Everyone in Tacoma is invited to pay attention to Tacoma’s public schools. Several groups, including the one responsible for these web pages, have committed to attending Board meetings, showing up at many of their planning sessions, and to encouraging people to get involved. There are many ways to get involved. One is to volunteer in the schools, in the classrooms or in the office. Contact your local schools! Another is to organize people in your neighborhood, and in your schools, to discuss shared concerns and ideas. Another is to focus on what your child, and kids you know, are doing in school, and find out how you can be a positive force in their education.
As a reminder, the basics come first.
· What should be in a strategic plan? The Tacoma School District has a District Improvement Plan.
· The District need to pay attention to the Achievement Gap. A page with many links to the professional literature about the achievement gap is here. RECENT ACTIVITY within the District about the achievement gap is described here.
· This older web page includes many links and resources about Tacoma public schools.
· Check the Tacoma School District web site for information on the next meeting, and other things.
*The material found on these pages is largely the product of discussions among different groups I have been fortunate to encounter. One of them is called “the Conversation.” Another draws people from around the city, and does not have its own web page. They are people who have a lot of experience with education, administration, and politics, and discussions are always interesting. The discussions produce the ideas, and this page serves to record them.
--Sid Olufs