Seattle Schools Community Forum

So, in a couple of different threads, we've had a couple of people mention factors in how well a student does in school. They were brief so I thought I'd throw it out for discussion, keeping in mind that we all may disagree on what could (should) be happening. Dan Dempsey had posted a longer comment but this was part of it: "From National Math Advisory Panelist Vern Williams... The question for VW......I think when we talk about success in math, we talk about books, we talk about whether the books are the correct books, but the two elephants in the room, do we have a motivated student and family involvement . I just wanted you to comment on that from your honest feelings. " Trish Dziko had posted this as part of her comment: "Basically what it comes down to is leadership and talent. The Ed Trust folks say that districts and schools that are successful don't get lost in the red herring idea that they should also be worrying about poverty, single parent homes,...

The NY Times had an interesting article about schools that are focusing on a "global" education. They are talking way beyond cultural exchanges, diversity night or internationally themed schools. From the article: "But the high-performing Herricks school district here in Nassau County, whose student body is more than half Asian, is taking globalization to the graduate level, integrating international studies into every aspect of its curriculum. A partnership with the Foreign Policy Association has transformed a high-school basement into a place where students produce research papers on North Korea’s nuclear energy program or the Taliban ’s role in the opium trade. English teachers have culled reading lists of what they call “dead white men” (think Hawthorne and Hemingway) to make space for Jhumpa Lahiri , Chang-rae Lee and Khaled Hosseini . Gifted fifth graders learn comparative economics by charting the multinational production of a pencil and representing countries...

Here is the Strategic Plan as it was presented to the Board at their regular legislative meeting on the 21st. This is a living document and it will change both before and after Board adoption. In general, I like this plan. What's not to like? The goals given the initial focus are appropriate, as are the tasks listed to make steps towards achieving the goals. For each task the plan describes the Background, the Need, the Recommended Work, how they will be Measuring Impact, their Immediate Actions, and their Longer-term Actions. That's all good. I wish they would add two more sections: "Known Barriers to Success" and "Overcoming Historical Barriers". None of these goals or tasks are new. The District has announced them all before - some of them more than once. The District has even claimed to have achieved some of them before. If we're supposed to believe that this plan is different from the failed plans of the past, then they are going to have to be more ...

Bob Herbert, a columnist for the NY Times, had a column about the decided lack of progress in American education. He wrote a column about it, Hard Times Ahead . From the column, "Mr. Wise is president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a policy and advocacy group committed to improving the high schools. The following lamentable passage is from his book, “Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation”: “International comparisons rank the United States a stunningly unimpressive eighteenth for high school graduation rates, a lackluster ranking of fifteenth for high school reading assessments among 15-year-olds in developed countries, and an embarrassing 25th for high school math.” Those are not the marks of a society with a blissful future. Four years of college is becoming a prerequisite for a middle-class quality of life and we’re having trouble graduating kids from high school. Mr. Wise believes (as does Bill Gates) that America’s high schoo...

One other thing about the end of the year; most schools' PTAs are looking for people to serve on the Boards or fill committee chair positions. Please, I beg of you, don't dismiss any request out of hand. Many Board jobs (at the middle and high school level) are overseeing the committee chairs, not doing all the work yourself. Many committee jobs are one day events with some prep (like step up day at most middle and high schools). Love gardening? Most schools have a garden committee and the work can be done on weekends. Most membership chairs have 98% of the work done at home, no meetings to attend. Like art? Volunteer to head the Art Committee if you have one or the PTA Reflections contest. If you feel your PTA is too many of the same faces, then step up. If you ever wonder, "Gee, I wonder how come we don't do XYZ event any more?", it's likely that no one wanted to coordinate it. If your PTA is smart, they simply let it go rather than asking Board me...

So now we're a little less than a month out from the end of school. How was your school year? Longing for summer or worried about your child's academic progress? What celebrations does your school do for the end of the year? (I remember at Whittier they had a Field Day just before the end of school with lots of outdoor activities and then, a great slide show of everyone at the school at the last day of school assembly. Roosevelt has, what looks to be, a fun day that's a little bit of everything called Moving Up Day/Rider Recess. But that takes place in early June as the seniors get done by then.) Any other burning questions or are we all burned out from another busy school year?

Good articles both in the PI (and its Education blog) about this new campaign called Know How 2 Go sponsored by the American Council on Education, Lumina Foundation for Education and the Ad Council) to educate middle school and high school kids about applying for college. The PI Education blog has the 4 kind of cute and funny videos challenging kids to take the hard classes (each subject is some kind of character; Alegebra is a Roman gladiator). This is a great idea that I think should start even earlier (what if all the teachers in every elementary school had a picture of the college or university they attended and maybe even post their diploma to get kids thinking). The four keys to getting to college according to Know How 2 Go? 1. Be a pain. Let everyone know you're going to college and need their help. Never say no, make connections, seek advice, etc. 2. Push yourself - working a little harder today will make getting into college even easier. 3. Find the Right Fit; ...