Monday, February 25, 2019

Update on HB1641 (State HiCap reforms)

The House Appropriations Committee needs to get email TODAY asking to schedule a hearing in HB1641 by Friday. Please take a moment and email them now emails links here: Link

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Guest Post: Please Advocate for the next Advanced Learning Supervisor in the district

[The following is a guest post from former Board Director Sue Peters.  Note:  the replacement job has not been posted yet on the SPS site. ]



Head of HCC/AL programs Stephen Martin is retiring from SPS this year. Speak up now to request highly qualified, appropriate replacement

Dear HCC/Spectrum and AL communities,

You may be interested to learn that the District’s Supervisor of Highly Capable and Advanced Learning programs, Stephen Martin is retiring from SPS as of 9/1/19, per a recent Personnel Report that was approved by the Board at their Feb 6, 2019 Board meeting: https://seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/18-19%20agendas/February%206/C02_20190206_Personnel%20Report.pdf

I encourage any families in the HCC/Spectrum/AL community who would like to weigh in on the new hire to contact the Board, and Supt Juneau ASAP. It looks like this is being done quite quickly and with no public input.

Write to them at: superintendent@seattleschools.org; spsdirectors@seattleschools.org,  dmdebacker@seattleschools.org

The existing job description is here: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/seattleschools/classspecs/750082?keywords=Advanced%20Learning&pagetype=classSpecifications

But missing from the listing is any requirement for experience and expertise in gifted education. Instead the focus is primarily on administrative tasks, with one reference to advanced learning.

To the best of my knowledge, Martin is the only one in the Advanced Learning Department with significant experience in gifted education. Here’s his bio: https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/advanced_learning/department_information/contact_advanced_learning/stephen_martin_bio

I have written to the Board and Supt. Juneau noting this discrepancy and have asked that the district hire a highly qualified replacement with meaningful gifted ed experience. (Letter included below.)

Regards,

Sue Peters

Request for highly qualified replacement for retiring supervisor of HCC/AL Stephen Martin


Dear Superintendent Juneau and Board Directors,

In light of the fact that Stephen Martin, the District’s Supervisor of Highly Capable and Advanced Learning programs, is retiring from SPS as of 9/1/19 (per a recent personnel report: https://seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/18-19%20agendas/February%206/C02_20190206_Personnel%20Report.pdf), I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to hire a highly qualified, appropriate replacement for him.

Currently, Mr. Martin is the only member of the Advanced Learning Department staff with significant experience and expertise in gifted education (as his bio demonstrates, included below). So it’s important that his replacement be at least equally as knowledgeable and experienced.

The candidate should also have a proven commitment to ensuring robust and appropriate programs and services that meet the academic and emotional needs of all gifted and advanced learners throughout the district, and a commitment to outreach to those who have been underrepresented in the programs.

Yet, the job listing that has been posted by SPS for Mr. Martin’s replacement makes no mention of the terms “gifted education” or “Highly Capable” among the skills, experience and education requirements of the position: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/seattleschools/classspecs/750082?keywords=Advanced%20Learning&pagetype=classSpecifications (excerpt included below).

The position as posted doesn’t require teaching experience or familiarity with gifted ed pedagogy, nor is there any mention of experience with twice exceptional students, also a group whose needs must be understood and met by the AL Department. The position doesn't even require an MA in education, just a “closely related field.”

I hope you can agree that this description does not accurately convey the appropriate requirements for this position. So I ask that it be revised to better and fully reflect the demands of the position and the expectations of families and students of SPS, so the District will be better able to recruit the best candidate for this position.

The new hire should be someone who:
  • Has a proven track record of relevant and substantial experience working with gifted children.
  • Is committed to genuine efforts to expand diversity in the program, such as expanding and simplifying referrals, investing in teacher and administrator training, and community outreach, rather than through superficial measures such as limiting private appeals (which does little to nothing to increase diverse representation in the program).
  • Understands the need for gifted education and recognizes that it is part of basic education, as established by state law.
  • Is committed to providing meaningful, appropriate curriculum, as prescribed by law.

In sum, I ask that the district hire a highly qualified, talented replacement, quite possibly from outside of SPS, to address the needs of the roughly 4,000 students in SPS identified as Highly Capable, and the over 8,000 students identified as Spectrum or HCC, plus the many advanced learners districtwide

Lastly, please reach out to the Highly Capable and AL communities for input. And please let me know if I can assist in this process in any way, as a past SPS Board director and member of the SPS APP/HCC community for the last 14 years.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Sue Peters

SPS & APP/HCC parent since 2005

SPS Board Director (President & VP), 2013-17

Founding Member, Parents Across America

Founding Editor, Seattle Education Blog




BIO: Stephen B. Martin, Supervisor, Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning Programs



Stephen graduated from Bridgewater State College and Boston University, and has done postgraduate work at Florida State University in Gifted Education and the University of Southern California in Educational Policy Planning and Administration. At FSU he studied with Dorothy Sisk, who had served as the Director of the U.S. Office of Gifted and Talented, working with all the state departments in establishing policies and programs for gifted children. Stephen has served as teacher, principal, or gifted coordinator in Massachusetts, the Philippines, Germany, Colorado, and Washington. He is a member of the National Association for Gifted Children (served on the Advocacy Committee with Joseph Renzulli), the Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted (board member and twice president), the Northwest Gifted Child Association, and has served on the Washington State Gifted Advisory Committee. Since joining the Advanced Learning office in 2010, Stephen has focused on making opportunities for advanced learners available at all schools, and increasing equitable access for underrepresented students. Working in collaboration with the SPS Department of Technology Services and private consultants, Stephen and his team are upgrading Advanced Learning systems to better serve Seattle families.


https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/advanced_learning/department_information/contact_advanced_learning/stephen_martin_bio


Excerpt from the current SPS job listing:


KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

Knowledge of:

  • Theories and practices of Advanced Learning program education and required services 
  • Aptitude and achievement test measures and their interpretation 
  • Current research, emerging trends for the development of quality programs and the delivery of effective services 
  • Curricula and instructional strategies 
  • Effective methods for budget management and fiscal control
  • Computer technology for operations management 
  • Practices and principles of supervision; intervention and communication strategies with parents/guardians. 

Skills in:


  • Budget preparation; fiscal control 
  • Demonstrating instructional methods 
  • Effective communication (listening, writing, speaking); providing timely response 
  • Prioritizing and meeting critical timelines 
  • Preparing district, state, and federal reports 
  • Facilitating group meetings 
  • Computer technology 
  • Data collection and analysis 
  • Problem solving and decision-making 
  • Public relations 
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of assigned programs 

Ability to:

  • Provide leadership and direction 
  • Work effectively and professionally with department staff, central office staff, principals, teachers, parents, and outside agencies 
  • Effectively represent the district before the public 
  • Monitor and track compliance data 
  • Coordinate multiple activities simultaneously 
  • Supervise assigned staff 
  • Work effectively in a multicultural community 
  • Minimum Qualifications

EDUCATION:

Master's degree in education or closely related field.

YEARS OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE:

Three (3) years of teaching experience, including two (2) years of program management or administrative experience in an urban environment.Three (3) years of teaching experience, including two (2) years of program management or administrative experience in an urban environment.

CERTIFICATES & LICENSES:

-Valid Washington State Teaching Certificate or evidence of ability to obtain a Washington State Certificate before starting in this job.

-A valid driver' license or evidence of equivalent mobility.

PREFERRED:

Administrative Credentials.



Monday, February 4, 2019

Feb '19 Open Thread

Open enrollment has started: https://www.seattleschools.org/admissions/registration/school_choice


Note for those commenting on the online learning policy changes: 
"FYI, BAR Policies Nos. 2024 and 2420 have been pulled tomorrow’s Leg. Mtg. By Supt. Juneau and myself to be referred to the C and I Committee for more discussion, community engagement and potential unintended consequences.

Thank you for your input and conversations - stay tuned.

Leslie Harris
Director, District 6, President
leslie.harris@seattleschools.org"

Registration for UW Robinson Center summer programs opens today:
https://robinsoncenter.uw.edu/programs/summer/


Ingraham IB Information night has been rescheduled to Tue 2/12 at 7PM in the auditorium.


Senate Bill 5354-2019, a multi-issue hicap education bill, needs your help to advance. Please forward this message to friends and family in other Washington districts.
Among other things, SB 5354 requires ALL counselors and principals to get at least 2 hours of in-service professional development and student teachers to get pre-service training. The bill is getting a hearing tomorrow (Wednesday, February 6), but the Senate Education Committee needs to get a LOT more e-mail asking them “to bring the bill to executive session and to vote a Do Pass recommendation.” Please contact them today. Committee e-mails are below—click on a link for a predrafted message:
More details here: https://blog.hicapseattle.org/2019/02/05/e-mail-needed-to-support-sb-5354-2019

What's on your minds?

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Washington Students Letter to their Principal

[The following group student letter  was forwarded to me to be publicly published]

WMS Students
1/30/2019
   
 A Declaration of Representation  
Dear Ms. Butler Ginolfi and the Washington Middle School Administration, 
        In our 8th Grade history classes this year, we have spent a lot of time learning about the U.S. Revolution and the beginning of the country we live in today. Unfortunately, we are not able to continue those important and historical discussions with many of our same classmates, peers in other classes and programs, and even in most cases our teachers, but we have learned a lot about how much power matters in a system. This kind of situation not only happens in our history classes, but is now reflected throughout the school. If we are going to make a school where everyone learns and is cared about, we need to start having more student voice in decisions, because when different groups of people are involved, just like it should have been in the American colonies, everything works out better for the whole.
Below are different students’ voices and opinions on what needs to change in our school. We don’t expect you to do everything we say or even change the way you run our school, but we do ask you to acknowledge our voices and hopefully take our opinions into consideration when you are making changes that affect us.
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Teaching Changes
        One of the changes that have been put into play was changing what teachers teach, not just what classes the students are in. I had a history teacher that has been teaching Social Studies for a very long time and I know that she was very passionate about it. A lot of the students have been disappointed to find that a teacher they loved will not be teaching them anymore, myself included. She was an amazing teacher and I have learned so much from her this year. I understand that the school wants every student to get a chance to experience different teachers’ classes, but by completely changing the schedules, the students who were in those classes can’t enjoy them anymore. Even though we all deserve the best education possible, the worst thing to do is to interrupt any of these learning experiences. Instead of switching students and teachers around so that every student is better served, why can’t we make sure that every teacher is able to benefit every student?

Racial Biases
        Another problem is that bias against students because of the race or program they associate with. It is unfair and needs to change. If we had more students involved in decision making, we could change the way different students are treated. Just taking the time to listen and create platforms for students to speak out could change the whole school dynamic. Communication is so important, but it isn’t a one-way street.
One student says, “Students are treated differently because of their skin. As a black student, it sucks that people like me get in trouble and are being suspected of things that other people aren’t.”

Scheduling Implications
        Another issue is that new schedules impact the projects we work on in school. For example, many students were supposed to have the opportunity to work on science fair projects in class since they were started so late. Now students in science fair groups are mainly in different classes and they don’t know if they will be able to finish the project on time. Book clubs were also created in some Language Arts classes so now students will not have a way to continue discussions and meet with their groups in class, these issues were also not made clear with teachers before Tuesday,
One thing that really bothers me is not being able to have collaborative discussions with students from other programs. As an HCC 8th Grader, it had been a helpful experience to share out and have discussions with students in other programs in history, a result of great structured classes by the 2 old 8th grade US History teachers. But now, we don’t have the opportunity to do so as our classes are split among 4-5 teachers and we are unable to collaborate due to the fact we are across the school from another. Blended History used to be something I really looked forward to, and now it seems like a far reach to have any inter-program discussions at all.


Periods, Periods, and more Periods 
        This year the passing periods have also been changed. Last year we had 5 minutes and the schedule and times were easy to memorize, but now we have to remember exactly when class ends and when it starts and it is really confusing. This is in addition to us having to memorize a completely new schedule in the middle of the year.
Also, four minutes is not enough time to get to our classes especially if we need to use the bathroom. I know that as a girl, it can be very inconvenient to have your period because of the bathroom limitations. It’s stressful to have to deal with your period when there’s no time to use the restroom due to the fact that we don’t want to be tardy. Girls can’t plan their periods, sometimes they start during class or passing periods. Girls can’t always wait until a class is over to take care of it. It is very difficult to get from one side of the school to the other and use the bathroom in the middle of it, in four minutes. It’s also very hard to wait until lunch because that is the only time during the day we have time to ourselves to go freely. Passes are not easy to get but it’s also not easy to go outside of class time. In addition to the passing period problem, we are not allowed to go to the bathroom the first or last 10 minutes of class. This is completely unfair because you never know if someone is having an emergency. This goes back to girls getting their periods as well, sometimes going to the bathroom is necessary. It shouldn’t be a shameful thing or a thing to get in trouble for. Even worse are the hall sweeps. If you have a late bus, you had to go to the bathroom, or you’re just late because of traffic and you get caught in the halls, you still get punished even though you were never disrupting any classes.


Lunches
        This connects to another problem. This year we have to be escorted to the gym or the library during lunch. It’s not like we are going to cause chaos; most of us just want to have some fun during lunch. It’s unfair that we are expected to get to our classes in four minutes but aren’t able to roam freely in the halls during lunch.
We should have our lunch back ( 1, 2, 3, lunches) even though some of the lunch tables are empty, because now that there are only 2 lunches and the lunchroom going to get crowded. Students will want their own table with their own space and friends to hang out which excludes the individual or small groups of students, and even to get a lunch there is going to be a much longer time.


Responsibility
        We could make this better by letting the students have responsibility, be treated like high school students, and be given high responsibility especially since we are close to going to high school and we should be prepared for the future. We should be given high expectations as students here at Washington Middle School, and also be given opportunities like having noticeable input on school decisions
   
Music
        As a student that goes to Washington, I find that the music program is an important thing that the school has to offer. Without the music program, there’s not much left of our school’s amazing history except our old building. To show you how important the music program is to the students, I decided to ask around, and here are the responses I’ve gathered.
Our first response is from a student in Intermediate Orchestra: “The music program makes me feel like I can learn stuff and have opportunities because we grow each day.”
A student in Senior Choir says “I would say [the music program] makes me feel included and it makes me feel like I am a part of something special.”
A student in Senior Band said: “Music class gives me a time of day I can really be excited about, it’s frustrating that people get taken out of these classes and aren’t able to practice material in class like other students.”
        This next student is in Senior Choir as well: “I love the music program because it gives a chance for me to express myself in a different way and I get to meet new people who I might not be in classes with normally. The music program is also great because the teachers care about us and they want us to learn and do well.” This student was taken out of Senior choir and put into a lower level, Junior Choir. Another student who I had Junior choir with had been taken out abruptly. They asked to not be named and said:
“It brightens my day and honestly it gives me a break so I can get back to focusing on academics after. It's the perfect way to get concentration back.”
    To end this off, the last opinion I'll give is mine, (Senior Choir) “I think that choir, and music in general, gives me a chance to express myself and feel like I’m welcomed. I've met so many people I’d never thought to talk to through choir. I find that it's easier for me to be myself and have fun but also learn a lot about my voice.”
   To have music classes be disrupted has been very disappointing to many students who enjoy what they have previously taken, and that needs to change.
Side Note: these are just some of many opinions, we didn’t want to waste any ink.
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        In addition to these changes that are being made, we can’t ignore that in the letters the principal has given us, they show no apology for not communicating to students and families, no regard for raised opinions by the community, and they often blame other sources for problems that have cost us time being educated and much more. She even got the address of our school wrong; it is the address of the school she previously worked at. She also mentions that the changes being made happen often in secondary school, but secondary school is high school and not middle school. We need to be treated like the school we are, and we need our principal to set an example of how to act in these situations, because believe it or not we are all still learning. We understand this is all part of her own principles and values, and understand how hard of a job she has with little state funding, but we think everyone should be able to have a voice in the decisions being made at our school, no matter how much the impact.

        We care about what happens now and in the future. Hopefully, our administration does too. Just like in Colonial America, the power belongs to one group of people. But if we want to be the school that fixes inequities, first we need to fix one of the biggest inequities by giving everyone a voice. We hope that you listen to our concerns and take all these suggestions into consideration, and even if you do not, know that we, the students want our school to be the best it can be, for everyone. Everyone wants to have every school year be amazing and in order for that to happen, you have to listen to us and our opinions. Thank you for reading.