District Launches Poorly Written Webpage on School Grading

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  TEXT OF LETTER I SENT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT:  1 September 2013   DELIVERED VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL Mr. McKell Withers, Superintendent Salt Lake City School District 440 East 100 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84111-1891 Re: School Grades and Accountability Website Dear Dr. Withers, I wanted to expressed my opposition to the current tone and format of the proposed School Grades and Accountability link on the school district’s web site, that you referenced in your … Continue reading →

Letter: Helping West-Side Schools (Tribune)

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First Published Sep 01 2013 10:54 pm • Last Updated Sep 01 2013 10:54 pm Salt Lake City’s west-side schools need help. As a former Salt Lake School Board member representing the west side, I admire board member Michael Clara’s persistent efforts to gain attention for west-side schools at the Legislature. In your scathing Aug. 28 article “School board maverick stirs teacher debate at Legislature,” Clara takes on the Salt Lake School Board and superintendent … Continue reading →

iSchool Controversy in the Salt Lake City School District

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  In the 2013 Legislative Session, SB 284- Educational Technology Amendments was passed into law. Modifies a pilot project known as the Smart School Technology Program by requiring the State Board of Education, to issue a request for proposals for the deployment of whole-school one to one mobile device technology in public schools. I questioned the school district’s process in applying and being awarded this grant. See my blog entry: Public School Bureaucracy Running Amock (Again!)   … Continue reading →

Utah Dems Fire at GOP Lawmakers in Defense of Teachers, SLC School District (Deseret News)

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By Benjamin Wood, Deseret News Published: Friday, Aug. 30 2013 4:17 p.m. MDT SALT LAKE CITY — A significant portion of the agenda at last week’s meeting of the Education Task Force was given to Salt Lake City School Board member Michael Clara and his oft-repeated criticisms of his school board colleagues. Clara accused the Salt Lake City School District of neglecting the needs of west-side schools and failing to address the graduation rate of at-risk and minority students. … Continue reading →