Seattle Schools Community Forum

 Update: where's this story at Crosscut?  My link still works but somehow - after just one day - the story has disappeared from Crosscut's main page.  There are many older stories still there.  Hmmm. End of update. Over at Crosscut, the director of the (mostly)charter think tank that is the Center on Reinventing Public Education, Robin Lake, weighs in on customer service at SPS. She doesn't directly reference the program she is writing about (why, I don't know) but she's talking about Advanced Learning.  Her funniest line? These are minor inconveniences, though, compared to the flippant way the system responds — or doesn’t — to students’ special needs. No matter how evident it is that your child’s situation merits individual consideration, your inquiries are met by maddening emails that repeat the policy and assert that there are no exceptions. "Your child's situation merits individual consideration.."   My answer to that was: "Y...

 From two area PTSAs: We are proud to announce the Seattle Council PTSA Board and Northshore Council PTSA Board, which represents the PTA's in Woodinville, Bothell and Kenmore, have endorsed I-594. Join these parents and teachers to help make our schools and state safer for Washington families by endorsing 594 today: http://bit.ly/1hbXVd6 This is the measure for background checks for guns.   So I was pretty surprised yesterday that both Banda and Herndon stayed so long at the Cascade meeting give there was the Board Work Session on the Budget at 4 p.m.  (they left around 3:45 p.m.)  Naturally, I did not attend but if anyone else did weigh in, please.

After the flurry of activity around charter approval/denial last week by the Charter Commission, let's take a step back. First, a great piece of work by Professor Wayne Au, at UW's education program in Bothell, and Joseph J. Ferrare, a researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UWisconsin/Madison.  Valerie Strauss covered it at her blog at the Washington Post, The Answer Sheet.  The PDC chart about who funded Yes on 1240 pretty much says it all. From The Answer Sheet: Washington state voters who had  rejected  the opening of  public charter schools   in 1996, 2000 and 2004,  passed the ballot initiative in November 2012 by about 1 percentage point after some billionaires and their foundations donated a total of more than $10 million to support it. Gates donated more than $3 million. The researchers found that of the  $10.9 million raised for the Yes On 1240 campaign, $10.65 million  of it, or almost 98 p...

Trying to keep up; details to come. Also to note; the Times has not had one piece of news on this.  Again, quite strange. Seventh application - First Place - an existing K-5 school for students with trauma, approved 8-0. Eighth application - Green Dot - approved 7-0 with one abstaining vote Ninth application - King County Academy - denied 8-0 Tenth application - Out of the Box - denied 8-0  Eleventh application - Pioneer School - denied 7-0, one abstaining vote Twelfth application - Rainier Prep - approved 8-0  Thirteenth application - SOAR Academy - approved 8-0 - first vote to go against evaluators recommendation to deny.   Commissioner Dziko fought hard for this one and it came in with a condition to redo a budget with some vagueness and seemingly high number of adminstrators. Fourteenth application - Sports in Schools, coming up

First application - CAL Elementary - is denied, 8-0.  Commissioners cited the evaluators' "deny" and noted not financially ready with little community support/input. Second application - Cedar River - is denied, 8-0.  Third application - Coral Academy of Science - the probable Gulen-based charter - is denied, 8-0. Cyndi Willams, Commissioner said it was a good application but not wide-ranging for a 10-year existing school group and that the Commission had made a real decision with charter applications with groups with prior models to look at their outcomes for evidence.  They also left out Title I dollars in finances and that showed a "real lack of knowledge." Steve Sundquist said that the group could be Gulen and it was something they could look into in the future. Fourth application - Evergreen Academy - denied 8-0. Fifth application - Excel - is first Charter Commission approved charter application but with a 6-2 vote .  Extensive discussion over...

Starting out a bit disorganized with several people lost.  But meeting appears to be starting on-time. Eight members of the CC are present (Doreen Cato has a health issue and is not going to be here - what that might mean for any given charter is unknown). President Steve Sundquist says law makes this process  "complicated."   If denial, must have reasons. If approved, attach any "conditions"  (if any). Make resolution to pass each itemand all work done in public. Public Comment Again, with this lottery process to speak.   I still think it is wrong because it allows some charters to be heard and some not to be heard.  As well, you get nothing from the public. Sunnyside Academy, that narrowly missed the "approved" cut, is pleading their case to be approved with conditions.  (Their financials were not up to par.)  They say they can narrow their enrollment numbers so that can raise the funds.  They had 2 speakers. SOAR is pleading...

 Update: First, still nothing about the charter applicants and the upcoming Charter Commission meeting.  Still odd. Second, there was an article this morning. about public school funding throughout the country that may give some insight into why our state legislature drags its feet on fully-funding education.  To whit: nearly all states doubled or tripled the amount of money spent on public schools from 1970 to 2010; but the growth has been uneven But the biggest per student spending has been in nine states, with seven of those in the NE Seven of ten states with the least growth in spending are - you guessed - in the West and yes, Washington State is one of them. Despite what Washington Policy Center wants to tell you (they regularly say that the average WA State student spending is about $12k), according to Ed Week, Washington State spending is about $9,497 (adjusted for inflation from the 1969-70 rate of $4,794).    The top six states spend ab...

 Updates: It seems there are three Charter Commission members with conflict of interest issues with charter applicants.  Two seem simple and one is quite problematic. Trish Millines Dziko is in a leadership program with the founder of Summit.  That one is a big of a tough call to make because the relationship could be either just professional or just collegial but if not financial, I think she could vote.  On the other hand, if she's in their their program, she probably supports how they operate. Chris Martin has some personal friendship with the founder of Pioneer.  I would say straight-up, no voting on that one. The last one is that Larry Wright has taken a position with a non-profit funded by the Gates Foundation.  Not only do I think he would have to recuse himself on several applications, he probably should step down as a Commissioner.  Why? 1) Bill Gates funded most of I-1240. 2) The Gates Foundation is the primary funder of the Washin...

Items of interest: - the Charter Commission is going to have a phone-in meeting tomorrow, the 28th from 9 am to 10 am.  The agenda vaguely says " discussion of resolution process" and "bills currently under consideration."  Dial-in number is 800-245-9874, Access code 7784207. - the Charter Commission will have a regular meeting this Thursday the 29th, in Seattle, from 8:30 am to 5:50 pm at TAF Headquarters, Bethaday Community Learning Space, 605 SW 108th St.  Agenda This should be quite the meeting as the Commission will be announcing what charter applications have been approved (if any).  They seem to be expecting a crowded meeting as they will be putting in speaker spots by lottery (after sign-in).  (I'll have more to say about this public speaking process when I cover the charter applicant forums I attended.)

Monday, Jan. 13th Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee meeting from 4:30-6:30 pm. Agenda Discussion of Policy 3130, student assignment, Policy 2415, high school graduation requirement, CTE review, Equitable Access Annual report, math adoption progress report I will be unable to attend this meeting but it does look interesting. Charter Commission Charter Applicant Forum Starting at 5 pm for Washington STEM academy, 6 pm for CAL Elementary and 7 pm for Sports in Schools Team Charter.  All are to be held at South Seattle Community College, Building C, Room C122.  Public comments accepted with sign-in at the meeting and a lottery to pick speakers if there are more than there is time to hear from. Wednesday, Jan. 15th 2-hour early dismissal for professional development Work Session: Board Code of Conduct from 4-5:30 pm This was discussed at the Board retreat and I see that they have captured ideas from various sources.  I hope they can get this done quick...

Here are some stories from around the country that will have more and more bearing on what we are doing in Washington State. From Ed Week, a top 12 list of stories from the past year.  The majority of them are about Common Core as the fight goes on.  Linked to Common Core (and you see this in story after story elsewhere) is student data privacy.  I also note the presence of a story on grading schools A-F which I predict will show up in this session of the Legislature. Here's one from Bill Moyers about the "Snowden Effect" or we could just call it the canary in the coal mine.  For some reason the media chooses to listen to established (or paid for by, establishment) groups.  There are a lot of people out there, including this blog, going into the dark corners looking around.  That we only have a flashlight and not a spotlight doesn't mean we are wrong.   These days, the establishment media all too often adopts an indifferent attitude tow...

Charter School Applicant Forums (via the very helpful Charter Commission staff) Applicant Date Time Location Pioneer School January 6 5:15-6:15pm Spokane Public School Administration Building, 200 N Bernard Spokane, WA 99201 Yakima Academy January 8 5:30-6:30pm Perry Technical Institute, 2011 W. Washington Ave. Yakima, WA 98903 Sunnyside Charter Academy January 8 6:30-7:30pm Evergreen Leadership Academy January  9 6-7pm Hoquiam High School: The Little Theatre, 201 W. Emerson, Hoquiam WA 98550 Washington STEM Academy January 13 5-6pm South Seattle Community College, 6737 Corson Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108, Building C, Room C122 CAL Elementary January 13 6-7pm Sports in Schools Team Charter January 13 7-8pm Coral Academy January 15 5:30-6:30pm Puget Sound Educational Service District, 800 Oakesdale Ave SW, Renton, WA 98057 Excel Public Charter...

More news rolls in for updating charter schools in Washington State. First, three Charter Commissioners have expiring terms and are up for re-appointment (apparently all three want to stay).  Commissioners Chris Martin, Margit McGuire and Kevin Jacka have expiring terms.  It's early to say who should stay and who should go but so far these three seem capable.  Margit McGuire is the most thoughtful of the these three and definitely should stay. The Commission welcomes public comments and asks that all comments be delivered to the Executive Director, Joshua Halsey, by January 11, 2014. Comments can be emailed or mailed to Director Halsey. Email: Joshua.halsey@charterschool.wa.gov  Mail: Joshua Halsey  Re: Commissioner Re-nomination  PO Box 40996 Olympia, WA 985004-0996    As well, public forums for each charter application are starting to be scheduled.  The first one I know of is next Wednesday, Jan...

I've been pacing myself to go through all the charter school applications.  At about 566 pages each, it's a long slog. But I can confirm that I see none of them - submitted to the Charter Commission - that are applying to be conversion schools.  What is somewhat troubling is that one of them - Pioneer School which currently exists as a private school - didn't even seem to understand the question.  Have they read the law?  It's unclear.  I also note the presence of several ex/current Microsoft or Gates Foundation employees in a couple of applications.  I was also quite surprised to see former Washington State legislator, Dawn Mason, on the application coming from the Gulen group.  I note that Gulen is in the news as their supporters in Turkey are presumed to be behind the effort to overthrow that country's secular government.  In the US, it runs one of the largest networks of charter schools – purportedly secular – with links to more...

From The News Tribune : The state Charter School Commission received 19 applications from 18 organizations hoping to launch the type of alternative public schools that already exists in most other states. Also Monday, teams of experts hired by the state commission will start poring over the extensive applications, which include details such as curriculum and instructional models, background information about school leaders and members of each school’s governing board, projected enrollments, plans for serving students with special needs and a school discipline policy. The commission plans to hold public forums in January, when charter applicants, parents and others can offer comments on the proposed charters. Dates and locations for those forums are to be discussed at Thursday’s commission meeting. Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/12/02/2925141/states-charter-school-applications.html#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013...

The Times continues its march towards becoming less of a newspaper and more of an mouthpiece for ed reform. Folks, I have personally heard from a number of Times' editors/writers who continue to claim that there is a solid wall between editorial and reporting.  That may be true in some areas but that is not true for education reporting especially on ed reform.  What do they do? - they lean the reporting towards ed reform, doing things like only getting a comment from an ed reform person and not anyone directed associated with the opposition.  This has happened several times. - they mislead readers (see Lynne Varner saying that the Washington State Charter Schools Association will "review" the charter applications which would lead the average reader to believe the WSCSA will be the ones picking the winners.  They aren't - it's the Washington State Charter Commission (and the lone district authorizer, Spokane) who will decide but Varner doesn't mention t...

I had posted a link to a 5-part series at the New York Times that followed a young girl and her homeless family living in NYC.  It is devastating reading. Mayor Bloomberg weighed in.  Now, he has the biggest city in the country to run and I absolutely don't expect everything to work well particularly for the poor if only because that's not the way of the world.  But a certain level of sanitation and safety, especially in shelters with babies and children, is a must.  He said nothing about the issues raised in the story about those problems. What he said was this: Mayor Bloomberg responds to the Dasani article in the New York Times: “It’s fair to say that New York City has done more than any city to help the homeless and we should be very proud of that,” declared the mayor, who went on to express optimism that the city’s public schools system would help Dasani break the cycle of poverty. “This kid was dealt a bad hand. I don’t know quite why. That’s just t...

In his recent thread on the outlines of what ed reform is pushing for, Charlie included this in a comment as another facet: Standardized Curriculum - Reformers push the idea of standardized curricula, not only across classrooms within a school, but across schools within a district, across districts within a state, and, with the Common Core, across all states in the country. Standardized Curricula leads directly to standardized instruction - teachers essentially working off a script and pacing guide and being judged on their "fidelity of implementation". This boils down to every classroom in the country being on page 56 on the same day. This includes the ideas of vertical and horizontal articulation. Not only does this rob teachers of their autonomy and thereby de-professionalize teaching, but it is antithetical to differentiated instruction and therefore it worsens education for students. This is the first step towards delivering teaching through some process o...

First, the Seattle Times continues to try to use smoke and mirrors on their readers on this issue. Their latest editorial's headline says "A charter schools victory at the state Supreme Court."  The reality?  It was a decision by a King County court (although, yes, it is very likely to head to the Supreme Court).  This, like Lynne Varner's statement in her opinion piece that it is the Gates' puppet charter group that will review charter applications, is a gross error that should be correct and yet, the Times is allowing both to stand. Very bad journalistic form and it points to their agenda in both reporting and editorializing. I also want to put in Charlie's very cogent statement on the ruling which is exactly how I read it as well (and, as he points out, has not been refuted by the state attorney general's office): Just to be completely clear, the judge specifically ruled that charter schools - when and if they are created - will not be com...

Let's review the Times coverage of the Washington charter school law this week. On the charter law court ruling, they manage to confuse readers with two different headlines but settled on one that makes it sound like it was upheld but " questions remain."    Then, they only quote the pro-charter side  (going to their go-to source, Lisa Macfarlane).   They do quote the plaintiffs' lawyer but that's not the same as going to sources who oppose charters (like some of the actual plaintiffs). Next comes Lynne Varner and other mistake-ridden education opinion along with her usual shot at the teachers' union. First, she hilariously says that Judge Rietschel's opinion is "antiquated" because it comes from our "constitutional framers."  (I'm guessing that she would never agree with Supreme Court justice Scalia who is a strict constitutionalist.)  The problem is that we have the Constitution that exists and until that is changed, she...