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When
students start out four laps behind, they must work harder to catch
up to the frontrunners. Seattle Public Schools is committed to
enabling those students to not only catch up, but to excel in
academics as well as in their personal and professional
lives.
We are a
district committed to academic achievement for every student in
every school: producing graduates who are life-long learners. That
is our mission and it guides every facet of our work.
Seattle
Public Schools has met the problem of disproportionality head on.
Eliminating the achievement gap is central to the district’s
mission of academic achievement for every student. As
Superintendent Joseph Olchefske said: "We are shining a spotlight
on the problem and saying it is unacceptable."
Our goal is to eliminate the achievement gap by 2005. We have
made substantial progress, but we realize we have a long way to
go.
"It’s like a battleship," as Disproportionality Action
Committee Facilitator Mickey Fearn said. "It doesn’t start to
turn right way. It starts to turn in 10 miles."
While we have not yet eliminated disproportionality, we are
making gains, thanks to you: parents, teachers, students, staff and
community members.
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