"Houston, we have a problem."

by League of Education Voters

Last week, LEV’s CEO Chris Korsmo gave a “TED Talk” at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Regional Leadership Conference. Below is an excerpt from her talk:

Over the past few years there has been a lot of attention paid to education and how we as a nation are doing compared to others. Some of us have been down right freaked out by the decline in results and the fact that this generation will be the first in our nation’s history to be less educated than our parents. Some have called for  a “sputnik moment”  like when we chased the Russians into space and beat them to the moon. We need to find that uniting mission that kicks us in the pants and gets us moving.

I’d argue that we need an Apollo moment.  Apollo 13 to be precise.

In one of the more intense moments of film Apollo 13, a group of engineers and designers and others in the pocket protector set sit in a room wringing their hands about how to save the men aboard the ship.  The work is focused on figuring out how to restore electricity and stay powered up to get the space capsule back into earth’s orbit. But they discovered something more urgent; the men are literally dying from lack of oxygen.  The engineer need to build a filter that fits a certain size and shape, to remove CO2 from the air, so the men can breathe. The catch? They can only use what’s on board the ship.

So a box of odds and ends is dumped on the table  At first there’s a bit of geek  grousing – we can’t possibly, and how do you expect us to, blah, blah. But they get down to work. They’re focused,  there’s no blame, and the team solves the problem. The crew is saved.

I think of this scene whenever I hear of a school or district that has dumped its box upside down to solve an urgent need. Like in Bridgeport, a rural and mostly low income school district primarily serving Latino students that managed to get 100% of their kids to graduate from high school – and that got all of their graduating seniors  – 100% of them – accepted into college. Or in Federal Way where Advanced Placement is the default for kids who pass their state tests. They don’t opt in – they have to opt out, with their parents. Or the investment in early literacy in Auburn, that has their third graders knocking it out of the park in reading. These school leaders addressed the urgent while simultaneously looking at the bigger system issues.

These districts didn’t wait for Washington Supreme Court decision or a check from a wealthy benefactor. They just got busy working the problem.

We need more of that.

Let’s take the Apollo approach on a different issue; When I moved here in 2007, the state board of education was debating graduation requirements and how to get kids college and career ready. Despite passing new requirements at least twice, we’re still talking about it. In the five years that this conversation has ebbed and flowed, we’ve lost 60,000 kids to dropping out, we’ve seen college remediation climb, and our economy’s demand for more rigorous job preparation spike.   In other words, while we did nothing to address the urgent, the system got worse.

If we had an Apollo moment on this topic, we’d start by taking one urgent step – something done while we’re fixing the ship. How about, making sure all kids get algebra in 8th grade? If kids are proficient in Algebra before they leave in middle school, implementing more rigorous math requirements in high school wouldn’t seem so hard. And then maybe upping the ante for high school graduation wouldn’t seem impossible.

We have the box on the table. And the kids are in the capsule. The question is; What are we going to do about it?


Jeffrey Charbonneau named teacher of the year

by League of Education Voters

In a special ceremony at the EMP, State Superintendent Randy Dorn named Zillah High School science teacher Jeffrey Charbonneau Washington’s 2013 Teacher of the Year.

Jeffrey Charbonneau is a National Board Certified Teacher and has been teaching at Zillah High School for eleven years. During his tenure at the school, Mr. Charbonneu has been an integral part of creating STEM courses, allowing students to earn college credit. He also created a Robotics Challenge and a Hiking Club and serves as an advisor to several student clubs, including yearbook.

In a statement to the press, Zillah High School Principal Mike Torres said, “I am fortunate to have Jeff as an instructor at Zillah High School. But I am even more fortunate to have him as a teacher for my own children. Both my son and daughter have taken classes from Jeff and they have expressed that he is the type of teacher every student deserves to have. He is innovative, enthusiastic, challenging and motivating. He takes a personal interest in every student. As a parent, I see how Jeff has motivated my children, not only to learn the content, but also to become advocates for learning in general. It is what makes him a standout.”

Congratulations to Mr. Charbonneau and all of the nominees!

Find out more here.

Celebrating Connected Educator Month

by League of Education Voters

It’s August 2nd which means we are two days in to Connected Educator Month. Created by the Department of Education, Connected Educator Month celebrates “educators at all levels, from all disciplines, moving towards a fully connected and collaborative profession…”. The New York Times is honoring the occasion by asking 33 educators the following questions:

1. What is one important thing you’ve learned from someone in your Personal Learning Network (P.L.N.), however you define that network?
2. What one person, group or organization would you recommend every educator add to his or her P.L.N.?

Here are a few of the responses:

Carolyn Ross | Hightstown High School

Reader Idea: Personal Inquiry Projects With The Learning Network

1. My first year as a high school English teacher, I had a colleague who encouraged me to consider daily dilemmas and stressors through a simple lens: “Is this the hill you want to die on?” I owe my propensity to pick my battles (with students, colleagues, administrators and my inner demons) to this mantra.

2. The newest addition to my Google Reader is the NCLE SmartBrief. Twice a week, NCLE compiles an education brief: news stories, resources, blog posts I would otherwise have missed and fresh teaching ideas (like using e-mail spam to teach persuasive writing).

Stephanie L. Meyer | Wisconsin Public Schools

Reflections on the Third Annual Found Poem Contest

1. One thing I’ve learned from the authors of novels that I’ve taught, including Laila Lalami (“Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits”), Sarah McCoy (“The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico”) and Brando Skyhorse (“The Madonnas of Echo Park”) is that they really do want to hear high school students’ reactions to and questions about their books. They will usually write the students back whether by snail mail or e-mail.

2. All educators should be familiar with Toondoo.com, a Web site that allows students to create comic strips. I usually assign students different scenes from a particular book, print the scenes out and have the kids try to put them in chronological order, among other things.

Heather Barikmo | LaGuardia Community College

Reader Idea | ‘One in Eight Million’ for English Language Learners

1. Tumblr, as a whole, has been invaluable to me as an educator. The platform really lends itself to visual communication, and I believe language educators in the digital age can really benefit from bringing infographics and similar multimodal texts into their teaching.

2. I get so many ideas from ReadWriteThink.

More responses can be found here.

Introducing our two Rainier Scholars interns: Brenda & Dawit

by League of Education Voters

Brenda and Dawit are joining LEV from the Rainier Scholars program as summer interns. Here’s what they had they say about choosing to intern with LEV, what they like to do in their spare time, and much more.

Brenda Mancilla-Martinez: I graduated last month from University Prep, a 6-12 private school. I will be attending the University of Washington this fall. GO DAWGS!

Dawit Workie: I go to St. Michael’s University School, a boarding school in Victoria, B.C.

1.Why did you choose LEV for an internship?

Brenda: Throughout my high school career I have participated in several law and business summer programs like the Just the Beginning Foundation (University of Washington) and the Future of the Law Institute and Albers Summer Business School (Seattle University). After participating in these programs, I realized that I wanted to be a lawyer, but I do not know what specific field I want to take yet. Earlier in May, I filled out an application for an internship through Rainier Scholars. One of my interests has always been education given that Rainier Scholars is a program that targets students who are the most underrepresented in college campuses.

I’ve had my own share of problems with the education system that we have. When I was in Head Start as a pre-schooler, English was my second language, and I didn’t know it well. I went through Kindergarten and 1st grade barely understanding what I was being taught; I got in trouble a lot with my teachers because I wasn’t following directions but they failed to realize that I just didn’t understand them. It wasn’t until I got in trouble multiple times that my school realized that I needed to be in the ESL program. I was in ESL until 3rd grade when I asked to be put in the normal class because I felt that I no longer needed to be helped with my English skills.

In 5th grade I joined Rainier Scholars, who helped me get into the Spectrum program at Washington Middle School and ended up going to University Prep for high school. I chose LEV because I can relate to the many kids in Washington State that feel that they are not being paid enough attention in school and that feel that they won’t make it past high school because I always thought school was really hard. I want to learn what organizations such as LEV do to advocate for education and how the government plays a key role in the decisions that are made.

Dawit: I chose LEV for a summer internship because helping raise awareness and advocate for public school education in my opinion is a very important topic. Education is what decides ones future; it can have such a significant impact on an individual. Everyone can have a successful and have a happy future if they are educated. Education also decides the future of our nation, how well we educate the future generation is what essentially decides the fate of our country. I have been to both public and private schools so I understand the differences, and in what ways public school education can improve.

2. What do you like to do in your free time?

Brenda: I watch all the Christian Bale Batman movies at least one a week (I’m a huge fan), I hang out with my friends, spend time with my family, search for the latest information about my favorite band, One Direction (British boy band), text, listen to music, and volunteer as a Spanish translator at Rainier Scholars.

Dawit: In my free time I like to be active, which includes going to the gym, playing basketball, or going for a run. I also like to spend time with the family and hang out with friends.

3. Favorite high school moment?

Brenda: We turned the lunchroom into a club as our senior prank.

Dawit: My favorite high school moment was when I was on a rugby tour in Argentina. We traveled to Iguazu falls, on the border of Brazil, which was an unforgettable experience. My favorite moment was when I was leaning on a bridge watching the waterfall with my friends as the water sprayed back at us. It was an amazing moment that I could have never experienced living in Seattle.

4. What do you hope to do when you’re older?

Brenda: I hope to work for the UN as an international human rights lawyer; I’d love to be stationed in different cities around the world. That may change though as I do not know what specific field I want to work in as a lawyer.

Dawit: When I’m older I hope to go into sports medicine. I’ve played many sports throughout my life and have a huge passion for them. At the same time, I’ve always been interested in biology and medicine. So one I day I hope to combine my two interests and go into the field of sports medicine.

5. One thing you hope to accomplish this summer?

Brenda: To ride Seattle’s “Great Wheel” when it opens to the public on June 29th!

Dawit: One thing I hope to accomplish this summer is to spend a lot of quality time with my family. I go to a boarding school so I don’t get to see them much throughout the year. So this summer whenever I have free time I hope to spend it with all my family and make up for the lost time.

Here’s what Brenda and Dawit had to say about Rainier Scholars.

Rainier Scholars is an 11-year academic journey that requires a great deal of commitment, patience, and hard work. The program is devoted to helping underrepresented young people push themselves to reach their full potentials and ultimately graduate from university. Students apply for Rainier Scholars in the fifth-grade. If you are chosen, six weeks of your summer are spent in a classroom, and during your school year you have extra accelerated school every Saturday and Wednesday. That’s all topped off by another six weeks of summer school! During all that hard work, we learn the three pillars of Rainier Scholars: Perseverance, Integrity, and Courage.
So is all that work worth it? After graduation you are provided with numerous opportunities, and countless new friends. Simply, it was definitely worth it. In the end, we are breaking down barriers by attending colleges around the country and proving that students of color can not only attend a four-year university but graduate as well. Cohort 1 will be seniors in college this year and will be the first to finish the 11-year program.

Go here for more information about Rainier Scholars program.

 

Judge rules: I-1053 is unconstitutional

by League of Education Voters

Challenging I-1053, League of Education Voters vs. Washington State

A King County Superior Court judge ruled today that Initiative 1053 is unconstitutional.

“This lawsuit is another important piece in making sure our kids have all the resources they need to get an excellent education,” Chris Korsmo, Chief Executive Officer, said. “LEV was founded on the principle that our kids deserve fully funded schools.”

I-1053 requires a supermajority of the Legislature to raise taxes or close tax loopholes.

LEV is the lead plaintiff in the suit, along with the Washington Education Association, legislators, parents and taxpayers.

“This decision is a victory for the children of Washington state,” said Mary Lindquist, WEA president. “If it is upheld, this ruling will pave the way for the Legislature to fully fund K-12 public schools as mandated by the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision and the state Constitution. We hope it will be settled soon. Our kids can’t wait any longer.”

The Court held that the Washington Constitution establishes the exclusive rules for determining whether passage of a law requires a simple majority or super majority vote.  Those rules cannot be altered by the legislature passing a law or by the people enacting an initiative.  The Court noted that the Washington Constitution established super majority requirements for a number of types of laws, but not for tax increases.

Judge Bruce E. Heller wrote: “Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. Plaintiffs present a justiciable controversy and have standing to bring this action. RCW 43.135.034(1)’s supermajority vote requirement violates the simple majority provision of Article II, 22 of the Washington Constitution, rendering that provision of the statute unconstitutional. Further RCW.43.135.034(2)(a)’s mandatory referendum requirement violates Article II, 1 and Article II, 1(b) of the Washington Constitution, rendering that provision of the statute unconstitutional.”

“This is a victory for the Constitution” said Paul Lawrence of the Pacifica Law Group, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.  Lawrence explained:  “The Constitution establishes the fundamental rules for how our governmental works.  The framers considered what types of laws require a super majority vote for passage.  Taxes were not identified as requiring a super majority vote.  Fundamental changes in how the government operates have to be accomplished by constitutional amendment, not by passage of a law or initiative.”

Legislators who had joined as plaintiffs expressed similar hope that the case will allow the State to meet its constitutional obligation to fund public education.   Jamie Pedersen, State Representative for the 43rd LD, said:  “I am thrilled that the court reached the merits of this question and recognized that Tim Eyman’s initiatives requiring supermajority votes to raise revenue are unconstitutional and are hampering our ability to fund public schools.  I feel hopeful that the Supreme Court – fresh off of its decision that the legislature is failing to fund education adequately – will give us back the tools to do so.“

Chris Reykdal State Representative for the 22nd LD echoed that that sentiment:  “This is an historic decision for our state.  Our treasured initiative process can clearly amend state law or advocate new laws, but it cannot amend the constitution.  We all have to play by the same rules.  We look forward to the State Supreme Court upholding this decision on appeal by the State.  We have a court mandated obligation to fund basic education, and this decision restores the Legislature’s ability to do that with majority rule.  In the end, our citizens, democracy, and our children are the biggest winners.”

Plaintiff State Senator David Frockt noted:  “There are critical policy implications to this ruling.  The elected representatives of the people should have all policy options available to them to change the downward spiral that we have been on in both K-12 and higher education investments in recent years.  In my opinion, there has been an undeniable “chilling” effect on the development of options to address these issues.  The full range of options are not seriously considered, much less debated, when it is perceived to be a futile effort in light of a minority’s ability to overrule the majority on the House or Senate floor.  I have been appointed to serve on the education funding committee that has been established in response to the McCleary decision.  If this ruling is upheld, as I hope it will be, I believe we will have a better shot at fulfilling our paramount duty to fully fund our educational system in the coming years.”  Frockt further observed that the decision does not undermine the ability of the people to reign in government:  “The people retain numerous checks on legislative power, through legislative elections every two and four years, as well as the power of referendum to overturn any policy changes the legislature may make.  Nothing about this constitutional ruling changes those sovereign rights that the voters hold and will continue to hold.”

Lawrence expects the decision to be appealed directly to the Washington Supreme Court.   He plans to ask for expedited review so that a decision can be rendered before the start of the 2013 legislative session.

LEV’s Second Annual Breakfast: Schools That Work

by League of Education Voters

Thank you to all who came to support LEV at our Second Annual Breakfast: Schools That Work! We had such a fabulous time talking with you about your passion and dedication to making schools great for every student in Washington state. We heard talented students on the steel drums, thanked our excellent elected officials, passed our pop quiz, saw the debut of the A+ Washington video, and heard from teachers, principals and other education professionals about the wonderful work they’re doing to ensure our kids succeed in school and in life. We raised about $136,000 at this year’s breakfast. With these resources we’ll be able to continue to fight to make every school a School That Works. Thank you for your continued support and for all you do for kids!

Here are some photos from the breakfast. Thank you again to all who came!

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Walla Walla school’s new approach to discipline drops suspension 85 percent

by League of Education Voters

Yesterday we wrote about a study that concluded that “safety in schools can be enhanced by increasing both structure and support: adopting rules that are strictly and fairly enforced and having adults at the school who are caring, supportive and willing to help students.”

In Washington, one school is adopting this positive approach with astounding results. Lincoln High School in Walla Walla is an alternative school with students who face some of the most difficult life challenges and had experienced trouble in their previous schools. The principal, Jim Sporleder, was looking for solutions after three challenging years running the school. He found them in a new approach to discipline that encourages communication, keeps kids in school, and shows respect and support for every student, no matter how they act out.

Sporleder came to this new approach when he was introduced to research that shows that students dealing with trauma are physiologically impaired when it comes to learning. The types of trauma include emotional, sexual and physical abuse, and emotional and physical neglect, a parent addicted to alcohol or other drugs, seeing a mother being abused, a family member in prison, a family member diagnosed with a mental illness, and a parent who’s disappeared through abandoning the family or divorce. An anonymous survey created and answered by Lincoln High students found that the students had an average of between four and five of these traumatic experiences in their lives.

The staff at the school takes this information seriously. They know that you can’t simply punish a behavior that is a reaction to trauma away, so they take a different approach. When a kid erupts in class, teachers intervene quickly. They step out of the classroom with the student and ask what’s going on, suggest the student take a time out in a special In School Suspension (ISS) room, or ask the student if they would like to speak to someone at the adjoining Health Center.

If it escalates, the student meets with Principal Sporleder, who uses a zone system to help students describe their behavior. Students in the red zone get time to process their emotions and then meet with Sporleder the next morning to discuss solutions. Now that the program has become part of the school’s culture, more often than not the students have already talked the problem over with their teacher, apologized and figured out a solution by the time they meet with Sporleder again. If they refuse to apologize to the teacher and solve the problem, or their infraction is more serious, students instead go to In School Suspension, where they can catch up on work, talk to an adviser and have time to move to the green zone.

Using this method, staff say there are much fewer emotional explosions and students are better able to self-regulate. Plus, their suspensions have dropped 85 percent and expulsions have dropped by 40 percent in just one year.

“This is such a paradigm shift, you have to believe in it to make change happen,” said Sporleder. “The administration has to show support. That’s what I’ve seen. You’ve just gotta believe in it. You’ve gotta know that it’s true.”

Read more about Lincoln High School here.

LEV teams up with Seattle Center to showcase the classroom of the future

by League of Education Voters

Budding Washington artists and visionaries have the opportunity to showcase their talents at an exhibit to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.

Seattle Center and the League of Education Voters are asking Washington’s K-12 students to think about what the classroom of the future will look like. In 50 years, what technology will be used? What are students learning? What will the classroom/learning environment be like?

Selected artists will be showcased at an exhibition during the month of August at the Seattle Center. Students interested in participating are encouraged to submit a letter of intent by April 30th. The deadline to turn in the projects is June 1. Submissions can be in a variety of forms from essays to poetry to videos to slideshows to 3-D models. Students can submit their work individually or as part of a team.

Professionals in the fields of education, technology, architecture, art and design will curate the submissions to present common themes apparent in the participants’ visions of future learning environments. While there will not be prizes, all participants will receive official Next Fifty certificates. Selected individual youth and/or groups may be invited to present their ideas as part of Seattle Center’s Next Fifty Learning events .

For more information regarding the letter of intent and exhibition rules, please visit our website at https://educationvoters.org/seattlecenter/.

Governor signs bill establishing new Student Achievement Council

by League of Education Voters

Governor Gregoire signed HB 2483 today which will create a new cabinet level agency, the Student Achievement Council.

Passed by a bi-partisan effort, responsibilities for the Council will include developing policy and strategies to raise the percentage of Washingtonians with post-secondary education as well as administering state financial aid programs.

According to the Higher Education Coordinating Board’s blog, the new law (which becomes effective July 1st will have several goals:

a) To propose to the governor and the Legislature goals for increasing educational attainment in Washington, recommend the resources necessary to achieve the goals, and monitor progress toward meeting the goals;

b) To propose to the governor, the Legislature, and the state’s educational institutions, improvements and innovations needed to continually adapt the state’s educational institutions to evolving educational attainment needs; and

c) To advocate for higher education through various means, with the goal of educating the general public on the economic, social and civic benefits of post- secondary education, and the consequent need for increased financial support and civic commitment in the state.

More information about the new law can be found here.

Map compares cost of living across the U.S.

by League of Education Voters

As a part of their Out of Reach 2012 campaign, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has compiled wage and rent data from all over the country and created a map to compare the hourly wage needed to afford a two bedroom home at 30 percent of income. This is referred to as the housing wage.

(Click map to enlarge)

According to NLIHC, the map”demonstrates that a mismatch exists between the cost of living, the availability of rental assistance and the wages people earn day to day across the country. The Housing Wage consistently exceeds the actual wages earned by renters, in both urban and rural communities nationwide.”

NLIHC also created a map to see how many hours a person earning minimum wage would need to work in order to afford a two bedroom house at fair market rent.

(Click map to enlarge)

In Washington, a person earning minimum wage would need to work 80 hours a week in order to afford a two bedroom home paying 30 percent of their income. The highest disparity was found in Hawaii with minimum wage earners needing to work 175 hours and Washington D.C. came in second with 140 hours.

The full report can be read here.