This article was published at American Thinker. Kevin Finn is the author. It will take about 5 minutes to read. Teaching is an art as much as it may be a science. I liken it to conducting an orchestra. Just as the conductor leads his orchestra, the teacher guides his class. The conductor ensures that each musician is playing at the right tempo and volume, and the teacher ensures that each student is on task and contributing to the best of his abilities. Different conductors will lead their orchestras to perform the same piece of music in slightly different ways just as different teachers will teach the same subject in slightly different ways. Unlike orchestras, where each … [Read more...]
Washington State Average Class Size report
What’s the true size of classes across the state? Teachers say the class sizes are huge...often 25+. Data from reports filed with the state say they are often under 20 with 17-19 tending to be more normal. Claims that the class sizes are too large leads to hiring more teachers leading to more taxes. How about we get some facts? In today's article we explore data gathered by our data guru Jeff Heckathorn which can be seen at this website: Welcome to the School Data Project! | The School Data Project Here are some observations that can be seen in the report: http://www.schooldataproject.com/average_class_size Most small districts (e.g., South Whidbey, Republic, Onion Creek) have … [Read more...]
K-12 Education Washington State: Does more $$$ = higher test scores?
This article is going to be one of those that is complicated and full of data. There's simply no way around it. However, we'll summarize the data AND provide the spreadsheets and links so you can go look for yourself. The graphic chart to the left comes from an article from the Seattle Times titled "Washington’s 2018 state test scores still show large gaps between student groups". The title of the article is a hot link incase you want to read it. Please note that the Times makes it clear that Washington States "passing" score levels are lower than other areas of the United States...which means that the "passing" scores are even worse when compared to other states. What is the … [Read more...]
Evergreen /School District – Superintendent Steach’s Departure
Why did John Steach, Superintendent of the Evergreen School District depart? Did he resign or was he asked to leave? Did he go voluntarily or was there pressure and if so where from? Was it a joint judgment by Mr. Steach and the Board of Directors? How was his performance? What did is employment contract look like? What was his severance package? There was a press release that said nothing. The school board agreed to a severance package of just over $300,000. No one is talking. All records are sealed. So what (if anything) can we glean? We filed some Public Record Requests to see what the district would release. This blog article shares everything we could find and our speculation … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Woodland School District: “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Washougal School District: “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for La Center School District “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Ridgefield School District “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Battle School District “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Evergreen School District “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We've seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools...with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We've seen limits placed on local levy's with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for "enrichment" programs. We've seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special "capital levies" to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]