Seattle Schools Community Forum

The back and forth in the comments section of a Seattle Times story about Teachers United got me thinking about the difference between Education Reform and education reform. I don't know if I have written this out before, but I feel a need to write it out now. The goals of many of the millionaire- and billionaire-funded Education Reform Organizations are focused on either reducing the cost of education (their taxes) or re-directing the money spent on education into their pockets. Improving opportunities or outcomes for students is not their real goal, it's only the rather transparent marketing they wrap around their actual intentions. These solutions are devised by people who don't have applicable experience in the classroom, don't have a real understanding of the work, and haven't considered the obvious unintended consequences of their proposals.

From SPS: Seattle Public Schools seeks members for School Family Partnerships Task force Seattle Public Schools is starting the process of revising the current School Family Partnerships District Plan. An important part of the review is to engage with our families, staff and community members and gather as much feedback as possible to help revise our school family partnerships efforts over the next three to five years. A key element to gathering feedback is the formation of a School Family Partnerships Stakeholder Task force . The task force, made up of approximately 40-50 people, will be a diverse group that includes families/guardians, teachers, principals, District staff, community members, city officials and university representatives. Task force members will offer feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the District’s School Family Partnerships Plan, give feedback on the vision, mission, and core beliefs of the District on School Family Partnerships, and make...

 Update:  I have received some new info - via the City - and either we have a case of Who's on First or SPS is not being forthcoming with all it knows about this student survey of teachers.  I have word that one school has been working on this - with Teachers United and possibly school staff as well as the Seattle Youth Commission - for almost two years.  I'll let you know all the details when I get them sorted out but I have to wonder whose survey it truly is going to be. End of update. I had a long conversation with Dr. Eric Anderson, head of Research, Evaluation and Assessment, who is in charge of the initiative for a separate student survey of teachers.  So let's get some basics out of the way: The survey has not been written but they will likely pivot off other student surveys out there (more on this below) Who will be part of this "work group" that will decide on the survey, which schools will pilot it and which students (grade level) will ta...

Update: I neglected to say - if my children were still in SPS, I would tell them to say no to any kind of survey about their teachers.  It is not required and frankly, there is too much leeway for kids to not understand the questions being asked and/or decide to muck about with phony or false answers.  If someone's job is on the line because of this, how much input should students impressions be given?   How would you feel if this were your job? End of update. Several weeks back I became aware that some Seattle PTAs were working with the district, students on the Seattle Youth Commission, SPS Research, Evaluation & Assessment and "teachers associated with Teachers United" on a student survey. To whit via McClure PTA: --The work is to conceive, define and implement a structured survey of students' perceptions of their teachers. - The objective of the surveys is to provide all teachers insight that can use to better inform their teaching practice for each...

 Update:  City Hall will be open to the public tomorrow from 10 am to 2 pm.  They will have performances (acrobats, dance crew) as well as food trucks and adoptable dogs/cats.  You can tour the Mayor's office as well as the City Council offices.  It's a fun activity for kids and you get a little face time with the Mayor and City Council members. The Times has a couple of interesting headlines.  One is a feature story about Governor Inslee stating that while he likes the concept of "grading" schools, he thinks it needs further study.  Apparently the Republicans had been counting on his early comments of support for the concept as support for their bill.  I talked to the Governor's office weeks ago and they very clearly told me he did NOT support Senate Bill 5328 and, in fact, were not happy that some media outlets were linking that support to the bill. I am pretty happy at his up-front stance because I don't believe a one-letter grade represen...

It isn't that hard to create the illusion of consensus where none exists. All you have to do it use multiple voices. The Gates Foundation has essentially pulled the same trick. Rather than speaking with a single voice, the voice of the Gates Foundation, it speaks as a chorus. Their message is carried by their proxies: the League of Education Voters, the Alliance for Education, the Our Schools Coalition, Stand for Children, Democrats for Education Reform, Washington STEM, A+ Washington, Excellent Schools Now, Partnership for Learning, Teachers United, Crosscut, the Washington State PTA, and more. They are all mouthpieces for the Gates Foundation, yet when they each speak it creates the illusion of a broad consensus, but it actually just one voice, multiplied. There are many finger puppets, but only one hand. So even if all of them speak it still counts as only one person, only one vote.

Linda Shaw's final article in the Seattle Times was printed this morning.   She writes about the various "education advocacy groups" that are heavily funded by Gates including League of Education Voters, the Partnership for Learning and Stand for Children.  From her article: Here at home, as well as nationally, the Seattle-based foundation is a powerful player in public education. It underwrites groups pushing for change, bankrolls projects and helps out-of-state organizations establish themselves here. With that backing, Washington state now has a broader, stronger group of voices clamoring to bring much of the national education reform agenda here. Some consider that progress, saying the foundation is helping bring Washington out of the backwater when it comes to education policy. But others disagree, saying the foundation's deep pockets buy more influence than it deserves.