- As noted in the prev. open thread the Advanced Learning Task Force has started meeting.
Random Math Fun:
Aperiodical is hosting the Big Math Off which looks to be a lot of fun to read.
Humor:
“Crowded schools. Overworked teachers. In today’s education turmoil, can your child obtain the personalized teaching that every child, average or advanced, need?” (1963)
What's on your minds?
6 comments:
I probably have an odd sense of humor but I thought this apparently real tidbit from the 60's was pretty funny so I added it to the top.
FYI: SPS shrunk the window for referral of out-of-district students to three days: Today, August 1st, through August 3rd. As far as I can tell they do not publicize that the window closes so quickly, but you find that out after you register your child for testing (when they send you a form to complete that explains August 3rd is the last day for submitting a request for testing). In addition, the testing will be performed for these non-SPS kids starting just one week from the window opening on August 8th, before they even begin the grade for which they will be tested. SPS is newly VERY invested in keeping non-SPS kids from qualifying for Advanced Learning Services in the following year.
-SPS parent
I revise my comment above. It appears that what they have done is that after publishing a notice that stayed up through June 28th that the window for referrals opened on August 1st, they published a new announcement on June 29th which said that they actually had a referral window for non-SPS students lasting from June 29th through August 3rd. So for anybody who marked their calendar with the August 1st referral window that was published up until a month ago, the referral window was changed at the last minute. I guess this is less deceptive than the how it appeared above, maybe more incompetent...
-SPS Parent
It boggles the mind why the district, which does have an approach to meeting the advanced learning needs of students, works so hard to prevent students from accessing this approach, which they have. If a student needs access to an advanced learning service, it stands to reason that they're going to need this whether or not their parent was sitting at their computer between June 29th and August 3rd. I wonder if they applied School Board Policy #0030 to this time window and this communication about the time window.
With regards to accessibility. I'm always struck by the District's supposed stance on HCC equity/accessibility. And then gobsmacked by how difficult it is to get everything filed for HCC testing. I believe this is the biggest barrier to people in socio-economic stratas that are not well-represented in HCC. Don't even get me started on crappy district website design and QA issues like broken links that waste precious time. And incorrectly filed paperwork? What single parent working two jobs has time for that? These are real and easily fixed barriers.
I've heard that there are an unusually large number of teachers leaving JAMS this year. Does anyone know how hiring is going for all the empty spaces? Is there a reason the amount of turnover seems higher than other years, or is this typical? We are still new enough to school to not have a sense of if this means anything or is just coincidence, though hear we are losing some strong ones!
7th grade JAMS parent
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