A celebration . . .

In this post on April 4th I shared the news that four of our schools had earned Washington School Achievement recognition for 2012.  The chart that I shared identified the area of achievement and the small number of schools being recognized across the state.  Overall, there were 381 schools that achieved this honor.

Today, each school received their banner and trophy in a ceremony at Kentwood High School.  It was an honor to be in attendance and associated with this outstanding group of educators.

Agreement not reached . . .

To no one's surprise the regular legislative session ended at 6:15 p.m. today without reaching agreement on a budget.  Governor Inslee has called them back for a 30 day special session on May 13th to try and accomplish what was not possible in the 105 day regular session.  The Governor's words in this krem.com post capture the difficulty they face in trying to reach agreement on a budget.

Inslee said the parties are not miles apart, but "light years apart."

www.seattlechamber.com

The focus for the session will be on the budget, transportation, and education.  There is much to accomplish within 30 days considering how far apart they are on budget and policy issues with education proving to be one of the more controversial issues they face.  Will a second special session be needed to bring closure to the gap between the three parties?

Some difficult reflections . . .

Even though it is Thursday, a normal post day for me, I have spent the last two hours since I got home pretty much reflecting on two meetings I had today without thinking about a topic for a post.  More specifically, I am replaying them in my mind focusing on the role that I played and the message my behavior gave to the participants.  Given that, I thought I'd share some of my reflections.

The first meeting focused on updating us on the planning for a review process.  I found myself early in the meeting confronted with a ladder of inference I have about work in this area over a period of time.  I was initially able to suspend my assumptions and productively engage in the conversation.  As the conversation continued, however, we shifted into focusing on decisions that had been made, who made them, and who needed to be a part of the process.  I then found myself climbing my negative ladder and being concerned about a process that would result in replicating outcomes that we have experienced in similar processes in the past.  Concern then quickly turned to being upset.  By this time I had lost my ability to be influenced, something that I shared when one of the participants tried to pull me back into the conversation.

Some might ask why is he sharing this, it is certainly nothing to be proud of and is the kind of behavior that he   continually tells us that we need to avoid.  I do so to demonstrate the power our mental models and ladders have over our behavior and how very difficult it is at times to suspend the assumptions leading to them.  As I have shared before, I know this and teach it to others, but still struggle at times resulting in behavior such as mine today.  What I find interesting as I reflect, is that I was fully aware of the transitions I was making throughout the conversation including when I decided to be directive toward the close of the meeting.  Though aware, I still showed my anger, something that I should have not done and that would have been better for all of us in the meeting.  I'd feel better if I could say that I intentionally shared my anger for whatever reason, but that was not the case.

The second meeting with principals and central office staff was at times difficult for some, but I believe will result in positive changes for the system.  Through sharing of mental models, experiences, and private thoughts, we were able to identify some needs in the system and a possible structure to increase the level of collaboration and influence that building administrators have in major system decisions impacting their work. All in the room contributed to this outcome.

So, two opportunities to support our work that leave me with much to consider as I seek to grow in my capacity to engage in reflective conversations while balancing advocacy and inquiry and being open to be influenced.  There is much to learn and much room for me to grow.

Moving in wrong direction . . .

www.writeourmovie.com

In this Crosscut post we see the State House Education budget going the wrong way before negotiations with the Senate and Governor begin.  Dropping four components of their revenue plan has resulted in a reduction in the House education budget from $1.34 billion to $1.16 billion.  This is in contrast to the Senate budget of about $1 billion.  My sense is that this may also be the result of some back door conversations that have made it clear that the House tax plan is dead on arrival and keeping it will not lead to agreement on a budget.


In the article Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said that no decisions have been made yet on what would be trimmed out of the House's package to start complying with a Washington Supreme Court order.  Where they make these cuts could have a negative impact on state revenue to our system.  In this April 11th post I shared the three budgets and the importance of flexibility.  If they choose to make the cuts in transportation funding or MSOC (Maintenance, Supplies and Operating Costs) and maintain all day Kindergarten and class size reductions it will result in less flexibility for us.  We want them to implement recommendations from the Joint Task Force on Education Spending that made transportation and MSOC the priority for new revenue.

The article also referenced a vote today in the Senate that would permanently eliminate cost of living wages under I-732 and implement a controversial shift of funds.

In a related matter, the Senate passed a complicated education bill 25-23 Tuesday that would permanently eliminate a frequently suspended cost-of-living raise for teachers under Initiative 732, plus shift $166 million from the "common schools fund" to help pay for the Senate's $1 billion education fix-it plan. Democrats in both chambers argue that money is constitutionally limited to construction, and the shift is unconstitutional. Republicans say the shift is constitutional. One clause appears to envision shifts when construction needs are met. The Washington Attorney General's office has not issued an opinion this matter, and says it wouldn't normally.

This action brings additional complexity and opposing views to an already difficult task to craft a state budget that can be approved by all three parties.  Where is the leverage that will lead to agreement?  How will education in the state and in our school system be impacted as this scenario is played out behind closed doors?  I encourage you to let your legislators know your feelings as they seek to find resolution.

Two more schools . . .

One year ago tomorrow I shared in this post that the Junior High was recognized as one of the inaugural 78 schools honored as a National Green Ribbon school.  Today, we were informed that two of our schools are receiving the same honor this year, Tahoma High School and Glacier Park Elementary.

The award is given by the U.S. Department of Education.  As can be seen on their web page, these are competitive awards and the winners are in a select group of schools across the country.

The schools were confirmed from a pool of candidates voluntarily nominated by 32 state education agencies. The list of selectees includes 54 public schools and 10 private schools. The public schools include seven charter, five magnet and four career and technical schools. The schools serve various grade levels, including 40 elementary, 23 middle and 19 high schools are among them, with several schools having various K-12 configurations, from 29 states and the District of Columbia.

In our state there were four schools and one district, Kent that were recognized this year.  We have two of those four schools in our system.

Congratulations to these schools for this honor and thanks to the Green Team leaders and students for their leadership.  Also, thanks to Nancy and the T&L Department for their curriculum support and to Dawn, Lori, and Kevin for their work to meet the requirements of a very comprehensive application process.

Common Core movement . . .

In case you haven't had a chance to keep up on the latest developments with the Common Core State Standards, this piece by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post tells you everything you need to know.  There have been two recent decisions with the potential to dramatically alter what has thus far been a bipartisan initiative supported by 45 states.  First, the Republican National Committee passed a resolution rejecting the CCSS initiative.

RESOLVED, the Republican National Committee recognizes the CCSS for what it is — an inappropriate overreach to standardize and control the education of our children so they will conform to a preconceived “normal,” and, be it further . . .

Add http://www.corestandards.org/in-the-statescaption

The second development was Senator Grassley (R-Iowa) last week asking his colleagues to co-sign a letter asking the Senate Appropriations Committee to cut off all future funds that would allow the Obama administration to push states into participating in the Common Core State Standards and it’s assessments.  In an email to colleagues he shared the following five examples of how this has been done.

• Making adoption of Common Core a pre-requisite for a state even being able to compete for Race to the Top funds.
• Directly funding the two assessment consortia developing tests aligned to Common Core using Race to the Top funds.
• Assembling a panel to review the work of the two assessment consortia.
• Making implementation of Common Core or coordination with Common Core a funding priority for other, unrelated competitive grants administered by the Department of Education.
• Making participation in Common Core essentially a prerequisite for being awarded a waiver from the Department of requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act.

Our state is one that has signed onto the Common Core as I shared in this post.  Unfortunately, there has been very little support at the state level, leaving us to once again align curriculum, prepare assessments, and ensure that teachers have the knowledge and structures necessary for preparing students for the proposed assessments in 2015.  We need to monitor these recent developments at the national level because they have the potential to significantly change the landscape.  In this Truth In American Education post you can see how the resolution is being used in Alabama.  How many states might follow this example will be important to watch.

The dream continues . . .

Last evening was the second meeting of the team that will work with DLR, our architects, to create the educational specifications leading to the design of our proposed new regional learning center. The primary focus was to brainstorm and document a day (24 hours) in the life of a high school student twenty years in the future.  Five teams comprised of students, staff, and community members engaged in the work and presented their finished products.  Each team had a mix of humor and progressive thinking that will influence our conversations as the work moves forward.

I heard two themes emerge in the presentations that we must consider as we make decisions on a building design that will need to meet the learning needs of students for the next fifty years.  The first is flexibility and the second is personalized learning.  I look forward to seeing how these themes and others to follow will come alive in the design and to watching this team of dedicated people use their experience, creativity, and vision to support this effort.  We are truly blessed with their commitment to this work.