My views...in a nutshell

I've written several brief treatments on important issues before the Tacoma schools.  This list is a quick reference guide to those positions.

• The newly adopted common core can be a good and useful thing, if done right.  But we need to be realistic about its benefits and wary of its pitfalls.

• It's time we start thinking about new routines, new patterns of how we run school.  Not every student learns the same way, and not all students have the same needs as other students.  The challenge of meeting these varying needs requires creative thinking.  One place to start that thinking is with the school schedule.

• Let's clear out the schools' organizational elements that don't really contribute much to instruction, engagement, or enrichment...or to cost-savings

• Let's at least consider our own history when hiring a new superintendent.  And let's look for someone who knows that building relationships in community engagement creates a climate conducive to improving schools.

• We need to get to work crafting effective teacher evaluation measures.