Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: read this blog thread below from Wait What and then appreciate that the Seattle School Board recently passed a resolution, 5-1 (with Director Blanford voting no and Director Geary not at the meeting), to ask the state to allow districts to be able to select/create an alternative summative assessment framework to show academic mastery.  (Their discussion is in Part Two of the video of the board meeting. Here's the cue-up from the Seattle Education blog .) end of update From the Wait What? blog by Connecticut writer, Jonanthan Pelto with Wendy Lecker, news that PARCC is not as advertised.   (bold his) In the most significant academic study to date, the answer appears to be that the PARCC version the massive and expensive test is that it is an utter failure. William Mathis, Managing Director of the National Education Policy Center and member of the Vermont State Board of Education, has just published an astonishing piece in the Washington Post. ( Alice in PA...

Here's a great website from the DOE, chock-full of good advice and information. Whether you’re a student or parent, years away from college or just about to start, the following checklists will help you get ready. Elementary School Checklist : Student and parent checklists that start the student on the road to enjoying learning and point the parent to resources for college savings accounts. Middle School Checklist : Student and parent checklists that get the student thinking about high school and possible careers and encourage the parent to keep an eye on the student’s progress. High School Checklist: Student and parent checklists that help the student focus on succeeding academically and learning about financial aid and provide the parent with tips for supporting the student and participating in the financial aid application process. 9th Grade Checklist 10th Grade Checklist 11th Grade Checklist 12th Grade Checklist

There are two interesting stories on education issues recently posted on Crosscut. One , by Kent Kammerer, questions the focus on K-12 education leading to the one path of college. The other , by Craig Parsley, is about innovators working under the radar to evade the bureaucracy in Seattle Public Schools.

As most of you may know, Linda Shaw is the education reporter for the Seattle Times. She and I have a good working relationship. She has had students in SPS so she knows the district from the parent's side of the lens. I asked her, during the break at the last Work Session, what had tipped her off to investigate the 17% college readiness claim for the Times' Truth Needle story. She just smiled and told me that the figure had never seemed right to her. That's one more person who, like Ramona Hattendorf of the SCPTSA and Michael DeBell, knew something was off. Both Michael and Ramona had asked and been told someone would get back to them and no one ever did. For months and then years. But it stuck in the back of a lot of people's minds and we are fortunate that Linda decided to follow-thru. She's a reporter and staff were not going to be able to shake her off. We complain her sometimes about the Times' work, both editorially and in their articles. Given so...

Ever notice in Seattle how quiet it gets when it snows especially within a neighborhood? Few cars and just the sound of your feet stomping through the snow? I really like that. But see, there's also another kind of quiet. The calm before the storm. I recognize this void, this lack of sound. I recognize this because, deja vu, I've been through it before. Does anyone remember Joseph Olchefske? He was full of hot air (although admittedly he could be charming). He had a Board that was wrapped around his little finger with the notable exception of Mary Bass. They were an upright Board, professionals and solid citizens. They didn't listen to Mary and even ostracized Mary on the Board. It was painful to watch but the powers that be just tisk-tisked about how Mary didn't "work" with the rest of the Board. And indeed, she voted no on Olchefske's last budget even though she couldn't quite explain what the problem was. (It was buried.) But i...

The district is presenting 3 College Readiness Workshops , 2 next week and 1 the week after. This is a great idea but I just saw this notice this week (and am now just getting around to posting it). I check the district website every day so I know this is recent. I'm glad they are doing this but a little more advance notice is always good. Tuesday, May 4th at Chief Sealth High School at the Boren School library Thursday, May 6th at Rainier Beach High School library Tuesday, May 11th at Ingraham High School Library All the meetings are from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Topics covered at all three workshops will include: Why your child should go to college • Job opportunities for college graduates • Annual earnings high school graduates vs. college graduates • Satisfaction and personal growth • New and exciting experiences How high schools prepare students for college: • College Path courses and Honors Courses • Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses • Grades and Attend...