High School of Choice

From ninth to twelfth grade I attended a large, comprehensive, “neighborhood” school, but I also had no other option. My high school had about 1200 students and it was the only high school in my city. Eighth grade students looking at going to high school next year in Baltimore will have a variety of schools to choose from instead of being forced to go to their neighborhood school if their grades aren’t high enough for the entrance requirements of application schools. So why did Baltimore move away from the neighborhood high school model? According to City Schools CEO, Andres Alonso, “The goal is to have a portfolio of schools that provide different options to every student in the city. But every single one of them needs to be an effective option.” Check out the whole story at "More Choices for Baltimore 8th-Graders".

The comprehensive high schools in Baltimore just weren’t working. There were plenty of safety issues within the schools and teaching and learning were not effectively happening. Now large schools have been broken into smaller schools, many times still within the same building, but with different principals. There are four remaining that have seen declines in enrollment, but still have about 1000 students. Initially when I came to Baltimore I didn’t think that it was a good idea to still have these large schools in the city; they were the schools freshmen would attend because they couldn’t get in elsewhere. However, now things are changing.

Eighth grade students are now able to apply for any high school in the city. Except for the schools with entrance requirements, all others will do a lottery drawing if they have more applicants than available spots, including the four comprehensive high schools. This will hopefully allow eighth grade students to have some buy-in to their school, whatever the size of it. Yes, smaller high schools may not have as many extracurricular or elective options, but they can offer specialized curricula that when done well will allow students with particular interests and skills to get a head start in these fields before college. Students and their parents will now have the chance to decide what they are really looking for in a school, which will challenge schools to make sure they have something to attract new students as well as the effectiveness that Alonso is expecting to not be shut down.

Ultimately, it is all about our students learning. The city needs to continue to design and maintain schools that accomplish that goal. If our freshmen keep dropping out before graduation and our seniors keep graduating with an eighth grade education, changes need to continue to happen.

Obama Seeking “Sweeping Change” to NCLB

According to Sunday’s press conference with President Obama, the No Child Left Behind Act is about to get a whole lot of changes. Although no specific details have been voted on by Congress, the Obama administration promises reform on how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing, as well as get rid of the 2014 deadline for all students to be academically proficient. The new plan is said to be differentiated for schools in chaos or critical conditions and will be based on academic gains instead of whether or not “adequate yearly progress” has been made. The funds allotted to schools and districts will no longer follow the formulas set by the Bush administration, and will be divvied up by how well student data looks from teachers and schools. The plan is supposed to hold teachers and school districts more accountable for the success of their children instead of giving out money in a form of entitlement.

As an educator in a low performing school, the thing I fear most is the accountability that is being enforced on the teachers. Obama’s administration wants to include test scores in teacher evaluations, which could have huge impacts on teacher ratings. While I understand the importance of teachers performing well and those skills showing on standardized tests, I am afraid that the differentiation that is being focused on will not be as diverse as they expect. For example, my school’s High School Assessment Scores are far below meeting AYP standards. However, our test scores in my subject have grown exponentially in the past couple of years. In comparison to other city schools, even though there has been big growth, we still look like we are performing far below what is necessary. I know that this plan wants to stress the importance of diversity, but to what level will a federal government be able to keep track of each schools’ teachers’ performances. I am afraid that even with the changes, neighborhood schools that are starting to improve will still get demeaning labels and budget cuts and in exchange charter schools will continue to receive more funding. Many of my students have no other option than to attend my neighborhood school, and lack the initiative or knowledge to get into these transformational programs. Therefore, many of my students will either give up or drop out. If some drastic change does not occur to the Reform Act, I am afraid that many of my students will lose their way in a broken system.

"Teaching to the Needs of the World."

“Time changes things, which means what was isn’t…” Has time changed or shifted the focus of the students we teach?

I came across a blog on Syracus.com entitled, “Teaching Students Skills that Fit the World.” (http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2010/01/teaching_students_skills_that.html) In a nutshell, the article discussed a shift in the learner needs from basic skills to basic analysis and application. In such an information driven, speedy environment, billions of dollars are spent in solving efficiency and energy issues, engineering focused revisions, and revamps that would eventually save money. As a teacher, is there ever a point where we should shift from teaching basic skills such as arithmetic, writing, and reading to teaching advance skills of analysis, interpretation, and eventual application?

“We can teach as many students as we want how to be great engineers, but if they do not know how to identify a problem and develop a solution, if they need somebody to tell them what to do, if they are not proactive and visionary, and if they cannot apply their skills and abilities to create true value, then they will bring minimal benefit to a prospective employer and our economy in general.” Good education is about fitting the needs of the world into the brains of our youth.

School Reform... Just Give Me the Money!

I recently read the article from the Baltimore Sun entitled , “Several senators oppose Grasmick's school reform plan," (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/md-education-briefing0121,0,5383465.story) which outlined Nancy Grasmick’s plan to change tenure policies and compensation plans in order to become “more competitive” for money being awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. This money is awarded to states with the most progressive school policies. But one must question the “cart before the horse” mentality that Superintendent Grasmick has created as it relates to school reform. The importance for school reform is not rooted in money being awarded for said policies, but for the necessity of Maryland students to walk away with a quality education. Superintendent Grasmick was quoted in saying, “"We need to show tangible efforts, not just good intentions.” She deemed these efforts necessary now when money is at stake; however, the grassroots of Urban reform efforts and polices are rooted in the necessity that students need quality education to become quality citizens. Money should not inform the efforts to propose a better quality education to our resident students, it should just aid in the transition that schools need to become more competent.

Maryland was one of ten states that did not apply for the federal funding during the first round of applications; this says to me that even if reform efforts are sought in order to get this funding, we are less than prepared to offer a convincing reform plan to the U.S. Department of Education. Reform is not an overnight analysis and revamping. It takes time, identification, and attention to detail in order to effectively maneuver a change within a school district drastically in need of providing quality education to its substituents. With Nancy Grasmick missing one deadline, and needing to meet another, her attention to detail will have to be sacrificed for the necessity to meet deadlines. Is this not counterproductive to very essence of school reform?

With so much money at stake for convincing, progressive school plans, is a slight revision in two or three policies enough to convince the decision makers that we are worth the investments they are offering?

The Value of Teaching - Repost

**This post had so many junk comments, it was easier to delete the original and repost it than to delete all the comments.*

On April 23^rd, the Baltimore Sun published an article that described a gap between the number of math and science teachers being produced in Maryland and the number required by public schools (“Ideas for Closing Teacher Gap”, http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.stem23apr23,0,558895.story). One of the key respondents to this issue was William Kirwan, the chancellor of the University System of Maryland, who is trying to make university presidents put measures in place to curb this problem. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan suggested increased payment for math and science teachers filling positions in particularly tough placements in addition to increased partnerships that would allow individuals in these fields to complete independent research.

A lot of this discussion reminded me of the issue of professionalizing teaching. Right now, districts use certification standards in an attempt to professionalize teaching with mixed results. The issue is that conceptions of teaching are closely tied with cultural values, and that it will be extremely difficult to induce a view of teaching as a distinguished profession without drastic systemic changes. One of the proposed changes in the article was the idea of permitting teachers to conduct independent research through outside partnerships.

Recently I was speaking with a friend who had spent a large amount of time working in the U.S. Finnish Embassy. She discussed with me how the country had basically overhauled its entire system of governance with a view towards promoting technology and education. As a result, Finland has attained one of the most distinguished education systems in the world. My friend was telling me that the top graduates from the top colleges actually seek employment as teachers. The fact that there is a teacher shortage and that we need to try to create extra incentives towards teaching demonstrates that indeed the teaching profession is not as distinguished as it could be and that this may be the result of a larger tendency to delegitimize education and teaching.