You may have heard something about “SOFG” — Student Outcomes Focused Governance. It’s a new way the school board is governing Seattle Public Schools — and it’s a huge problem.
In a recent op-ed at the Stranger, Robert Cruickshank explains what SOFG is, why the Gates Foundation is backing it, how it’s rooted in managerial models from the corporate world, and how it’s already been damaging to community input in SPS.
SPS would be better off moving away from SOFG and toward other models, especially as school closures loom. Genuine participatory budgeting and reforms that empower community members and the board to make more of the decisions that affect students can help improve the district’s operations. Otherwise, all the board will be left with is a rubber stamp.