This workspace: http://SeattleShadowSchoolBoard.pbworks.com [s3bi]
Created May 6, 2010.
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Contact us at seattleshadowschoolboard@gmail.com
Visit educationreform.pbworks.com Visit Seattle-Ed 2010
About the Seattle Shadow School Board....mission, vision
Seattle Shadow School Board endeavors to represent that public's interest as a watchdog of the Seattle Public School's Board of Directors. This will be accomplished by monitoring Board decision making, State Audits of the schools, and making policy recommendations to the Board of Directors.
Seattle Shadow School Board primarily represents the views of parents who understand that "Education Reform" is primarily a privatization agenda, and serves the interests of business over the interests of children. S3B is an organization that recognizes the need for change of public education, but desires a model of change that serves the best interests of children, rather than the best interests of business.
The goal of Seattle Shadow School Board and our partners Seattle-Ed 2010 and Social Equality Educators (a caucus of the local teachers' union) is to help people recognize the trap that the Education Reform/School Choice movement way of thinking creates for the well-being of our children and their ability to be truly creative and critical thinkers and not a bunch of "garbage-in/garbage out" automatons. It is also to help people realize that Ed Reform preys on schools that serve high proportions of low income children. It seeks to use "turnaround" of these schools to create business opportunities for "educational entreprenuers." It seeks to turn these schools into test prep factories, but does not seek to better the educational experience and future opportunities of the children who attend these schools.
Seattle Shadow School Board seeks that
- the District refrains from the discredited practice of high stakes testing, and avoids overtesting students
- the teachers in the classroom are professionals, not just test-prep instructors, and are treated and trusted as professionals, receive professional evaulations, are given superior curriculum to support their teaching;
- all students have access to high quality textbooks in good condition, have safe schools, have sufficient access to nursing, career, college, and phsychosocial counselling, have well-stocked libraries and adequate access to the library and the librarian, have adequate classroom supplies;
- teachers are allowed to require children to complete homework and master material before being advanced to the next grade; struggling children are identified early and receive effective remediation so that few or no children need to held back to repeat a grade.
Reverse Chronology of Significant Events in the Life of Seattle Public Schools
05 October 2010 Diane Ravitch makes a virtual appearance in Seattle, with co-panelists Dora Taylor, co-editor of Seattle Education 2010; Wayne Au with Rethinking Schools, and Jesse Hagopian, a founding member of SEE, Social Equality Educators caucus of the Seattle Teachers Union. . http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/forum-with-diane-ravitch-coming-soon/
04 October 2010 The League of Women Voters decided to take "no position" on the November 2010 ballot measure for a special levy for Seattle Public Schools. "...With the 2010 audit results this summer, we are additionally concerned about responsible, transparent use of the Seattle Public School's resources for the benefit of children in the classroom and accountability to the voters...." See the full statement on page 13 of this document: :http://www.seattlelwv.org/sites/default/files/voteroct10web.pdf
04 October 2010 Community members noticed that a proposal from the Superintendent to allow Teach For America recruits to teach in SPS quietly appeared on the agenda for the Wed. Oct 6 board meeting. After expressions of outrage from the community, the introduction item was removed from the agenda.
21 Sept 2010 Court rejects voters petition to recall four school board directors.
Sept 2010 Teachers vote in favor of contract proposal; Teachers Union votes with near unanimity to declere "No-Confidence" in the Superintendent.
01 Sept 2010, 4:30 pm
- 24 hours before the Sept 2 meeting of SEA, the 32 page tentative agreement is reached. The popular press indicates that agreement represents a rejection of the Superintendent's SERVE proposal. An evaluation of the agreement indicates that key elements of SERVE are embedded in this tentative agreement, although difficult to find. Furthermore this document has a clause that will prevent SEA from standing in the way of the formation of charter schools, and the hiring on non-union instructors at charter schools, at such time as the state legislature approves a charter school authorization law.
- The tentative agreements:
- Parent J. Sias' summary of the portions of the Certificated TA that pertain to high stakes testing, merit pay, and charter schools...click here to open in a new window.
18 Aug 2010 RALLY WEDN 5:20 PM : Parents, show your support for teacher opposition to SERVE at an SEA rally at the John Stanford Center 2445 3rd Avenue S.on Wednesday, just before the board meeting. Please bring signs. Click here to see ideas for anti-Education Reform slogans.
Aug 2010: SPS is pushing SEA teacher's union to accept merit pay and other anti-child provisions.
- SPS proposes "SERVE" to replace the "PGE." PGE is a proposal that was developed by the District and the Union in a collaborative fashion over a two-year period. SERVE is a "last minute end-run" by the Superintendent around the PG&E proposal.
- Click here to see a comparison of the proposals, written by SEA president.
- Click here to see cogent comments about SERVE and merit pay.
- Alliance For Education and League of Education Voters both support SERVE and asks parents to support SERVE: http://alliance4ed.blogspot.com/2010/08/community-groups-renew-push-for-reform.html
- S3B DOES NOT support SERVE: We view it as anti-child. Best practices research argues against merit pay.
06 Aug 2010: Parents file an appeal of the Board's decision to purchase a MAP subscription for the 2010-2011 school year
- S3B endorses this action
- Click here to view the press release & the pdf of the 17 pp. appeal
- Thank you to Dan Dempsey, Cecilia (McCormick) Palao-Vargas, and Sahila for the main writing/editing of the appeal. Thank you to Pat Bailey and Robert Fermiano for paying for the initial filing expenses ($370 total).
22 July 2010 Appeal is filed.
- Parents file an appeal of the School Boards decision to add a third year to the Superintendent's employment contract..
- This recall effort is endorsed by Seattle Shadow School Board.
- The proximal basis for the appeal is the Board's disregard of the extraordinary findings of inadequacies in the Superintendent's management and oversight of the district by the State Auditor, as reported in a document released July 6 2010 (the day prior to the Board's vote on contract extension)
- Here is a link to the 2nd State Auditors Report. http://www.sao.wa.gov/findings/1003871.pdf
- Quote from page 17 of the report. "The School Board and District management have not implemented sufficient policies and controls to ensure the District complies with state laws, its own policies, or addresses concerns identified in prior audits."
22 July 2010 Petitions for recall are filed.
- Parents file petitions to recall the five directors of Seattle Public Schools who are responsible for the management of the district during the period covered by the July 6 2010 audit report, and who voted subsequent to the release of the Audit report to extend the superintendent's contract..
- This recall effort is endorsed by Seattle Shadow School Board.
- For up-to-date information on the recall, visit http://seattle2010recall.blogspot.com/
07 July 2010 School Board votes to add a third year to Superintendent's contract.
- The School Board comments publically on the Auditor's findings,
- Despite the remarkable findings of this report, and despite many expressions of lack of public and teacher support for the Superintendent, the Board decides in a 5-2 vote to add a third y's employment contract.
06 July 2010 State Auditor's report on SPS released
- The report covers the period 01 Sept 2008 through 31 Aug 2009.
- The State Auditor releases the second and final installment of 2010 audit report on Seattle Public Schools.
- Link to the report: http://www.sao.wa.gov/findings/1003871.pdf
21 June As if this date schools have signed no-confidence resolutions: Franklin High School, Ballard High School, Sanislo, Schmitz Park, Laurelhurst, Orca, Ida B Wells, Green Lake Elementary and Maple Elementary. West Seattle HS, A signature on the community declaration of no-confidence indicates that John Rogers staff also lacks confidence in the Superintendent.
June 21 SEA recommends non-extension of Superintendent's contract...click here
Please sign the community no-confidence petition, opposing the adding of a year to the Superintendent's current contract
- Current contract expires in July, 2012. The Board will make a final decision on the annual changes to the superintendent's contract on July 7, 2010.
- Click here to acces the petition [URL = http://www.petitiononline.com/S3B62010/petition.html]
- Signature count June 8 7 pm: 87 | Jun 9 6pm: 137 | Jun 15 2pm 309 | Jun 22 2 pm 368
- See these Blog post about the Seattle Shadow School Board, the no-confidence resolution and the rallies....
- Media coverage of June 16 Rally
- Media coverage of No-confidenc vote campaign
Superintendent No-Confidence Rallies in June/July 2010
- June 16: A proposal for adding a third-year extension to the Superintendent's contract (current contract expires July 1, 2012), and awarding a pay raise and bonuses will be introduced at the publically-open general legislative session of the School Board.
- June 11: The earliest date at which proposed changes to the Superindent's contract can be viewed. See below (i.e., section entitled "To view the proposal") for instructions on how to access this proposal.
- June 2, June 16, July 7: Rally event for 30 minutes prior to start of general legislative session of the School Board (5:30 - 6 pm), John Stanford Center
- July 7, Seattle Shadow School Board will issue its own final evaluation of the Superintendent, and its recommendation for Superintendent contract extention, pay raise, and bonuses.
- July 7: The introduction item from the July 16 meeting will move the the "action agenda" of the publically-open July 7 general legislative session of the School Board. We may stage another rally for this date.
To view the proposal
- on or after June 11, Click here. (this link will be cold until June 11). This will bring up the agenda for the June 16 meeting. Here is the full URL, in case the preceding ("click here") link doesn't work: http://www.seattleschools.org/area/board/09-10agendas/060210agenda/061610agenda.pdf
- Wihin the pdf file that will open in a separate window, look through the "introduction agenda" section for a title pertaining to the Superintendent's performance evaluation and/or contract. Click on the hot links that you see associated with that agenda item. One of these will contain the proposed changes to the Superintendent's contract.
Articles and essays pertaining to this year's cycle of the annual evaulation of the Superintendent.
- Evidence of widespread dissatisfaction with Maria Goodloe Johnson
- Coming soon: calendar of Board activities pertaining to this year's Superintendent annual evaluation
- Superintendentend evaulation protocols
- The current protocal (follows the Broad Foundation model)
- The John Carver Policy Governance model for "CEO" Evaulation...Now, wouldn't this be a great improvement over what we have now!
Coming soon:
- S3B strategic plan for reclaiming our schools
Most recently added content:
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