Teacher's Salary

“Would six-figure salaries attract better teachers?” Without a doubt. In fact, it already has. The Times reported recently that a New York City charter school set to open in the fall of 2009 has received over 70 qualified applicants, some with PhDs. The school, The Equity Project, offers a starting salary of $125,000 with a possible $25,000 yearly performance bonus. Juxtapose it against the median salary for an attorney in New York City – $99,000 – and the sticker price moves from shocking to unbelievable.

My jaw dropped the first time I read this story. Then I smiled and thought to myself, “It’s about time!” It’s about time our society pays teachers what they deserve. It’s about time we do justice to the widely-held conviction that teaching is a noble profession. It’s about time we attract (and retain) the kind of teachers that will help close the achievement gap in the classroom.

In addition to basing the salary on sound economic principles, the school’s selection process is based on sound research. Research has shown consistently that one of the most important factors in determining students’ success in school is the quality of their teachers. Research also has proven that verbal ability is the best predictor of the quality of teachers. According to a publication by the Abell Foundation, “Teachers with higher verbal ability produce greater achievement in students” (see page 8 of the publication). The Equity Project requires applicants to score in the 90^th percentile on the LSAT, GRE, or equivalent test.

Perhaps the most striking features of this school’s novel approach is the principal’s salary, $90,000, which is less than 75% of what the teachers will make.

Money talks. At The Equity Project it is making a statement.

Check out the school’s website.

Paying Students

At first glance, money would seem like an obvious motivator for our students. Many of our students are consumed with the thought of money and want the things that money can buy. When it was announced that students would be paid for attending night school programs and improving their scores on HSAs they had already failed, I thought at least it would get students to come and perhaps put a little more effort into it. I was wrong. Out of 74 students eligible to attend my Algebra night school program, I have 4 who come regularly and a total of 8 more who sometimes attend. Those who attend would have participated without the fiscal incentive. They truly want to pass the test for internal motives or simply to insure they graduate come next May.

It is for this reason that I do not think the Peer-to-Peer program would be a huge success. A coalition in Baltimore city is asking for 3 million in funding in order to have students tutor and mentor their peers, while getting paid for their services. I can sympathize with the group’s views and goals. I do believe that they do great things. I know students, for example, who participate in the debate mentoring program. They enjoy it and get a lot out of it. But, I do not think that offering money will draw in significantly more student volunteers. Those who would do it are already doing it. And, I’m not sure if the programs would benefit from most of the students who are only in it for the money. Would they really do a good job mentoring their peers? Would they take it seriously? I’m not sure.

I do feel for the students who already give up their time for such programs. Its much more of a sacrifice for our students to volunteer than it is for others. Volunteering, to some extent, is a luxury for those who can afford to. Many of our students are supporting families and need to work as many hours as they can. Perhaps funding these programs would help those students, but I'm not sure it would be widespread.

AP for everyone?

As an AP teacher in Baltimore City, the article in last week's post really struck me. In case you haven't read it, or aren't planning on reading it, the article talks about one inner city school where ALL students take two years of AP English classes, one in 11th grade and one in 12th grade. The school had over 200 students take the test last year, and only three of them "passed." This is a bit more understandable when you consider the fact that most of the student population are not native English speakers. But still...

Why did this school make this choice? And why is it so popular with both the students and the parents?

Because it gives the school structure and a meaningful assessment to work towards. "Janeece Docal, 32, the AP coordinator and English department head" said, " 'When we first started thinking about our English curriculum, I will be honest with you, it stunk. It was really, really bad. We had one teacher who had the AP class. Then we had another teacher teaching something else, which she liked, and then another teacher teaching what he liked.' "

Teachers discussed the problem and decided that even though AP was more difficult than the English courses their students were used to, it at least gave the English department a consistent, high standard and a way to show all students what they had to do to succeed in college."

Okay, I get it, we want to set high stakes for our students. We want a good curriculum that leads to a great assessment, I get all that. But why does it have to be AP? Why can't we do that for all of our students, without making them take the AP? Why didn't the English department sit down and make a consistent, rigorous curriculum before they started teaching AP? As teachers and educators aren't we capable of creating interesting classes with rigorous assessments without being told how to do so by a national FOR profit organization? Not all students should have to take an AP class to get a good education. But if they have to do so, doesn't that speak of something even greater?

I am truly encouraged by Dr. Alonso’s call to community members to volunteer in our city schools as a response to the recent wave of violence we have experienced. When working on the Change Project for class, I read The Governor’s Commission On Quality Education In Maryland’s report containing thirty recommendations to address key issues that could improve Maryland’s public education. Recommendation nineteen focuses on challenging businesses, parents, communities, and faith-based organizations to help improve college awareness. I think this approach should also be implemented to help curb the violence in our schools. As Alonso wrote in the letter to community members, "this essential work of making safe schools cannot be done by the administrators, teachers, staff or students at each school alone. I cannot say strongly enough how important it is for families and community members to rally around our schools, our teachers, and our students."

Alonso has set up a team to organize volunteers and there is a working website to sign up to volunteer (here's the website ) and a phone line (410-545-1870). The cost of a background check for each volunteer will be covered. Alonso and his team have taken steps towards what I believe will be invaluable to the Baltimore City School System: investing the people of Baltimore City and giving our students a concrete way to see that their families, the community members, and the City of Baltimore care about not only their safety, but their education and future.

Dropouts, Prison, and GEDs

In December, James Heckman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist who has also achieved my life goal of having a statistic named after him, published, with Paul LaFontaine, an analysis of high school graduation rates. The study reaches four conclusions:

1. the high school graduation rate peaked in the late ’60s and has declined slightly since then
2. the high school graduation rate is quite a bit below the often reported level of 88%
3. about 65% of blacks and Hispanics leave school with diplomas
4. the minority-majority achievement gap seems not to have budged in the last 35 years

Though the whole paper is interesting, the last conclusion really interested me.

The reason that the majority-minority graduation rate is often reported to have converged is the GED. According to the authors:

We show that when we count GED recipients as dropouts (incarcerated or not), there is little convergence in high school graduation rates between whites and minorities over the past 35 years. A significant portion of the convergence reported in the official statistics is due to black males obtaining GED credentials in prison.

And GEDs, it turns out, are essentially worthless. Economically and socially, GED holders compare very closely with other dropouts. That’s mainly because they don’t have the non-cognitive skills (like perseverance) that diploma holders have had to demonstrate. The most astonishing thing about this to me, as usual, is that national-level statistics can be affected by the number of young black men in prison (nearly 10%).

This underscores two things to me. First, I think that it really points to the value of the diploma that my students are reaching for. We as teachers often disparage the quality of that degree, but it’s certainly worth noting that extensive research shows that students who graduate high school will do much better than those who merely complete it. Second, I think it drives home the point that our students—and particularly our black male students—are fighting substantial and entrenched societal obstacles to their success. Not that we didn’t already know.

Good news for city schools

Today Mayor Dixon announced that she is reversing course on a proposed property tax cut, which will enable an extra $2 million to be allocated for youth programs for city students. The money is to be used to supplement social services in schools, and to encourage senior citizens to volunteer in the schools. Aside from questions about the wisdom of using volunteers to help stop violence in schools which were well described in a post by mathnerd, this is good news for schools that desperately need more funding for social services. Impressively, the news of increased funding for schools comes even as the city is bracing for funding issues related to the faltering economy.

It’s good to see that elected officials are looking at the long-term, and putting resources into places that could directly help students and schools. However, I’m forced to wonder if the money would have been found were it not for highly publicized incidents of violence in schools – specifically the teacher assault at Reginald F. Lewis. In fact, one of the people responsible for using this new funding allocation cited the media scrutiny that BCPSS is under as a reason why this proposal is important. Thought that might be a factor worth considering, these priorities are important all of the time, not just when ugly incidents get city schools in the news. If Baltimore wants to stay out of the news for incidents they’re going to have to invest the necessary resources to give students the services that they need. We need to shift to proactively addressing problems before they become embarrassing, rather than making hasty decisions after they already have. When the focus is off of BCPSS, and violence continues but stops getting press coverage, will elected officials still make the tough decisions that address the needs of students?

"Cleaning House" - an Effective Staffing Model?

Coming into the Baltimore City school system, I heard quite a bit of buzz about the various processes that schools could go through in terms of meeting "school improvement" requirements. In fact, I heard that the school that I was hired to work at (sight unseen, I might add), was told to either "zero base" or undergo some sort of principal replacement. Now, I can't speak to the extent that these rumors are true, but I think that it brings up an interesting point about "zero basing" and the merits (or lack thereof) that this policy entails (neither option happened, by the way - the staff remained, as did the principal... though she would quit two weeks prior to the start of the school year).



Approximately two years later, I find myself assisting with the interviewing process for new staff members for the upcoming school year. However, in order for this to occur, my principal has "asked" a (large) handful of teachers not to return. These teachers, for reasons mostly pertaining to rigor of instruction, adhering to the school vision, and compliance with accountability pieces, have not "met the expectations" of the school's administration (with which, I happen to whole heartedly agree). In my eyes, taking such a step in not renewing these teachers is essential to pushing our school forward and making it the educational institution that we all would like it to be. Needless to say, "the union" is ENRAGED (or so seems to be the gossip-driven perception). Should they be? Perhaps. Is it their "role" to support teachers in their outrage - but is it the best course of action for the school? I'd argue not...



I fully support the idea that you should "cut the fat" at schools where teachers are not performing. However, I also get the sense that there is this incredible red-tape-forcefield (reinforced by the intimidating effect of unions), which prevents this from happening effectively. On the other hand, I see this idea of "zero basing" schools as being something that my principal is doing now - but on a larger scale. Except that with "zero basing," you are losing ALL of the teachers, instead of just getting rid of the unsatisfactory ones. Sure, you can apply to get your job back at your failing school - but how appealing is that option? I'd certainly stay with my school for another year, knowing that the "unsatisfactory" staff contingency is being "let go" - but I'd have serious reservations of having to "prove myself" to an outside individual/group... it'd almost be easier to go elsewhere and start fresh, instead of returning to an uncertain situation.



I understand the potential for abuse with hiring and firing, but I also have incredible reservations about protecting teachers at all costs. If your principal is trying to get you fired from your school - it's probably not the best fit for you, anyway. And if you're a quality instructor, then it shouldn't be an issue for you to find a job elsewhere, with an administration that is more aligned with your style and needs. I also understand the fact that the purpose (in theory) of unions is to protect the rights of workers (in this case, teachers). But at what point does going through this process become more about proving a point and "sticking it to the man," as opposed to actually looking out for the best interest of our students? I fear that, more often than not, we land on the former side, when we should be landing on the latter.

Spellings Announces Reforms, and the World Yawns

So the Bush administration has proposed NCLB reform. Margaret Spellings today proposed two major reforms to the way that states do business. First, all states will now be required to report dropout rates according to the same standard. That seems like a really good idea since even my school administrators have no idea how our dropout rate for 2006-2007 was calculated by the state (somehow, we made AYP). Moreover, that will, for the first time, let us compare how Baltimore is doing to how, say, Detroit is doing.

Secondly, failing schools would have to do a better job of informing parents of their tutoring or transfer options. This seemed particularly timely since we talked in class about it last week. And this is the requirement most likely to affect us on the school level. In theory, this could pretty much destroy BCPSS. If every parent—or even a substantial number of parents—at failing schools take advantage of their rights to transfer their students, administrative costs would skyrocket, and it would be nearly impossible to balance school sizes. (I’m pretty sure that this was part of the motivation in ending the idea of zoned schools.)

I’m pretty sure that in the end this will have relatively little effect in Baltimore, though. First of all, it’s been shown that if you obfuscate the data enough, parents won’t act, so if the city doesn’t want to follow the spirit of the law, they really don’t have to. Secondly, my experience suggests that even if a school tries to convince parents to have their high school children participate in after-school tutoring for things like Algebra or Government, as my school has, kids still won’t show up in significant numbers. Overall, then, the changes Spellings announced probably won’t have much of an effect here.

Investing Students in the Face of Social Promotion

As third quarter closes and fourth quarter begins, failure notifications have been sent to the parents of students that have failed a core subject for three consecutive quarters. For many of these students this is a token notification. These are students that have failed a prior grade, and, as a result, qualify for a social promotion. Still others who have never been retained, will be promoted by administrators to speed troublemakers through the education process to ensure they will not be around for any additional years to cause continued mayhem.

Keep in mind that these are students that have failed with a 55% minimum. Baltimore City mandates that even students earning a 4% for a quarter be assigned a minimum grade of 55%. The reason behind this is to create a possibility for redemption in later quarters. It is much easier to earn a 60% average for the year if your current average is 55% instead of a 20%. This is a potentially good incentive. However, the impact of this incentive is nullified for students that will be promoted regardless of their class average at the end of the school year. As students go through the educational system in Baltimore City, they are learning that they will not be held accountable for the material covered or the work assigned in any class.

In an article, Agonizing Decision in Knox News (http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/apr/20/retaining-students-agonizing-decision/)
Lola Alapo analyzes the process of social promotion in Knox County, Tennessee. The article rightly points out that it is not the ideal situation to have a fourteen-year old in a classroom with nine-year old fourth graders. Nor do we want to have illiterate juniors in high school. School officials in Knox County recommend working with struggling students early in the year to ensure that failure does need to be an option. They also say that each decision needs to be made on an individual basis. Great advice. My concern in Baltimore City is that, in not holding kids accountable to promotion criteria in any form, we are disabling our ability to invest them in prevention measures we have put in place to help them be successful. If they know they will be promoted no matter what, it becomes exponentially more difficult to invest already low-achieving students in their academic success.

The importance of arts education

A per pupil payment to Baltimore City principals will be a gift for some and a chore for others. Choosing how to spend their dollars school leaders need to be well educated about the options available for students and the benefit and downside of programs and services. Principals would be well advised to consider reinstituting or increasing arts funding in their schools. Research on the relationship between arts education and student achievement suggests that an investment in arts programs can improve the educational experience of children.

Since NCLB became law schools have been criticized for shifting resources away from courses such as arts and music in order to increase time for test preparation. An article in Politico, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6715.html, quotes a recent study by the Center on Education that finds school time spent in art classes had decreased by nearly half since NCLB was passed. “Some educators say that the focus on testing is so intense that it is forcing schools to siphon time away from other non-test subjects such as music and dance.” Arts education was originally included as a core subject in NCLB but it was difficult to find both funding and attention for arts after reading and math tests became schools’ main focus. The law also does not require schools to provide arts classes. 

The arts community has responded with research suggesting that eliminating arts from education inadequately prepares students for 21st century careers. An integrated arts curriculum has been shown to increase imagination and creativity as well as focus and discipline. “Art classes enhance the creative and innovative thinking that drives entrepreneurs.” Studies have found that art classes can help students’ performance in other subjects and could even raise test scores. For instance, dance movement can be used to help a child learn rhythm and meter in reading classes, while singing can enrich the memorization of multiplication tables.

Locally a group of arts supporters have come together to emphasize the importance of a fully integrated arts curriculum in our schools. Partners for Enhanced Learning formed in 2004 with a mission “(t)o lead a community-wide collaborative effort using Baltimore’s arts, cultural, educational and leadership resources as the vehicles to transform Baltimore’s middle grade schools into powerful learning communities.” http://www.baltimorepartners.org/organizationalhistory.html. Their goal is to have an arts program in every middle grades school in Baltimore. Hopefully, principals will become educated on the importance of arts in their schools and when it comes time to allocate resources decide to make an investment in an area that has been shown not only to improve achievement but to keep children who might not otherwise be engaged in school coming back for more.

It’s only called CREDIT Recovery for a reason…

This past week, I was in the computer lab at my school during last period. There were several students who were working in the lab, independent of my kids. As I walked around I noted that one of the girls was working on a Credit Recovery Course. Needless to say, she was supposed to be in another class, but despite this, I noted the quick rate with which she was answering the questions and felt compelled to ask. The student grinned. “I’m finishing English III. She gestured to the keyboard and clicked on the “Summary” function of the program, which essentially highlighted the answers for the student. Credit Recovery is an increasingly popular option for students who are behind in credit, but is this merely a way to corral students toward graduation? Students are recovering credits, but are they recovering missed information? A sense of responsibility or accountability? Unfortunately, I would argue that in most cases they are not. Students can miss several months of school but with the right amount of money and brief dedication in their Credit Recovery course, they are good to go. Those months didn’t matter and neither did the information.
Online Credit Recovery seems seen as a cure-all for kids who fail to attend or simply fail a course. The reason for absence seems irrelevant (though many of my kids have very compelling reasons not to be at school sometimes) , students don’t need the credits quite as much as they need the INFORMATION that they missed. We let them off from the actual learning. Forget the 180 days that they missed ¾ of, they also missed all of American Literature and are moving on to a new grade without the writing skills, knowledge and enjoyment of literature that could occurred in the classroom. The New York Times article, Lacking Credits Some Students Learn Shortcut discussed this issue in New York looking at it through the story of one student who used Credit Recovery to pass an English course that he chronically cut. The student did three essays and was permitted to graduate with his class last spring. It must be noted that I think that Baltimore has put a much greater interest in developing academic programs that it seems New York has. I still wonder, however, if students in these programs come out with knowledge they are able to use? One educational advocate cited in the article noted that “…when it’s used correctly, it might be a good thing,” Ms. Ravitch said of credit recovery, “but when used incorrectly it’s a way of gaming the system.”
In a desperate crunch to increase graduation rates, Credit Recovery programs provide an easy out for students. They send the wrong message, in many cases. Students don’t need to be accountable for their education—they just need the credits. It’s ok to cut school and to miss class. You didn’t need to do any of that work. For a little over $100 and a few hours of pointing and clicking you can buy your credits. I am concerned that this online program, well intentioned as it may be, is just what it states credit recovery rather than academic mastery.

Call for volunteers needs more foresight and planning

This post is written in response to Dr. Alonso’s call to recruit 500 volunteers in the next two weeks (See “City schools seeking helpers” in the Baltimore Sun). This initiative was part of Dr. Alonso’s proposed solution to school violence, which the recent media exposure has brought to light. I appreciate that Dr. Alonso’s response was not merely to increase punitive measures, which is the loud cry that is coming from the BTU. Is it important to have high expectations for student behavior? Yes, but in my experience negative consequences have done little to encourage this behavior, and nothing to engage the hearts and minds of students in a way that will produce positive life change. However, I would like to see a little more concrete direction in the new call for volunteers. How are the new volunteers going to be trained and equipped to work with students in a difficult school environment? How are administrators going to support volunteers so that the feel valued and empowered when many parents already feel unwelcome and by the school system? I imagine that there will be some extraordinary volunteers who are able to effect students just by their personality, but I would guess that many volunteers would be overwhelmed by the experience, especially since they likely won’t receive the support that they need. I appreciate Dr. Alonso’s desire to increase community involvement, but I think if this initiative is hastily implemented without serious thought and planning that it could have disastrous results.

Achievement Gap at all levels.

I came across a really interesting article in my NCTE blog again, and I wanted to bring it up because I just spent time with one of my students from last year who is now a freshman at City College High and making great grades. The study showed that the gap between high-achieving white and black students is higher than the gap at the low end. Apparently, it's because high-achieving black students are often in all-black schools. According to the article from Education Week, “'It appears on average to be worse for a child to be in a school with a high black enrollment share, but it’s not clear why,”' said Mr. Rivkin. '“It could be important given the recent [U.S.] Supreme Court decision on desegregation,” he added, referring to a ruling in June of last year that sharply limited schools from using race to assign students to schools.'"

The article lists a lot of reasons, but I can certainly give a few based on my teaching experiences over the last two years. My highest-achieving students don't have very many opportunities for enrichment--no gifted program, just one Algebra class, and no advanced resources. As a middle school student, I was taking six classes, including a weekly all-day gifted class. I improved in school because of expectations and opportunity, which my students don't experience in the same way. I also think that racial diversity, in addition to religious, linguistic, etc., provides learning opportunities that enrich and strengthen learning.

I had students in my classes who were very different from me, and I learned a lot from them over the course of my schooling.

I also had an interesting comment from one of my students at the beginning of the year. He said that he was in a private school last year, and he had to be very competitive because the white students didn't expect him to do well. While I obviously don't want students to become racist in their profiling of other students, I also think that a culture of achievement and competition is the best kind of classroom in our educational structure. Theoretically, everyone wins if they pass, so competition is good in the classroom.

Lastly, I think that our students, many of whom have limited mobility in and out of the city. Letting them learn with other students would be a great opportunity. Even if students who get bussed to the suburbs don't improve their scores, they could thrive here in Baltimore if they are offered more opportunities to improve.

Stakeholders?!

After reading The Governor’s Commission on Quality Education in Maryland I came to the conclusion that I have no idea who or what a “stakeholder” is. People throw around the term casually as if we all share a common definition. When I use the term “stakeholder” I am referring to people who are directly involved with education on a daily basis but I get the feeling that others don’t share this same definition. In my mind stakeholders include students, parents, teachers, and administrators. When politicians use the term they are referring to stakeholders they are often referring the local community, state population, or even our American society as a whole.

If you accept the politicians’ definition of the term then every single American is a stake holder in our educational system. Using the term in this sense also absolves people of their individual responsibility. If we’re all stakeholders then it’s assumed that someone else will step up and take charge of spearheading reform movements. If things don’t turn out as we expected then as stakeholders we have the right to criticize the decision makes since we are “invested” in our school systems.

Since we don’t take the time to be specific and identify our stakeholders many times we all let out a collective sigh and shake our heads at the lack of progress. We hear things like “The stakeholders aren’t invested!” or “…it’s because of North ave “. The problems in our schools are always somehow traced back to North Ave.; we have all the problems in our school system because North Ave exists. No, it is not North Ave as a whole. North Ave is a building filled with individual people who make policy decisions. When the results of these decisions are not what the public expected these people are able to escape responsibility for these decisions because we all continue to use ambiguous language.

This all leads to the issue of semantics in education. As a community of educators we all use the same language but don’t necessarily hold the same definitions. Whether we are discussing “investing” students or “reaching out” to “stakeholders” we have a general sense of what the speaker is getting at. This general sense, however, doesn’t necessarily result in a common understanding. We use all of these terms with confidence and conviction but does it really mean anything? Can we come to a true consensus or act on identified problems if we lack a common understanding at the very basic level, the meaning of our words.

Should we raise or lower the dropout age?

Requiring Maryland students to remain in school until they turn age 18 could drastically reduce dropout rates

This conclusion, published in the Baltimore Sun on 11 February 2008 (and available here), was the result of "A yearlong study by a statewide task force of 50 educators, community leaders and legislators." It is obvious that not allowing students to drop out will decrease the number of students who drop out, however this conclusion is based on a very narrow conception of the complex educational system, which simply sees dropping out as bad. This view does not recognize the broader unintended consequences that could potentially result from increasing the compulsory attendance age.

In the spectrum of high school students, those who drop out are generally the farthest behind academically, and also have a harder time getting along with the various adults in the building, and are more disruptive in the classroom as a result. It is true that if we force these students to stay in school, they will make more academic progress. However, it will be to the detriment of the remainder of the student body in the last two years of high school. Forcing disruptive students to stay in school longer will benefit those students, but it has other negative side effects. It could reduce the graduation rate, and the students who do graduate will be even less adequately prepared for college or work.

Continuing this line of thought to its logical conclusion, we should actually decrease the compulsory attendance age. To be clear, I would not suggest this as a one-piece reform of our current system, and for one important reason: once a student drops out, they have essentially waived their right to any further free public education. Instead, I imagine a system with compulsory attendance until age 13, and then every student has a right to 5 further years of free public education; if a student drops out at any point, they can always come back to complete their 5 years. There would be separate schools for returning students of different ages, to prevent having older returning students put in class with normally-tracked students--also, the schools could offer evening or weekend hours for returning students who work. Similarly, if a student falls significantly behind (say, two years), they would be transferred to an alternative school.

This system would benefit everyone, even students who drop out. For students who move through the system normally, they will enjoy a classroom environment with fewer distractions where students are all on a similar academic level. Nowadays, many adults who previously dropped out are struggling to earn their GEDs. In this alternative system, these adults would still have access to the public education that they left behind when they dropped out.

These changes may sound crazy, but they are in fact how most universities work (minus the "free public" part--or at least the "free" part). If a student has difficulties with academics or conduct, they may be forced to take a leave of absence--it is clear that attending a university is a privilege. While everyone has a right to a certain level of free public education, our current system is designed more along the lines that every parent has a right to free public child care. This brings up the big question regarding allowing 13 year olds to drop out--if they're not in school, what are they doing? Children between 13 and 18, if they are not attending school, could be required to participate in some sort of non-trivial work or volunteer activities (which raises another whole series of questions regarding child labor, etc., but that's beyond the scope of this post).

The ultimate goal of this system is to ensure that education is not a limited-time offer. Students will have the opportunity to learn when they are ready to learn, rather than wasting their opportunities and teenage years by sitting in classrooms they don't want to be in, only to later learn the tough real-world lessons about the value of an education. In this sense, even the students who drop out will learn at a faster rate--they will learn these life lessons sooner, then will have the opportunity to return and receive the free public education they had previously not valued.

High Expectations: The "Softer" Side

At the risk of beating the proverbial horse to death, I feel compelled to weigh in on the school violence issue that has recently been brought to light over the past week or so. The first that I heard of the incident was actually when a friend of mine who is currently living in D.C. sent me a link to an online news story. Besides that, I did not engage in any conversation about the topic, with students or teachers, until the very end of the day when it was brought up in passing in the main office by one of our fantastic administrative assistants, who is also a parent. However, even at that point, I feel like we both sort of walked away with a "that's a shame," shaking-of-the-head response. Was I completely numb to the incident?

After watching the news on TV, which repeatedly highlighted the cell phone video & snippets of the teacher's interview, I had some serious reservations about the circumstances surrounding the attack and the legitimacy of the teacher's explanation. Now, don't get me wrong, under no circumstances do I believe that a physical response is the appropriate one for a student to have. And I do whole-heartedly understand the fact that there are fantastic teachers who are attacked with non-existent repurcussions. However, I have to ask whether or not this issue brings to light not only the issue of the failure of certain administrations to report violent incidents, but also the role of building relationships between teachers & students, as well as between administrators & students.


This past Monday, Dr. Alonso was in my classroom for about an hour. As a part of his lesson with my class, he highlighted the relationship between suspensions & student achievement data. His information was well presented, and my students picked up on the correlation that he was drawing between higher suspensions and lower test scores. In fact, when he asked my students to raise their hand if they had ever been suspended... nearly 75% of them did so. This definitely resonated with them. The most interesting thing that I took away from his entire hour-long visit though, was when Dr. Alonso asked my students for suggestions about what the policy should be to thwart would-be violent incidents, and even suspension-worthy incidents overall. My students responded that a) they did not believe that the student attack was appropriate in any way, but that b) building relationships between students and teachers is the best preventative measure to something like this happening. To be quite blunt, one of my students said that if a teacher disrespects him, that he will disrespect them back. To this, a saw a room full of bobbing heads. It's the Golden Rule, with a teenage twist.

So, I have to ask: are we spending too much time focusing on the reactive measures, as opposed to the proactive measures? Relationship building, counseling, and extracurricular activities that students are actually interested & engaged in are a must. If students don't have an outlet, or are in a classroom where the teacher continuously yells at them, belittles them, or quite simply doesn't give a damn... will suspending them or revoking other privileges make a difference? I'd argue that as soon as they are placed back into that toxic environment, that they would revert to their original behaviors.

There are certainly students that I have had adversarial relationships with in the past. Admittedly, I also feel that the vast majority of these relationships could have been "flipped" if I had given a little with my own classroom rules and expectations. Is it important to hold high expectations? Absolutely. Is it acceptable for students to come into class day after day, put their head down, and refuse to work because they worked late the night before? Absolutely not. Is it acceptable for students to curse at the teacher? Absolutely not. Is it necessary for a teacher to issue detention every time a student utters a curse? I'd argue not... This was not the teacher that I was last year, though. I thought that I was being principled... and I'd venture to say that I was being obstinate some of the time. I understood the concept of holding my students to high expectations - but was doing so, withouth exception, having the desired outcome?

I don't want to come off as being "soft" or making excuses. I think that what occurred, and the decision that the student made to attack the teacher was inexcusable. On the other hand, I do think that it brought to light important issues that we have in our schools (and as Dr. Alonso has recently pointed out via use of the media & bcpss website: http://www.bcpss.org/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp) for community involvement and relationship building. Is what occurred the student's "fault"? I'm not so sure how to answer that... in my heart of hearts, I believe that at some point, that child was failed. Her actions were inappropriate, but I have to wonder what was going on inside of her head that led her to make that decision. If she had the support services that she quite possibly needs, or had more supportive relationships with teachers in her school (which she very well may have with some teachers), could this have been prevented? I seriously doubt that a long-term suspension or expulsion is going to change her outlook on life... which, to me, is troubling. So, while I absolutely believe that high expectations are essential... I have to question whether or not we need to let our "softer" side show more often than many of us do (myself included). Can we do this, while still setting our students up for success and working to bring them up to par with their more affluent peers? I believe that we absolutely can...

Achievementrap

Achievementrap: How America is Failing Millions of High-Achieving Students from Lower-Income Families, a report by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation & Civic Enterprises (http://www.jackkentcookefoundation.org/jkcf_web/Documents/Achievement%20Trap.pdf) finds that high-achieving students from lower income families (students who score in the top 25 percent on national tests and whose family incomes are below the national median - $50,000 for a family of 4 - are failing to complete college in much larger numbers than high-achieving students from families with means. Surprisingly these students are not dropping out of college primarily because they cannot afford it. Finances do come into play to the extent their families need them to return home and produce income, but the main reason these kids drop out is because they are not graduating from high schools offering the requisite rigor needed to succeed in college and they are not choosing colleges that are equipped to support the particular needs of the high-achieving, low-income student.

The study tracks students from first grade through graduate school. In first grade 28 percent of students performing at the top quarter of the nation are from low-income houses while 72 percent are from higher-income houses. By fifth grade only about half of lower-income students remain high ahievers while 69 percent of higher-income students do. Higher-income students are also more likely to move up to the ranks of the high achievers than are the low-income high achievers. The study goes on to talk about college acceptances, graduation rates and graduate school admissions and completion rates.

In order to address this disparity the Gates and other foundations will be increasing funding for College Advising Corps, a program modeled after Teach for America that will train college graduates from highly selective schools to serve as college counselors for high school students. This program has been effective in increasing the suitability of the college "match" for low-income students, and has suggested that counselors directly out of college themselves are most effective as mentors in the college process.

The most promising thing I learned from this research is that high-achieving kids in first grade are almost equally divided by race. Of the high-achieving first graders White students only slightly out-number African-American students; the same is true for Latino, Hispanic and Asian first graders. The challenge is to keep these numbers close throughout the twenty years of education, and to that end 18 colleges and universities have pledged to close the gap between graduates in the area of race and socioeconomic status http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/10/31/system.

The Cooke study further points to the need for quality teachers and supports for students from low-income homes. The summer learning loss that occurs each year of a low-income student's life results over time in a disparity of several grade levels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_learning_loss. The summer enrichment programs in Baltimore aim to address this issue, but are limited in their reach. One such program, Middle Grades Partnership partners public and independent school teachers and students for summer academic programs. Public school principals select high achieving middle school students to participate and the goal is to keep these students engaged through middle school so that they are on grade level or above for high school. The Cooke study shows that high achieving eighth graders graduate from high school whether they are low-income or higher-income. Just one more reason to ramp up expectations and quality in middle schools.

Taking Back What's Ours

These past few weeks in the media have really brought things into perspective. The violence that takes place in our schools everyday has finally gotten the attention it deserves. Ironically, the whistle blower was a student who thought it would be fun to videotape a teacher being beaten by a fellow classmate. Well, joke’s on you because now you’ve given a face to what many of us have been talking about for months. On behalf of the teachers I know and work with daily: Thanks!!! You’ve done us a huge favor.

Sadly, I’ve had to watch my colleagues leave our building because they’ve suffered major anxiety attacks, nervous breakdowns or injuries caused by flying books. The teachers at my school are fed up and we’ve decided that we are not going to take it anymore. Our students have believed that their actions can go unpunished, but we have turned the tables on them and instituted our own form of justice: we’re taking away the things that mean the most to them.

As class advisors, we are responsible for planning the many major events for the students such as class trips, dances, etc. These are staples of the high school experience, but why should the students who are continually causing the problems in the school and depriving their peers of the education they deserve be allowed to participate in the fun? We say they shouldn’t. They have their “fun” daily when they verbally and physically assault our teachers "just because". So as a staff, we have come together and formed a united front. If you treat my colleague disrespectfully, you will be reported to your designated class advisor and you will lose your opportunity to attend the prom or whatever other activity we decide. Is it harsh? Perhaps. Do we care? Not really. Until they are able to see true and tangible consequences for their actions, they won’t have a reason to care about the things they do and how it affects the school as a whole. The administration has shown us that they are not prepared to do anything, so we’ve taken the initiative to say enough is enough. How far does it have to go before these kids see they can’t do what they want to do to us and get away with it?

A student at our school has cursed all of her teachers and went so far as to claim that one touched her inappropriately (which she later said was “just a joke”). What was her punishment? A note of apology. Are you kidding me? She could have caused this person their life and all she has to do is write a letter? But the hammer came down on her this week as she was barred from attending the Senior Class trip, a decision that was made (and not supported by her administrator, who thought the punishment a bit harsh) by the class advisor. Sweet hallelujah!!! I think she’s gotten it now. Maybe she hasn’t, but I believe it’s a step in the right direction. At this point in the game, I’ll try anything.

Overage Students and Social Promotion

In reading an educational-themed blog published by an inner city Chicago teacher, I came across this particular post on the social promotion of students. The writer spoke specifically about a hard-working group of students operating way below grade level in his eleventh grade class. In his classroom setting, compounded by challenges of over-crowding and the negative school culture, he felt he would be unable to realistically move these students 4-5 grade levels in a single year. Therefore, they would fail to be operating at the appropriate grade level at time of promotion. Based on the progress and effort exhibited by these students, should they be promoted to the next grade? I think that his questions are particularly relevant to teachers and administrators in Baltimore City schools.

Where social promotion may arise at all grade levels, I have witnessed it specifically at the middle school level. In my middle school of approximately 600 students, 188 were reported as overage at the start of the 2007-2008 school year, and two of my four classes were comprised of students repeating the grade for the second or third time. Students repeated the grade due to a variety of factors including chronic absence, behavioral issues that substantially interfered with learning, or failure of one or more major subjects. Social promotion was not exercised in the case of many students.

The climate of the school building is influenced strongly by a wide population of students ranging from 11 to 16 years of age. A culture of failure pervaded the classes composed completely of repeating students. While I would not argue that each of these students should have been pushed on if they did not meet grade-level standards, it is important to consider the impact of holding students back to repeat a grade both on the child and on the school. What should be done?

My building is now facing the question of how to appropriately promote students that still may not be where they need to be. We have students that began the year in the sixth grade and will begin next year in the ninth – they have spent about one academic quarter in each grade. Middle school in a single year? I am baffled as to how this is considered a favorable, or even acceptable, plan of action. Ultimately the issue rests in the hands of strong instruction, from early grades to the middle school years. Without such, it can be feared that issues surrounding failure, overage students, and social promotion will continue to exist in our schools.

Why does it feel like things are only going to get worse?

It has been over a week now since a teacher was beaten by one of her students, recorded via video phone, and then thrown into the national news spotlight. I cannot get this incident off of my mind. I am not sure which part of this whole affair bothers me most: the reactions of some of my colleagues or the feeling that things are only going to get worse before they begin to get better.

I first discovered the incident Thursday morning, waiting in line for my coffee at Daily Grind, scanning the headlines of the Baltimore Sun. To be honest, I wasn't really surprised. I personally know two other teachers who have been literally attacked by their students this year. I have heard numerous other similar stories. And I do not believe that this is a new phenomenon either. One of the teachers at my school transferred there after a gang of students threw notebooks and textbooks at him in the middle of the cafeteria of another city middle school. The administration did nothing in response. That was four years ago, and I am sure that his experience was not the first of its kind.

So, no, I was not surprised by the headline, "Teacher attacked by student." Based on other colleagues experiences over the past two years that I have taught in this city, I was not particularly surprised to further discover that the student witnesses did little to aide the teacher or that the principal accused the teacher of using a "trigger word," rather than simply coming to the victim's defense.

No, the real shock came when I was discussing this event with some of my colleagues, also teachers, who expressed a belief that either A: the teacher must have done something to merit this beating, or B: that she was wrong to go to the media because "what happens in Baltimore should stay in Baltimore," and this kind of negative attention will only make the world think less of our students. Unfortunately, it's this kind of thinking that has led us to this horrible state of affairs. The conduct of our students, and lack of reasonable consequences for student actions, has been kept private for far too long.

Look at the most recent Sun article on this topic, "Attack highlights 'chronic problem.'" The school year isn't over yet and already 112 students have been expelled for assaulting staff members. Based on the high number of incidents that go unreported, I believe that the number could actually far exceed 112.

Even more disturbing than these current numbers is the feeling that things may get worse before they get better. The worst thing that could happen for a student who assaults a staff person is that they would be arrested. According to the figures in the "Attacks highlight 'chronic problem'" article, less than half of the students who were expelled were actually arrested by school police. A less severe consequence is suspension; 515 students in Baltimore City were suspended for staff member assaults last year. Many student actions go completely unpunished. So what do all of these consequences (or lack of) teach our students? Based on the rising number of incidents I would venture to guess... not a whole lot.

I believe that our students are in desperate need of counseling services. Hundreds (thousands?) of our children and young adults never have any type of adult mentoring or therapeutic counseling, despite the fact that their young lives are in almost constant turmoil. As educators, most of us are doing the very best we can just to teach our students basic content and skills. We are so ill-equipped to give them the guidance, support, and perhaps even mental health care that they need. I have said previously in this post that I fear the current situation may only get worse because I have been led to believe that the number of counselors in city schools will be severely cut back next year. On top of that, special education students are far and away the primary recipients of counseling services, while they are by no means the only students in need.

In the midst of this rather hopeless train of thought, I do have one idea. There is a style of conferencing called "restorative justice" or "real justice" that puts perpetrators and victims face to face and forces perpetrators to take real responsibility for their actions. This type of conferencing has been used mainly in Australia and school systems that have implemented the methods of restorative justice have seen a 100% drop in their suspension rates. I know that many of you are already thinking that this wouldn't work in Baltimore City, but at this point, what do we have to lose?

Restorative justice can be "led" be teachers, uses many practices that are similar to counseling, and has had phenomenal success rates in the past. If you are at all interested in learning more, check out the book "Real Justice" by Ted Wachtel. We ARE the "movers and shakers" in the city and we have to do something before the situation gets worse, because our kids deserve better.

Will Violence Bring About Change?

This morning I received my copy of the Baltimore Sun and was confronted with the headline, “Attack Highlights Chronic Problem.” Two years ago I would have been shocked by the recent news report of Jolita Berry and the drama at Lewis and other high schools. While I still am outraged at the issues of the system we work in, I feel numbed to the accounts of violence and under education that are highlighted daily in the news. On Friday, my students and I discussed this recent media onslaught on Baltimore city schools during Socratic Circle. Without my provocation one student said, “This makes us look so bad. We know this stuff happens, but I mean now everyone is gonna think I am that girl.” I completely agree with her. Yet again, our school community is portrayed as teachers as soldiers and students as attackers.
Instead of being discouraged by yet another negative spin on our system, I looked into the opportunities for change the article highlighted. I feel that for the past few months Dr. Alonso has been painted as the savior of our system and this article was no different. To quell the violence we face, Alonso explained that by giving principals autonomy, better systems could be put in place to stop the violence. Principals can use their money to create in school suspension and remediation programs. Once these magical budgets come out, I am curious to see how principals will manage their inadequate funds – will a principal really want to take his/her precious dollars and pay someone to babysit kids during in school suspension? Alonso also threatened to simply replace principals who are not doing a good job. This might actually help stop violence in some schools – if the NEW principal can create an environment where violence is not tolerated.
The idea of community governing boards was suggested as well, which is not a bad idea – but I wonder with all this negative press, who will want to be a part of these boards? As we discussed in class, there are some students that do not seem to fit in traditional high schools. The alternative high school options we have in Baltimore are not enough to service our students’ vast needs. I do believe that rethinking options for students with records of offenses, overage students and students with emotional needs is the key for systemic change. I am eager to see what CHANGE will come about not that we have this national media push to force us to CHANGE or continue to be portrayed as a place with no hope.

Low Expectations: The Wide-Spread Educational Virus

I sometimes marvel at how our class discussions directly mirror our lives as teachers in Baltimore City. More often than not, I leave our class feeling down-hearted, hopeless. After all, how can we, a handful of dedicated teachers, change the entire system? Almost always, those negative feelings morph into more motivational ones as I realize that, in a system that is so twisted and flawed, our students need our efforts more than we can possibly know.

We have repeatedly discussed the importance of strong, dedicated teachers to have a successful school community. As I have applied to new schools for next year, I have noted the vast difference between the interview procedures between my present possibilities and my first interview in Baltimore city, for my current school. Two years ago, I walked up to a table at the hiring fair, the assistant principal saw that I was with Teach for America, and she signed me with her school before she knew anything about me. In the past few months, I have gone through interviews, observations, video tapings, phone conversations, and more, simply to be considered at the schools.

As I contemplate these differences, I can’t help but think about the not-so-subtle implications of each hiring process. With the first, nothing was expected of me. I simply had to show up and I was officially a teacher. With the latter, my lesson plans, resume, cover letters, discussions, and observations have to fit the mold of the school in question. At an interview today, after reading an article by Alfie Kohn, the interviewee asked us, “If Baltimore City already knows what we need to improve each school, why don’t they do so?” Hmm, if nothing is expected of us at the start, what instant impression does that give? And what sort of support will an administration give if they have such low expectations for their teachers?

Driven teachers can challenge themselves and their students, holding the students to high standards. But, it is an uphill battle in each direction. This is one main reason why teachers either burn out and quit, or they remain in their jobs as miserable beings, going about their daily lives. These incessant low expectations affect everyone in the education equation: administrators, teachers, parents, and, most importantly, the students. Students in this environment have the biggest challenges to overcome- to stay motivated and to demand a bright future for themselves.

All of this shows how important it is for us to stay engaged in our students, in all of our students. Despite the means by which we got our jobs, all of us have stayed here for our kids. While it is difficult to remember this at times (like when our most difficult students are driving us crazy), it is this care that will carry us through and keep our expectations high.

NCLB and Multicultural Education

What does the current standards-based reform infusing state schools mean for multicultural education? The answer to this question lies, of course, in how one defines the concept of "multicultural education." According to Sonia Nieto, author of Affirming Diversity, multicultural education is basic and pervasive--it is not in conjunction to any "standard" education, but is critical daily pedagogy. Taking this for granted, can multicultural education exist in the new culture of No Child Left Behind? This article argues that "the increasing reliance on textbooks and standards undermines multicultural education." Nieto would agree, using a chapter of her book to highlight the NCLB's "particularly negative effects on students living in poverty, those whom the law was purportedly intended to help." So what exactly is it about an emphasis on standards that prohibits meaningful multicultural education?

To me, holding the entire nation of children to one set of standards is like a doctor prescribing one treatment plan to all of his or her patients. I understand how standards may be perceived as great equalizers--high expectations should be had for all! However, it is ignorant to expect that all can (and should) produce the same outcome by the same method(s). This type of thinking does not account for different historicities, cultures, or experiences.

In the article, Christine Sleeter suggests that there is a difference between a standards-DRIVEN and standards-CONSCIOUS curriculum. This implies that the NCLB's emphasis on standards should not be discarded altogether. I agree, primarily because I love how standards have highlighted the importance of accountability. However, if we are truly going to accept Nieto's demand that the lack of a pervasive multicultural education is socially unjust, we must necessarily reform the emphasis of NCLB.

InsideEd: An Awkard Addiction

I have found myself reading InsideEd on a daily basis - along with the Baltimore Sun's education articles. I am tempted to write about the recent foray of articles about school violence, but I'm unsure I know everything there is to know in order to make any intelligent contribution here. It seems like everyone has an agenda, and the truth is muddled along the way. For instance, I have to question Marietta English's air time. She has been all over broadcast and newsprint media. Isn't there an election coming up? What perfect timing for her. According to WBAL, Nancy Grasmick is calling for a school violence summit. I’m tired of hearing about meetings and not seeing any specific change.

What really, really interested me was Neufeld’s post on zero-basing. She references a study that makes some interesting points on restructuring. One of the findings was that schools with zero-based staffs, as part of their restructuring plan, experienced problems of low staff morale and teachers spending more time focusing on job security issues. Sounds like my school. When a school decides to restructure, they can choose some of the following options: contracting with an outside organization with demonstrated effectiveness operating schools, reopening as a charter, replacing all or most of the staff who are relevant to the failure, turning operation over to the state if the state agrees, and the potpourri category of "any other restructuring of the school's governance that produces fundamental reform."

In my school, one of the ways that we were told restructuring would be developed was through a TCNA (Teacher Capacity Needs Assessment). I was formally trained as TCNA facilitator in my school. Honestly, it was an incredible waste of time for our staff. The idea seems great, but we did not develop possible solutions or explanations for the root causes of failure or success in teaching the Voluntary State Curriculum. Hopefully the results were not used to inform specific strategies per each of the TCNA areas.

So here's the disconnect: I'm confident my school is zero-basing - the school board approved it and now we're waiting on the state. Everyone at my school is concerned about job security, and not knowing what is happening is causing an uneasy atmosphere. Procedures for what teachers need to do have not been outlined, yet the voluntary transfer fair is Monday. What the school is asking of its teachers seems misaligned when relating it to restructuring. So if we are going to be "fired" from our current site because we are ineffective, why are we the ones identifying the root causes in the TCNA? The staff was forced (that was the sentiment of the staff) to forgo their professional development to complete the TCNA. The actual TCNA process itself was a perfect image of a bad teacher handing students a worksheet to complete to keep them quiet and busy without any instruction making it relevant. Did this happen so that teachers just felt involved?

Furthermore, if we are pushing so-called ineffective teachers out of failing schools, why are we okay with them going to other schools in the system?

NAEP Writing Results: Basic is Not Enough

Results of the 2007 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), the Nation’s Report Card writing test are now in. The April 4, 2008 Baltimore Sun article, “Tests show low writing proficiency” by Nancy Zuckerbrod highlights the findings of the assessment given to a sample of eighth and twelfth grade students nationwide. Results were compared to the 1998 and 2002 (the last time the test was given) data. I accessed this data at

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008468.

The article discusses the difference between male and female scores, noting that girls once again preformed better than boys. I agree that boys too are just as capable of writing, but this “gender gap” is evidence that educators and society have been guilty of being unable to break down the stereotypes that girls excel in language arts while boys may shine in other subjects. I believe that both boys and girls will develop a positive attitude towards writing when they are exposed to it at an early age. Additionally, teachers must use a variety of texts in order to engage all learners. Students will undoubtedly be turned off to a subject and are more likely to perform lower when they have little interest in developing their skills in that area.

Both the article and NAEP executive summary seem to take a celebratory tone toward the overall increases in the test results. While the scores are moving in the right direction and that is a good thing, I find it appalling that after five years the numbers are not higher. Students need to be proficient, which as the article suggests is also the goal of policy makers. However, only 33% of eighth graders and 24% of twelfth graders achieved proficient or higher scores. Putting aside all debates over standardize testing; these numbers are simply not enough. It is unacceptable for our students to be basic; unable to compose different pieces of prose, lack writing mechanics and grammar.

As an elementary teacher in Baltimore City, I see this deficit on a daily basis. It is unnerving to watch my students struggle with writing. Although my school and fellow educators realize the necessity of writing, instruction in this area has taken the backseat to tested subjects such as reading and math. In order to prepare students for the MSA, our team decided to cut language instruction for several months in favor of spending more time on explicit instruction of BCRs (brief constructed responses). Although students were encouraged to use proper mechanics and grammar, we as teachers were asked to not spend too much time on this since it is not graded on the MSA. From an early age the focus is so strong on math and reading, it seems there is less and less time to incorporate writing. Without the chance to participate in writing activities at a young age, students become more and more turned off and the task of writing becomes more and more challenging. It seems today that a subject is only valued if it assessed. In order to help our students succeed at writing, we cannot wait until eighth grade. However, in this day in age, perhaps the only way for schools to include purposeful writing instruction is to test it.

Fair Student Funding –Easier Said Than Done

Is fair necessarily equal? Baltimore School of the Arts receives more funding than other high schools. No doubt, they use their money well and those select few who are admitted benefit greatly from the extra programs and equipment that money buys. But with a budget deficit looming, extra money dedicated to BSA inevitably means a loss for more disadvantaged students throughout the district. Alonzo has stated that the central office will continue to provide the increased funding for “flagship” programs such as the Baltimore School of the Arts. It’s the right choice but it’s not fair.

It gets tougher. Imagine two public high schools. One serves a population at an 80% FARMs rate while the other has just 20% FARMs. Should they be equally funded? Alonzo believes that the wealth or poverty of students should not factor into the equation but perhaps achievement should. So a student performing at the 10th percentile receives more funding at the expense of the student at the 90th percentile. Fair? As of March 20th, the district has not decided. Alonzo has made it clear however, that if there is to be a funding bias towards lower achieving students, the measure of low performance should only apply to students as they enter a school. Otherwise, the district would create a financial disincentive for increasing achievement.

I absolutely agree with the decentralization of the Baltimore City School District and the idea of fair student funding. But neither the centralized or decentralized model of our school district will provide truly “fair” student funding. It is a subjective term and in the end someone will get more at the expense of another.

Principal Turnover and School Stability

With my current school coming under alternative governance for the 2008-2009 school year, school leadership and administration has been a highly debated topic around my building. With the principal job posted and interviews underway, various questions have arisen as to how this change will impact the faculty, school climate and culture, and student achievement.

I was motivated to look into principal turnover after coming across an article in the Education Section of today’s New York Times about the firing of a popular principal in Westchester County, New York. This article discussed the release of a principal on somewhat questionable grounds, including the failure to attend a specific cabinet meeting and the answering of his cell phone during a meeting. The author compared the principal’s wrongdoings to “stealing strawberries” in the face of far greater offenses. The article went on to suggest that this principal was pushed out by the school superintendent in an attempt to fill the position with a “friend” who had been previously promised hire. Though the facts were unclear on either side, I couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that a principal’s firing on the grounds of missed meetings made front page of the education section considering what I have witnessed with school leadership in Baltimore City.

I think it is particularly interesting how personal conflicts between faculty and administration seem to affect the school climate, resulting in a lack of stability in the school. Though not proven so, I think that the aforementioned article suggests that personal issues were heavily influencing this principal’s dismissal. I am in the process of watching teachers be “interviewed” to retain their jobs at my current school based heavily on their ties to the current principal. Highly qualified teachers who have demonstrated a commitment to their students are not even being given the chance to interview, because they haven’t been in the “right clique” this year. Weak leadership will not only impact student achievement, but also allow personal conflict to inappropriately impact hiring and firing decisions.

A study published in December of 2007 by “Advocates for Children and Youth” investigated the principal turnover rates of ten Baltimore City middle schools. What they found was that 90% of the schools had at least one principal change in the five-year period between the 2002-2003 and 2007-2008 school years. 80% of the schools had two or more principal changes, and 50% had three or more principal changes in this period. This turnover results in a lack of stability in leadership, programming, and student success – supported both by data in this report and by my observation just over the past two years. It is a serious problem that demands attention. When hiring new principals, it is imperative that we seek out leaders that will not only positively impact the school, but also show a commitment to the position over time. Just as we seek to retain teachers, we must also be both realistic and innovative in retaining our principals.

State Funding: All Students Prison Ready?

A recent report issued by the Pew Project on the States, found that our society now spends more money on prisons than on colleges. The Pew Charitable Trusts reports that those states are (in order of spending the most proportionally on prisons in 2007): Vermont, Michigan, Oregon, Connecticut and Delaware.

The Pew Project makes the case for individual states to reconsider mandatory sentences and other such policies for which they attribute the swell in prison population. With 1:100 American citizens currently behind bars, and rates of recidivism remaining consistent over the past few years, how can we rationalize this clear value judgment? But, just how much of an investment is it? The Pew report found that, “During the last 20 years, state based corrections spending has increased by 127 percent on top of inflation, while spending on higher end has increased only 21 percent.” What positive trend in upward mobility or economic prosperity do we have to show for this type of monetary investment? Back when Joe Biden was a viable presidential candidate, he made a statement that really resonated with me: Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget. Regardless of what candidate is claiming to throw more funding at education, the statistics clearly speak to our national values.

The NEA fact sheet shows that 75 percent of America's state prison inmates are high school dropouts. This type of data is sickening, yet helpful for lawmakers who use literacy rates to project future construction of prison facilities. The connection between education and incarceration is so clear, yet funding does not reflect this reality!

The consequences for children who do not leave our classrooms “college ready” is much greater than the empty space in the 80% mastery sticker chart. They are real and life determinative. As educators we know that high school graduation is the bare minimum necessary for accessing institutions of higher education, job training and successful entry into the job force. As a nation we cannot afford to invest such minimal social capital in this fight to reform the system.

Currently, we see nothing but a negative return on our prison investments. As discussed above, rates of both incarceration and recidivism are up. Don’t tell me you value education and then allot marginal amounts of a state budget to prevention programs or character education programs. We must move funding towards well researched prevention initiatives and successful school models that will transform our children into college matriculants instead of prison statistics.

Downsizing North Ave: The First Step in the Right Direction

On March 11^th, many administrators and central office workers found confirmation of the rumors swirling through the North Ave halls – job cuts were coming and they would be large. Baltimore City Public Schools Chief Executive Officer, Andres Alonso announced that $110 million dollars would be cut from the central office budget, along with approximately 300 jobs. This funding reform would then allow Dr. Alonso to redistribute more money directly to the schools, allowing principals to have increased autonomy and decision making power to distribute per pupil funds.

While the redistribution of the budget and deflation of the bloated North Ave bureaucracy represents steps in the right direction to reform our troubled schools – they are only the first of many necessary steps. To ensure meaningful reform is supported by the central office, North Ave must create a cohesive environment and staff that is able to effectively respond to the needs of the community, schools, teachers, and administrators.

To ensure change in our schools, staff members must be able to communicate and collaborate with each other. Currently, communication within the school system is blocked by a phone system where more than half of the listed phone numbers for employees are wrong. The organization of the building must also be completely overhauled so that employees can find each other through the maze of hallways. North Ave employees literally have created sets of directions to guide staff and visitors to their offices through unmarked doors and dead-end hallways. If an employee gets lost finding their way to that office, forget a helpful secretary pointing you in the right direction – they have no idea themselves or are downright offended to be interrupted from playing solitaire! Same goes for happening to dial one of the many wrong extensions – expect to be hung up on.

Organizing a building and phone system so that employees can actually work together may seem like simple and “duh” suggestions, but they lay the foundation for more meaningful reform to occur. The next necessary step would be basic training on customer service and how to appropriately handle community and parent inquires, but that issue will have to wait for another day.

Dr. Alonso, City Schools CEO, presented the 2009 budget and his Fair Student Funding proposal at a school board meeting last month that outlined how $40 million will be redistributed from North Ave’s Central Office to the schools. The goal is to give principals more autonomy in how money is spent and how students are supported in their individual school therefore holding principals accountable for the progress made by students. This plan includes cutting over 300 full time jobs from North Ave. and working to concentrate the resources where the kids are: in the school buildings.

In an article written on March, 14th in the Baltimore Times, Baltimore City Schools to shift millions of dollars from Central Office to classrooms, Dr. Alonso says, “After I heard there was not an afterschool program or an arts program in the schools, I felt that it needed to change. And it could not change by somebody here (in the Central Office) making decisions-but from the perspective of the resources in the schools and people in the schools making decisions about what is best for students.”

I could not agree with Dr. Alonso’s statement more. I spent about an hour talking to a group of students yesterday about why they repeatedly said their high school wasn’t a “real high school.” The bottom line: everyone must do the same thing, take the same classes and there is very little opportunity for engaging in activities, classes or clubs that really interest an individual student. One of my girls is very interested in studying music, especially singing, but our high school does not offer music classes, band, orchestra or chorus. Another one of my students pointed out that there are no AP classes for students to take advantage of to prepare for college. High school is the time when students are supposed to be exploring a variety of disciplines, classes and activities in preparation for choosing a college major or general course of study for their post-secondary education. If we are not offering these options to our students, how will our students know what career path to choose? How will they get excited about going to college to study their passion if they don’t have an opportunity to develop a passion?

I am excited that principals are being given the opportunity to address the unique issues that inhibit the students in their school from achieving. After school programs, tutors, arts programs, educational trips, sports, AP programs and curriculum resources are just some of the things that money can be used for based on exactly what that population of students needs and wants. I am also excited that principals must thoroughly prepare a budget, including having a public conversation with their school communities, before submitting their proposal. It is important to do the proper research before allocating funds based on what sounds like a good idea. I hope many of our students are able to benefit from this restructuring of the way funds are spent in Baltimore City.

Alonso and the Windmills

Once upon a time, there was an idealist, who was also a theorist, an educator, a believer, and perhaps even a “charmer,” who would one day grow up to be the CEO of the Baltimore City Public School System. Swept up on a stream of intellect, through the current of the American dream and guided by the immigrant experience, Dr. Andres Alonso’s came from Cuba to be a crusader. At lease that’s what I inferred from his character after having read the July 2006 New York Times article, “An Unfailing Belief in the Power of Teaching,” by David M. Herszenhorn. This nearly forgotten profile of Alonso describes him while overseeing curriculum instruction for New York City’s 1.1 million publicly enrolled students with a near Naderesque (or Joan of Arc) panache.

Unmarried and with an adopted foster child whom he once taught in his own classroom, Alonso holds an unwavering belief in the individual power of a teacher. There are no “at risk” children and poverty is no excuse for a failing school. Students are brought to school “as is,” the parental responsibility practically relinquished, because if they had better kids, they’d send them to school too. Ultimately one gets the sense from Alonso that teachers really are powerful entities and one should expect them to be nearly incandescent in their ability to transform students. How can you not be a teacher and not have a high expectations? Regardless of mitigating circumstances, we’re all believers, right man? Every student can go to Harvard, Alonso did.

I read this article with a deep fascination and almost with a twinge of repulsion. I don’t I think I’ll ever have the idealized view that Alonso has, that all students can be remedied by a saint-like teacher, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t occur daily in Baltimore City classrooms, nor does mean that I teach from the basement of a Machiavellian sentiment. I feel many teachers in BCPSS have a keener understanding over time of exactly how powerful we can be as individuals, and at the same time how helpless; that there are many varying shades of grey, from the teacher, to the public, parents, neighborhood blight, to the corner drug market that funds a child’s food supply, seasoned public servants can see how these factors enable or disable a child to learn and mature.

I sometimes worry that although I admire Alonso’s tireless spirit and his belief in the power of a school, I fear that he is blind to those that can’t see his beautiful, nearly pristine vision. And it’s not because they don’t want to, nor are the educators and concerned citizens unwilling, but rather because they simply can’t see a vision that has not manifested in the world that they live in. Sometimes I look at the smiling Alonso, astride a horse and ready for battle with petulant glee, as a crusader, and like many crusaders he may have lost the vision of reality in pursuit of the quest.

1 Day until MSA.

As I sit here posting to this blog, I recognize that tomorrow is the first day of the MSA. In Maryland and Baltimore City, that test is the be-all and end-all of school measurement. I've killed myself all year to help my students get set to be successful, and now there's nothing left for me to do but hope for the best. I think this year I'm even more nervous because I know what the test means, and I also know what it looks like and how my students did last year. If I can't crack the code this year, I just don't know what I'll do.

Urban education is all about results; the kids look so stressed out but in a good way, and even though I tell my students that the test is important to them and it shows how much they have learned, I also knows that it is more about my performance than theirs, or at least that is how I'll be judged. It's also very sad to boil down my experience with them to just one test, since I'm so proud of their daily progress, of their excellent BCRs, of their commitment to improving and to going on to high school.

Regardless, I'm proud of them and me, because it's been a long year and we have worked our tails off. So we'll see on that front.

I wanted to mention two important articles from my NCTE email blast. I love NCTE because they keep me updated on important national trends in education, from the interesting to the controversial. The first link is to an article from Minnesota about bussing inner-city students to suburban schools. It appears that students who went to suburban schools didn't do better on state scores. The problem with the data is that students haven't been adequately tracked for progress. Also, students who chose to bus were probably made to do so by involved or informed parents, which makes it difficult to really understand how student behaviors changed or didn't change because of the bussing. What it does say is that inner-city education isn't working, and systems everywhere are searching for answers, even if it means getting rid of urban education altogether.

http://www.startribune.com/local/16183752.html

The other link is about how Denver is adjusting test scores for minority and low-income students so that they can get into gifted programs. I think this shows just how important true equality is in public education, and it also shows what I have been saying in class--we have programs now that are good, but we have to make them more equitable for students. This doesn't mean that what we have isn't worth fixing, it's that we really need to look at more than just data when deciding on students, teachers, and schools. Quality can often hide behind numbers and irregularities.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_8442882

The Newest Big Ol’ Band-Aid for the Drop Out Problem

For the past month or so there has been quite a buzz around BCPSS about the state’s proposal to raise the minimum age of attendance from 16 with parental consent to 18. When presenting this debate to my students, they immediately said, as I would imagine, most people would “Of course! We should ensure that all students get an education!” When looking at the numbers in a recent Baltimore Sun article, I was a bit astonished myself. In Maryland last year 10,294 students dropped out last year. That’s in one year! As a point of comparison, this is about a hundred people less than the borough, Freehold, that neighbored my town growing up. These numbers alone suggest that the drop out rate is an alarmingly serious problem. In my school alone, I have seen about a dozen of my own students leave school this year for one reason or another before receiving their degree, some of them seniors. It is devastating and seems senseless.
What would this look like? According to the February 11th article “Drop Out Rate Targeted”, would result in an increase of “21,000 students” and would require 1,000 more teachers. It would mean an incredible increase in spending as well. Educational spending however would offset other areas of government spending. So would this be a wise move?
My take—No, if it were only that simple! Drop-out rates are a symptom of the systemic problem. If the compulsory attendance age would have solved the issue of drop outs, this would likely have been put in place years ago. To further emphasize this point, one need only look at the definition of truant according to MSDE. Students who are identified as truant are those with more than 10 absences. This, quite unfortunately, describes a large body of students in the city school system. This is students up to the age 16. The vast majority of these students are not being brought to truancy court for their poor attendance. Raising the compulsory age to 18 would only increase the number of students who were in violation. In order to ensure students were in compliance with the new law would require an influx of resources that the state, in my opinion, is not willing or able to address. Furthermore, it does not seem that legal action is the best method to ensure that our kids get an education. It would however ensure that they were in a school building for at least a portion of the day some of the time. Schools would become “holding grounds” for students who have no interest in being at school but due to financial penalties are backed into a corner.
I strongly believe that all of Maryland’s children should be in school until 18 years of age at which time they have earned a high school diploma through hard work and meaningful academic and social interaction. Unfortunately, this is not the state of our schools. The government could be far more successful at their drop out prevention by looking at the root of drop out itself. Raising the age of compulsory attendance is a big old band-aid for a gaping wound.

It's Spring 2008 and we're back!

Welcome to the "2008 edition" of our blog "The Challenge to Care in Charm City."