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Opt-Out Oregon
How & Why to Opt-Out of High-Stakes Testing in Oregon
Why Opt-Out?
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Portland schools pushes staff and families harder for expensive testing and against opt-out rights
January 3, 2019 January 3, 2019 optoutoregon Education, MAP, opt-out optout, SBAC, Testing
Portland administration is still trying to discourage the right of students to opt-out of high stakes standardized testing. Decades of real-world experience and research show these tests are an expensive, time-wasting fiasco that do not give classroom teachers valuable feedback.
Yet, bureaucrats have quotas to meet whether or not it's good for student education and an effective use of public resources. From a communication to school principals:
I am placing the responsibility for ensuring effective administration of all assessments on principals. It is my expectation that you will provide leadership as we take another significant step forward in becoming a data-driven district. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Cuellar or me directly. I look forward to measuring our improvement in the area of participation in these critical assessments. Thank you for your dedication to our students.
Dr. Yvonne Curtis, Deputy Superintendent, Instruction and School Communities
Trying to discourage opt-out helps administrators cover their asses in meeting quota, but does not improve the quality of a student's education experience.
Not meeting quota is a toothless threat, by the way. Worrying about quota is about appeasing The System (that corporations have paid for – the private SBAC company has hired many former Oregon policymakers and administrators who pushed for SBAC since the testing program started).
Below is from a communication to all district staff. Teachers are in a tough spot and cannot openly discourage opt-out if it disobeys their employer's directive, but to read this is still disappointing:
Educators are expected to administer state assessments and to provide the best assessment conditions possible for gathering clean and reliable data. While I understand in the past it was considered acceptable for educators to promote opt-out to families or students, this is no longer the case. The state assessments are part of the required curriculum and more importantly, we need to have data that can be used to evaluate the success of instruction from year to year. I want to be very clear that It is not appropriate for staff to discourage participation, or to actively promote opt-out.
It is important for our families and students to be well-informed about student assessments. The role of PPS staff is to provide information and ensure an environment that is conducive to the successful administration of assessments.
Despite Portland Public Schools' relatively short number of instructional days, its central administration thinks time and effort for higher participation and teaching-to-the-test is more valuable than letting teachers teach.
Oddly, a message to district families sent today admits beneath the surface that these tests don't help classroom instruction. From today's message:
Classroom teachers will continue to test their student's mastery of subjects throughout the school year in order to adjust their lessons and provide additional support to students where needed. These types of assessments are most useful for short-term instructional adjustments in the classroom.
Essentially, tests the teachers make for their students have the most practical value. That's reasonable. But that value doesn't require millions of dollars on a statewide basis. That's teachers teaching. From the same message to district families:
If SBAC results demonstrate that students are not meeting these standards, we will explore why and make the necessary adjustments for improvements at a district-wide level. In addition to providing the district with data, increasing the participation rates impacts school ratings assigned by ODE each year. ODE uses the SBAC scores to rate each school and ratings are used to determine where additional support is most needed.
Let's once again save Oregon schools millions of dollars and countless wasted hours: students in poverty don't test as well as other students. We should address the social problem of student poverty instead of feeding the Standardized Testing Machine hoping it will take students out of poverty. It won't. There. Money saved.
Encourage Oregon officials to enforce opt-out rights!
District to schools: Hide opt-out forms! Nuance the messaging! Hit quota!
December 18, 2018 December 18, 2018 optoutoregon Education, MAP, opt-out optout, SBAC, Testing	SBAC Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium testing high stakes district opt out right law oregon
High-stakes standardized testing is on the wrong side of history. It is not an effective educational practice. It is expensive, stressful, and takes away regular instruction time. At best, it only proves the income level of the student's upbringing (i.e. students in poverty struggle in school). Decades of research already shows that. We don't need to keep spending public funds to keep showing that. Fix student poverty.
"Untitled (Buffaloes)" by David Wojnarowicz
Bureaucrats get nervous when people opt-out from standardized testing. Education experts know tests like SBAC (which Oregon uses for the English Language Assessment – ELA, and for math) are boondoggles and fiascos. But bureaucrats only know they have to hit quota. To paraphrase a line from Tennyson's poem "Charge of the Light Brigade":
Theirs but to [test] and die.
Here's a gem from Oregon's largest school district which advises school administrators to simply hide printed opt-out forms from people and "nuance the messaging". Count the number of hidden forms you have presumably to tell if you're handing out too many (note: opt-out is a legal right). Push the SBAC. The goal is to "meet or exceed the state's expectations" in making students take the test, not whether it's good education practice.
Oregon's recent opt-out bill was intended to provide transparency. Yet districts, fearful parents will advocate for their student's (and taxpayer's) best interests, stoop to counteract the bill by outmaneuvering those rights.
The district memo asks administrators to reduce parent access to opt out info, sending it out only via email and making printed forms hidden in school offices. In the past, forms had also been sent home with students and placed on school office countertops. Relying solely on email discriminates against low income families who may not have easy internet access.
The high correlation between income and test performance means that PPS has in essence decided to double down on inequity.
WARNING: the memo below contains the phrase "paradigm shift" which was tacky even back in the 1990s corporate world.
From: Joe LaFountaine <jlafountaine@pps.net>
Date: December 7, 2018 at 4:40:01 PM PSTSubject: SBAC testing and Opt Out recovery
Dear High School Administrative Team Members,
Below is a message that was going to be sent to you today. This message was a notification that PPS was going to be sending a parent email this weekend that explains how parents can opt out of SBAC testing. We are delaying this email, so we can prepare our schools for managing the opt out process.
You need to know that PPS is taking a far more aggressive posture on ensuring all students are taking the SBAC. All the executive leadership and school board have the expectation that all eligible students, minus a few exceptions, will be taking this assessment. We know this will be a challenge since past messaging contradicts this stance. That is why we are providing some time and direction on how to manage this at your school. Certainly the email below covers some of this, but there are some other measures you should consider taking.
Last year we had some schools that permitted teachers to distribute these waivers to students in the classroom. That is no longer permissible. This waiver process should be initiated and completed by the parent of the student/s.
Meet as an administrative team to discuss this and establish your agreed upon talking points. You need to message this to your staff , so establishing your talking points will help you manage pushback. Our expectation is to meet or exceed state expectations.
While forms should be available at the office, I would suggest that you not print out a stack and leave them on the counter. They should be at one of the secretaries desks so you have a person in the office who can speak to the outflow of forms. I would suggest you print a specific number of forms so you can track that flow.
We know we are trying to "put the genie back in the bottle." If we are not united on this practice, it will make the task harder on those who are trying to manage this change in practice. We will dedicate some time at the end of the Leadership agenda to discuss this further and answer any questions you might have. Next week the parent email will go and this will all go live. Anything you can do to prepare your school will benefit your school through this paradigm shift.
Here is the email you will get from Systems Planning. Don't wait for it to arrive to initiate your conversations.
The Oregon Department of Education requires that we provide a 30-Day Notice for Statewide Tests along with the ELA and math opt-out form to parents each year. In the past we have provided hard copies to be back-packed home with students. Beginning this year, our Communications team will be sending the link to the 30-day notice to parents by email. The message below will be sent to parents this week. Schools do *not* need to send this communication directly to parents.
30-Day Notice for Statewide Tests and Opt-out Form
The purpose of this communication is to notify parents and guardians of the upcoming statewide tests for the 2018-19 school year. The notice can be viewed on this web page:https://www.pps.net/Page/1651
Please know that although most students will not participate in testing until spring, some students will begin testing in January. Please contact your school for school-specific testing windows.
In addition to the email message to parents, we ask that you have hard copies of the notice and opt-out form available in the school office. Please do not display those copies, but do have them available upon request by parents. If students ask about opt-out forms they should be directed to talk with their parents first, as the opt-out decision lies with the parent and not with the student. The process for handling opt-out requests remains the same this year:
1. Parents complete and sign the opt-out form and turn it in to the school.
2. All opt-out forms should be direct to the School Test Coordinator (STC).
3. The STC scans and emails opt-out forms to testinghelp@pps.net.
4. The school should retain a copy of the opt-out form for the remainder of the school year. Testing Help will keep a copy for a minimum of three years.
The opt-out form applies only to the Oregon ELA and math tests. It does *not* apply to other assessments. Requests to exempt students from other learning activities, including science or ELPA assessments will be handled in a different manner. Soon, we be providing you with additional clarification around school expectations regarding student participation in our required assessments, including steps to take for exemption requests from other assessments and expectations regarding communicating with students and staff on this issue. "
I know this is a challenge on many levels. My confidence in you to nuance the messaging is very high. Let's work together to share ideas we feel might help each other .
Have a good weekend. That last week before the break always feels a little longer than five days. So get some rest. We will see you next week.
Area Assistant Superintendent of High Schools
Portland Public Schools
The preceding line in "Charge of the Light Brigade" is:
Someone had blundered.
Bureaucrats and policymakers should stop blundering. They should instead listen to education experts: time and resources are wasted on high-stakes standardized testing. Instead spend those funds on regular instruction time and relieving student poverty.
Rachel Rich to Oregon Legislature on SBAC Testing: Kill It.
April 30, 2017 April 30, 2017 optoutoregon SBAC, Testing
Rachel Rich, a member of CAPE (Community Alliance for Public Education: check them out on Facebook) in Eugene has been doing some great comprehensive work lately on exposing Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) testing as the destructive presence it is. Here is a compilation of her recent testimony surrounding Senate Bill 351, legislation that seeks to straighten out the botched audit on SBAC. The audit was way too sketchy and not comprehensive enough. Rich's testimony is long but worth the read. That is followed by her update of the numbers after some more research.
I urge the passage of SB 351 to more thoroughly audit the costs of state mandated Smarter Balanced standardized tests – in finances, time and other resources. I also endorse SB 354 to provide parents consistent, prompt and objective information on whether each standardized test benefits their own individual student and how to opt out if it doesn't.
Last year's House audits of Smarter Balanced stated they wouldn't discuss classroom impacts or test quality, which should be central. A new audit should also address costs beyond ODE contracts for test administration, such as for the enormous expansion of ODE personnel, training and infrastructure, as well as district' costs for adding test-related positions, substitutes to setup and proctor, computer hardware and software, data management, technical services and training.
A new audit should also propose more solutions to the problems it finds. From last year's audit report, document #2016-21, I pulled out a partial list of flaws in the test's design and execution. Here they are in order and verbatim:
"results are not well-suited to inform instruction or individual educational decisions at the student level
students taking between 18-23 hours to take the tests
additional staffing and resource demands on the entire school
(needing) new staff or substitutes
training displaces professional development
test administration can take up meeting time at schools
testing tied up computers for months
less instruction time, fewer support services, and less access to common resources for all students during testing
multiple reports of computers freezing and accommodations, such as text-to-speech, not working properly
work …lost
anxiety or pressure
disruption and stress
challenges exacerbated by the length of the test
impacts fall hardest on vulnerable populations"
No test in history has ever caused so many problems or yielded such unusable results, yet the ODE justifies this for the sake of "systems level … accountability". All other tests report specific skills or standards for specific students that help teachers target instruction, such as if a kid understands decimals. Instead, Smarter Balanced only reports "Claim #2 – Student can solve a range of complex, well-posed problems". There is no excuse for this. Other tests are helpful both for instruction and comparing individual or group performance "for accountability." We've known this since the SBAC pilot in 2013. It's time for a change.
Further, the new audit must count all testing costs. Not finding any ODE discussion of this, I asked Representative Susan McLain's office for school budget records between 2010 and 2014 with regard to likely test-related budget items, pre- and post- Smarter Balanced. (I chose budget items based on Smarter Balanced test manuals, an AFT study, etc.) 2010 was the starting point since OAKS alone was used and 2014 represents the full implementation of Smarter Balanced, as well as the last set of complete records for all Oregon districts at that time. I used public records.
Here's one example of what I found: additional substitutes needed to set up and proctor the new tests raised expenditures this way:
121 – Substitutes-licensed $3,887,787
122 – Substitutes-classified $2,594,894
In total, districts' test-related budget items increased by $86 million between 2010 and 2014. That averages out to $22 million annually, so that for the past seven years schools themselves spent about an extra $154 million to both develop and administer the new tests.
Additionally, an ODE contract with AIR test administrators (annual or biannual?) was for $27.5 million, as opposed to the old test which Rob Saxton said totaled only $3.5 million. The SBAC was implemented statewide from 2013 to now, meaning that since then there have been two to four AIR contracts for test fees and administration totaling about $55-110 million. The ODE says their contract is now a few million less, but that is a drop in the bucket of the total costs.
Further, a 2009 ODE grant application to develop Smarter Balanced outlines their own expanded infrastructure, personnel and training for $202 million. The maintenance of this expansion continued after the grant expired – for added staff, equipment, bandwidth, data storage and training. At an average of $50 million yearly, the subsequent three years after the grant would total about $150 million.
To summarize, depending on whether you count only out-of-pocket expenditures only or if you include the grant as part of total test-related spending, and whether the AIR test administration contract is annual or biannual, Smarter Balanced has increased state expenditures by approximately $350 – 600 million!! Those are only some of the increases, not total costs. It also doesn't include the new ESD, district or school personnel required for this more elaborate testing system.
Are we getting our money's worth? The most highly respected national test, the NAEP, shows Oregon has made no improvement under the tutelage of Smarter Balanced. Worse, teacher training outside of the testing theme is down by $11 million and funding for key student services like reading support, talented and gifted and psychological services are also in the red, suggesting although we test to identify needs, but aren't committed to addressing them.
Further, the shift in emphasis, funding and personnel towards math and English and away from electives has created a new set of problems: students feel they have few avenues for developing their own talents and interests outside those dictated by adults obsessed with data and accountability.
In short, spending so much time and so many resources on testing is not only futile, but it robs students of their love of learning. I think we need SB 351 and 354 to hold the adults accountable.
Rachel Rich
Rachel Rich's Assessment of SBAC budget costs.
How much does your state spend on testing? What are the trade-offs? Rachel Rich, 4-10-17
Since starting Smarter Balanced, Oregon's spending on standardized testing has exploded by over $550 million! That's according to one ODE contract, a grant and their own budget spreadsheets. Yet key student services have risen less than one feeble million and teacher training is down many millions! How can we expect more from students and teachers when we support them less?
Two years ago I never heard a peep about testing costs, so I decided to investigate. Rustling through Oregon Department of Education records, I found this:
A 2014 contract shows AIR charged Oregon $27.5 million for two years of Smarter Balanced. That's an average of $14 million annually, while the previous computerized test was a mere $3.5 million. After Smarter Balanced went statewide in 2013, it continued racking up fees totaling over $50 million!
Further, the ODE 2010-14 Race to the Top grant shows they expanded their office personnel, training and infrastructure by a whopping $202 million. The grant expired, but nobody fired the new help or threw the equipment out the window, so costs continued. At an average of $50 million annually, seven years of maintaining ODE expansion now total over $150 out-of-pocket or $350 million over-all!
Next, school districts themselves spent extra to accommodate longer and more elaborate tests. According to Smarter Balanced testing manuals, an American Federation of Teachers study, two state audits, and friends who are administrators, school board members, test coordinators and tech specialists, school districts had to add:
Extra substitute teachers to set up and proctor
Test-focused professional development
New hardware and software
Increased technical services
Additional data management
Using those as a reference, I requested ODE spreadsheets of related budget items. A friendly legislator expedited the process. The first spreadsheet was for 2010 when the state used the old test and started designing the new. The last spreadsheet was when Smarter Balanced was already underway, which happened to be the last year of available data: 2014. Here is the difference between test-related spending before and after Smarter Balanced, listed by budget item:
121 – Substitutes-licensed – to act as proctors $ 3,887,787
122 – Substitutes-classified – prepare for and proctor tests $ 2,594,894
470 – Computer software – system updates for testing $26,804,376
480 – Computer hardware – additional computers – $1,095,277
(grants offset costs for new computers)
380 – Technical services – typically for testing $8,262,137
390 – Other tech services – typically for testing $23,896,065
2660 – Technology services – typically for testing $14,430,357
2210 – Improvement of instruction – typically test PD $4,084,000
2240 – Staff development (paid) typically for testing $982,613
Mostly covered by ODE grant until 2014, test focused regular staff meetings not included
2630 – Information Services – manage increased SB data $1,500,554
2230 – Assessment and testing – other than state tests $614,948
2670 –Records management $93,225
Increased test-related expenditures for all Oregon districts 2010-14: $86,055,679
This averages out to an increase of $22 million annually or more than $150 million since 2010!
That doesn't count the extra personnel schools needed! Smarter Balanced manuals show districts were expected to add testing personnel or else divert staff away from their primary duties. As a consequence, district and school test coordinators, test administrators, regional ESD partners, data managers, and technology specialists popped up like dandelions on a baseball field.
Summary of Oregon's increased testing-related expenditures since Smarter Balanced:
Yearly Total
AIR Contract $14 million x 4 years $50+ million (since 2013)
ODE expansion $50.5 million x 7 years $350+ million (since 2010)
District expenditures $22 million x 7 years $150+ million
District test personnel ? ?
$87 million $550+ million ($350+ out of pocket)
Meanwhile, expenditures for key student services (like nurses and summer school) only grew half a million dollars in four years. Given we have half a million students, that's an increase of $1 per pupil or just 25 cents per pupil per year!!! Clearly, over-spending on tests is choking out services. Check out the difference between 2010 and 2014, listed by state budget item:
1113 – Elementary extra-curricular $50,059
1122 – Middle school extra-curricular $3,912
1132 – High school extra-curricular $160,875
1140 – Pre- K $226,488
1210 – Talented and Gifted -$196,181 loss
1220 – Restrictive programs for disabled $442,655
1250 – Less restrictive programs for disabled $1,006,129
1260 – Early Intervention (SPED) $974,795
1271 – Remediation $518,935
1272 – Title I -$6,228,523 loss
1291 – English Language Learners $467,229
1400 – Summer school $4,120
2130 – Health services $691,049
2120 – Guidance services $1,560,981
2140 – Psychological services -$376,844 loss
2150 – Speech pathology and audiology $919,983
2190 – Services Directions and Student Support $285,341
Total increases for Oregon's key student services from 2010-14: $505,003
At an average of $125,000 since 2010, school services increased a mere $875,000 since 2010!
Notice: Psychological Services, Talented and Gifted, and Title 1 Reading assistance actually fell by $7 million! Summer school, which helps kids who've fallen behind, rose by a lousy $4 thousand! That doesn't even include losses to electives like music, art, shop, PE, and civics!
Also, teacher training that's not test-related is down $11 million! Yet any professional needs updates on best practices. Budget item 310 – Professional development lost – $10,830,571
Clearly, out of control test spending is robbing schools of vital programs and services! Why do we accept this? Why do we test supposedly to identify needs, when we aren't committed to addressing them?
Oregon should audit SBAC, says legislation & Multnomah Dems
April 23, 2017 optoutoregon opt-out optout, SBAC, Testing, Uncategorized
This is great, but needs help to pass!
Oregon spends far too much time, expense, and stress on high-stakes standardized testing. This especially holds for the money Oregon wastes on the Smarter Balanced Assessment, a testing program that does not inform teacher instruction. The results are useless for classroom teachers, who end up using their own tests to measure student knowledge anyway.
Oregon is considering whether to renew its agreement for the Smarter Balanced Assessment. We think it should be scrapped, however we also support measuring its costs and effectiveness.
There are forces against even measuring whether the tests from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is a strategic, good investment of hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Thankfully, legislation put forth by Sen. Lew Frederick asks for a much-needed audit of SBAC, and the Multnomah County Democrats recently passed the resolution below which included calling for the suspension of the SBAC testing process until the audit is completed. Contact your legislators to let them know you support Senate Bill 351!
Multnomah County Democratic Central Committee
Resolution: 2017-4 Cost Benefit Audit of High Stakes Standardized Testing
WHEREAS, Oregon's future well-being relies on a high-quality public education system that prepares all students for citizenship, careers, and lifelong learning, as well as strengthens the state's social and economic prosperity; and,
WHEREAS, Oregon is spending burgeoning amounts of money, time, and energy on standardized tests to measure student performance and using those test results to make major decisions affecting individual students, educators, and schools; and,
WHEREAS, it is widely recognized that high-stakes standardized testing is an inadequate, and in the case of Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) tests, an unreliable and invalid measure of student learning, educator effectiveness, and school success; and,
WHEREAS, high-stakes standardized testing does not inform instructional practice, nor does it convey meaningful information to students or parents about student progress, but does exert undue mental and emotional stress on them, and,
WHEREAS, the state collects, stores, and analyzes data gleaned from the tests to make decisions that can have major impacts on students' lives, the hiring and firing of school personnel, and school closings; and,
WHEREAS, the cost of maintaining the Statewide Longitudinal Data System that accompanies the tests is not only costly, but grows steadily as more and more testing data is collected, stored, and analyzed; and,
WHEREAS, Oregon state-mandated standardized testing costs from 2010 through 2014 are estimated to have been at least $414 million dollars; and,
WHEREAS, the State of Oregon is facing a substantial budget deficit of $1.7 billion dollars which most likely will force school districts to take drastic actions (e.g. laying off staff, increasing class sizes, cutting back on school days); and,
WHEREAS, it appears that the Federal Government is going to turn over more control to the states, so more time is needed for Oregon to review and/or develop an effective testing system, and
WHEREAS, the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Education Association are already working in partnership to create alternative assessment models and, thus, Oregon is seen as a leader in the creation of such assessments.
THEREFORE, be it that the Multnomah County Democratic Party resolves to support cost effective assessments in Oregon's public schools that benefit students, educators and schools, by:
AMENDING, SB 351 to suspend the use of the statewide assessments developed by a multi-state consortium and postponing the renewal of any contracts or Memoranda of Understanding related to the use of statewide assessments.
SUPPORTING, Senate Bill SB 351, directing the Secretary of State to conduct a thorough cost benefit audit related to the use of the statewide summative assessments in Oregon public schools.
THEREFORE, the Multnomah Democratic Party will use its available communication system to do the following:
Communicate this resolution be shared with Governor Kate Brown, members of the Oregon Legislature, and members of the Multnomah County Democratic Party.
Request that members of the Multnomah County Democratic Party contact their Legislator, Senator Lew Frederick to express support for SB 351
Resolution submitted by the Education Study Group of the Multnomah County Platform Committee.
RESOLUTION NUMBER: 2017-4
SUBMITTED BY: Education Study Group of the Platform Committee
RESOLUTION SUBJECT: Suspension and audit of the use of high stakes summative tests in Oregon public schools developed by a multi-state consortium.
OREGON STATE LEGISLATION: Pending
BILL NUMBER AND TITLE OF PENDING LEGISLATION: SB 351 (2017)
BILL SPONSOR: Senator Lew Frederick
ONLINE LINK TO BILL:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocuments/SB351
SYNOPSIS OF RESOLUTION:
Each year the state spends millions of dollars on high stakes summative tests that are neither valid nor reliable. They offer little information of value to individual teachers or students and their families. The state collects, stores and analyzes data gleaned from the tests to make decisions that can have major impacts on students' lives, the hiring and firing of school personnel, and school closings. The tests along with the Statewide Longitudinal Data System that accompanies them are very costly. Since Oregon is facing a $1.7 billion deficit, suspending these tests and performing a thorough cost/benefit analysis audit is mandatory. In support of SB 351 this resolution directs the Secretary of State to conduct an audit of the use of statewide summative assessment in public schools in Oregon and to submit a report to the Governor and interim legislative committees no later than September 15, 2017.
Send a postcard to Gov. Brown: don't renew SBAC!
January 14, 2017 January 16, 2017 optoutoregon Education, SBAC, Testing
Oregon has paid a lot of money, and wasted a lot of essential classroom time, for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) testing system. We hear the contract expires this year! We should avoid wasting any more money on it!
SBAC does not help student poverty, it does not improve instruction, and those funds could better go to restoring curriculum and student wraparound services. We need to encourage Gov. Brown and legislators that high-stakes standardized testing, such as SBAC, is worse than a waste, it does harm to our school system. Encourage Gov. Brown to not renew the SBAC contract, and to not replace it with another expensive, high-stakes testing approach. Download a postcard you can send to the Governor, and make copies for your friends and others in your school!
Principals should stop intimidating students over opt-out rights
April 12, 2016 April 18, 2016 optoutoregon opt-out optout, SBAC, Testing
At Oregon Save Our Schools, people regularly contact us about principals and sometimes teachers who try to intimidate or menace students (not only parents, but STUDENTS) to dissuade people from using their right to opt-out of high-stakes tests. Especially the SBAC summative test.
Several of us in Oregon SOS have direct experience with administrators trying to intimidate, and often lying, to our students about opting-out. It's awful, and outrageous. We education activists push back. Now our legal rights have been expanded.
We know the people and corporations selling high-stakes testing have a lot of money, and want to make even more money. There is pressure on schools (unfair and not backed by research) to produce high test scores and high participation rates. We get it.
But high-stakes testing does expensive, ongoing harm to our schools. It doesn't work. It punishes students in poverty and does nothing to alleviate poverty or make student and family lives better.
Those administrators and teachers who do not question bad policies, often willing to lie to deceive parents and students in order to manufacture test score quotas, are worse than a hindrance. They are on the wrong side of history.
And adults coercing students in this way may be acting illegally.
For the increasing number of educators concerned about student lives and quality instruction who support opting-out to the extent possible, even if it's to simply accommodate students and families exercising their rights: thank you. You're on the right side of history. And our numbers are growing.
For principals and teachers who don't get it: stop.
Oregon Superintendents questioning SBAC
March 22, 2016 March 22, 2016 optoutoregon Education, opt-out optout, SBAC, Testing
Could it be that administrators in Oregon are starting to question the value of high-stakes testing like the time-wasting and expensive Smarter Balanced Assessment and lousy test-and-punish policies?
Looking at other states, we predicted/hoped something like this would happen in Oregon and earlier this school year, we sent "Our Open Letter on Opt-Out to Oregon Superintendents and School Boards" to give high-level people a nudge into the light. Below is an email from several superintendents to the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) we found interesting:
To: Lindsey Capps, Chief Education Officer (acting) Dr. Salam Noor, Oregon Department of Education
From: Carole Smith, Portland Public Schools
Jeff Rose, Beaverton School District
Gustavo Balderas, Eugene School District
Susan Rieke‐Smith, Springfield Public Schools
Colt Gill, Bethel School District
Re: Improving Our Statewide Assessment System
Dear Mr. Capps and Dr. Noor,
With passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Oregon has a unique opportunity to reassess and improve our system of student assessment and school accountability. The prospect of regaining our reputation for innovative and effective student assessment systems is once again within reach.
We applaud ODE's efforts to quickly begin an inclusive process to guide Oregon's response to its new opportunities and responsibilities under ESSA.
We would like to join in an open dialogue with school district superintendents and other educators across our state about how we can best assess student learning and impact student achievement.
As the leaders of some of Oregon's largest school districts, we are keenly aware of the importance of student achievement data. We value the information provided by valid, reliable, standards‐aligned assessments that are administered consistently to all groups of students in order to provide critical information to educators, parents, students and the public about our students' knowledge, skills and learning needs. However, our current statewide assessment system carries high costs in instructional time, impact on graduation preparedness, and student and educator attention all of which detract from the benefits of the system.
We ask that serious consideration be given to replacing the current 11th grade state assessments with a standard college‐entrance exam such as the SAT or ACT. Oregon currently sanctions these tests to meet student graduation requirements, but does not include them in school accountability systems. Some states already have made this change with the approval of the U.S. Department of Education, and others are considering following suit with passage of ESSA. We acknowledge that changing the standard high school exam to a college‐entrance exam would require careful consideration of these assessments' validity to measure progress toward Oregon's Essential Skills and college and career readiness standards. However, such a change could carry numerous benefits. The amount of testing students undergo in their junior year is a serious concern. Many students in 11th grade complete the Smarter Balanced Assessment, OAKS Science, AP, IB, SAT and ACT tests, in addition to numerous dual‐credit exams and teacher‐created assessments. For the students who already take the SAT and/or ACT, completing additional state tests can seem redundant, contribute to a sense of over‐testing, and further reduce motivation and instructional time.
Designating the SAT or ACT as the statewide high school exam would decrease time spent on testing, open doors of opportunity, improve equity, and contribute to creating a college‐going culture aligned with Oregon's 40‐40‐20 goal. We believe that this change would be in the best interest of Oregon's students—especially for students who may not otherwise complete college entrance exams.
This opportunity for reflection on assessment and accountability systems may also create space to consider whether current assessments are effective tools for measuring Oregon's Essential Skills for an Oregon Diploma.
This is also an opportunity to consider Oregon's nine Essential Skills adopted almost 10 years ago. It may be the right time to review their alignment to state standards and the methods we use to ensure students are able to demonstrate Essential Skills prior to graduation.
As discussions progress in ODE's workgroups, we also ask for thoughtful consideration of the most appropriate and effective assessments for grades 3–8. While the Smarter Balanced assessments improve in many ways on the previous OAKS exams, the new tests are lengthy and complex to administer. They require cumbersome and lengthy training that commandeers valuable professional development and teacher collaboration time which otherwise could be focused on meeting student needs, improving instructional practices, enhancing student engagement techniques, and advancing equitable systems in our schools.
There are assessments in existence that correlate well to the Smarter Balanced Assessment and also provide information to teachers and students in a far timelier manner. Perhaps an ideal statewide summative assessment would take less than an hour to administer, it would align with state standards, align with and provide for a balanced system of formative and interim assessments that could inform instruction throughout the year, and validly and reliably measure student learning, all while minimizing the amount of instructional time devoted to testing rather than learning.
We believe that this ideal is possible to achieve. We do understand that the timeline and passionate concerns regarding statewide assessment systems make this new opportunity a "heavy lift" for ODE. We would appreciate the opportunity to continue discussing options to support your efforts to adapt to the changes under ESSA. We also may be able to support the work of ODE by convening a separate, but inclusive, "think tank" to provide thoughtful recommendations to ODE, the State Board, the Governor's Office, the Legislature, or other interested parties.
The changes brought forward by ESSA offer tremendous opportunity for our state, our schools, and our students. We can improve on our state's system for student assessment and school accountability. We can consider measures of student engagement, college credit attainment, family participation and more in our accountability systems. However, addressing the constraints of our current assessment model is a first step. Please consider how we can help support the development of a new plan that can make Oregon a leader in the field once again.
ODE Leads With Fear: Districts/Schools Fail to Honor Intent of Opt-Out Bill
It seemed so simple. The problem? For some reason, since the implementation of SBAC, parents were finding it hard to opt-out of high-stakes testing. As more parents protested the new assessments by opting-out, districts made up their own interpretation of the rules for opting-out, some even going so far as to question parents' request for religious exemption (our post about that scandal).
The solution? Legislators passed HB 2655 to provide parents and students with clear and consistent testing and opt-out information across the state.
What could go wrong? Plenty.
First of all, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) asked for input on their first draft of the opt-out form. ODE received lots of negative feedback and suggestions to make changes. Why? The form was basically an advertisement for how supposedly awesome and valuable the Smarter Balanced test is. Not only was the form misleading and biased, but it also threw in a guilt trip for good measure, with a statement at the bottom. It was not well received.
We started to wonder: Why is Dr. Salam Noor, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction at ODE, pushing for a test that parents and students don't want? Enter stage left: magic number 95 — percent that is. Ninety-five is the percentage rate of children the United States Department of Education (OSDOE) demands get tested…or else. Or else what? Our state maybe loses some funding? Gets a lower rating?
Big deal. We are already losing funding when dollars go into buying, supporting, and using this test. We lose quality schools when we don't authentically assess what really matters. What really matters is the dialogue, work, and relationship in learning that goes on between a teacher, their student, and the parent.
No one in charge at the state level seems to have the spine to stand up to the USDOE and tell them their test is a problem and that we can assess our students just fine without threats and strings attached. Instead, ODE is all about compliance rather than supporting students, parents, and teachers.
But only for state testing. When it comes to many other types of programs and curriculum, there has never been a question about parents' right to opt-out. Why is it that parents have been able to opt-out of programs like our state's Healthy Teen Survey, sex education, other school curriculum, or even immunizations with ease but when it comes to the SBAC, ODE says no dice. What makes this test supersede the judgement of a parent or student?
Which brings us to gate keeping — controlling and interpreting the procedures to benefit those in charge.
And some districts are indeed gate keeping despite the letter Oregon Save Our Schools sent to almost every school board chair and superintendent in the state. Why? Who are they guided by?
The Oregon Department of Education.
ODE has a communications or messaging toolkit for the SBAC and opt-out. They even have a link on their page to testing propaganda by Stand for Children, a education deform group that has received millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation and other wealthy donors. During Gov. John Kitzhaber's tenure, Stand for Children was his "go to" source for educational policy advice and was thus able to gain wide influence within ODE. There are also a number of people in charge of programs who, in spite of the new power given to states to make changes by ESSA, are very comfortable with the way things are.
These may be some of the reasons why ODE isn't very objective.
In any case, districts are taking their marching orders from ODE, and when Dr. Salam Noor writes a letter encouraging districts to minimize the number of opt-outs so as to not jeopardize the magic 95 percent participation number, then things get even more interesting.
The rules may be being followed, but just barely. So let's take a look at the law again.
First of all, here is how a parent or student opts out and what needs to be on the form, Sections 3 and 4:
Then here is what is supposed to be sent to inform parents at the beginning of the school year, Section (5):
Finally, Section 6, which makes one think that closer to the testing window, which is more relevant and timely for parent and students, districts will send out more clear and specific information about what to expect with summative SBAC testing so parents and/or students can then make a more informed choice to take the test or opt-out.
The current reality of the implementation of this bill doesn't really honor its intent. The bill was created out of a need to help parents and families make a choice that was best for them. Instead, it appears that ODE is still trying to make it difficult for parents to opt their children out. It just may be less overt.
Now some districts across our state have links to opt-out information up front on their website, which is great.
However, there are still some concerns: some districts are interpreting "providing" by just throwing a link to information or the opt-out form on their web page somewhere and hoping parents won't find it; some districts have the link, but also have all the propaganda from ODE supporting their claims that the SBAC is so fantabulous; some are changing the wording from Opt-Out to "Parent Exemption", some districts are refusing to print out opt-out forms and visibly place them in school offices because if they aren't seen, they aren't likely to be used. However, this limiting of form access is an equity issue for families without computers and printers; some aren't providing the specific information for Section 6, some parents are being called by their district and asked if they are really sure they want to opt-out, and some districts are expecting parents to meet with the principal to discuss their opt-out choice, even though there is nothing in the law requiring parents to do this. These are just some of the stories we are hearing.
So the question is: Why are some school districts trying to hide opt-out? The answer leads back to ODE which is leading with fear and threats because they too have been led by fear and threats from the US Department of Education.
We keep hearing that the days of control by the federal government are gone, that states have the right to create their own systems of accountability and assessment. We must seize this opportunity. This is not the time for bureaucrats who are entrenched and invested in the current system to take charge. ESSA assessment committees and groups tasked with creating a better system are being formed now by ODE while Oregon teachers continue the work begun in partnership with former Chief Education Officer Nancy Golden towards creating a different way of assessing student learning. We must demand that our governor, who is also the Superintendent of Public Instruction, follow the will of the people and get rid of an assessment that parents, students, and teachers just don't want by calling for a moratorium on the SBAC test and ignoring the threats of the feds.
In the meantime, ODE should be open about the opt-out process and instruct school districts to do the same.
If you have a story of you or your child being harassed by district personnel for exercising their opt out rights, please contact us at OregonSOSinfo@gmail.com or find us on Facebook.
This post was originally on the Oregon Save Our Schools blog, which covers a variety of public education issues on the local, state, and national levels!
Opt-out & cross out!
February 14, 2016 February 14, 2016 optoutoregon opt-out optout, SBAC, Testing
Oregon Department of Education has said it will accept opt-out forms with the language above the signature crossed out. That's good, because that language is false. Our nation's overemphasis on standardized testing has caused more harm than good. Test-and-punish practices don't work. Download your opt-out form, cross out the misleading language, and turn it in at your school!
View our webpages "Why to Opt-Out" and "How to Opt-Out". Thousands already have. Let's make the movement even larger this year!
Our Open Letter on Opt-Out to Oregon Superintendents and School Boards
January 31, 2016 January 31, 2016 optoutoregon Education, opt-out optout, SBAC, Testing
It's time for school administrators and boards to step forward and speak out against high-stakes testing and the test-and-punish culture. This is happening in other states, our state should join them. Oregon Save Our Schools sent the following letter to as many Oregon superintendents and school board chairs as we were able to gather. Our volunteers spent many hours going to district websites in order to reach out to them. We apologize to districts we may have missed, and post the open letter to hope more will get our message.
Send a copy of this letter to your local school board, superintendent, state legislator, or anyone else you think needs to hear this message!
Dear Superintendents and School Board Chairs of Oregon school districts,
As testing season approaches, Oregon Save Our Schools would like to address you on behalf of the many parents in Oregon who will be choosing to opt out their children out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment this year.
As you know, HB 2655 was passed last legislative session. Undoubtedly you have received instruction from the Oregon Department of Education regarding participation and informing parents of their right to opt their children out of the assessment. While we understand the need for you to attempt to comply with ODE directives, we write to urge you to respect parental rights as outlined in this bill which was a hard won battle led by parents who did not wish to have their religious beliefs nor their right to direct their children's education questioned by local school districts.
With that in mind, we ask that you not put up roadblocks that are not required by the law. Parents are not required by law to meet with anyone in the school district to obtain approval to opt their children out of testing. Further, asking principals to do anything other than accept forms handed in places a problematic burden on them which can result in a mistrust of the principal by parents. That could also be a recipe for division among parents at a school site. This was happening prior to the HB 2655 and the hope was that it would end with its passage.
While the Department of Education encourages parents to submit the form no later than February 1 in order to help districts plan, there is nothing in the law that requires parents to do so. ODE representatives, when questioned, have confirmed for OSOS members on more than one occasion that it is a parent's right to opt their child out of testing at any time, even if the child has already begun testing and the parent does not wish their child to continue. We have also been forwarded an email by a founder of Eugene Parents Concerned About High Stakes testing in which Holly Carter, ODE's Interim Director of Assessment states that crossing out any statements on ODEs form about the value of testing which parents do not agree with should not prohibit parents from exercising their rights.
Additionally, opt out forms should be easily obtainable in school offices, not just available to download, and in parents' native languages to assure equal access for all parents.
The intent of the law was to stop making it difficult and onerous for parents to exercise those parental rights. If that is at all in doubt, you can read letters from HB 2655 co-sponsor Representative Lew Fredrick to Dr. Noor here and from co-sponsor Representative Chris Gorsek here. We urge you to follow the spirit of the law and allow parents who wish to opt their children out to do so without interference.
We would also like to call on any of you who feel so moved to speak out publicly against the Smarter Balanced Assessment and high stakes standardized testing in general. Note that you would not be alone. In Vermont, the State Board of Education sent this letter to parents in November of last year. Back in 2011, a Florida school board member took their state assessment and, after seeing his results, felt it was imperative that he speak out. And more recently, Idaho's Superintendent of the Year gave a TEDX talk about his concerns regarding high stakes standardized testing. The full talk can be seen here.
We share the concerns of Oregon teachers regarding SBAC and look forward to all of us working together to finish the work begun by OEA and ODE towards a better assessment system. We hope you will question assessments that do not follow the guiding principles found in the linked "New Path for Oregon" document nor "Student Assessment Bill of Rights" found on page 18 of the document. Our students deserve quality assessments that their teachers can use to inform instruction. We hope you will join us in advocating for that.
In the meantime, we hope you will heed our recommendations, made in the interest of respecting parent and student rights and minimizing divisiveness in local school communities. The new ESSA gives us great opportunity to make local decisions and while it continues to require a 95% participation rate, we believe there is no legal basis for either the federal or state government to withhold funds from a district or school based on parental decisions.
We ask you to join us in advocating for creating an assessment system that works for teachers and students and respects and restores the power of local school communities.
Thank you for all you do for your students and families.
Oregon Save Our Schools
http://oregonsaveourschools.blogspot.com
Oregon SOS Monthly Newsletter
State employee who sold Oregon on SBAC got a job at SBAC!


text:
Willow setting sun Yama shuttle
Ha ha a smile, Jin Xiaoshan facing the sky, way: "The four evil spirits of the Qinling Mountains, the four evil
Ha ha a smile, Jin Xiaoshan facing the sky, way: "The four evil spirits of the Qinling Mountains, the four evil spirits of the Qinling Mountains, sound like a group of jackals, wolves, tigers and leopards!" Four around the big fellow at the same time a scold, four kinds of weapons, four directions, that is called the left big family, both hands holding a knife on the spot. Roll, machete blade awn roll back, all the way to the foot of Jin Xiaoshan cut. The other two machetes are really amazing. They are all in the front of the human body, and the knives are on the side of the human body. They must be two different sides just to grasp the distance. To split up Jin Xiaoshan. And the grey-haired old man's steel fork, straight to the throat of Jin Xiaoshan, both ruthless and accurate, even if the scene to be dismembered by five horses. This! Whirling in the left palm of the "Yama shuttle" suddenly stopped, Jin Xiaoshan has shouted: "Yama Shuttle!" He knew that the people who surrounded and killed him were no better than the bandits and robbers in the mountains, and that all four of them were famous gangsters with martial arts. Otherwise, the grey-haired old man would not have brought out the name of "Four Evil Spirits of Qinling Mountains" to bluff people. Since he was a gangster, Jin Xiaoshan never dared to be careless. Without much consideration, he immediately made the "Yama Shuttle" kill him. Here. As a result, the Aurora appeared in bunches in the backward flow of time, which was as glittering as the cold flame torrent of snow on the ground, flying alternately. Strike, the kind of silver star that is hard to see clearly, its speed and its disease,aluminium coated tubes, is really indescribable! It was one sound, but it was really four crisp sounds! It sounds like four crisp sounds, but it sounds like a crisp whine! The noise was not loud, and no one fell to the ground loudly. Although the four big men rolled up to Jin Xiaoshan from four different directions, the parts of the "Yama shuttle" that the four men encountered were all the same. A blood hole in the middle of his eyes. The contact between the two sides was quick, and the decision was also quick, so fast that there was no shrill voice, only a few heavy falls. Jin Xiaoshan's "Yama shuttle" had just been held in his hand, and he had heard two wild cries from the water on the horse in the distance: "Brother Xiaoshan, be careful!" The voice stirred in the air,beam impact tubes, but the voice was not as fast as Guan Hongse's movement under the hut, because when Jin Xiaoshan put down the four left big families. After that, his back was still facing the broken hut, and he was about to turn over, but the strong wind was coming from behind. In the wild cry of Shui Er, Just as Jin Xiaoshan was about to turn around, Guan Hongse's voice rang behind his ears: "Die, my son." Thin blade steel knife "whoosh" sound, in Jin Xiaoshan's whirling body shape, fast and unspeakable split to Jin Xiaoshan's neck, that strength! And the direction, the scene is a knife will cut off the head of Jin Xiaoshan. Warning shouts, coupled with the rapid rotation of Jin Xiaoshan's body, Jin Xiaoshan finally escaped a decapitated disaster! With a whoosh, Jin Xiaoshan's "Yama Shuttle" did not stop the steel knife coming from behind, but the thin-edged steel knife was made by Jin Xiaoshan. Chop on the left shoulder. It was really a knife that hurt Jin Xiaoshan's heart and lungs. Blood was pouring out on his shoulder. The tiger skin vest was connected to the blue satin robe quilt. Cut open, there is an inexplicable cold straight to the body drilling. Struggling to turn three hollow somersaults, Jin Xiaoshan slanted his head and looked at his left shoulder, side impact beams ,side impact door beams, coldly opening his mouth to lick the fresh coming out. Blood, lion eyes stare angrily proud to the extreme Guan hongse, way: "Water uncle's words are true, he said I am tender, really reasonable, I forgot that there is a side of you waiting for an opportunity." It's not good for me, but you haven't grasped your chance yet. The shrill voice is like a woman, Guan hongse way: "You're lucky. If it hadn't been for Xiao Wang's shout, I'm afraid you wouldn't have had a chance to speak again." At this time, Shui Er was about to come to the field when he was stopped by Jin Xiaoshan: "Don't come over, this surname Guan, although he is not old, his heart is vicious, but they are even worse than Guan Jin and Guan Hao, Niang." I really can't keep him. Clenching his teeth and enduring the pain, blood trickled down from his shoulders, and Jin Xiaoshan pushed step by step toward Guan Hongse, who was sneering with a knife in his right hand. So, gently moving the body, Guan Hongse snapped: "Jin, you have escaped the disaster. Do you want to escape the second attack of this young master? Do you think your luck is like this?" Smooth? The voice was sharp, but it could be heard that Guan Hongse was already sharp, because his moving figure was not ready to attack. Jin Xiaoshan is getting closer and closer, holding the "Yama shuttle" coldly, saying: "Opportunity all depends on luck, but fate depends on God, surnamed Guan, and let us let go, bet on each other." Melt it. Guan Hongse raved: "Jin, don't think that holding the'shuttle of the King of Hell 'is a sure look. What do you think you are?"? Just a last name A loyal dog raised by the water is at best working for him. His body swayed unceasingly, and his rotten eyes looked straight at the "Yama shuttle" that Jin Xiaoshan held in his palm and whirled: "You shouldn't have broken this young master's good deed, and now you've killed the four warriors of Mayflower Villa, and you shouldn't have been wounded in Moyun Valley." My father, all this is a blood debt. You know that a blood debt can only be paid with blood. If I don't kill you today, it's really hard to vent my heart. Hate, Kim, your head is about to fall. Jin Xiaoshan, still approaching Guan Hongse, said with an expressionless face: "If you want my head to fall to the ground, it's not just because you want your mouth to murmur and bluff that you will fall to the ground, you have to take out some lining and repair." But I, Jin Xiaoshan, know very well in my heart that I'm afraid you can't take down my head. Guan Hongse's rotten eyes shine with the light of Chi Li Li, with a stubborn frame way: "Jin, don't be arrogant. Once you risk your life, you don't know who will back you up, but you really want to be a completely bloodless Quanhe person." I'm afraid you don't have a chance, because you're bleeding right now, and my next move- Without waiting for Guan Hongse to finish, Jin Xiaoshan drank and said: Do you have another chance? Bah! In the knife of your sneak attack, I, Jin Xiaoshan, am crying out in my heart that I am wronged. For next time? Unexpectedly, in the words of Jin Xiaoshan, Guan Hongse gritted his teeth and endured the pain, regardless of the pain on his left palm, reached into his arms and took it out. The white silk scarf in hand, cold way: "Die together, my son!" Jin Xiaoshan saw Guan Hongse take out the handkerchief again,side impact door beams, and saw him roar, straight to the front of his body, the heart is not. cbiesautomotive.com
#Willow setting sun Yama shuttle
Romance of a Rich and Powerful Family: My Husband of Hades Marriage
Xiaoxiao Jianghu
Disappearing dormitoryDisappearing dormitory

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
"""
Version information for NetworkX, created during installation.

Do not add this file to the repository.

"""

import datetime

version = '1.9'
date = 'Wed Jun 25 12:02:42 2014'

# Was NetworkX built from a development version? If so, remember that the major
# and minor versions reference the "target" (rather than "current") release.
dev = False

# Format: (name, major, min, revision)
version_info = ('networkx', '1', '9', None)

# Format: a 'datetime.datetime' instance
date_info = datetime.datetime(2014, 6, 25, 12, 2, 42, 340629)

# Format: (vcs, vcs_tuple)
vcs_info = (None, (None, None))

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Notorious Utah killer Ron Lafferty dies in prison of natural causes
Posted 10:05 am, November 11, 2019, by Ben Winslow, Updated at 04:15PM, November 11, 2019
SALT LAKE CITY -- Notorious killer Ron Lafferty has died in prison of natural causes, the Utah Department of Corrections announced.
Lafferty, 78, was facing a firing squad execution for the 1984 murders of his sister-in-law, Brenda Lafferty, and her infant daughter, Erica.
Ron Lafferty and his brother, Dan, were convicted of slitting their throats. Lafferty, who had been excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, formed a group called the "School of the Prophets" and claimed to have received revelations from God.
The Laffertys claimed to have been commanded by God to kill Brenda and Erica Lafferty. Ron Lafferty was sentenced to death and had chosen to be executed by firing squad; Dan Lafferty is serving a life sentence in the Utah State Prison. Their crimes had been featured in the popular book "Under the Banner of Heaven."
Ron Lafferty to appeal death penalty case to U.S. Supreme Court
Ron Lafferty had spent the past 34 years on death row. A recent prison mugshot provided to FOX 13 under a public records request showed him in what appeared to be a hospital bed. However, the Utah Department of Corrections declined to comment about his health except to say he had not left the prison grounds.
The agency declined to offer further details about Lafferty's death when contacted by FOX 13 on Monday.
"Our family is grateful for all of the efforts of everyone involved in this case. We are grateful that it is done," Brenda Lafferty's sister, Sharon Wright Weeks, said in a text message to FOX 13.
Lafferty was in the midst of appealing his pending execution to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a statement to FOX 13, his attorneys said he had been ill for some time.
"Mr. Lafferty was a mentally ill man whose mental competence was first questioned by the State of Utah before he ever stood trial. During his 34-year incarceration on death row, the State had him committed to a psychiatric hospital for over one year based on his mental illness and incompetence to stand trial," Therese Michelle Day, one of Lafferty's lawyers, wrote in an email.
Court rejects notorious killer Ron Lafferty's latest appeal, moving him closer to firing squad execution
Court filings had raised questions about Lafferty's mental state. Lawyers have argued about his mental state and Lafferty has claimed to have been haunted by "ghosts" and "demons."
"Mr. Lafferty believed his incarceration and conviction were the result of a conspiracy between the state, the Church, and unseen spiritual forces, including the spirit of the trial judge's deceased father, among others. He believed that all of his attorneys were
working against him, and that one attorney was his reincarnated sister who later became possessed by an evil spirit. A person suffering from this level of mental illness and delusional thinking is not competent to assist his counsel throughout his legal
proceedings," Day wrote.
"Through it all Mr. Lafferty, himself, never believed that he was mentally ill or incompetent. One expert said that if he was guilty of faking anything, he was guilty of pretending to be normal when he was not. Mr. Lafferty, like other mentally ill prisoners, was not treated for his mental illness as he should have been."
The Utah Attorney General's Office expressed frustration for how long it had fought to execute Lafferty.
"The State of Utah has labored for decades to provide justice for Brenda and Erica Lafferty, who were brutally murdered by Ron and Dan Lafferty. That the wheels of justice turn so slowly in cases like this is cruel and tragic," Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement on Monday. :Now that Mr. Lafferty is facing his Maker, perhaps ultimate justice will be realized and there will finally be some closure for the family of the victims."
Notorious killer Ron Lafferty moves closer to execution in Utah
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'Do the right thing': Brother of missing Idaho kids makes plea to mom
Rodney Reed is set to be executed in Texas this month. A new witness claims he's innocent


text:
Gould's Toucanet Toco Toucan
Spot-billed Toucanet Selenidera maculirostris
Order: Piciformes
Family: Ramphastidae
© Kacau Oliveira
Selenidera are small, stocky, relatively short-billed toucans of Central and South America; the Spot-billed Toucanet is the Selenidera that occurs in southeastern Brazil and in adjacent Paraguay and Argentina. The Spot-billed Toucanet is one of several species of Selenidera in which the iris is mostly yellow, except for dark spots just before and behind the pupil; this gives the eerie effect of having a slit-shaped pupil. The plumage of many species of Selenidera are very similar. The plumage of both sexes of the Spot-billed Toucanet is almost identical to that of Gould's Toucanet (Selendera gouldii) of central Amazonian Brazil, but the two species differ in the color pattern of the bill: the bill of Spot-billed Toucanet is mostly pale with a series of large black spots or stripes. The Spot-billed Toucanet usually is in pairs and forages for a variety of fruit in the canopy of humid lowland forest and in adjacent advanced second growth.
Alberto Madroño
Canindeyú, Paraguay
© Alberto Madroño
Spot-billed Toucanet (Selenidera maculirostris), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/spbtou1


Welcome to my post. Today i have made 2 cards using the stamps and the vibrant dye inks by Tubby Craft. With the inks the focus is on ink blending for great background on the cards.
To make this card i first masked the edges of the card front and then ink blended on it using the Tubby Craft inks – Lemon Yellow, Tangy Orange and Imperial Red. A tip for a good ink blending is nice juicy ink dabbers. Mine are so full of ink. Also dabbing the ink on a separate paper and starting slightly off the page eliminates blobs of ink on the project. I must say i love how the Tubby craft inks blend into each other forming a smooth gradient. I peeled the masking tape off after the ink bending was over.
I then colored the image using the dye inks for water coloring. The Tubby craft inks I used are – " Lead Grey", "Light Pink", " Chocolate Brown", "Lawn Green" and "Emerald Green". I used the acrylic blocks by Tubby Craft as bases where i applied a little ink on to it and then water colored by picking the ink from it.
I then fussy cut the images and adhered them on the inked panel with foam tape to add dimension. I also Stamped the sentiment " Happy Anniversary" from the "Fancy Sentiment" stamp set by Tubby craft.
I then added few sequin and nuvo drops to embellish the card and adhered on to back matted layer.
I finished the card by adding the whole card front on to a white card base.
For this card I first used the masking tape to conceal the area i wanted to be left white. For this i first cut thinner strips of the masking tape and then stuck them in a desired pattern.
Then I inked the whole card front using Tubby craft dye inks in bright colors like – Aqua Blue, Sapphire Blue, Lilac Purple, Magenta, Lavender violet.
I then peeled the masking tape to reveal the white area. This looks so pretty. Isn't It.
On a smaller rectangular die cut i stamped the sentiment from "Lucky quote" stampset using acrylic blocks by Tubby Craft and heat embossed it with Tubby Craft Jet Black ink & cleared embossing powder. I adhered this piece on top of the vellum sheet.
I then added a few sequin and gem stones to embellish the card and add further interest.
I also added the matted layers before adhering to the card base. All the layers are adhered using foam tape to add dimension to each layer.
I hope you liked my cards. Do let me know how you like these cards by leaving me comments. I love to read them and I appreciate your time on my blog a lot.


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text:
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEditor;
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.IO;

[CustomEditor (typeof(RepositionTreesAFS))]
public class RepositionTreesAFSEditor : Editor {

	public GameObject newCollider;
	public String[] treePrefabs;

	public String[] TreePrototypeName;
	public bool[] ExcludetreePrototype;

	TreePrototype[] MyTreePrototypes;

	public override void OnInspectorGUI () {
		RepositionTreesAFS script = (RepositionTreesAFS)target;
		//Color myBlue = new Color(0.5f,0.7f,1.0f,1.0f);
		Color myCol = Color.green;

//	Assign additional Colliders
		GUILayout.Space(10);
		GUI.color = myCol;
		GUILayout.Label ("Additional Colliders", EditorStyles.boldLabel);
		GUI.color = Color.white;
		GUILayout.Space(4);

		if(script.additionalTerrainObjects != null) {
			for(int i = 0; i < script.additionalTerrainObjects.Count; i++) {
				EditorGUILayout.BeginHorizontal();
				script.additionalTerrainObjects[i] = (GameObject)EditorGUILayout.ObjectField("Additional Collider " + (i+1), script.additionalTerrainObjects[i], typeof(GameObject), true);
				if (GUILayout.Button("Remove", GUILayout.Width(60) )) {
					script.additionalTerrainObjects.RemoveAt(i);
				}
				EditorGUILayout.EndHorizontal();
			}
		}

		GUILayout.Space(9);
		EditorGUILayout.BeginHorizontal();
		newCollider = (GameObject)EditorGUILayout.ObjectField("Add new Collider", newCollider, typeof(GameObject), true);
		if (GUILayout.Button("Add", GUILayout.Width(60) )) {
			if (newCollider) {
				script.additionalTerrainObjects.Add(newCollider);
				newCollider = null;
			}
		}
		EditorGUILayout.EndHorizontal();

//	Exclude Prototypes
		GUILayout.Space(10);
		GUI.color = myCol;
		GUILayout.Label ("Exclude Tree Prototypes from Repositioning", EditorStyles.boldLabel);
		GUI.color = Color.white;
		GUILayout.Space(4);
		// get terrain
		script.UpdatePrototypes();
		// get prototypes
		MyTreePrototypes = script.myterrainComp.terrainData.treePrototypes;
		for(int k = 0; k < MyTreePrototypes.Length; k++) {
				EditorGUILayout.BeginHorizontal();
				script.ExcludetreePrototype[k] = EditorGUILayout.Toggle("", script.ExcludetreePrototype[k], GUILayout.Width(14) );
				GUILayout.Label (MyTreePrototypes[k].prefab.name);
				EditorGUILayout.EndHorizontal();
		}

//	Update Trees
		GUILayout.Space(10);
		if (GUILayout.Button("Reposition Trees", GUILayout.Height(34) )) {
			script.RepositionTrees();
		}
		GUILayout.Space(5);
	}

}
#endif


Two students from the University of Maine at Presque Isle were selected to participate in the 5th annual Maine NEW (National Education for Women) Leadership Summer Institute, held from June 1-6 at the University of Maine in Orono.
Elise Gudde and Kassidy Morin represented UMPI at the statewide institute. The Maine NEW Leadership Summer Institute is a six-day residential leadership training program that includes students from various college majors and institutions across the state. The program was developed to address the under-representation of women in politics and give young leaders the tools to become effective political and civic leaders.
During the program, students visited with women legislators and policy advocates and attended leadership workshops and presentations from politically active women in Maine. Faculty-in-residence, women who are public leaders, served as mentors to the students.
Gudde is a sophomore at UMPI with a double-major in environmental science and psychology and has already taken up many leadership roles on campus and in her community. She is a member of UMPI's Varsity Cross Country Team and was named to the North Atlantic Conference All Sportsmanship Team and the USCAA National All-Academic Team. She is also the secretary of UMPI's Track and Field Club, a member of the Maine Catholic Youth Leadership Team, and a recent volunteer for TAMC's Youth Ski Program.
Gudde believed that participating in NEW would give her a foundation for advocacy in her future career. Although she is unsure of where her career will take her, she said she would like to work in education and environmental science. She hoped to gain a better understanding of the decision making process regarding environmental issues and policymaking and learn new leadership skills such as public speaking.
"I want to learn how to take my leadership potential and use it to become a true leader for my generation and make a difference in my community," Gudde said.
Morin, a junior majoring in social work, also applied to the NEW program to gain greater skills in public speaking, advocacy and networking. After graduating from UMPI and earning her master's degree in social work, Morin hopes to pursue a career as a hospital social worker and First Nations advocate in the Canadian school system.
The Maine NEW Leadership Institute seeks to bring together students of diverse backgrounds and academic majors and provide opportunities to engage in political and civic leadership. For more information, visit the program's website at https://mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu/for-students/maine-new-leadership/.


text:
<?php

namespace CallFire\Api\Soap\Request;

class GetNumberOrder extends IdRequest
{

}


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Lectors read the Word of God at Masses and other Liturgies. They share with the priests the task of making the Word of God come alive for the parishioners at Mass.
You should have been given a Lectors Workbook which contains the Sunday Readings and Gospels for the current year. If you don't have one contact the Rectory. The Workbook contains helpful notes about the Readings and Gospels and tips for good Lecturing. If the workbook isn't available you can see the readings on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website.
Be sure to go over the two Readings. If your partner doesn't show up you will need to do both Readings so be prepared. Look over the Gospel. The Readings have been chosen according to their relationship with the Gospel and being familiar with the Gospel will help you in interpreting the Readings. Identify the type of passage you are to read. Is it a story? Is it a dialogue between different characters or voices? Is it a prophecy, a letter, a series of laws, a parable, or a song? The notes in the Workbook will help you with this.
Use the Workbook to check the pronunciation of unfamiliar names in the scriptures. There is a pronunciation book in the Sacristy you can use as well. And another good source for pronunciation is the Bible Words website.
Prepare well. The best way to prepare is to practice. Practice reading aloud in front of a mirror, your family or friends. Go over the Readings in the Workbook at least four times during the week before you are scheduled to read at Mass.
Read intelligently, in a lively manner, and when indicated, conversationally.
Observe and learn from other Lectors when you are not scheduled to lector.
When doing the Readings and Prayers of the Faithful during Mass, read slowly and deliberately – you are proclaiming the Word of God! HINT: Since we all have a tendency to read in public too fast, a good rule of thumb is if you think you are reading too slowly, you're probably reading at the correct pace.
Occasionally, you might be asked to fill in at Mass if no Lector has shown up. It's a good idea to be dressed appropriately and to look over the readings during the week in case you're called on. But if early enough, you will have the chance to look over the Readings before Mass.
Try to arrive at least 15 minutes before Mass. Talk to your partner to decide who will read the Readings and the Prayers of the Faithful. The Priest usually reads any announcements.
Before Mass you should look over the Readings in the Lectionary. While the text is the same as the Workbooks, the layout is different and you'll do a better job if you're familiar with the Lectionary text.
Look over the Prayers of the Faithful to become familiar with them and to make sure of the pronunciation of any names. Check with the Priest if you have any questions.
Put the Lectionary on the Podium open to the first Reading and the Prayers of the Faithful binder in the shelf under the Podium if the Sacristans haven't done so.
While waiting with the Priest and Eucharistic Ministers before Mass starts, greet parishioners as they enter the church.
When Mass is ready to start, line up for the opening procession. Altar Servers go first followed by the Eucharistic Ministers then the Lectors. The Priest is last.
When the opening procession reaches the Altar, genuflect or bow when the Priest genuflects or bows. Then go to your seats.
During Mass you are asked to sit in one of the front pews located on the right side of the church facing the altar. You should receive Communion with the Congregation.
If you are doing the first Reading, when the time comes get up and walk to the Podium. You should give a short bow to the altar as you walk to the Podium. When you have finished the Reading turn the page to the second Reading for the second Lector, then go back to your seat. After the Responsorial Psalm is sung, the second Lector should get up, walk to the Podium offering a short bow to the Altar, and do the second Reading. When finished, turn the page to the appropriate Gospel for the Priest to read. After the Homily read the Prayers of the Faithful which are usually in the binder.
When Mass is over, process out with the Priest, Altar Servers and Eucharistic Ministers in the same order as you processed in. After processing out, stand near the doors and offer goodbyes to parishioners as they leave the Church.
If you would like to become a Lector at St. Mary's Church contact the Rectory (508-543-7726). Lector nominations are usually given during Lent at all of the Masses. One of the current Lectors will help you get started and can answer any questions you may have.