From DRS...

From WEA...

Wow! When was the last time you recall getting a pleasant surprise out of Washington D.C.? Earlier today, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he will allow flexibility to delay the high-stakes testing consequences for up to two years. We think this is good news, but as many of us know, the devil is in the details. We are working to find out what those details are and will keep you posted as we learn more.

At first blush, we read this as meaning high school students' results on the SBAC won't affect graduation, but we still have state end-of-course exams in place. According to the state Superintendent of Public Instruction's Office, this doesn't affect the Adequate Yearly Progress letters being sent out now, but we will investigate more about if or how this policy change relates to our teacher evaluation program and ESEA waiver loss. Tomorrow, WEA President Kim Mead will be sending more information about those "AYP" failing schools letters along with information about how to talk with parents about them.

Stay tuned.

Many of our schools will required to send out letters informing parents that the school is failing according to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). In response, the Snoqualmie Valley School District has signed on to an accompanying letter that describes the many problems with NCLB and reassures parents that our schools are not failing.

From KOMO News...

Nearly every school in Washington is failing, at least according to the No Child Left Behind federal proficiency standards.
 
Soon, parents will be receiving letters from those school districts explaining the failing marks. With it they'll also get a letter signed by 28 state superintendents who insist the standards and failure label are antiquated, punitive and wrong.

Superintendents and some parents insist the testing standards don't account for other student and school achievement.

"We have kids that are succeeding and being labeled as failure it's very unfortunate and I don't think it's fair," said Patty Phavong, a parent with four students currently in the Tukwila School District.

The Superintendent says every school in the Tukwila district is considered a failure -- including Phavong's daughter's middle school.

"We're not actually failures because we are working our best to do what we need to do at school," said Sudee Phavong, a sixth grader at one of Tukwila's middle schools.

During a Wednesday news conference, John Welch, Superintendent of Puget Sound Educational Services District, said a school is labeled "failing" under the No Child Left Behind Act, if 100 percent of its students do not meet proficiency requirements in reading and math.

"Even if one student isn't proficient, that school is a failing school," Welch said. "We think that is absolutely the wrong message to send parents."

There has been a change in procedures this year.

If you would like to have the WEA pocket calendar for the 2014-2015 school year please go to this WEA site and order yours today: http://action.washingtonea.org/signup_page/pocketcalendar

Also if you need to update your WEA membership information please go to this WEA site and enter your changes/corrections: http://www.washingtonea.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=98