Seattle Schools Community Forum

The Board has long delegated authority for program placement decisions to the Superintendent. Policy F21.00 made that explicit and Policy 2200 reinforced it. All the Board required was a coherent process, community engagement, and a report. Since the Superintendent has never provided a coherent process, community engagement, or a report, the Board is now preparing to take back the authority. The Board is preparing to amend the policies to require all program placement decisions to have Board approval. See the documents starting on page 58 of the packet for the upcoming Executive Committee meeting . There can be no doubt that this is a direct response to recent decisions (EEU, Middle College, InterAgency at Queen Anne) and the historic failure/refusal to conduct community engagement, provide any coherent rationale for decisions, or make sound decisions. Is this what accountability looks like?

I know that I harp on this every couple months, but it has been another couple of months. Board Policy 3208, Sexual Harassment, requires an annual report from the Superintendent. The policy was adopted over four years ago, in December of 2011, but there has yet to be even one annual report submitted. In 2014, following a reported rape on a school field trip, the Board and the Superintendent tearfully expressed how gravely they are concerned about sexual harassment and how deeply committed they are to compliance with all of the various policies, rules, laws, and regulations that deal with it. Yet, despite their grave concern and their deep commitment, the Superintendent has yet to produce the required report. The Board did wake up and ask for the report. In June of 2015 the Board directed the Superintendent to deliver the report in August of 2015. That was six months ago. The superintendent did not provide the report at that time. When confronted about the failure in December, he cl...

One of the recurring themes among the criticisms of Seattle Public Schools centers on annual reports. These reports are required by policy but either the reports simply are not made, such as the report required by Policy 3208, Sexual Harassment, or the reports clearly fail to meet the requirements listed in the policy, such as the quarterly and annual reports required by Policy 2200, Equitable Access to Programs & Services. You should all be familiar with the routine. Each year the superintendent and staff submits a woefully inadequate report. Each year I complain about it and beg the Board to demand a compliant report. Each year the Board accepts the report without complaint. Each year the culture of non-compliance is strengthened and transparency is weakened. But this year there's something new. This year the superintendent and the staff are bringing forward a different kind of report for Policy 2090, Program Evaluation & Assessment.

Let's give the proposed Advanced Learning policy some thought and see where it leads us. Schools had better start thinking about it and right quick because School Board policies become effective immediately upon approval by a majority vote of the Board. That means that any services promised in the Advanced Learning policy will have to be delivered immediately after the vote on December 3. Those services are supposed to be provided in every school and they will be required to be in place on December 4. The Kindergarten services will have to be in place at the start of the second semester, Monday, February 2. Has anyone asked if the schools are ready to deliver?

School Board policy 3208, Sexual Harassment , calls for an annual report to the Board The Superintendent shall make an annual report to the Board reviewing the use and efficacy of this policy and related procedures. Recommendations for changes to this policy, if applicable, shall be included in the report. The Superintendent is encouraged to involve staff, students, and volunteers and parents in the review process. The policy was adopted on December 7, 2011, so you might expect the first annual report in the first quarter of 2013 and the second annual report in first quarter of 2014. Those expectations would not be met. I cannot find any record that any annual report as required by this policy has ever been made.

Director Martin-Morris is hosting a community meeting tomorrow  on August 9  at 10:00 at the Northeast Branch Library, 6801 35th Ave. N.E. You should go. You should go and ask the Director about seriously he takes the issue of sexual harassment. Never mind what he says; let's take a look at what he has done.

Have you noticed that just about any time Melissa or I write something about APP or Spectrum or advanced learning in almost any way two things happen: the thread gets about a hundred comments and the comments get nasty. Have you noticed that school board candidates - like all other politicians - prefer to speak in vague platitudes and evade any discussion of specifics? It's a funny thing, but in their pursuit of a decision-making job they appear incapable of making any decisions at all. That's because having positions on any issue will alienate the people who have the opposing view. To prevent alienating anyone, they don't espouse any position at all. Sure they will assert their strong stance in support of motherhood, the flag, and apple pie, but the more contentious and heated the issue, the less likely they will take a stand on it. So we shouldn't be surprised that the School Board would prefer not to take a position on advanced learning which, according to the ev...

Monday, August 12 Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee Mtg , 4-6 pm.  Agenda A lot of BARs for various partnerships with outside entities for services.  One, for Special Ed services via the Northwest School of Innovative Learning, caught my eye because I know they were being sued in 2011while a student in the Puyallup School District was in their school.  The student's family alleged physical mistreatment.  Might be good if the Directors know the outcome of that lawsuit. Also, some discussion scheduled for Policy 313, Student Assignment, Policy 2015, Selection/Adoption of Instructional Materials and Policy 2415, High School Graduation Requirements.   Wednesday, August 14th Executive Committee Meeting - 8:30-10 am.  Agenda Review of the upcoming Board meetings for August 21st and September 4th. Discussion around amending Policy 1400 and Policy 6114, and the next Board Retreat. Policy 1400 is "Meeting Conduct, Order of Business and Quorum....

My thinking about the proposed Highly Capable policy 2190 has evolved. At first I just wanted the Board to fix the obvious flaws in the policy. Clarify the "school-age" language and the language about "individual learning rates and styles", remove the superfluous second paragraph that isn't specific to highly capable students, and change the third paragraph so it requires the superintendent to submit a grant application rather than requiring the Board to approve it. Once fixed, the policy won't do any good, but at least it won't do any harm. Then I thought that this policy, even when fixed, will, in fact, do harm. It will create the illusion that the topic has been addressed and stall the action that really needs to be taken. I believed that the Board should reject the proposed policy until the proper process has been followed. The Board needs to first articulate a Vision for all of Advanced Learning before drafting any policy to implement it. Then the ...

At the May 1 Board meeting we will see the introduction of the new Advanced Learning policy. There is a LOT wrong with it. A LOT. This is the public's chance to speak up and ask the Board to fix it. It is time to get active.

In a discussion about the 12th grade humanities class at The Center School, commenter parent wrote: " They've got so many procedures and policies, it's impossible to follow them. " I have heard Director Martin-Morris describe them as a long shelf stuffed with binders. That's not accurate. I hear this sort of thing all the time. I also observe the reaction I get from people when my knowledge of School Board policies is displayed. They are generally surprised. That's not appropriate. Here's the truth: You could probably read all of the policies in a single sitting in a single afternoon. There aren't that many policies and most of them are pretty brief. You, too, could become a policy expert between school and dinner. Here they are . You will find that most of them are meaningless and un-enforceable mush. Not's a shame, but not surprising. What to know what surprises me? The fact that the board and the superintendent appear ignorant ...

The District last adopted a policy about Advanced Learning in September of 1993. That policy, D12.00, Highly Capable Student Programs , is not in force. It is still the Board policy, but it was suspended on January 29, 2009. In the same motion in which the Board voted to suspend the policy they also voted to direct the superintendent to review it and recommend revisions. She did not do that. This failure to follow a direction given to her with by a majority vote of the board was, by itself, grounds for dismissal. The Board was aware of the situation and refused to act. The interim superintendent who followed also failed to follow the Board's direction. Again, the Board was aware of the situation and refused to act. When the Board scheduled their policy review they gave this policy no special urgency despite the January 29, 2009 Board vote. This is simply further evidence of the utter purposeless of Board policies and how the District's culture of lawlessness is directly attri...

That's right. I'm not going to let this go. The annual program placement report is due in January, which means that the superintendent has to deliver it either today or tomorrow or its late.

When the Board adopted policy 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity , there was a bit of a stir because, at one point, the word "Racial" had been removed from the policy title. I guess some folks were concerned that if there was no reference to race in the title of the policy, there would be no focus on race in the implementation of the policy. The content of the policy was not in question, just the title.

The Executive Committee meetings are usually pretty boring and uneventful. They are generally about scheduling and such. The meeting this week, however, has a couple of intriguing items on the agenda . 1. Call to Order 8:00am - Approval of agenda - Approval of August 7, 2012 meeting minutes 2. Review of the September 19 and October 3 legislative session agendas 3. Government Relations 4. Community Engagement 5. Executive Committee Discussion - Conditional Certification Application (R. English) - Creative Approach Schools (R. English) - Review and approval of retreat agenda - Proclamation for Cheryl Chow - Presentations to the Board - Policy Development Process - Board meeting times/Comment timing (Board and Student) - NSBA Membership 4/1/13-3/31/14 - Directors’ 2012-13 Conference Attendance - Superintendent Evaluation - Board Calendar/Work Plan 6. A...

The District will soon adopt a new policy on Advanced Learning to replace policy D12.00, Highly Capable Student Programs . A draft policy was shared at the Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee on August 13. Since the committee was seeing the policy for the first time at the meeting they were not prepared to refer to the full board for an approval decision. That's why you don't see it on the agenda for the Board's September 5 meeting. Allow me to offer a little history and context.

The new program placement policy will soon be adopted by the Board and when that happens they will close the door on transparency. Wendy London, while saying that they want to have a transparent process, essentially told the board that it is "staff work" and the public will not be allowed to know how decisions were made. Program placement will not be an open or honest process. That dream is dead.

Director McLaren chairs the Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee. This Committee will discuss the revised Policy 2200, Equitable Access to Programs and Services, at their next meeting , scheduled for Monday, June 25, from 4:00pm to 6:00pm in the Board Conference Room at the JSCEE. Director McLaren has a number of specific goals for the revised policy: It states an unequivocal value of equity in decision making regarding the siting of programs and services. It states an unequivocal value of transparency in decision making regarding the siting of programs and services. It sets out clear expectations of evidence to be provided by the Superintendent that the above criteria have been met. It states an unequivocal value for clear, efficient parameters for community input. It has had the benefit of community vetting via email or conversation with Board members. I, myself share these goals and I have my own areas that I would like the Board to consider:

The Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee has posted their agenda for their June 25 meeting. The meeting is expected to run from 4:00pm to 6:00pm on June 25. The Committee meets in the Board Conference Room. The agenda includes some interesting bits, such as: a. Policy 2180, Nutrition Education (Wendy W) This will include the new federal requirements. b. Policy 0003, Ensuring Educational Equity Policy (Bernardo) I don't know what this is, but it is sure to be interesting. c. Policy 4210, Dangerous Weapons on School Property (Pegi/Ruth) I think they are against them. d. Policy 3200, Written Student Discipline Rules (Holly/Ruth) Hmmm. Written rules. What a novel concept. It's so crazy, it just might work. e. Policy 2190, Advanced Learning (Bob) This item may be of some interest to a few folks out there. f. Annual Highly Capable Application to OSPI (Bob) This is never as interesting as you think it is going to be. g. Partnership Agreement for Families ...

Every so often something comes along that exposes and epitomizes a wide range of problems. This week it is the proposed Policy 2200, Equitable Access to Programs and Services . This proposed revision to Board Policy C56.00 reveals and illustrates problems with the Board's procedures, the Board's practices, the staff, program placement, the allocation of authority, the factors that really drive decisions within Seattle Public Schools, and the whole concept of governance vs. management. Where to begin?