(Yesterday’s) Afternoon Jolt

Nothing raises a red flag like being unwilling or afraid to answer questions from those who might be critical of you. All forms of media, if they are doing their jobs, are watchdog organizations. Problems only arise for organizations like SPS when they have an abundance of issues for watchdogs to find (and that they seem unwilling to address or acknowledge without watchdogs pointing it out first).

“Sounds like a slippery slope to us—one little question couldn’t hurt, could it?”

These days a “blogger” is nearly synonymous with “general public”, and if the public is allowed to ask questions then she should certainly be able to.

But if it’s limited to the press, then no.

So a blogger can’t ask questions (ie do ‘news’) b/c bloggers don’t do news, they only do commentary… Gotcha!

I’m Melissa Westbrook and I write for the education blog, Save Seattle Schools.

So this is the issue for present-day society with the Internet; are citizen journalists, well, journalists? I would never call myself a professional journalist (although I attend more Seattle public school events/meetings than any reporter in town). I was told by SPS Communications that (1) I wasn’t a “real” journalist and (2) my reporting is not broad-based i.e. not just about education. (This is the reasoning why they would have allowed Tracy Read of the fabulous West Seattle Blog to ask questions.)

I admit I am not gainfully employed as a journalist nor do I have a journalism degree and it’s true, I do only report/comment on public education.

But that Mayor McGinn’s office allows me in press conferences, Sec’y of Education Arne Duncan’s people allowed me in his press conference when he was here in July and the American Federation of Teachers gave me a press pass to their convention seems to indicate that other groups recognize (and even welcome) citizen journalists.

If I had been given the opportunity to ask, I would have asked a fairly straightforward question about how the district would pay for teacher raises in the new contract if the supplemental levy doesn’t pass given the money for the raises can’t come from any place else. It’s not a trick question. And, I would have reported the answer in a straightforward manner. That I might have then provided some analysis is something almost any news organization might have done from the editorial side.

I certainly wouldn’t expect the general public to be able to ask questions but the district folks know who I am. I’ve been active in this district for over 15 years, served in almost every PTA role there is and served on a Board-appointed committee to close schools. News gathering is evolving as we speak. That the district is slow to pick up on this, well, okay but it comes off as they are more likely to be worried about what I might ask district leaders than concern over what my qualifications are to ask questions.

I would go further. Who cares if you’re a journalist. Seattle Public Schools doesn’t get to decide who asks it questions. Not when they’re funded by taxpayer dollars. That’s just nuts. I realize they have an obligation to work through the media to get information to the public. This might mean they can’t answer every question from every Tom, Dick and Jane who walks in off the street. But where the hell do they get off telling any member of the public who pay taxes to support Seattle’s schools that they can’t come to a press conference and ask a question. Like they have that right.

I certainly wouldn’t expect the general public to be able to ask questions”

Why not?

That Bennet/Tom stuff seems like a pretty weak comparison. Tom’s license expired last year, Bennet’s expired 17 years ago. Thats four more years than the time he spent as an actual CPA. I get what your saying about glass houses and the like, but lets not pretend that a nearly two decade old career change is the same as a lapsed license.

U know what I think? I think the SPS superintendent is a control freak. I think her communications department serves solely to promote her agenda and not those of the citizens who fund and support Seattle Schools. I think the superintendent’s organization is scared to death of anyone asking in-depth questions about its planning and finances. I think the attempt to deny access at a press conference to THE SINGLE MOST INFORMED JOURNALIST on Seattle Public Schools topics (and yes, I do mean journalist, as in someone who spends the majority of her time gathering and publishing, in a timely manner, information about a subject) is shocking, shameful and downright heinous. Not to mention stupid, because this little snafu will end up being blogged all over the blog-o-sphere.

Way to go, SPS administration. Once again you manage to undermine and disgrace our local public school system.

Big Reason they DO NOT want questions asked is they have NO ANSWERS.

Good policy…. When you don’t have a clue allow no questions.

Try these three areas:

(1) Worthless Professional Development
http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2010/09/uw-professional-development-gone-bad.html

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2010/09/identifying-effective-classroom.html

(2) Pathetic Low Income results in k-3 that leave students unable to recover in math.

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2010/09/about-low-income-students-seattle-is.html

(3) General confusion and ongoing lack of direction

http://mathunderground.blogspot.com/2010/09/ospi-testing-seattle-has-no-idea-what.html

That press pass denial was not some mistake by a low-level functionary. Teresa Wippel, district spokesperson who denied the press pass, reports to Bridget Chandler, executive director of district communications. Bridget reports to Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson. Chandler and Goodloe-Johnson were standing front and center at the meeting.

Let’s make the direct reporting relationship clear as we send this non-amusing episode out to the rest of the local, regional and national press. Hmmmmm. Who might be interested? I’m sure each Publicola reader could forward it on to 5 or 6 of their favorites. So many groups…so much explaining for the district to do.

So if a reporter from Education Week came to this event, that reporter would also be denied press credentials because Education Week’s reporting is not broad-based i.e. not just about education.

’bout time we hired Charlie Mas, and held his feet to the fire.
He seems to know all the answers.

Only, nobody does. It’s easier to bash Goodloe-Johnson than it is to come up with solutions.

Josh as usual has it ass-backwards. The school district is the loser. Melissa Westbrook is the winner.

Completly agree on this. Particularly since the use of the word Realtor has nothing to do with being licensed. Being a CPA in Washington state has everything to do with state code and this guy apparently hasn’t been able to say that he is a CPA for over 17 years. I wonder if Bennett used the CPA title when getting folks to invest in his private business ventures over the past 15 years? That could really get him in a lot of trouble with former investors.

Completly agree on this. Particularly since the use of the word Realtor has nothing to do with being licensed. Being a CPA in Washington state has everything to do with state code and this guy apparently hasn’t been able to say that he is a CPA for over 17 years. I wonder if Bennett used the CPA title when getting folks to invest in his private business ventures over the past 15 years? That could really get him in a lot of trouble with former investors.

Completly agree on this. Particularly since the use of the word Realtor has nothing to do with being licensed. Being a CPA in Washington state has everything to do with state code and this guy apparently hasn’t been able to say that he is a CPA for over 17 years. I wonder if Bennett used the CPA title when getting folks to invest in his private business ventures over the past 15 years? That could really get him in a lot of trouble with former investors.

Question: If a Seattle Public Schools press conference publicly FLOPS ON ITS FACE in a forest of political cronies, by having exactly NO ONE there to cover it (the lone, earnest blogger/reporter being denied and all that…) will any sound be generated?

Answer: Yes! It will be the collective sound of District-watchers, parents, teachers, and city politicos in the know laughing their collective a***s off.

Bet it will be awhile before Burgess gets back on the podium again with this administration.

Funny.
I posted before seeing Charlie, and then he’s here.

He’s been trying to turn the snow storm into political capital ever since the snow storm…and using South Seattle as a stepping stone.

That may work in the SE, but not city-wide.
Please go back to your great convergence zone analysis, and get out of the education biz. Unless you have something to offer.

P.S. Anyone notice that the superintendent’s hero Michelle Rhee is about to be dumped unceremoniously on her a** too, as of today’s Washington D.C. election? Her mayoral backer is G-O-N-E. The Eli Broad crowd lost a big one baby. The voters there, like the masses here which our own superintendent tries studiously to ignore, have wised up.

You have to be licensed to sell real estate, regardless if you’re a Realtor.

Bennett never claimed to be an actively practicing CPA, while Rodney claimed to be an actively practicing Realtor. There is a difference.

You have to be licensed to sell real estate, regardless if you’re a Realtor.

Bennett never claimed to be an actively practicing CPA, while Rodney claimed to be an actively practicing Realtor. There is a difference.

“Westbrook isn’t allowed to ask questions because of the organization she represents—a “watchdog” that provides critical commentary on the school district.”

I am shocked by the District’s quote and its attitude.

What would Erica “the C is for Crank” Barnett do?

I don’t think there is even a question that when it comes reporting public education issues, bloggers Westbrook and Mas are ridiculously better informed than anyone else in our local media. It isn’t even close. If they aren’t real journalists, I don’t know who is.

first amendment right is not restricting to “media,” we’re all fucking media.

first amendment right is not restricting to “media,” we’re all fucking media.

Uh, aren’t news outlets *supposed* to be “watchdog” organizations?

For those PubliCola readers wondering why the School District does not want watchdog organizations at its meetings, read this excerpt from the July 6, 2010 audit by Brian Sonntag’s office, which just so happened to get scant coverage in the “traditional” (Seattle Times, cough cough) press. But Melissa, the blogger denied the press pass yesterday, had several posts on the audit, with more to come.

Overarching Conclusion
…Our audit found the School Board and executive management must improve oversight of District operations. We noted several instances in which public assets were misappropriated or susceptible to misappropriation due to lack of effective policies, management’s failure to enforce existing policies and/or inadequately trained staff…The Board and District management are not as familiar with state and federal law on
school district operations and on the use of grant funds as the public would expect. As a result, the District exposes itself to greater risk of loss of federal funds and increases the risk for non-compliance with laws and regulations. Further, the School Board delegated authority to the Superintendent to create specific procedures to govern day-to-day District operations. The Board does not evaluate these procedures to determine if they are effective and appropriate….

online source: http://www.sao.wa.gov/auditreports/auditreportfiles/ar1003871.pdf

It’s ridiculous that Melissa wasn’t able to ask questions. Her blog is the only place a person can really find out what is happening in the school district. It seems that the school district would welcome questions if they had sound logic for all of their decisions and truly believed what they were doing was in the best interest of every child in the district.

When the SPS bans journalists who only write on education issues, they have only a Pep Rally in most cases. Note hardly any “journalists” came as there is no reason to cover a Pep Rally. No need to have a press conference …. when reading and reporting on a press release is what the SPS desires.

In regard to level of understanding of complex issues, it seems blogger Westbrook is Seattle’s true knowledgeable investigative journalist on education issues. Little wonder the District wants no questions from her.

Actually, Barleywine, I offer solutions all the time. I never complain without offering a solution. The solution in this case, of course, would have been to treat Ms Westbrook as a member of the press. To read more of my proposed solutions, you can read the blog to which I contribute http://www.saveseattleschools.blogspot.com.

Now, where is your long list of proposed solutions? Or don’t you see any problems?

Also, like Ms Westbrook, I do not hide behind a pseudonym. That’s another indicator of a journalist and a serious participant in the discussion.

Also, what great convergence zone analysis did I ever do? Perhaps you have me confused with Cliff Mass, the UW professor of Atmospheric Sciences. You would be much more convincing if you knew what you were talking about.

I agree that this is ridiculous. I can’t find any news about Seattle education in “traditional” news outlets. They don’t cover it, or don’t cover it thoroughly. When I want news about Seattle Schools I go one place, and it is Melissa’s blog. Sorry, SPS.

I think the funniest thing about this whole fiasco is the fact that Melissa Westbrook was the only journalist who even came to this “press conference”. No one showed up from the Times, the P-I, Crosscut, Publicola, West Seattle Blog, KUOW, or KIRO. There were cameras there from KOMO and KING, but no reporters. Neither of those TV stations reported on the event.

So they hold a press conference but deny the presence of the only press there. Weird.

What, then, was the purpose of the event? Just to make the speakers feel important?

If the Seattle school district has a written policy about who is/is not allowed to ask questions at a press conference, ask them to produce it, and ask them to indicate who among local journalists have been granted permission. I’m betting the district has no such policy, and has never formally granted anyone permission to ask questions. Melissa, who (along with her fellow contributors) provides incredible coverage of Seattle Public Schools at http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/, should absolutely have been allowed to ask questions. And the fact that she was the only “journalist” to show up at this press conference makes me laugh.

He’s a troll, Charlie. Quit feeding him; all he does is bait people to get a rise out of them.

“Watchdog” that provides critical commentary.” Yes, that is what this blog does, kind of like Consumer Reports and I bet they get press passes when they need them.

SPS is completely out of control and trying to do damage control. They tried to bury the truth about overcrowding at Garfield, and got caught on that fairly quickly – thanks to “the media.”

Keep up the good work bloggers, and readers, pass the link on to everybody you know with a kids in SPS!

content-based discrimination in press pass issuance by a public agency is illegal

Publicola to their credit does try to act as an objective news source and isn’t necessarily trying to further an agenda with their news blog so much as report what’s happening in local politics… even if some of its writers are pushing movements with some of their op/ed writing. There is a distinct difference between such a news blog site and a site with a clear M.O. of pushing an agenda. That doesn’t make SPS’s move correct but this is not as slippery a slope as it seems… unless Josh is going to let Erica turn the news section into a full-out propaganda wing as the Stranger let Dominic Holden do with theirs.

I can understand limiting questions to just a fairly strict definition of the press, if the press would cover this issue critically, and report all sides of the debate. Seattle Times doesn’t do that, and neither, sadly, does Publicola.

Melissa’s voice needs to be heard, because her point of view is unrepresented and uncovered, except by her.

The District loses credibility when it decides to limit media access to a chosen few. I too would like to see the district policy that defines who is allowed to ask questions at a press conference. What or who are they afraid of?

Melissa provides an uniquely detailed perspective on the goings-on in the school district – reporting on school board meetings, negotiations, school board work sessions, budgeting issues and auditor’s reports, and student assignments and capital projects. She does an excellent job of presenting the facts in great detail, and with some historical context and definitions to bring newer readers up to speed. None of the other news outlets in Seattle offer anything REMOTELY close to this kind of reporting. (And I think we might separately ask why they have abdicated their responsibility to provide comprehensive information about School District management.)

Why would the Seattle School District be motivated to lock Melissa and her questions out? Because she is an intelligent observer who spends the time and energy to become educated about and follow their work, she assists others in the community in understanding their work, and she has some pointed questions for them that would require them to explain and stand behind their decisions. The fact that they are unwilling/unable to answer Melissa’s questions is a sad commentary on the management of the School District and goes to show exactly *why* we need a “watchdog” to monitor their actions.

I highly recommend that *everyone* check out Melissa’s work: http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/

Stop it, Gomez, you’re killing me. This whole damn site is a full-out propaganda wing.

I get almost all of my school district news off the Save our Schools blog. Melissa should definitely be able to ask questions at a school district press conference. She’s one of the most educated people in the city about the goings on at the district (if not the most knowledgeable person).

As I wrote on the Save Seattle Schools blog, Melissa ought not to feel too slighted… this is part of a national trend in the education “deform” arena…. and its what’s playing out here in Seattle, with the final stages of that agenda being implemented now…

(see this piece today in Crosscut – http://crosscut.com/2010/09/16/education/20149/Evaluate-teachers-so-we-can-pay-them-what-they-re-worth/ … Dick Startz is a Castor Professor of Economics at the University of Washington, and author of the forthcoming book “Profit of Education”. And is it possible that Crosscut’s exclusively pro-reformite views on education are in any way influenced by the financial support it gets from the pro-charter, pro-high-stakes- testing, “teacher-evaluation” obsessed Bill Gates? From the Gates Foundation web grant site:
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/grants
Crosscut Public Media
Date: April 2010
Purpose: for general operating support
Amount: $400,000
Term: 1 year and 11 months
Topic: Not available
Region Served: North America, Global
Program: Foundation
Grantee Location: Seattle, Washington
Grantee Web site: http://crosscut.com

Anyway – back to the comment I started with…
I’ve been involved in a little dance with NBC. My problem with the national education “SUMMIT” NBC is hosting next week is that the panel is stacked with pro education privatisation reformers and not a parent in sight…. nor any working teachers… http://www.educationnation.com/

The guest list is here:
http://ofprincipalconcern-educationworld.blogspot.com/

Guests range from Michelle Rhee to Joel Klein to Arne Duncan; the guests are all Broadie Toadies or Gates people or charter school chain owners. National education system reform under discussion – where are the parents?

Look at the Sponsors…
http://www.educationnation.com/index.cfm?objectid=EB7AF3A0-A41B-11DF-A44E000C296BA163

I challenged NBC on why its leaving out of the discussion the biggest stakeholders in this equation, and so far, no response….

I pointed them in the direction of highly informed, articulate people who were well qualified to participate in this ‘dialogue’ – no response except to block me….

Yesterday they were trying to buy my silence by offering an op ed space on the Education Nation website, today they’ve unfriended me and taken all my critical comments (and the research and references supporting those comments) off their pages…

Here’s the chronology, starting yesterday morning (Wednesday 15 Sept)…

Just finished an interesting (power and control) phone conversation with the Ryan Osborn, producer of this website/programme…. http://www.educationnation.com

http://www.facebook.com/educationnation?v=wall&story_fbid=114784968577609&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment_reply

I couldnt get him to agree to put parents on the panel (he said they tried to get Diane Ravitch but she wasnt available – I suggested Prof Zhao) but to buy me off and shut me up they’ve offered me an op ed piece on their website…

who has anything they want to say??????? No limit, just no slander!

Here’s what I wrote back (on the Education Nation facebook page):
I’d like to thank Ryan at NBC for contacting me and having a telephone conversation a few minutes ago. Ryan and I have something in common – we are both journalists with an ethical responsibility for providing both sides of an discussion/issue.

While Ryan said he/NBC had heard our concerns he could not offer parents (the largest stakeholders in this education reform equation) and other critics of the education ‘reform’ agenda a place on the panel.

He said that Diane Ravitch had been invited but was not free on these dates… I suggested he invite Professor Zhao – he did not give me an answer one way or another.

He did very generously offer me the opportunity to write an op-ed piece for the Education Nation website, which I will gratefully accept… though I did point out that an op-ed hidden somewhere on a website that people have to search to find, is no match in terms of airing contrary perspectives for the public exposure the very wealthy education reformers will be getting from this summit.

Sadly, most of us parents around the country do not have the billions of dollars that the Gates, Broad and Milken Foundations and Raytheon, Phoenix University and Microsoft etc have to throw at this effort to mould and control the discussion… But I will take what I can get, albeit a very small bone….

Ryan did give me some feedback I shall bear in mind – he felt my many posts were repetitive, intimidating and shutting out of other points of view… I will think on that – though how that is possible on a facebook page, which has no limit on comment postings, I dont know….

And I then added the comment:
I just had feedback from someone in contact with Diane Ravitch that while she is in California on the dates of the Summit, she did offer to provide a taped segment as her contribution to the debate… apparently that was not good enough… quite sad, really…

The SPS administration doesn’t want anyone to ask questions. They want us all to just shut up and pay taxes. Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson and her staff are far more invested in furthering their own careers and lining the pockets of test manufacturing companies than they ever were in promoting the education of our children. SPS administration is a sham and ONLY Melissa Westbrook calls them on it. The Seattle Times is too busy cheer leading to ask real questions. Why is the SPS Supt. on the board of the company she bought testing software from? Why doesn’t the Seattle School Board Notice? How will the district pay for teacher pay increases if the supplemental levy doesn’t pass?
Melissa Westbrook asks these questions, she should get a damned press pass.

A public agency refused a journalist (or blogger/journalist) a press pass because the person is a “watchdog?” You’d think that of all organizations, a school district (involving both children in the city and public money) would welcome probing and critical questions.

So… why didn’t they?

I view Melissa Westbrook as a community activist, not a journalist. She has opinions and is attempting to mobilize the community around those issues. That is neither good nor bad, but it is not journalism. Melissa said that she and one other person were the only people from the public there. She identifies herself as one of the public but wants to have the rights and privileges of the media when it suits her.

Have cake. Eat too.

actually Consumer Reports was once denied access to the US Congressional Press Pass. They sued and won.

How are the rights and privileges of the public different from the rights and privileges of the media?

While it is true that the contributors to the Save Seattle Schools blog are free with their opinions, so is the Seattle Times. Are Lynne Varner, Bruce Ramsey, Joni Balter and the other members of the Times editorial board not journalists? Are Danny Westneat, Nicole Brodeur or Jerry Large journalists?

It is also undeniably true that the blog is the best source for news about Seattle Public Schools. Yes, there is opinion and activism, but there is also news. Real news, not just re-printed press releases. That’s the place to go for first-hand reports from meetings and events and for investigations into documents.

Saffron seems to suggest that Ms. Westbrook is seeking the rights benefits of being a member of the public and the rights and benefits of being a journalist. They are not mutually exclusive. It’s pretty clear to me that Ms Westbrook is only seeking the privileges granted to journalists. What rights and privileges do they surrender? None that I’m aware of. They still retain all of the rights and privileges they had as members of the public.

Actually, the District regards Melissa as a “watchdog,” and isn’t that the role of the press? The Seattle Times also mobilizes the community around issues in addition to reporting on them. I don’t see the difference myself. So it is OK to report and mobilize if you are an entity like the Times but not OK if you are a blogger? Interesting.

What the school district did was inexcusable. I understand that Melissa can be…well, a bit much…but as opinionated and agenda driven as her blog is, the fact remains that it is one of the most, if not the most, education centric blog in the region. She focuses on one school district, presents facts, and makes arguments. While that’s not always what the Sundquists, Maiers, Martin Morrises (a/k/a – the Goodloe-Johnson’s on the Board) want to hear, it is a part of the conversation.

This is yet another example of the School District failing to be transparent, and yet another example as to why keeping Goodloe-Johnson was a stupid move. While Hariam may be singing her praises nonstop, the fact is that she needed to go, and we needed someone to lead our schools who is not only more open and transparent, but actually willing to reach out to the families and communities affected by their decisions.

I only hope this is just another step in a series of events, and that the school board members up for re-election draw serious competitors, and that Melissa keeps up her work, and that the new members give her the opportunity to keep up that work, and maintain open communication with someone who wants to improve our schools.

She’s the only journalist that covers the schools. She’s it. This is a one paper town these days. The paper didn’t send a jounalist. The TV stations would send journalists if a school burned down (to interview crying kids) but not for an average press conference. (Although I think they are missing a big story here at Garfield and John Hay and the other over-capacity schools). Crying kids and parents make for good TV, guys. Furthermore, the whole idea that she has an agenda so she shouldn’t get to ask questions is suspect. The Seattle Times has both a political and a business agenda, but if they bothered to show up they’d get to ask questions.

Save Seattle Schools blog is the only news source that really covers Seattle Public Schools. Investigative journalism is never focused on SPS from other news agencies.

As the only other member of the public to be there gotta say the whole thing was entertaining, but it was not a press conference. With no “journalists” present, the speakers spoke, posed for photos and dispersed. We were allowed to mingle and ask questions one-on-one if we so liked (if you could catch them). Melissa did just that, asked questions privately. I just gave our No on the Supplemental Levy flyers to the KING5 and the KOMO4 cameramen to give to their bosses along with the district propaganda.

Sure would have been nice for someone to ask:
Why have a press conference announcing the contract was final before the Board actually voted to approve it?
Why have a press conference about a contract between the union and the district and not have a union rep speak, but instead have three leaders from astroturf organizations blather on?

Journalism as defined by Webster as: “1.a. a : the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media”.

I reckon Melissa is therefore a journalist as http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/ is definitely media.

On the face of this it doesn’t look good for district – controlling the message with censorship.

I agree that they should have let Melissa ask a question, everyone in the ed community in Seattle knows her work, but it’s unreasonable to expect press conferences to be completely open to the public. Every presser turns into a town-hall meeting in that scenario, I’ve seen it happen. The simple solution is to allow only people with a press pass, issued by SPS (and Melissa should get a pass) to attend. It’s silly and frankly suspicious to allow people to attend who aren’t allowed to ask questions. If it’s held in a public space, only people with a pass should have their questions answered. Simple as that.

I dig the paranoid retro Nixon White House vibe coming out of SPS. I’d love to see the full Enemies List who are not to be allowed to ask questions or rabble-rouse. There’s a semi-regular band of crazies who speak at board meetings who aren’t much of a threat to them, but they seem to be much more vigilant in countering those with substantive, informed questions.

It is a bit J.Edgar Hooverish of SPS to deny Ms Westbrook a press pass. Good grief, journalism -or what passes for it in this town- is hardly unbiased. SPS will not fall apart if Melissa is given a press pass.

Childish behavior from our school leadership. Keep asking because your parents support accountability.

I think you’re all wrong, including Melissa.

Given how the main stream media is appx. 99% despicable sycophant stenography of all the thoughts that are fit to think, barely disguised as “reporting”, WHY would Melissa want to associated with those who comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted?

While most local “reporters” are toadying up to the $.$. Billy Boat for those Deluxe Rubber Chicken soirées, rubbing elbows with the Masters Of The Power Point, Masters of Credential Soup, and Masters of NOTHING useful for our kids or those working with our kids, Ms. Westbrook is afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted. Does she REALLY want to be associated with groveling toadies?

Ms. Westbrook – beware the company you keep

rmm.

The Seattle School District has no formal policy on issuing press passes (http://www.seattleschools.org/area/policies/e/index.dxml). Melissa Westbrook’s blog is by far the best source of information on the Seattle School District. It is telling that Dr. Goodloe-Johnson chose not to face Melissa’s questions.

Chairman Mao Goodloe Johnson doesn’t care about the children, the community or the schools. It is hard to figure out what she does care about, though.

Melissa Westbrook, and a few other interested citizens of this city, have for years posted extermely informative information about Seattle Public Schools. Much of this information is unobtainable elsewhere, unless one wants to do all the footwork Melissa does, attending meeting after meeting, taking notes, and reporting these notes to us public over at the blog she manages along with a couple of other dedicated citizens, interested in informing the public.
Blogs are really the new journalism. I hope that SPS and others understand this. When people want information they seek these alternative sources.
Yes, Melissa sometimes mixes (by accident, for the most part) her opinion with the reporting she does. But it is fairly clear to a regular reader that her facts and reporting are dead on. Besides, the nature of a blog is that there IS opinion in them, but for heaven’s sake we are talking about education – aren’t people educated enough to read what’s written and make decisions about what’s fact and what’s opinion? If they aren’t, we have trouble.
Keep up the good work, Melissa (and the others who spend hours gathering REAL data down at the district meetings. We would be in the dark without you.

Since they always want to be at the “forefront of reform,” they should issue her a press pass. The content of her writing should not be the issue. Columnists have press passes. In the face of strategies to elude scrutiny of the traditional press, members of the new media – like blogs- do just as much work, if not more, than traditional journalists, because they must monitor their blogs, do their own fact checking, etc. without the structure of an established commercial media outlet to do it for them.

The FACT that Melissa IS a journalist entitles her to a press pass.

So, wasn’t the superintendent’s #1 area of improvement, outlined by the board at her spring review, supposed to be “improved public communication and engagement skills”….????

This debacle doesn’t really put her and her communications department on track, does it?!….

Melissa Westbrook’s SaveSeattleSchools blog provides more accurate information than the Seattle Times does about Education issues.

Melissa Westbrook’s SaveSeattleSchools blog provides more accurate information than the Seattle Times does about Education issues.

The “public” as you see it doesn’t have the right and privilege to ask public elected officials?..!

By your definition of what isn’t journalism, “…has opinions and is attempting to mobilize the community around those issues,” would include the Seattle Times as not a “journalism” publication. I would certainly agree with you on that point.

Sad fact #1: Seattle has no education reporting in its single newspaper, only editorializing. The Seattle Times appears to be a lapdog of the superintendent, or whoever is really in power.
Sad Fact #2: In spite of sad fact #1, the district has to pull a stunt like this press conference.
Sad Fact #3: The district can’t even pull off a press conference without a muzzle for the watchdog.

If melissa isn’t a journalist, then we haven’t got any in this town. I gave up the times AND the pi – the Blog is the only news I need.

Well, Lord know the Seattle Times ain’t doing it.

So far as I’ve seen, the Times cheerleads for MGJ. Where SPS is concerned, they refuse to be a frickin newspaper. And the Stranger, if they can be bothered to write about the schools, can’t even get their basic facts correct. The Save Seattle Schools blog is the ONLY thing approaching journalism that I’ve seen on the subject.

Somehow I missed all this until a journalist I know only from Twitter tweeted the Stranger’s link a little while ago. I am writing a protest letter. I urge my fellow journalists in all formats to do the same.

I have long been telling Melissa and company on saveseattleschools.etc. that they ARE journalists, whether they wanted to call themselves that or not (I believe at one point they demurred), and have publicly lauded them before for providing the most comprehensive coverage of Seattle Public Schools, period. I value their work both as a generalist newsperson who goes to their site (and has followed it almost since the start) to keep an eye on issues that might bubble up in the geographic area I cover, and, personally, as a Seattle Public Schools parent.

Since I quit old media to do this fulltime three years ago, I have vigorously asserted WSB’s right to the same access as old-media organizations, and maybe it was easier for institutions and others to say “OK” to us because I have a 30-year background in “traditional” journalism – but that shouldn’t be a prerequisite.

I urge SPS to apologize to Melissa and to clarify that saveseattleschools.etc. writers are as welcome as anyone else as full participants in media briefings. It is not too late to admit you were wrong. – Tracy @ WSB

Nixon, nixon, nixon.

Zing – Josh Feit is incorrect on the use of the CPA title. It can be used as CPA-Inactive but you cannot use it as CPA.

Please refer here to inform yourself:

http://www.cpaboard.wa.gov/CertificateLicense/reinstatement.shtml

The Washington State Board of Accountancy takes the use of the CPA title very seriously, a citizen can file a complaint against Bennett for his use of CPA, it is clearly specified in the RCWs that one cannot use the CPA title when the license is inactive.

For further information, go refer to the Ron Hansen case in the City of Shoreline – he lost his rating with the Muni League last year because his CPA license was revoked by the Washington State Board of Accountancy. The not-so-good researchers at the supposedly neutral Muni League failed to follow up on repeated referrals on this information until the Snohomish County Superior Court Case that resulted in the suspension and subsequent revocation of his CPA license was copied and sent to them.

Sadly, it is time for Melissa to lawyer up. It is pretty much the only way this Seattle School District administration ever backs down.

Come to think of it, perhaps a few Publicola readers should contact the ACLU today.

Two seconds after the District is served with notice of a lawsuit based on the 1st Amendment, the District will have a huge public relations hassle on its hands. In addition, it will be spending -wasting – taxpayer money by having to pay attorney fees. At a time of severe budget constraints, that is not going to sit well with the public.

Then, the moment that the District with egg on its face either backs down or, being really foolish, loses in court, the school board should insist the superintendent overhaul her communications department. And the school board directors should feel obligated to give the superintendent a visible public slap for giving her staff the license to try to sideline this education reporter.

And, prediction – I don’t think that public slap would be very helpful if/when the superintendent hunts for a job in a different district.

Sadly, it is time for Melissa to lawyer up. It is pretty much the only way this Seattle School District administration ever backs down.

Come to think of it, perhaps a few Publicola readers should contact the ACLU today.

Two seconds after the District is served with notice of a lawsuit based on the 1st Amendment, the District will have a huge public relations hassle on its hands. In addition, it will be spending -wasting – taxpayer money by having to pay attorney fees. At a time of severe budget constraints, that is not going to sit well with the public.

Then, the moment that the District with egg on its face either backs down or, being really foolish, loses in court, the school board should insist the superintendent overhaul her communications department. And the school board directors should feel obligated to give the superintendent a visible public slap for giving her staff the license to try to sideline this education reporter.

And, prediction – I don’t think that public slap would be very helpful if/when the superintendent hunts for a job in a different district.

I did have you confused with Cliff Mass, and I apologize to him for that.

“Now, where is your long list of proposed solutions? Or don’t you see any problems?”

I see one very big problem, and if we could fix that then many smaller solutions could fall into place:

This idea that Broad/Gates = MGJ = bad for the union. So far, so true. But anything that weakens the union is good in the long run for our kids.

How about a school year that lasted…a year?
How about some accountability, of principals (and teachers who should be accountible to her), for results? And less of this “oh, it’s impossible to measure…”
How about charter schools? Although we wouldn’t need them if we could escape the union.

I see so much passion for the union/teachers and, truth be told, not much for the kids or the parents.

I hope the old guard media stands up for Westbrook. This is a case of a governmental public entity deciding who is and who is not a journalist – a slipper slope they should not be embarking upon.

If any big “J” journalists feel uncomfortable with standing up for Westbook and allowing her to ask questions at a Seattle Public Schools presser, I’m going to point blank ask “if she can’t be there and ask questions, why aren’t you there asking the hard questions instead?”

I’m not doubting you, but can you cite the law? I’d like to read it.

As one guy, my experience with public schools:

Mostly on Air Force bases, but also included the surrounding community. Mostly in Nebraska, until eighth grade.

School was normal and easy until then, but we moved outside D.C. where I first experienced racial violence, and first had to actually work for grades. We had tons of homework, including writing, to do. And I floundered for awhile. The teachers loved what they did for a living, bastards.
Instead of dropping out, I got a silver medal on the National Latin Exam.

Then after four years we moved back to Nebraska for my senior year, where I took advanced Physics, advanced Biology, and advanced Trig/Geo/Calc. That was my first year of “almost” straight “A’s”.

My point is the students can only hit as high as the target, and we need to raise that target in Seattle. I don’t know how to do that, because the lower the target, the higher the grades; and the easier it is on teachers. And we don’t have a system willing to raise expectations.

And if someone dares to try, they’re hung.

I’m late to this thread, but I’m with Tracy at West Seattle Blog: Melissa Westbrook has become a journalist. It would be hard to tag her with a conventional label like “beat reporter” or “columnist” or “investigative reporter”, but she does some of the work of all three, and she provides terrific and comprehensive coverage of the schools. As the former Seattle Public Schools reporter for the former Seattle Post-Intelligencer, I follow her blog just to satisfy my own continued interest in the district.