The district has posted the Detailed Action Plans Associated with the Strategies of the Five-Year Plan, and now we know how well you are listening and who you are listening to.

 

Here are the detailed action plans related to Advanced Learning:

 

2.1.1.2 Continue to reform advanced learning opportunities. Make sure that every student has access. People who work for Seattle Public must believe that all students can perform at high levels
2.6.7.1 Redefine the concept of advanced learning opportunities and the assessments to access the programs.
2.6.7.2 Consider alternative models for providing advanced learning opportunities district wide.
2.6.7.3 Ensure that all high school teachers are qualified in the field they are teaching e.g.
2.6.7.4 Staff Development to ensure there are highly qualified staff to teach advanced learning classes.
2.6.7.5 Increase academic rigor by embedding advanced learning objectives in all classes Recruit and hire second career individuals who have shown proficiency in teacher
2.6.7.7 Expand community based advanced learning opportunities for students that integrate with the curriculum and are regularly assessed
3.2.2.1 Mandate school participation in referral process for Advanced Programs coupled with professional development of the characteristics of gifted and advanced learners
3.2.2.2 Develop standardized information to distribute to schools, parents, and community members
3.2.2.3 Develop mechanisms for broad dissemination for promoting programs and for evaluating effectiveness
3.2.2.4 Clearly define, implement and evaluate a variety of programs to serve the needs of gifted and advanced learners
3.2.2.5 Develop program practices and procedures for Advanced Learning programs (e.g., student identification, service delivery, curriculum/instructional/assessment practices, program evaluation)
3.2.2.6 Investigate alternative service delivery models for meeting the needs of gifted students and high achievers, and implement, as appropriate
3.2.2.7 Research different eligibility criteria and practices for determining eligibility for Advanced Learning programs. Pilot and evaluate during the 2005-2006 eligibility cycle.
3.2.2.8 Provide professional development experiences for Advanced Learning teachers and administrators
3.2.2.9 Continue parent voice in Advanced Learning programs

 

 

You will notice that most of these are fairly vague directions. They are not what I would call "Detailed" or "Specific" actions as the district calls them.

 

Many of them are contradictory. I don't see how we can continue to reform advanced learning programs if we are also going to completely re-define the concept of Advanced Learning.

 

None of the specific action items suggested on this discussion board are included. All suggestions from here were ignored. In fact, I would like to see any impact anywhere on the distributed document that can be attributed to this discussion board. I don't think they looked at it at all.

 

All references to authentic community engagement, which were in the original iterations of some of these suggestions, have been removed. If we were to merely "Continue parent voice in Advanced Learning programs" then we would be continuing to IGNORE parent voices in Advanced Learning programs. The district has not authentically engaged this community in over two years.

 

Most troubling are the calls to completely redefine the whole concept or to investigate alternative service delivery models. Every school is already free to create any service delivery model they want. I don't see the need for any more license than that. The problems in the programs are not a lack of freedom but a lack of definition. You can look at all of the source material - I've checked all of the input from the April 17 meeting, the August 27 meeting, the Key Communicators, the Principals, the Students, and this discussion board. Nowhere does anyone suggest these radical actions. So where did they come from? Something stinks. Someone has more direct access to this document than we do, and that someone has it in for Advanced Learning.

 

This draft stinks. The whole process stinks.