Seattle Schools Community Forum

There was some interest in hearing more about this candidate (from the 46th) and his views on charter schools.  This is particularly important because he is one of Stand for Children's candidates and naturally, they generally only fund people who share their views.  (They are going after Senator Rosemary McAuliffe of the 1st Legislative district in an aggressive and harsh way.) The Maple Leaf Community Council had their candidate/issues forum last night. First up were Sylvester Cann and Gerry Pollet.  Gerry was quite clear from his opening remarks that he is against charters and particularly why he is against 1240.  Cann only spoke generally about education in his remarks but got asked, right out the gate, what is your stand on charters?  He said: - it wasn't an easy issue and "his favorite question this campaign) - "my official position is that I do not support charter schools" and that he was voting NO on 1240 (but didn't say exactly why) - h...

Stats from the latest KCTS-9 Washington Poll (via The Stranger Slog): Initiative 1240 – Charter Schools Yes 47.5% No 39.2% Undecided 13.3% That is a slight drop for Yes, a slight rise for No and a LOT of undecideds (which is pretty much what I see out there on the campaign trail).  There's a lot of pondering to be done between now and Election Day but I think Elway polling may be right - initiative support tends to drop as you get closer to it. Other initiatives: Referendum 74 – Marriage Equality Yes 56.3% No 35.6% Undecided 6.1% Initiative 502 – Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana Yes 50.9% No 40.8% Undecided 8.3% Initiative 1185 – 2/3 Majority to Raise Taxes Yes ...

In their usual no-nonsense manner, The Stranger laid out its opposition to 1240, pretty much calling it smoke and mirrors. If there were a single credible, independent, peer-reviewed study to suggest that charter schools do a better job of educating children than traditional public schools, we might drop our opposition to this measure. But there isn't. A widely cited Stanford University study finds that 17 percent of charters do substantially better, while 37 percent do substantially worse. Maybe it's our public-school education, but we don't like those odds. I-1240 would draw scarce funding from existing public schools, while handing control over these dollars from elected school boards to private boards. A petition signed in secret by a majority of a school's parents could initiate the conversion of your neighborhood school to a charter school, but there's no like provision to convert a charter school back to a public school. Charters are nominall...

Just a friendly reminder - the No On 1240 campaign is having a one-day Money Blast tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 11th . Clearly, we are not going to match the Yes side and their billionaire donors BUT Obama won on grassroots efforts and the No side can as well. Support is needed, big and small. The campaign has an angel donor who will match the first 50 $100 donors, dollar for dollar.  (Thanks!) More money - more outreach and education. If you want to fight this initiative, please consider donating at the No On 1240 website tomorrow.

Okay, those kids over at The Stranger found many gullible people including me.  It was all faked (although the education thread did sound plausible.  What is below is wrong (except for Washington State's SAT scores - that is true). ## Over at The Stranger Slog, they gave over several threads to the McKenna campaign to discuss various issues.  (This is incredibly generous of The Stranger and I give them full credit.) Here's his education thread entitled " A New Direction for Washington's Public Schools " wherein he recites tired ed reform phrases and yet says absolutely nothing specific about what he would do. He says this: At the same time, we cannot spend more money on existing public school programs that are underperforming without first reforming them . Washington is regarded nationally as an education reform backwater, coming in near the bottom in the President's Race to the Top competition, and only one of handful that does not...

One of the wider-ranging discussions of I-1240 tomorrow night is sponsored by the League of Women Voters.  They are having a number of events and this one features 1240, R-74 (marriage equality) and the tax initiative.  I will be the speaker against 1240 and Tim Ceis, the former deputy mayor of Seattle under Nickels will be representing the yes side. What is interesting is that the LWV has decided to devote nearly an hour to discussion of I-1240.  I was told that this is because it is a complex issue (and indeed it is).  So this should be interesting. It will be taped so it will be available for viewing as well (I'll put a link afterwards).   Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the discussion of I-1240 up first at 7 p.m. Seattle First Baptist Church 1111 Harvard Ave Seattle

From Publicola, a thoughtful op-ed from former Thurston County legislator, Brendan Williams, on why he opposes I-1240 and the creation of a charter school system.    He has some choice lines like: Our schools are inadequately funded because Washington has the most regressive tax system in the nation. I-1240 is no grassroots movement: Thurston County, where I live, has accounted for just $40 of its funding. How will charter schools not dilute soup that is already mere broth? In Oregon, districts are looking to save schools by converting public schools to charters, paid for with federal grants and exempt from many state and district regulations. That’s survival, not innovation. I-1240 is a social science experiment funded by the 1% that the 99% will ultimately pay for, and a distraction from real school funding issues. 

I would really love to go in-depth on this subject right now but I am running a state-wide campaign against I-1240 (so I have my hands full). However Facilities has always had a special place in my heart so I digress to put up this post.  Charlie has pointed out the numerous issues of the lack of clarity in this BEX.  Frankly, I'm not sure the district has a real plan.  Again, instead of long-range planning and forecasting (could they please just hire Kellie LaRue already), it's triage and putting out fires.  It is also the wages of sin.  And the biggest sin our district has is to put off what needs to get done.  They started pulling back on basic maintenance in the late '70s and never looked back.  The chickens have come home to roost, folks.  We also have quite a few elderly buildings (over 40-50 years old).  Those buildings are in constant need of repair and maintenance.  I think most of you and most taxpayers would be shock...

On Saturday, September 22nd, at their Fall meeting in Yakima, the Washington State Democratic Party unanimously passed a resolution OPPOSING Initiative 1240.  Out of nearly 500 delegates voting, not a single delegate from any county in our State voted to support 1240. The vote was 500 to ZERO to oppose Initiative 1240.  From the NY Times, an important story about the use of epi pens at schools. B ut school nurses in many districts face an agonizing choice if a child without a prescription develops a sudden reaction to an undiagnosed allergy. Should they inject epinephrine and risk losing their nursing license for dispensing it without a prescription, or call 911 and pray the paramedics arrive in time? A  study last year  in the journal Pediatrics found that about one in 13 children had a  food allergy , and nearly 40 percent of those with allergies had severe reactions.  A recent survey in Massachusetts, where schools are permitted to administer ep...

(End of day updates in red) Can you spot the difference? No On 1240 Washington State PTA League of Women Voters WASA - Washington Association of School Administrators WSSDA - Washington State School Directors Association Board Washington Education Association Japanese-American Citizens League Board Seattle-King County NAACP El Centro de la Raza Parents and Friends for Tacoma Public Schools Parents Across America - Seattle chapter Educational Service District 113  1st District Democrats  5th District Democrats 11th District Democrats 22nd District Democrats 32nd District Democrats 33rd District Democrats 34th District Democrats 36th District Democrats 37th District Democrats 41st District Democrats 43rd District Democrats 45th District Democrats 46th District Democrats 48th District Democrats King County Democrats Pierce County Democrats Citizens United for Responsible Education Minority Executive Directors Coalition Pierce County Y...

Yes, I believe there is. It's interesting because LEV and Stand for Children and DFER will all tell you Washington State is a backwater. We're "laggards" in education reform. You'd think we were Alabama or Louisiana. We're not. Let me start by saying - NO one is saying change doesn't need to happen or that we don't need to do better. No one. Moving on. I know that this admission that I believe change is happening might surprise some. (See Nina Shapiro over at Seattle Weekly and her article about me explaining how I do believe things are moving forward in Washington State.) How could I be such a big critic and yet say that things are changing? As I told Nina because education has become such a focal point, both statewide and nationally, there is no just viewing public education with blinders on only for our district. Those days are over. As well, in working on the No On 1240 campaign, I heard, "okay, I know what your campaign is against b...

So one reader, Rachel, had posted a link to an interesting article out of Philadelphia (from the parent blog, The Notebook) about a very exclusive charter where you can only pick up their application form one time a year and that's usually at their open house, held either at a private golf club or country club.   Interested families couldn't find Green Woods’ application online. They couldn't request a copy in the mail. In fact, they couldn't even pick up a copy at the school. Instead, Green Woods made its application available only one day each year. Even then, the application was only given to families who attended the school’s open house – which most recently has been held at a private golf club in the Philadelphia suburbs. Is this just an isolated incident there? But this spring, that very office found that Green Woods and 17 other charters seeking renewal imposed “significant barriers to entry” on families. Some, like Green Woods, went to extrao...

Good Friday to you and here's to a lovely weekend with the Blue Angels (thanks for protecting us boys despite the noise), the Olympics (a shout-out to my vertically-challenged peep, Gabby Douglas - you made us proud), and the weather (still not hot enough but I'm from Arizona).   An editorial over at the UW Daily where opinion editor, Miles Liatos, did the research and says No to charter schools .  I knew I liked those kids. Last weekend to get those ballots in.  Keep in mind, that several races CAN be decided in the primary if any candidate gets more than half the votes.  This includes State Superintendent and judges.  Info here on this confusing issue of where there are voters guides (some just on-line) and some that include statewide issues (not all counties do) from the Times. Fun thing to do this weekend - the Seattle Great Wheel, our new ferris wheel, will be putting on a half-hour light display tonight and very night of Fleet Week at 10 p.m....