February Open Thread

Its February and we're in the midst of the final phases of testing and the beginning of open enrollment.

Articles

I saw this interesting article two days back in the NYTimes on whether we're stifling creativity with the values we choose to accentuate: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opinion/sunday/how-to-raise-a-creative-child-step-one-back-off.html?_r=0

"The gifted learn to play magnificent Mozart melodies, but rarely compose their own original scores. They focus their energy on consuming existing scientific knowledge, not producing new insights. They conform to codified rules, rather than inventing their own."

I just found a followup interview with the column's author: http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/02/wharton-professor-adam-grant-on-creativity-and-the-first-mover-myth/?ncid=rss

On a totally different note, this piece on extra curricular math just came out. I'm familiar with most of the groups mentioned and its a great read if you didn't know about some of them already. I wish we had a version the Proof School in Seattle (that didn't cost an arm and a leg to attend).

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/the-math-revolution/426855/

West Seattle HCC Pathway Information Night

    Thursday, February 25th, 7-8:30
    at Madison Middle School Library

    Next year Madison Middle School will become an HCC (Highly Capable Cohort formerly known as APP) pathway option school, an exciting next step in West Seattle’s advanced learning options that began with the opening of Fairmount Park Elementary last year.

    This event provides an opportunity to learn more about the new middle school pathway in West Seattle and the preparations underway for its successful launch in the fall. Topics include course offerings, class structure, and the options following middle school, along with any questions you may have. Speakers will include representatives from the Advanced Learning Office, Madison administration and faculty, and both West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School.

Eagle Staff Middle School Update

From SPS:
In September of 2017, a new middle school will open in the NW Region.
Robert Eagle Staff Middle School will serve students from Greenwood, Olympic View, Northgate, Broadview-Thomson, Daniel Bagley, and Cascadia schools.
Meetings to discuss the hiring of the planning principal for this new middle school will be held at four sites. Parents of current 4th and 5th grade students are invited to attend to hear more about the hiring process and the planning that the new principal will lead during 2016-2017 to ensure a successful launch of the new school.
Parents of 6th grade middle school students at Whitman and 6th grade HCC students at Hamilton, whose reference school is one of the schools named above, are also invited to attend.
Meetings are scheduled on the following dates and times:
•February 17th at Bagley Elementary (6:30PM - 7:30PM)
•February 18th at Northgate Elementary (7 PM to 8 PM)
•February 24th at Greenwood Elementary (7PM to 8PM)
•February 25th at Cascadia Elementary Auditorium (6:30 PM to 7:30 PM)
All meetings will take place in the lunchroom unless otherwise noted at the school site. Spanish language services will be provided at Northgate and Greenwood.
Learn more about the new school on the Seattle Public Schools' Building Excellence Program website.

Ballard PTSA Meeting on Lincoln High School February 4th

Have you wondered how Seattle is going to continue to deal with the growth in the North End of Seattle? What new schools are opening in the next few years? Are you concerned about how the boundary re-draw is going to impact your neighborhood or your school? What grade levels will Lincoln High School open with in 2019? Will Ballard and Roosevelt students be forced to move to Lincoln? Do you have concerns about the impacts that the late start will have on athletics and field use? If any of these questions apply to you, attend tonight’s Ballard High School PTSA Meeting at 7:00pm in the BHS Library and hear from the person who will ultimately be in charge of these decisions, SPS Associate Superintendent of Facilities and Operations, Flip Herndon.
Please feel free to forward this to any friends at other schools that would also be interested in this conversation.
Keven Wynkoop
Ballard High School
Principal

HCS Advisory Committee meeting

Today - Tuesday, February 2, 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Garfield High School Library

400 23rd Ave

Quick Blog Roll:

 I'd like to get a rough idea of where our readership is to aid in picking topics, vote multiple times for multiple children:

What school does your student atttend?

Cascadia

Thurgood Marshall

Fairmount Park

HIMS

WMS

JAMS

Garfield

Ingraham

polling

What's on your minds?

Choosing between Garfield, Roosevelt and Ingraham for High School

This thread comes from a parent request

Middle school has been an extraordinary experience for my kid (she’s at JAMS) largely because of the extraordinarily mature, talented, and learning-focused cohort of APP kids who surround her.
In choosing a high school, one of our chief aims is to try to continue to live among this very strong and mature cohort of kids. In decades past, this APP cohort, I believe, tended largely to go to Garfield rather than Roosevelt or Ingraham. Is that still true?  Does anyone know where we can find numbers?

For the numbers part of the question, I happen to have data on hand for Roosevelt HC enrollment. It ranges from 25-12 kids per year which is similar to what is occurring at Ballard HS as well. All other non-HCS high schools are generally much lower.  Currently most of the cohort is continuing onto the pathway schools.  *Caveat: this data was not even collected until the last year or so the accuracy is a little bit questionable esp. the 11th and 12th grade numbers.

However, I thought I'd broaden the topic a little and let folks discuss how they are making their high school choices.

New Middle School Spin-up Process (Meany and Eagle Staff)

I received the following email this morning:

Mr. Leis,
Good morning. You emailed Michael Tolley last week regarding Robert Eagle Staff Middle School. He asked that I respond to your questions, which I am happy to do. We agree that the planning process for Jane Adams Middle School was greatly enhanced by giving the planning principal a full year to meet with community, hire key staff, and work on the logistical issues, etc. associated with opening a new middle school. As such, we will be looking to hire for this position during our opening round of hiring this spring. While I can’t guarantee a hiring date, I would anticipate by April 1 that we have planning principals in both of the middle schools (Meany Middle School is also coming on line at the same time). Thank you for your question and the embedded feedback regarding what worked in opening Jane Adams.

Sincerely,


Jon Halfaker
Executive Director of Northwest Region Schools
Seattle Public Schools

This essentially matches the timeline for JAMS. I remember a parallel parent effort to help out and establish a PTSA. So I've set this thread up for folks to talk about what worked well last time and what they'd recommend other parents do during this process.

1/5 HCS Advisory Committee meeting

There are a few things the advisory committee meetings accomplish. The most important of those is the exchange of information especially the direct report from Stephen Martin about what the AL office has been up to for the preceding month, The committee can then provide direct feedback from the parent perspective to the staff (which is totally nonbinding) and ask further questions.

So it was disappointing tonight that Stephen Martin had to cancel at the last minute due to some unfortunate circumstances. I had planned to ask some clarifying questions about the test process which I couldn't do. As a result,  I'll be waiting to hear from everyone if the K-2 followup appointments to finish the CogAt testing happen tomorrow.  My read of the recent status mail and the office's pattern of mass emailing on Wed. nights is that it's reasonably likely.

However, on the flip side Paula Montgomery, the principal of JAMS attended the meeting and gave a long and interesting talk on the current state of the middle school.  Some of the points she mentioned:

• Enrollment is rising rapidly. It will go from 850 to 930 students next year and all the grades will most likely be over 300 students. This will require the final mass hiring of new teachers over the summer.  Interestingly. Spectrum enrollment continues to be very small 20-30 students per grade.  While they are still evaluating the model, the blended classes provide the best option for scheduling these students.
• She was very proud of the quality of last year's new hires. They averaged 10+ years of experience.
• Math is a special focus at the school.
• Scheduling at JAMS revolves around Math classes.
• Math Classes are grouped by grade and subject. There are no mixed grade classes.
• For those coming in from neighborhood elementary schools but HCC qualified, the preferred pathway is to do Math 7 and then skip Math 8 and go directly to Algebra. 
• This is also the main use of Professional development in the building. A consultant from the UW comes 2 days a month and conducts studio model classes and coaches individual teachers.
• Beyond HCC/Spectrum, they try to identify via Amplify tests students who are above level and place them in the most challenging classes.
• Potentially (this is not firm yet) there will be screening tests for incoming sixth graders this spring to further aid in Math placement. The focus here is on the gen-ed population.
• So far they find the unblocked LA/SS are working well. When asked for details, Paula mentioned it made hitting the writing standards more precise.
• JAMS has been piloting the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards. 

Overall, I was impressed with the presentation. I'd love to hear from other parent's particularly on the subject of Science and how its playing out from your perspective. Also I'll put another plug in here for the http://discussapp.blogspot.com/p/middle-school-curriculum-project.html.  If you're interested, please add objective details on the Winter curriculum.

January Open Thread

Happy New Year, I hope everyone had a good break.

CSIP (Continuous School Improvement Plans)

The new year's CSIP drafts are out at: http://garfieldhs.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=15987

Supposedly all schools are required to have a section on Advanced Learners although a casual glance at a few shows this to not be the case yet. I view this as an opportunity, however. If there is something concrete you'd really like changed at your site this might be the time to band together and lobby to have it included in the plan for the next year.

Testing

This update was just sent out to hopefully to everyone involved in testing:

"Thank you for referring your child for Advanced Learning testing. The Advanced Learning office will notify you via email about your child’s eligibility as scores are received and processed (late January through February). Because the notifications will be emailed on a rolling basis, we cannot give you a precise date. If you haven’t received an eligibility email by Feb. 29, please contact us at alsupportanalysts@seattleschools.org with the subject line “Eligibility Letter.”



Enrollment

If you would like your child to participate in Advanced Learning programs or services in a school other than your attendance-area school, you should enroll the child during Open Enrollment, Feb. 17 to March 1. Even if you have NOT received eligibility results by this time, or if you are appealing, please submit a School Choice Form during this window, anyway. Find guidance on our Advanced Learning Enrollment page.

Ineligible Students and Appeals

If you receive an email stating your student is NOT eligible this year, you may appeal within a limited time. Important: All appeals documents must be received by the Advanced Learning office no later than THREE WEEKS from the date of the email. (We have tightened the appeals window in order to accommodate budget and staffing timelines.) Find guidance on our Advanced Learning Appeals page.

· Families who are eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch may request free appeals testing.

· Please submit a School Choice form during the Open Enrollment window, even if your appeal is in process.



Eligible Students and Enrollment

Highly Capable-eligible students: HC services are guaranteed, either at your attendance-area school or through self-contained classes in your pathway Highly Capable Cohort school. For your child to join the cohort, you should submit a School Choice form during Open Enrollment.

Advanced Learning-eligible students: Your student may receive advanced work at your attendance-area school or through self-contained or cluster-grouped Spectrum classes, available at designated sites on a space-available basis. You may submit a School Choice form during Open Enrollment, but a seat is not guaranteed.

Find guidance on our Advanced Learning Enrollment page.



Note that testing for grades K-8 continues at least through January for students referred by the Oct. 8 deadline. If you have not received a testing appointment by Jan. 6, please email alsupportanalysts@seattleschools.org with the subject line “Winter Testing.”



To learn more and to find answers to specific questions about Advanced Learning in Seattle Public Schools, please see our Advanced Learning pages: http://www.seattleschools.org/students/academics/advanced_learning/



Thank you!


Stephen Martin, Advanced Learning Supervisor"

Upcoming:

• The next HCS Advisory Meeting is this Tuesday 1/5  at JAMS at 6:30 in the library.
• Gifted Ed Day is Jan 29, 2016
  Starts in the Columbia Room
  Legislative Building (Lower Level)
  Olympia, WA
  9 am to 2 pm
  
  The Coalition is getting ready for Gifted Education Day on January 29, 2016.
  
  The Governor's proposed supplemental budget released on Dec. 17th actually slightly decreases HCP funding even though OSPI recommended an increase of nearly $2.5 million.
  
  We need to increase our support in the Legislature for full funding of HCP.  Please plan to join other advocates in Olympia on January 29th. In view of the "no change" budget proposed by the Governor, our hopes lie with Legislators and the Court.
  
  Here is our Handbook for the Day, containing background information on why the Highly Capable Program is entitled to full funding from the state as well as practical information for coming to Olympia.
  
  The basic idea of Gifted Ed Day is to meet in the Columbia Room at 9am for a presentation, get a green scarf to identify you with our group, then split up to visit your district legislators individually or in groups. Be ready to tell your representatives why Gifted Ed is important to your family, and ask them to support HCP budget increases in this legislative session. Bringing kids is great, and well received, as is groups of people advocating together. Legislators respond when they hear from voters in their district.
  
  If you plan to go to Olympia for Gifted Ed Day, NOW is the time to make appointments that day with your legislators.  Find your legislators here: http://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/
  
  If you have a question that isn't covered in the Handbook, please contact The Coalition for Gifted Education atwagifted@earthlink.net

Articles

Some recent articles I've read on the subject of gifted education.  

• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/nyregion/reforms-to-ease-students-stress-divide-a-new-jersey-school-district.html
• http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/the-charade-of-special-education-programs/421578/?google_editors_picks=true
• http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/opinion/sunday/is-the-drive-for-success-making-our-children-sick.html

What's on your minds?

Ingraham IBX Program News

IBX update from Ingraham High School

The Ingraham community has been discussing program changes centered on what we can do to meet a wider range of HCC students. We are happy to report that beginning with the next incoming 9^th grade class Ingraham is expanding the program to include the following: 

- The IBX program will still be at Ingraham in its current form as an opt-in program.

- We are adding a 4 year option for those that would be better served by a 4 year option.

- Students will be able to decide in their 9^th grade year the option that is best for them.

This is a continuation of Ingraham’s mission to provide flexible options for students. If you have any questions, please email me at mfloe@seattleschools.org.

Martin Floe

Principal

Ingraham High School

Official 6th Grade Math Placement Policy

Here is the text I finally received. This is not up on the web site yet but will be there soon. 

• This is generally an improvement for HCC students going to Algebra over being required to take a test at the district headquarters or using 4th grade data,
• I'm not sure if this is a change for kids coming from an ALO school and if they used to be able to opt up 2 years for instance and go straight to Math 8.
• The language on scheduling discretion may be a codification of what has been happening (see McClure Middle School) but it would be nice to see a stronger guarantee of a pathway.
• I'd prefer more outreach to families and an official policy rather than text on the website and an informal situation.

"Due to some changes in testing, the current middle school math placement plan has been reconsidered. All SPS students will be recommended to take the next math course in sequence in grade 6. That is, if a student was taught grade 6 standards in grade 5, the student will be recommended for grade 7 as a sixth-grader. The math program manager will work with the elementary schools to identify the current standards being taught to grade 5 students so the middle schools know what math course is next for students. In an effort to reduce barriers to advanced courses, the option for students to “opt up” of one course beyond the next in sequence will remain. Families will be guided to make this decision based on:
·         Standards mastered
·         The student’s willingness to be challenged and perhaps even frustrated in a course that is well beyond the next in sequence
Ultimate placement decisions remain the right and responsibility of the middle school and may be made based on a variety of factors at that school"

Tour Information + a Testing Update

Testing Update

This is from the AL Office:

Two testing dates have been added. Two additional Saturdays have been added to the Advanced Learning Eligibility Testing schedule: Jan. 9 and 16. Both of these will take place at Thurgood Marshall ES. Our original testing make-up date, Jan. 23 at Cascadia@Lincoln, will still occur for families who were unable to attend earlier testing dates. 

If you have not heard from Advanced Learning regarding a testing date by Wednesday, Jan. 6, please contact us at advlearn@seattleschool.org.

No changes are planned for the Appeals Process during the current testing cycle. We have heard that some families are confused because updates have been proposed to the Superintendent Procedures 2190, Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning Programs. If finalized, these changes were intended to take effect during next year's testing cycle - not this one. Regardless, for now the action has been postponed to allow new board members time to transition. The updates had been scheduled for presentation at the Dec. 14 Curriculum & Instruction Policy Committee meeting, but we now anticipate reintroducing the updates in February.

School Tours

I also received this update from the HCS Advisory group:

Below is a list of information about Highly Capable Cohort sites/pathway schools for 2016. This list includes the information we have so far. Please consult the individual schools or websites for additional information. (Sorry some dates have already passed by)

Thurgood Marshall Elementary 

Principal Katie May and the Thurgood Marshall PTA will be hosting school information sessions and tours on the following days.  Except where noted below, they will begin with an information session with Principal May, followed by tours guided by PTA volunteers.  Tours will conclude at 10 am with a brief group Q&A session.

Please check in at the Main Office when you arrive and proceed to the Library on the second floor.  No RSVP is necessary. 

Tuesday, January 13, 9:15 am - Tour Only

Thursday, February 12, 8:45 am

Monday, February 23, 5:30 pm HCC Information Session, 6:30 School Tour (classroom observation not available), 7-7:30 General Information Session

Thursday, March 5, 8:45 am

Wednesday, May 20, 8:45 am

Washington Middle School

Evening Information Sessions:
Thursday, December 3, 6:30-8:00 pm OR
Thursday, February 11, 6:30-8:00 pm

Location:  Washington Middle School's Cafeteria

School Day Tours:
Friday, December 11, 7:45-9:15 am OR

Friday, February 19, 7:45-9:15 am

Location:  Meet in Washington Middle School's Cafeteria

Tours and Info Sessions are open to all 4th and 5th grade parents and students. Please contact Bridget Backschies (thetriplebee@gmail.com) or Tasha Irvine (tashasirvine@gmail.com) with any questions.

Jane Addams Middle School

Tour for prospective parents and student

February 11, 6:30 pm

Garfield High School

Tuesday, January 26 and Thursday, January 28, 2016: 9:00-9:45 meet in the QJA (preferably) or the Gym (if necessary); 

9:45-10:30 – building tours

Thursday, February 11, 2016: 6:00-8:00 – presentation in the Commons followed by self-guided tours with ASB/Link Leader support (department heads and program staff)

Ingraham High School

Shadow Visits will begin on Dec 1st - until February 25th, we will shadow on Tuesday, Weds and Thursdays from 7:50 AM - 11:55 AM. Parents can call to register their student for a shadow visit beginning on Nov 23rd - 206-252-3889 - Maria Medina

Ingraham Open House 2016 for incoming students 
February 3rd – 7:00 PM – Ingraham Auditorium
This is a general information night open to everyone - Mr. Floe/Principal and the Ingraham Staff will answer any questions about academics, sports, clubs and student life at Ingraham. 

Ingraham High School IB Information Night 
February 10th – 7:00 PM – Ingraham Library
This is an information night for parents and students going into the IB Program. 

Ingraham High School Day Time Tours 
February 3rd – 8:00 AM – 9:30AM
Tour begins in the school Auditorium - parents must accompany students on the tour

Ingraham High School Day Time Tours 
February 10th 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Tour begins in the school Auditorium - parents must accompany students on the tour

Questions? Call the Main Office #206-252-3889. All tours are for parents and students. No need to RSVP for tours or the night open houses. 

KUOW in the process of writing a piece on minorities and AL programs

I'm looking for families of color who have considered - or enrolled in - gifted/highly capable programs in Seattle Public Schools. I'm working on a story for KUOW Public Radio about the reasons behind the lack of diversity in the district's gifted classes, and I'd like to hear your experiences. Email adornfeld@kuow.org - and feel free to share this request with anyone you know! Thanks so much

December Open Thread

I'm home from the latest HCS  Advisory Committee meeting and have more notes than I expected to transcribe for a later entry. In the meanwhile its time for a new monthly open thread.

• It sounds like the math placement policy is out. I have not seen all the details yet but talking with  one of the teacher's tonight it sounds like there is an automatic placement to 8th grade math and with a parents opt-in and teacher approval you can access sixth grade algebra. I'm still waiting to find out how skips would work for advanced learners in non-HCC schools. I'll update once I find out clarifications.
• I will mention 2 highlights from tonight. The appeals process changes are postponed for this year.  Also for those awaiting the final step of the testing process, the K-2 second part will occur in January.

What's on your minds?

Social Emotional Curricula

In my 5 years experience within SPS I think we've seen five different social emotional curriculum, from Kelso to Roots of Empathy to RULER etc.  Some are more narrow and focused purely on reducing bullying. Others aim more broadly and attempt to increase executive functioning and help kids process the various emotional stresses of school.

So how are the programs working for your kids?

• Is bullying an issue and has your  curriculum helped?
• Have you seen personal benefits to your kids?
• Are there different strategies you'd like to see the schools follow?

Planning for moving up to Middle School and High School

By request of a parent, this thread is for discussing deciding on a middle school for upcoming fifth graders and for high school for eighth graders.

Here are the original questions:

1. Specifically now that students have been at JAMS for over a year, how is it going for kids? What are strengths and challenges? Is there a good advisory program? Is there fun and social time? 
2. In the past, has Garfield done an open house or tour for incoming 9th grade students and their parents? We're trying to make an informed decision & have found tours/info nights on other HS calendars, but nothing on Garfield's.

Along these lines I just found this upcoming event:

Seattle Middle School Parent Panel
December 3
6:30pm - 8:30pm

$25/single, $35/couple
The Meridian School, Good Shepherd Center, Wallingford

If you're preparing for the move to middle school, come and hear parents talk about their child/family's experiences. Schools represented: Hamilton International MS, Lakeside, Seattle Academy, Billings, Bush, Northwest, Evergreen, Seattle Girls' School, Eastside Prep, Holy Names and Roosevelt HS. Hosted by The Meridian School, The Good Shepherd Center, Wallingford.  Reserve your seat and more info: artofeducation.net

I'm sure there are questions out there about the other programs as well.

Admin Note: please sign with a pseudonym if you post anonymously. Also I highly recommend creating an open-id identity instead in that case. Its still offers privacy but with the new comment view on the main page allows your name to be seen.

UW Robinson Center Programs

Due to the interest I thought I'd start a separate thread for the UW early entrance programs. 

In addition, a current parent in the programs has emailed me and is willing to talk further. Email me with contact info if you'd like to be put in touch.

UW Academy For Young Scholars

The University of Washington’s Academy for Young Scholars is a competitive early entrance program for highly capable and motivated high school students. A select cohort of approximately 35 students is admitted to the Academy each year, becoming a part of the Robinson Center’s vibrant early entrance community. Students apply to the Academy during the 10th grade, and if accepted, withdraw from high school at the end of the school year and enroll as full time UW freshmen in Fall.

Eager to learn all about the UW Academy? Check out the UW Academy page under the Programs tab of our website. Additionally, come to one of our Information Sessions, to be held Nov 17 and Dec 15 in Foege Auditorium 060 on the UW Seattle campus. (We are also holding an Off-Campus Info Session on  Dec 5 at Franklin High School in South Seattle.

Questions? Email us at uwacad@uw.edu or call 206-543-4160.

Important Dates:
November 17th: UW Academy Info Session
December 5th: UW Academy Info Session
December 28th: The deadline to register for the January 23rd SAT test date, The latest date to take the SAT to be considered for 2016 Admission to the Academy
January 8th: The deadline to register for the February 6th ACT test date, The latest date to take the ACT to be considered for 2016 Admission to the Academy
January 14th: UW Academy Info Session
March 10th: Complete Applications due to the Robinson Center by 4:30pm
April 22nd: Decision letters mailed to all applicants

UW Transition School

The Transition School/ Early Entrance Program is once again considering applicants from the Seattle area and far afield to join the long legacy of the program, which has been providing young students with University-level learning opportunities since 1977.
How it works, in a nutshell:
Students in 7th or 8th grade (or between 12 and 14 years old) submit an online application, which lets the Robinson Center know you’re collecting the required materials to be considered for a TS interview. Once your ACT scores, transcripts, and teacher recommendations are submitted, the review committee will let you know if you qualify for an interview. Around 16 of the interviewed candidates will be welcomed to the Transition School, where they will hone their skills for one year before joining the University of Washington’s freshman class.

Eager for all the details of the Transition School and Early Entrance Program? Visit the Transition School page and come to one of our Winter Information Sessions, to be held  Dec 1 and Jan 7 in Foege Auditorium 060.

Have questions? Email us at rcys@uw.edu or call 206-543-4160.

Important Dates:
December 1: TS/EEP Information Session
January 7: TS/EEP Information Session
February 12: Early Decision Application Materials Due
March 21: ALL Application Materials Due
Early Decision Letter Mailed
June 10: Acceptance Letters Mailed

More info: https://robinsoncenter.uw.edu/

New Version of Policy Superintendent Procedure 2190SP Highly Capable Services & Advanced Learning Program

A new version of the entire Advanced Learning Program Policy is up on the SPS  site prior to the Curriculum and Instruction Board meeting on Monday 11/9:

http://www.seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/committees/C&I/2015-16/20151109_Agenda_Packet_C&I.pdf

The advanced learning section starts around page: 113.


I have not had time to parse everything yet and I'll update as I do. But there appears  to be more here than just a new appeals process. On first glance most codifies current changes in the program.

New Appeals Text:

The Advanced Learning office has an appeal process in compliance with the Washington State rules for Highly Capable Programs (WAC 392-170-047). Parents may appeal the Approved: January 2015 Revised: May 2015 Superintendent Procedure 2190SP Cross Reference: Policy No. 2190; RCW 28A.185.030 Programs –- Authority of local school districts – Selection of students; WAC 391-170 Special service program – Highly Capable students Page 5 of 7 decision of the MSC by completing the appeal form included with the eligibility decision letter within ten days of eligibility notification. Appeals may be submitted only if specific circumstances related to the testing conditions may have impacted student performance OR if there is reason to believe there has been a misapplication/miscalculation of scores. Private test scores may be considered by the appeal committee only if relevant to the circumstances above, but are not required and do not replace District testing. Appeals submitted for any other reason will not be considered. The decision of the Appeal Committee is final.

Required Participation in Testing:

District achievement testing in reading and math (i.e. Measurement of Academic Progress or Smarter Balanced Assessment) is required to determine advanced eligibility for current SPS students. Candidates are required to participate in district achievement testing. For referred private school students whose cognitive test scores are at the 87th percentile or higher (98th percentile or higher for eighth graders), Advanced Learning will administer achievement tests as needed.

Higher Bars:

I think these changes plus the switch to the SBAC in 3rd grade and the use of the state norms to determine eligibility will tend to raise the bar on who is admitted into HCC. 

11/3 HCS Advisory Meeeting

Originally I had not been sure if I would attend this meeting but in light of recent events it seemed prudent to go. For those not on their mailing list, the Advisory Committee put out a general message urging parents to contact the board about the assignment plan a day or two ago and have been active already on the issue.  The most substantive section of the meeting concerned these changes. But there were a lot of interesting tidbits mentioned during the whole time.

First as one member noted the assignment plan changes have been delayed two week before being considered by the board. So it appears the pressure from parents is having some effect. Secondly, the representatives from Advanced Learning, Stephen Martin etc. have no voice in this general process and only found out about it on Saturday via parent emails.  His take on the plan was that the only intention was to change the school wait list date to dissolve at the end of May (rather than October) and to remove the distance tie breaker from school choice decisions.  The general opinion in the room was that if that was the case then only those parts of the policy should have been altered.  More interestingly, the committee will be sending a letter with their opinion on the current action to the superintendent in the next few days.  Perhaps by the time the BAR is resubmitted a more limited set of changes will be included.

There followed a discussion on the testing process. The interesting news is that the AL office is moving towards an online registration system that will solve most of the current communication issues. Unfortunately this is at least one year out. At this point, several parents voiced their dissatisfaction with the status quo.  My personal opinion is that if the AL Office forwarded the testing list to the individual school principals, the school secretaries could do a more efficient distributed version of providing information for parents who had questions while respecting privacy laws.  Stephen also mentioned that the long term plan is to do the CogAT testing fully online and in the individual school buildings again.  As well it looks like the state norms are going to be used for determining the percentiles on the SBAC test for older students. This has been recently published on the OSPI website and you can check on them here:(percentile spreadsheet). Also the new appeal process is going to be discussed next week at the Curriculum and Instruction board meeting. The draft should be released this Friday. I will be checking for this and will post when its available.

Next there was an interesting side discussion about the pilot program that screened roughly 800 second graders in the south east quadrant. According to Stephen this identified ~100 advanced learners although he didn't know offhand how many were HCC qualified or how many then applied for services. Hopefully more data on this experiment will be forthcoming. He also indicated that the AL office had requested money in last year's budget for after school enrichment programs for those identified but not yet at the necessary achievement levels. Unfortunately this was not approved. If you're concerned with social justice issue this might be an area to become active in.

The last major area discussed was the  new middle school social studies textbooks. Representatives from JAMS, WMS and Madison but not HIMS are going to be meeting soon to discuss humanities curriculum alignment.  Unfortunately there were no details on what the alignment will mean but its a positive sign that this process is underway. Again if you're at HIMS this might be an opportunity to advocate to participate with the other middle schools. And careful readers will note the presence of Madison Middle school. It was casually mentioned that the intention is to get it up and running next year and to make it the default pathway for West Seattle by the year afterwards.  So these plans seem to be moving forward.

Looking forward the Jeanne Thompson suggested the committee invite Flip Herndon to discuss Middle School pathways in a future meeting.  I hope this comes to pass. Also the yearly report on the HCC program is still in the first draft phase.

November Open Thread

Call To Action

1. Don't forget to vote on the school board candidates by tomorrow.
2. Please read the previous post: http://discussapp.blogspot.com/2015/11/student-assignment-plan-proposal.html  about the surprise assignment plan changes that were proposed on Friday. If you agree that this is not good policy, write to the school board as soon as possible before the Wed. board meeting.
3. The next HCC advisory committee meeting is 6:30 tomorrow Tue. 11/3 at Lincoln .

Links

I've been following this blog https://mikesmathpage.wordpress.com/ for a while. Mike is this amazing father who has been home schooling his sons in math up until this year. Now they are back in school and he is enriching after hours. I can't imagine finding the time to produce so much interesting material.

Summer Math Camp:
Information on the upcoming summer Epsilon camp is now out.

http://epsiloncamp.org/   This is for ages 7-12 and will be at Washington University in St. Louis from 7/24-8/7.  I haven't met anyone yet from our area who has gone but  this has a great reputation.

Since its been several months since I took over I thought that I would ask if If there's any direction you'd like to see the blog going.  Otherwise as always feel free to discuss anything that's on your mind.

Student Assignment Plan Proposal Eliminates HCC Pathways

On Friday, 10/29/15, the district published a Board Action Report proposal that would overhaul the Student Assignment Plan, eliminating the existing HCC pathways and allowing staff to make all future HCC assignment and pathway decisions without Board approval. The proposal would also eliminate grandfathering guarantees for all district families, meaning HCC kids (and all other kids) could be kicked out of their schools for the following school year.

As the mom of a Thurgood Marshall HCC student, I am strongly urging all HCC parents to write the School Board and ask them to vote no this coming Wednesday, 11/4/15, on this huge and sudden overhaul. (I also encourage you to let any K8 school families you know that this sudden overhaul would eliminate their access to their attendance area full-service middle schools, which I imagine would have a crushing effect on their enrollment.)

As usual, Melissa Westbrook has provided timely, cogent, and thorough coverage of this issue here (http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2015/11/dear-directors-say-no-to-assignment.html) and here (http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2015/10/mayday-mayday-sos-sos.html). Many huge thanks to commenter WSDWG for alerting the district-watching community to this change on Melissa's blog as well as this one.

I know that many in the HCC-following community believe that no one should be surprised by this change, and that the current system is not sustainable. I will not argue those points, but instead make an appeal for transparency, engagement, and accountability. If the district wants to dissolve the cohort, that's a discussion that should happen at the School Board level, not behind the scenes without notice at JSCEE.

Below is the School Board letter that I wrote -- please steal as much of it as you like. Melissa also invited readers to steal liberally from her letter here.

Copy-and-pastable list of email addresses of School Board directors and relevant senior staff:

llnyland@seattleschools.org, mftolley@seattleschools.org, ltherndon@seattleschools.org, spsdirectors@seattleschools.org, schoolboard@seattleschools.org, stephan.blanford@seattleschools.org, sherry.carr@seattleschools.org, harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org, marty.mclaren@seattleschools.org, betty.patu@seattleschools.org, sharon.peaslee@seattleschools.org, sue.peters@seattleschools.org

Sample letter to School Board:

Dear Seattle School Board Directors:

I'm the parent of a Highly Capable Cohort student, and I'm writing to urge you to vote no on the 10/28/15 Board Action Report about the Student Assignment Plan (http://www.seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/15-16agendas/110415agenda/20151104_Action_Report_Student_Assign_Plan_Packet.pdf) for 3 main reasons:

1) Less predictability:

The opening sentence of the Student Assignment Plan reads: "The Student Assignment Plan was approved by the Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Board of Directors in 2009 to provide greater predictability for families while still offering opportunities for school choice."

However, the proposed changes would result in LESS predictibility for HCC families. While the HCC pathways are clearly documented in the current version of the Student Assignment Plan, the new version would remove that assurance, referring families to "the Superintendent’s Procedures for Student Assignment or other supplemental documents for additional information about program and service offerings and locations." (As a side note, an SPS website search for "Superintendent’s Procedures for Student Assignment" yields 0 results.)

2) Lack of equal opportunity for engagement:

Removing the HCC pathway list in the Student Assignment Plan means that HCC parents would no longer have equal opportunity with other parents have to engage with their elected School Board representatives about school pathway assignment changes before a Board vote, as occurs with general education attendance area changes. The new proposal would eliminate that requirement, allowing such changes to occur without Board review.

3) New confusion over whether HCC is a cohort or a fungible service:

The proposal lists the Highly Capable Cohort with a list of services, cryptically stating that "There will continue to be a limited number of programs or services that are unique enough, and that serve such a limited population, that they cannot be offered in every service area or attendance area." Understandably, this change has introduced confusion among HCC families about whether the district now considers the Highly Capable Cohort a fungible service rather than a cohort program. The extent of the HCC community's belief that the program's strength is dependent on the cohort is evidenced in the name itself, which was recently changed from "Program" to "Cohort."

It doesn't matter whether the intent of these changes was to allow for the dispersion of the Highly Capable Cohort cohort and the dissolution of HCC pathways without Board approval. All that matters is that is the effect. Please vote no on this proposal, and let HCC families continue to have the same transparency, predictability, and engagement opportunity as other parents.

Thank you.

Washington Middle School Spectrum Seattle Times Article.

There were two recent articles in the Seattle Times: initial article,  followup story discussing the phase out of stand alone Spectrum classes at Washington Middle School.

The Spectrum classes were overwhelmingly white and Asian, said Susan Follmer, the Washington principal, and the regular classes were filled with students of color.
“The practice of rigid tracking is very antiquated and not supported by research that tells us how we can have success for all,” Follmer said. “It is a strange practice for district that says its number one goal is equity in education.”

I find the nexus of social justice and tracking a particularly difficult topic and I considered just posting the article as is without much framing. However, I think that I owe everyone a small bit of reflection. To start, the tenets I'm most certain of are that education's primary goal is to meet every child where they are at and that rigorous pathways need to be available.

Questions I have

1. How has the experience in gen-ed class rooms changed since this shift?
2. How has the experience for Spectrum students changed?
3. Meany middle school is about to open in 2 years at which time most of the Spectrum  population will move given the demographics.  What's the principal going to do then?
4. Does this signal changes are coming for the HCC track?
5. How committed is Susan Follmer to the other part of the goal having every child "achieve  to their highest level."

More Uncomfortable Thoughts

1. Does my own reaction to this story differ from how I view a middle school spectrum program which is already blended like that at McClure? 
2. Does tracking my own child somehow hurt the children left behind in the gen ed classrooms?
3. How many tracks are needed at the middle school level?
4. If a school segregates students but does not offer them different curriculum how does this practice not look like a modern form of "separate but equal."?

 As always please be thoughtful in your comments.

Fall Math Thread

I'd been thinking about setting this up and then there was the recent conversation on the last thread about the high school math pathway. I get most of my math obsession out of the system by running the Math Club at Cascadia but I'm always interested how its going for everyone. So how's math this year? Do you have any victories or concerns.  Feel free to keep discussing math pathways or how you're enriching at home.

Things I'm Tracking

• Sometime in November the new 6th grade placement policy should be shared. I'll open a specific thread when this happens.
• Middle School math curriculum adoption looks like it may startup again.

Fun Stuff

A few resources I've enjoyed. Feel free to share any of your favorites.

• http://www.numberphile.com/  One of the best set of math exploratory videos out there. 
• http://www.dragonboxapp.com/ My favorite math app. This one actually has nothing to do with thinly disguised drilling of a skill.
• http://tinker.kiwicrate.com/ OK this is more STEM than just math but we just found out about these and they've been a big hit.

Article(s)

An article by Richard Rusczyk which I think about from time to time: http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/articles/calculus-trap  Richard is the head of Art of Problem Solving which has played a significant role in the improvement of elite mathematical training recently (I think most if not all of the recent IMO winning team.used AoPS)

IB vs IBx

Per a parent's request:

"There was an interesting meeting last night at Ingraham for new IBX ninth grade parents. IB Administration is asking parents/students in IBX to seriously consider delaying start in IB until 11th grade rather than starting in 10th grade. My takeaway was that they believe many (if not most?) IBX students would be better served by not accelerating (although acceleration will continue to be available for this year's cohort).
This actually makes a lot of sense to me but, of course, for the students it will come down to what they already have in mind about the program (are they being slackers if they delay, etc) and what their friends are planning.
Can we have a new thread on this subject?
I would be curious what other 9th grade IBX families are thinking and what wisdom IBX families already in the program can offer.

For context I most recently posted on the same topic as part of the summary of the HCC Advisory Committee. http://discussapp.blogspot.com/2015/10/106-hcc-advisory-meeting.html Changes are probably underfoot in the program. This seems to be coming from feedback of current cohort parents as well as the staff.

So what advice do you have for the ninth grade cohort?

Next Generation Science Accelerated Pathways

NGSS just released its recommendations for an accelerated science pathway in high school. I haven't read through it much yet but I think it should be of interest to everyone.

The Accelerated Pathways developers use some of the best practices in gifted education - differentiation, mentoring, curriculum compacting, pacing, and telescoping - to explain and illustrate ways to organize an accelerated program of study. The Accelerated Pathways document also suggests ways to remediate knowledge gaps for students from the regular instructional program who enter the accelerated pathway later than their accelerated peers.

Other strengths include identification of the math skills needed in the accelerated pathway as well as a comparison chart of the shared concepts between the NGSS and AP Science courses, often the only courses available to advanced students. It is not common for educators to recommend acceleration as an appropriate choice for advanced learners. However, the developers embrace acceleration for our most highly able science students and provide specific direction to schools and districts on how to develop and deliver course content that is appropriate for those students who are ready and eager for curriculum that far exceeds the traditional course offerings.

http://www.nextgenscience.org/ngss-accelerated-model-course-pathways

2015 Advanced Learning Testing

Today is the deadline for nominating a child for an advanced learner designation.  By coincidence I received a mail from Stephen Martin indicating the new FAQ about the testing process for this year is up  at: http://sps.ss8.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=14769.  He also said to tell him if any important questions are still unanswered.  So I'll collect anything posted in this thread that requires factual clarification and forward them on.

Appeals Process Info:

Superintendent Procedure 2190SP Highly Capable Services & Advanced Learning Programs is in the process of being re-examined, revised and updated through the equity lens. OSPI has been asked to provide guidance. The draft will be presented to the Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction Committee in November, and will be made available for community comment thereafter for a period of two weeks.



CoGat7 Info: http://www.riversidepublishing.com/products/cogAt/pdf/CogSpe_v59-28-11.pdf

In the meantime, I know this is alway a source of discussion for incoming parents.  Feel free to discuss anything about the process this year.

Scheduling Update

From the SPS website:

Advanced Learning testing appointments that were sent out late on Wednesday were in some cases not delivered due to a service outage. We received the following message this morning:

Seattle School Email being blocked


Outage Date & Time: Thursday,October 15


Total Duration: ongoing


Return to Service: Thursday,October 15 – Estimated time to be cleared: 1:00 pm


Services Affected:


SeattleSchool District emails are currently being blocked or delayed by mostoutside email companies (Yahoo.com, Gmail.com, Hotmail.com).

Many appointment letters were undeliverable. We will resend the appointments later this afternoon. If your child was scheduled for testing on Saturday October 17 and you do not receive an appointment, we will reschedule for another date as soon as systems return to normal.
Please be patient while we address these technical issues. Rest assured that all on-time referrals will be honored.
See Testing Schedule Here

Specific testing times are assigned by the Wednesday prior to the testing date. Email notifications are sent to the address on file. NOTE: Students requiring IEP or 504 accommodations will be contacted individually. They will not be tested on the Saturday schedule.
For students in grades 9-12, applications for The Fall/Winter Testing Session 2015-16 to determine eligibility for school year 2016-17 will be available in January.

10/6 HCS Advisory Meeting

I attended the advisory committee meeting tonight so I could publish some notes for the wider community. There were maybe 20 odd folks in attendance in the library at WMS.

Agenda

1. A talk from Stephen Martin head of Advanced Learning which touched on enrollment, the new testing procedure for screening this year and the West Seattle Pathway focus group.

2. The beginning of the planning process for the report to the superintendent for this year.

3. A call for unfilled positions on the committee.

Links

Note from Advanced Learning on the Saturday Testing (look on the  middle of the page)

Key Takeaways

1. Garfield may max out of capacity next year and there are some early meetings going on at JSIS about this.  Note: none of the decision making on pathways etc. is controlled by advanced learning.

2.  Spectrum is going to be renamed to the more straight forward Advanced Learning over time. This is solely a nomenclature issue. Note single domain Advanced Learner qualification is starting this year.

3. Prior to the WAC requirements the district didn't even track how many HCC students there were past Middle School. They are now doing so.

4. Screening for qualification is being moved to Thurgood Marshall and Cascadia because of difficulties booking the space in JSIS. They expect to screen 650 kids a day over a series of Saturdays. It is possible to arrange special arrangements if that schedule is not possible. For the younger children the screen process will be used to keep the testing time around hour and there will be  a callback for the rest of the test if  the screen is passed. Interestingly AL is directly consulting with the CogAt test author (David Bowman?) on the proper use of the instrument.  The result percentiles will probably be normed to either regional or national standards and not local ones which are considered too high.

5. Advanced Learning is moving forward on setting up West Seattle High School pathway. "Eventually this will not be a choice." There is no timeline associated with this effort yet.  Its possible an equivalent to Ingraham's program will be established at Sealth as well. This as I mentioned before sounds like its still in the early discussion phase.

6. Staff at Ingraham are contemplating changes in the 2020 class timeframe or later to the IBx program. Essentially based on the current cohorts feedback they want to delay entry into IB until junior and senior year and have the cohort do a tracked set of classes in ninth together and then in tenth take pre-IB and honors classes  This was motivated by the feeling that an extra year of maturity leads to better outcomes and among other things this would solve the difficulties in creating a workable senior year. There was talk at the meeting about letting students accelerate on an individual basis. This is also still in the discussion phase.

7. If you're interested in volunteering on the committee there are open positions for Secretary, Washington MS rep and Diversity rep. 

October Open Thread

One full week down, and the rest of the year to go.

News: Tentative School Makeup Dates for the strike
http://www.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=2336052

2e Support Group Meeting: The first 2015/16 meeting is this coming Monday 10/12 in the Lincoln High School library in Wallingford from 7-9PM.

"This first meeting will be wide open for your beginning-of-the-year questions and concerns. Whether you are new to the group or an old timer, come and share your experiences with other parents going through the same things. We are one another’s experts! Share your frustrations, learn new things, and bring a sense of humor—it always helps. :-) If we have a large number of attendees we can break out into groups (by age or by area of difficulty, such as ADHD, learning disabilities, autism spectrum, etc) to compare notes."

The first HCC Advisory Committee is scheduled for 6:30-8PM Tue. 10/6 at Washington Middle School.  I'm looking for anyone who is willing to go in the future and write up a post on what occurs.

Math: I sent a mail to Anna Box the head of the Math dept. inquiring about 6th grade placement. The new policy is currently being drafted and sent around to the principals with the expectation it will be announced in a month or two. I'll try to stay on top of this and open a thread when real details come out.

Reminder: The deadline for Advanced Learning Evaluation is coming up in only a few weeks (10/8)  SPS Advanced Learning.  I'll also open a thread discussing evaluation etc. some time soon.

Middle School Curriculum Project.  I have the following page  http://discussapp.blogspot.com/p/middle-school-curriculum-project.html permanently on the top of the blog. Now that middle school is starting, if you're interesting in documenting and improving the curriculum please log what your students are doing there.

What's on your minds?