Posted Wed, Jan 18, 9:18 a.m.

The Finnish system of Polytechnic (vocational, engineering, professional) and University (academic, medical, legal) would make sense and work for us here. The trades presented as a booby prize is insulting and using ed dollars to lead kids to low-paid work is misguided. We should blur the line between high school ...

Posted Sat, Nov 26, 11:31 a.m.

I'm interested in knowing who Woofer is, so Woofer if you would kindly shoot me an email, I'd like to interview you about public education as I have a Crosscut comment of yours from awhile back that indicates to me that you are knowledgeable about this issue. Thanks. katemartin@comcast.net

Posted Tue, Jul 12, 11:45 a.m.

“Most states are closing their gaps. Ours are widening.” This is actually not true. States are pretending to make progress, but aren't actually doing so. Race to the Top has become Erase to the top / Race to the bank. RTTT isn't working and was VERY poorly conceived. This is ...

Posted Mon, Jun 20, 9:43 a.m.

Dick, the achievement gap is no mystery. I think the work of Richard Rothstein at the Economic Policy Institute, Rob Evans and a rising tide of others has illuminated what it is and how to approach it. We're not acknowledging that or incorporating any of the prescriptive concepts here. http://www.theseattlejournal.com/2011/03/01/reframing-the-achievement-gap/ ...

Posted Thu, Mar 3, 6:29 p.m.

The board is not kept in the dark, David. They choose to be in the dark. People like Sherry Carr, Peter Meier and Steve Sundquist were elected by obscene amounts of money from outside this city. They ALWAYS vote the Broad Academy "strategic plan" block. That's why those people made ...

Posted Thu, Mar 3, 4:49 p.m.

I've been following the school district for 5 years seriously and another 10 before that. I've also been following City of Seattle issues for about 15 years. My kids are just finishing up. I respect David Miller, but I do not find the solutions in his writings. I don't think ...

Posted Mon, Feb 21, 4:24 p.m.

I support the idea of a Families and Education Levy, but I do not support the renewal of this levy as it is currently described. The levy continues to float some boats, but not all boats. I simply do not agree that some schools get to have F&E; Levy programs ...

Posted Fri, Oct 29, 2:48 p.m.

For my family, we pay over $600 / month for health insurance that isn't nearly as good as the choices or coverage the City of Seattle employees have. They pay about 10% to 20% of what I pay. We the taxpayers pay the rest. 11,000 employees x $500 / month ...

Posted Fri, May 14, 8:39 a.m.

Here's a concern I have, John. The addiction to growth that the leaders of Seattle have in order to bring revenue to their coffers is already extraordinary. Sometimes it seems like the density argument is a thin veil for money hungry cities who care less about people, environment & livability ...

Posted Sun, Jan 25, 2:22 p.m.

There's some good stuff there, Dick, like Wilson Pacific. I proposed a community school on that site which I called "Licton Springs K-8) 2 years ago and again a year ago. There's a lot of density around there and there will be more to come. A lot of diversity as ...

Posted Wed, Jan 7, 1:26 p.m.

Forget the biannual closures debacle. Data says school closures build consolidated districts with obese ineffective bureaucracies that don't save money. Ever. Anywhere. And closures widen the achievement gap. Closing schools because the district mismanages them and then selling school properties that we already own publicly to private enterprises for pennies ...