Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update: In my original thread, I mentioned that "several" staffers are to go on a trip to Toronto for an Asian American Alliance.  Now I get a press release - again, on info from the earlier thread - about who is going to the White House to represent SPS for a discussion about SPS' PE programs.   It's Superintendent Nyland. It seems the invitation was just for superintendents from districts who have programs that are working well to share ideas (SPS' being PE).  I'm sure that despite the Superintendent being so new that staff will have him well-prepped for questions and, of course, he may come back with many good ideas from other districts. As well, on the story of a student getting hit by a car in Wallingford today : - it is a 7th grader - he was being treated and would be released today From SPS Communications: There were also new flashing lights installed within the past week on 43 rd /Stone as another safe crossing option for students. This ca...

 Update: here's what's happening in the white-hot capital of ed reform pushback - Chicago - around testing.  Chicago is just one of many cities in many states caught in this muddle between existing state tests and the coming Common Core assessments.  Why take both?  Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett sent a letter to parents on Wednesday telling them why they should not have their child opt-out of the ISAT and the NWEA/MAP tests, the second time in less than two months she has issued such a letter. In a swift counter-move, parent groups that oppose high-stakes testing said the letters indicate that CPS leaders are worried about a growing resistance to standardized tests, with some parents saying their children spend too much class time on too many tests, with serious consequences tied to their outcome. For the first time, the level of participation in the NWEA/MAP is part of the district's rating system for schools, with schools penalized if participation falls be...

Linda Shaw of the Seattle Times reported today that there are 80 high school seniors who can't graduate because they didn't pass the two state End Of Course math tests. School principals wanted superintendent Banda to seek a waiver for the students but the superintendent Banda will not. Statewide there are over 3,000 students in a similar situation.

Like pouring over test data?  You're in luck because the Public Data Ferret just released data on Washington State achievement test scores.  The headline reads, "WA Achievement Test Pass Rates Mostly Stagnant since 2006."  New petition to tell Senator Rodney Tom to fund our schools and reduce class sizes. Big shout-out to our classified school employees , thanks for your hard work! Chief Sealth kicks off its annual World Water Week next week starting on the 19th. Beacon Hill International School Principal Kelly Aramaki was named this year’s Washington State Elementary School Principal of the Year by a panel of principals representing the Elementary School Principals Association of Washington (ESPAW), a component of the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP).  Congrats Mr. Aramaki! Musical groups from Roosevelt rose to the top in three divisions at the 40th Annual Northwest Orchestra Festival. From the heartwarming file: In an u...

South Shore PreK-8 came up as a topic during a discussion over conversion charters .  I, like many, believe it would be a target (a willing one) for a conversion takeover.  I suspect you could get the parents or teachers to agree and I'm sure LEV, who now directs the foundation money that South Shore gets, would also be agreeable.  That leaves the community and the district that may not like the idea of losing a $73M building to a charter entity. One thing to keep in mind - ALL charters are their own districts .  If they take over a district building, they can decide the parameters - within the law - of public use just as SPS does.  If you use a school building for your local community meetings or Boy Scouts, you might have to find someplace else to go.  I also don't know what it would mean for the joint-use agreement that SPS has with Parks for SPS playfields.  I would assume if a charter group takes over the building and its grounds and is its ...

Yesterday, Superintendent Banda and Mayor McGinn announced a new partnership called " Evening Community Meetings in School Libraries " that would open every school library for use by community/neighborhood groups.  The cost would be $15 for meetings held after school hours. From SPS Communications: Any local community group or nonprofit organization is eligible to sign up, but the libraries are not available for business or commercial uses, nor for events that have admissions or fees. Reservations will be available from 6 – 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday during normal school calendar academic business days.  Visit http://tinyurl.com/9ltgx4q where you can sign up for a user account, submit a request for space, and read the Seattle Public Schools rules and regulations (including the payment process and insurance requirements).   The fee is $15 plus any applicable custodial or heating and cooling costs. Rental does not include use of computers in the lib...

Interesting (and lengthly) essay from a student teacher that carefully outlines her concerns with TFA .  The ones about the link between TFA and charter schools is especially timely for Washington State.  (Also a good story here on that link from the National Journal.) From Education Week, a very good comparison of what Romney and Obama have in mind for public education. From Education Week, a review of a new book about the most selective public high schools in the country. For each of the 11 schools that Finn or Hockett personally visited, the book describes the climate for learning. Here's how they summed it up: By and large, all the schools we visited were serious, purposeful places: competitive but supportive, energized yet calm. Behavior problems (save for cheating and plagiarism) were minimal, and students attended regularly. The kids wanted to be there, and were motivated to succeed. Most classrooms they observed were "alive, engaged places,...

Well, that was embarrassing.  I knew this was a busy weekend in Seattle and trying to help parents out, I posted a list of events from last year.  (Darn Google - I typed in "this weekend" but clearly should have searched by date).  I apologize for any confusion.   I just decided to delete the whole thing. From Diane Ravitch's blog , we learn that officials in the Oklahoma DOE posted, at the website, personal information about students who had not taken the state test.   These students had received exemptions and thus, waived their rights under FERPA but that didn't mean the state education officials had to do what they did.  Unhappy legislators want to know if this was done out of ignorance or as retribution for students who opted out.  What seems clear is that this was a distinct action and not an accident; meaning, someone had to directly put this info out there.  Congrats to West Seattle High School which learned it is receiving a g...

On the heels of Seattle public school parents pushback of a new transportation plan (pushed without input or announcement from/to parents), we have some other winning strategies. The Alabama Legislature, fighting back against a far-reaching charter school bill, defeated it today with just one day left in their regular session.    Alabama is one of the mighty nine states to say no to charters. From AL.com: Dr. Henry Mabry, executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, consistently told lawmakers during the session that the state didn’t need a dual system of schools when it couldn’t afford to adequately fund the single system it has. “We don’t need to dilute even further the precious little funding for our elementary and secondary students to gamble on the unproven model of charter schools.” Well, that sounds familiar. Interestingly, the only education group supporting the bill was their state association of school boards.  (Washington State's c...

If ever there was a reason to pull a stop on standardized testing mania, it's this story. The Hare and the Pineapple. Yes, apparently in NYC's 8th grade standardized test there was a reading section, based on a story by Daniel Pinkwater, the children's author, about a hare and a pineapple having a race, based on The Tortoise and the Hare.  (The story was altered from Mr. Pinkwater's original according to Mr. Pinkwater.) So the Pineapple challenges the Hare to a race and as all the other animals are standing around, the Crow says the Pineapple has something up his sleeve because the Pineapple can't move.  (It is also pointed out that pineapples don't have sleeves.) So when Hare arrives and takes off, they are confounded but then the Hare finishes the race and everyone cheers and eats the Pineapple.  The End. What? Naturally, if you are an 8th grader who can actually READ, you may have a problem figuring out the moral of the story. The Education Comm...

I have no time to read and analyze these results but I put them up for your own viewing.  According to this article in the Times, Washington State students are doing better on the math and science exams. Math scores in grades 3-8 increased in every grade except eighth. But What hasn't improved is the number of schools failing to make adequate yearly progress, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind law. Preliminary figures show 1,388 Washington schools were on that list in 2011, an increase of about 200 schools from 2010. A total of 223 school districts — out of 295 in the state — failed to make adequate yearly progress in 2011. Here's the link to the scores at OSPI. I checked but there is no announcement yet from Seattle Schools about the scores for our district.