Seattle Schools Community Forum

Check my "Dude, Seriously?" thread for updates on McCleary .  I find it astonishing that legislators think somehow it would reflect worse on the Court to promise to shut down schools if McCleary isn't fulfilled by the start of school year 2017-2018 than the legislature.  And, that the action would be so distasteful to the legislature that they would actually entertain the idea of NOT getting the work done so as to make it look like it's the Court's fault. The fault lies entirely on the seemingly touchy shoulders of the legislature.

Common sense writing on teachers, testing and public education from an unlikely source in the New Yorker - noted film critic, David Denby .  (Yes, the ed reform blogs have not been happy.) Another of-note writer on education is Erika Christakis whose new book, The Importance of Being Little , asks for more play for younger students.  This via NPR: That's because, she writes, "the distinction between early education and official school seems to be disappearing." If kindergarten is the new first grade , Christakis argues, preschool is quickly becoming the new kindergarten. And that is "a real threat to our society's future."   Chronic absenteeism is an issue in many districts and it was just announced that Seattle would be one of 10 districts under a new effort by the White House and the Department of Ed to address this problem.  Nationwide, between 5-7 million kids a year are chronically absent each school year.  The Times reports that in Washington S...