Seattle Schools Community Forum

Via Survey Monkey, the WSPTA is looking for input on these issues.  Of course, considering they got rid of the legislative lobbyist post, we'll have to see if they are any more effective without a point person in Olympia.  Survey closes on September 30, 2013.

Over at Diane Ravitch's blog, there was a discussion about the national PTA and links to the Gates Foundation (and maybe that is why the PTA showed Waiting for Superman" at their national convention in 2011.)  I mentioned our state PTA and its ties to McDonald's and Diane put it up . Turns out that the National PTA received a grant in Feb. 2013 from the GE Foundation to further the PTA efforts for Common Core. Here's what the national PTA president had to say:   "As the largest child advocacy organization in the country, National PTA has played a leading role in educating families and communities about the Common Core State Standards for years, creating a groundswell of support for this historic reform," said Betsy Landers, National PTA President. "The need for creating awareness of the standards remains a high priority. We believe that new resources focused on assessments and accountability systems must be included in the public dialogue to ensur...

A bit of a roundup of PTA news.  (Please keep in mind that I am a long-time PTA parent.  I think, on paper, PTA is a good thing but it doesn't always play out the way you might hope in practice.) First up from the Washington State PTA , news from their upcoming convention.  You may recall that they have teamed up with McDonald's for sponsorship of the convention.   I recall that, at the time, it seemed like an odd pairing given the childhood obesity rates in this country and the food that McDonald's serves.  But The WSPTA offered a spirited defensive saying McDonald's was making an effort to provide better choices to parents.  That may be true but it doesn't make McDonald's fast-food into health food. Now I see that in their PTA convention materials that not only will McDonald's have a presence at the convention, they actually will be presenting at the convention.  Their "director of nutrition" has a spot in the convention lineup of speakers. ...

The Washington State PTA will consider 18 proposals at the Legislative Assembly on October 19 and 20 at the SeaTac Marriott Hotel. From the WSPTA: WSPTA’s ADVOCACY PROGRAM: Each fall, Washington State PTA votes on a priority platform; this then guides our legislative advocacy in the state. The process started last June when members submitted 20-some proposals for consideration. Some were merged, others reworked. In July, the legislative committee reviewed and forwarded to the board of directors those that align with PTA’s body of positions and that advance our work on behalf of all children. Last night, the board made its final decisions; in all, it will forward 18 issues for delegates to consider Oct. 19 and 20 at WSPTA’s annual Legislative Assembly. This year we are starting a new 2-year cycle with all-new issues. Delegates will first vote on whether to place an issue on the platform; then delegates will vote on a Top 5. More staff time and resources go to Top 5 priorities....

PTA used to be the wholesome, all-American group.  Parents and teachers united in schools across the country to create better communities of learning and fellowship for children and adults. Now, I don't know what is happening. First, the National PTA just revised its rules on charter schools.  It's astonishing and also troubling.   While their previous policy supported the idea of charters as long as they had parent engagement AND local oversight, the new policy (from Ed Week): .. .supports giving entities other than local school boards the right to approve charter schools, a new position the group argues will increase its ability to shape policy within the diverse and growing sector of independent public schools. What they don't seem to get is that by losing local control, the PTA WILL lose the ability to shape policy.   And why would PTA be welcome in charters?  Parents don't have a real role in most charters - you can see this by how ...

A new editorial from the Seattle Times encourages the Washington State PTA to reconsider their opposition to initiative I-1240,  State PTA should rethink opposition to charter-school initiative . It is ironic for the Times to ask the PTA to think twice about it because the Times has yet to think even once about it. The WSPTA's opposition to the initiative is thoughtful, nuanced, supported by facts, and aligned with their principles. The Seattle Times' support for the initiative is reflexive, in denial about the facts, and completely without principle. The Times is getting skewered in the comments, but I don't know if many folks read the comments. They sure aren't read by the folks who read the print edition. When will the Seattle Times have an open discussion of education issues? Never.

The Seattle Times had an update to its news that the Washington State PTSA reviewed I-1240 and, despite their past support for charters, stated it was opposed to I-1240.  (Note: Ramona Hattendorf, WA State PTSA, let me know that they are not going to actively campaign against the measure but do not support it.) Apparently Stand for Children thinks that the folks at the WSPTSA can't read. Shannon Campion, a spokesman for the initiative, said she was surprised by the PTA’s decision. “We respectfully disagree with the PTA board’s position and view it as essentially a misreading because of the strong parent involvement in this initiative,” Campion said. Really?  Because: - the word parent is in there 16 times and only once used as a suggestion for charters to include parent engagement in their proposals (not that they have to nor that it will be enforced) - parents get two things in this charter initiative.  One, the ability to flip ANY existing school, failing...

The Washington State PTA met over the last two days and put forth their stands on various issues.  From their press release: Nationally, PTA has conditional support for these independent schools, and the state association has twice backed the concept in the past year. But ultimately the board decided this initiative didn’t meet its criteria for local oversight. “This wasn’t a decision about the value of charter schools. This was a decision about whether this initiative met our criteria,” said Washington State PTA president Novella Fraser.  The decision was made during a board meeting preceding the association’s annual Leadership Conference, being held this weekend at Western Washington University. Fostering strong community connections to schools is a core principle of PTA.  The board decided the ballot measure did not have sufficient protection in place to ensure maximum citizen involvement and oversight in local schools. (bold mine) I applaud t...