Seattle Schools Community Forum

Mrs. Clinton sat down with Newsday in Long Island for an wide-ranging interview that included the topic of public education.  Her wording was a bit hard to understand so I'm not quite sure I understand all that she is saying.  She has some things wrong (but that was the propaganda of Common Core so I don't entirely blame her.)  But she offers zero solutions and that's troubling. And she has a lot more faith in charter schools than I do but that's another thread. Common Core and Opt Out (this is how Newsday titled this section of the interview)

Not from The Onion - Court rules Michigan has no responsibility to provide quality public education

Frank Bruni, who used to be a food critic at the New York Times but now writes op-eds, has a piece in the Times about Common Core.  Or is it the Department of Education. Or teacher evaluations.  Well, it's about public education.  It's daringly called, The Education Assassins   (that actually brings to mind Sarah Vowell's hugely funny,  Assassination Vacation , which is probably not want Bruni wanted). Over at the Curmudgucation blog , the very funny Peter Greene takes Bruni's arguments apart, line for line. What's interesting is that Greene points out the half-truths to what Bruni says.  This is a major irritant for me - just tell the WHOLE story, not just part of it if you have the courage of your convictions.  I'm just going to pull out some great comebacks from Greene but do go read both pieces.

I ask because I'm seeing various comments on this issue.  So let us know what you have heard and seen at your school (across any grade).  For example, one reader said that Garfield had a couple of late starts this week ....at 11 am. That's pretty late for the school day to begin.  Maybe leadership there thought it better for students to NOT come and have to hang around doing almost nothing rather than coming later. I also heard from a reader at Ingraham who said her daughter took the test (as a junior) and didn't find it all that hard but that she was very annoyed with sitting around for 45 minutes.  It all adds up to lost instructional time of which there are several factors: - the actual time to take an untimed test - the actual time for set-up to take the test (which apparently can be anywhere from 15 minutes to almost an hour). - time that is test prep (how you take the test) - time that is test prep (for what is on the test) Not to mention down time...

I'll put a notation by each of these; please consider contacting your legislative reps for your support or rejection of each bill. From the Seattle Times :

One reader sent along to me a response to her e-mail to Senator David Frockt over his vote on Senate bill 5748.  I'm printing it in its entirety below.  It is nuanced and carefully thought out.  I believe the Senator is probably speaking from a position of good faith in what he believes this bill to be.  Unfortunately, I do not share that trust/comfort that this bill is merely a way to get back the NCLB waiver.  If you read his letter, it seems like he thinks it does almost nothing and, of course, that makes no sense because no one created this bill just to do very little.  Perhaps it is just a foot in the door but it's kind of a Shaq foot in the door.  (I'm going to highlight relevant sections in red along with some comments.)

I didn't attend the Board meeting last night but watched the first hour or so on tv.  (President Carr wasn't there so Director Peaslee filled in but I never heard why Carr was not there.) Highlights ( updated and complete ):

As many readers have reported, seven Democratic senators, in the Washington State Legislature, including three from Seattle, voted to move forward a bill (SB 5748)  that would tie student test scores to teacher evaluation.  The vote was 26 yeas to 23 nays.

Secretary Arne Duncan issued a statement today as schools start up around the country.  Rather than saying how poorly our schools are doing, Duncan said this: First, the thanks. America’s students have posted some unprecedented achievements in the last year – the highest high school graduation rate in the nation’s history, and sharp cuts in dropout rates and increases in college enrollment, especially for groups that in the past have lagged significantly. For these achievements, we should celebrate America’s teachers, principals, and students and their families. These achievements are also indications of deeper, more successful relationships with our students. All of us who’ve worked with young people know how much they yearn for adults to care about them and know them as individuals. He even thanks teachers: I have heard from many teachers that they have not received all the support they’d want during this transition. Yet America’s teachers are making this cha...

The 2014 Band Jam event will take place at 6:30 pm this Friday July 25, 2014 at the Southwest Athletic Complex – 2601 SW Thistle St. (across the street from Chief Sealth International High School.) Band Jam is an annual band showcase intended to highlight what we all know to be the best part of the summer parade season – the bands. In addition to featuring some of the youth ensembles participating in this year’s Seafair Torchlight Parade, we will also be treated to performances by some talented adult music ensembles, as a reminder to students that music can be a lifelong pursuit and a great way to connect with fellow performers and the community. This is a non-competitive event sponsored by the Seattle Schools All-City Band. Admission is free.  Food concessions will be sold on site. The 2014 lineup includes: The Junior All-City Marching Band www.DennySealthMusic.org The Pacific Northwest Drumline The Ten Man Brass Band www.facebook.com/tenmanbrass The Sumner...

Stories that have come across my computer over the last few weeks on a variety of issues. Arne Duncan - the things that Arne says. So first it was those "white suburban moms" thinking their children and their schools were really something.  He said opposition to Common Core came from "fringe" groups.  The Daily News says those against CC are "drunk with right-wing hysteria."  So moms are being hysterical and dramatic?  Almost sounds like a little sexism thrown in there to marginalize any female voice. Common Core   Pearson and Common Core The huge ed gorilla publisher in the room, Pearson, has a nonprofit wing, Pearson Charitable Foundation, which just agreed to pay over $7M to New York state after NY's attorney general determined they had created CC materials to generate money for the Pearson company.  And who figured into that determination?  The Gates Foundation.   (Pearson says it did nothing wrong but admits it could have been clearer ...

Well, that teacher evaluation law change - the one Arne Duncan was using as something of a blackmail stick - went down with a whimper, not a bang.  I attribute this to a couple of things.  One, there seemed to be confusion about what the money was for and how much any district actually used (and therefore might lose).  Two, Duncan had not given any guarantee for the waiver if the law got changed.  That made changing it suspect. Three, as my own state senator, Jamie Pedersen wrote to me: I hope that the federal government will appreciate that we have done significant work in this area and give our system time to bear fruit, rather than denying us the waiver and triggering the unfortunate consequences. This speaks to the idea that Washington State HAS been ahead in a teacher evaluation law and could the DOE give it a chance?   Four, the WEA put on a forceful show in Olympia to point out that linking test scores to teacher performance doesn't hav...

 Update from another Rosenthal tweet today at 9:25 am: House ldr Sullivan on TVW seems to deem teacher evals dead: "In the end, you have to do the right thing regardless of the (feds') threat" The Washington State Legislature will adjourn their session tomorrow (unless a special session is called by the Governor). Among the last lame duck bills is the one that would change the wording of the state teacher evaluation bill for the use of test scores in the evaluation from "can" to "must." The latest from Times' reporter Brian Rosenthal via Twitter: House ed chair Santos thinks most Dems oppose even Inslee-drafted version of teacher eval bill, never mind Senate version. Not good for bill. WA House ed chair Sharon Tomiko Santos says she has not heard the teacher-evaluation bill will be brought to the floor for a vote. I tweeted him to ask if he meant "when" or "if" it will come to floor. It's do or die time. ...

Legislature: The Washington Senate voted unanimously for a bill t o make it easier for minors to seal their records (for minor crimes).   I'll have to read the bill but I doubt it will protect your child if the incident happened at school and it is now part of a school record.  The FERPA changes would allow that kind of data to go out to vendors of all kinds (and even our friends at the Seattle Times). Still no word on the tying of test scores to teacher evaluation bill.  This is the last day for the Legislature to vote on non-budget bills. The Kansas Supreme Court says public school funding cuts in their budgets hurt poorer districts and they have ruled it unconstitutional.  From CBS News: The Supreme Court sent the case back to district court for more review to "promptly" determine what the adequate amount of funding should be, but didn't set a deadline for a hearing. It did, however, set a July 1 deadline for legislators to restore money for two funds a...

Education Week is reporting that Senator Patty Murray will be meeting this weekend with Education Secretary Arne Duncan about Washington State waiver request for NCLB.  Really good insights from Education Week : Washington State is in the unfortunate position of being just one of four that had its NCLB waiver put on "high risk" status by the U.S. Department of Education. The Evergreen State has run into trouble with the teacher-evaluation component of the waivers , which has been the trickiest part for those states seeking the flexilibility under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. But Washington is in the fortunate position of having a very powerful advocate on its team: Sen. Patty Murray. She chairs the Senate Budget Committee, is trusted by Senate leadership, and is a senior member of the panels that oversee education policy and spending. What's more, she could be in line to chair one or both of those committees in the next Congress, after Sen....

Major news on two important education bills in the Legislature. First, the State Senate REJECTED a teacher-evaluation bill that would have changed using student test scores in teacher evaluations from "can" to "must" because the feds wanted that change.  The feds were using - as a carrot or stick, take your pick - federal funds.  Superintendent Randy Dorn has been moaning about the possible loss of these funds, about $38M (Seattle stands to lose about $2.4M). What got left out is that Washington State has applied for a NCLB waiver and may still get the federal dollars.  So far, Arne Duncan has given 37 states waivers. What is amazing is that conservative GOP members joined with minority Dems to defeat this measure and it is the first time the new Senate "coalition" majority has lost.  According to the Times , it is probably dead as 5pm today was the cutoff for non-budget legislation to get out of at least one chamber.  (This coalition is showing o...

The Legislature has had its usual flurry of ed bills, some quite random, some with focus and a couple that have/will pass.  Here's a comprehensive list from Parnership for Learning.  There are many returning bills like one for teacher/principal evaluations (SB 6055); old ideas but repackaged to look new. I believe that tomorrow, the 4th, is the Washington State PTA Legislative Focus Day in Olympia.

A class size bill, HB 2589 is making its way thru the Washington State Legislature.  Interestingly there is a column at The Olympian by Dick Cvitanich, the Superintendent for Olympia Public Schools,  who advocates for spending McCleary money on smaller class sizes.  A story of contrasts between that bill and Bill 5246 for teacher evaluations which would no longer allow districts to use years of teaching experience in their hiring except as a tiebreaker and would rank order all teachers and principals based on student growth in their evaluations (mandating use of state test scores for teachers).  I'll try to do a complete round-up of education bills including the student data privacy bill.  What's on your mind?

Wow.  Listen to this less-than-3 minute video of noted teacher evaluation expert, Charlotte Danielson , talk about teacher evaluation.  My favorite line?  "You can't fire your way to Finland."   Should be required viewing for every school district administrator.   Next favorite line? "What can count as evidence and how can that be attributed to an individual teacher?"   She also says, at the end, "No one on the planet has figured out how to do that."   Boom! Shout out to the Chief Sealth Marching Band who appeared in yesterday's Macy's Holiday Parade.  Good job, kids! In bad news , apparently, in some parts of the country you can get arrested for picking your kids up at school...on foot. (And yes, I am going to address the Times' editorial column on parents and schools but that'll be a separate thread.) To note, there are no Director Community meetings tomorrow.   What's on your mind?

I attended the 43rd Dems meeting last night; it's my district.  As you may be aware, the election of Ed Murray as mayor means he leaves the State Legislature as senator.  So his post needs to be filled and, so far, the only person to step forward is the one of the 43rd's representatives, Jamie Pedersen .  (The other is Frank Chopp, the Speaker of the House.)  Senator Murray is to resign on December 31st and the seat must be filled within 60 days of that date. Naturally, that means Pedersen's seat will be open and there are - so far - three candidates vying for the appointed position.  (It seems a complicated process who gets the appointment.  It was explained that the PCOs for the 43rd will vote, their rank order votes for all three are then sent to the King County Council who will make the final decision. Pedersen and Chopp spoke to the crowd about coming legislative issues.  Their overriding message was that the Dems need to regain control of t...