Ideas for Seattle Public Schools on UserVoice

Add APP at Madison MS & West Seattle High

2010-01-15T13:11:06-08:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Both Madison and WSHS are looking at a future of reduced enrollment. Parents are looking for rigor. Many students from WS are now going to Washington & Garfield. Save the transportation costs and create a MMS/WSHS track that is similar to the IB track for Denny/Sealth.

Do not use mapping for high schools [updated]

2010-01-14T23:41:35-08:00

Since kids are using metro buses to get to schools now, and high schools cannot possibly offer all specialties, why not keep the high schools, at least, a free choice option? When kids can choose their schools, there is a better mix of neighborhoods and far less competition between schools and neighborhood rivalries. Rivalries and violence intensify between schools when kids are forced to go to neighborhood schools, especially in the teen years. Why fix one problem while creating another one?

forumshoes2010 said:

Cutting costs by increasing class sizes, closing schools, and eliminating alternative programs may yield short-term gains, www renzeba com but only at the cost of larger long-term losses in revenue and community support. This is a death spiral that has been going on for many years.

Temporarily lease space to address the capacity crisis in the northeast [updated]

2010-01-14T23:40:39-08:00

The District won't be able to re-open closed schools for as long as three years, but the northeast needs capacity relief NOW. Until Sand Point and McDonald can be re-opened, the District could start the schools in leased space near the permanent location. If the schools started with just kindergarten and rolled up one year per year the amount of leased space needed would be minimized. Perhaps there is space available at Children's Hospital, at the former Naval Base, or in a UW property for Sand Point school and maybe in the Good Shepard Center for McDonald.

forumshoes2010 said:

the same way kids do for Garfields' advanced academic program. www wholesale-cheap com Its a shame that a gifted trombone player would have to go to their neighborhood school, www bagsclothing com which may have music, but not at the national level that Garfield or RHS has, just because they do't live in the neighborhood.

Increase the appeal of Seattle Public Schools [updated]

2010-01-14T23:39:15-08:00

Seattle has one of the lowest public school participation rates of any major city in the US. Only about 68% of Seattle children attend public schools compared to 80-90% for normal US cities. This is aggravating most of our other issues with our Seattle Public Schools. High market share is critical to have community support for public schools, to be able to pass taxes that fund the public schools, and to maximize the involvement of parents in helping the schools. Seattle Public School funding from state and federal sources also is directly tied to enrollment. Cutting costs by increasing class sizes, closing schools, and eliminating alternative programs may yield short-term gains, but only at the cost of larger long-term losses in revenue and community support. This is a death spiral that has been going on for many years. Until most parents see Seattle Public Schools as an attractive option, our schools will have little support, fail to improve, and fail to educate the children of Seattle.

forumshoes2010 said:

Although I agree it's too soon to call JA a flop, I do know that a language immersion program in the NE would be a huge draw and that the intl middle school being a componet is a nice perk, plus the only slam dunk to fill JA at middle school. As all language immersion should be option schools, this one could lead by example. Most parents there would probably be excited about it, and if not, they could transfer to their attendance area school. www.bagsclothing.com It might take a few years to fully implement, but I get started now! Some language is better than none and program will expand/improve over time as appropriate staff are added and programs developed.

Create an additional language immersion program at Jane Addams [updated]

2010-01-14T23:38:19-08:00

The District wants to expand access to language immersion programs by creating more of them. These programs are extremely popular. If Jane Addams had a language immersion program it would relieve overcrowding in northeast schools. Since Jane Addams is a K-8, no comprehensive middle school would have to add language immersion to continue to program.

forumshoes2010 said:

I feel that it is very important to distinguish these families, like ours, who consciously and deliberately purchased a home within a certain reference area so that our children, and family, could actively participate in the neighborhood school community. We worked hard to find a home that would ensure us the greatest opportunity to attend our neighborhood reference school. www.renzeba.com It is dissappointing (to say the least) to think that our hard work to accomodate and honor the historic reference area boundaries may be overlooked with a blanket policy elminating the grandfathering of siblings.

Increase the appeal of Seattle Public Schools [updated]

2009-11-10T10:45:58-08:00

mpmorrow said:

Make it a broad policy goal to attract 90% of the student population to Seattle Public Schools - any action that will reduce the participation rate would be disallowed as working against the stated goal of reaching 90%.

Require the Board to faithfully adopt the John Carver Policy Governance Model

2009-11-10T00:07:57-08:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Currently we have a weak school board. The school board is a rubberstamp body, and serves as a cheerleader and buffer for the Supperintendent and her staff. The J.C. Policy-Governance model calls for the Board to limit its role to writing and revising policy, hiring, firing, and evaluating the Superintendent. The Superintendent's role in this model is to uphold and enforce Board policy, to make sure the entire district is observing all state and federal laws, to be appropriately responsive to the community, and to show good moral judgment. The Board evaluates the Superintendent by reviewing his/her statement as to how he/she upheld and/or made progress on implementing each Board policy.

We Need a Culture Change in How the District Approaches Parent Input [updated]

2009-11-09T23:29:44-08:00

What say should a neighborhood have in its "neighborhood school"? If the district wants to increase enrollment in under-enrolled schools, they should start meaningful, on-going dialog with the parents of those communities -- not just a one-time feedback meeting or form, but something akin to a "customer advisory panel" charged with gathering broad community input. They shouldn't spend millions on a performing arts center, STEM program, or anything else without *knowing* that more students will enroll in that school as a result of that spending. That requires real buy-in from all stakeholders. All principals of neighborhood schools should be held accountable to neighborhood satisfaction. (Principals come and go -- especially as of late -- but the people who live in the neighborhoods deal with the long-term consequences of their schools.) Stop thinking of parents and neighborhoods as obstacles, and realize the opportunity they represent: Thousands of passionate, motivated people willing to do all kinds of work to help the district succeed.

Rich Jensen said:

Why isn't there someone from the schools checking-in with Seattle families that will have incoming kindergartners? We are taking this on as a family project, reading blogs, watching meetings on the cable channel, studying the somewhat arcane and contradictory information on the district website. I would love to find a phone message from either the local principal or just some kind of orientation representative in the district.

Realistically, we will be OK. We are motivated and we will make our choice, but this kind of research must be so difficult for many families.

There's also just the matter of marketing. We are ideologically committed to SPS, but if we get dumped into a poor program without options, we'll bolt. (We are in SE surrounded by schools with underperforming stats and socio-cultural stresses.) It would be in the district's interest (and so easy) to be proactive and see what our plans are for our 5 year-old next fall.

Parents need to know the number of open seats in each grade when we pick schools

2009-11-09T23:14:13-08:00

Rich Jensen suggested:
We need this information to make a reasonable judgment about the chance to get into a school outside our assigned attendance area. Even a rough estimate of open seats in each grade would be helpful. This should be posted on the District website along with testing profiles and other quantitative data about each school. It would be absurd to have our family try to pick a kindergarten that has no seats available.

Junk the Discovery Math curriculum and employ specialized math professionals. [updated]

2009-11-08T15:45:22-08:00

Kate Martin said:

Replicate the ice cream guy who plays the jingles and wanders through the neighborhood with frozen treats by creating Mobile Math Labs. You can just put a YES or NO sign in your window like UPS uses and the Mobile Math Lab will stop by or create hubs where people can find the Mobile Math Lab in their neighborhood.

Reduce central administration costs at SPS headquarters. [updated]

2009-11-08T15:41:05-08:00

Kate Martin said:

Get out of the JSCEE and into a building where it's possible to find people, know what they're doing and actually manage them. This building is not working and is adding to the administrative obesity of SPS. No amount of remodeling will fix it.

Utilize Community School Model

2009-11-08T15:38:55-08:00

Kate Martin suggested:
Make 24 / 7 / 365 campuses that are the center piece of communities for education, enrichment, support, and recreation. Co-house other community uses so that we fully utilize facilities. It's very successful in Tukwila and Portland. Time for Seattle to get on board. It saves money and improves outcomes.

Individual Education Plan

2009-11-08T15:36:12-08:00

Kate Martin suggested:
Develop and implement individual education plans for all students. Utilize 12 months of the calendar to achieve plan goals. Incorporate experiential learning opportunities during breaks and over summers.

Ramp Up Online Education Options

2009-11-08T15:30:21-08:00

Kate Martin suggested:
Fully integrate on line education into SPS.

Reinvent the Role of PTSA

2009-11-08T15:27:23-08:00

Kate Martin suggested:
Empower PTSA to take on issues other than fundraising.

Maintain equitable access for all to "Option" schools

2009-11-07T11:45:08-08:00

an anonymous user suggested:
The "Option" schools, such as TOPS, have provided true alternatives to families whose refererence area schools were not suitable for their child or family's needs, especially south end families. Access should continue to be by lottery (after siblings). The current proposed assignment plan now limits access to some of the best alternative programs to the generally wealthier, whiter and more vocal north end families. A good example is TOPS. TOPS has provided a true alternative high quality choice for many south end families. One of the best aspects of TOPS is its diverse, all city population...its what makes TOPS "TOPS". It will now essentially become the neighborhood school for the wealthier Eastlake and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. Radically changing what was most attractive and successful about TOPS.

Eliminate boundaries - use relative distance metric

2009-11-07T07:42:58-08:00

mpmorrow suggested:
Instead of boundaries, use a relative distance metric to prioritize enrollment. Consider anyone whose closest school is School A to have a "zero" distance to that school and all such people have the same priority, whether they are one mile or 0.1 mile away. If you apply to some other school, prioritize by relative distance as compared to your closest school. So if you are 1 mile from School A (your closest, elementary/middle/high school), and 1.3 miles from School B, your relative distance to apply to School B is 0.3 miles. This would cure all of the zones (Queen Anne, Magnolia) that aren't closest to anything on a straight metric but all have a "zero" distance school (Ballard) by this metric. It also eliminates the need to draw/redraw/haggle about boundaries, and predict "guaranteed" enrollment zones based on demographic projections.

Increase diversity under SAP. Ballard HS, for instance, will become very much whiter and richer

2009-11-06T10:55:08-08:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Increase lottery seats to 20% and use Free/reduced lunch criteria

Junk the Discovery Math curriculum and employ specialized math professionals.

2009-11-06T10:35:20-08:00

Do not use mapping for high schools [updated]

2009-10-20T06:39:19-07:00

Charlie Mas said:

And what tie-breakers would there be for over-subscribed schools? Just lottery? Siblings and then lottery? Would there be no predictability at all? What incentive would unpopular schools have to make themselves more popular when the District will assign students to them anyway? How would the District make mandatory assignments?

Please flesh out this idea with the operational details of how it would work for families who do not get their choice for assignment?

Merit Pay (and retention) for administrators

2009-10-18T12:03:31-07:00

We Need a Culture Change in How the District Approaches Parent Input [updated]

2009-10-14T17:13:11-07:00

Andrew K said:

Here's a simple example: They are collecting lots of parent input on the new assignment plan. I myself sent in some comments. Then I just read their summary of the comments up on http://www.seattleschools.org/area/newassign/commenthome.html. I do not see my comment anywhere. Do others feel the same way? The summary appears as if it has been summarized through the district's lens. If they were serious about understanding our input, they would let parents participate in the summary rather than just broadcast it to us. True participation is on-going and iterative... not just a one-time ask.

Do not use mapping for high schools [updated]

2009-10-13T13:28:44-07:00

Laura Heller said:

I disagree. Competition between schools can be very good to foster improvements and better accountability to parents. Parents who know the target school can get involved and demand improvements as a group or PTA. Not knowing where your child is going to school disempowers the community and parents.

Review Metro Bus routes and factor student travel time into High School allocation.

2009-10-12T10:49:08-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Review Metro Bus routes and factor student travel time into High School allocation. Allow high school students to choose their neighborhood school based on ease of access to Metro in addition to curricular / program preferences. Consider a sustainable approach by avoiding to transfer daily task of student transportation to parents.

Grandfather Siblings [updated]

2009-10-11T09:58:29-07:00

The new SAP represents a radical change to the school assignment process--one that many families do not even realize is coming. Providing grandfathering for a reasonable period of time (e.g., four years) would allow time to transition between the old and new plans. It also would serve many goals important to the district, including enabling stronger family engagement with schools, which is one of the stated goals of the new SAP.

3under7 said:

I believe there is a need for grandfathering of siblings. We, too, are one of those families on or near the newly-drawn boundary line, and it happens that our child's current school is within walking distance, closer to home (.25 miles - our current reference school is .23 miles) , and in the opposite direction of our "new attendance plan" school, which is far enough away to require busing.

It is not that the change is inherently bad. The previous system was crazymaking in its complexity, and clearly drove plenty of families away from public schools. If I had no children already in elementary school I would wholeheartedly embrace the new plan, bus and all, knowing that at least all 3 of my offspring would be headed to the same, reasonably competent, school.

But for those families with the bad luck to have children who are starting elementary both before and during this time of transition instead of after it, there are very real challenges without grandfathering - such as the possibility of having to deliver multiple children to multiple elementaries or bus stops at the same time of day and attempt to be "engaged" in multiple schools at once - already a challenge once kids are at different grade-level schools, but more difficult when they are youngest and most dependent.

Grandfather siblings to their historical reference area school !!! [updated]

2009-10-11T09:33:13-07:00

"Concerning a family who has a child or children who currently reside in and attend their CURRENT reference area school: If the new boundaries would move this child and his or her siblings to a different reference school and/or cluster, that child, and his or her siblings will be able to continue to attend the historic reference school and cluster; essentially the family would be "grandfathered" to the previous reference school." I feel that it is very important to distinguish these families, like ours, who consciously and deliberately purchased a home within a certain reference area so that our children, and family, could actively participate in the neighborhood school community. We worked hard to find a home that would ensure us the greatest opportunity to attend our neighborhood reference school. It is dissappointing (to say the least) to think that our hard work to accomodate and honor the historic reference area boundaries may be overlooked with a blanket policy elminating the grandfathering of siblings.

3under7 said:

As someone who lives within one block of the boundary for THREE schools under the new assignment plan, and attending one of those (.25 miles from our home) that is neither our current reference school nor our "new assignment plan" school, it is frightening to think of not being grandfathered. We, too, purchased our home with a particular elementary "neighborhood school" in mind, but looks like we may need to move to have our children go there.

Decrease class sizes

2009-10-10T11:34:41-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Reassign most subject matter coaches from the central office to the schools to decrease class sizes.

have student assessment come in the form of portfolios and narrative reporting

2009-10-10T10:50:54-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
testing, particularly standardised testing. does not give an accurate indicator of how well a child's critical thinking skills are developing... these tests are often written in ambiguous language and are often coached in culturally inappropriate terms. They rely too much and give too much weight to how a child is doing on the day... if they've woken up tired, cranky, stressed for any reason, if they dont perform well under test conditions, then their results are going to be unfairly skewed... narrative assessment, using observation, portfolios and student self-reflection are much more meaningful methods of assessing a child's progress through a whole year, not just through the hour-long window of test time...

vertical curricula for all academic subjects

2009-10-10T10:46:15-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
its being done in lots of other countries... allows for differentiated instruction, allows for kids to learn at their own level, does away with the foolishness of standardised testing

small multi-grade classes

2009-10-10T10:42:45-07:00

Reduce central administration costs at SPS headquarters.

2009-10-09T04:24:50-07:00

Duplicate the successful TOPS model [updated]

2009-10-08T20:48:18-07:00

The District is always talking about duplicating success but they never actually do it. One of the most successful models they have is TOPS, which is consistently one of the district's most popular schools with a long waitlist every year. Let's create another TOPS, this time at Wilson-Pacific, Fairmount Park, or Van Asselt.

Charlie Mas said:

School success should not be measured by how well the school serves one segment of the population, nor should the interests of any one group even be foremost among the criteria for success. Rather, a successful school is one that sets and maintains high expectations for all students, adequately supports struggling students, appropriately challenges academic high performing students, and supports the safety and emotional development of ALL of its students. The community is a good judge of what they want in a school and their enrollment choices are the truest measure of their approval - or disapproval - of a program. Popular does equal success when the mission to is enroll and retain students with the approval of their families.

Grandfather Siblings [updated]

2009-10-08T20:22:54-07:00

Concerned Parent said:

I have seen no evidence that grandfathering siblings would increase transportation costs. Of the people I know--myself included--the majority actually will need to be bussed to their NEW attendance area school, but could walk if they are grandfathered. (We live .3 miles from our current reference school but were drawn out of that boundary). So I don't see a cost savings. To the extent there are transportation costs, deal with that issue by not providing transportation to grandfathered students once their sibling ages out of the school.

Grandfathering siblings is irrelevant at the high school (Garfield or any other one) level. That is because there is a10% set aside for "choice" seats, with siblings as the first tiebreaker. So grandfathering isn't needed.

Guarantee access to Spectrum for eligible students

2009-10-08T19:51:56-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
The District should guarantee access to Spectrum for district-identified Spectrum-eligible students enrolled at their attendance area school in middle school and at the designated Spectrum site for their service area in elementary school. There is absolutely no excuse for the District to fail to right-size the program.

Re-open Lincoln as a comprehensive high school [updated]

2009-10-08T15:38:15-07:00

If Lincoln were re-opened as a comprehensive high school it would provide a nearby high school for students in Magnolia, Queen Anne, and both sides of the Montlake cut while allowing students in Ballard and the Northeast continued access to Ballard and Roosevelt high schools. The relocation of high school APP to Lincoln - centrally located for an all-city draw - would both give it instant credibility and open up 400 much needed seats at Garfield.

kerry said:

Does Seattle Public Schools own the building by the Center that used to house the district office? Is that where the current Center School is held? Leaving all APP at Garfield if you take out the siblings might work for the neighborhood, if we had an all city draw for a strong comprehensive school down town as well.

Grandfather Siblings [updated]

2009-10-08T15:16:05-07:00

kerry said:

I disagree. Some things do need to change and this would drag on some situations like expenses we are trying to eleminate including bussing across the city when the first sibling no longer attends the school, or over crowding at Garfield with siblings of APP students from across the city.

Duplicate the successful TOPS model [updated]

2009-10-08T14:22:22-07:00

n westerman said:

"Popular school" does not always equal "successful school". Popularity can be a function of historical reputation, the parent rumor mill, the perception of parents that families similar to their own attend a school, or other factors, primarily related to demographics. The apparent acdemic strength of TOPS, as judged by its relatively high WASL scores for 8th grade, is as much a function of its relatively low populations of low income students/families and relative over-representation of Caucasian and Asian students. Both these groups tend to do well no matter WHAT school they're in. So it could be argued that the "popularity"f TOPS says as much about the parents who chose TOPS as it does about the model. The model itself offers no advantage to those more statistically likely to fail, which should be foremost among the criteria for a "successful school".

Re-open Lincoln as a comprehensive high school [updated]

2009-10-07T22:34:57-07:00

kkt said:

I see the attraction of more high school seats without having to build from scratch, but I also see major disadvantages: a temporary space to house whatever school is being renovated is clearly going to be necessary indefinitely. If we don't have it at Lincoln, we'd need it somewhere else. Where else would that be? If it required construction, wouldn't it be simpler to build a new permanent high school somewhere else instead?

And second, as Kelly Charlton pointed out, it's not where we would put a high school if we had the choice. It's pretty close to Ballard HS. If we were putting it wherever we wanted it, wouldn't it be in Queen Anne, Magnolia, or Interbay?

Make International and Montessori schools/programs "option" schools.

2009-10-07T22:00:32-07:00

Define what constitutes an"option" school beyond a school without an attendance area.

2009-10-07T21:59:24-07:00

Use alternative programs to bring parents back to Seattle Public Schools [updated]

2009-10-07T15:28:28-07:00

Most ideas for improving Seattle Public Schools require additional funds. For example, lowering class size, while appealing to close the gap with private schools, would be too expensive to implement easily. Alternative programs can increase the appeal of public schools, expand the student population, improve market share, increase support from the community, and drive revenue, yielding gains for all schools. For example, the extremely popular language programs at John Stanford are oversubscribed. Depending on parent interest, additional schools with other specialized focuses (science, green/nature, cultural, math. advanced learning) could be created with all city draws, then expanded if successful. Alternative programs offer an inexpensive way to attract more students to our public schools. More students means more revenue, more support for our public schools in elections, and more community involvement in our schools.

Pete said:

I agree that unique programs can add to the learning at schools, but what is sometimes overlooked is the value of a school that teaches the fundamentals (reading, writing, arithmetic, critical thinking, exercise, ethics, foreign language). I wonder how many Seattle parents choose private schools or schools in other districts because those schools offer a thorough traditional education built to prepare students for idea shopping as they get older. Maybe a so-called back-to-basics school could be an alternative program.

Create an additional language immersion program at Jane Addams [updated]

2009-10-07T14:53:51-07:00

nacmom said:

Although I agree it's too soon to call JA a flop, I do know that a language immersion program in the NE would be a huge draw and that the intl middle school being a componet is a nice perk, plus the only slam dunk to fill JA at middle school. As all language immersion should be option schools, this one could lead by example. Most parents there would probably be excited about it, and if not, they could transfer to their attendance area school. It might take a few years to fully implement, but I get started now! Some language is better than none and program will expand/improve over time as appropriate staff are added and programs developed.

Develop an equitable system for evaluating teacher effectiveness; use the results to promote/fire. [updated]

2009-10-07T12:28:16-07:00

1) The single greatest determinant of student academic progress at a school is teacher effectiveness. It has more impact on progress along the learning continuum than class size, education spending, teacher pay, or student demographics/background. If we are going to spend a dollar to improve education, we’ll get the biggest bang for that buck by improving teacher quality. · A student assigned to an effective teacher for a single year may gain up to a full year’s worth additional academic growth compared to a student assigned to a poor teacher. · Effective teachers can achieve gains of 50 percentile points more than ineffective teachers when working with students of like background and prior achievement levels. This teaching difference can be the difference between future assignments of accelerated vs. remedial courses. · A child that has two weak teachers in a row may never recover from that deficit without a major intervention. Even very effective teachers in future years are unable to make up the lost time. · Over the last 50 years we have tripled the number of teachers in the US while the student population has increased by 50%, with no commensurate gains in academic performance. More teachers doesn’t equate to better learning. Better teaching does (it makes obvious intuitive sense -- a great teacher can be great with 28 or 32 students; an ineffective teacher is ineffective with 32 or 28 students). 2) The anger one feels when his/her child gets “the bad teacher” (or the relief you sense when you get the good class) is completely justified by the research. That placement decision will have a real and potentially insurmountable impact on a child’s future academic progress and thereby affect the rest of his/her life. Given that with two ineffective teachers in a row a child never makes up the difference, one could reasonably assume that knowing the effectiveness of each teacher should be of paramount importance, but… 3) The current processes for evaluating teacher quality/effectiveness are largely meaningless. In districts that use a binary evaluation rating (satisfactory vs. unsatisfactory), 99% of teachers are rated as satisfactory. 4) There is no incentive for anyone to change the evaluation process because evaluations have no impact in a system where seniority is the only factor in determining layoffs. 5) If our primary concern for our school system is how it can most improve the learning of our kids, then the issues that often get parent communities in an uproar (class size, numbers of schools and school closures, etc.) are red herrings that miss a (the?) critical point. It’s all about teacher quality – if parents are going to be outraged about something in schools, then the lack of clear measures of teacher effectiveness and the seniority-only RIF system should be at the top of the list. 6) Equally devastating is the missed opportunity of not actively identifying the great teachers who are in every school, capturing what they’re doing successfully, and finding effective means for sharing and replicating that success. The answers to many of our greatest educational challenges are sitting in successful classrooms across the country, and because we don’t have effective and objective evaluation systems we are failing to learn from the best and instead repeat the same mistakes and learning curves. It’s the definition of insanity… If we know all of this, then the adults involved are complicit in a negligent act – parents, teacher unions, individual teachers who remain silent, and district administrators. We are knowingly maintaining a system that every year will condemn some children to an educational deficit they will never recover from in order to protect the lowest performing adults in the system who cause this deficit. We all allow them to keep doing their damage and hope it isn’t our kid who gets the short straw, keeping potential superstar (or at least competent) teachers out of classrooms. Although this may not meet the legal definition of “negligence”, it’s hard to accept that a reasonably prudent person would do this – it’s negligent. The seniority-only system is the first lynchpin that needs to be pulled. While that remains in place, there will never be enough pressure or momentum to develop effective, objective evaluation processes for teachers – why bother with the effort to develop a complex evaluation system when it will have little/no impact on anything? If teacher effectiveness becomes a legitimate evaluation factor, then we will be forced to: 1) Define effective means for evaluating that effectiveness 2) Acknowledge based on data rather than opinion that certain teachers are outstanding and should be the focal point for shared learning and growth 3) Identify/implement professional development that measurably leads to increased teacher effectiveness 4) Acknowledge, again based on the data, that some teachers are ineffective and have remained so after being given opportunities and support to improve, and remove them from the classroom

Andrew K said:

Of course it won't be 100% fair, but straight seniority isn't 100% fair either and I'd rather err on the side of what is most fair to students. I wish the teacher's union would just take the lead on this... it needs to happen, so they should work to figure out the best system that can have proper oversight, protect whistle-blowers, hold principals accountable, etc. Doing this could also lead to more federal funding.

Develop an equitable system for evaluating teacher effectiveness; use the results to promote/fire.

2009-10-07T11:23:06-07:00

JSM suggested:
1) The single greatest determinant of student academic progress at a school is teacher effectiveness. It has more impact on progress along the learning continuum than class size, education spending, teacher pay, or student demographics/background. If we are going to spend a dollar to improve education, we’ll get the biggest bang for that buck by improving teacher quality. · A student assigned to an effective teacher for a single year may gain up to a full year’s worth additional academic growth compared to a student assigned to a poor teacher. · Effective teachers can achieve gains of 50 percentile points more than ineffective teachers when working with students of like background and prior achievement levels. This teaching difference can be the difference between future assignments of accelerated vs. remedial courses. · A child that has two weak teachers in a row may never recover from that deficit without a major intervention. Even very effective teachers in future years are unable to make up the lost time. · Over the last 50 years we have tripled the number of teachers in the US while the student population has increased by 50%, with no commensurate gains in academic performance. More teachers doesn’t equate to better learning. Better teaching does (it makes obvious intuitive sense -- a great teacher can be great with 28 or 32 students; an ineffective teacher is ineffective with 32 or 28 students). 2) The anger one feels when his/her child gets “the bad teacher” (or the relief you sense when you get the good class) is completely justified by the research. That placement decision will have a real and potentially insurmountable impact on a child’s future academic progress and thereby affect the rest of his/her life. Given that with two ineffective teachers in a row a child never makes up the difference, one could reasonably assume that knowing the effectiveness of each teacher should be of paramount importance, but… 3) The current processes for evaluating teacher quality/effectiveness are largely meaningless. In districts that use a binary evaluation rating (satisfactory vs. unsatisfactory), 99% of teachers are rated as satisfactory. 4) There is no incentive for anyone to change the evaluation process because evaluations have no impact in a system where seniority is the only factor in determining layoffs. 5) If our primary concern for our school system is how it can most improve the learning of our kids, then the issues that often get parent communities in an uproar (class size, numbers of schools and school closures, etc.) are red herrings that miss a (the?) critical point. It’s all about teacher quality – if parents are going to be outraged about something in schools, then the lack of clear measures of teacher effectiveness and the seniority-only RIF system should be at the top of the list. 6) Equally devastating is the missed opportunity of not actively identifying the great teachers who are in every school, capturing what they’re doing successfully, and finding effective means for sharing and replicating that success. The answers to many of our greatest educational challenges are sitting in successful classrooms across the country, and because we don’t have effective and objective evaluation systems we are failing to learn from the best and instead repeat the same mistakes and learning curves. It’s the definition of insanity… If we know all of this, then the adults involved are complicit in a negligent act – parents, teacher unions, individual teachers who remain silent, and district administrators. We are knowingly maintaining a system that every year will condemn some children to an educational deficit they will never recover from in order to protect the lowest performing adults in the system who cause this deficit. We all allow them to keep doing their damage and hope it isn’t our kid who gets the short straw, keeping potential superstar (or at least competent) teachers out of classrooms. Although this may not meet the legal definition of “negligence”, it’s hard to accept that a reasonably prudent person would do this – it’s negligent. The seniority-only system is the first lynchpin that needs to be pulled. While that remains in place, there will never be enough pressure or momentum to develop effective, objective evaluation processes for teachers – why bother with the effort to develop a complex evaluation system when it will have little/no impact on anything? If teacher effectiveness becomes a legitimate evaluation factor, then we will be forced to: 1) Define effective means for evaluating that effectiveness 2) Acknowledge based on data rather than opinion that certain teachers are outstanding and should be the focal point for shared learning and growth 3) Identify/implement professional development that measurably leads to increased teacher effectiveness 4) Acknowledge, again based on the data, that some teachers are ineffective and have remained so after being given opportunities and support to improve, and remove them from the classroom

optional donations to SPS at supermarkets, like the current non profit orgs.

2009-10-07T09:42:06-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
At all of the large supermarket chains there are Optional donations for many different organizations, Why not raise funds for all the Seattle schools this way, citywide, so there won't be such lopsided fundraising for schools in more affluent districts. There are many great programs that all the schools can benefit from with additional funds. Why not some creative fundraising ideas, we don't have to have the poverty mentality at our schools

We Need a Culture Change in How the District Approaches Parent Input [updated]

2009-10-07T09:29:04-07:00

Mercer Mom said:

Each principal at a school whose population would, in theory, change dramatically under the SAP should reach out to ask families what would make them feel positively about attending their assigned school and to communicate to families what the school plans to do to help make that happen. Particularly if that school is currently not a school that neighborhood families choose to send their kids to. And not just open houses -- door-to-door, more personal house parties.

Provide salaries and staff to the Seattle School Board [updated]

2009-10-07T06:47:57-07:00

The Seattle School Board has little power. They merely appoint a superintendent. They have little ability to investigate policy, verify information they receive from the superintendent's office, or audit the performance of the administration. Part of the problem lies in the fact that Seattle School Board seats are not full-time positions. School Board Directors have little time to spend on their duties and no funds to independently check or investigate the administration. If the School Board Directors were full time positions with a modest budget, they may have more ability to investigate and audit. It would allow the School Board to serve as a check and provide more accountability in government.

Michael H said:

Charlie: Technically speaking the Board already has several persons assigned to it, although they are simply administrative personnel (two persons). But most people don't know that the district's internal auditor reports directly to the Board (not upper management), or the Board's finance committee. The internal auditor is in the best position to do these types of investigations or to enforce policy. While I agree that they are under-paid, they are not unpaid volunteers. Their policy follows state law and allows them to be paid $50/day, and no more than $4,800 per year.

Create a Montessori program in West Seattle at Roxhill or Gatewood [updated]

2009-10-07T01:06:55-07:00

Montessori programs are popular and effective. There is one in the south and one in the north, but there isn't one in West Seattle. Either Roxhill or Gatewood could be the home of a Montessori program for West Seattle. Equitable access to quality programs requires the equitable distribution of those programs around the district.

Charlie Mas said:

The newest Montessori program is going into Old Hay. West Seattle could still use one. So could other parts of the north-end and south-end without access to such a program.

Create an additional language immersion program at Jane Addams [updated]

2009-10-07T01:03:36-07:00

Charlie Mas said:

Adding a language immersion program to Jane Addams is a good idea whether you think the school is a flop or not.

I agree with zabelais that language immersion schools should be option schools. Jane Addams IS an option school.

Grandfather siblings to their historical reference area school !!! [updated]

2009-10-07T00:05:52-07:00

Andrew K said:

If predictability is their goal, I also wonder about grandfathering moving forward. What if you live on one of the boundary lines in the new assignment area and then the district tweaks it next year (isn't it likely they'll need to)? Then will all those folks with siblings be out of luck? If predictability is the goal, it should be "family predictability" not just predictability for the current enrollment period.