever reason, public education has become a huge issue.  Whether it's trying to break unions (in Wisconsin) or the push for more on-line learning opportunities (whether at school or at home), politicians had a lot to say this year.  Are we focusing on the right things?  I'm not sure we are.  I'm not sure that we won't look back in 10 years at much of the new education spending in this country and wonder if much of it was wasted on the wrong areas.  Or that there was too much effort made in directions that did not pay off.  One of the drivers of this - and it shouldn't be the biggest driver - is the large group of wealthy philanthropists who believe they know enough to try to determine the course of public education over the next 10 years.  And yet, they are not elected,...

I couldn't stay long (darn cold) but I did make some remarks and heard other interesting remarks. First up was Wayne Barnett of the City Ethics department who gave a concise and lively wrap-up of what has been happening with this joint ethics venture between the City and the district.  This is a mid-term report as they are in the middle of the 3-year process. He said that everyone at JSCEE had been given the ethics training as had all the principals. In terms of advice, as of now about 80% of the contacts had been via phone or e-mail.  He said they have slightly less active than at the City level but that is to be expected (given the relative sizes of each). Investigations.  He stated they received their 100th call this week.  He said about a quarter of all calls had launched investigations.  He said about 60% of those calls did not fall under their jurisdiction but that the City had been pleased to act as a liaison between the district and the callers t...

I attended the May meeting of the Board Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee  where I heard some talk about the MAP test that I couldn't reconcile on my own. I wrote then that I would try to ask Wendy London about it, and I saw her - and Mark Teoh - about it yesterday. My confusion from the C & I meeting was quickly resolved. Ms London had said that the MAP test was nationally normed but she had also said that it was keyed to the Washington State Standards. These can both be true because the questions our students see on the MAP test are chosen from the pool of available questions only if they are applicable to the Washington State Standards. That's how the test is geared to the state Standards. The students' RIT scores can be compared to the scores of students across the nation even if they didn't get the exact same questions that our students got. That's how they can be nationally normed. It's worth noting that the MAP test is the only assessment ...

 This week has a large number of Executive Sessions (closed to the public) for the Board.  Most are on " Evaluate a complaint against a public employee ."  I suspect some of these may be about schools in the news over the last several months who had principal issues.  Wednesday, June 6th School Board Meeting - Agenda Our first Board meeting that starts at 4:15 p.m. with the Speakers List at 5:00 p.m .  Please remember to give testimony, you should call/write tomorrow morning starting at 8 am -  252-0040 or boardagenda@seattleschools.org. The Board will run through the Consent agenda, student presentation, and superintendent comments by 5 p.m.  Then there is Public Testimony, Board comments and then Business Action Items. The agenda has some interesting items.  To note: