Editorials / Opinion
Jesse Hagopian’s op-eds to the Seattle Times:
Why Seattle educators demand cut to police budget
We can create safe and thriving communities by joining the growing number of cities who are re-appropriating funds from a punishment-based system and re-aiming them toward a new system that builds thriving communities.
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Schools need to learn the importance of recess
Seattle is following a national trend in reducing recess time in primary grades as school districts obsess about raising test scores, writes guest columnist Jesse Hagopian.
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Scrapping the MAP charts a course toward good teaching, not flawed testing
Seattle Public Schools’ decision to allow high schools to opt out of the Measures of Academic Progress is only a partial victory. Educators need to rethink how assessment are used to the benefit of students.
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Op-ed: Why Garfield teachers boycotted the MAP test
Garfield teachers believe students should be evaluated based on what they are learning in the classroom, writes guest columnist Jesse Hagopian.
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If my name were Chrysler, would you give me a bailout?
While we bail out the Big Three U.S. automakers, no one’s coming to the rescue of our financially strapped public schools.
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Washington lawmakers absent on school support
Washington state lawmakers failed their responsibility to the state’s students by eroding support for education, writes Seattle teacher Jesse Hagopian. He proposes an income tax on people earning more than $250,000 — an idea recent polls say Americans largely support.
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Don’t hang a closed sign on Seattle Public Schools
Shuttering a school is more than mothballing a brick-and-mortar edifice — it is hanging a closed sign on the hopes of a community, argue Jesse D. Hagopian and Andre Helmstetter of the Educators, Students and Parents for a Better Vision of the Seattle Schools. Instead of closing schools, Seattle Public Schools needs a plan for delivering the kind quality education that will woo families back to the public schools along with per-pupil state funding.
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Seattle Public Schools should avoid ‘Teach for Awhile’ program
The Seattle School Board is considering whether to bring the Teach for America program to Seattle. Guest columnist Jesse Hagopian, a former TFA teacher, cautions the board to invest in experienced teachers rather than recruits from a program that has become known as “Teach for Awhile.”
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Private firm gets failing grade
POP quiz: (We hope you’ve been paying attention because this is a high-stakes test; wrong answers may lead to the dismantling of our schools…
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A year after the earthquake, Haiti still needs help
A year after a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, much of the pledged assistance still has not reached the Haitian people. Guest columnist Jesse Hagopian writes about what still needs to be done.