Seattle Schools Community Forum

Friday, September 30, 2011 Education Series: The Best Teachers for Our Children Town Hall - Downstairs | 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle Registration: 11:30 a.m. | Program: 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Register online or call 206-682-7395 Featuring: Jesse Hagopian , Founding Member, Social Equality Educators; History Teacher, Garfield High School Erin Jones , Assistant Superintendent of Student Achievement, Washington State OSPI Margit E. McGuire , PhD; Program Director, Master in Teaching Program; College of Education, Seattle University Tom Stritikus , Dean and Professor in Curriculum & Instruction, University of Washington College of Education Deborah Wilds , President and COO, College Success Foundation; Co-chair, High School to College Working Group, CCER Moderator: Phyllis Fletcher , Reporter, KUOW 94.9 FM Ensuring we have the best teachers for our children is a goal we all agree with, but what combination of traits, training, and evaluation ensures the best path forward? A...

By request by a reader: Indeed, today I met a teacher friend that theoretically now confirms 3 local districts supposedly practicing the technique of giving negative evaluations to older (read "non-reform" and/or expensive) teachers to help force them out as a combo cost-saving/pro-reform move. What I am hearing is that while some schools are not having RIFs, many first-year teachers are not getting their contracts renewed.  (If they get an unsatisfactory in just one area, they're out.)  I have also heard that the teacher assessments are having a rough first implementation with some older teachers only getting one visit to review their performance and even stellar teachers are getting an "overall proficient" rating.   Teachers? Parents, ask at your school about RIFs.  I'd like to develop a list of them.

From the New York Times: an op-ed about asking students what THEY want in a high school .  The author, Susan Engel, followed a group of 8 high school students as they " designed and ran their own school within a school. "  Interesting reading.  Here's a connecting lesson plan .  A couple of thoughtful parts: An Independence Project student who had once considered dropping out of school found he couldn’t bear to stop focusing on his current history question but didn’t want to miss out on exploring a new one. When he asked the group if it would be O.K. to pursue both, another student answered, “Yeah, I think that’s what they call learning.”  The students in the Independent Project are remarkable but not because they are exceptionally motivated or unusually talented. They are remarkable because they demonstrate the kinds of learning and personal growth that are possible when teenagers feel ownership of their high school experience, when they learn thin...

An alert reader pointed me to another Wendy Kopp, leader of TFA, event when she is here on March 2nd. She is speaking at MOHAI in the evening but before that she will be speaking at the Northwest African-American Museum from 4-5 p.m. on behalf of Washington Women's Foundation. There is no cost but you have to register to attend. It just might be too good to pass up. I do have a rather lengthy TFA thread to write but here's some Wendy Kopp talk from the Daily Beast : When Wendy Kopp’s son Benjamin was 8 years old, he interviewed her for a school project on learning to overcome challenges. “I just don’t understand,” Benjamin asked his mother, “how if this is such a big problem—you know, kids not having the chance to have a good education—why would you ask people with no experience right out of college to solve it?” Out of the mouths of babes. Kopp modestly admits she was hoping Mayor Bloomberg would have asked her to be the NYC Schools Chancellor (but alas he didn't...

Apparently the appropriations bill made its way through the Congress with the "highly qualified teacher" part intact. Appalling. It is only good for two years but by then I'm sure Teach for America will have churned out even more minions (more on this at the end). Here's what the bill says: ‘‘SEC. 163. (a) A ‘highly qualified teacher’ includes a teacher who meets the requirements in 34 C.F.R. 15 200.56(a)(2)(ii), as published in the Federal Register on 16 December 2, 2002. ‘‘(b) This provision is effective on the date of enactment of this provision through the end of the 2012–2013 academic year. Here's 34 C.F.R. 15 200.56(a)(2)(ii): (This Rules/Regulations notice has a huge amount of info on what NCLB has to do.) Alternate Certification: The NPRM specified that one of the requirements of being a "highly qualified teacher" is having obtained full State certification as a teacher--which may include certification obtained through alternative...