A recent comment cited http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/. The purpose is to "Debate the issues facing Seattle Public Schools, share your opinions, read the latest news. Organize and work for high quality public schools that educate all students to become passionate, lifelong learners."
They've got quite a few contributers and have been blogging education issues since 2006. Their most recent post on TFA is rather thoughtful and I felt worth sharing: http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2010/10/hard-to-say-when-board-has-made-me-this.html
Here's a snippet:
And, if you read the so-called action report, well, TFA is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Are they kidding me? So what was my central question before? What is the problem they are trying to solve? Is there a shortage of teachers? No. From the item:
We believe that the larger our candidate pool, the more likely that we will hire the best teachers for our classrooms.
OHHHH. That's the problem, not a big enough candidate pool.
Why TFA?
TFA’s mission is to help eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation’s most promising future leaders in the effort.
So is by bringing TFA to SPS, the district is admitting to educational inequity because they haven't put the best teachers we have in struggling schools?
TFA, through its vetting process, has found that most promising future leaders.
That's a pretty big full-of-ourselves statement. Here's another one:
Our region is a finalist for the organization’s new site selection process.
Wheee! We are so lucky
What is needed to bring them here?
To expand into the Puget Sound Region TFA requires district partners, funding, and university partners.
Well, we know who the district is. Funding? Well now, that's an interesting thing because the Superintendent told me, in front of other parents at the NE coffee chat that the district DID have the money. But wait for it...
Check out the post for the rest of the story:
http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2010/10/hard-to-say-when-board-has-made-me-this.html
3 comments:
Thank you, oh thank you for finding us. Help us Obi Wan!
When our current Seattle school superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson was hired, the board and the public were not savvy enough to see that she came with a Broad Academy pedegree and a National Ed Reform agenda to boot...not to mention a complete disdain for community engagement of any sort.
Since she has arrived the morale of our best teachers is at an all-time low. Parents are almost completely disenfranchised. But (no surprise) Ed Reform PACS and Downtown Business Interests love her.
The community has awakened and has started to protest, especially since a hallmark of her administration has been such outrageous moves as holding back Title I funds downtown for strategic projects instead of passing the money to the schools.
We have a brand new MAP test that was supposed to be used only for feedback to teachers on student progress. Instead it is being used as a gating agent to student advanced placement, as a teacher effectiveness critique via the new teacher contract, and as a money suck. That's right, we have a new supplemental levy on the ballot in 2 days that will not restore services or teachers/aides to the classroom. Instead it will fund More MAP Testing.
We've also had the most bruising financial audit accorded to a district in WA in more than a decade. And then there was her ethics violation as well as a slapdown for unauthorized use of her district credit card.
Our students' test scores, on which Ed Reformers place such emphasis, are not higher either.
It will be another full year until we can change the makeup of our board and get this divisive, imperious personage, who looks first to her National Agenda and last at the needs of the community, out of town.
Until then we BEG you to track our district and help non-monied parents and educators get a pr leg up on the business interests keeping her in power. We would also like to happily offer her up as a replacement for Rhee in DC. She'd be happy to have the national stage. We'd be happy to have her leave her contract early and head for the East Coast far far away from our community.
PS: In addition to saveseattleschools.blogspot.com you can find one of the best (parent analyzed) critiques EVER of the hanky panky Seattle HQ administrators play on Seattle district finances at http://dolcenutella.blogspot.com/
And if other districts want to connect the dots on all the players in Ed Reform and how they can silently infiltrate a district, then make mischief for the masses, check out http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/
Seattle needs to watch out. We already know what it takes to get TFA into Delaware schools. It happened to Red Clay. Here's what I posted on the Seattle blog:
"Just in time for halloween: It..is..aLIVE! It wants to suck your blood! Let's get our butts down to the school board meeting on Wednesday. Bring the garlic, mirrors and the sunlight of rationality."
This is perfect, and I and other local union leaders wish that we had known that TFA was making in-roads into Delaware before they got their fangs into our legislators and the former Red Clay superintendent signed a contract for a three-year gig with TFA. We would have been down there lobbying our legislature not to pass changes in the teacher licensing laws that then allowed TFA into our schools. By the end of next school year, Red Clay will have paid an additional $240,000 for the privilege of hiring a total of twelve TFA corps members to work in our schools. The Wilmington NJ continues to cast TFA corps members as volunteers in our schools when nothing could be further from the truth. Meanwhile the TFAers each get a full teacher salary and full teacher benefits, as well as a free masters degree in educational leadership--NOT A TEACHING DEGREE--and a handy $8500 stipend at the end of their two years to further their educations. And, what do we get? We get twelve inexperienced, untrained, uncertified, unqualified college graduates to teach our students when we don't even have a teacher shortage. Plus, we get 12 out-of-work or newly graduated trained teachers who do not get a job, and our PROFESSION takes another hit. I am profoundly concerned about the deprofessionalization of teaching--my own 38-year career-choice and profession. Teaching is not a job that can be done well by just anyone.
We got snookered. Do not let it happen to your schools.
Holy moly. The Broad academy is a wretched blight upon the land. I also smell Bill Gates up in the Washington State education ethers.
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