Seattle Schools Community Forum

The Board work session on Wednesday had three components; a discussion about distribution services (very straightforward stuff), a 15-minute update on "Interrelated Initiatives for 2016-2107" and Advanced Learning.

To save you some time, there was virtually no talk about any changes to the overall program. Spectrum was not even mentioned.  Whatever is to become of AL programs is something that Teaching and Learning is choosing to keep a mystery. What was interesting is that Director Burke, who chaired the meeting, had people write down questions (even the audience, though none of our cards got read but we handed them in.) There was a huge group of SPS staff there including Stephen Nielsen, Clover Codd, head of AL Stephen Martin, and all the Board members. Shauna Heath lead the discussion which I found interesting given the presence of Mr. Martin who spoke very little.  She did say that HC was "big" part of her department.  They say they are dedicated to "everyone who wants to get in, gets in." Highlights:

A very wonderful letter from a mom with a special needs child after "social skills" training in her child's school that forgot that there are many types of people in the world that we should all be kind to and show respect for.  In case you didn't know, as of Feb. 2, 2016, OSPI reports that there are 35, 511 homeless students in Washington State.  That's 3.3% of the P-12 population.  It's an over 9% increase from 2013-2014 and a 62.7% increase from 2009-2010. 

My e-mail to the Board (via the schoolboard@seattleschools.org which means I sent it to senior management as well):

Update: another parent wrote AL and asked this question about taking the SBAC or MAP as a requirement: "And what if a parent has opted their students out of those tests?" AL: I believe that this year only, we will offer achievement testing to students who do not have district administered achievement scores but have CogAT scores in the qualifying range. It is my understanding that in the future, opting out of district achievement testing may constitute opting out of Advanced Learning.  

I wanted to also update you on all the items discussed at the Curriculum&Instruction Committee meeting on Monday.  The agenda was jam-packed and Director McLaren did an admirable job keeping it moving.  Sadly, though, it meant truncated discussions.  (Note; this will not be inclusive of all items on the agenda.) Director Blanford, who is Chair of the committee, was absent so Director McLaren filled in with Director Peters also there as the third member of the committee.  I also noted that Rick Burke, Jill Geary and Leslie Harris, newly elected members of the Board, were also in attendance.

The APP Advisory Group will have its first meeting of the year next Tuesday, October 6   at the library of Washington Middle School,  6:30-8:00 pm. Our agenda will include an Advanced Learning report from Stephen Martin, who heads up Advanced Learning Programs for SPS, and an overview of topics for the year ahead. To join the Advisory Committee's email list serve (and to see previous posted emails) go to  https://groups.google.com/d/forum/sps-hcs-ac  and click the Join Group button. You can use that link for removals too.  If that link doesn't work for you, you can email the groups communications Director at  add2hcsemails@gmail.com  and they will get you set up or removed. Two stories were on NPR this morning on what they call "gifted and talented" education.  They pretty much mirror what we see here in Seattle Schools.

SPS put out a press release about Advanced Learning and testing.  The Board is due to vote on acceptance of the latest AL plan to OSPI at the Board meeting tomorrow night (and it's not even being discussed - it's on the Consent Agenda). After you read this thread, my recommendation if you are an AL parent or prospective parent, is to send an e-mail to your own director (or all of them or really just Director Peters who seems to listen on a regular basis) and ask that this item be REMOVED from the Consent Agenda.  That will put it on the path to being actively discussed. Write to: SPSdirectors@seattleschools.org Reader Lynn has been reading and asking questions and it seems that Advanced Learning will be changing policy almost at will (and without much notification to parents).  From AL: Now that we have formal Superintendent Procedures it will be necessary to update them periodically as do most other programs and services. The current 2190SP was presented to C...

The agenda is up for the Curriculum&Instruction Meeting on Monday at JSCEE from 4:30-6:30 pm. At the bottom of the agenda, there is a note explaining that due to the new website, they can't attach links and so the documentation for the agenda items is contained in the agenda link.  Among the topics:

As we all know, trying to understand how gifted education in SPS is presented is a losing proposition.  The District has this three-tier system that, on paper, looks somewhat orderly.  But, brush off the cobwebs on this old plan, and you find that:

Two items have come up that only solidify my belief that the district has a very odd relationship with principals.  I say odd because there is no real way of knowing what the district will tighten the screws on and what they will completely look the other way on. One key issue is WHY principals make some of the decisions that they do and where they get the stated support for some decisions.   Principals say "their community" wants something and yet sometimes the PTA doesn't even know what is happening.  I have found that principals are people with their own philosophies and beliefs about education.  The problem is that a school can have a district program in them as well as a stated focus for the school.  I find it vexing that a new principal can come in and almost sweep all that away.   You can have parents, on the ground at their schools, telling Ex. Directors and others, "this is happening at my school" and the district will ignore it or shrug. I...

Why, what it is, how to make it work and methods of implementing it.  A reader requested this thread. Two items to note.  Most of the searches on inclusion and education are around Sped students.  But yes, there is a whole subset of research on inclusion and gifted education.  I found a very good article about inclusion and gifted education that could be a the blueprint for going forward in SPS.  But SPS has not revealed what they are doing or why so it's hard to know if there is planned change for HC or just change. Let's start the discussion .

Some topics of interest in the Friday Memo from the Superintendent and senior staff:

Thanks to reader Lynn who found out that yes, the SBAC scores will be used to find the students who can apply for highly capable programs. You have to ask yourself a couple of questions: - when was this going to be announced? - why is the district, once again, using a test that is not created to be a gatekeeper as a gatekeeper test? From the head of testing, Eric Anderson: On using Smarter Balanced Assessment Data

The Times has a fairly silly article (really, an op-ed because there's a lot of "I heard" and conjecture in it) about HCC.  I'm not even going to link it but it's there if you want to go see it. I saw these items of interest at the district's website.

Interesting notations in the March 12, 2015 update to Superintendent Nyland from OSPI on the Consolidated Program Review 2014-2015 .  This report includes " commendations, technical assistance, noncompliant items and actions required." The district has 45 calendar days which makes their follow-up date April 27th. Among these notations:

The Senate GOP put out its budget and it's not good.  As if to not only sneer at 1351 (they have been saying all along they had no money to enact this voter-approved measure to lower class sizes), they actually increase class size.

I note that the district's home page has a prominent section on the upcoming Open Enrollment period that starts on Monday, Feb. 23rd.  It lasts until Friday, March 6th.  This period is to request "a school or program outside" of your regular assignment. As a general rule, your student is assigned to the same school he or she is attending now. In the case of students moving up to middle or high school, students will be automatically assigned to their neighborhood school. You will be able to confirm your student's school assignment via the Assignment Look-Up Tool after Feb. 23 or by calling our automated phone system at (206) 252-0212. If you would like to change your current or assigned school for the 2015-16 school year, get detailed Open Enrollment instructions at bit.ly/Apply-OpenEnrollment or by contacting the Admissions office at (206) 252-0760. School Choice forms will be available when Open Enrollment begins on on Feb. 23. If you request a different schoo...

Looks like the Highly Capable item on tonight's Board agenda has an updated superintendent procedure draft. The most interesting part is this: Identification A Multidisciplinary Selection Committee reviews each candidate's test scores and Teacher/Educator Rating Scales to determine eligibility. SPS ’s established eligibility thresholds are not absolute qualifiers or disqualifiers; teacher input is also an important consideration. In order to provide equitable opportunities for all students and to uphold the intent of WAC language regarding protected classes [WAC 392-170-035], the MSC will give special consideration to and assess the impact of the following factors: cultural diversity, SES, linguistic background, and identified disability. In the field of gifted education, students who are both gifted and disabled are considered twice-exceptional learners. Seattle Public Schools' ...

Monday, November 17th  College Application Event , 2:20 PM - 5:30 PM at Franklin High School. State of the District Speech at Group Health headquarters from 4:30-6 pm (with a wine reception to follow the presentation).  RSVP only.  Put on by the Alliance for Education (although, oddly, no mention of it at their own website).  Tuesday, November 18th State of the District speech at  JSCEE at 4 pm.  It is a 20-minute presentation that will be broadcast live streaming and on Channel 26.  I don't think there will be a wine reception. I think of the two dueling speeches (and their location/format) as the Snobs versus the Slobs. (No disrespect to anyone but when a state of the district speech - the first one, the main one - is not at district headquarters, you have to wonder.) Work Session DistrictScorecard/Operations Data Dashboard from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm.  Presentation  There are quite a few interesting stats in here but I may write...