I Thought a Think

Rumormongering!

2009-11-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

Next year the state is going to furlough all teachers for 10 days out of their 180 day contract. They will not, however, shorten the school year--teachers will be asked instead to write sub plans for those days so that the kids still get their 1,000 hours of instruction.
I get quite a few rumours e-mailed my way, and I think this one is crap, but if it happens you heard it here first.

Mike Antonucci Channels the EFF

2009-11-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

I'm underwhelmed. To my way of thinking the contract is between the school district and the teacher's association, and if the public wants a seat at the table they should insist that their school board members show the hell up and advocate. I've got this nightmare about contract negotiations happening in the high school gymnasium so that everyone can see, and while that might be "open" it certainly wouldn't be effective.

The Pension Crisis: It's Coming, and It's Real.

2009-11-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is:

Democrats and Republicans took up partisan positions today at the Pension Funding Council. The dispute was over how much money the state can reasonably expect to earn on pension investments over the next 15 years.

State Actuary Matt Smith has said he thinks 7.5 percent is a better target, which requires more state contributions into the state-employee pension funds in the short term, and a less steep increase in 2013 and 2015.

But Democrats, and Gov. Chris Gregoire's budget director Victor Moore and Steve Hill of the Department of Retirement Systems all voted to stick with the 8 percent figure. Also voting in favor were Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, and Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton.

So not only are we looking at major cuts this year, but by 2011 school districts are going to be contributing more than double to the pension funds than they are now. Also in 2011, the stimulus funds run out. Maybe I'm being Chicken Little, but some of our legislators are living in denial.

The Washington Policy Center is Lying About Dow Constantine Lying About Class Sizes

2009-11-01T14:50:00.001-08:00

This doesn't even pass the sniff test:

In a new T.V. advertisement King County Executive candidate Dow Constantine attacks Washington Policy Center (WPC), claiming WPC’s Policy Guide for Washington State recommends increased class sizes.

Like other claims Constantine makes in the ad, this is false. On page 137, the Policy Guide says:
“Recommendation: Remove restrictive class size requirements and other legal restrictions to allow more flexibility and innovation in spending education dollars. Reducing class sizes has not resulted in improvements in student learning, as education advocates promised. Instead, policymakers should remove legal restrictions which micro-manage schools, and let local principals implement the kind of learning program that works best for their students.”
Washington Policy Center does not recommend increasing class sizes. The Policy Guide presents data showing teacher quality, not class size, is the primary driver of learning excellence for students: “Research consistently shows that placing an effective teacher in the classroom is more important than any other factor, including class size, in raising student academic achievement” (page 138).

"We're not saying to increase class size, we're just saying that maybe the money spent on class size reduction could be spent far better than it is now! Jeez, you people are so sensitive!"

Hey, what else does the WPC say about class size?

Despite increased spending and costly class size reductions, the “achievement gap” between white and minority students on the 4th and 8th grade NAEP reading and math tests from 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2007 has not decreased, but has actually increased.

"We're just saying that class size reductions are costly and ineffective, not to get rid of them!"

Remove restrictive class size requirements and other legal restrictions to allow more flexibility and innovation in spending education dollars. Reducing class sizes has not resulted in improvements in student learning, as education advocates promised. Instead, policymakers should remove legal restrictions which micro-manage schools, and let local principals implement the kind of learning program that works best for their students.

"See, here we're just saying to get rid of the class size requirements, not to actually raise class size!"

Then there's good ol' Liv Finne of the Washington Policy Center, who can always be found in any conversation about class size arguing the negative.

It's clear what the WPC thinks about class size policies. Stand up for your beliefs and be honest, folks, because the body of work speaks for itself. Saying that you're not in favor of increased class size, while at the same time arguing against policies that lower class size, is intellectually dishonest.

Everybody Loves Unions!

2009-11-01T14:46:00.001-08:00

Except most of the comments here.

You Know What We Need? Some Complaining About TV Washington.

2009-11-01T13:57:00.001-08:00

What's left of the Seattle PI has an article regarding the kerfuffle over Dow Constantine using some TV Washington photage in an attack ad against his opponent for King County Executive, Susan Hutchison. I lean toward agreeing with Goldy that this is clearly a case of fair use, and while TVW may not like it because of the impartiality they've striven to maintain, I don't think any of the blame can be laid at their feet for this.

My kvetches with TVW? #1 on the list is that I wish you could download video off their website for watching later. You can buy them from TVW at $25 a throw, but it would be a hell of a lot more convenient to have it sitting on ITunes waiting for me to watch it when I wanted to watch it. #2 is what I've mentioned before; I'd love to see TVW and Northwest Cable News both show up on my Dish Network channel listing.

That said, with the Quality Education Council on-air tomorrow, I'll be watching.

I'm not sure why this makes me laugh so hard....

2009-11-01T13:55:00.001-08:00

....but it does. The whole damn site is genius.

I Shall Purchase One of These Books. My Wife Shall Purchase the Other. The Cosmic Scales Shall Remain Balanced. 2012 Is Averted For Another Day.

2009-10-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

(via)

Maybe Not the Point They Were Trying to Make

2009-10-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

Over at Red County they've got a post up criticizing the Department of Revenue for their recent report showing that Washington has the 26th highest level of taxation in the nation. Their beef was with releasing the report during the height of the campaign around I-1033, but the take-home message I get from their research is that in the last 4 years the level of taxation has been 29th, 28th, 26th, and 37th.

Overtaxed? Maybe. But compared to the mean? Not so bad.

More here from the Washington Policy Center.

One Pill Makes You Larger; One Pill Makes You Small

2009-10-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

EIA Online on school district consolidation in Maine and Mississippi.

Let's Try GraphJam Again

2009-10-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

see more Funny Graphs

Jesus, People Suck

2009-10-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

The saddest, most amazing thing I've seen in a while: The Stomachs of Dead Albatrosses.

(via)

Gerald Bracey Remembered

2009-10-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

One of Washington's own and a dynamic public speaker, education advocate Gerald Bracey passed away last week. You can read eulogies here from Sherman Dorn, here from Mike Antonucci, and here from EduWonk.

David Brooks is Full of Crap

2009-10-27T00:18:00.000-07:00

Check this out, and understand that he's talking about DC:
Duncan even seems to have made some progress in persuading the unions that they can’t just stonewall, they have to get involved in the reform process. The American Federation of Teachers recently announced innovation grants for performance pay ideas. The New Haven school district has just completed a new teacher contract, with union support, that includes many of the best reform ideas.

There are still many places, like Washington, where the unions are dogmatically trying to keep bad teachers in the classrooms. But if implemented well, the New Haven contract could be a sign of perestroika even within the education establishment.
There is no teacher union that wants to keep bad teachers in the classroom. Hell, I've told my district and my members directly that I'm not here to protect bad teachers. What I am here to do is to make sure that the contract is followed, and far too often the administration makes that molehill into a mountain, because they'd rather not have to put in the work.

Where there's a will, there's a way, and the presence of bad teachers is a function of the failure of administrative will, not union dogma.

Poetry for Our Times

2009-10-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

IBM and UPS and other corporations
Have declared their recent earnings
And they beat the expectations.

And it's not because their products have been flying out the door.
It's because their payroll's down
Cuz no one works there anymore.

(via)

EYMAN TALKS IN ALL CAPS

2009-10-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

Seriously, sir, haven't you ever heard the internet convention against typing things in all capital letters, even it if is the title of the post? It looks absolutely terrible in my RSS feed.

More on the Jobless Recovery

2009-10-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

Nafzblog has a scary chart and some good thoughts on what the state should and could do, but given that there is no money and will never be any money ever again, ever, I really don't see the political will to expand unemployment insurnace and create more safety nets.

It'll be ever better next summer when thousands of laid-off teachers and paraprofessionals hit the job market.

Privatize the Prisons

2009-10-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Arizona is.

I Can't Wait to See the One From OSPI!

2009-10-25T12:36:00.001-07:00

Let the cleaving begin! It'll be as bloody as Saw VIIIIIIIXM, only worse.

The Decline and Fall of Washington Mutual

2009-10-25T11:38:00.001-07:00

This is fascinating reading.

As the Father of a Special Needs Child, This Scares Me

2009-10-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

The impact of I-1033 on county health budgets.

The people at the Spokane Regional Health District were invaluable during the first three years of my daughters life, after she was diagnosed with her profound deafness and we worked through all the other various diagnoses that came up along the way; the thought that parents might not have access to that is troubling.

More here from the Washington State Budget and Policy Center.

Chatter, Part 2

2009-10-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

Randy Dorn was over here in Spokane last week talking at First Presbyterian church. I wasn't able to attend--I teach, every now and again--but a friend who went said that Dorn talked directly about school district consolidation, mentioning specifically "little districts within larger districts", which makes one think of places like Griffin, Orchard Prairie, Great Northern, Benge, Damman, Onion Creek, Mount Pleasent, and College Place.

It's going to be a fun 60 days.

Chatter

2009-10-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Talked to a couple of principals on Friday who attended the AWSP conference down in Yakima last week. Apparently a couple of State Senators were there who said that they fully expect the budget deficit they have to deal with to roll right past $2 billion dollars and settle--maybe--at right around $2.25 billion.

So long, levy equalization.
Nice to have known you, K-4 class size enhancement.
Hey, full day kindergarten! We had a good coupla years, didn't we?
I-728? You've been mostly dead, so let's just make it official.

There is no hope.

Eek

2009-10-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

400+ banks on the "Problem" bank watchlist.

7 banks failed yesterday, bringing the total to 106 for the year.

The foreclosure crisis isn't really behind us yet, either.

And just wait until commercial real estate really gets going! By which I mean not going. Or going down.

Hang on to your hats, folks.

The Most Amazing Chart You'll See This Week

2009-10-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

Home foreclosures.

Dow 10,000 is cold comfort when put side-by-side with Unemployment 10%+.