Seattle Schools Community Forum

Directors Patu and Peters are offering a motion tomorrow night at their Board meeting to suspend Smarter Balanced testing. I support this motion if only for discussion purposes. I absolutely concur that on a technical level, I do not believe most third-graders are ready for this kind of testing on a computer.  I think it has a degree of motor skill AND computer skills that many third-graders are unlikely to have.  And, if your household does not have a computer, even more so. It's tentative because they have to get four votes to support it going forward to committee and then coming back to the full Board for a vote. * PLEASE, write to the Board and ask that they vote for this motion if ONLY to have a real discussion.  Please put SBAC in your subject line.

Director Peters sent me these updates and I thought I would pass them along: At the Nov. 19 School Board meeting, noting that the John Hay community members in attendance did not have the opportunity to give public commentary (the roster was already full), I addressed the topic during my Director's Comments and acknowledged that the district needs to do a better job at communication. I also stated that the district has an obligation to meet the academic, emotional and safety needs of all 52,000 of our students. (I note there that at the last Board meeting one director - I believe it was Peaslee - said she wished that people who came to testify (whether they did so or not) would stay for Board comments as often members DO weigh in on issues.) Also , she will attending Wednesday community meeting on Interagency at John Hay Elementary. Here's her letter to those who wrote to her on that topic:

A couple of readers asked about some people and organizations that they feel have been perhaps too quiet.

I attended the Oath of Office ceremony this afternoon for our two new and one returning Board members.  It had all the usual trappings; family, supporters and a fair number of staff.  There were speeches (mercifully brief) but, from talking to others, there is one person who stood out to many of us. I think I'll write this thread as straight as I can and you can be the judge of what stands out.  (I saw some readers so they can let you know if I get it mostly right.) Vice-President Peaslee (now the top person in leadership given President Smith-Blum is gone) welcomed everyone.  She almost got ahead of herself by having Sue Peters come up but remembered that Superintendent Banda was to say a few words.  He mentioned that he himself had served on a Board and is often asked how it is to work with a 7-person Board.  He said that he sometimes wonders if it's a trick question.  He said it was very much like being in a large family. Then Sue Peters ca...

I print  that title because I just read the Parent Map editorial about the School Board races. It's a race that should be viewed as  a bellwether for the future of the national debate about public education. That's a big statement but the editorial goes on to note the concern over: big money in a school board campaign negative campaigning Dale Estey, who claimed not to be aware of or in control of some of her campaign P.R. machinery, also admitted to me on Election Night that such tactics are a calculated risk. She said experts had told her that the gains from negative publicity far outstrip the losses. This blind faith in "experts" contradicts the image Dale Estey sought to portray, that of a homegrown girl in touch with the concerns of Seattle families. Had she listened to  the people whose doorbells she rang,  instead of experts, and followed her own instincts, she might have understood early on that negativity was a problem, especially when n...

Honestly, I don't get it.  Why is Suzanne Dale Estey running such a negative campaign?  A new mailer has come out has come out that tops them all.  (Apparently, some people have received this but, if they sent it citywide, some of you may not see it until Monday or Tuesday.) It is a flyer that uses an illustration created FOR No on 1240.  It very clearly has a sticker with No on 1240 and says it across the bottom of the piece. Dale Estey's campaign knew this when they created it.  (My campaign did not create this illustration nor did the teachers' union campaign.  It was created by one person who wanted to express their opinion.  Dora Taylor, Sue's co-writer, put it up at the Seattle Education Blog for others to see during the 1240 campaign.)   The title Dale Estey's campaign uses  is “Evil Doers” and looks like something straight out of the National Enquirer. Below you will find the original illustration.    h...

Looked like the word "boobies" will be used in a Supreme Court case over two girls, who in 2010 were then 12 and 13, who were trying to raise awareness for breast cancer.  They violated their school's ban on bracelets and wore pink bracelets that said, "I heart Boobies!"  A lower court said the district didn't prove the bracelets had disrupted learning.   The district won't back down and has hinted it will take it all the way to the high court.  (What's interesting is that the district sees this as interfering with their right to make policies about discipline versus the girls' belief in free speech.) A new website about Native Americans called - what else - Native American News .  Has news from around the country on a variety of topics including public education. The Times got off a nice little shot of support for their favored School Board candidate in District IV.  They had yet (another) editorial about PTAs sharing fundraising dollars.  I...

I have consistently stated that Suzanne Dale Estey appears to have a great resume.  She seems to have broad policy experience at different levels of government.  But, based on attendance at and viewing of some videotapes of various campaign events, I realized that she has this tendency to embellish what her resume says she did.  So I decided to check some of what is on her resume AND what she has been saying at campaign stops.  Here's what I found: Working for Governor Locke Here's what her campaign website says: Federal Legislative Analyst for Washington State Governor Gary Locke Her LinkedIn resume goes further: Federal Legislative Analyst Washington, DC Office of the Governor of Washington State 1998 – 1998 (less than a year)Washington, DC Monitored Congressional legislation and federal agency activities on behalf of the Governor and the State of Washington. Worked with Congressional staff, White House and federal agency officials, national associati...

Following up on my analysis/thoughts on the Peters/Dale Estey race in District IV, I had promised a thread on this issue of so-called School Board "dysfunction ." As I have pointed out, in the Board evaluation, not a SINGLE member of the Board called the Board dysfunctional.  One Board member said if they didn't trust each other more, they would become "the poster child for a dysfunctional Board."  That's far from saying that they are.  (One senior staff member did call them dysfunctional.) Now if you read the whole evaluation, you can see there are issues.  No denying that.  BUT, what the Times and Dale Estey and all these people leave out are all the pages of comments - by both the Board and senior management - about the good things said about the Board as people and as Board members. Also, as previous reported, the Board voted in unison or 6-1 about 98% of the time.  That's not a dysfunctional Board.   This lack of balance in the election ...

In some ways, it's been a disappointing School Board election season.  With no challenger for Betty Patu and no real challenger for Stephan Blanford, neither have really been heard from.  For whatever reason, more forums have only featured Suzanne Dale Estey and Sue Peters.  This is something of a disservice to voters because, while I like Betty Patu, I think anyone running to retain their seat should be questioned.  Ditto on any new candidate like Blanford. But to the marquee race that is Peters versus Dale Estey.   Money : Dale Estey's own campaign has raised a little over $124k (spent $70k). Peters' campaign has raised  just under $31k (spent $13k). PAC for Dale Estey's campaign (Great Seattle Schools) - $102k (spent $52k). Blanford's campaign has raised just under $31k (spent $22k). So Dale Estey's supporters have raised about $226k.  There has NEVER been that kind of money raised before in the history of Seattle School Board elections. ...

Here's a link to the SE Chamber of Commerce event in early October.  Note: the lighting was harsh and does not flatter either candidate.  The video is also a little low. The first question seems to have gotten cut off - it was something to the effect of how many SE schools each candidate has visited. Also, the City Inside/Out show had a panel interview about Seattle schools and the races.  The panel included Lynne Varner of the Times, President Kay Smith-Blum, Tre Maxie of Powerful Schools and Phil Gore, the head of Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA). Notable quotes from the City Inside/Out show: - Smith-Blum noted that the Board evaluation NEVER said that the Board called itself "dysfunctional."  She said there were some trust issues but that they had voted 98% in unison or near unison. - Mr. Gore chimed in that 4-3 votes can be a sign of problems but that the Seattle School Board's voting record doesn't show that happening much. -...

That's not my title - that's KUOW's for Ann Dornfeld very good piece on the one contested school board race - Sue Peters and Suzanne Dale Estey in District IV. Seattle school board candidate Suzanne Dale Estey and her supporters are poised to raise more money than any other school board candidate in state history – even though a Washington state law passed last year put a cap on campaign contributions in school board races. There’s a catch: Although campaign contributions are capped, donors can give to political action committees that support the board candidates. That has raised questions about whether a handful of rich donors could sway the school board races this year. How much money: The Great Seattle Schools PAC is not the first in the state to fund school board races. But it is the most flush. Campaign finance records show that t he PAC has brought in $100,405 so far. Almost all of the money raised came from just a few people, including retired M...

Ballots are to drop on Wednesday the 16th and I have two questions: 1) Is politics like love and war - all is fair in order to win?  As we are discovering about privacy, everyone has a different tolerance for what they believe is right/allowable.  2) Is a candidate defined by their supporters?  Because this seems to be a sore point with the Peters/Dale Estey campaigns. Is it envy on the part of Peters because Dale Estey is so well-funded and has paid campaign strategists and a paid treasurer and and manager?  Dale Estey's campaign will surely go down as the highest collecting/spending School Board campaign in the history of Seattle.  Fifty people (out of her touted 500+ contributors) gave more than 50% of the money her campaign has  (the majority of them being lawyers, CEOs, managing partners or someone married to them with a couple of billionaires thrown in there for good measure).  I could see someone being envious of that kind of firepower. ...

Contract talks march on.  Diane Ravitch endorses Sue Peters for School Board. Addicted to your computer (or is your child)?  Here's an article from the NY Times with a couple of book suggestions. Speaking of algebra, I came across this website recently - The Algebra Project .  What's on your mind?

In advanced of tonight's School Board meeting , a few updates: - packed speakers list.    Unfortunately, Mr. Garrett, who is one of the leaders of the groups at the Horace Mann building, is on the list.  He generally is not the most graceful and tactful of speakers so I expect that to be an unpleasant two minutes. As well, there are plenty of TFA people, including three of the four new ones up for conditional certification, on the speakers list.  This baffles me (as it has in the past).  Are they speaking to do a pep talk to the Board about themselves?  And, their fearless Seattle leader is speaking as well.  Unless charters come on-line soon (and I don't see this happening), TFA is going to be in trouble.  They are still running the UW program in the red as their numbers stagnate.  Most districts just don't seem interested.  And, with the new Seattle Teacher Residency program, I wonder how both UW and SPS can afford to invest in...

The Times (finally) wrote a story about the misleading flyer put out by supporters of Suzanne Estey.  That, in fact, it was the Chamber of Commerce PAC (CASE) plus a couple of wealthy guys, Don Larson and Matt Griffin )who have created their own PAC in support of Estey called Great Seattle Schools) who paid for it.  (Griffin and Larson have also given the full $1800 each that they are legally able to for Estey's campaign.)   The Times' original headline yesterday was "Independent group enters school board campaign with negative ad."   It had quotes from both Peters and Estey.  Interestingly, it states that Estey "agrees with the ad's main message, although she has mixed feelings about its negative approach." The Times then promptly tells just one side of her "mixed feelings" but not the other.  Estey, didn't disavow the wording used saying, "I'm not going to illegally try to inhibit their freedom of speech."  That...

Here's the link to the flyer that was apparently mailed to homes in District IV.    It is troubling for several reasons. One, it does not have all the candidates in the race - it leaves out Dean McColgan.  This is a signal that Estey's supporters don't consider him an issue or consider Sue Peters, her opponent, a real threat. Two, it tries to look like an apples to apples comparison but conveniently leaves out details that might make it look balanced.  For example, it leaves out that Sue Peters also has a Master's (in journalism from Stanford) and has been a journalist (not just the dreaded "blogger"). It grossly overdoes it when comparing supporters, showing only a poor Times quote about the majority of the Board (who support Peters) and not even putting their names.  Peters is also endorsed by many more Dems groups and other media/entities. I have not seen or heard Sue Peters say that her priority as a director is to "Get the Bill & Melinda ...

The 34th District Democrats (West Seattle, Vashon, Burien) held their endorsement meeting last night and I was there. It was very revealing.