Seattle Schools Community Forum

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...

The current advanced learning task force has been charged with reviewing the systems and processes for qualifying students for Highly Capable services and Advanced Learning programs in Seattle Public Schools. The committee is supposed to work toward a shared approach for determining which students qualify for Highly Capable services and Advanced Learning programs that best benefits students. Although it is not stated anywhere in the charge to the task force, the members have been told that their goal is to increase representation in advanced learning programs by under-represented groups. It's unclear why this goal is not overtly stated in the charge document. We should discuss it as well.

This is an e-mail I sent to Al Interim Director, Steven Martin.  I cc'd the Board, Shauna Heath and Michael Tolley. Dear Mr. Martin, As a former member of the Advanced Learning Taskforce - who served for a year and was asked to stay on for the next year (which never materialized and with no explanation) - you can imagine my surprise to learn there are TWO AL Taskforces already in place.  I am very disappointed to not even be asked to serve when my knowledge of the subject and the programs in this district is quite deep. My questions to you are the following: - how were members chosen? - are the committees now full?  If not, how may one apply? - why was there no public process or even notice? - who are the members and what is their connection to AL? - how many meetings have there been? - where are the minutes of the meetings available? - when are the meetings for both taskforces?  Where is that info available to the public? If you don't know the answers to the...

From the Friday Memo to the Board of October 4 : Advanced Learning Task Force Advanced Learning has contracted with a facilitator, Barbara Grant to help guide two task forces this year. The first is focused on the identification of students for highly capable services, with particular attention to reaching culturally diverse and underserved populations of gifted students. This group begins its work on October 10th, and expects to have recommendations by November 29th. The second task force will focus on service delivery models (APP, Spectrum, ALO, and other options) and will begin meeting in December in order to make recommendations by mid-February. Task force members are a diverse group invited from the community and SPS staff. So who are these Task Force members? Anyone know? Any of our readers among those chosen to participate in these secret meetings?

A LOT of info in these links.  And a reminder - don't like gifted education, on principle or in specific?  Don't read this thread.   I offer this as information, not to start a fight.  There will be no comments on this as it is purely informational. Back to School Means Back to Segregated Gifted Programs for Some: New Book with Solutions.  From PRWeb: Vanderbilt education professor Donna Y. Ford has made it her mission to end segregation in gifted programs—a mission she’s not backing down from without a fight. Her recently released book, "Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Different Students in Gifted Education" (published by Prufrock Press Inc. this summer), details Ford's participation in a 2013 court case in which one Illinois school district was accused of discrimination against Hispanic students in its gifted program (the full report of the court case was released to the public in July 2013) and provides solutions for schools looking to ensure...

The District is committed to creating an optional 1-8 APP pathway in West Seattle. It is written into the Growth Boundary plan and program placement has been made at Fairmount Park and Madison. But what will this optional pathway be like? Can it be self-contained? If not, then what? And what does this proposal mean for service delivery for APP elsewhere in the District? What, in fact, is the District's intent around student identification and service delivery for advanced learning after MTSS has been implemented - or, to be more precise, after the District claims that MTSS has been implemented? This is all pure speculation. There is simply no way to know before the fact, but we can look ahead and we can make some deductions. We do have some facts: The District is committed to an alternative 1-8 APP pathway in West Seattle. There are not enough APP-eligible students in West Seattle form a full cohort for the self-contained model. The District is committed to implementing M...

It was a full house but frankly, not as full as I thought it would be (and certainly not the crowd that Charlie had - Tracy Libros said there were at least 250 people at Monday's event).   There were three legislators there - Rep. Jamie Pedersen, Rep. Gerry Pollet and Senator David Frockt.  I saw just two Board members - Director DeBell and Director Peaslee (odd that Martin-Morris wasn't there - this is his region).  There were also several members of the FACMAC committee. I sat at a table with parents worried about several issues but they seems resigned.  I also sat with two reporters from the Roosevelt News.  They worry over losing diversity at their school and overcrowding.  I set them up to talk with Shauna Heath.  Big Picture A couple of themes I came away with that I hope ALL parents understand. This is a serious situation (and probably more serious than the district is letting on although Flip Herdon did let two things slip that s...

Thirteen years ago, when I first became an activist in Seattle Public Schools, there were problems with Spectrum. There were three problems: Qualified students could not gain access to the program because the classes were full. There was lively discussion about the student identification process including issues of under-representation of minority students and students from low-income homes. There were significant inconsistencies within the program from school to school and no clear definition of the program.

Eligibility testing begins in October for accelerated learning programs Seattle Public Schools provides opportunities for academically advanced students in grades K-8 to qualify for accelerated learning programs. Additional information and application forms for eligibility testing can be found here . Applications are also be available in school offices and in the lobby of the John Stanford Center, 2445 3rd Ave. S. Eligibility testing for the 2014-2015 school year begins in October. Applications are due by Thursday, Oct. 3.

Before school started we heard about a new peer tutoring program at McClure. How's that working out? Before school started we heard that Whitman was going to dissolve their 7th and 8th grade Spectrum classes. How's that working out? How is transportation going? All smoothed out? Are the schedules for secondary students smoothed out? Do kids still need to fill their schedules with classes? What about the school software? Is that working now?

I mean, seriously, why does this district bother?  To explain, it was noted by several readers that the testing schedule for Advanced Learning programs is NOT in the school calendar.  And, by law, they have to supply public notice (at least for APP).  You'd think the calendar , going to every single family in the district, would be the ideal place.  You'd think the first-day packets , going to every single family in the district, would be the ideal place. You'd apparently be wrong. So I wrote to the Board and the Superintendent: Special Service Program Highly Capable Students WAC 392-170-042 Annual notification. Annual public notification of parents and students shall be made before any major identification activity. The notice shall be published or announced in multiple ways in appropriate languages to each community in school and district publications or other media, with circulation adequate to notify parents and students throughout the distric...

Back at the beginning of the summer, when I was being a real nudge, I was invited to a half-hour meeting with Michael Tolley and Shauna Heath scheduled for today. We had that meeting this morning and it consisted entirely of my questions and their answers. They were gracious and relatively candid. Half an hour isn't much time and I wanted to cover a few topics in great depth.

From SPS Communications: Seattle Public Schools would like to thank those organizations and businesses that sponsored the District’s 2013-14 wall calendar and family guide, which will be mailed soon to Seattle Public Schools students, families and staff. Sponsors include : Boy Scouts of America, Comcast, Defensive Driving School, Delta Dental, Foster Pepper, PCC Natural Markets, The Northwest Network, Safeway, Seattle City Light, The Seattle Public Library, Sound Mental Health, and Stevens Pass.  “We appreciate the support of our sponsors who ensure we can continue providing the calendar to our families,” said SPS Chief Communications Officer Lesley Rogers. “Without these businesses and organizations, the district would eventually have to stop producing this important publication, which provides families and staff with important news and information throughout the year.” The calendar, which features photos of students and staff, is scheduled to be mailed...

Shauna Heath, the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instructional Support and Michael Tolley, the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, have told the Board and the public that they will form advisory committees this fall to explore delivery models and identification criteria for advanced learning programs. In the meantime, schools are moving forward on their own with changes in delivery models. We know that Wedgwood and Lawton are discontinuing self-contained Spectrum as the grades roll up. They claim to be using a cluster model, but it's unclear how closely they are following the cluster model described in literature. Whitman says that they will use a cluster model for 7th and 8th grade Spectrum this year. Again, it is unclear how closely they will adhere to the cluster model described in research. A number of schools, due to low enrollment, have never offered self-contained Spectrum. It is unclear what delivery model they are using. Shauna Heath has also ack...

This Work Session had a larger-than-normal audience which is a good thing because now there are other witnesses to what was discussed.   Charlie and I both went and came armed with ideas for the Board to consider.  (He outdid me, of course, with his sheet with 23(!) questions.  He checked them off as they went along.  At least five of them got asked but not necessarily answered.)  I gave them a sheet with comments copped from Charlie's previous thread.  And, with apologies to all other programs, somehow Advanced Learning/Highly Capable got the lion's share of discussion. Michael Tolley started the session, outlining the higher level thinking.  However, the presentation, on slide 3, says that one goal of the process is to " include access to services and programs as a key component in boundary revisions."   To which Charlie wrote in the margin "except Montessori."  And, he's right.  Montessori is in neighborhood schools but i...

This was requested as finally some Spectrum parents are understanding that Spectrum is very much on the chopping block.  Who knows?  As we speak Shauna Heath and Michael Tolley may have already done away with it (it seems they will be creating whatever Advanced Learning will be).  If the district had allowed the Advanced Learning Taskforce to continue its work, we might have gotten to Spectrum and ALOs.  But maybe that was the point of NOT continuing on. It may be too late and trying to organize and get any attention in the summer is a big lift.  But I would do it if I cared about Spectrum (no matter what its form at your school). 

At the regular Board Legislative Meeting on Wednesday, May 1 there was a discussion of the proposed policy 2190, Highly Capable Services . You can watch the video here . Jump to 87:55 of part two for the start of the conversation. First you will hear Shauna Heath speak carefully so that she does not equate Highly Capable Services with APP. At first, I attributed this to Ms Heath's distinctive prose style - obfuscation - and her instinctive reluctance to answer a question. Seen through that lens, her confusing response is only amusing. However, what if Ms Heath's talk was intentional? What if she was intentionally making a distinction between highly capable services and APP? What if this is the first step to the introduction of another delivery model for Highly Capable Services? Am I paranoid? Sure, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Are you genuinely concerned about equitable access to programs? Take a look at the  enrollment  and  wait list report , and you may notice the number of students wait listed for access to Spectrum. These students have been denied access to the program due to an element in the student assignment process. Unlike before, there are no seats in these buildings reserved for Spectrum students. Before they can gain access to the Spectrum program within the school, they have to first gain access to the school. If the student does not live in the school's attendance area, then there is little real opportunity for the student to be granted assignment to the school, and, therefore, they are shut out of access to Spectrum. The solution would be for the schools designated as Spectrum sites to set aside seats for the program - as they used to do and as the District assured families that they would when the New Student Assignment Plan was introduced.

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 ...

Do you hear that Superintendent Banda and members of the School Board?  Enough well-meaning talk.  I myself have been through this now, with two children, and I truly despair (and that's the right word) that this district will ever get it right.  What's most distressing is that there has been a lot of talk and hand-wringing and paper shuffling and yet, the program is confusing, uneven and frankly, something of a joke. First, the director of the program, Bob Vaughan, has got to go.   I rarely advocate for anyone to go but honestly, this has gotten to the point of being ridiculous.    He is not sustaining this program in any real way and consistently passes the buck or obfuscates over the stagnation of the program.   The program has made some progress but overall, does not well-serve the majority of students in it. Let's start with the Curriculum & Instruction meeting yesterday where, ostensibly, they were discussing Policy 2190 which outli...