West Seattle is getting THUMPED by the Seattle School District

[WSPCCEEE]

Hello to all parents of West Seattle children, students, educators, and interested citizens:

The ongoing controversies in West Seattle schools seem to be pointing to what I believe is an ugly trend…WHATEVER THE ISSUE, whether it is the fiasco at West Seattle High School over the district switching from a 4-period day to a 6-period day, the Denny-Sealth proposed merger, Lafayette teachers being told that they have to post test scores in a public area or who knows what else, ONE THING HAS BECOME CRYSTAL CLEAR TO ME. The Seattle School Board, CAO Carla Santorno, and Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson have turned a deaf ear to our emails, protests, marches,empassioned pleas to be heard and not only that, but LISTENED TO. They also seem to be stonewalling the teachers’ grievance at WSHS. They don’t seem to care what facts support our position, they just seem focused on their own political/career goals that serve their interests, and not those of the students and/or community. We have talked until we are blue in the face, and have received lies, pat answers with no substance, and threats against teachers who have spoken out. Several teachers have been put on “administrative leave” at WSHS, and the climate in the school has deteriorated to the point where some students and teachers have given up fighting for what they believe in. The time for talk is over…the time for ACTION is now. I’m personally not going to waste my breath anymore trying to present facts to the district or wait for an honest answer. They are not interested in either, so that only leaves one avenue open as far as I can see and that is LEGAL ACTION. The Seattle School Board apparently isn’t going to reign in the “sword swinging” style of Carla Santorno and Maria Goodloe-Johnson until the court of public opinion and several expensive lawsuits get their attention. So, go for it people! Stand up for the children who need a good education and a safe environment in which to learn. Organize, make noise, walk out of class if necessary to show support for what you believe in, donate to the legal fund of your choice, but DO SOMETHING, or we will all pay the price. This IS a democracy and we deserve to be heard…we deserve a fair vote in the policy of education, and it looks like we’re going to have to FIGHT FOR IT! Let your voices be heard!

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[Kayleigh]

I have no opinion on the school issues, but I must say your acronym is somehow funny.

(no offense)

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[hopey]

For those of us who know nothing about this topic, can you point to some relatively unbiased sources (news websites, for example) which support your claims?

I read your post and it just seems like an unfounded rant. It would be great to have more information to be able to make a reasonably informed opinion on whether to join your call to action or not. As a potential Lafayette parent next year, I’m most interested in what’s going on there. Thanks.

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[WSPCCEEE]

Hopey, Thanks for your comments. Below are some links that you can access:

LESS IS MORE – GO FOR 4!!

STUDENTS FOR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS {SDP] SPONSOR “MARCH OF THE WILDCATS” (student march on Jan. 17th from WSHS to W.S. Junction…this was the flyer we passed out at the junction)

The Problem:

On Sept. 14, 2007, Carla

Santorno announced her

decision to change WSHS’

schedule from a 4-period

day to a 6-period day.

While some 6-period day

supporters claim that the

students, teachers, parents

and community had ample

warning, we say “HOLD IT—

NOT SO FAST!…why didn’t

the district and steering com-

mittee work WITH all those

concerned instead of:

Accusing teachers of being

lazy for supporting the 4-

period day and threatening

teachers who spoke up.

Making the atmosphere of

steering committee meetings

so hostile that students and

teachers stopped coming to

meetings (which were held

at inconvenient times so

working parents couldn’t

attend).

Accusing teachers of “stacking

the deck in favor of the 4-

period day” (most of the

teachers were in favor of it

because they, as educators,

could see the many bene-

fits.

Teachers being told that if

they addressed concerns over , math, music and languages,

that the 4X4 schedule could

remain & then when the

teachers were confident that

they had complied, switched

the schedule anyway? “Bait &

switch?”

Santorno announcing that her

decision could not be appealed!

HOLDING PUBLIC FORUMS AFTER MAKING A DECISION BY NO MEANS MEETS THE STANDARD OF A “DEMOCRATIC PROCESS”!

We Say That The 4-Period Day Works For Us!

It provides a better format for students to “learn how to learn”, a skill we need and will use throughout our entire lives.

Better allows for the use of hands-on learning techniques including lab work, project-based learning, and in-depth research and analysis.

Provides a format that supports differentiated instruction, allowing all students with various learning styles to grasp the material and to succeed.

We are improving our WASL scores, fewer students are dropping out, and we are earning more scholarship dollars than ever before.

WE ARE FIGHTING FOR OUR EDUCATION!

PLEASE SUPPORT ALL THE YEARS OF EFFORT AND ENERGY THAT THE TEACHERS HAVE PUT INTO HELPING US TO BECOME LEARNERS FOR LIFE!!

LINKS:

WSPCCEEE sponsored blog:

http://wshs4periodday.blogspot.com/

West Seattle High School Four-Period Schedule Program Evaluation October 2006:

http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/wshs/admin/WSEvaluationFinaltoSLC.pdf

Press Release

April 25, 2007

http://www.strongamericanschools.org

Alliance for Education

http://www.alliance4ed.org/

Brain-based learning:

http://www.funderstanding.com/brain_based_learning.cfm

Google “brain-based learning” for more links.

Position Paper:

“Why Arguments for the 6 Period Day Don’t Hold Water”

http://www.4pdaywshs.com/water2.pdf

NOTE: THE SDP WEBSITE IS CURRENTLY OFF-LINE, DUE TO HACKING ATTEMPTS.

QUESTIONS? Send to

Gofor4WSHS@gmail.com

See the front page story covering the “March” in the January 23, 2008 issue of W.S. Herald.

Talk with the staff at Lafayette regarding the grievance that they have filed with the Seattle School District over the issue of posting test scores in a public spot in the school. The teacher that I spoke with felt that this wasn’t in the best interest of the students, and would add many unpaid hours of work to their schedule (which would be in violation of their contract)

West Seattle High School’s website has a link to the student-run newspaper, the Chinook. Read February 2008 issue for articles re: the controversy over the district’s decision to switch the schedule from a 4-period day to a 6-period day.

Perhaps you will find the information that you are seeking.

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[WSB]

First we’ve heard of the Lafayette thing. Our son attended there till last year and just speaking personally, it was a spectacular school. Of course, I can’t speak to anything happening this year.

Also I have invited the 4-period supporters to e-mail us with updates on what’s going on and haven’t heard anything yet. We journalist types can’t write stories without some sort of informational kindling.

Re: the WSHS newspaper, we just discovered that one today while browsing the school website and had been planning to post about the paper in general, as there is much of interest in it, not just the dueling editorials on the 4-vs-6:

http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/wshs/chinook/Chinook%202007/February2008.pdf

–TR, WSB editor

editor@westseattleblog.com

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[marlene]

I can assure you WSPCCEEE is not ranting. Speaking as someone who has just been through the Denny-Sealth merger process, I can tell you that every strong-arm tactic in the book was used against the staff and community of Chief Sealth High School. The research that Carla Santorno cited to justify “academic advantages” of the combined campus was completely bogus. They were real studies, but based on rural, not urban schools. And the students were fifth graders going into middle school, not eighth graders going into high school. I could go on for hours about how facilities and the district put their spin on why they are forcing this megaschool on a traditional community…but I won’t. If you have a chance to watch the last school board meeting on Channel 26, you will get a taste of an elitist board, that has taken advantage of one of the poorer schools in Seattle. Trust me, Rainier Beach will be the next recipient of a combined middle school-high school.

One other note, for some reason, the day after the Seattle School Board vote, the Seattle School District put a block on accessing the West Seattle Blog. The message said it was using the filter because it was a blog, however, I checked other blogs, and I was able to access all other blogs. Hmmmmmmm…….

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[WSPCCEEE]

I would like to see a PUBLIC REVIEW of the Seattle School Board, Carla Santorno and Maria Goodloe-Johnson. What is their pay-off? Power? Status? Career advancement? It certainly isn’t satisfaction that they are serving the best interests of students, teachers, parents or the community affected by their decisions. I invite ALL the West Seattle citizens who are disillusioned/disgusted with the Board, Santorno, and Goodloe-Johnson to meet and strategize on how best to “out” their brazen tactics and take-overs. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the atmosphere at the John Stanford Center is terrible, with people afraid of Goodloe-Johnson, and getting fired if they don’t agree with her.

Please let me know if a meeting is already planned, and if not, what are your ideas for setting one up?

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[marlene]

To WSPCCEEE: If you’d like to contact me to discuss a meeting, please contact me via email at marleneallbright@comcast.net because I have information I don’t want to share publicly. There may be some interest in combining the West Seattle High School community along with the Chief Sealth community to do some strategic planning.

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[JanS]

I”m not a parent of a highschool age child. My daughter graduated from WSHS in ’99, yes, with 4 periods a day. I have to thank the webmaster for giving the link to The Chinook. I just spent aoubt an hour perusing it, and have to say I’m totally impressed. It shows what good is happening in our local school…great articles, well written, interesting to both the students and adults of the community. Kudos.

I wish the parents luck. Thank you for being involved in your children’s education and future.

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