Monday, June 21, 2010

MGJ Contract Extension: Just say NO!!!

Time to send a few letters to the Seattle school board.

Here is one of mine.
http://www.box.net/shared/bq83n9xis6


the address to use is: schoolboard@seattleschools.org

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

BIG RALLY 5:30 PM 6-16-2010
NO CONFIDENCE in MGJ

#1 The Seattle Schools are out of control

due to lousy misguided central administration.
Four rubber-stampers on the school board compound the problem with 4-3 decisions by supporting many expensive ill conceived plans from Superintendent MGJ.

#2 The Principle task of the school board these days is to maintain the facade attempting to cover up #1 above.

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If you are a Seattle resident ==> Join the revolution by signing this petition. Get your Seattle neighbors to sign as well.

Anyone is welcome to come to the Rally on Wednesday starts at 5:30 PM at 3rd & Lander
in SODO less than a mile south of Safeco. If you work in Seattle drop by after work.

Need reasons to come or sign?
Try the comments accompanying this article.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Studying Engineering Before They Can Spell It
((appreciation courses))

In the New York Times:
Studying Engineering Before They Can Spell It

William E. Kelly, a spokesman for the American Society for Engineering Education and former dean of the engineering school at Catholic University in Washington, cautioned that engineering lessons for youngsters should be kept in perspective.

“You’re NOT really learning what I would call engineering fundamentals,”
he said of such programs. “You’re really learning about engineering.”

That is really appropriate as for over a decade most schools had their students learning about math, which resulted in the majority of students completely unable to do much math.... Since these students have no real tools to ever become engineers .... they get an Engineering Appreciation course to accompany their Math Appreciation courses. ... What progress!!!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE)

http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/historical-victory-core-wins-leadership-of-chicago-teachers-union/

CORE wins Chicago School leadership .. a big blow to RttT and the Arne Agenda I hope.

Math Genocide by "caste" and "ethnicity" in Seattle
is ongoing and apparently unstoppable.

Here is my letter to Seattle School Director Kay Smith-Blum in this regard.
Here is the document referenced in the letter: David Orbits 5 year Trend report.

Here is my initial letter seeking guidance from OSPI in Stopping Math Genocide.

Here are the questions OSPI asks to determine how about $50 million gets alloted in SIG money. School Improvement Grants.

Here is BERC's view of Cleveland.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

More NO CONFIDENCE in MGJ

On Thursday 6-10-2010
Laurelhurst elem. voted 20-2-2 NO CONFIDENCE.
Orca K-8 voted No Confidence 25-1-1.
=========
Joining Ballard, Schmitz Park, Sanislo in SEA Votes of No Confidence
and a Frankin straw poll showing No Confidence

Monday, June 7, 2010

No Confidence in Seattle's MGJ
online Petition available now your signature needed

http://www.petitiononline.com/S3B62010/petition.html
Seattle Residents a petition of No Confidence in the Superintendent.
Do not miss out on Signing and get your neighbors on board.

Need more reasons for signing this
you can find me at minute 29:00 HERE.

On KOMO TV

A Private School’s Ads Imply Public School Slippage : NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/nyregion/01schools.html?ref=education

Hey Seattle looks like a few folks still find class size important.
$11 million for 111 academic coaches for teachers that produce nothing in the way of results and this is leadership??? Fire the Superintendent.

OSPI buys the Common Core extortion : 6-2-2010

http://www.k12.wa.us/Communications/PressReleases2010/CommonCoreStandardsReleased.aspx

The Rift Between Teachers and Democrats Widens
and my connecting the dots

http://blog.buzzflash.com/contributors/3249
.... by Shamus Cooke

The corporate media is brutally honest on rare occasions. Take for example a recent article in The New York Times Magazine, titled "The Teachers’ Unions' Last Stand" (05-23-10).

The title itself is surprisingly sincere, since it admits that the nation’s teachers are being targeted for attack by the Obama Administration through his “Race to the Top” education reform. And although the article has an inherently corporate bias, it contains many revelations that have been otherwise ignored in the mainstream media.
..... excellent piece and worth reading. Thank You to Buzzflash and Shamus Cooke
==============
Connecting the Dots ... In the NY Times article former secretary of Education Richard Riley is mentioned. See this. In 2001 he became a highly paid director of KnowledgeWorks Foundation, which is now the Parent of the New Technology Network, which is providing the Seattle Schools their pathetic NTN STEM model of Project Based Learning for Cleveland Option STEM high school. fee $800,000 .... NTN has 41 sad schools KWF plans to have 500 in 5 years ..... When dufus thinkers like OSPI and SPS sprinkle around really huge money, they spend it to improve nothing. Past performance results are never really analyzed ... like Director Carr promotional brochures from providers are read and hundreds of thousands spent while factual data is ignored. What a giant fixed game education has become.

At least now I know why the four directors that voted for NTN twice (2-3-10 and 4-7-10)
received $480,000 in campaign donations in 2007 ... look at all those 4-3 votes lately..... anyone still think we live in a republic?

Friday, June 4, 2010

Sanislo NO CONFIDENCE (18-1)
June 4, 2010

Today, June 4, 2010, union members of Sanislo Elementary voted “no confidence” in the Seattle School District Superintendent. They approved the following motion by a vote of 18 to 1 with no abstentions.

Whereas the Seattle Schools Superintendent is a member of the board of directors on the Broad Foundation, which lobbies for and financially supports charter schools across the nation, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s strategic plan was drawn up by the McKinsey & Co, under boycott by SEA for their nation-wide advocacy for charter schools, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s performance management plan does not address the real needs of struggling students but instead holds teachers and schools accountable for issues beyond their control, and

And whereas the Superintendent’s performance management plan relies on MAP testing purchased from the NWEA, on which the Superintendent is a Board Director, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s “inclusion model” for special education and English Language Learning students does not provide sufficient resources to support these student’s needs without having reduced class size, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s poor judgment and handling of school closures, resulted in needless disenfranchisement of minority families and the overcrowding of schools, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s new student assignment plan will result in increased racial and economic segregation, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s poor management resulted in laying off then rehiring needed teachers, and

Whereas the Superintendent has failed to submit a certified Record on four grassroots-initiated law suits in violation of RCW 28A.645.020, thereby circumventing citizen’s rights to due process,

Be it resolved the union members at Sanislo Elementary School hereby declare we have NO CONFIDENCE in the leadership of Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson.

The Ballard High School NO CONFIDENCE
(35-1)

Here is the extensive list from Ballard .... the Ballard folks that started on May 26 the hopefully coming chain of NO CONFIDENCE votes .... They were followed by Schmitz Park on June 3.

Schmitz Park Elementary voted
“No Confidence” in the Seattle Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson
(15 - 0)

Union Members of Schmitz Park Elementary voted “no confidence” in the Seattle School District Superintendent Dr. Goodloe-Johnson

Today, June 3, 2010, union members of Schmitz Park Elementary voted “no confidence” in the Seattle School District Superintendent. They approved the following motion by a vote of 15 to 0, with 3 abstentions.


Whereas the Seattle Schools Superintendent is a member of the board of directors on the Broad Foundation, which lobbies for and financially supports charter schools across the nation, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s strategic plan was drawn up by the McKinsey and Co, who advocate for charter schools nation-wide, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s performance management plan does not address the real needs of struggling students but instead holds teachers and schools accountable for issues beyond their control, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s poor judgment and handling of school closures resulted in needless disenfranchisement of minority families and the overcrowding of schools, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s new student assignment plan will result in increased racial and economic segregation, and

Whereas the Superintendent’s poor management resulted in laying off then rehiring needed teachers, and

Whereas the Superintendent has failed to submit a certified Record on four grassroots-initiated law suits in violation of RCW 28A.645.020, thereby circumventing citizen’s rights to due process,

Be it resolved the staff at Schmitz Park, by majority vote, hereby declare we have NO CONFIDENCE in the leadership of Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Rally to Express Dissatisfaction
Wednesday June 16 at 5:30 PM

On Wednesday May 26th Ballard High School teachers voted NO CONFIDENCE in the Seattle Schools Superintendent. (35 yes, 1 no, 2 abstained)
On Thursday June 3rd Schmitz Park Elementary School teachers voted (15 yes, 0 no, 3 abstained)
On Friday June 4th Sanislo Elementary voted (18 yes, 1 no)

Coming event on Wednesday June 16, 2010 at 5:30 PM at 3rd Ave South and Lander Street
(Seattle Schools Central Administration Building)
MAP HERE

School Board meeting starts at 6:00 PM

Rally to Express Dissatisfaction


and oppose a contract extension


The School Board is considering extending Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson's current contract, which has two years remaining, an additional year.

Please come and express your opposition to this extension.


at 5:30 on Wednesday evening June 16, 2010.
Intro item is June 16 ... final vote on contract extension is July 7.

Meg Diaz speaking on Title I foolishness

I am departing from the Big Math focus to devote more time to Nonsense in Seattle Schools as well as the Superior Court in King County. Meg exposes some more of Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson's SPS nonsense below:
===

My name is Meg Diaz. I’m speaking about Thurgood Marshall.

This year, Thurgood Marshall was allocated about two hundred forty thousand dollars of Title I funding. Because of its title status, it also then received substantial additional stimulus funding. Next year, because of your decision to split APP and put half of elementary APP in the Thurgood Marshall building, the school will lose its title status. It will, however, receive just shy of two hundred eighty thousand dollars of performance management money.

It sounds fine as long as you don’t look beyond the top line. Thurgood Marshall’s Title one money was for the general ed program – a program in which over 85% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch, one of the highest concentrations of poverty in the district. The performance management money is for the entire school of over 400 students. This means that the roughly 200 general ed children at Thurgood Marshall will have less than half the supports that they currently get, and yet will still need just as badly next year. Math support for the general ed kids will all but disappear, and their class sizes are likely to grow yet again. It is time for the board to intervene on behalf of these vulnerable students.

You, as a board, seem wary of venturing down a path of rigorous oversight and direction of the Superintendent, largely because of conflict between past boards and Superintendents. But there is a substantial middle ground between calm, appropriate oversight and protracted conflict.

Evidence is mounting that closer oversight is warranted for matters beyond Thurgood Marshall.
― The state auditor, as well as noting numerous other irregularities, has stated that because of errors and omissions in financial statements, “financial statement users do not have accurate information to evaluate and understand the financial picture of the district.”
― Management of capacity issues has caused enormous disruption and expense
― You are well aware of the data I have presented suggesting central administration is significantly overgrown. For 2008-09, central administration staffing hit a twelve year high. But I will point out again that in 2008-09, central administration hit a 12-year high. The low, in 1998, wasn’t during a period of weak leadership, but rather under the hands-on, accountable guidance of John Stanford, at a point when the district served several thousand more students than it currently does.

Tonight, though, I am asking for a simple fix on a smaller scale. Allow Thurgood Marshall to keep its performance management money for reading, but direct the Superintendent to restore their Title I status – which likely means restoring the title status of two other schools – and with it, give Thurgood Marshall’s faculty the support they need to properly serve the vulnerable general education students.

Providing additional oversight and direction when staff implementation has failed is not meddling or micromanaging on your part – it’s follow-through to ensure the education of district students is being protected.

Thank you.
=======

Meg Diaz blogs at Dolce and Nutella

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Washington's RttT application (900 pages)

Do NOT Miss this if you have time to look at 900 pages; complete with assessments for kindergarten.

Bureaucrats gone mad.

http://www.waracetothetop.org/documents/Washington%20State%20Appendices.pdf

Is this what the sponsors of ESSB 6696 wanted to do to us?

Testimony: Fire Superintendent with cause

6-2-2010

Board members I am Dan Dempsey,

My dad told me 50 years ago: “You can’t Fight City Hall.” He meant systems are in place that cannot be overcome.

Three big questions are:
#1 Why is the District failing to follow laws governing its decision making?
#2 Why does the district fail financial audits? and
#3 Why does the District fail Native American Students and many others?

On February 4th the Court ruled the Board made an arbitrary and capricious decision in approving math instructional materials … at the time of the decision the Superintendent’s employee Ms. Ferguson gave evidentiary materials to the board, which excluded vast amounts of pertinent public correspondence. This exclusion was clearly in violation of the law.

On March 3rd The Superintendent chose to appeal a Court Order that referred the math adoption decision back to the Board. The decision simply required the Board to reconsider its instructional materials decision using “all the evidence”.

Laws have not protected citizens effectively; in part because public officials are failing the citizens. It is absurd that parents need to raise tens of thousands of dollars to oppose the illegal actions of the Seattle School District.

Whenever any School Board decision is appealed State Law RCW 28A 645.020 requires, within 20 days of appeal, production of the certified correct transcript of the evidence used by the school board at the time of their decision. In six grassroots cases filed over the last 18 months, the District has not complied with the Certified Records requirement.

School closures, New Student Assignment Plan, Math Instructional materials, and the $800,000 New Technology Network contract -- all of these decisions were illegal, because, (in addition to other shortcomings) no complete official records of evidence were maintained. In particular, compelling evidence provided by the community was largely excluded.

It is absurd to renew the Superintendent’s contract for an additional 3rd year, when firing her with cause is in order.


Results do matter. When it comes to results the Superintendent has delivered very little academically or fiscally that is positive. When she had fulfilled only 25% of her own goals, the board awarded her a $5000 bonus in a budget-restricted environment.

Illegal decision-making compels the public to seek funds to resist destructive proposals coming from the Superintendent, yet the Board rubber-stamps those proposals and rewards this administrator with a $5000 bonus.

Sadly parents have not overcome this corrupt system.. so far.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

March and Rally on 6-2-2010 to STOP the Superintendent

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2010/05/march-and-rally-on-6-2-2010-to-stop.html

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2010/05/ballard-staff-vote-35-to-1-no.html

KUOW wants to hear from parents at Rally

Hi Families,

Phyllis Fletcher, a reporter for KUOW (our local public radio station), is planning on being at the rally tomorrow. She would love to hear from families with interesting stories that illustrate why they are personally at the rally. For example, how the district is not serving your child and how you feel the superintendent is responsible for that.

So, here is a chance to tell our stories and challenges it to a wider audience. Phyllis told me to let you know that you should look for her if you have a story to tell and are willing to be interviewed on tape on the spot.

Here is a link to her bio and a picture so you can find her if you have a something to say: http://www.kuow.org/about/staff.php?staff=1259

And long term, aside form the rally, she is also interested in hearing from people who are having trouble getting their kids' needs met in the school system. Her contact information is available at the link above. If you don't have a chance to speak with her tomorrow, feel free to contact her.
Thanks,
Katy

Cleveland OHIO teachers displaced in Innovation Schools

Barring an agreement on concessions, Cleveland is set to ax 546 teachers in June. The cuts will sweep out large blocs of staff in 10 popular "innovation schools," where side agreements with the teachers union allow principals to disregard seniority in hiring, reaching outside the system if they think it's necessary. Such newer teachers will be among the first to go.

One of the innovation schools, Warner Girls Leadership Academy, a single-gender elementary school, will say goodbye to 11 of its 18 teachers. The vacancies will have to be filled from within the union.

Principal Lesley Jones Sessler puts a brave face on the situation, saying the school will persevere.

"We can still be successful," she said. "Nowhere was it written that my teachers would be protected from something like this."

But foundations that invested millions of dollars in the innovation schools are dismayed. The cuts also may disappoint corporate and state officials who have sunk money into the initiative.

Teachers' seniority rights under assault in Cleveland, across the nation
By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer

May 31, 2010, 6:00AM

===================================
Disruption is hardly a good idea for most educationally disadvantaged students ... but try telling that to WA State's OSPI. Bogus RttT turn around models appear to be on the way.

Did Congress Authorize Race to the Top?
By Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst

I wrote an EdNews.org article on this same issue HERE

The link to Whitehurst's Ed Week article follows:
http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/04/28/30whitehurst_ep.h29.html&destination=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/04/28/30whitehurst_ep.h29.html&levelId=2100

As several legislators have noted this is an unauthorized power grab by Obama/Duncan. This is a Race to the Bank for the buddies of Ob/Dun and a remarkable illegal sham. Those political contributions by the Big Boys ruling America sure do payoff.

Think Enron comes to education and you will have an appropriate image.
EdNews article on Enron parallels to RttT HERE.

"The Race to the Top initiative substitutes the phrase “turning around our lowest-achieving schools” for the language of “supporting struggling schools” in the ARRA, defines low-performing schools entirely differently from how the ESEA does, and requires that applicants impose one of four newly defined intervention models on those schools, rather than one of the five options in the ESEA."
==========
In Seattle this allowed the District to spend $800,000 pointlessly on New Technology Network guidance for Cleveland High School and then find OSPI awarding the SPS $2.1 million on School Improvement Grants.... on the flimsy premise that Seattle's moves were "Bold and Disruptive" (and this will improve student learning).....

That shows us how far off the tracks OSPI currently is......{Yet to recover from Bergeson era}

Instead of looking for reliable proven practices .... "Bold and Disruptive" gets Seattle $2.1 million.

This is complete an utter nonsense and an enormous waste of public funds.

The Cleveland HS option school proposal is under appeal in Superior Court as it is part of the New Student Assignment Plan .... and the $800,000 New Technology Network contract is also under appeal .... The School Board is in the habit of making Arbitrary and Capricious decisions.

Will the Superior Court judges continue to allow the SPS to avoid following RCW 28A 645.020?
=========

Whitehust goes on with: ..."Based on the ARRA itself, I don’t think Congress intended to give Secretary Duncan the carte blanche he took. But even if it did, once was enough. This issue is real, because the administration has proposed that the Race to the Top be an annual competition."
=========
Note about Seattle SIG Grant:
there were 47 failing schools identified in WA
41 applied for grant money
18 received funding
Seattle went 3 for 3 in gaining funds for three failing schools
West Seattle Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, and Cleveland High School.

A major component of being identified as failing were WASL math scores from the last three years. Seattle has lousy instructional materials for math and lousy results and yet OSPI awards Seattle $2.1 million without even a mention of the Seattle Math situation.

I hear the sound of dollars flushing.

CPPS Annual Meeting - Tonight 6-1-2010

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=0015XVNn_3fRZVckuK0z6fyCxzkae3ywY-xtr-Zcmwsiu-Q64gWq7nMQEcFW_JP_K05mUCTHj-HvskMAsTHI3ZQmC6zUd-L34d65docHjr0jqTOTZOw_iaYkQ%3D%3D

June 1, 2010
CPPS Annual Meeting - Tonight

Tuesday, June 1st, 6:30pm
John Stanford International School
4057 5th Ave. NE (Wallingford), cafeteria

Childcare provided

They are having a business meeting first, electing new officers/Board members and approving a budget from 6:30- 7:00 p.m.

Then they are having a panel on Parent Leadership from 7-8:30 p.m. with Directors Kay Smith-Blum and Betty Patu along with PTSA leader, Heidi Bennett.

The public is invited.

Panel Guests include: Betty Patu - Seattle School Board, Kay Smith-Blum - Seattle School Board, Heidi Bennett - Seattle Council PTSA

Massachusetts is taking another shot at getting millions of federal dollars to create new programs and overhaul failing schools.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2010/05/31/state_trying_again_for_250m_us_education_grant/?page=1

The Bogus Idea that Centralized Control by Obama/Duncan will be good for kids continues.

Nothing quite says Chicago like bribes and extortion ...
a new kind of politics
coming out of Chicago ...
and what percentage of naive voters bought that line?

June 18 at WSHS : "RACE to NOWHERE" screening

http://www.racetonowhere.com/screenings/west-seattle-high-school-seattle-ca

West Seattle High School, Seattle, WA

Date and Time:
June 18, 2010 - 6:00pm

Screening Sponsored by Washington Education Association and Reel Link Films

5pm Registration ; 6pm Film Starts ; 7:30pm Discussion with the director, Vicki Abeles

Not about "Race to the Top", but frenetic high school life experienced by high achievers etc.