Some readers may think we bash school districts and Board Directors with little to say that's positive. It may seem like that at times given the apparent failure to accept input from the public. However...today we side with school districts in a specific area...the unfunded costs of mandates in several areas. The Washington State legislature, in its zeal to satisfy the State Supreme Court's McCleary ruling, decided that school districts needed to do two (2) things: Change Kindergarten from a choice of 1/2 or full day to Full Day Decrease the size of classes in the K-3 grades On the surface those may seem innocuous. However, like most things, the devil's in the detail and … [Read more...]
Hiding information from the public? Updated September 1st
Earlier this year we received an email from a concerned citizen alerting us to a survey the Battle Ground School District conducted of personnel. We were told that there is a lot of unrest among the employees of the district. We were urged to obtain a copy of the final report. So...we started the process. First, we contacted Administration and were told that there was a survey done but that the results are normally kept private and not shared with the public (even though public time and money is used to conduct and analyze it). We waited until after school was out and began our public request process. It drug out for over a month until we were told that the results were still in draft … [Read more...]
Student Population Changes 2010/11 to 2015/16 in SWW School Districts
Battle Ground recently had a measure (Prop 1) on the November 2016 ballot, asking for voter approval of the first of three (3) $80 million capital bonds to repair existing schools as well as to build at least one new grammar/middle school. The basis of their request was the current overcrowding of schools AND the projected growth in the number of students due to new apartment and housing construction. The bond measure failed to reach the required 60% approval. Ridgefield is going to have a capital bond on the ballot in the Spring of 2017. They are also saying the student population growth is going to require new facilities. The Vancouver SD has announced it will put a $480mm bond in the … [Read more...]
What is your position on School Choice and establishing Vocational Training? Is this Important to you?
A local resident emailed Erin Jones and Chris Reykdal (candidates for Washington State Superintendent of Schools in 2016) and asked several questions. Following is the original email and, to date, the response from both candidates in the order he received them. They said their responses could be shared. Original Email to the Candidates My wife and I are Washington State voters. We were reading the Voter's Pamphlet and did not see where you stand on school choice or providing vocational training for students.We believe that parents and taxpayers, especially for those in inner cities or where there are under-performing schools, the ability of the government to provide school … [Read more...]
GOP Wants Constitutional Amendment to Give Parents Control Over Kids’ Education
From an article at Reason.com - author is Alex Thomas Editors note: While we try to keep politics away from education we can't deny there are differences between the various political parties. In this article we see that the Republican Platform adopted for the 2016 election contains something we, at SWWEducation.org, believe is critical - returning control of education to the local level. Please read on.... It will come as no surprise that Republicans favor giving parents more control over their children's education. But this year, the party took things to a new level by calling for a constitutional amendment to make sure they get their way. The proposal comes from … [Read more...]
Colorado School District to Begin Distribution of Satanic Materials to Children
From an article at Breitbart .... After coming under fire from atheist groups for the distribution of free Bibles, the Delta County School District (DCSD) has approved the circulation of atheistic, secular and Satanic literature to middle and high school students. Several atheist organizations, including The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers (WCAF) and the Satanic Temple, applied to distribute their literature as a challenge to the school district’s “open forum” policy that allows any group to distribute non-curricular literature to students, as long as it conforms to policy guidelines. Kurt Clay, the Assistant Superintendent of the … [Read more...]
Battle Ground will close Summit View Middle School
From an article in the Columbian - Summitview Middle School will close at the end of the 2016/2017 school year By Susan Parrish, Columbian Education Reporter Published: January 25, 2016, 6:01 AM Battle Ground Public Schools is discontinuing its alternative middle school at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Summit View Middle School currently serves 26 seventh- and eighth-grade students. Next school year, the school’s only students will be the 13 eighth-graders who are currently Summit View seventh-graders. The school will have one full-time teacher instead of two. “There’s been a transition in the district since the creation of the program,” said Assistant … [Read more...]
Time for Local Control of Education
Repost from Lifeandliberty76.com > > > > Tell any American that we should have a National Religion and watch the sparks fly. Americans have an instinctive – and healthy – aversion to the notion that there should ever be a national religion. It has been drilled into our heads from an early age that the U.S. Constitution established healthy boundaries and limits for the federal government regarding religion. Boundaries and limits are a necessary component to build and maintain any healthy relationship. Should the relationship between the federal government and our children’s education be any different? The Constitution imposes boundaries and limits on the federal … [Read more...]
Stotsky: Local School Districts Should Eliminate Common Core, Adopt Stronger Standards
May 30, 2014 | Shane Vander Hart Dr. Sandra Stotsky wrote an article at Breitbart that was blocked at Facebook for some strange reason. I wanted to highlight it here. She contends that local school boards need to take matters into their own hands and not depend on their states doing the right thing. Below are the steps she believes boards should take: Here are possible steps for local school boards to take, depending on what the legislature has passed: 1. Local school boards vote to eliminate Common Core’s standards in their school district. This is as far as Oklahoma needs to go. In other states, parents and others may need to petition their local school boards to do this. 2. … [Read more...]
Welcome to SWW Education
A group of us have gotten together to keep an eye on education in SW Washington...thus our name. Collectively we are conservative but seek to provide a balanced view of information. We also believe that we need to take control of education back from the left. We've been remiss in allowing collectivism, progressivism and left leaning people to indoctrinate and control our children and in so doing control the future of the nation. Stop by and read our postings but please...please...share your thoughts with us. We are all volunteers and do this to help our children, grandchildren and America. … [Read more...]