<p>Since there seem to be several folks from the Great Northwest who offer good perspectives on CC, let’s concentrate for a moment on the problems at Puget Sound region public schools.</p>
<p>Can these schools still adequately prepare our kids for college? What are the strengths of the region’s schools? What is being done to address their problems? Feel free to critique the U of W and WSU too.</p>
<p>well the gates foundation doesn’t think so- they just pulled the grant :(</p>
<p>Bellevue of course- has a different focus- they have actually less money per student than Seattle- same numbers of kids in poverty- but better results.
Seattle- can’t decide what their priorities are- and shy from change- the superintendent proposed to consolidate schools and reduce transportation with the intent of putting money back into classroom- but despite that I assume this decision was carefully planned out-he reversed it upon public outcry.</p>
<p>The UW I don’t know so much about- for really bright kids- they have the EEP, ( skip high school) and some students do very well in that- they still attract many bright kids from the area who dont mind going to school in their backyard- and I know some professors who are doing great research and still teach undergrads.
WSU I think is improving.
They had a reputation for a while that wasn’t desirable- but with colleges becoming more competitive and expensive- it seems that “a better quality” of student is now applying and attending.
I also have heard some good things about Western.
While I think some of the profs succumb to hyperbole ( i heard one biology prof compare Western to Yale- with Western coming out ahead) I think that you can get a decent education there</p>
<p>I have to say however- that after being on interview commitees for teachers in K-12 for the last few years- the best school of education seems to be at Seattle U.
I know graduates from the UW who are suing the U- because they didn’t get the classes that they expected- they got the credits- but not the education. I have also seen resumes from Western ( Woodring) that were full of grammatical and spelling errors- this of course is part of the screening process- so those graduates- don’t even get considered.</p>
<p>
Yeah, its probably because of all the time wasted in Seattle Public schools on addressing the students questions on Intelligent Designthose design folk are such a drag on science education
<a href=“something%20that%20in%20Seattle-%20as%20the%20most%20unchurched%20region%20in%20nation-%20I%20don’t%20think%20we%20are%20worrying%20too%20much%20over”>quote</a>
[/quote]
Oops, I guess not. Maybe intelligent design is just a straw man for bad science education in the public schools.</p>
<p>Western Washington U over Yale? Hmmmm. LOL.</p>
<p>EmeraldK, I appreciate your comment that the SPS seem to lack focus and are super sensitive to disagreement, perhaps stubbornly so. Then again, when confronted with a really bad situation, they sink their head in the sand and refuse to address it. I am thinking of the principal controversy at Rainier Beach High School about 5 years ago. Clearly the principal of the school was indifferent to the poor state of academics and morale. It amuses and saddens me that Rainier Beach High School now ‘gets a pass’ for its academic mediocrity because it has recently been winning championships in basketball and football.</p>
<p>What I find quite surprising is how Garfield has become reportedly one of the best public schools on the west coast. That’s a feather in the district’s cap, despite the persistence of the achievement gap for Garfield’s Black students.</p>
<p>I wonder if Washington is getting the majority of its new teachers from local colleges. Maybe that’s part of the problem.</p>
<p>The UW seems to be somewhat overrated, depending on the major. The natural sciences may be their strong point. In any event, I understand that today it is much more difficult to be admitted to the undergraduate program than in my day. I didn’t accept the UW’s offer but I was admitted to a freshman class of 7,000. LOL</p>
<p>Garfield- has the advantage of very strong students- students coming from the districts APP program at Lowell and Washington middle school are guarenteed admittance to Garfield even over neighborhood students.
Most of the districts APP students ( who have qualified for the program by testing) do choose to attend Garfield.</p>
<p>However some do not- my daughters roommate at Reed opted for Franklin because he wanted to get to know some new classmates
Some of the students who have attended private prep schools K-8 also opt to attend Garfield- despite the challenges.</p>
<p>We have been involved with public schools for 8 years- I have worked with 4 principals and the current principal at Garfield- is by far the strongest. 
He is bright- dedicated- very intelligent and hardworking and young enough that he doesn’t seem to be discouraged by the challenges.
We need stronger principals- we need communication between district/schools/community to be a priority.</p>
<p>Principals make such a huge difference-it is really amazing- while Garfield has had quite a turnover in past years with principals- from principals who have been fired for sexual contact with student- principals who are accused of polarizing the school- and interim principals who just tried to keep the school afloat- many administrators in the district have had a past history with Garfield.</p>
<p>My own mother attended Garfield, as did the current principal and a board member Mary Bass whose father and uncle have both been principals at Garfield, as has the current director of high schools Ammon McWashington and a potential board member Cheryl Chow.</p>
<p>What I find particulary frustrating however, is the perception in the larger community is that Garfield is segregated.</p>
<p>It is true that the APP program and the students who come from that program are predominantly white/Asian. However- most ( at least the ones I have come across) of the teachers work hard to raise expectations for all students. </p>
<p>My daughter was on the track team- mostly black students- the average GPA was a 3.5. The PTA is very strong and has many volunteers who work many hours tutoring students, helping them fill out college applications, and raising money for grants to go back to the classrooms.
If the student wants to work hard- there is an opportunity. In elementary and middle school, my daughter was in special education- her classroom teachers assumed that the work she missed was covered in resource room ( it wasn’t)
However at Garfield- they have many programs available to help students achieve- African American scholars- peer mentorships-teachers that stay after school daily to tutor kids so that they can progress.</p>
<p>My daughter is now in an AP class and while her start was difficult- she is now doing pretty well and that is because both she and the teacher are working hard together. The opportunities are there- and while some students aren’t as prepared as others, the increased communication that Garfield has over other schools I think does a great deal to support students and families.</p>
<p>However it is never enough- coming from a nonAPP background- there are not enough classes to support students trying to make up for lack of preperation/poor teaching/lost time. Garfield does as much or more than other schools in this area- but we still need more.</p>
<p>Part of it is the legislature- funding is down allowing for inflation from 30 years ago while need is up. When I attended school I dont’ recall any students who didn’t speak English- or anyway- less than 5. Now I think we have 80 different languages spoken- which impacts the abilty of parents to stay informed.Expectations are up- we want all students to graduate and have as a choice the opportunity to attend college. </p>
<p>I understand and support this expectation- however I am torn. Vocational programs- auto shop- auto body … are all but vanished from public schools. These are still areas that need workers- and some students may find an affinity to working with their hands- rather than sitting at a desk- I don’t like tracking of students- when there is no mobility to go between tracks- but I also see students dropping out- because they don’t plan to go to college and dont see much point to staying in school.</p>
<p>Some schools are attempting to reverse this and we have “small schools” within a larger school with students divided by interests- Ballard has a biotech program- a maritime program- a pre-engineering program but again to participate- a certain background of academics is required. IF the student hasn’t had that- they can’t take those classes.</p>
<p>I think we are moving in the right direction, even if it does look like we are chasing our tails. Moving toward more K-8 schools to improve continuity in curriculum, better communication of expectations, and less transition for families- and I would like to see high schools develop so that there are clear choices between them- to do away with yellow buses to save money- but allow students to take public transportation to what ever school they want.
High school students need to feel vested in their education, they should have a choice where to attend school, and not be limited by the program that is offered in their neighborhood</p>
<p>Very well said, EmeraldK. Best wishes to your daughter for continued success.</p>
<p>I have to agree with EmeraldK about the special magnet programs. It’s great to offer kids a choice, and it’s great for them to meet students from outside their own area of the city. Certainly they can get on a Metro bus if the city finds it too expensive to send school buses for them.</p>
<p>I also don’t understand why there aren’t any vocational programs in Seattle. Where I grew up, there was a whole high school devoted to vocational studies. Most of those kids turned out to be very competent, successful tradesmen. Judging from my experience with various plumbers and carpenters in town, Seattle could use some of those :-)</p>
<p>Overall I’m pretty impressed with the education my own kids have received in Seattle, but I’m bit worried about the economic achievement gap. Did anyone notice that the percentage of kids passing the WASL was 64 at Center and 7 at Beach? Is it a coincidence that the percentage of kids eligible for reduced lunch is 7 at Center and 69 at Beach?</p>
<p>I know I know.
I have pointed out to the board many times ( while the district is spending $$$ taking the parents to court who want to do away with busing by race)
that it is legal to assign students to schools by economic indicators- because of legislation that California and Washington passed- that is an indication that people don’t want assignment by race- but they can spread out the economic diversity in the city.
When they have some schools with involved PTAs- with parents how donate thousands of dollars every year- to buy staff and supplies, and whose children are relatively prepared for school- why does the district pat themselves on teh back when those schools do well?</p>
<p>Then schools like Rainier Beach- ( which nice facilities- but because they don’t have the students- they don’t have funding to operate some of the programs properly that those facilities were built for)- that do poorly on testing- ( so it is hard to attract more students) and instead of looking at why those kids aren’t doing better- maybe their parents are working two jobs- maybe they recently arrived in this country and don’t speak English,- perhaps it is because the teachers don’t have as much experience as those teachers who chose to work in schools with more parent support- when those schools struggle- then it has to be because of racial disportionality- and not because of simple economics.</p>
<p>Other districts have tried busing for economics- not for race- and had good results- schools with more challenged populations already get more money per student- but that isn’t enough- they need more involved parents- and more support from the community and that isn’t going to happen by throwing money at it.
Neighborhood kids at Garfield get a chance to try accelerated programs that are there because of the APP students. If they had magnet programs at other schools to attract high performing students-they could assign those students to schools in more challenged neighborhoods not by race but by income.
Going by test scores- the disparity is very evident by income- not necessarily race.</p>
<p>Emerald, what do you think about the small-schools learning environment at schools like Tyee?</p>
<p>It’s no coincidence, KDmom. Also, isn’t it perplexing that RBHS is adjacent to the Seward Park and Lake Washington Boulevard neighborhoods, some of the most affluent areas in the state?</p>