At the SPS board meeting on Ootober 1, 2008.
This came up .... High School Math text selection time table.
Charlie Mas posted a recap in the Seattle Schools blog.
It is worth a look:
http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2008/10/board-meeting-of-october-1-2008.html
Finally, I get agree with Charlie on something - I think the board is applying pressure in the right direction and shouldn't move one step forward until they are satisfied with the curriculum selection process. As per board policy the committee should include members of the interested public. There is a concern about Seattle's math and science programs and the district administration needs to respond to it logically and fairly. de la Fuente has a long bumpy road ahead of her.
ReplyDeleteI just received the WASL results for my daughter who graduated in Washington State from eighth grade and in all of the tests she scored below proficiency. She is bilingual and Mexican American with a small reading disability but never tested.
ReplyDeleteShe does however have some very special talents in girl's athletics and visual arts. Next year, she's hoping to compete in Nationals.
Needless to say we left Washington a month ago and she is now attending a Music and Performing Arts Magnet and liking her education much better. Both my kids and their friends all claim Washington schools are racist.
Overall, she averaged B's and C's in Washington. But she had to take 2 classes of math in both 7th and 8th grade - she had no electives, and she was training about 30 hours per week. Connected Math she finished with a D. And for taking the WASL prep math class she got an A.
The curriculum used was Connected Math and Annenburg's CAI math software.
Washington schools have divided communities. I have not witnessed such racial injustice, not since my childhood.
While I might sound concerned and frustrated. Imagine my daughter's anger and her distrust of adults. School is no longer a caring institution and Bergeson's indifference to children's needs will haunt your state for generations.
Your schools have a real problem and aside from being a religious teapot that subscribes to racial prejudice, Washington's problems probably start with a curriculum that so far has succeeded in only elevating itself. I have never seen so many snakes in a schoolhouse.