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Here are some interesting articles District Deeds received and discovered during the past week…

ENJOY! 

Never Thought Gifted and Talented Kids Could Be At-Risk Too, Until My Son Said He Wanted to Drop Out of School

 

Quote from Article:

It’s almost the end of the summer and I realize that the professional development I have been in has been pretty fantastic, and pretty awful. I spent a good amount of time discussing about how we teachers can perfect our craft reaching at-risk students—a great goal. The difficulty is that defining an at-risk student can be hard.

We talked a lot about “those in poverty, those with gender issues, those with disabilities, and diverse students who struggle to have a voice and be accepted.” This makes sense. Yet not once this summer did I hear gifted and talented students mentioned as being at risk. Not once.

On some level, I get it. It took me 19 years to fully understand that I had a gifted student in my own house that was at risk. But at 1:30 a.m., my son admitted he wanted to drop out of school.

District Deeds Synopsis:

This article points our the significant and unique levels of support required to truly meet the needs of gifted Students…many that are easy to miss.

Unfortunately virtually every point emphasized in the article is not even addressed within the current configuration of the Marten administration support for GATE Students

The decline of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Gifted and Talented Education Program (GATE) has been one of the biggest examples,and tragedies, of the failure of the Supt. Cindy Marten administration.

Being the parent of two GATE Students, we witnessed the decline of GATE under Marten first hand over the last 4 years.

As typical with Marten and Trustees Barrera, Beiser, Evans, McQuary and Payne, GATE has suffered under lots of lies and phony promises and very little delivery.

Just a few years ago, prior to the Marten regime, the SDUSD GATE program was vibrant and lauded nationally as a model for the brightest of students.  The GATE program had a dedicated Manager, a staff and close to a $1 million budget to carry out a defined plan for all gifted students in every cluster.

Now, in the Marten era, the SDUSD GATE program is a shell of what it used to be and an afterthought, with virtually no staff and no budget.

What a waste.

Guerrilla Educators Taking Over the Urban Classroom

Quote from Article:

“In Milwaukee, the fourth-poorest city in America, educators have launched a “guerrilla classroom” initiative that transforms urban locations into impromptu classrooms for parents and children. Across Milwaukee, playgrounds, bus stops and parks now feature interactive displays and game-like learning environments that encourage interactions between parents and children and teach real-world applications of classroom subjects. It’s all part of a pro bono marketing effort by marketing agency Cramer-Krasselt, Milwaukee Public Schools and COA Youth & Family Centers to raise awareness about the positive impact of involving parents in the education process. If successful, it’s easy to see how similar groups of determined “guerrilla educators” could extend this approach to other cities.”

District Deeds Synopsis:

An amazing program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a city with far less marketing savvy than San Diego, and much less of a budget than SDUSD, that engages, inspires and educates parents, students and families in an innovative way.

How refreshing to see a school district with not only the capacity to think outside of the box but also really collaborate with its Stakeholders.

Attending college in Milwaukee, District Deeds saw many of the challenges described in the article and is proud of the outstanding effort by the educators and community in making this happen.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had that type of leadership, collaboration and trust with the SDUSD?

Definitely worth reading.

When Charter Schools Open, Neighboring Schools Get Better: A New Study Finds 7 Reasons Why

Quote from Article:

“Few education policy battles have burned as hot as debate over the practice of requiring traditional public schools to share under-used space with charter schools. Co-location, as the practice is called, is often cited as damaging to students in mainline district schools.

But groundbreaking new research from Temple University assistant professor Sarah Cordes finds that at least in New York City, the arrival of a charter school has a positive effect on students in the traditional school already located in the building.

The first peer-reviewed research released on co-location, the study looked at nearly 900,000 students in grades 3–5 who attended a traditional public school in an attendance zone that included a charter school serving at least one of those grades between 1996 and 2010. Many of the schools studied shared a building with a charter school, something that’s common in cities where real estate is at a premium.”

District Deeds Synopsis:

First of all we need to state that “the74” is a notoriously pro-charter, pro-education “reform” organization.  We still felt the need to share their commentary on a Temple University study that many of our readers may not have reviewed.

There has been a lot of complaints by school sites in the SDUSD about co-location of a Charter School on district campuses.  There has also been claims of Charter Schools “dumping” difficult students back on SDUSD schools.

This article debunks those claims and, although it is about New York City, many of the “7 Reasons” are being borne out of the rapid exodus of SDUSD Students to Charters because of the continued mismanagement and blunders of the Marten Administration.

From our perspective, it is obvious that Marten and her “White Woman Mafia” have decided to step up their game since Charters have been taking thousands of Students and Families away every year.

“Marketing” of schools has become a standard SDUSD propaganda catch phrase with rookie Principals and only amateurish “bait and switch” tactics to show for it.

The ironic part of the “7 Reasons” is that IF this study is accurate, the SDUSD under Marten is actually BENEFITTING by the co-location and the rapid growth in Charter enrollment!

Marten and her “White Woman Mafia” must be pleased.

That leads us to our Quote of the Week…from another individual who believed in retribution as much as Marten:

 

“Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”

Michael Corleone – “The Godfather”

 

Have a Great Week!!!

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NOTE TO ALL SCHOOL SITE STAKEHOLDERS BEING FORCED TO REPLACE THEIR PRINCIPAL IN THE  2017/18 SCHOOL YEAR:

District Deeds Recommends the following past blog posts exposing the fake SDUSD Principal Selection Process:

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IF

  • Your family has been injured by the San Diego Unified School District, go to the District Deeds Complaint Forms page to find instructions to fight for your Civil Rights!
  • YOU ARE TIRED OF THE COVER UPS AND LIES BY SUPT. CINDY MARTEN… 

Please Click the Link Below and sign the Petition Today and READ the COMMENTS to Support the REMOVAL of Marten by SDUSD Stakeholders! 

FIRE San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten Immediately!

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