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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Just heard that the legislature is considering a couple of bills that would change the way funds are allotted to schools throughout Washington. Previously, I hadn’t heard a peep about this. Don’t yet know enough to comment on the specifics of the bills but,I have been aware for a long time that the old system was deeply flawed. (For example, despite Bellevue School District having the money to pass additional local levies to support our schools, we were actually unable to do so because the money would need to be shared across the state.) So, I’m inclined to hope that these bills will be for the good. At least that is what Janet Suppes of the Bellevue School District PTSA says.

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Bellevue School District's Lilia Kol

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Every year, about this time, I am asked “What is the best way to help my kid get a good score on the SAT?” If your child is already a junior or senior, the unequivocal answer is “Get her into the Tutoring Club for our Prep class!”. If your child is younger, then the answer is much more complicated but also presents more opportunity. Following are some of the techniques that are most useful:

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Interesting article in the Times with direct repercussions for every student in Bellevue School District. Apparently, new Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn’s plan to replace the WASL to make it shorter, easier to score and more “diagnostic” is controversial (don’t you wish that something, anything in education could just make sense and be simple?).

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Recently we’ve been asked many questions about the DIBELS test that Bellevue School District has adopted. The majority of the questions are parents looking for answers as to why their kids tested so much lower than the parents expected or than the children are comfortably reading at home. Any time a new test is introduced, it takes some time to adjust expectations and interpretations. Seemingly, this is such a time. After doing some research – talking to some teachers, reading up about the format and objectives of the test and listening to opponents of the test – reasonable explanations for the discrepancies seem to exist, in many circumstances, and parents need to know that DIBELS is simply one voice, not THE only voice.

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