MGJ be Ashamed

Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson, in spite of continually widening achievement gaps in mathematics with TERC/Investigations through June 2007, has chosen to continue supporting Everyday Math which produced further widening of Math Achievement gaps for 6 of 6 educationally disadvantaged subgroups in EDMs two years of use. {Seattle WASL Math grade 4 stats 2008 & 2009}

Despite Seattle's ongoing math failure MG-J thought a k-12 vertical alignment of math instructional materials was in order (as per her Strategic Plan). The school board ignored every written piece of information submitted by the public (in excess of 300 pages) in making what I saw as an extremely discriminatory selection of instructional materials for Seattle High Schools. It seems that MGJ's current appeal of Judge Spector's Math "Order of Remand" is based on MGJ's belief in the SPS's Right to violate Washington state law by continuing to exclude written public comment and submissions of evidence from the decision-making process.... Really .... What Else could be the Reason?

An order of "Remand" means do it again but use all the evidence .. clearly MGJ is opposed to that idea.

Now despite continuing math failure at Cleveland, MG-J has chosen to replace most of the student body by requiring Calculus. I thought NCLB's intent was to help struggling learners not take away their school. {Lawsuit filed on March 5 to stop this sham improvement}

Of course the public has little voice as the RCWs are continually violated as SPS Board decision-makers continue making decisions without evaluating all the evidence submitted by the public (or some times exclude all of it as in the approval of "Discovering").

Watch the following two videos and you decide.

#1 My testimony at Seattle School Board meeting on June 17, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_8DtSOKx_g

#2 A trailer from 2 Million Minutes productions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrIs5bkuTBE

Whatever is MGJ thinking? Now the Board will vote on Performance Management of Teachers. Really is this a plan? Provide horrible instructional materials and blame the teachers. A typical MGJ kind of thought.
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IMHO ..
#1..We do not need charters

#2..We do not need KIPP

#3..We do not need a Broad trained Superintendent

#4..We do not need "Broad Style" Performance Management complete with a $1.2 million grant from "Broad" to the Alliance for Education.

#4b.. We do need teachers permitted to use the "Classroom Disruption Law" 28A 600.020
without reprisals from administrators.
....RCW 28A 600.020
.....(2) Any student who creates a disruption of the educational process in violation of the building disciplinary standards while under a teacher's immediate supervision may be excluded by the teacher from his or her individual classroom and instructional or activity area for all or any portion of the balance of the school day, or up to the following two days, or until the principal or designee and teacher have conferred, whichever occurs first.

#5..We do need a Superintendent who backs legal practices, but NOT one that violates the Public Employee Relations Commission's guidelines and receives PERC notices of unacceptable action for withholding required information from negotiators in negotiations. Certainly we do not need a Superintendent that fails as board secretary to connect an Action Report to the draft of a contract. Who has "Four Board Members" vote to approve her recommended contract on Feb. 3, 2010 and yet the contract remains "to be written over 30 days later".

#6..We do not need a Superintendent who continually fails to address what common sense dictates... Really $11 million for 111.5 academic coaches for teachers; while RIFFing the Teachers of Students because of lack of funds.

#7..We don't need a Superintendent who draws high school boundaries to punish West Seattle high school so enrollment will likely drop to 800.

#8..We don't need School Directors who voted for Discriminatory instructional materials in math that are lousy for everyone. See BETHEL #1 and BETHEL #2
We certainly DO NOT need directors who support an uncalled for legal appeal of Judge Spector's Order of Remand because they apparently support the exclusion of evidence in decision making.

See Bellevue's limited Holt : Discovering Pilot HERE

#9..We don't need School Directors who approved a contract that Did NOT match the Action Plan and is still unwritten 30 days after approval. Approving an action that essentially takes Cleveland High School away from its community under the guise of School Improvement.

#10..We do need to recall Four Seattle School Directors:
Peter Maier, Steve Sundquist, Sherry Carr, and Harium Martin-Morris.

#11..We do need an attorney who will file an action with the Washington State Supreme court to STOP: The repeated exclusion of written public comment from the SPS Board's decision making process because this kind of illegal action harms our community and further erodes the rights guaranteed the children under article IX of the Wash. Constitution:
It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.

#12 What we really need are decisions based on evidence. See "Visible Learning" and "Project Follow Through" and the National Mathematics Advisory Panel's "Foundations for Success".

Find out what Direct Instruction really is. From PFT: One outcome of Project Follow Through was that it clearly documented the most effective instructional approach. The Direct Instruction model placed first in reading, arithmetic, spelling, language, basic skills, academic cognitive skills, and positive self image.

STOP the use of ineffective practices using "Minimally Guided Instruction"

... In Short use evidence to get a CLUE.