Washington Teachers

And Then There Were None

2009-09-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Two interesting pieces of related information that I've stumbled across in recent weeks: the high school football teams in both Republic and Garfield-Palouse had to give up 11-man football because of a lack of players.

It's interesting watching the demographic shifts impact our small towns here in Eastern Washington. Where a farm family used to be 3, 4, 5 kids or more, it's now far more rare to see a family that big. Similarly, you used to see 10 families each farming 160 acres, and now you'll find 2 families each doing 800.

These are generalizations, surely, and may not fit for every town and every situation. What is apparent is that there are towns in our state that are struggling more than ever, and the school districts that support those towns are struggling right along with them.

This is why I have every expectation that school district consolidation will come back up during the upcoming legislative session in January. Fair or not, some districts are going to have to make an affirmative case for why they should continue, instead of the assumption being that they will continue. Given the reality of HB2261 and the spending it will require it's clear that the legislature is going to need to pinch every penny to make the plan work.

In some cases, that might mean pinching our rural towns as well.

Another School District Disbands Their Union

2009-09-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

crossposted

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation's Liberty Live blog has the scoop about the St. John's Education Association voting to decertify the union and throw in with the Northwest Professional Educators instead. That makes them the second school district this decade to do so, following the lead of Sprague-Lamont in 2004.

Good for them. If a group of teachers wants to go it alone that's absolutely their right. As a local president I know that I lean on my Uniserv representatives pretty heavily and wouldn't want to fight some of the fights I've had to fight without them (and here's a public thank you to Sally, Pat, and Mike for the work they do).

I think, too, that Sprague-Lamont is an interesting case. If you wander over to the OSPI website and look at the financial data for the district (you'll have to hunt, because Sprague-Lamont is actually Sprague and Lamont until school consolidation happens), but here's some of the information you'll find:

In 2004 the Lamont School District had a .6 principal and no superintendent. By last year they had budgeted for a .180 superintendent (at a cost of $23,315)
In 2004 "Teaching Activities" accounted for 47.21% of the spending in Lamont. In 2009, that had gone down to 45.53%
In 2004 the salary and benefits package for the .6 FTE principal in Lamont added up to $47,487. The budgeted amount for last year? $57,650. That's a raise of better than $2,000 a year.

In Lamont, then, the percentage of the pie spent on teachers has gone down, while at the same time the principal is making $10,000 a year more (out of a budget of about $811,000) and they have superintendent spending that they didn't 5 years ago.

At the same time, the number of students enrolled full-time at Lamont has dropped from an average of 36.89 in 2004-2005 to an average of 32 last year. Declining enrollment, less money for teachers, but they've added a superintendent and upped the pay for the principal.

But that's only the Lamont part of the school combination, where the kids go for middle school. What about Sprague, the larger district that takes the students for K through 5 and high school?

In 2008-2009, the principal made $73,416 a year, up from $65,225 in 2004-2005.
In 2004-2005, Sprague had a full time (1.0 FTE) superintendent, but by 2008-2009 that had been cut down to .540. Success!
But wait....in 04-05 that Superintendent made $80,000 a year, but in 08-09 it was $69,944. That's because they raised the base salary that the Superintendent's take-home salary is figured off of, and the practical effect is that a nearly 50% cut in time only amounted to a 12.5% cut in spending. I guarantee you no teacher is getting that deal.
In 04-05 "Teaching" was 51.67% of the budget; "Unit Administration" plus "Central Administration" adds up to 16.8%. In 06-07, the last year for which actual numbers are available right now, "Teaching" had a slight uptick to 51.68%; Administrative costs went up to 17.45% of the district budget. They're holding the line on teaching costs, but not on administration. Why do you suppose that is?

At the same time, Sprague has dropped to an average of 79.39 students in 08-09, down from 92.54 in 04-05

The great hope is that the relationship between the teachers and the administrators isn't adversarial, but the other great hope is that there is two-way accountability. It's a romantic notion that the Northwest Professional Educators puts forward, that "professionalism" can win all in the workplace, but in Sprague-Lamont, with a neutered "professional association", the administration has been lining their pockets while the district is withering on the vine.

It will be interesting to look at St. Johns in 5 years and see what their trends are.

Science Instructional Materials Recommendations

2009-06-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

One of the outcomes of Washington Learns and the 2007 Legislative session was the mandate for OSPI to recommend no more than three sets of core instructional materials for math and science for elementary, middle, and high school. The math recommendations (released in January 2009) are still undergoing various slings and arrows. It is now science's turn.

You can read the report here and get additional information on the tools and processes here.

I don't think you'll have any great surprises. FOSS isn't #1 for elementary, which will no doubt be of great dismay to LASER, ESDs, and many school districts. However, most of us who have done some intensive alignment with the prior standards already knew that this program wasn't the most viable option. A text-based program currently leads the pack at all grade-levels. Personally, I think this is just fine. After all, it's not the material that makes the difference---it's the instruction.

Recommendations to the Legislature will not be final until the end of August, so you have plenty of time to weigh in with your opinion. There are some significant weaknesses with the process used and school districts would be wise to take many many grains of salt along with the OSPI report.

Page 21 of the report states (emphasis added): To develop the review instruments, OSPI engaged the Instructional Materials Advisory Group in two full cycles of development and revision. The IMR Advisory Group and the SBE Science Panel were the two primary groups contributing to the development of the instruments. Their work was research based, and used the following primary sources: 2009 Revised Washington State Science Standards; National Science Education Standards, (National Research Council, 1993); How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 2000); Ready, Set , Science: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Classrooms (Shouse, Schweingruber, 2008); Atlas for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vol. 1, 2001 and Vol. 2, 2007. None of these resources constitute primary sources: They do not contain original research---only interpretations of the work of others. There was absolutely no inclusion of educational research. For my money, this does not qualify as a "research base."
There was a "Conceptual Review Process" after the initial review. The process currently carries no weight in the evaluation, but will be used a filter for final recommendations. From page 29 of the review (emphasis added): The final review process was a detailed review of a few Big Ideas across multiple grade levels or units to see how the instructional material developed, supported and synthesized students’ deep conceptual understanding of scientific inquiry, applications, systems and the domains of science. The problem with this portion of the review is the lack of definition about what a "concept" is. The revised science standards use a concept as something that happens at a grade level---not as something which develops over time. And yet this portion of the review is centered upon spiraling ideas. This is not the only place in the review where there is no explicit definition of terms, making the value of the recommendations problematic at best...and useless at worst.

While the review is supposedly open for feedback at this time, there is no public process in place for the collection. This makes it even more important for those in the public schools to cast a very critical eye on the science recommendations before making any decisions which will affect students.

Swine Flu!

2009-04-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Via Goldy, more Seattle schools are going to be closing for a week after the new flu bug was discovered in one of their students.

Yesterday my smallish/rural district sent home a letter to all parents detailing what they would do if the flu was discovered in our schools.

If this keeps up, I wonder if we'll be having WEA Rep Assembly in Spokane in two weeks?

Your Just Reward

2009-04-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

If you're in the Seattle area this spring and in need of some entertainment, the Fifth Avenue Theatre is offering educators a deal on Sunday in the Park with George. You can get up to four tickets for only $20 each (use the keyword "Impression" to get the discounted price). For more information, contact Erin Vargo at the 5th Ave: 206.6251418 x214; evargo@5thavenue.org. See you there!

Blogging as a Communication Tool

2009-03-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

Just found Director Harium Martin-Morris' blog, written by one of the school board members in Seattle. He's got several posts with more than 100 responses each, which speaks well to the power that a blog can have for district parents to communicate with their elected representatives. It's worth checking out.

Blech

2009-03-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

The governor's budget called for about a $500,000,000 cut to education, including slashing levy equalization and I-728 for class size reduction.

Then the budget deficit got bigger, and we heard that the cut to schools could be about an even billion.

Last week at a union meeting I was at the number being bandied around was "between 1 and 2 billion dollars."

Today, this shows up in my email, from the WEA:

On Monday, the state Senate will release a budget that cuts K-12 and higher education by more than $2 billion.
That's not much of a way to start spring break.

I'll Be Thinking About This One For a Long Time

2009-03-06T23:43:00.000-08:00

The entire article is absolutely incredible, but this piece about the importance of language really caught my eye:

The authorities had discovered the rarest and most pitiable of creatures: a feral child.

The term is not a diagnosis. It comes from historic accounts — some fictional, some true — of children raised by animals and therefore not exposed to human nurturing. Wolf boys and bird girls, Tarzan, Mowgli from The Jungle Book.

It's said that during the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick II gave a group of infants to some nuns. He told them to take care of the children but never to speak to them. He believed the babies would eventually reveal the true language of God. Instead, they died from the lack of interaction.

Then there was the Wild Boy of Aveyron, who wandered out of the woods near Paris in 1800, naked and grunting. He was about 12. A teacher took him in and named him Victor. He tried to socialize the child, teach him to talk. But after several years, he gave up on the teen and asked the housekeeper to care for him.

"In the first five years of life, 85 percent of the brain is developed," said Armstrong, the psychologist who examined Danielle. "Those early relationships, more than anything else, help wire the brain and provide children with the experience to trust, to develop language, to communicate. They need that system to relate to the world."

The importance of nurturing has been shown again and again. In the 1960s, psychologist Harry Harlow put groups of infant rhesus monkeys in a room with two artificial mothers. One, made of wire, dispensed food. The other, of terrycloth, extended cradled arms. Though they were starving, the baby monkeys all climbed into the warm cloth arms.

"Primates need comfort even more than they need food," Armstrong said.

Early intervention. I think we all know, instinctively, that it's critical; articles like this just drive the point home.

I Told You This Would Happen If the Sonics Left Seattle!

2009-02-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

Report: NBA to borrow $200M to aid 12 teams

Do you suppose that David Stern could give us teachers a small handout? He owes the city something.

It Could Be Worse....

2009-02-16T21:54:00.000-08:00

....we could be California:

Since the fall, when lawmakers began trying to attack the gaps in the $143 billion budget that their earlier plan had not addressed, the state has fallen into deeper financial straits, with more bad news coming daily from Sacramento. The state, nearly out of cash, has laid off scores of workers and put hundreds more on unpaid furloughs. It has stopped paying counties and issuing income tax refunds and halted thousands of infrastructure projects.

Twenty-thousand layoff notices will go out on Tuesday morning, Matt David, the communications director for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said Monday night. “In the absence of a budget we need to realize this savings and the process takes six months,” Mr. David said.
God, Vishnu, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster willing, we won't go down that road here in Washington.

Hot Dog!

2009-02-14T15:35:00.000-08:00

According to Schmudget the recently-signed stimulus package could be used to backfill in the cuts that Governor Gregoire proposed to levy equalization and class size reduction funding. If that's even close to being the case it's a big, big sigh of relief for school districts around the state.

More from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities here.

The next big thing to watch will be the early budget forecast this coming Thursday, February 19th, where it's fully expected that the $5 billion dollar deficit Governor Gregoire prepared for is now an $8 billion dollar hole in the treasury. That'll be a big, big indicator about where things might go for the rest of the session.

The 1410/5444 Split: Is Compromise Coming?

2009-02-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

The PSE union seems to think so.

Levys Look Like They're Doing OK; Bonds, Not So Much

2009-02-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Just a quick look at the auditor's website around the state, but so far it looks like most school measures are having a good night. Better than 60% approval for Peninsula, Republic and Curlew (nearly 73% for the Cougars!), a whole lot in Spokane County as East, West, and Central Valley all past their levies, along with Freeman and Orchard Prairie; the only measure that I've seen that's certain to go down is East Valley's bond, which is hovering at 50% for an initiative that still needs a supermajority to pass.

Hopefully that good tide will flow into next month, when my school district has their levy election.

Congratulations to all who passed their measures!

EWU Prof Published in Chronicle of Higher Ed

2009-01-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

Rachel Toor, an assistant professor in the creative writing department at EWU, had a long commentary printed in the January 9th issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Good on her--it's always nice to see our in-state professors getting some well deserved attention!

Randy Dorn was never a member of Mothers Against the WASL

2009-01-19T09:08:00.001-08:00

Jerry Cornfield is confused.

Randy Dorn pledged to toss out the WASL if elected to run Washington's public schools.

He won the job of superintendent of public instruction. He's ready to make good on his promise.

Wednesday he'll reveal details of an extreme makeover of the exam, beginning with a new name because, as he says, "WASL" is kryptonite.

Questions will be fewer in number, shorter in length and able to be answered and scored on a computer in his blueprint.

His goal is to have students spend less time taking it, teachers spend less time giving it and the state spend less money on it....

Which raises the political question: If it looks like the WASL, sounds like the WASL, reads like the WASL and counts like the WASL, isn't it the WASL?

How about we head over to Randy Dorn's campaign website, then, to see what Dorn actually promised.

We don't need to spend years figuring this out. Drawing on successful tests developed in other states, in my first year in office I will work with the state school board to replace the WASL with a testing system that is diagnostic, tied to technology, more fair, more understandable, and which takes less time so that testing doesn't dominate curriculum and the school calendar. We will then phase this new test in so there is no gap in accountability for current students.

It seems that Mr. Cornfield has projected certain anti-WASL sentiments on to Mr. Dorn. To be fair, though, I know a lot of people who knowingly glossed over Dorn's make-the-WASL-smarter stance, voting for anybody but Bergeson.

You Know What's Fun? Reading the State Budget!

2009-01-10T23:41:00.000-08:00

Happy the Budget Deer Loves Substitute House Bill 1128!

No, really! You can download the last one here; zip ahead to section 5 and you'll get to the stuff that matters most to us, regarding education funding. It's 57 pages of numbers, and I think that given the state of the budget that's where the opportunity lies. For example, take this from page 149:

Within the amounts provided in this subsection, the superintendent shall recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of four students who have demonstrated a strong understanding of the civics essential learning requirements to receive the Daniel J. Evans civic education award. The students selected for the award must demonstrate understanding through completion of at least one of the classroom-based civics assessment models developed by the superintendent of public instruction, and through leadership in the civic life of their communities. The superintendent shall select two students from eastern Washington and two students from western Washington to receive the award, and shall notify the governor and legislature of the names of the recipients.
Sounds like a nice enough program, surely, but given that we've got a $6 billion dollar hole to fill the question that we should be asking about every single thing we do is pretty simple:

Is it worth it?

I'm not sure where I first heard the phrase "Christmas tree items" to descrive those pieces that are added into a budget that pay for certain pet programs; they're hung on to the main body, like ornaments on a Christmas tree. Our education budget last time had a wide variety of those items, and they all should be run through the same filter: were they worth it?

$1,895,000 to operate the State Board of Education
$2,000,000 for operating costs for the Professional Educator Standards Board
$7,558,000 to fund alternative routes to teacher certification
$555,000 for litigation fees surrounding various lawsuits
$600,000 to replace of the apportionment system
$156,000 "to provide direct services and support to schools around an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to instruction in conservation, natural resources, sustainability, and human adaptation to the environment."
$2,563,000 "for the creation of a statewide data base of longitudinal student information."
$650,000 "for comprehensive cultural competence and anti-bias education programs for educators and students."
$100,000 "to promote the financial literacy of students." As an aside, they're about to get a hell of a lesson on what overspending can do!
$270,000 to implement a bill "regarding educational data and data systems."
$228,000 for the "legislative youth advisory council."
$193,000 for "children and families of incarcerated parents."
$55,000 for the "Washington college bound scholarship."
$49,000 "regarding providing medically and scientifically accurate sexual health education in schools."
$45,000 for food allergy guidelines.
$84,000 "to support a program to recognize the work of outstanding classified staff in school districts throughout the state." That's enough to pay for 2 or 3 classified employees.
$194,000 "to support a full-time director of skills centers within the office of the superintendent of public instruction."
$1,030,000 to pay for two studies from the NWREL about ELL and the "k-3 demonstration projects."
$200,000 for a study from WSU on school bullying.
$5,082,000 for a "school nursing corp" based out of the ESDs.
$192,000 for the School Safety Center at OSPI.

....and that's just the first 8 pages. It adds up to $23,699,000. Not all of it is discretionary--I'm pretty sure that the state Constitution mandates we have a State Board of Education--but is there potential for them (and the PESB) to do things as leanly as possible for a couple of years? The big things out of the State Board lately have been the new accountability matrix and Core 24; let's not do those, and not spend any more money on them, and see what happens.

Western Washington U Drops Football

2009-01-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

Didn't expect this:

Western Washington has dropped its football program because of budget concerns, the school said in a press release issued today.
"Ending the football program will allow intercollegiate athletics to meet budget reduction targets, and, most importantly, to protect the quality of the remaining intercollegiate sports,” Eileen Coughlin, WWU vice president for student affairs and academic support services, said in the release.

Football began at Western in 1903. The only stoppages in the program were during World Wars – from 1917 through 1920, and from 1943 through 1945.

“In my 22 years as director of athletics at Western, this is by far the toughest decision that I have been a part of,” WWU director of athletics Lynda Goodrich said.
What I've always heard is that football is the engine that drives the athletics car; that the money a school makes off of football can pay for the other niche programs like cross country, soccer, and the like. I'd be curious to get a good look at Western's athletics budget and see what the case is.

the budget crisis gets personal

2009-01-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

Governor Gregoire's 2009 budget proposal includes a six percent across-the-board cut at the community college level. Since last summer, my wife had been working at Pierce College in Lakewood, assisting adult students in their transition from GED programs to a college education. We had held off major financial changes this winter, knowing that although she had survived the first round of cuts, her job status in June was iffy.

Turns out it was even iffier than we thought. Yesterday she was given her walking papers, since her position has been eliminated as of January 16th. She's over the initial shock, frustrated by having to look for new employment, more irritated than anything, as is her soon-to-be-slammed supervisor.

Our plan to help the U.S. out of the recession was to purchase a home in December. Not anymore. But we can't complain too loudly. We can scale back our dreams a bit, pinch a few more pennies, and weather the storm. And I still have a job in the Olympia School District.

For now.

Scenes from the Snowstorm

2009-01-04T18:15:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas break was supposed to start December 20th, but the 2 days before that were cancelled because of one snow storm. Tomorrow we were supposed to head back to work, but the county sheriff told all the local school districts to shut it down because the roads weren't going to be ready. There's more snow projected in the next three days, then rain, which will have the roofs caving in like poorly-constructed igloos.

It's been insane.

Speaking of insane, a hat tip to the Central Valley School District for this heartening notification off of the ESD website:

1/4/2009 3:19:21 PM
Central Valley School District 356
SUBJECT: Two Hour Delayed Start on January 5
Complete Message: On Monday, January 5, all Central Valley Schools will operate on a two-hour delayed start schedule for students. No AM kindergarten or preschool classes. No breakfast program. Child care is operating on time. All staff are to report to work on time. Continue to watch for updates, based on developing weather conditions. School Name: Central Valley School District #356
******************************
Because hey, even if the roads are impassible for everyone else, that's no reason for you teachers to not show up to work!

It gets better. Note that the update above was early afternoon; later on they mostly took it back:

1/4/2009 5:29:51 PM
Central Valley School District 356
SUBJECT: Central Valley Schools Closed on January 5
Complete Message: On Monday, January 5, all Central Valley Schools will be closed per order of Spokane County Sheriff. Principals and district office staff should report to work as usual. School Name: Central Valley School District #356
******************************
I would hope they would be nice enough to their principals to retract that later on if need be, but we'll see how the weather goes.

the triumph of Ruth Bennett

2008-12-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Remember Ruth Bennett? She was the Libertarian who ran against Gregoire and Rossi back in 2004. She earned far more votes than the margin of victory, and probably ultimately swung the election for Gregoire, but disappeared off the political radar after that.

Turns out she had been here all along.

Gregoire told The Olympian's editorial board Friday that some proposed cuts — such as closing a youth-offender camp at Naselle and shuttering a Yakima facility for the developmentally disabled — were "an opportunity" to do the right thing that might not be politically possible in richer times.

Both facilities are under-used by departments that have too little demand to justify the operations.

"So it is a time to rethink government," Gregoire said.

The governor also said she has asked her Cabinet leaders to look again at how they do business, and she said she wants to look at the state's 400 boards and commissions with an eye toward picking out only boards that are essential.

To the eye and ear she's Chris Gregoire, but the discerning mind is not fooled by the clever disguise.

Congratulations, Ruth Bennett, on winning when it really counted.

everybody hurts: the Gregoire Budget

2008-12-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

Governor Gregoire has released her budget recommendations for the upcoming legislative session. Cue Michael Stipe, singing on a freeway:

Gov. Christine Gregoire released an austere state budget proposal this morning that slashes more than $3.5 billion in funding for public schools, higher education, social services and other areas to help close the biggest budget shortfall in state history.

Gregoire proposes filling the gap, projected at more than $5 billion, by making scores of cuts and using untapped pots of money, including $600 million from the state rainy-day fund.

In addition, the governor is banking that the federal government will send Washington at least $1 billion as part of an economic stimulus package.

Among the cuts proposed by Gregoire: $682 million in pay increases for state workers and teachers; $500 million in health care for children, the poor and the disabled; and $178 million in funding for Initiative I-728, which was approved by voters in 2000 to reduce class sizes in public schools.

The proposed budget also would change how state pensions are funded, and reduce contributions to the worker-retirement programs by $400 million over the next two years. No cut was too small to pursue. The governor proposes closing 13 state parks to save $5.2 million, shuttering the visitors center at the state Capitol to save $1.7 million and eliminating toll-free numbers to the state Department of Revenue to save $260,000.

The governor said the cuts were necessary, but that she "hates" the budget and expects legislators and lobbyists will as well. "There's something in there for everybody not to like."

I'd strongly recommend reading the entire recommendation [pdf] to get a sense of the uphill battle ahead.

I'll post analysis later this week.

(Oh, and it almost goes without saying that "advocacy groups" are upset.)

Added: And then there's Ryan's take.

close a few loopholes and balance the budget?

2008-12-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

$53 billion in tax loopholes offer a tantalizing option for Governor Gregoire: raising taxes without technically raising taxes.

If state lawmakers wanted to raise money by closing tax exemptions, there are 567 to choose from. Taken together, the tax breaks cut $53 billion in potential revenues that the state might have received and $45 million more to local governments.

Of those exemptions, 147 of have been added to the tax rolls since the 2001 legislative session.

Of the grand total, 158 were exemptions to the retail sales and use taxes. These include exemptions on sales of food, medicines and the like, which are worth $30 billion in the 2007-09 budget cycle, according to the Department of Revenue's Tax Exemptions 2008 guide. One hundred and three others are property-tax exemptions worth $9 billion.

Of course, every loophole has a lobbyist, meaning that the legislature, until now, has closed hardly any of 'em.

Most tax-repeal recommendations from 2007 were ignored by the Legislature. Those included elimination of a $2 million break for horse racing and $2 million for club membership dues and fees. Also ignored was a recommendation to re-examine a $47 million break given to nonprofit hospitals and $17 million to nonsectarian organizations.

Lawmakers did manage to get rid of one exemption in 2007. That was a temporary tax break for beef producers enacted after the mad-cow disease scare a few years ago, and lawmakers did not extend its life.

Anyhow, The Olympian predicts a shocking budget recommendation from the Governor to match this week's Arctic Blast.

She is scheduled to announce a deep-cutting budget proposal Thursday that could lop $1 billion from K-12 schools, cut jobs or reduce the hours for many of Washington's 110,000 state employees, and shear away big parts of the social safety net.

Gregoire swore off tax increases while on the campaign trail this year, and the recently re-elected Democrat has shown no sign of relenting on that point — even with a budget shortfall she hints could hit $6 billion for the 2009-11 cycle. Even she says it will be "ugly" and that she will hate it.

How long until we're on a four-day school week?

A Program We Can't Afford: The State Funded Internship for Principals

2008-12-14T21:57:00.000-08:00

Recently, when the Office of Financial Management released their Priorities of Government report detailing what they thought should and should not be funded in the coming legislative session, one of the lowest priority items for education spending was the state funded Education Leadership Intern Program which provides a grant for paid release days for aspiring principals and superintendents to step out of the classroom and spend time working on their internships.

To my mind, cutting the program is the right thing to do when we're looking at a $6 billion dollar budget hole. There's no evidence that I've seen that Washington State has a principals shortage; similarly, I've yet to hear of a district unable to find a superintendent. Sure, it only cost slightly more than $1.4 million dollars in the last bienium, but that's not really the point--if we're going to be looking at every program in an honest way, and if the Priorities of Government is to mean anything, then there's an awful lot more that should avoid the axe before the Internship Program.

Trick is, that hasn't stopped OSPI from posting the application for next year's grant program, even though the grant program isn't statuatory and could go away any time. The Association of Washington School Principals acknowledges this truth on their website, saying that the grant applications will be considered "null and void" should the program not be funded, but at the same time they've made it one of their legislative priorities for the coming session.

This seems like an easy cut. I kind of hate to see it go, since I got one of those grants last year, but it's the right thing to do.

A Peek at Where the Budget Could Go

2008-12-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

This letter from the Office of Financial Management came out the week of Thanksgiving. It instructs the various state agencies on additional cuts they need to make for this fiscal year -- OSPI takes a better than $12.5 million dollar hit -- but it doesn't touch K-12. Don't read anything major into that, because a lot of the K-12 spending isn't discretionary in the same way that health care or postgraduate education is; this interview on Inside Olympia with Victor Moore, the fellow who wrote the above letter, explains why.

The Solution to the Education Budget Crisis!

2008-12-04T11:42:00.001-08:00

Governor Gregoire and Superintendent Dorn can thank this guy:

Tom Farber gives a lot of tests. He's a calculus teacher, after all.
So when administrators at Rancho Bernardo, his suburban San Diego high school, announced the district was cutting spending on supplies by nearly a third, Farber had a problem. At 3 cents a page, his tests would cost more than $500 a year. His copying budget: $316. But he wanted to give students enough practice for the big tests they'll face in the spring, such as the Advanced Placement exam.

"Tough times call for tough actions," he says. So he started selling ads on his test papers: $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test, $30 for a semester final.

San Diego magazine and The San Diego Union-Tribune featured his plan just before Thanksgiving, and Farber came home from a few days out of town to 75 e-mail requests for ads. So far, he has collected $350. His semester final is sold out.

As a first grade teacher I can easily see how this could be brought down to my grade level:

"What letter is this, Johnny?"
"P!"
"And what does P stand for...?"
"P'Zone, available only from Pizza Hut!"
"Good boy! Here's a coupon."

The branding opportunities abound. Yay!

How Crazy Are We?

2008-12-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

Plenty crazy, according to the Seattle Times:

Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.

The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment.

One expert said personality disorders may be overdiagnosed. But others said the results were not surprising since previous, less rigorous evidence has suggested mental problems are common on college campuses and elsewhere.
I'm reminded of something I once read about from the world of art regarding the style of a certain era, wherein they would paint children as being little adults, the notion being that's all the kids really were. I see a faint echo of that here; by dressing up college kids as mentally ill, you're ignoring the fact that they're, well, college kids. Narcissistic, impulsive, compulsive, obsessive, and overconsumptive, but college kids nonetheless.

I think, too, that if you cast your net too wide you're doing a real disservice to those who actually need the help.

Bergeson's last "state of education" address

2008-11-22T10:37:00.001-08:00

"Mend it, don't end it."

I wonder if Bergeson is actually a little glad to be done. Her successor, after all, has to do all the hard work of fixing her mistakes, as well as repairing the funding system she inherited and did little to change.

But I hear a committee is looking into it.

Two Pieces of Special Ed Case Law

2008-11-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

From the Tacoma News-Tribune:

The Puyallup School District has won a court case involving a student whose father has been picketing the district over special-education practices.

Administrative Law Judge Cindy Burdue rejected some two dozen claims by Bernie and Denise Dalien, who alleged the district failed to meet the educational needs of their 17-year-old son, Colton, and failed to keep other students from harassing him.

...

Colton has several conditions including Landau Kleffner syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy affecting his ability to process sound, which in turn hinders his ability to speak and learn through verbal instruction. He can speak only in short, simple sentences and is sensitive to background noises.

Colton tests at the primary grade level in math and reading, but his parents believe he has the capacity to learn more if he received more visual instruction appropriate for his disability. Bernie Dalien recently picketed Puyallup district headquarters and various schools over special-education students picking up trash and materials, allegedly without their parents’ knowledge.
From the October 29th issue of Education Week:

The US Supreme Court last week refused to hear the appeal of a Minnesota family in a case about the burden of proof in legal disputes over special education.

The appeal came from the parent of a child with multiple disabilities who ended up in administrative proceedings over the child's services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

At issue was whetehr the parent or the state of Minnesota would have the burden of proof in the proceedings. In a 2005 opinion known as Schaffer v. Weast, the Supreme Court held that where state law was silent on the issue, the burden of persuasion in special education cases lies with the party who brought the case. But the justices stopped short of deciding which rule would apply in states that assign the burden of proof in such proceedings by law, such as Minnesota, which places the burden on school districts in most instances.

Students with IEPs have rights. Even when rights cost money, students still have those rights. I wonder, as the father of a daughter with multiple disabilities, whether some districts will take a closer look at the IEPs and see if those rights can't be done cheaper.

I'm starting to learn about the very nascent stages of the IEP process. My daughter turns 3 next August, which means she moves out of the Spokane County Infant-Toddler Network caseload and into the school system. In March we're going to have a transition meeting to talk about the services she's getting, and then we'll all work together to craft the IEP. She's getting physical therapy to deal with how the brain scarring has affected her balance, her physical therapist thinks the occupational therapist needs to take another look at her, and (because of her 80% hearing loss) she's pretty much a guarantee to be in speech for quite some time. My wife and I have been talking about wanting to see her go to the HOPE School in Spokane, which is a special program at WSU-Riverpoint especially for deaf and hard of hearing toddlers, but that would involve transportation, which costs, which might be something the district fights.

It's going to be interesting; I'll keep you informed along the way.

I Look Forward to Making the First Graders Call Me "Dr. Teacher"

2008-11-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

Cleaning out my inbox I realized that I hadn't passed along the news from Washington State University that they have a new Doctoral specialization in Teacher Leadership that comes more from the "Let's think big thoughts about schools!" side and less from the "You're going to be a principal!" side. It sounds like fun, actually. You can find more information here.

Did Teachers Win the Election for Gregoire?

2008-11-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

Probably not, but they did get a shoutout from Kelly Evans, Gregoire's campaign manager:

Women’s groups, the environmental community, labor organizations, the education community – everyone was focused and took nothing for granted. And we saw the results in our polling. Four weeks before the election, we were losing public school parents by 11 points – two weeks prior, we were winning by a point. Same is true for union households, a move from +12 to +27 in just three weeks. Add this to the voices of Native Americans, children’s and health care advocates, leaders from communities of color, veterans’ organizations and law enforcement groups all organizing and communicating about Gov. Gregoire’s record of results for the people of Washington.

The WEA-Eastern affiliate office in Spokane had a great, great phonebanking operation set up that turned out nearly 18,000 phone calls for the Gregoire campaign, and we were only one of dozens across the state. Dino only won Spokane County by 8,000 votes, which wasn't nearly the margin he needed to make up for the hole he was facing in King County, where Gregoire won by 230,000. The road to office may run through King, but you've got to run a statewide campaign, too, and the Governor did that very effectively.

(via Brad Shannon at the Olympian)

the post-Bergeson future of the WASL

2008-11-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

Dick Lilly, on the future of the WASL:

The door is now open to change the type of test from one that is based on a particular educational philosophy (the ultimate problem with the WASL and most tests of its ilk) to one that is content-based. At root, what’s wrong with the WASL is that it is designed in response to the dominant educational philosophy of the past 40 or so years — the “student-centered,” “discovery” learning that de-emphasizes content knowledge in favor of critical thinking. That's a short-hand description and a lot can be said about this approach, but what it amounts to is the contention that you can make profound decisions while looking at a spreadsheet in which every cell is blank.

To get away from this style of testing, Dorn should switch immediately at the high school level to the SAT subject tests (formerly the SAT IIs). These are good if not excellent content tests, as are the advanced placement (AP) tests. Such tests would provide a stunningly clear picture of what our high school graduates know.

Randy Dorn defeats Bergeson

2008-11-06T06:42:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Times--and Bergeson's camp--think it's too close to call.

In the race for the state schools chief, Terry Bergeson was disappointed to be trailing challenger Randy Dorn but was not ready to give up.

Given the number of ballots yet to be counted, "Friday is about the earliest we could make a reasonable decision," said Alex Hays, her campaign consultant.

I'm going out on a thick mathematical limb to say that Randy Dorn will be your next Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Here's why.

The counties where Bergeson holds a lead have about 135,000 outstanding votes. Bergeson, overall, trails Dorn by about 35,000. So, she'd either have to win a ridiculously high majority in the counties she's already winning (over 66%) and hold steady elsewhere, or win a solid majority in those counties, and majorly turn around the trends in all the others. That would include King, which is slightly Dornish at 50.4% (293,000 votes left), and Snohomish, which is strong for Dorn at 54.5% (with 100,000 votes left). Snohomish alone wipes out any potential advantage from the smaller counties where Bergeson leads.

Looking at the overall picture, she needs about 53% of the remaining ballots--706,000 in all--to win, and barely. It's just not going to happen.

Mark my words: Dorn is it.

Update 5:30 Wouldn't you know it, Bergeson has conceded a day earlier than her staff predicted. Could it have been due to the astute mathematical analysis found on this blog?

No.

Anyhow, adios, WASL. What will replace thee?

Bergeson trailing; Gregoire lead seems solid

2008-11-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

This is a bit of a surprise to me: even though not-Bergeson won the primary, I was never sure that not-Bergesons would line up for Randy Dorn. Turns out they have.

However, with the most populous county still tabulating results, and with a slight lead for Bergeson in that county, she may still eke out a win.

In the other widely-watched race, Christine Gregoire seems to have locked up a victory over Dino Rossi. Snohomish and King counties, the bulk of the outstanding votes, are solid Gregoire.

the state of Washington education in two sentences

2008-11-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

OSPI's Jennifer Priddy:

“I have other bad news to share with you,” she said. “I don’t think it’s disputed that the state is underfunding basic education.”

1. Lots of bad news.
2. An underfunded system.

Are those going to be the final grades of the Bergeson era?

parents and the dropout rate

2008-10-24T06:57:00.001-07:00

Contention one: Parents are key to high school success.
Contention two: Kids are less likely to graduate than their parents.
Satirical conclusion: Parents are secretly undermining their kids' chances.

In all seriousness, it's good to see major media reporting on the dropout rate, and why it, not standardized testing, is the central educational problem of our time.

The Bluebird of Happiness Comes for a Visit

2008-10-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

From yesterday's New York Times: Next Victim of Economic Turmoil: Your Salary.

On the other hand, from USA Today: Financial Sector's Loss Could Spell Gains for Teaching. For the teaching force, they mean--the article forecasts a herd of out-of-work financial types falling into teaching.

And speaking of YOUR salary, check out this article from the Vancouver Columbian on what the Basic Ed Finance Task Force here in Washington is saying about teachers salaries.

how much ya bank?

2008-10-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

If you're a teacher, you probably know where you stand on the salary schedule. But what about your teacher friends? Or what if you're a curious civilian? Teacher pay, after all, is a matter of public record, right?

In steps The Olympian.

School district employee salaries are the latest addition to The Olympian's online Data Center, which also lists pay for other public employees, restaurant health inspection results, property transfers and other public information.

All of the databases are based on information available to the public and will be updated regularly.

The school salary database was obtained through a public-records request of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. It includes data from all of the school districts in Washington.

The Olympian's salary database can be searched by last name or first name, as well as by district and position.

I checked it out and the data, although one year distant, is otherwise solid. Surprisingly, "not enough" isn't included in my listing.

[SNL's classic "How Much Ya Bench?" transcript found here.]

lesser of two WASLs

2008-09-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

The News-Tribune's Peter Callaghan explains why Randy Dorn isn't quite the candidate WASL foes hoped for. Which is no surprise, really; if Semler hadn't dropped out, Dorn wouldn't even be in the race. He was hardly anyone's first choice.

what's the lesson here?

2008-09-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Consider this year's Seattle Mariners, proud owners of this abysmal factoid:

First team with a $100 million payroll and 100 losses. With one bonus loss for good measure.

You make the inference.

Where the Single Salary Schedule Came From

2008-09-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

The New Yorker recently ran an article on pay disrimination that Alex Russo of This Week in Education linked to the teacher salary schedule that controls what teachers make based on years of experience and qualifications while ignoring student achievement, evaluations, and the like. I've also heard before that the salary schedule was a response to the Spoils System that was once so pervasive.

Maybe it's time has come, maybe it hasn't; that's for folks above my pay grade to say. What needs to be understood, though, is that the salary schedule didn't arise out of a vacuum--it had a reason for being.

Damn You, Mulick!

2008-09-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

This would be an absolute disaster for school district budget planning:

“We’ll probably be going into a lot of overtime,” Haler said. “I’ve been talking with legislators on both sides of the aisle. We don’t expect to get out until the end of June.”

End of June?(!)

Could it be that budget talks have broken down before they’ve even started?

Big problems call for a thorough discussion, but by the Gods that woud be a six month legislative session. By the middle of May I would expect the caucuses to be taking up arms and fighting each other in a running, bloody battle down Capitol Way.

Thanks for giving me one more thing to worry about, Chris Mulick of the Tri-Cities Herald.

video voter's guide: Bergeson vs. Dorn

2008-09-07T19:47:00.001-07:00

Watch Bergeson defend her record and tell of her plan to, among other things, reform education at the national level. Watch Dorn go into attack mode, especially when it comes to the WASL.

It takes 11 minutes of your time.

takin' it to the streets YouTube

2008-09-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

While we're all Bellevue, all the time, might as well point out the unorthodox route the Bellevue teachers association has used to get its message out to the community:

The Bellevue School District teacher's strike just got more interesting as teachers started posting their side of the story on a popular video-hosting Web site.

And parents by the hundreds are taking notice of their online message as the strike enters its second week.

The Bellevue teachers union has posted at least three videos on youtube.com, each with its own theme.

You can view all three videos at the link.

"Legacy media" used to define the message; whatever biases they held determined how much, how often, and how favorably you would hear or see unions in the news. No longer.

Bellevue Strike Close to An End?

2008-09-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

King 5 TV seems to think so.

Here's hoping.

A Conservative Case for Supporting the Bellevue Teacher's Strike

2008-09-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. 'Tis dearness only that gives everything its value."--Thomas Paine

Let's establish first that Bellevue is an excellent school district. Education writer Jay Mathews has long put out a list of America's Best High Schools, and in the recent 2008 ranking there are 4 Bellevue high schools in the top 100, including The International School at #10; Sammamish makes the top 200, at #168. Consider, too, the long tradition of excellence that the Bellevue high schools have; by clicking on the plus sign next to the name of the school, you can see how it's rankings have fluctuated over the years. For a different look at the 2007 rankings, click here.

That's one metric; let's go to our state tests for another. Playing around with the school comparison tool at OSPI's website pretty capably demonstrates the good work that Bellevue's high schools are doing; stack Bellevue HS up against others from surrounding districts and see what you find. The "big picture" argument can be found by digging through the 2008 data files, also from the OSPI website. Download "WASL Scores by District", sort by whatever metric means the most to you (I chose reading), and see what you find--no matter how you slice it, the Bellevue SD will come out looking pretty good.

"That government is best which governs least."--Thomas Paine again

So, what's the problem?

Fair question. Let's ask the school district.

This 2007 article on the topic of scripted curriculum in Bellevue is a must-read to understand where the district and the teachers are both coming from, and it directly relates to the issue that I think is going to be the hardest one for the two sides to solve before this strike is over.

From the district perspective, they have an abiding interest in making sure that every child in the district receives the same quality of education. This is as it should be; the line about "the soft bigotry of low expectations" might be the best that President Bush came up with in 8 years, and it speaks to the point that no matter their background, a child at one school should get just as much quality teaching as a child at another school.

A difference, though, is in perspective. The Bellevue School District vision of every child receiving the same lesson from the same script ensures that they'll all receive the same lesson, but it's patently ridiculous to think that the input is the only variable that matters. The underlying assumption in a controlling curriculum like the one that Bellevue has put together is that every child is at the same place at the same time, no matter the events of the day or the make-up of the school or the differences in the children.

It echoes, eerily, the worst aspects of the Napoleonic system of education that was instituted in the 1800s under the Little General. No local control, no classroom differences, no teacher creativity. Consider these stories that the Bellevue Education Association recently put out on their website.

It's important to let our military commanders, who are in the best position, to manage the war on terrorism and to carry out the war on terrorism. They're the ones who are in the best position to call the shots.--Scott McClellan

So the decisions on what to do in the classroom are being made by those the very farthest away from the classroom, in central administration. The teachable moment is lost, the current event must be ignored, because the all-controlling curriculum mandates that it be so.

Here you can throw in all your "Yah, buts..."

"Yah, but the teachers suck!" Some do. Some are quite excellent. Under a system like this excellence is sacrificed for the mean, and that's not right.

"Yah, but striking is no way to protest!" Quite possibly. If the system as designed isn't good for the students, though, what other recourse is there?

"Yah, but the district has been willing to bend on the issue!" How far? The article cited above was from June of last year, 15 months and innumerable bargaining sessions ago, and yet the issue is still hanging out there. Apparently both sides think that the on-line curriculum is worth fighting over.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.--Teddy Roosevelt

It's a tough call for the teachers. It's a tough call for the district. What it's not, though, is a black/white liberal/conservative union/free market dichotomy. There's room all through the political spectrum to look and say, "You know, the teachers have a point."

Crossposted to Sound Politics public blog.

Bellevue Strike, Day 1

2008-09-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

KOMO TV really could stand to find a way to allow bloggers to embed links to their video, because this piece and the attached video is the best I've seen today.

The WEA website says that teachers are still a few days away from maybe, possibly going on strike. Oops.

A hat tip to KIRO TV for their in-depth coverage of the strike; it's a very prominent story on their front page. Also check out the discussion board.

Tonight Bellevue had a school board meeting; when the video of that starts coming out, it will add a new wrinkle to the story. Good luck, Bellevue teachers!

Bellevue Teachers Take to the Picket Lines

2008-09-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Times has the most recent update on the Bellevue EA beginning their strike tomorrow. It's pretty profound how far apart the two sides seem to be; at the Bellevue School District's website they have their most recent proposals posted, including an open letter to teachers and parents, while over at the Bellevue EA they're similarly entrenched and getting their side of the story out.

The fun picture of the situation is of Bellevue's Superintendent at the most recent school board meeting, looking like the Saddest Superintendent in the World:

See also KOMO TV for video. KIRO TV has two video stories up, as well as a "Do you support the strike?" poll that teachers are currently winning, and here's King 5 to round out the TV coverage.

Marysville all over again?

2008-2009 Conference and Event Schedule

2008-08-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

This is a partial list of conferences and events happening in or near Washington State this year; I say partial because I'm certain that there are things that I've missed. If you know of a conference that should be on the list, please post it in the comments section and we'll get it updated ASAP!

OCTOBER

5th to 7th: Washington Association of School Administrators fall workshop, Wenatchee.
9th to 11th: International Reading Association Regional Conference in Seattle. Registration deadline is September 25th. This is also the Washington Organization for Reading Development meeting for the year.
9th to 11th: Northwest K-16 Mathematics Conference meeting in Portland, Oregon.
9th to 11th: Washington Library Media Association annual conference in Portland, Oregon. This is a joint conference with the Oregon Association of School Librarians.
11th: Washington State Council for the Social Studies (WSCSS) fall conference, Edmonds Woodway HS.
23rd to 25th: The Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted (WAETAG) conference in Lynnwood.
26th to 28th: The Association of Washington School Principals fall meeting in Spokane.

NOVEMBER

6th to 8th: The Washington State ASCD annual conference in Spokane.
7th and 8th: WEA Collective Bargaining Conference in Sea-Tac. Consult your local Uniserv office for more information.
12th to 15th: Washington State PLC Summit in Seattle. This event is sponsored by Solution Tree and focuses on Professional Learning Communities.
19th to 22nd: Washington State School Directors annual conference in Spokane.
20th to 22nd: National Science Teachers Association regional conference in Portland.

DECEMBER

3rd through 5th: Washington Educational Research Association (WERA) winter conference, Sea-Tac.

JANUARY

7th through 9th:OSPI Winter Conference in Seattle.

FEBRUARY

Date TBD: WSCSS K-8 Conference, Seattle
4th through 6th: AWSP Assistant Principal's Conference, Vancouver
8th and 9th: WASA/WSSDA Legislative Conference, Olympia

MARCH

19th to 21st: Washington Science Teacher's Association spring conference, Moses Lake

APRIL

MAY

6th through 8th: Infant and Early Childhood Conference, Tacoma
13th through 16th: WEA Representative Assembly, Spokane.

JUNE

28th through 30th: WASA/AWSP Summer Conference, Spokane

JULY

1st through 6th: NEA Representative Assembly, San Diego, California
27th and 28th: AWSP New Principals/Assistant Principals Conference, Lacey

no WASL boost for Bergeson

2008-08-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

If you're a teacher, you probably already knew what others saw only today: that, statewide, WASL scores were either down or up only slightly, the most notable exception in the 10th grade writing exam.

The results in some other grades improved, especially in grade 5, where the passage rate in reading rose to 75.3 percent, up 3.4 percentage points from last year. And more of this fall's incoming seniors have already passed both reading and writing on the WASL than their counterparts had a year ago.

How many more? About 0.5 percent in 10th reading, and 2.3% in writing. Math declined roughly a percentage point. Science, which yet counts for naught, saw slightly higher scores--39.7% passing versus 36.4% in 2007. And in the lower grades:

But the results in grades 4 and 7, which declined more than the other scores went up, are causing consternation for Bergeson and others. About 72 percent of fourth-graders passed the reading section of the WASL, down 4.3 percentage points from the previous year. In math, 53.4 percent of students passed, down 4.7 percentage points. In seventh grade, reading scores declined nearly 6 percentage points, to 62.8 percent passing, and about half of the students passed math, down 4.3 percentage points from last year.

Bergeson has already exculpated the test, saying that "Something is happening with the kids."

WASL fatigue? Mad Cow disease? iPoditis?

At any rate, look for Randy Dorn to harp on the essentially flat test scores over the past few goes-round as evidence of stagnation, and look for Bergeson to fire back that OSPI is already working on fixes, including truncated tests for tykes.

A Small Step You Can Take to Help Libraries in Washington

2008-08-23T23:45:00.000-07:00

The Washington Library Media Association has started an on-line petition to try and raise awareness regarding school libraries here in Washington State; their goal is 10,000 signatures by September 1st.

I just signed it, and I'm #8447. Add your voice to the chorus and see which step you are towards the goal!

the predictive value of the 2008 Washington State primary

2008-08-21T08:01:00.001-07:00

Somewhat silly predictions aside, it's time to look at the results of the primary. A few observations.

1. Voter turnout was way below average in King County--around 20%, compared to 27%+ statewide--which may have artificially inflated Rossi's overall performance. Rossi's camp is probably praying this trend continues into the general election, since King County went 60% for Gregoire this time around.

2. As David Goldstein notes, there's no comparing this primary with the previous primary in 2004, in which voters had to choose a party, not any old candidate. The best comparison is between this primary and the general election of 2004. Provisionally, I agree with him that this is a "straw poll" for Gregoire, and that her win is a genuine win. In other words, since voters were free to choose any candidate, just as they can in the general election, the predictive power of the "top two" primary is considerably stronger than some, like David Postman of the Seattle Times, have claimed, even if Gregoire still isn't a sure thing.

3. Considering #1 above, and the natural incumbent advantage, and the fact that Gregoire's people are probably concerned that their candidate didn't top 50%, I'd predict that this primary motivates and mobilizes Democrats. Watch for a flurry of spending and campaigning, even more than last time, to secure Gregoire's lead.

4. Terry Bergeson has to feel great that she outpolled Randy Dorn. She has to be nervous, though, that "anybody but Bergeson" was the clear winner. If even David Blomstrom could siphon 4% of the vote, the electorate is clearly displeased by the current administration. Whether Dorn can rally all the opposition, though, remains to be seen. Blomstrom's probably going to call me a media whore no matter what, but I wasn't horribly impressed by Dorn's approach and his sketchy past--and partly due to Blomstrom's own efforts to raise tough questions about Dorn's past. Dorn seemed like the least worst option. I miss Rich Semler.

Washington state primary predictions

2008-08-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

1. For Superintendent of Public Instruction, Randy Dorn will outpoll Terry Bergeson.
2. David Blomstrom, despite finishing fifth, will live to run another day.
3. Turnout will be lower than expected.
4. For Governor, Dino Rossi will trail Chris Gregoire, 47-49 (the remaining 4% split among the others).
5. For Congress, Darcy Burner will outpoll Dave Reichert.
6. No one on either of these lists will win.
7. Washington state's servers will crash as the punditocrats hit "refresh" on their election results screens, over and over until their fingers bleed, while the rest of the world watches Olympic beach volleyball.
8. Democracy will survive another primary.

Low Success Potential

2008-08-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

(via Slog)

Dorn Outpolling Bergeson?

2008-08-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

Buried in this Politicker Washington story about the tight Gregoire/Rossi race was this rather startling tidbit about the OSPI contest:

The same poll asked voters about the superintendent of public instruction race. Respondents chose Randy Dorn 43 percent of the time, compared with incumbent Terry Bergeson at 32 percent. 16 percent were undecided and 9 percent chose other.

Given that Dorn's campaign started late, and that Bergeson is a 12 year incumbent, for him to be up 11 points in any poll seems like a small miracle.

I didn't think Dorn had it in him; the winds of change may be blowing harder than anyone could have anticipated.

If It's Good for the Goose....

2008-08-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Per the Spokesman-Review, Governor Gregoire is considering having state employees switch over to a 4-day workweek. That doesn't include teachers, but it's interesting to think about all the same.

How would teaching be impacted if your district switched to 4 longer days a week?

Bergeson fails the WASL

2008-08-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Actually, not really. Well, sort of.

Out of three questions given to Bergeson, the answer sheet posted on The Stranger showed that she didn’t answer any of the three questions correctly....

Bergeson's campaign manager told KIRO 7 that The Stranger surprised Bergeson with the questions, which she had trouble seeing, because she didn't have her glasses with her.

That is... a lame excuse.

The Seattle Times Bravely Endorses BergesonDorn for OSPI

2008-08-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

I realize that these primary endorsements are usually quite bland, but this is the ultimate in covering your bases.

Some Things Shouldn't End Up in the Newspaper

2008-08-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

The state Supreme Court made a major ruling on Thursday regarding teachers who are accused of sexual misconduct. From the Seattle Times:

The state Supreme Court issued a ruling Thursday that pitted the fear of stigmatizing an innocent teacher against the threat of allowing sexual predators in the schools to escape detection.

The scenario before the court was this: A teacher is accused of sexually abusing a student. The school decides the allegation is unsubstantiated. Under state law, should the teacher's name be disclosed?

By a 6-3 vote, the court fell on the side of accused teachers. The names of teachers must be disclosed only in cases where sexual misconduct has been found or some form of discipline has taken place, the court ruled. In unsubstantiated cases, the details of any investigation may be disclosed — but with the teacher's name redacted, or blacked out.
A big part of this goes back to the big Coaches Who Prey series that the Times did several years ago. Now they're looking for other predators, but I think they threw their nets way too wide, and the Court made a good decision.

There are already mandatory reporting laws in place; any school official who reasonably suspects abuse must report to the authorities. What the media was asking here was basically for carte blanche access to any allegation, ever--the 7th grade girl who makes up a story and promptly takes it back, the high school student who goes for street cred by manufacturing a liason between himself and the female math teacher, the crazy parent who has accused every teacher their daughter had of some sort of perversion or another.

Imagine a world where all those allegations were put into a nice spreadsheet and published as a table in your local paper. If your name is on that list guilt or innocence don't matter--you're already smeared by association. That's no way to keep teachers in the classroom, it's no way to attract people to the classroom, and it's no way to conduct an investigation.

The papers, of course, are apoplectic. The Times tries to make it sound like a union issue and notes that you have a chance to vote for the judges who wrote on either side of the decision, while Steven Smith of the Spokesman-Review calls it "a stunning ruling" and furthers the anti-union theme. Then there's the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, and commentary from Education Week here.

Doing everything to protect kids doesn't mean exposing their teachers to all the slings and arrows of the newspapers. I like the court's ruling--what do you think?

2008 OSPI Summer Institute

2008-08-02T16:24:00.001-07:00

OSPI had its Summer Institute in Tacoma this past week. In previous years, there was more than one Institute; however, with the professional development associated with the new math standards, money was funneled toward that end.

Terry Bergeson spoke both Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Here are a few highlights from what she shared:

The State Board of Education (SBE) is preparing some recommendations regarding graduation requirements (Core 24) for the 2009 legislative session. As part of this package, funding needs will be identified. If the legislature does not make the necessary financial commitment, SBE will not move forward with its recommendations. In other words, there will be no unfunded mandates for schools.
Speaking of funding, Terry has been working with the Basic Education Task Force to shape reform in this area. Details were not available, but three key areas were identified. First, the formula for foundation support (transportation, teacher pay, instructional materials...) needs to change. There also needs to be identified funding for student programs and supporting educators. Stay tuned for more info in the fall. Terry is very keen on doing something about the need to match our resources with our values for schools.
The full math standards (k - 12) have now been approved and preliminary results regarding the three curricula for each school level (elementary, middle, high) will be available mid-August. Information on supplemental materials will be available at some point in the near future. Terry is also asking for a budget package to support schools who will need to purchase new materials.
The high school dropout rate in Washington has been ~21% over the last four years. Indications are that the rate will be about the same for the Class of 2008, even with all of the new graduation requirements. It appears that graduation rates will be improving in the next few years. Ninth grade is a pivotal year, and the rate has already changed from 5.1% to 3.7%. We are getting more students to the finish line---and with a more meaningful diploma in their hands.
Native American students have the lowest graduation rate: only 48.9% are finishing high school (about 1500 kids). Asian/Pacific Islanders have the highest graduation rate with 76.4% completing high school. The average of all groups is 72.5%. This includes students who either finish early or finish late.

Considering all of the upcoming changes in math and science, possible credit requirements for graduation, funding needs (in a time of recession), and NCLB backlash, the next legislative session should prove to be a critical one for Washington schools. Hang on for a wild ride.

Reading the Tea Leaves

2008-07-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

This could be pretty important, from Forbes Magazine:

If you live in Seattle, it might be time to ask for a cost of living increase. The city has the highest inflation rate in the country.

"Seattle household income is fairly high, and that helps to maintain a high rate of inflation since higher income areas can afford price increases," says Steve Cochrane, an economist with Moody's Economy.com. "Some of it is fuel, but housing prices have also been more stable than anywhere else on the West Coast, which adds to inflation."

Normally, Seattle's 3.7% unemployment rate, well under the national average of 5.5%, would be a good thing. But a growing economy with low unemployment drives up wages and costs. The Emerald City's consumer prices are up 5.8% from this time last year, which ties for the highest inflation rate in the country with Dallas, where high energy costs for home cooling and driving are eating up incomes.
Consider that the COLA for teachers mandated by I-728 is tied to the inflation index in Seattle. Consider further how many districts struggled with COLA costs for their staff that aren't funded by the state, and that was at only 5.1%. Wrap all that up with a $2.7 billion dollar budget deficit bow, and I'd say that there's certainly going to be a movement to suspend the teacher COLA in the legislature this year.

(Hat tip to Slog for having the story first.)

Pre-K--Money in the Bank?

2008-07-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Over at blog neighbor Washington Policy Watch they're talking about the potential financial advantages to prekindergarten programs, quoting research done by Sarah Mead at the Early Ed Watch Blog. The take-home message is that every dollar invested in pre-K can be looked at as an investment that returns $2.88; if you spend $1,000,000,000 on pre-K, you'll save $2,880,000,000 in the long run.

If valid, it's a good case to make. The trouble with back-end saving like this is that legislators have an obligation to balance the budget that is in front of them, and even if pre-K can be considered an "investment" (which is a case that Governor Gregoire and others have been happy to make) if there's no money available to front load the program then the savings will always be theoretical.

Pre-K is absolutely worth it. Many things are. It'll be interesting to see how the Legislature grapples with these issues in the next session.

David Goldstein on the OSPI Race

2008-07-18T12:53:00.001-07:00

Blog neighbor David Goldstein of Horse's Ass covered the contest between Randy Dorn and Terry Bergeson during the most recent Podcasting Liberally show. The OSPI piece is about 46 minutes in; apparently at a 37th legislative district meeting this week Representative Sharon Tomiko-Santos spoke to recommend the district endorse Dorn; she then laced into Bergeson, with the good Doctor sitting right there in the room with her.

I had a nice conversation this week via email with a friend who works closely with the legislature, and he brought up something that I've been thinking about as the OSPI race has evolved: the level of disrespect directed from legislators to Terry is troubling. She's made her mistakes, sure, but the level of vitriol really seems pretty awful between elected officials. I don't know what to read into the whole thing, but it feels like there's something there.

"Flunked" from the Evergreen Freedom Foundation judged, found....

2008-07-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

....to be quite good, according to the Education Gadfly at the Fordham Foundation.

Good for them!

summer of cuts

2008-07-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

I feel for this year's crop of teachers fresh out of their ed programs and ready to change the world, or at least Washington. My district won't be hiring anyone new. And we're hardly alone. With Washington salaries behind those of other western states, and with such dicey prospects, will we see a mass migration of rookies in this summer of cuts?

WASL Redesign

2008-06-29T00:00:00.001-07:00

Fresh from the OSPI presses to your web browser, here are the changes to the WASL for 2009:

Shorten the test with fewer constructed response items

Fewer short answer items and no extended response items in Grades 3, 4 and 5 in reading, mathematics, and science
Fewer short answer items in Grades 6, 7, and 8 in reading and fewer short answer items and extended response items in Grades 6, 7, and 8 in mathematics and science
No change in HS

Shorten the number of sessions

Fewer number of sessions in Grades 3, 4, and 5 in mathematics and science (from 3 sessions to 2 sessions: therefore districts may reduce the number of days used for test administration)
Same number of sessions in Grades 6, 7, and 8 (2 sessions: however, because the test is shorter, districts may choose to reduce the number of days used for test administration)
For example, districts may administer the two sessions in one day (administer the entire reading WASL on one day), or administer two subjects on one day (administer one session of the reading WASL in the morning and one session of the mathematics WASL in the afternoon).
The State will maintain the same 3 week test window. Districts may decide how to administer the test within the window.

Click on the above graphic to enlarge the information.

I have no doubt that the changes being made are cost-cutting measures, but it makes my heart ache to see the decreases in constructed response items (both short and extended). I can't speak for the other testing areas, but in science, the numbers were originally determined in order to eliminate gender bias. Might results be skewed in the future? Can we really use selected response heavy tests as valid measures of student achievement?

smaller schools aren't better schools

2008-06-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

On the heels of Ryan's series on diplomas comes this analysis of Oregon's small high school experiment. Backed by the Gates Foundation, districts created 400-student academies, hoping the smaller schools would cut dropout rates and prepare more youngsters for college.

Didn't happen.

In Hillsboro, Ore., Liberty High broke into small schools four years ago, but its dropout rate remains the highest in a district with three other traditional high schools. Despite progress in getting more students to take college-prep courses, three in five Liberty graduates fall short of entry standards for the University of Oregon — the district's definition of college-ready.

Twyla Baggarley, who graduated from Liberty this month, passed Advanced Placement calculus as a junior but worries that she might not be primed for college after a lackluster senior year. Tired of teachers who taught straight from the textbook, she chose to take just one full-year core course, AP English, and padded her schedule with photography and two periods of PE.

She and other students say administrators seemed so caught up in tinkering with the small schools' structure that they didn't pay enough attention to the quality of teaching.

It's the program's a-ha moment, but for me, it's a no-duh moment. Smaller schools, or, for that matter, smaller classes, make zero difference if the pedagogical model stays the same. Canned, derivative, disengaging teaching and curriculum will be as ineffective in a school of 400 as they are in a school of 4,000.

At least the foundation is learning from failure:

This fall, Gates probably will switch the focus of its grants for fixing high schools to target teaching and raise teacher quality, says Vicki Phillips, who directs Gates' education initiatives.

Repeat after me: there is no single panacea for education.

Diplomas Count, Part V: A Wrap Up and a Few Thoughts

2008-06-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

(Part of a series looking at the 2008 Diplomas Count report from Education Week; you can find other articles here)

In a recent class on school communication I listened to a presentation by a teacher from Wilbur, Washington, which abuts the Colville Indian Reservation, talk about the dropout problems that his district has with Native American students. As minority groups go the Native American population has it worse than any other group when it comes to graduating high school on time.

It made me think of just how many variables go into figuring out just who is a graduate and who isn’t. “On-time graduation” is easy enough on it’s face—divide the number of graduates by the number of kids who enrolled 4 years earlier, and there you go—but even that figure is going to be colored by kids who move to Washington as 10th graders, or those kids who are enrolled here as Freshmen but leave before they are seniors.

Then consider overall graduation rate. Is a kid who drops out as a sophomore but goes back 4 years later and gets his GED a graduate? What of the student who drops out of a district (say, Vancouver), but re-enrolls in a different district’s alternative high school program (say, Portland) and graduates from there—a drop out, or not? How about the migrant student who goes back to Mexico after a semester in Sunnyside?

It’s a complicated metric, and the piece that I perceive that we’re missing is why these kids are classified as dropouts. The designation tells us nothing, really—it’s the story behind the designation that matters, and it’s that background that I think will best guide us towards fixing the problem in the future. We know where to go; it’s just a matter of finding the right way to get there.

focus on dropouts

2008-06-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Didn't want this to pass by without comment: News Tribune columnist Peter Callaghan runs down the numbers, and they ain't pretty.

The state of Washington reports a graduation rate of just under 80 percent (the most recent numbers are for the Class of 2005). But a recent report by the Education Research Center tells a less encouraging story. Again, based on the Class of 2005, the center estimated that Washington graduated just 68.8 percent of the students who entered high school four years earlier.

That’s a tick below the national average of 70.6 percent. Black students graduated at just 51.8 percent, Hispanics at 56.9 percent and American Indians at 42.7 percent.

The report went on to project that the Class of 2008 lost 28,000 students – 39 each school day for four years. None is factored in when the state estimates WASL success rates.

Callaghan's advice: get the WASL extremists, both pro- and con-, out of the room, and let moderation and reason reign. The State Board of Education's "Core 24" approach seems to be a step in this direction, focusing on credits and flexibility, not just on assessment.

Dropping out sucks, not just for students, but for society. We have to do better to keep students on track.

Diplomas Count, Part IV: How Do You Tell the Truth and Lie at the Same Time?

2008-06-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

You use statistics, of course!

(Part of a series looking at the 2008 Diplomas Count report from Education Week; you can find other articles here)

Towards the end of the issue they touch on the April pronouncement from Margaret Spellings that she’d like to see states adopt a uniform standard for measuring graduation rates, as opposed to the 50 different formulas that are used now. An interesting argument for this is a chart comparing the state-reported graduation rate to the graduation rate that Education Week (or EPE, for Editorial Projects in Education) uses for their figures.

The differences are pretty astounding. New Mexico is the worst of the bunch, reporting a statewide graduation rate of 85.0% when EPE says it’s 54.1%, a 30.9% difference that equals thousands of kids. Mississippi, Delaware, and the Carolinas are all at a greater than 20% difference. Two states are within 5% of the EPE figures (Arizona and Utah), while Alaska actually reports a graduation rate lower than EPE’s number.

And Washington? A state reported 79.3%, EPE 68.8%, a 10.5% difference.

If it means anything. Eduwonkette makes a case on her website that the data model EPE uses is flawed, and that's certainly what New Mexico would say. When your reality is defined by how you count, the way you collect the numbers is critically important.

Diplomas Count, Part III: Well, When You Look at it That Way…

2008-06-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

(Part of a series looking at the 2008 Diplomas Count report from Education Week; you can find other articles here.)

The headline of one of the sections of the report reads, “US Public High Schools Losing 6,829 Students Per Day.” To get this figure they looked at the total number of students who enrolled as freshmen, the total number who graduated this year, found out how many disappeared, and divided that by the number of school days.

For Washington State, they say 28,001 students began as freshmen and didn’t make it to graduation. They then divided by 180 to get a figure of 156 students per day dropping out.

That’s a bit deceptive, though, because it assumes they all drop out the senior year. If this is the measure that they want to use it seems fairer to divide the number of dropouts by the total number of days in their high school career (720, or 180 times 4), which then changes the number to 44 students per day dropping out. Still a tragedy, but closer to true than what they reported.

When kids drop out of the high schools you know, is it a big deal (e.g., "Oh my God, Timmy's not here!") or does it mostly go unnoticed?

The Parts Become the Whole

2008-06-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

This morning, on the last day of school, one of the parapros comes into my room and drops off a flyer about Randy Dorn. She'd volunteered at the State Democratic Convention here in Spokane, where Dorn was endorsed by the state Democratic party; she mentioned too that she was angry at Bergeson because of some maneuver she'd tried to keep Dorn from getting said endorsement.

Just now I read a blog post from the News Tribune covering the convention, and they mention a fight over whether the party should even be making recommendations in non-partisan races.

Then add in this from David Postman of the Seattle Times:

I ran into Randy Dorn, the former Democratic lawmaker running for superintendent of public instruction, and he said the party's executive committee endorsed him today. He says that will make it easier for him to win an endorsement from the Washington Education Association.

And finally consider this piece, which comes from an email that I received:

Despite a last minute attempt by Terry Bergeson to avoid the
embarrassment of not getting the party's endorsement for the first time in her political career, the State Democratic Party also declared it was time for a change at OSPI.

From the looks of it Terry worked hard to get the endorsement for herself, and when that didn't happen she did all she could to keep it from going to Dorn. She's a pro when it comes to this game of politics, and the effort that she's expending makes me believe that she thinks she might be in some jeopardy.

It could be a more interesting summer than I thought.

Diplomas Count, Part II: Change is Good

2008-06-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

(Part of a series looking at the 2008 Diplomas Count report from Education Week; you can find other articles here)

In the report EdWeek chose to work with the 2005 graduation rate data, because it’s the most recent number that has been thoroughly vetted by research. In their overall look at graduation rates state-by-state they also include a look at the five-year trend, and Washington comes off well:

1. Tennessee, +7.9%
2. Florida, +7.8%
3. (tie) Kentucky and New York, +6.2%
4. (tie) Arizona and Washington, +6.0%

Top six, and a tie for Best in the West! Not too shabby. At least we’re not on this end of the scale:

50. Louisiana, -9.4%
49. Nevada, -9.3%
48. District of Columbia, -7.5%
47. New Mexico, -7.3%
46. South Dakota, -4.2%

Remember, that number above for Louisiana is pre-Katrina. Next year’s report will be even worse.

Diplomas Count, Part I: The Congressional Representative’s Perspective

2008-06-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

In my mailbox today was Education Week’s annual report on graduation rates, Diplomas Count. They do an excellent job with their theme issues, and the neat thing about Diplomas Count is just how accessible it is; there’s something in here for everyone. I’ll be taking some time in the coming weeks to highlight the Washington State pieces from the report.

The first interesting bit is a way of thinking about things that had never occurred to me before: looking at graduation rates by congressional district. Most of the state does merely OK, in the 66% to 75% range on the scale that EdWeek uses, but we seem to have a problem on the coast and in southwest Washington: the 6th congressional district (the peninsula and Tacoma, represented by Norm Dicks), the 3rd (southwest, Brian Baird), and the 9th (Olympia and southern King County, Adam Smith) all trail the state average by falling in the 56%-65% range.

I’m sure there’s a reason for each of them to trail, but still.

A fun summer project for someone that's not me would be to break things out by county. I'd suspect that even though the overall picture looks good that the lowest graduation rate could be Adams, Stevens, or Ferry.

Checking Out

2008-06-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

Isn't the end of the year something?

There's a certain point in time when the seesaw finally tips the kids' way, and they're done. It doesn't matter how well constructed or novel the lesson you're trying to teach is, because their minds are on sunshine and beaches and leisure. That's my first graders, anyhow, though the little bit I know about teenagers makes me think they're not all that different.

In my district our last day of school is next Monday, which had to be done because of the crappy winter weather we had around here. I suspect that many of my kids won't bother with Monday, which is fine with me.

That's not it for us teachers, though. The two days immediately after that are workshop days, and later this month there's a 4-day session on the new math standards. I've already got my list of things to do for next year spinning around my head (Get more phonics games ready! You need a new way to teach 2-digit subtraction! Let's revamp social studies!), but those can wait for August.

Summer is coming. I'm ready.

Will Teach for Food

2008-06-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

Budgets are tight in districts, but the new teacher pipeline keeps pumping 'em out. The result: you'll likely get the credential, but not the job to use it in. From the Longview Daily News:

Only one student from Mack and Scott's program has a job for next year. At least seven of their graduating class of 14 members are searching for jobs locally.

Mack and Scott want to stay local because they have children. "I may have to open it up further," Mack said.

"There are more elementary teachers looking for jobs than there are positions available," said John Vencill, human resources director in with the Longview School District.

Districts have lower enrollment projections and higher teacher salaries to pay due to state increases that must be given even to teachers who are not paid through state funding, Vencill said.

Longview has hired four new elementary teachers for next year, but due to funding shortages Vencill is reluctant to fill more positions until, "we have the kids in the seats and need to teach them," he said.

Kelso's hiring has been even more tenuous, as the district expects to make more cuts in June to balance the budget, finance director Jim Biwer said.

Lotsa luck, graduates. You're going to need it.

Bellevue EA to Strike?

2008-06-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Quite possibly. From the Seattle PI via the Associated Press:

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Bellevue teachers voted tonight to go on strike Sept. 2 if they do not have a tentative contract agreement by then.

The motion passed by 94 percent.

Their current collective bargaining agreement expires Aug. 31. The major contract issues include compensation and district-mandated use of Web-based curriculum.

The Bellevue Education Association represents about 1,200 teachers and other certificated staff.
I'm negotiating the new contract for my district right now, and it's an interesting process. I hope that Bellevue gets their issues resolved before this turns into a disaster.

seriously... just make it

2008-06-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

'Tis the season for pranks (Coupeville's was artless and stupid), rising tempers (without the usual commensurate rising temperatures), and fraying nerves (hire a hit man? seriously? rip out his eyeballs? really?).

Now's not the time to boil over, blow up, or burn out.

You can make it. It's only a week or two more. You can make it.

WASL passage rate tops 90%

2008-06-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

91.4% of the class of 2008 can sleep well tonight, glowing in the light of the WASL. (Well, at least since the math portion was dropped.)

I'm glad--well, not glad, but satisfied--to see KOMO getting the other, often unmentioned part of the story: that 15,000 students have already dropped out. That's about 18% of the original class of 2008, number about 82,000 in all.

If a few more drop because they can't get credits, and a few more because the WASL stumps 'em, then we'll be at near the historically high dropout rate. This, to me, is the most important issue we face in secondary education, WASL or no. I'm somewhat optimistic that the State Board of Education is serious about tackling it, with their revision of graduation requirements and talk of pathways, but... we'll see.

Oh, and: I totally called it.

Spokane Spokesman-Review: Education News Central

2008-06-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

Not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE good articles on education from the Sunday Spokesman!

(Note: Because the Spokesman refuses to make their content free to non-subscribers, which makes them the only major daily in Washington to do so, I've tried where possible to link to the stories through other news outlets.)

Settlement Clears Way for EV Religious Meetings: East Valley High School caused a big ruckus this winter when the principal told a group of Christian students that they couldn’t hold a meeting at the school during school time. The kids sued for $1, arguing that it wasn’t money they were after but a restoration of their constitutional rights.

It’s an interesting case that touches on some of the big issues in school law.

Northwest Educators Discuss Dropout Rates: The UofW held a one-day conference on Friday to bring together educators from all over the northwest to talk about the dropout crisis; the take-home quote from the article:

A panel of educators told the educators that after years of talking about how students need to be properly prepared for school, it’s time for schools to start preparing for students.

I would challenge this. Too much of the “culturally responsive” teaching I’ve seen runs more along the lines of “You don’t have to learn this because of your culture!”, and that does no good for anyone.

Something New, Something Old: Students at Kamiakin High School in Kennewick are getting to participate in an archaeological dig with professors from Central Washington University. That’s fun experiential learning, right there.

Official Party Pooper Riles Seattle U. Students: Seattle University students who post messages about parties on Facebook are getting a knock on the door from school administrators, literally—they’re showing up at their apartments and telling them not to have the parties. The named administrator is Father Glen Butterworth, a Jesuit who lives on the campus. His “I get it! No, I don’t!” quote:

Butterworth said his intent is not necessarily to shut down parties: “I understand. I want to shake a leg, as well,” he said. “I am just hoping they will be responsible.”

Butterworth next intends to go after sock-hopping and milkshake-sharing epidemics. More from the campus newspaper here.

Most Young People Don’t Meet Standards for Military Service: This is the title of a commentary from the wonderfully named General "I Am" William S. Wallace of the US Army Training and Doctrine Command. Some stats he offers:

Many young Americans are willing to serve, but too little is made of the declining number of people who are qualified to serve. This is the real story and it’s a shocking one. Only 28 percent of the 17- to 24-year-old population qualifies to wear a military uniform. The other 72 percent fail to met minimum standards on education, character, and health. The problem gets worse. Of those eligible to serve, a significant part chooses not to for a variety of reasons.

Some day a candidate will come along who makes the financial and physical health of Americans a top priority. Until then, not much will change.

Good work, Spokesman. Just wish people could actually get the news off your website.

Big Announcement Coming From Terry Bergeson

2008-06-01T15:40:00.001-07:00

...on the 10th grade WASL scores and how this impacts graduation, this Tuesday, June 3rd at 10:00 a.m. News brief from OSPI here; link to TV Washington here where you'll be able to watch the press conference live.

It should provide some good blog fodder.

DeResegregation in Seattle?

2008-06-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

Interesting article in the Seattle Times today about how the schools in Seattle are slowly but surely becoming re-segregated on racial lines. My cousin grew up in Seattle during the height of the bussing movement, and the problems they point out with the program are a good history lesson.

Integration is a goal. Neighborhood schools is a goal. What should a district do when the two goals impede one another?

The American Federation of Teachers Doesn’t Like Our Standards

2008-05-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

That’s the gist of a new report from the AFT, “Sizing Up State Standards 2008,” wherein they give our elementary and middle school math standards a thumbs up and everything else (science, reading, social studies) didn’t meet their criteria for rigor and clarity.

There is a certain irony to them liking our math standards reasonably well. Those are the ones that get the most negative press here in state.

don't smile--you're on candid camera

2008-05-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

I remember reading about the Everett EA's accusation that Cascade High School officials had been secretly videotaping a journalism teacher with a crudely hidden camera, and thinking, It's so crazy it just might be true.

It was true.

"Deputy Superintendent Brandsma authorized video monitoring from the hallway looking at the door to Kay Powers' classroom to determine if students were frequenting her classroom late at night or on weekends in violation of school policies and the district directives to Kay Powers," the report said.

Powers and her students were banned from using district equipment to publish an alternative newspaper. Powers' firing followed the district's discovery that a student had used a classroom computer to copy files from an e-mail account to his personal laptop for use in an alternative student newspaper.

It was unclear whether Brandsma would be disciplined; he could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The hidden camera was supposed to be in the hallway outside of the classroom, but the company hired to install it placed it on the ceiling inside Powers' room, according to the report. The camera was directed at the classroom door, the report said.

A video showing individuals from the waist up coming and going from the classroom was delivered to Brandsma. But now the video's "current whereabouts are unknown," the report said.

Patterson also concluded that there is "no evidence that any audio recordings were made."

Whitehead said she never saw the video recording and it played no role in her decision to fire Powers.

"My determination to terminate the employment was not retaliation. It was not an attempt to interfere with her free speech rights, and it was not based on any information seen or heard from any form of video or audio surveillance," she said.

Union leaders said they are glad the district now admits the camera was used.

"It does prove what we have been saying all along, that the district ... had practiced surveillance," said Kim Mead, president of the Everett Education Association. "I just find it so disappointing that they believe it is OK to treat employees in this manner."

So disappointing? How about "outrageous," "stupid," or "so tragic it's positively Shakespearean?"

Terry Bergeson—Underpaid?

2008-05-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

Surfing around I came across this spreadsheet from the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials which shows that there are 110 superintendents in Washington who have a higher base salary than Dr. Bergeson, our Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Only making low six figures is such a drag.

And outside of the edu-sphere….

2008-05-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

The April 2008 edition of Washington CEO Magazine makes a pretty convincing case (to me, anyhow) that we should build a larger convention center in the Seattle metropolitan area, with more hotel space to go along with it. I’d support a convention center over a basketball arena mainly because I could see the potential for multiple uses at multiple times during the day for a center, where a basketball arena might only see action a couple times a week for half the day.

I’m hoping the WEA Rep Assembly will go to Seattle some day. I’ve never actually attended a conference that used the Seattle Convention Center.

$113,602,848

2008-05-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

That’s the estimated cost of the WASL during the 2006-2007 school year, according to research done by the WEA. This includes the cost of printing, administering, delivering, proctoring, storing, and scoring the test for grades 3 through 10. It seems like a very high number, and I'm curious to see the research behind it.

The big question right now in Washington State—is it worth it?

Rich Semler Quits OSPI Race

2008-05-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

The Tri-Cities Herald has the story of how Dr. Semler is quitting the race because of health concerns involving his wife, Ginny. Political blogger Chris Mulick has additional commentary here; you can also listen to his last radio interview as a candidate, which is the post right before this one.

This is a shocker. He addressed the WEA Rep Assembly last week, talked to the State PTA the week before that, and seemed to be good to go the distance. Semler dropping out of the race leaves only PSE Executive Director Randy Dorn as a serious candidate; a candidate whose business website touts his experience as an entertaining motivational speaker. If you dig deeper his bona fides look good, but with three months to go until the primary can he get the message out effectively enough to take this race to a general election?

Could any other candidate join the race today and still be able to get enough of a statewide profile to make a difference?

I doubt it. I think that Terry Bergeson just won the OSPI race by default.

Rich Semler sounds good on the radio box

2008-05-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

I caught Rich Semler's appearance [mp3, 20:00 in] on the Dori Monson Show (Frank Shiers filling in) on KIRO this afternoon, and was impressed by his good humor, quick wit, and overall amiableness. I liked how Semler stressed the difference between being anti-WASL and anti-assessment. We can use less expensive, just as reliable instruments to get the results we need.

In an important interchange, Shiers asked Semler how he'd reform the WASL. A few steps:

1. Smarter use of multiple choice.
2. Get it back to teachers in 2-3 days.
3. 2-3 hour test, instead of days.
4. Testing complex thinking without taking 12-14 questions per student.
5. "Mime" systems like Delaware's.

It didn't help so much that Shiers, who's otherwise well-versed in educational issues, wasn't aware that Terry Bergeson is actually in the running, which perfectly illustrates the primary problem Semler faces. The Superintendent of Public Instruction just doesn't register on the average voter's radar.

If Semler can overcome that hurdle--and here, the ongoing publicity efforts by the WEA should help--he has a decent shot at an incumbent whose popular support, such as it is, weakens daily.

And It’s All Because of Pro Cert

2008-05-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

Phi Delta Kappa recently released their list of Emerging Leaders in education; 2 of the 20 are from Washington State. Congratulations to Eric Hougan of Renton High School and Whitney Meissner of the Chimacum School District.

Additionally, voc-ag teacher Harold Mackin of Rochester recently received a national honor when he was selected to receive a grant from North Carolina State University. He was the only teacher outside the Tarheel State to receive the honor.

Congratulations to them all! Especially Rochester, since I just suggested they should get shut down.

Really?

2008-05-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

Took the time to read the EFF's most recent newsletter this morning, and there was an introductory message from their new Director of Labor Policy, Sonya Jones (I've mentioned her before.) She doesn't like unions--that's kind of a prerequisite for the position--but I plain can't relate to the thought process when I read things like this:

I believe that just about the only thing more dangerous
than environmental zealots are labor unions, so it is with
great anticipation that I come to you as the new Director
of the Labor Policy Center at EFF.

The most dangerous things in Sonya's world are labor unions and environmentalists. It must be nice to have lived such a charmed life where those are the biggest concerns you have.

Welcome to the quagmire, Sonya.

So Much for Kids

2008-05-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

A $13.2 million, five-year grant from the National Math and Science Initiative, designed to add new Advanced Placement teachers, courses and exams for thousands of Washington high school students, has been scrubbed.

The reasons?

The state’s rule against merit pay for teachers and top-down inflexibility. (Check out the whole article from The Columbian.)

The grant would have provided for resources to help get more minority students into AP programs...and rewarded teachers will additional pay for successful students. It was this additional "merit pay" which was the sticking point with WEA. Heaven forbid that outstanding teachers be compensated for their efforts.

I'm most disappointed for students. While I think that some districts have done what they can to encourage traditionally underrepresented groups to participate in Advanced Placement programs, removing financial barriers may have gone a long way toward giving even more children a boost.

While MAP will continue to match a growing number of local math and science mentors with AP students, loss of the NMSI grant is “a tragedy,” Keeney said.

“We knew it would take some discussions, but we didn’t expect not to be able to get through this. This is a major setback for Southwest Washington, and Washington state,” Keeney said.

“The real shame here is that it’s more than $13.2 million: It would have been matched by other private sector (donations),” he said. “It was all new money coming to teachers. It wouldn’t have taken anything away from anybody.”

Marcia Fromhold will wrap up the loose ends of the grant process, then leave MAP, Bill Fromhold said. She retains her local political consulting business; his plans are unclear, he said.

Perhaps I should just be grateful that I didn't get that job when I applied for it last fall?

The All New WE 2.0 Magazine

2008-05-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

I was critical of the WEA last year when they cancelled the WE Magazine—I thought it was the best way they had to communicate with the membership—but was gratified to hear later that it wasn’t an end, per se, but the beginning of something new. The new version of WE came in the mail yesterday, and I think it’s a winner.

It’s a quick read at only 8 pages, but it follows the :30/3/30 rule well in how it puts the content together. The focus is on the WEA’s efforts in regards to compensation, and the overall effect is quite good. This, combined with the recent redesign of the WEA website, makes me feel real good about where the Association is going with regards to communication.

it was Teacher Appreciation Week. were you appreciated?

2008-05-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

Darren Paquin was.

Angie Collins has become a teacher’s pet, though it may have taken 22 years and a kidney.

Collins, 40, donated her kidney this week to her former Elwood Community High School English teacher Darren Paquin.

I got a free doughnut. It was more than enough.

control the information, control the discourse

2008-05-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

It's not profound, at least not anymore, and certainly not shocking that those who maintain the databases run the show.

At last night's community forum to discuss the Olympia School District's budget cuts, I saw exactly how that works. In the utter absence of malice, the district has inherited a system of budgeting that hierarchizes and decentralizes information so that only a handful of people know the scope and character of the entire district budget.

So, when 200+ people sit down to go over cuts, they're at a huge epistemic disadvantage. They don't have each building's budget in front of them--where the real details hide--and the district-provided handouts are vague, excepting the specific proposed cuts. How much cash would it save to trim 5% from every WIAA sports or activity program? How much would it raise to implement a $5 pay-to-play increase? How much does Marshall Middle School spend on photocopies? Unless we're the assistant superintendent, we don't know.

I've tried to make things easier on the average citizen by creating an interactive spreadsheet so they can try balancing the budget on their own, but I've only included proposals that I've heard about. Anything truly novel has to spring up out of the void of imagination, rather than the rational crunch of numbers.

District officials, when shown the spreadsheet, have been uniformly excited by it. My next goal is to work with them in an official capacity, to bring the power of information to the masses. Someday, I hope that every district in this state--and everywhere--would be that data-transparent.

Standards, Get Your Math Standards

2008-05-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade will be held to more concrete standards when it comes to math, thanks to a revision of standards approved by the State Board of Education on Monday.

The Legislature approved the revised standards earlier this year. The standards were drafted because student underachievement in math was causing alarm among educators and lawmakers.

Now the revised standards are clearer, emphasize basic math facts and introduce some mathematical concepts in earlier grades.

Although the Board of Education touts the new standards as something other states will aspire to match, the plan recently met with criticism. Some education activists thought the program wasn't rigorous enough and that school districts might suffer a loss of autonomy when it comes to teaching methods.

A plan for high school math standards is still being devised. In February, a consultant hired to review the state's proposed standards said there were "serious problems" with the high school curriculum. A revised plan will be presented to the board later this spring or summer, according to a statement from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

For a complete description of the revisions, visit http://www.utdanacenter.org/wamathrevision/history.php.

I would encourage all Washington teachers to have a look at the new standards---even if you don't teach math. The format and wording is far superior to that found for other content areas. Science is next up for revision, but I would love to see Reading and Writing revised to reflect the "friendly" format math now has.

watch those eyebrows

2008-04-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

Not your own. Your students'. They might harbor surreptitious gang signs.

Some students at Centennial High School have shaved vertical lines into their eyebrows in a trend recently made popular by hip-hop star Soulja Boy. School officials say the mark looks like a gang symbol.

Centennial administrators are telling students with the lines that they can't return to school until they shave their eyebrows off. Assistant Principal Mark Porterfield said the students are not suspended, but they are not allowed in school until they cooperate.

Four students have been sent home. One returned with a bandage covering the shaved brow.

Life must be pretty good at Centennial High, if they have time to enforce perhaps the pettiest rule in the history of secondary education. (Given that history, no easy feat.)

Sadly, if my administration asked me to monitor my students eyebrow grooming, I'd have to meekly go along with it. RIF lists suck.

time to throw concrete math instruction out the window?

2008-04-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

This... could hurt.

In the first experiment, involving 80 students, some participants were given one concrete example before testing on the children’s game, while some were given two or three examples. One group only learned the generic symbols.

When tested on the children’s game, the group that learned the generic symbols got nearly 80 percent of the questions right. Those who learned one, two or even three concrete examples did no better than chance in selecting the right answers.

“They were just guessing,” Kaminski said.

In a second experiment, the researchers gave 20 participants two concrete examples and explained how they were alike. Surprisingly, this still did not help students apply the concept any better and they still did no better than chance when tested later about the game.

In a third experiment, the researchers presented 20 students with two concrete examples and then asked them to compare the two examples and write down any similarities they saw. After this experiment, about 44 percent of the students performed well on the test concerning the children’s game, while the remainder still did not perform better than chance.

This suggests that only some students, not all, benefit from direct comparison of learned concrete examples.

Finally, in a fourth experiment involving 40 students, some learned the concrete example first followed by the generic symbols, while others learned only the generic symbols. The thought here was that the concrete example would engage the students in the learning process while the generic symbols would promote transfer of that knowledge.

But even in this experiment, students who learned only the generic symbols performed better on subsequent testing than those who learned the concept using the concrete example and then the generic symbols.

The authors said that students seem to learn concepts quickly when they are presented with familiar real objects such as marbles or containers of liquid, and so it is easy to see why many advocate this approach. “But it turns out there is no true insight there. They can’t move beyond these real objects to apply that knowledge,” said Sloutsky.

Compare that with, say, the recent math-athon in the North Thurston district.

Pre-calculus students at North Thurston High School will show display boards of photographs of everyday objects that are examples of conics — circles, parabolas, ellipses and hyperboles.

“I just wanted them to see real math in the real world,” said their teacher, Julie Cassidy.

Boards showed photographs of nail polish bottles, mustard containers, bicycle racks, basketballs, garden hoses, shoe soles and more.

“I really liked it because it kind of gives you a more hands-on idea of math. I’m the type of person who likes to get out and experience in the world. I can’t sit at a desk and remember it,” said junior Raewyn Heim, 17.

Obviously, further studies are needed to see if Heim has it right. It could be that the hands-on aspect provides greater motivation for learners who aren't already college undergrads, the subjects of the OSU experiment. Also, if Piagetian principles are at play, the older students might just be more facile in the realm of abstraction. Still, as an English teacher, I have to go with this quote by one of the experimenters: "Story problems could be an incredible instrument for testing what was learned. But they are bad instruments for teaching."

Now you have a scientific reason to hate story problems.

pissed pedagogue won't WASL

2008-04-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

Seattle teacher Carl Chew refused to administer the sixth-grade WASL to his students, taking a two week unpaid vacation as a consequence.

Carl Chew, 60, who teaches science, wanted to take a stand against a test he considers harmful to students, teachers, schools and families.

"I did it because I think it's bad for kids," he said.

He said he knew he would face consequences, and might even be fired.

"When you do an act of civil disobedience, you gracefully accept what happens to you," he said.

Before the WASL started at Eckstein last week, Chew said he told Eckstein administrators that he would not give the exam. He said they tried to talk him out of it.

Or into it, really.

I'm surprised he wasn't fired straight up for insubordination. He must have a pretty good record--or a pretty forgiving administration. At the very least, he's sincere, knowing full well what his mini-rebellion would entail.

Click through and read the whole thing.

Ryan endorses Rich Semler

2008-04-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Our own Ryan, that is.

In short, I think Richard Semler would make a hell of an SPI. I like the knowledge base he showed, I liked his specific suggestions for improving the system, and I think he can bring a perspective to the job that would benefit education as a whole.

Semler faces incumbent Terry Bergeson and a couple other challengers--David Blomstrom and Donald Hansler. So far, given the beating Bergeson's policies have taken lately, I like Semler's chances.

a freeway, a freeway, my COLA for a freeway

2008-04-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

Dino Rossi's transportation plan is all over the news today, the candidate pushing for new projects to the tune of $15 billion dollars.

"The bottom line is we need these projects. We have no choice," Rossi said. "We have to do these projects ... or we'll be stepping on our own economic air hose in the future."

Rossi, who is running against Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, proposed paying for the work in part by spending 40 percent of the state sales taxes on new and used vehicles for transportation projects — a total of $7.7 billion in 2007 dollars projected over the next 30 years.

He also would eliminate state sales taxes on transportation projects, thus lowering their cost.

That tax revenue currently goes to the state's general fund where it's spent on other programs. Rossi doesn't say how he'd make up that loss in revenue, but he says he would not raise taxes or cut programs supporting education, nursing homes and the developmentally disabled.

The opposition isn't buying the no-education-cuts angle. Debra Carnes, communication director for the Gregoire campaign, notes,

It looks like he’s back to proposing some of the same things he’s done before. Much of the revenue to fund his plan comes from the general fund, more specifically to the tune of $10 billion. That’s real money that looks like yet another attempt at suspending funding for COLAs and class size reduction.

In yesterday’s press conference, Robert Mak of KING 5 asked this question:
Q: Should teachers write off their COLA's?

A: We'll have to look at where we are at that point. I fixed the problem in 2003 and can do it again if necessary.
Apparently, his “fix” in 2003 was to suspend the COLAs. Overall, it’s a bad plan that isn’t good for Washington and may be even worse for educators.

If Carnes is right, is it worth it? Should teachers sacrifice their cost of living adjustment to keep gridlock's foot off the economic air hose?