Clik here to view.
How are charters doing? It depends.
In today’s Washington Post, there’s a nice summary of the latest research on achievement in charter schools. Two decades in, the report says, there isn’t definitive evidence either way on whether the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Recap: Whose side are you on? And when is the meeting?
Tonight’s regularly-scheduled Board meeting was a particularly contentious one, thanks to the current state of our contract negotiations and the ongoing uncertainty at schools the state has now...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charter extension denied to low-scoring Stanford school
What a sad story, which I somehow missed when it came out almost two weeks ago. The Ravenswood City School District apparently denied a five-year extension to a charter school created by Stanford’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The budget is adopted, with a whimper
Tonight the Board unanimously adopted the Superintendent’s proposed budget for 2010-11. It wasn’t exactly a happy moment — how can you be happy at such a budget, which leaves virtually no program in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Horace Mann and Metro, Part II
Tonight’s Special Meeting of the Board was supposed to be a short, routine affair — adopting the already-approved budget in SACS code format (don’t ask – it’s required by the state before we submit our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another day, another meeting recap
Tonight’s regular meeting of the full Board was short, without much of note on the agenda–except: The annual report from our Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF) Community Advisory Committee. This...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Accepted to Gateway MS? Read this
Today I heard from a friend whose child received an acceptance to Gateway MS and is trying to decide between that and another offer. Among the positives for Gateway, the mom told me, is that “you’re in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
And so it begins: Fighting over scraps
It really is looking like we might not get to vote on tax extensions in June after all — though the Governor really could declare any day he wants for a special election (it doesn’t have to happen on a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
January 8, 2013: Meeting recap
“And now it is my pleasure to announce that I have been elected President of the Board of Education.” It’s kind of strange to chair the annual Board elections and be a candidate at the same time, but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Recap: January 29, 2013
We don’t often hold a Board meeting on a 5th Tuesday, but after last week’s agenda-posting glitch, it was lucky there was still another Tuesday left in January for a do-over from January 22. And what...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gateway HS’ velvet rope
Another update: I am shutting down comments on this post as they are getting out of hand on all sides. Suffice it to say that some people are very angry at Gateway and some people are very angry with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gateway HS: Part Deux
So this morning I had a frank, productive and cordial talk with Gateway Public Schools Director Sharon Olken. I was again reminded how much I like Ms. Olken — I have in the past seen her as a “straight...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Catching up: Notes from the Nov. 12, 2013 meeting
I have been neglecting the blog — I am so sorry about that. In my defense, though there is a lot happening, there hasn’t been much actually decided in the last few meetings — most of the big...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From tonight’s meeting: English Learner achievement
At tonight’s meeting we heard a fascinating presentation of the results of the district’s research partnership with Stanford. Specifically, the partnership has looked at longitudinal data on English...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Preview: Sept 23 Board agenda, plus other updates
A few interesting items on the Board agenda for this Tuesday, September 23 are related to student assignment policy — they are worth spending a few hours on a weekend to blog them, so here goes. On...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pondering unintended consequences: a recap
Long meeting at the Board tonight, starting with: Five charter-school related items (Board voted 6-1 to pass material revisions to the KIPP HS and Gateway HS charters — Wynns dissenting; Board voted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Updates, updates
Lots of updates, in no particular order: Student assignment: At its December 8 meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee on Student Assignment will be working on the proposal to change the order of preferences in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Recap: Final meeting of 2015
We had a very packed agenda last night, with many substantive items and some good discussions. First up is a summary of actions: We recognized winners of the 2015 QTEA Innovation Awards — these are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Recap 1/26/16: Audit, Title VII and smoking prevention
Several business items of note in tonight’s meeting: First, the school district’s auditors presented the annual financial report for the year ending June 30 2015 — another clean audit with one finding...
View ArticleGrrr. SF charter school counsels out child with mild-moderate disabilities
I got an email today that is really setting me off. I am redacting identifying details to protect the family, and because I believe this happens all the time: in many ways the specific school doesn’t...
View Article
