After last weeks blow-up with the school board, we got a little curious about how parents can best bring things to the attention of the board for action. The following is the conclusions of one of my teachers who looked into the issue:

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Wow! For those of you not on the mailing list, the e-mails are flying fast and furious with parents concerned about math education on one side and the district on the other. Per my previous post, a group of parents went to present a letter asking Bellevue School District to halt their evaluation of a new math curriculum for the high school level until the state had finished it’s own evaluation. They were apparently asked to not read the letter as the members of the board were already acquainted with it. Well, that lit the fuse! Since then the Bellevue Reporter has been contacted, people are quoting chapter and verse of state code and Amelia Cudeiro, the new superintendent, who doesn’t even start until July 1st, has weighed in on the process.

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The following letter was presented to the Bellevue School District Board today. As much as I would love to see the hind side of the current curriculum, I have to agree that with the state doing such a major review of curricula, and with the poor performance of many, it seems a touch premature. i believe that once the state decides on it’s “recommended” list, districts have to use them or will not get state money for books. What a dang shame it would be if Bellevue did their selection, purchased one year’s worth of books then found out that the state wouldn’t help purchase the succeeding years..

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Received an important e-mail I received from Where’s the Math this morning with a crucial message regarding SB5414. Whether you are in favor of this bill or not, I would certainly hope that you will mail your legislators your opinion AND let them know that IF this is passed, it should be passed with ONLY provisions for authentic Algebra and Geometry, not waste money creating a second test aligned to the integrated math that has done such a disservice to our kids.

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As I mentioned in my article about Sammamish and Interlake Highs, two Bellevue School District schools, Sammamish is a VERY active and caring school. One of their most worthwhile activities is The Walk For Aiden with which they hope to help save the life of the son of one of their teachers. How’s THAT for a goal!!! I hope that you all will find some way to help them achieve just that! The following is their press release…
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Money for Bellevue School District students

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For me, who sees so many students from both Interlake High and Sammamish High and gets asked about this by junior high student parents regularly, deciding between the two schools is much more than a simple rhetorical question. There are the obvious differences but there are also some subtle differences that make choosing between the two kind of like choosing between chocolate and vanilla.

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