Vote Yes On The Bond-- For The Right Reasons

Soon we will all be receiving ballots in the mail to vote on the new bond requested by the Hillsboro School District.  I will be voting yes on this bond, although I didn't sign the statement in the voter pamphlet.  This is because I disagree with several elements of the "conventional" pro-bond reasoning, and didn't feel the printed statement accurately reflected my views.

First of all, my reasoning does not involve the claim that it's "for technology and public safety". I'm very tired of the gimmick played by government bodies at all levels, where they withhold funding from something that's politically popular, and then announce that they need more taxes to fund these critical items. The bond funds will amount to a tiny portion of our district's annual budget, which means we could have moved funding from numerous other things into at least a partial funding of these technology and safety goals. Perhaps adding terms to the bond for "staff raises, district website upgrades, and diversity consultants" would have made it sound less compelling? We should recognize the bond for what it is, a request for a supplement to the district's general fund, and judge it on that basis.

 My Yes vote also is not because of the commonly-heard sentiment that "we've been cutting the budget forever, and our schools are being starved for funds". As you can see at this link, overall inflation-adjusted, per-capita Oregon school spending has been increasing without bound for half a century, and any occasional cuts are just a minor blip in that overall trend. Don't let all the public hand-wringing about cuts convince you otherwise.

We also need to recognize that the money in the bond isn't magically created from nothing-- it is real money taken from the working people of our district, during very challenging financial times for our families. To quote a school board member facing a similar issue in another district (Dan Christensen of Gresham), "make no mistake, for many families and businesses... property tax rates will indeed be a sacrifice. While saying, ‘it’s-only-a-latte-a-day’ makes for a catchy talking point, it’s not so trivial to the barista who depends on all those daily latte’s for job and livelihood... Passage of the bond will result in the obvious economic benefit... What will be less visible, but just as deeply impacting, are the thousands of decisions to forego pizza night, that morning latte, the extra birthday or Christmas gift and the far-reaching ripple effect of those decisions on local businesses. "   This kind of effect on the economy will come to impact local children, and we must not forget that this is what we are offsetting against the needs to improve our schools.


So... this being said, why do I think we should support this bond for the Hillsboro schools? I find two key arguments compelling:

1. HSD is being squeezed by the utter failure of our state government to effectively rein in PERS, resulting in effective undeserved cuts to available classroom funds. More and more of our money is used to fulfill impractical and overly generous promises to retirees. Plenty has been written on this topic elsewhere, so I don't think I need to go into too much detail here. But just remember as you vote yes on the bond, that if you don't want to be passing new bonds like this every year, you must also send a clear message to our state government at next year's election that this situation cannot continue. We need to end this pattern to support the long-term economic health of Hillsboro's families and our schools.


 2. HSD is taking real action to make better use of its public funds, to provide increasing educational effectiveness while reducing costs. A key example here is the Hillsboro Online Academy (http://hillonlineacademy.org/), the first public non-charter online academy in Oregon. Experience in many districts has shown that, while online education is not for everyone, the students who it does serve can be educated in a much more cost-effective manner without sacrificing quality. As we increase the availability of this option to more children in HSD, we have a real shot at reining in costs in an innovative and exciting way.

Before you vote on the bond measure, whatever position you decide on, please be sure to think carefully about the reasons. In the end, I will be voting Yes for the bond, and invite you to join me.
 

Blogging Too Much

Recently I was asked the question, "Why are you blogging so much?   Since you're new on the board, shouldn't you be in a listening rather than a talking mode?"   I believe this question stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the point of my blog.

First of all, don't confuse my behavior when blogging with my behavior in the board meetings.     I'll be the first to agree that I have plenty to learn about the school district and the board-- and if you attend one of the meetings (or watch the online videos) , you'll see that I spend the vast majority of each meeting listening rather than talking.    

On the other hand, when blogging after each meeting, I try to communicate as much as possible on the key points covered and my thoughts about them.   As your elected representative on the board, I'm trying to be as open as possible about these topics:   it's what I promised during my campaign, and I believe it's an important opportunity for the people of Hillsboro.   It's also a two-way method of communication:  any member of the community can post followup questions in the comment field, or send me an email.     I' ve received enough positive feedback about my blog to believe that there are a decent number of you out there who appreciate this service.    

Most importantly, the open communication fostered in my blog has already shown results.   You may recall that back in August, I published some info about a discussion on Dual Language programs  that came up in our meeting, and the fact that parents could always choose to opt out.   It turns out that due to poor communication at the school level, some parents thought they did not have this option, and contacted me about it.     I was then able to work with Superintendent Scott to get a clear opt-out policy posted on the HSD website, as discussed in this followup post. 

So, please continue following this blog, and contact me if any issue I mention here touches on your family.

Common Core, Charter Schools, and Other 10/1 Highlights

This week's board meeting was a little livelier than the last few-- we actually had protestors holding up signs in the audience.   They were there due to concerns about Common Core, the new set of education standards being rolled out nationwide.    You can read more about the discussion, and the incident where one of the protestors yelled out to the board, at the article in this week's Argus.    I don't think the protestor was justified in the rude outburst accusing our assistant superintendent, Steve Larson, of a "Lie", though our staff might do a better job of preparing to answer questions during presentations on this controversial topic.    One issue that consistently bothers me about public CC discussions by its sponsors is that they treat the other side as a bunch of mentally unstable kooks (not helped by outbursts during a meeting!), instead of trying to understand the details of some very real concerns.    On the other hand, protesting it is somewhat futile at this level anyway, as it's been imposed on us by the state of Oregon.  

During the discussion, I brought up some issues related to my concerns about CC (you can review this blog entry  for more).    I asked Steve if it was correct to label Common Core an unfunded mandate from the state, and he insisted that it wasn't, because the district periodically revises the curriculum anyway.    But I remain skeptical of this point:  is it really the case that statewide, not one more cent is spent on curriculum materials or teacher training due to the major changes made in CC?    And without CC, would it really be the case that, for example, Algebra has changed so radically in the last ten years that totally new materials & training would be needed?   My other big question was on how we will do apples-to-apples comparisons between last year's students & those 4 years from now to prove CC isn't dumbing down the curriculum.    He had a better answer here, that the ACT would be a constant yardstick we could use.    We need to watch this carefully though-- will there be moves to modify the ACT to sync with Common Core?

Other highlights of the Tuesday meeting included a joint session with the Hillsboro City Council.   It was mostly a touchy-feely get-together with barely any real agenda.    A joint School Board / City Council meeting seemed a bit redundant to me, as the school district has the council pretty well-infiltrated:   members include Tobias Elementary principal Steve Callaway, Hillsboro Schools Foundation director Aron Carleson, and HilHi assistant principal Olga Acuna.   (I actually have mixed feelings about employees of one body of government being so involved in managing another body of governement... but that's another discussion.)    We divided into pairs to discuss ideas for ways the schools and city could better collaborate, pretty much coming up with what you would expect:  joint projects in areas the city sponsors like arts and recreation, internships with city utilities, etc.    The reservoir project, where the city turned new reservoir work into an engineering class for kids as well, was a great example of the schools and city collaborating.    Being a believer in minimal government (==> each government level should concentrate on what it's designed to do, rather than looking for grand initiatives), I think my other favorite suggestion from the list was giving priority to repaving sidewalks near elementary schools with lots of walkers.

Then, finally, there was yet another contentious debate on charter schools.   I won't bother rehashing too much here, since you've seen most of it in my blog before, and there was a nice article in the Argus that covered the major points.   I was most amused by the fact that the first 10 minutes were spent bashing me for saying Hillsboro was historically hostile to charters (finally I backed down and said maybe I was wrong, since this wasn't the point of the discussion), then three of the longer-serving board members spent the next half hour on harangues about charters being a "horrible idea", insulting to our staff members, and un-American.   Hmmm, maybe there is a little hostility there?    But the good news is that the debate showed that the other four members of our board are not hostile to charter schools, and we will be looking into improving our district website to make the charter application process clearer.    My resolution to call explicitly for more charters was tabled for now, but I think just having the public discussion accomplished a good portion of what I wanted anyway, to spread the message that now is a good time for potential charters to apply. 

Class Size, and Other 9/24 Highlights

As you have probably seen in the local papers, there was a lot of discussion about class size at the last board meeting. This is especially a concern at very young ages-- is it really good for a kindergardener to be part of a class of 31 students? Naturally there is no need to belabor the fact here that we could reduce class size with more money. But here a few key points worth keeping in mind when discussing this issue:

• Superintendent Scott reported that he used to hold 10 teachers in reserve, to use to split up crowded classes due to unexpectedly high enrollment at one school, but due to recent budget cuts can't do this anymore.
• A parent rightfully brought up the point that maybe we should shift our budget priorities-- are the 3 days we bought back with the Gain Share donation really more valuable than smaller kindergardens? Sure, that money would not reduce district-wide average class size by much, but it could have paid for the 10 spare teachers mentioned above.   
• I'll also have to look very hard at similar tradeoffs, as I go through the budget process this year as a board member for the first time. I'm a bit worried that we're spending on popular fads while ignoring the basics. Investments in "STEM schools" are nice-- but would we rather have classes of 35 learning science from fancy technology, or 25 students catching butterflies with old-fashioned nets?
• One other bright spot in this area is HSD's Hillsboro Online Academy.   Many other districts have reported that in an online setting, teachers can comfortably handle significantly more students, since they are freed from the stresses of classroom management.    I'm hoping that we can expand HOA opportunities to more of the district, including letting more students in other schools take some HOA classes, and thus help to relieve class size pressures district-wide.   I've volunteered for the board subcommittee overseeing HOA, and will post updates here as I learn more.
• I didn't want to rathole the conversation by repeating the last meeting's charter school debate-- but if you review my blog entry from last time you'll see that under our current regulatory structure, charter schools are able to offer class sizes capped at 24, which Superintendent Scott said is impossible for non-charters. Isn't this yet another reason why we should be demanded more charter schools in HSD?

Aside from the class size discussion, some other highlights of the meeting included:

• We're being recorded now on video!  As I've mentioned, I like this for several reasons. It's a full public record of the meeting, rather than just the terse minutes we've seen in the past. And it frees the spectators to view it at their leisure, rather than having to sit for several hours on a busy weekday evening.   
• Curriculum Committee appointments were ratified. I'm especially excited to see two great new members join who I'm personally acquainted with: my Intel colleague Cameron Wilde, and "Stop Common Core" activist Jennifer Gallegos. I'm hoping we'll see this committee take a more active and skeptical role moving forward.
• New drafts of numerous policies were presented, basically suggestions by the OSBA to improve compliance with current laws. I'm reviewing these & sending in questions; if you have interest in legal minutiae, you can also see them in the board packet (http://www.hsd.k12.or.us/Portals/0/District/Board/Boardpacket/2012-2013/Board%20Packet%2009-24-13%20-%20rev.pdf).

That's it for this meeting. As always, be sure to comment on this blog or email me (erik@erikseligman.com) if you have comments or questions on the items above or on HSD in general.

Who We Represent, and other 9/10 Highlights

It was mostly a routine meeting this week; we discussed some business matters, such as approving the new union contracts, and the staff presented on the various measurements they are planning to judge success according to the strategic plan    I also discussed my efforts between meetings to follow up on the Dual-Language opt-out issue; in addition to reiterating the points I have already mentioned here, I pointed out that many parents have reported negative interactons with school staff on this matter.   When the district's current decisions aren't working well for their child, parents should never have to feel afraid or guilty about asking for something different to be done.   We need to make sure the staff treat all parent concerns with respect, especially at the stressful times when their child is having problems in school.


The most interesting part of the meeting was the beginning of a discussion on charter schools, triggered by my suggestion that we consider a resolution to inform the community that Hillsboro is no longer hostile to the concept, and we want charter schools to apply to open in our district.    The discussion was mostly a rehash of things I have already mentioned in this blog.   There were three main anti-charter arguments that came up, none of which seems to me to hold much weight:

• "I support public education.   Why don't you?"   This is a classic strawman argument-- supporting public education is perfectly consistent with supporting charter schools.   The defining characterstic of public education is that any child can attend, regardless of wealth or social class, and that is just as true of charters as of traditional schools.
• "Charters like City View have an unfair advantage due to small class size."    This argument seems kind of odd to me: class size, like most other aspects of a school, is a result of how it manages its resources within its budget.   So maybe other schools have something to learn from City View.   Supertintendent Scott fairly pointed out that charters are subject to fewer regulations than the traditional schools, so there is no way he could manage the other school budgets to allow such a small class size.   But this just makes my larger point-- if in the current regulatory environment, charters can offer significantly smaller class size, and we think small class size is a good thing, shouldn't we be demanding more charters?
• "No real business would hand over customers to its competitors, so why should we?"   I guess this is true on some level-- if a real business was able to get legislators to grant it a geographical monopoly, it probably would like to keep it.   But the reason businesses in our nation have been so successful and productive is that customers are free to choose which ones they want to patronize.      Amusingly, fellow board member Glenn Miller came up with an answer to this argument on its own terms:  "Haven't you seen those Progressive insurance commercials?"

Reflecting on this discussion after the meeting, though, I realize there was one major point I failed to make.   Often in this conversation, board members used the pronoun "we" when discussing the current traditional schools and district structure.   But were we elected to represent particular current institutions, or the children of the district?   As board members, out of necessity, the majority of our energy is spent overseeing the operations of the traditional schools.   But  I believe we are there to represent the people of the district-- the customers-- not the current institutions.   

Our goal should always be that every child's needs be properly fulfilled, whether or not it's by some employee directly reporting under Superintendent Scott.     We should be strictly neutral with regards to whether a child we are representing gets educated through a traditional school, a charter school, a homeschool, or even through a transfer to another district-- as long as the child's family has had the opportunity to make an informed choice.   When we on the board think of ourselves as representing a particular institution, rather than the children, we are doing a disservice to the people of Hillsboro.

Opting Out of Dual-Language: Clarifications

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I had heard some parent concerns about children being forced into bilingual programs, but the district staff had assured me that all parents have the option of opting their children out of bilingual programs.  Before you accuse these parents of xenophobia, keep in mind that there are some children in our district who are struggling with basic reading/writing skills-- and if your child is in such a situation, it makes a lot of sense to want them spending 100% of their time on English skills instead of dividing their efforts. 

After the post, I was surprised to be contacted by some local parents who did feel that their children are being forced into dual-language, and communications with their local school had left the impression that they were on some kind of waiting list for an alternative, but not guaranteed an alternate placement.   If your child is in the attendance area for one of the designated dual-language schools, they will be placed in dual-language by default.    But Superintendent Scott assured me that all parents really do have the option to opt out of these programs.   It looked to me like there was a communications gap here, so I asked for improvements to the info on the district website.

If you go to the HSD website's Options section, you will now see that there is a subsection labeled 'Opting Out', which gives a clear procedure for parents to opt their children out of the dual-language or STEM programs if needed.  I'm glad to see that this is now clearly documented-- be sure to inform me if you do not see this process working, or if the district is refusing you a transfer out of dual-language.   By the way, the info on this page can also be used to transfer into the dual-language or STEM programs, if you are not at a school that offers them.

A few key points to take away from this discussion thread:

• Keep reading this blog & contacting me if your family is affected by a topic mentioned here!   I was glad to see that people contacted me after my last post was inconsistent with their experience-- that's the whole reason I'm posting these things.
• It's very important that 'exceptions' to typical processes are well-documented.   The district has a strategic objective of Equity, and I think it's a critical Equity failure if parents feel like they have to use inside knowledge/contacts to get the district to act on behalf of their children.
• There is some variety in HSD's elementary school programs, and a well-defined procedure to transfer; don't just blindly accept your geographical assignment.   If you have a child with talents or interests that could especially benefit from the STEM, dual-language, or City View Charter opportunities, don't be afraid to request a transfer.   (Of course this doesn't take away from my oft-stated general opinion that we should be offering even more choice, including additional charters & real participation in Open Enrollment.)

The Freedom To Disagree, and Other 8/12-8/13 Highlights

Last week we had the annual "school board retreat", a pair of back-to-back 6 hour meetings that kick off our board activities for the year.  Amusingly, due to public meeting laws the retreat had to be opened to the public like any other meeting.  I have to say, I am impressed with the one union rep (Maureen, I think) who came at the beginning of the first day & managed to endure for nearly all 6 hours, despite having to quietly watch without participating.

 

 

The first day was led by a management consultant, who had us do quick surveys to figure out our Myers-Briggs personality categories & discuss how they would affect our communication.  There was probably some value here in breaking the ice & helping us to discuss things as a team, though there were definitely long periods that felt like a Dilbert  cartoon.  The second day got more concrete, discussing issues that would be facing us in the upcoming school year.

 

 

The most contentious debate was on the board-superintendent working agreement.  I strongly disagreed with one clause in there, requiring each board member to "publicly support" the vote of the majority, even if they disagreed with it.  As I have mentioned before in this blog, I think clear and open communication with the public is an important duty of the board-- and this includes honesty about when I think the district is going in the wrong direction.  I won't complain endlessly about every lost vote, but I want to reserve the right to rally the public to pressure the board to change a bad decision.   After much wrangling, we settled on compromise language that we would all "publicly accept" the vote of the majority.  This is reasonable, as even if I want to change a decision, I will acknowledge when relevant that the decision I disagree with is the current district policy.

 

 

Some other discussion highlights of the retreat include:
 

• Podcasting board meetings.  We revisited the discussion from the last meeting, about recording our meetings.   As I learned the hard way, since our last meeting didn't result in a vote on this topic, or a formal request to staff, nothing happened even though we had discussed it.  Now we have directed our Communications Director to investigate options for doing this.
• Emancipation from the ESDs.  The ESDs, or Education Service Districts, are local monopolies chartered by the state in each region to provide secondary services to schools.  As you may recall, I have been critical of the ESDs in the past , since in general open markets provide services more efficiently than monopolies.  Superintendent Scott told us that under a new state law, we can withdraw 65% of our ESD funds and spend them to purchase services elsewhere.   He is going to investigate the costs of external services and prepare a report for the next meeting.  I think this is a great step forward; my main worry is whether the existence of ESDs has prevented the market from offering these services at all in Oregon.
• English Language Learners.  Some interesting discussion about ELL programs.  I mentioned that during the campaign, some Mexican-American consituents had contacted me very angrily about their children being put in biligual programs instead of English-only, which was their parents' preference.  I was told that under current Hillsboro policy, placement in ELL/bilingual programs is always by explicit parental choice.  If you know of any specific case where someone was put in such a program against their parents' wishes, please contact me with the details.
• The Strategic Plan.  Lots of time discussing the district's strategic plan and how we will measure success.  We gave lots of suggestions, and the staff will return in a future meeting with a proposal for key measurements.  What I'm watching for here is to make sure we are pursuing results, rather than process.  For example, I don't care if each teacher spent hours in professional development classes-- I care if the students learned more in the end.  

 

 

    Anyway, as always, be sure to contact me (erik@erikseligman.com) if you have comments or personal experience with any of these topics.  And if you want to chat more, be sure to show up for my next constituent coffee, on Saturday 9/7, 10am, at the Human Bean Coffeehouse at 10th & Oak.

 

College In High School, & Other 7/23 Highlights

Well, it's finally happening for real:   attended my first Hillsboro School District board meeting as an actual member, rather than just sitting in the audience.   As I promised during the campaign, I'll try to post highlights after each meeting.   These aren't a substitute for the official minutes-- I'll skip a bunch of boring stuff and focus on the interesting bits--  but should be able to give you the general idea if you couldn't make it to the meeting.   (And of course, as with all my posts, these are just my take, not any kind of official statement by the board as a whole.)

So here are the interesting topics from last night:

• Podcasting the board meetings:  Fellow new member Glenn Miller suggested that we record the meetings and make them available on the web, an idea that I seconded.   Communications Director Beth Graser explained that they had considered this a few years ago, but fees to broadcast on public access TV were prohibitive.   Public Access TV???  Does anyone really remember that still exists?   Upon further discussion,  we agreed that we could podcast these things for nearly zero budget, assuming we accept the limited video/audio quality of our current equipment.   Hopefully we'll be able to implement this sometime soon.    I really think the public deserves a full record of these meetings, instead of just secondhand minutes and blog posts.
• The new chair:   Following board tradition, the majority voted for current vice-chair Kim Strelchun as our new chair.   She seems very dedicated to board work, and I'm sure she'll do a great job.   My favored chair candidate, Monte Akers, was elected as the new vice-chair.   I think Monte's 40 years of accounting experience will be increasingly relevant with all the financial troubles going on.   And Monte holds a special place in my heart, having been the only local elected official to speak out against the Hillsboro Hops stadium boondoggle, which I was very unhappy about.
• The Youth Advisory Council:   A presentation by a great group of kids who have been very involved in the community.   But one aspect of it made me a little uneasy-- one of their goals was "political activism", and they talked about all going together to Salem to demand more money for K12 education.  Have they really thought deeply about this issue, or are they being used as political pawns?    How many of them have been exposed to conservative ideas, or to the concept that maybe PERS reform might be a more sensible request at this time than just begging for more money?
• School Bus Purchases:  The district needs to buy some new buses, to replace decaying ones from the 80s.  But what really worried me here was a remark that due to new state emissions standards, we would have to spend an extra $15K per bus in the future (we have a fleet of 150+ buses), plus upgrade our garage facilities.  This is an example of an unfunded state mandate with real costs to the schools.  When I asked what the total cost to HSD of this mandate would be, nobody had exact numbers.   I asked if we could get some more detailed data on this; I will follow up with the superintendent and in future meetings.  
• College and Career Pathways.  A new program for helping students to comprehensively plan their futures.  I saw a lot of good stuff here:
• A web interface for parents, students, and counselors to share info on a student's strengths, weaknesses, and career plans.   
• When assessing student strengths and weaknesses, a question-by-question breakdown of recent standardized tests will be available, with individual questions linked to relevant subtopics.
• Increased opportunities to do college-level work in HS, and take classes within their school for college credit, encouraging every student to see themselves as potentially in college.
• I did have a couple of concerns here.   
• We need to make sure we are also allowing for potential vocational education & other non-college choices.   As I pointed out in the meeting, there are plenty of 20-something college-educated Starbuck's cashiers, living under crippling bankruptcy-proof debt, who could have been much happier at this point in their lives as experienced, financially-secure electricians.   
• Will the "college credits" be as good as the real college courses?   I could easily envision a student who completed Linear Algebra thru PCC being totally lost when they try to move on to advanced classes at a top engineering college afterwards.   We need to track the students who get out of these programs, and make sure we are not setting talented kids up to have a much tougher time in college.

• Another question to keep in mind:  does the ability of so many non-exceptionally-talented HS students to complete college level classes indicate that our HS standards are getting higher, or that our college standards are getting lower?

Reflections on the 2013 Oregon School Board Association summer conference

I attended my first Oregon School Board Association conference this past weekend.   Quite an experience-- I would highly recommend it for other school board members.   

Major Themes:

• There is a lot to learn about being on a school board!  Got many useful little tidbits & advice from more experienced school board members from across Oregon.
• "District Culture" was a major theme this year, showing up in the keynote and in various forms in many sessions.   We need to try to foster an environment that encourages innovation and risk-taking, open communication, and trust.
• Being a school board member is a legal minefield-- if on a board, be careful that you know about the basic laws regarding your service.  Some examples are the Public Meetings laws (can't discuss school business if a quorum forms by chance at a non-meeting event), and the rules regarding Executive Sessions (possible individual $1000 ethics fine if you divulge content!)
• One area where I think the OSBA needs to improve is in the boundaries between recommended practices and legal requirements.   In their talks they often blurred the distinction between the two.  In some cases, it looked to me like they were trying to push opinions as facts:  in particular, the "one voice" policy that a board member should never express disagreement in public once a majority vote on an issue has occurred.   I see it as my duty to tell you the truth here-- and if I think the board has made a fundamentally poor decision, I won't be shy about telling you.

Amusing Moments:

• Great opening quote:  "To you newly elected board members:  remember, the public voted for you, they believe in you, they like you, and they will back you up.  Until you do one tiny thing they disagree with."
• To illustrate the need to not get focused on minutiae while running a district, one presenter used the famous "gorilla video".   He asked us to count basketball passes in a game going on on a video, and afterwards asked if anything unusual had happened.   Most of us who were concentrating on counting the passes missed the gorilla that walked across the video and waved at the camera!
• You've probably heard about the politically correct movement to outlaw Indian-based team names for school sports teams.  Did you know that there's actually a Native American-themed charter school run by the Siletz tribe, that would have had to eliminate Indian references from its own team name under the originally proposed policy?!?

Random Conversations:

• It was interesting to see how unique Hillsboro really is among OR school districts.   Most board members I spoke to had less than 3000 students in their district, with some as low as the 200s.   (We have over 20000).  Not too surprising, given that we are the 4th largest in OR, but something to keep in mind when comparing experiences with other boards.
• Had a nice chat with Todd Miller, who used to run the OR Connections Academy but moved to become superintendent of a brick-&-mortar district.   He has nothing bad to say about ORCA, just wanted to help out his home district & try some new experiences.   He hopes to introduce more online options locally once he gets his footing.
• It was a great opportunity to meet some facebook/email contacts who I had been in touch with but didn't yet know in person.

Session Highlights

Boardsmanship Workshop   

A fun workshop where we watched videos of an obnoxious board member named Andy, and had to discuss what he was doing wrong in each one.

• In one, he accused fellow board members of accepting bribes due to receiving cookie baskets from a vendor.   He may have been technically correct, depending on basket value (annual limit: $50 due to ethics laws).
• Be careful of requesting reports from the superintendent or staff!  Remember that any request might take $$$ to research/report on-- discuss with whole board first.
• Revealing executive session info?  May subject you to $1000 individual fine, & district to lawsuit.
• Be careful about "shall" vs "may" in policies-- may subject yourself to all kinds of minutia if public "shall" be allowed to appeal to board in various circumstances.   In one case board subjected to deliberating voleyball game lengths!
• In one case, I was on Andy's side-- he talked to a constituent in the supermarket about a recent board vote, and why he disagreed with it.   My interpretation of a board member's duties differs from the OSBA on this one.  If I think the board made a bad decision on a major issue, I will consider it my duty to inform the public.   I won't be trying to stir up trouble over every lost vote, and will make it clear when I am stating my own opinion's rather than the board's, but I won't pretend to agree with poor or misguided decisions.

School Safety- Legal issues

• The lawyer pointed out that this is one issue that has been very over-legislated:  once a law to "improve safety" is proposed, everyone wants to get on board supporting it, even if it creates major unfunded mandates that take away from education.
• One particularly egregious example:  schools required by law to inform victims of a bully's discipline-- but are also prohibited by law from discussing one student's discipline with another!
• Remember, nobody will sue a teacher, they will sue the district-- they go where the $$$ is.
• In athletics, every student needs a physical-- but flexible laws allow alt-health practitioners such as licensed herbalists to do it.  Hmmm....
• Making a student sit in the principal's office for a long time is not an illegal seizure, since law lets the student be "seized" to go to school anyway.
• "Discretionary Immunity"-- school immune from lawsuit if they had reasonable  policy in place for an issue, even if policy fails in some cases.

School Safety- Policy  

This is a session we need to take with a slight grain of salt, since given by rep from "New Dawn Security", which sells security certifications to schools.   But still had lots of good info.

• Good policy/procedures are much more valuable than cameras.  Cameras don't prevent incidents, but make followup easier afterwards.
• I was surprised to see lower safety scores on some metrics for private schools vs public.   While it's true that private schools keep out some level of violent students, an in-house predator is actually the greatest risk.   
• Simple policies are important.  
• One bad example:  30-page emergency guide in one school, kept under teachers' desks, that 2/3 of teachers could not quickly locate.   
• Good example:  if bus driver receives code signal, drives to known location & waits for police.  Successfully used to apprehend student involved in armed robbery.
• Another example:  If responding to an urgent issue, always trigger nearest fire alarm.   Claim: could have sped up response at Sandy Hook.
• DC spent $32M to outfit emergency responders with (slow) system to bring up video maps of each school.   But could have had supply of printed maps ready for about 78 cents per school.
• Look for opportunities thru creative environmental design.  Example:   Large field didn't have fence, so installed blackberry bushes around perimeter.   (Though based on my experience with a backyard blackberry infestation, I'm kind of scared of the long-term effects of this one!)

Keynote- Jim Bearden, "Leadership & Culture"

Great speaker, Vietnam vet who lectures on culture & management for a living.   Highly recommended if you have an opportunity to catch him somewhere.

• What subordinates see from you is what you should expect to get from them.
• "Happily Ever Afters" don't just happen.   Often people are hopeful that a new change will be the ultimate answer, then go through a denial/anger/blame cycle until the next panacea shows up.   
• Dangers of emphasis on blame:   lose ability to draw lessons, lose your own accountability, black hole for energy
• Need will to learn from failure & create a "heroic culture"
• What is a culture?
• Composite of behavior
• What gets noticed, honored, or confronted by leaders
•  Most orgs create culture unconsciously-- try to do it consciously
•  Support those who step up  & do the right thing
• Support those who challenge the status quo
• Active Accessibility-- not just "open door policy", go out & seek input
• Ask, listen and understand.
• Reward risk-taking- even if it results in failure sometimes.
• Steps to create the culture
1. Ensure others understand their expectations
2. ID & eliminate barriers
3. Model the behavior
4. Measure performance vs expectations
5. Honor efforts & progress towards expectations- including mistakes
6. Confront unwillingness & bad faith

District Climate & Culture

Workshop taught by Steve Lamb, OSBA.  Probably a good workshop on its own, but largely felt redundant after keynote!   A few points to emphasize.

• Dissatisfaction can be good-- need to reach a certain level to overcome inherent resistance to new ideas
• High trust is important to create positive culture.   But be careful of silly gimmicks like "trust fall" exercise (where one worker falls & others catch)-- trust in one domain may not lead to trust in another.
• Be careful about treating board's "accountability" duty as seeking out things to punish:  can create climate where everybody ruled by fear & won't do anything without permission from top.
• Recognize what you want to see.   Why is academic recognition so rare compared to sports recognition?  (I liked this one-- back in HS, I successfully fought a battle to get varsity jackets for the math team!)

School Law Basics for Board Members

Kind of a dry recitation by an OSBA lawyer.  Good stuff to know, but I think they could have made a more lively seminar by using more Andy videos, role-playing, or something similar.   A few of the more interesting legal points:

• The board's duty is to "make policy", but there is no specific legal definition of a "policy".   Kind of surprising.   So in reality the board can do just about anything, though focusing on big-picture stuff is highly advised.   
• Be careful to follow all your policies-- if you don't, can significantly hurt district's case in court if sued.
• If a board majority is gone, ESD gets to appoint a new board.
• Board members may be fined by state ethics board for ethics violations, or for violating rules of Executive Sessions.

Table Session-- Communiation

Saturday afternoon we had several mini-sessions where we sit at a table with an expert on a topic.   

• The communication one had a lot of good suggestions for improving district communication, such as sharing positive stories, developing elevator speeches about the school system, building relationships with local media, and taking notes on questions you can't answer.
• However, this is another one where I had some reservations about the OSBA's position, which seems to be that we should be propagandists for the public school system, relentlessly pushing positive aspects of the district.   As an elected board member, I believe my primary duty is honesty with the public, and will continue to share both the bad and the good as applicable.   
• One other item that annoyed me here "...make sure public schools are represented fairly and on par with private or charter options..."    Charter schools are just as public as traditional public schools!   And I don't think we have any problem with charter schools being over-emphasized in district communications-- it's quite the opposite in HSD.

Table Session-- Outsourcing

Another session to take with a grain of salt, since the speaker was Greg Johnson from Sodexo, an outsourcing service provider.

• They mainly supply cafeteria mgmt, but also can build an entire school for a district & rent out the building, saving them the trouble of passing a bond when a new school is needed.   Sounds too good to be true, though I suppose we might look at such opportunities if the need comes up.
• Interesting wrinkle of Oregon law-- district has to jump thru hoops to outsource, showing "cause" & demonstrating that employees will not be hurt.  Greg says that they often keep all the cafeteria employees and just insert new managers when taking over a school food service.
• One guy at the table knows Sodexo from his non-board life, and pointed out that they do a good job running his company's cafeterias.

Table Session- Strategic Planning

•  Goal-setting is short-term, strategic planning is longer term
•  Often the process has as much value as the end result

Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

• A PLC is a group of teachers who continually learn together on the job, helping to plan lessons, eval/critique each other & grow together. 
• Also do "action research" together to tackle real problems encountered in classrooms.
• Be careful of PLC-like forms that have little substance: just because you have teaching team meetings doesn't mean you have a PLC.   Need to allocate nontrivial time &; foster real collaboration.
• International benchmarks show teachers spend 2x as much time on professional learning in other countries as compared to US. 

Roles And Responsibilities

This is the one where they showed the gorilla video, hammering home the point that we should look at the big picture & not focus on minutiae.   

• How many school board members does it take to change a light bulb?  -- NONE.  They should pass a policy that there is light, and let the superintendent report back on how it was implemented.
• 5 key roles:
1. Learn together as a board-superintendent team.
2. Set Expectations.   
• Aim for Elevating Beliefs ("This is a place for all kids to excel") rather than Accepting Beliefs ("With the students we have, we just have to expect low test scores.")
• Recent surveys show 37% of org employees don't clearly know their goals.  "This is like a football team with 4 members not knowing where the end zones are."
3. Build Collective Will.     Culture matters.   
4. Create Conditions For Success.
5. Hold System Accountable.
• Though elected, a school board member is a bit different than a legislator-- in fact, a board member has legislative, executive, *and* judicial roles!
• Be careful about seeming to 'represent' a constituent on a low-level issue-- may later need to recuse yourself from board when appealed to for a final decision.

A Systems Approach to Student Achievement

This was largely a cheerleading session for the Common Core.   I've documented my reservations about that in enough other places that I won't rehash them here.   To learn more, listen to this podcast episode or read this blog entry.

Final Thoughts

Whew.   That covers all the notes I took at the conference.   Apologies if the notes on later sessions tend to be less detailed; note-taking fatigue began to set in.   Anyway, like I said at the beginning, there was a lot of useful info.  And even though I disagreed with the OSBA on a few points, overall I was very impressed with the conference they put together, and would highly recommend it for other board members.    

Thanks OSBA!

Constituent Coffees

Following the lead of some other local elected officials, I've decided to start holding constituent coffees.   Basically I'll be hanging out at a known place and time, for you to catch me and update me on your concerns for school issues.    Or for you to yell at me, though you need to keep your volume down to the level acceptable at the café.

These will be on the first Saturday of every month, from 10-11 am, at the Human Bean on 10th & Oak in Hillsboro.   (http://www.thehumanbean.com/hillsboro) .   Hope to see you there!

As always, I'm open to contact outside those hours-- just email me (erik@erikseligman.com) if you want to set up a meeting for a different time.

More Choices In Hillsboro?

Hi everyone-- Sorry this blog has been kind of quiet; I'm still recovering from the campaign, and have been travelling for work this week.

Once nice development is that due to my emphasis on school choice during the school board campaign, I've already heard from a potential charter school org that wants to propose a school in Hillsboro.     They have asked for help getting in contact with local parents who might be interested, to discuss your needs & opinions. If you are willing to speak to them, please send me an email (erik@erikseligman.com).   Thanks!

Some General Thoughts On Modern Math Programs

I just posted a new episode of my math podcast, Math Mutation, where I discuss some general thoughts about "discovery-based" math programs.   Click on this link to read the transcript or listen to the podcast.   I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the topic.  

We Did It! What Happens Now?

Thanks again for all your support!   Looks like we really did it...  Today's update (more-or-less final, only a tiny handful remain uncounted) gives me a solid victory:

 Erik Seligman .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     7,112   55.55
 Rebecca Lantz .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     5,582   43.60
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       109     .85

I won't actually be sworn in until the July meeting, but will start attending the meetings immediately.   I have a lot to learn, naturally, about the many details of this board position.   But I'm still very interested in hearing from any of you who have specific issues with the district that you want me to help look into.

I'll also be continuing to blog at this site, as I promised during the campaign.   Hopefully my reflections as I ramp up on this position will be useful to future board members and others interested in our school district.   Or, at the very least, will provide some entertainment.

"We Don't Have A Communication Problem"

Today all the candidates spoke at the Washington County Public Affairs Forum.   I don't think there were too many surprises-- most of the candidates have made it pretty clear where they stand by now-- but I was amused by my opponent's attempt to refute my point about needing clear and open communication.  [paraphrasing] "We do not have a communication problem, we are great at communicating with the public:  just take a look at our website!"  I think that's a great idea-- please take her up on her challenge, and try to find information about the new Common Core math adoption on the district website, http://hsd.k12.or.us .

To start with, you need to figure out what term to put in the search box.  Actually, before we continue, I should mention that 6 months ago the search box was not there-- it was added as a result of a request from myself and other curriculum committee members.   But OK, it's there now, so I guess we can give the district credit for that.   All our communication problems are now solved, right?   Ummm... maybe not.

I can pretty much guarantee that whatever term you type in, you will get a bunch of apparent matches-- mostly links to powerpoint presentations full of fluff, that happen to mention the math curriculum adoption process in passing.   If you pore through the many useless matches, you may find your way to such exciting documents as the April board packet at http://www.hsd.k12.or.us/Portals/0/District/Board/Boardpacket/2012-2013/Board%20Packet%2004-23-13-rev.pdf , which mentions the curriculum discussion on page 43, or the "listening session" presentation at http://www.hsd.k12.or.us/Portals/0/district/Budget_Matters12-2010/listening%20session%20slides%20041912.pdf , which mentions the adoption in passing.     Will you even get far enough to understand that the issue was discussed in a Curriculum Committee meeting?   Where will you find out what happened in the discussion, or why one committee member abstained from voting?   I don't think there's even enough information there to know who to ask.

The real question is:  where would you find a detailed discussion of what were the key issues surrounding this new curriculum?    It would take a lot of work poring through search results in the current system, and as far as I can tell, nobody has been tasked with clearly explaining this new curriculum and the issues surrounding it to the public.   Maybe the district is planning on something later-- but the changes to the middle school math curriculum are a radical restructuring from top to bottom, fundamentally changing the way middle schoolers learn math, and likely to create a parental uproar that dwarfs last year's "grading reform" fiasco.      If we don't clearly explain what it going on now, it will lead to confusion and anger later.

It looks to me like my blog at http://seligman4schools.blogspot.com/2013/04/reservations-about-new-common-core-math.html is the only attempt to explain the key issues surrounding this new curriculum.   We need to be willing to explain and involve the public in ongoing issues like this, not just wait until the decisions are all made and publish a sanitized summary.    Take another look at my blog posts, and I think you will agree that this is a different type of communication than what we currently get from the school board-- and it's the kind of communication that we need in order to truly involve the community.

Some Campaign Updates

There's an article on last week's school board candidate debate at this link.   If you have a minute, please add a comment supporting me.

I also have another meet & greet event this week-- Thursday 5/9 at the Human Bean at 10th & Oak in Hillsboro.   Come join me & chat about school issues over coffee, or challenge me to a game of Scrabble.

And remember, it's not too late to write a letter to a newspaper, donate, or volunteer for my campaign.  Contact me at erik@erikseligman.com, or call me at 503-312-1665, to help out.

Thanks for your support!

A Nice Media Mention

The popular international math education site Maths Insider just published an article on "8 Fascinating Podcasts to Spark a Love of Math in Your Teen", and my podcast, Math Mutation, was one of the 8 chosen.   Check out the article at http://www.mathsinsider.com/math-podcasts .  

And of course, check out Math Mutation at http://mathmutation.com, if you haven't done that yet!
 

Meet & Greet At Cruise In Thurs 4/25

Hi everyone--  I've scheduled a "meet & greet" event this Thursday, 4/25, 6-8 pm, at Cruise In Country Diner at the corner of River Rd & Farmington.   If you have issues or concerns you want to discuss, or just want to meet me in person before voting for me, come join me on Thursday!

If you're a Facebook user, here is the Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/325088170951580/?ref=22

(BTW-- admission is free, though you do have to pay for your own food. But if you haven't eaten at Cruise In yet-- these are the best burgers in the Portland area, even if you don't like me you won't regret coming.  :-)  )

Reservations About A New "Common Core" Math Program

To begin with: yes, my last blog post was an April Fools joke! I guess I shouldn't be surprised that some people thought I was serious-- in a district that experiments with "balanced grading"  and "critical race theory", it can sometimes be hard to distinguish spoof from reality.  But rest assured, when I am on the school board, your children will not be deprived of bathrooms.

More seriously, this week's Curriculum Committee meeting consisted of a report-out on the adoption plans for the new middle school math curriculum. This was the product of a 2-year effort by a panel of teachers & administrators, who clearly put a lot of time and effort into reviewing the various choices and choosing a suitable replacement program. The one chosen was called Core Connections College Prep Mathematics (CPM); you can read lots of details at their website, http://cpm.org . The committee was asked to listen to the report and then vote on recommending it to the school board.

Coming into this meeting, I had a lot of concerns. This was the first time HSD middle school math would be compliant with the Common Core, a new national set of standards that has been widely criticized for providing watered-down or fuzzy math, and teaching kids to talk about math problems rather than actually solving them. Some aspects of the common core math program seem somewhat positive: an attention to recognizing structures, using appropriate tools and mathematical models, and looking for alternate solutions to problems. But other aspects are more disturbing, such as emphasis on group work, answering questions with subjective verbose explanations instead of clear answers, and failure to drill traditional math skills.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the teachers had good answers for many of my concerns: I have summarized my recollection of the major Q&As below.

• Are we subjecting our kids to an unproven new educational fad? - No. While the Common Core is quite new, the CPM program actually dates back over 20 years, and has been continually taught and refined over that time.
• Will the students really learn traditional math skills by going through this program, or just learn to BS their way through math discussions? The cpm.org page has an impressive array of studies showing that, based on standardized tests based on traditional math, students in their program equal or exceed similar groups of students who went through traditional programs. And they also show in some cases that students who went through the CPM programs are more likely to go on to higher-level math classes.
• Will the group work mean that my child is graded for other children's work? The teachers clarified that while the classwork will largely consist of students working together to solve problems, 80% of a student's grade will be determined by individual assessments. The remainder of the grade will be based on observed participation and on individual homework.
• Will students not have to do math homework anymore? They will have regular homework exercises, reinforcing the principles learned in class.
• How will parents be able to understand what their child is learning, if they were educated in a traditional math program? There was a very nice answer to this one: the CPM program publishes a "Parents' Guide" to accompany each textbook, to help parents guide their children through that lesson's homework assignment. The CPM website further offers supplementary podcasts with each lesson, so parents can get a full context of what their child was learning in school.
• I heard that under Common Core, 8th graders no longer learn algebra. Will the TAG students be forced to slow down & sync with the group, instead of moving on to advanced math early? No! The CPM classes will have accelerated options, just like current classes do. And many of the concepts formerly in 9th-10th grade algebra are now moved to middle school, so the students will have a solid grounding for higher math.

Most of the committee voted to accept the report and recommend that the school board approve the adoption. However, I abstained from this vote, as I did not believe it appropriate to hold such a vote after solely hearing an advocacy presentation and not having a chance to research other points of view, or further discuss and deliberate out of the presence of the advocates.   After the meeting, I did some online research and found some disturbing information about the CPM program. I think the board should consider the following areas of concern when deciding whether to go forward with this curriculum:

• Will students not have true math tests anymore? Apparently students will be responsible for an individual "closure activity" at the end of each unit. I am a quite worried about this one, as it sounds a bit fuzzy in comparison to a real math test. See examples at this website: http://textbooks.cpm.org/support/a2c_student/Closure.html  . While the closure activities (summarizing what you learned, drawing concept maps, etc) sound like nice reinforcement, I don't think they could possibly substitute for traditional tests in order to ensure that basic skills are mastered.
• Is there real evidence that CPM students do equally well to non-CPM students on objective, nationally standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, etc? This seems to be missing from the many studies at cpm.org.
• Will there be solid evidence that students are learning standard algorithms: long division, solving quadratic equations, etc? Standard algorithms, discovered historically after centuries of development and reasoning, are a core tool in our mathematical toolkit. If students move on to higher education knowing they can try 'alternative approaches' and don't have to quickly solve problems of known, structured types, they will be at a severe handicap in math, science, and engineering classes.
• What about the strong CPM critiques from math and science professionals? There are some serious critiques of CPM available with a quick web search. These all seem to date from 10-15 years ago, so maybe the program has changed since then to fix the issues described-- but we need a clear statement that the adoption team was aware of these critiques, and has answers to the concerns within.
• The Open Letter to Secretary of Education Richard Riley, signed by over 200 practicing scientists and mathematicians
• Professor Wayne Bishop's detailed 2001 critique
• David Klein's 2000 National School Board Association critique 

So, I would recommend to the school board that if we choose to adopt this new program, it would be with the following provisions:

• The addition of periodic tests that measure individual proficiency in the traditional core algorithms that have theoretically been taught as a 'side effect' of the creative group work. Creative problem-solving and verbal reasoning are great-- but we have to make sure we are not discarding the real math.  
• Detailed tracking of pre-CPM vs post-CPM scores on the PSAT, SAT, and similar objective tests. We need real yardsticks for comparison. Because the Common Core comes with its own assessment types, it will be very difficult to compare students who learned under the old and new curricula.
• Detailed refutations of the CPM critiques linked above. We need solid evidence that these concerns have been addressed in the latest versions of the curriculum.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

I posted this idea during my last campaign, but somehow the Hillsboro School District has failed to implement it.  So I'm bringing it up again; tell me what you think.

How many times have we seen this situation in a classroom: the teacher is in the middle of a brilliant lesson, the students are all enraptured, education is flowering in the truest sense, and suddenly it is all ruined by an irrelevant interruption.   A hand is raised in the middle of the room, begging, "Can I have a bathroom pass?"

In addition to interrupting class at random times, this is the root of a number of issues in our schools.   The restrooms have been shown to be central locations for time wasting, bullying, rule breaking, and discrimination against transgender students.  Attempts to solve this problem by limiting availability of bathroom passes, or requiring good behavior from students, simply fail to address the core issues.

Let me ask the obvious question: Why are there bathrooms in our schools at all?   They serve no educational purpose, take up space, and are costly in terms of both maintenance and order.  Every bathroom in the Hillsboro school system should have all its toilets and sinks removed, and the rooms should be re-purposed as classrooms. Think about the benefits:

• Schools will gain additional classrooms in what is now wasted space, increasing capacity.
• Custodial costs will go down, as janitors have significantly fewer cleaning tasks.
• Students will learn the valuable techniques of self-control.

It's about time we leave the self-indulgent school designs of the 20th century behind, and fully utilize our schools' spaces for their intended purpose, education.

How Do I Differ From My Opponent?

Hopefully you have been reading my blog, and like what I have had to say.   But one question that a lot of people have been asking is:  "You sound great, but why does that make you a better choice than your opponent?"   So I thought it would be good to highlight a few specific issues voted by the school board in recent years where I would have made different choices than my opponent did.

• I would provide real options to the students of Hillsboro who are not well-served by their current school.     The school board staged a vote in February to participate in the state's Open Enrollment law, which allows students to transfer between districts if the receiving school has space.   But it did nothing to stop the private agreements Hillsboro has with all the major neighboring districts to not poach each others' students-- which effectively negates the Open Enrollment policy.
• I would give individual teachers the freedom to innovate in their classroom, without board-level micromanagement.   You may recall the "balanced grading" and "grading for learning" policies the board tried to impose a few years ago, which after causing chaos in our district's classrooms, led to a parental uprising and were eventually repealed.   While I would allow teachers the chance to try new ideas on a small scale, I would not impose radical educational method changes from the top down.
• I would consistently ensure education funds end up in our classrooms, rather than in non-education uses.   Recently the board voted to exempt low-income housing from some property taxes, under the rationale that the state school fund had promised to reimburse the losses, so the district "would not lose" money.  But this a transparent accounting shell game:  if the state school fund reimburses the losses, then the money is lost to schools in general for the state.  While this may be a worthy cause, the proper place to fund it is the state legislature.   In these financially tight times, the school board is behaving irresponsibly if it moves education funds to other areas.

These are just a few examples, of course.   From my other blog articles I'm sure you can recognize many other areas where my ideas fundamentally differ from the current board majority.  

Top Reasons To Donate To My Campaign

As you have probably seen in the previous blog post, I'm now accepting donations.   As you know, every citizen in Oregon effectively gets $50 for free, through the Oregon Political Tax credit, to donate to a campaign of their choice.  Why shoud you choose to spend this on me?

1. The Hillsboro School Board is a critically important election.   This isn't just the city of Hillsboro- HSD is a "megadistrict", the 4th largest in the state, covering over 20,000 students and over $200 million in budget.   Sitting in one of 7 positions on this board has been said by some to be comparable in influence to a State Representative.   It is unlikely that many other positions elected in this odd year will be of similar importance. 
2. I have a real shot at winning.   In 2009, I lost by only 56 votes, out of over 9000 cast, to a well-connected insider.    With a fully funded campaign, I'm hoping to do much better this time!
3. You have no doubt about where I stand on the issues.    I think you'll agree that in this blog and my newspaper columns, I have stated and documented my views on real school issues more clearly and directly than any other candidate.  

For all these reasons, please follow these instructions and donate to my campaign.   Thanks again for your support!

How To Donate To My Campaign

Yes, after the strong urging of some supporters, I have formed a PAC and am now requesting donations!   If you are in Oregeon, remember that due to the Oregon Political Tax Credit, a donation of $50 per person is effectively free to you.

To donate, you can either:

• Send me a message through email (erik@erikseligman.com ) or call on the phone (503-312-1665) with some way to contact you, and I'll get back to you to arrange a time for me to stop by & pick up a check.
• Send a check to my PAC address.  For legal reasons, please include a letter with your name, address, occupation, and employer with your donation.

Friends of Erik Seligman

89358 Cranberry Lane

Bandon, OR 97411

 

• Alternatively, you can donate with a check or credit card online using this link.   

                 
Thanks for your support!

My Revised Campaign Statement

After a thorough revision with the help of some experts, I've submitted the new statement below for the voters' pamphlet.    Tell me what you think!

-------------------------------------

ERIK SELIGMAN: The Parents’ Choice for Hillsboro School District Board:

·     Past experience teaching at college, middle and high school levels

·     Past experience volunteering as English teacher to Hillsboro area immigrants

·     Host of free educational podcast, “Math Mutation”, rated 5 stars on iTunes

·     Intel Engineer

·     Parent and 18-year resident of the Hillsboro area

 

"Erik Seligman has a passion for innovation in public education. As a parent of two girls, I’m supporting Erik because he puts the needs of our children ahead of bureaucracy.” -- Jose Orozco, Cornelius City Councilor, (DEMOCRAT)

 

ERIK SELIGMAN will:

·     Stop the Cuts to Our Classrooms: Board decisions must be based on real data about what is truly working.  Erik will cut administration costs and protect our classrooms. 

·     Support Innovation and Give Parents Choices: Bureaucratic rules often wear down great teachers. Erik supports giving more freedom to successful teachers and school leaders. He also supports giving parents more choices, so they can find the program that best serves their child’s individual needs.

·     Honest And Open Communication: As a contributor to the Hillsboro Argus, Erik has criticized the district for making decisions behind closed doors and treating parents and the public arrogantly. Erik is dedicated to open dialogue and a transparent public process.

 

“Erik Seligman has repeatedly opposed cuts to our public schools and supported reforms that would save teacher jobs and improve educational outcomes. As a CPA and mother, I’m supporting Erik because he has a plan to give parents more choices and stop the cuts.”  –Katie Eyre, former state representative, (REPUBLICAN)

 

Learn more about where Erik stands at http://hillsboroerik.com, or email him at erik@erikseligman.com.

 
JOIN US IN SUPPORTING ERIK SELIGMAN

 

 

How Are Hillsboro Schools Doing?

One question that has come up a few times when I explain my campaign is:  how are Hillsboro schools doing anyway?    "Your ideas sound nice, but I read the district newsletters and it sounds like the schools are doing great.   Why are you trying to fix something that's not broken?"    So I thought it might be nice to look at school ratings from a variety of sources.   Here's a quick summary of what I found:

• State report cards:   Very coarse grained.   HSD looks pretty close to state averages overall in most categories.    Most schools Satisfactory, 9 Outstanding, 2 In Need Of Improvement.
• School rating websites:   At School Digger  HSD ranks 61st best district in the state,  vs Beaverton at 19, Tigard-Tualatin at 26.    At GreatSchools  HSD rates 6/10, vs 7/10 for Beaverton & Tigard-Tualatin.   
• US News High School rankings:  Liberty HS is #15 in OR / #1231 nationally.   Glencoe is 19/1569.   Century & HillHi didn't make top 25.
• 2011 Federal Ratings:  A little more gloomy here.   6 elementary schools on "troubed" list, one other that must offer free transfers or tutoring.  All middle schools & all high school except Century also on troubled list.  Also, "Oregon high schools’ on-time graduation rate remained mired at 68 percent for the class of 2012, the same as the year before, when Oregon ranked fourth worst in the nation."
• Voting with their feet:   How many kids have been removed from their local pubic schools by their parents?   Hard to find how many Hillsboro children attend private schools, but at one website listing this by city, we can see roughly 1000 students in the city of Hillsboro have opted out of HSD altogether to attend private schools.  (HSD is larger than that, but not easy to properly account on this page.)  We also have 140 or so kids on City View Charter's waiting list-- clearly a set of families feeling they are not best served by their local public school.   I also have trouble finding a good estimate of the number of homeschoolers in HSD.
• Real estate agents:   This qualifies as anecdotal, but I've been told pretty universally by Intel new hires that real estate agents direct them to buy homes in the Beaverton district, rather than Hillsboro, if they have kids.

So...  what's the conclusion of all this?   We should qualify the discussion with the fact that ranking a heterogeneous group of schools is not easy.    It's hard to perfectly compare different districts:  in particular, Hillsboro likely has more challenges integrating new immigrants than the other nearby large suburban districts, which can partially explain its much lower rankings at sites based on test scores.   But as the 4th largest district in Oregon, I would really hope to see us doing better than just the 15th best high school.

I think we can say based on these data points that there is certainly room for improvement in Hillsboro's schools.   Personally, I love the city of Hillsboro (I live on Main Street, right in the heart of our downtown), and it pains me to hear new co-workers tell me they must live elsewhere for their children's education.   While there are certainly many successes and positive developments, I'd really like to see Hillsboro become a destination district where people come to live because of its top-quality school system.