Seattle Schools Community Forum

Here is a link to the State Auditor's report. (Thank you to Mirmac 1 for providing the link.) I may try to go thru this to provide a timeline. I see that I was misled in a couple of places by district staff when I asked about a police report. If this doesn't make something happen, I don't know what will.

Update: Linda Shaw of the Times attended. Here's what she had to say (leaving out that none of the Board got invited): McGinn said he's open to the idea. He may have voted against them three times, as he said Friday that he thinks he did, but his questions showed a lot of interest in charters -- the publicly funded but privately run schools that exist in all but 10 states, one of which is Washington. During the meeting he organized at City Hall, McGinn also suggested that charters might be a way to attract more students to Seattle's public schools. It's kind of like the Microsoft Connector bus from Seattle to that company's headquarters, he said, saying he wonders why the city isn't running that as a public service instead. "I think there's an analogy there," he said. I have no idea what he's talking about with Microsoft. And memo to the Mayor, enrollment in SPS went up by 900-1000 this year and Peter Maier said last night that they...

It wasn't quite the barnburner I thought it would be, this Construction Management audit . However, it was, for me, quietly defeating. It confirms my belief that the Superintendent would like to consolidate more power to staff and that many staff see the Board as something of a pesky fly to bat away. It did turn out to be a performance audit which meant they were not looking for anything illegal but rather asking was the district doing its job for construction management of BEX projects. There's an awful lot I could report but I think I'll just give the highlights for now and a separate thread on Board reaction and reflections. The audit is not yet available to the public but I will post it when it does. Highlights All the Board, except Kay Smith-Blum, were in attendance along with the head of Facilities, the Superintendent, the COO, two district legal counsels and the head of BEX Oversight Committee (the volunteer committee made up of construction and property manageme...

Dorothy and I attended the Board Work Session on the budget yesterday afternoon/evening. It was not a pretty meeting and not just because of the subject matter (which is grim). Here's a summary first and then some general items of interest in a separate thread (it's way too much to write every question and answer but ask me questions and I'll see if that got covered). Dorothy, you chime in if I heard it wrong or leave something out. The meeting was videotaped so it should be available at some point for viewing. I also can't find the Powerpoint yet so that is to come. UPDATE: here's the link . Summary The budget gap is $36.6 million . Here is the explanation Don Kennedy gave in a staff memo: Our current budget gap, based on the governor’s proposed budget, for next year is $36.6 million. While the impact of her budget to Seattle Public Schools was not as negative as we projected, we nevertheless have a significant budget problem. In addition to the $36.6...

Salon: "Myths and Realities in American Public School Education Today - Seattle Public School Teachers Speak Out" Thursday, January 27, 2011 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. STCN 160 (LeRoux Room), Student Center The Academic Salon program and the Diversity, Citizenship, and Social Justice (DCSJ) Core Track hosts a panel discussion with four Seattle Public School teachers who will discuss issues pertinent to the present and future of public education in American schools, from funding problems, private foundations, and charter schools, to curriculum and our local superintendent. Eric Muhs , award winning National Board Certified Teacher, Seattle Public Schools, Physics & Astronomy Dan Pickard , Seattle Public Schools, Integrated & Earth Science India Carlson , Seattle Public Schools, Botany, Horticulture, Integrated Science Dan Troccoli , Seattle Public Schools, Social Studies, & Seattle Equality Educators Our featured panelists, who represent a total of more than f...

As I previously reported, I attended the Town Hall last night on the legislative session coming up and what impacts it might have for public education. The speakers were Rep. Scott White (who becomes Senator on Monday when he gets sworn in) and Directors Sherry Carr and Peter Maier. It was hosted by Principal John Miner of Thorton Creek who told the crowd he had been had TC for 25 years. Wow. I would say there were about 50 people in attendance including Seattle Council PTSA reps, Stand for Children reps, and SEA reps. There were several handouts. They had the letter that MGJ sent to the Seattle delegation. There were some interesting sentences that I'll put in here: "Thus, while we began this year with a balanced budget for 2010-2011, we must now find an additional $5.24 million to end the year balanced." Now initially I thought, "How did this happen?" but I know that at least $2M of that is because of the Auditor's finding over the Small Business w...

Thank you to our reader, Kathy, who pointed this out. KIRO's Linda Thomas prints Dr. Goodloe-Johnson's year in review letter and comments on it. Nothing like accentuating the positive (if only she could eliminate the negative but maybe if you don't write about it no one will know). This was my personal favorite from her letter: Personally, I will continue to focus on Listening, Learning and Responding. I'm not sure the Superintendent is capable of any of those in reference to parents. I would say at least half the time her answer is "I don't know, I'll have staff get back to you" but no one ever does. And we know how great her credibility is at this point. When we get closer to the new year, we'll do our own Year in Review and predictions. (By the way, Dora Taylor was right. Brad Bernatek is on his way out. He let them know back in October but I think it's being kept quiet so that it doesn't look like he's leaving over th...

I had done a previous thread on Seattle Metropolitan magazine's high school issue. I wanted to point out some hard-to-believe things in the interview with the Superintendent. I'm going to forward the article to the Board - maybe if they see it in print, something will register. First, read the article. She comes off in print as she does in person (which is not the easiest thing to do but she does it). Her answers: crisp, tart and not always on point. Q: Your management style has been described as autocratic, that there's an aloofness, that there's an unwillingness to listen. A. Aloof? I've never been described as aloof. What does that mean and where was that observed? I'm thinking that she either never reads what is written about herself (and I mean by mainstream media, not here) or no one has said it to her face. But then she goes classic Goodloe-Johnson with "what does that mean?" and "where?" I might have to give her the...

So in advance of the upcoming tours and open houses at both public and private high schools, Seattle Metropolitan Magazine latest issue has several articles about high school education with 78 public and 50 private schools graded. Among the articles: The New School Plan - about the NSAP One Size Fits Some - about the LA alignment Talk Supe - about who else? (We'll have to discuss this one because she flatly denies saying something I heard her say out loud at a meeting.) Geek Boot Camp - about STEM at Cleveland (I'll have to take them to task for this title; no, no, and no.) Smart and Smarter - about a West Seattle mom who worked to get IB at Chief Sealth 6 Ways for Seattle Schools to Score Higher - hey, this one's by me and Charlie Parents as Search Engines - mostly about applying for private school (but boy does the district take a ding here) Private Lives - about a couple of private schools Grading our High Schools - the listing and grades of area high school...

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...

It looks like folks in Sacramento are fighting back for control of their district. First their district, led by a Broad Superintendent, turns down TFA . From the Sacramento Bee: Superintendent Jonathan Raymond of the Sacramento City Unified School District said he has backed off pursuing Teach for America in favor of establishing a stronger relationship with local credentialing programs at UC Davis, Sacramento State and Fortune School of Education. Raymond had faced strong opposition from the Sacramento City Teachers Association, which questioned the timing of his decision to pursue Teach for America. The district is in the midst of massive layoffs and is asking the teachers union to accept furloughs and health benefit concessions in order to save jobs. "While I still believe that the Teach for America program has great merit, I intend to exhaust all local options for meeting staffing needs before looking at alternative programs," Raymond wrote in...

One of our writers, Johnny Calcagno, mentioned this but I had to publish this account of the Stranger's Riya Bhattacharjee trying to ask the Superintendent a question at the State of the District meeting. It is classic and deserves a reprint her. (I find Riya to be one of the few reporters in this town who covers education willing to ask hard questions.) Here is her report (bold hers): "I had a rather awkward moment with Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson at her first State of the District address last night at Mercer Middle School. I'll get to that in a sec, first, the state of the district. Goodloe-Johnson admitted that "we haven't seen the results we want this year" (the district was able to meet only four of its 12 goals for 2013 under its five-year plan to increase student achievement), but she's confident we'll see them in the next few years. Taking a cue from the superintendent's speech about her core values ("account...

Want to meet all Dr. Goodloe-Johnson's supporters? Go to her 'State of the District' event at Mercer Middle School on November 9th from 6-7 p.m. I'm sure you'll see all the usual suspects there to back her up. The news release about this event had this gem: "The plan, which included input from more than 3,000 stakeholders, was developed to ensure that all of our students graduate ready for college and careers. " Voice from the back: Okay if that's true why do we have so many teacher coaches (100+) and not enough student coaches? Why did we get rid of the Career Counselors whose job it was to help students "graduate ready for college and careers"? Why did we get rid of some of our elementary counselors? Just asking. Also, from the Seattle Times (because of course it was nowhere to be found at the SPS website): One of Seattle School District’s meetings to provide information and hear comments on the Student As...

(Please note, this is not my thread on my TFA research.) So I'm a little behind so a reader sent me a let he sent to the Board. This letter is about the fact that Teach for America has yet again been put on the Board Agenda for the Board meeting on Wednesday. I went and checked out the agenda (there are several interesting items including public notice of a parent who appealing the use of a specific textbook) and there it was. And, if you read the so-called action report, well, TFA is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Are they kidding me? So what was my central question before? What is the problem they are trying to solve? Is there a shortage of teachers? No. From the item: We believe that the larger our candidate pool, the more likely that we will hire the best teachers for our classrooms. OHHHH. That's the problem, not a big enough candidate pool. Why TFA? TFA’s mission is to help eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation’s most promising future...

From our friends over at West Seattle Blog, a review of the coffee chat last night with Dr. Goodloe-Johnson. The number of community members who attended was almost matched by the number of district staffers on hand, but those who came brought up some challenging issues – primarily class size and closed schools. Here's a great line: Most of the discussion centered on elementary-level class sizes; if classes hold 28 or more, Dr. Goodloe-Johnson said, it’s up to the school’s principal to work with teachers and find solutions. So get busy principals. Anyone attend?

Okay, here in one place (but if I missed something please let us know): information about both sides of the Seattle Schools Supplemental Levy. Schools First - the levy support group Committee for Responsible Education Spending - the group challenging the levy Facebook page for Teachers Against the Levy Facebook page for No on the Supplemental Levy CRES page with links to: official resolution, explanatory statement for Voter's Guide, teachers contract and levy, and endorsements There are 11 days until the election. You have your ballot. Sadly (and I think this hurts everyone) the levy is the last item on the back side of the ballot after judgeships. I have no idea how this bodes for either side as my experience is that many people don't vote for judges because they have no idea who to vote for. So look for a huge drop-off of votes for the levy which means every vote counts. Seriously. What can you do? Well, vote of course. Also, follow the directions . I can...

A number of people have let me know about an e-mail that the Superintendent sent out on Friday to all staff. She says this in the opening paragraph: "I am writing to share some facts with you about the operations levy on the November 2 ballot. I ask you in turn to share this information with your family members and neighbors to ensure they are fully informed about the purpose of this levy request. " She goes on to outline info about the levy and then urges people to remember to vote. She does not tell anyone how to vote. I called and talked to the PDC about the e-mail. Because she does give information on how much the levy is asking for and its costs to taxpayers, that is considered to be balanced. (Yes, I know that is funny that including the amount of the levy balances her message.) As well, I was told by the district that she frequently discusses policy issues via e-mail. So the e-mail is legal. I asked a couple of people I know at UW if they ever get e-mails a...

Who is responsible for holding the district accountable for its progress, its actions, its decisions? First and foremost, of course, is the Board (or so it would seem). But really, they can only hold one person accountable and that's the Superintendent. They can't fire anyone but her and I guess they could reprimand someone but she could accuse them of overstepping. What's interesting is that the Board's greatest place of oversight is BEFORE anything gets enacted. But what tends to happen is that the Board directs the Superintendent in a policy direction, she then coordinates that effort and it gets presented to the Board. They then do what is usually a rushed and/or cursory look at it and pass it. Then, when problems arise, the Board is pretty much out of luck because, after all, they okayed what the Superintendent and the staff created. (I suspect they could reverse something but I haven't seen that done.) Holding the Board accountable are the voters . It ...

Here's the headline at the Stranger Slog : Goodloe-Johnson Resigns from Board Amidst Criticism of Conflict of Interest I know, I know you read the first 3 words and get a little...well, something. The story is about her resignation from the NWEA Board that she announced at Wednesday's Board meeting. The SEA's comment (bold theirs): The Seattle teachers union, the Seattle Education Association, listed Goodloe-Johnson's position on the board as a conflict of interest when they voted to have no-confidence in her last month. "It's good that she is hearing concerns of educators in Seattle and taking account of what they think of her leadership," said union vice president Jonathan Knapp. "There would have been more confidence in her had she disclosed that she had this connection and nevertheless recommended the services of this company. In my opinion that's not good practice." Good for the Slog because they seem to be trying to keep up m...

Anyone go to the first of the Superintendent's coffee chats last night? The next one is Tuesday, the 12th from 8:10 - 9:10 am at Jane Addams. (I admit a bit of a pause in attending as it is stated that the meetings are for "parents, grandparents and caregivers of Seattle Schools students. I have no student. I'd like to think the community can come as well if only to listen.) Tomorrow's School Board Director's Community Meetings: Director Carr at the Greenwood Neighborhood Service Center from 8:30 am-10 am Director Sundquist at High Point Library from 11 am-12:30 pm Director Maier at Bethany Community Church from 10:30 am-noon I'm sure you can come up with plenty of things to ask them but you could ask: Why Teach for America? Explain why you think this is good for the district and what that belief is based on. Where are the funds to pay the TFA Foundation fees for these teachers? What is being cut/reduced by having to pay back $1.2 M from the General Fund ...