Amanda’s Ripley’s The Smartest Kids in the World is a call for rigor and equity in K-12 education. Ripley follows U.S. exchange students as they visit schools in Finland, South Korea, and Poland — three countries whose students score significantly higher than U.S. students on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) test, especially in […]
Education
Betsy DeVos-style amendments to education bill, and Democrats supported it!
Summer Stinson posted on the facebook page Washington Paramount Duty the following (and gave me permission): ACTION ALERT: STOP Betsy DeVos policies in WA! In the dead of night, at 1:30 in the morning, the Senate Ways and Means Committee passed the bill proposing to address the school district levy lid issue, SB 5313. But […]
Americans don't really love their kids
Because they don’t pay childcare workers and teachers enough to guarantee good care and education for their kids.
Is K-12 education fully funded? Not so fast
In 2009 I voted against an “education reform” bill that, amidst devastating cuts, promised fully-funding K-12 education by 2018. As I asked then, how could we expect future Legislatures to possess the courage of our convictions if even we didn’t possess that courage? The 2009 bill’s promise was to avoid litigation, now known as the […]
Senator Reuven Carlyle explains why he voted against the McCleary deal: the entire burden is placed on the middle class
Video: Sen. Carlyle’s McCleary Floor Speech (Excerpts) 70% of low income people in King County are going to see a tax increase. There is a perception that this is about taxing rich folk in the big cities [but it’s not so]. There is not one business in this state that does not win in terms […]
Refusal to re-balance taxes hinders schoolkids
It’s day 23 of a second special session in Olympia, since legislators couldn’t agree to a state budget before the end of the regular session. Now they have only 16 days left until the new two-year fiscal term. It will be hard to start that without a budget! The cause for delay is a disagreement […]
Ten Reasons Parents & Teachers Should Oppose the Republican School Plan
On January 27 2017, Washington State Republicans released their Education Funding Plan which they claim will comply with the Washington Supreme Court McCleary Decision requiring the legislature to comply with our State Constitution by fully fund our public schools. While Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal has commended the plan, in this article, […]
Teacher pay is lower than you think
Source: the Sept 10, 2015 article Pay varies widely for Washington state teachers
Answers to the Supreme Court McCleary Questions
On July 14, 2016, the Washington Supreme Court ordered the State to appear before it on September 7 2016 to provide specific answers to 8 questions the Supreme Court raised in their Order regarding how and when the legislature will comply with our State Constitution Paramount Duty to fully fund our schools. In this article, […]
Decoding the Fake Five Billion Increase in School Funding in Washington State
Many in the Washington legislature claim they increased school funding by nearly $5 billion in the past 4 years. If our schools have $5 billion more than they had 4 years ago, then why do our schools have one thousand fewer teachers than we had 4 years ago? In their June 17 2016 court filing, […]