Garfield (Seattle) Testing Boycott continued...

Outside the Seattle Public Schools headquarters this afternoon, a crowd of more than a hundred people gathered in support of the Garfield High School teachers' boycott of the district's standardized test (the Measure of Academic Progress, or MAP), shouting and singing and preparing to crowd into the school board meeting taking place inside....The vice president of the Chicago teachers union, Jesse Sharkey, called in, and his speech was shouted out to the crowd. "Sisters and brothers... There's only one way forward: Stick together and fight." Teachers learned today, in emergency after-school staff meetings, that they could be subject to 10-day suspensions without pay if they did not administer the test, according to Garfield teacher Jesse Hagopian. "They say we're disruptive?" Hagopian called out, right outside the closed doors of the school board meeting. "I think a test that is not aligned to my curriculum is disruptive. Threatening teachers with 10 days without pay is disruptive." The rally ended with a hearty rendition of "SCRAP THE MAP! SCRAP THE MAP!" before leaders reminded everyone to be respectful, and most of the group crowded into the meeting.

During the comment period at the school board meeting tonight, there were parents and students there to talk about their usual concerns—school lunches, siblings attending the same schools, etc. But the high-energy crowd was there for the folks testifying about the MAP test boycott. When they spoke, the room often erupted again into chants of "SCRAP THE MAP!" much to the seeming chagrin of the school board members. A memorable bit of testimony was given by Garfield High School reading specialist Mallory Clarke, who said she talked to a student just today who was grateful the teachers were boycotting the test. Clarke asked her why, and she said she hated taking it; she was just learning English and she didn't understand the questions. But, the student went on, she didn't mind it too much: "My favorite letter is c," she said, so she just bubbles in the c for all the answers. And: "I get a really high score!" she told Clarke.

"Threatening our livelihoods, before they even met with us, [is] egregious," Hagopian, who has a one-week old son, told me after the meeting. He's been calling Banda's office, and says "he didn't even get back to me." But are teachers backing down? No way, says Hagopian. "There's a lack of dialogue and process that needs to be restored," he said. "The teachers of Garfield are committed to building that alliance." These teachers have specific problems with this specific test and they want to see those addressed: "[The district's] response was so vague... We've done our homework on this." And, he says, teachers know what's best for their students. "We're facing climate change, endless wars, economic disasters. I need these kids to think outside the box. We need critical thinkers."

The coalition in opposition to this test is quite broad, and their reasons are varied...On the other hand, a meaningful coalition in support of this test does not exist. The only people who have spoken in support of the test are school board members, a few of whom gave toe-the-line comments today about how some people find the test useful, and Superintendent Banda, who has ordered teachers to administer it and yet so far has refused to sit down with the teachers themselves to discuss the issue.

After the meeting, I spoke with Garfield High School student body president Obadiah Terry, who told me the students are in full support of the teachers. "We don't take it seriously," he says of the test. "She just said they have to be positive role models," he said, referring to school board president Kay Smith-Blum's admonishment to the crowd before the comment period. "But [the school board and superintendent] are not being good role models" because "they're not talking" to these teachers.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/23/teacher-rally-packs-the-school-board-meeting-school-district-threatens-teachers-with-suspension?fb_action_ids=10151642811287067&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210151642811287067%22%3A566453316716983}&action_type_map={%2210151642811287067%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[]


Other schools have joined the boycott; SEA is supporting it as well as multiple other professional orgs & PTSA.