Friday, July 29, 2011

School board primary

The school board primary election is on August 16.

APP parents, who are you voting for in the school board primary and why?

9 comments:

yes, i vote said...

ABI: Anyone But the Incumbents!

Anonymous said...

Read all of the candidate statements before you say "anyone."

Laura said...

Had anybody spoken with a candidate about APP? Did you get any of your questions answered?

Would anybody be interested in putting together a candidate questionnaire regarding APP to which responses get posted here on this blog? Greg, would you feel comfortable posting responses on the blog? Perhaps this is something we could do for the general election since the primary election is only days away.

What questions specific to APP (or advanced learning?) would you want asked?

apparent said...

The following information was posted on the Seattle Schools Blog, and is now copied here with credit due to its author Richard Greene:

"I would like to hear Kate Martin's explanation of this angry letter she wrote to the Seattle Times a few years ago, describing AP courses as a 'club for white, affluent families' and denigrating AP parents as 'stay-at-home/'hovercraft'-parents/Laurelhurst-privilege.'

"I can't see someone with these simplistic and inflexible views being an effective and productive member of the school board."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004069763_frilets14.html
Richard Greene, on Seattle Schools Blog
8/1/11 11:02 PM

Anonymous said...

But there is also this post from Kate Martin, explaining an incident at Roosevelt:

"To clarify the incident about the math teacher at Roosevelt...

My son had been telling me his teacher couldn't teach math and I wasn't listening fully. One day my husband and I got a postcard from this teacher and all it said on it was that my son's smile lit up the classroom every day. (This is the communication I got with my son having an F in the class.) Three times I called Roosevelt to tell them that this teachers phone extension rang to an entirely other school. I did a little digging and found out that this teacher had been on two PIPs and been moved around to several schools. It turns out my son was right. He never could teach math. (He put movies on everyday.) That didn't stop 2 principals from overlooking that and allowing the assignment of over a thousand kids to his classrooms over many years. I requested a new teacher and an explanation of why students would be assigned to a teacher who could not teach math. They didn't have a new teacher for me and so I went to the office and had a stand in.

Mr Vance went on and on about how hard it is to get rid of a teacher. I think that is BS. (Ask John Cummings how long it takes to get rid of a teacher.)

During my stand-in, the student filing the mail for the teachers thanked me and told me he was the worst teacher in the building. As I was being escorted out, another group of students said the same. A legend they called him. Well, I think that's the kind of legend kids should not suffer.

I told the cops who were called that I was armed with my lipstick, my chapstik, and my brain. We had a good chuckle. They found it amusing that at Roosevelt they call 911 when you want a math teacher for your kid who can teach math.

Anyway, I got a new math teacher (Mr Vance told my son at the meeting the next day where I was present that he was doing this in spite of his mother.) Meanwhile I asked the teacher to resign which he did the next day.

That will never make up for the damage that these principals caused to so many students by protecting an egregiously poor teacher.

Additionally, I now know that the teachers were trying to change this situation as well to get rid of this guy. They'd go to Vance and ask him to go stand outside this guy's classroom and listen to the ridiculousness. Still, Vance couldn't get it done. I have zero tolerance for that kind of mismanagement and never will."

Anonymous said...

More info on Kate Martin:

http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/first-up-kate-martin-school-board-candidate-for-district/

There will be an event this week:

There will be a Carol Simmons Happy Hour and Fund Raiser for Kate Martin’s School Board Campaign on Thursday, August 4th from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at Robb’s 125th Street Grill which is located at 12255 Aurora Avenue, North which is at the intersection of 125th Street and Aurora.

Shannon said...

The Roosevelt example shows she has balls to demand the right thing for her kid but not that she will come armed with her chapstick to support APP. She probably won't. Also interested in her line on AP etc.

I am in District 3 and the Stranger endorses Dunn. District No. 3. The other endorsements are Peasely, Martin, Anderson.

From the stranger:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/endorsements/Content?oid=9232699

I thought their endorsement of Dunn was funny. It was really a dis-endorsement of Harium for his demeanor"

"GRIM. Grim, grim, grim. That was the look on the face of incumbent Harium Martin-Morris throughout the SECB interview with him and two of his challengers. He was almost beautiful in his grimness—a portrait of grimiosity—brow furrowed, teeth clenched, his chin sinking heavily into his hands as if his neck could no longer support the enormous weight of the epic grimness that filled his head.
....

"

Marty McLaren said...

To introduce myself: I'm Marty McLaren, and I'm running for School Board District 6, in West Seattle.

I'm a retired teacher and also the parent of three adult children who went through APP. Two also attended NOVA and one was at TOPS for kindergarten; my grandson attended AS1 for three years. I did my teaching internship in APP and have subbed many times in alternative schools, I have a strong commitment to well-conceived and well-managed alternative programs.

I have many other areas of experience and interest. My platform is primarily focused on the need for the community to reclaim its control over the management of our schools. I envision a school district in which resources and energy are focused in the schools and where a well-run, stable administration supports students by supporting schools.

My website is at Marty4SSD.com; you can email me at marty@marty4ssd.com.

suep. said...

Do Seattle’s School Board directors deserve to be reelected?

Since I wrote this piece back in May, a number of other candidates joined the race, giving SPS parents and voters some good options for new voices and vision on the school board, such as: Sharon Peaslee and John Cummings in District 1 (to replace Maier); Kate Martin and Jack Whelan in District 2 (to replace Carr); Michelle Buetow and John Dunn (to replace Martin-Morris) in District 3; and
Marty McLaren and Joy Anderson in District 6 (to replace Sundquist).

Sundquist, Maier and Carr voted to splinter APP and close schools in 2009; all four incumbents voted for pay raises and contract extensions for the since-fired Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson; for the weak "Discovering" math high school textbook, and the contract to bring Teach for America recruits who have only 5 weeks of training to teach in Seattle's public schools; all board members were cited in a state audit for failing to oversee the superintendent (their job). The list goes on.

Remember to get your ballots postmarked no later than Tuesday 8/16.