Merit Pay for Teachers

In many professions, especially in business related fields, your pay is directly correlated with your professional performance. Salesman earn more when they increase their sales, lawyers become partners when they have consistent success, etc. This breeds competition, creativity, and pride in one’s work as individuals strive to increase the size of their paycheck. This same concept should also be applicable to teaching. Why, then, aren’t teachers paid according to their performance?

This point is raised by President Obama in a recent speech and the resulting media coverage. In this speech Obama argued that merit pay for educators should be implemented. I do believe that good teachers (those that find success in substantially raising student achievement) should be rewarded for their efforts and this is certainly a way to do it. I also believe that bad teachers should no longer teach. If they were getting paid less this would be an incentive for bad teachers to either improve their craft or leave the profession. I believe this would also improve the image and prestige of being a teacher. Too many times I have heard that teaching just doesn’t pay enough. If merit pay was implemented one could then earn a wage that was competitive to other professions, if they were effective in the classroom. I also believe that this would increase the overall quality of teachers since there would be more incentive to be an effective instructor.

Of course, though, I have some concerns. Specifically in Baltimore, would or how would the effectiveness of the school as a whole factor into an individual teacher’s merit pay? For example, a teacher could go to a well-functioning school with competent co-workers and administrators and find that they are extremely effective in increasing student achievement. That same teacher could also be employed in a school where factors outside of their classroom (school climate, poor administration, student attendance, ineffective staff, etc) are so prevalent that they greatly affect their effectiveness in a largely negative manner. Would this same teacher be paid differently in each situation? I imagine so since their effectiveness would be different. Is this fair for people in “bad” schools? Would these schools turn around once merit pay was implemented? Should principles also receive merit pay when their school is effective? How would “teacher effectiveness” be measured? Who would measure “teacher effectiveness”?

Obviously a whole host of issues arises when debating merit pay for teachers. A system-wide reform would no doubt have to occur for this to be effective and not bread corruption. None-the-less, it is certainly an enticing idea.

National Standards in Maryland Public Schools a Possibility

Every morning I read the newspaper while drinking my coffee and eating breakfast. My ritual is one way I can stay in touch with the world and doubles as morning relaxation before heading off to the chaotic classroom. As a result I tend to stay fairly up to date in terms of what is happening in Baltimore City Schools and Maryland public schools in general. I was originally going to write about the report that recently found great progress in special education in city elementary schools. However, yesterday an article caught my eye that seemed more appropriate and in tune with previous dialogue within class.

As we all know, President Obama recently passed a huge recovery plan. As part of that recovery package, $5 billion has been allotted for states that are interested in raising their academic standards. A handful of states, including Maryland, are projected to apply for grants that would give federal aid to act as guinea pigs in implementing new national standards. These standards are currently being worked on and written by a nonprofit group called Achieve. Achieve, which has been founded by governors and other business leaders, hopes to finish standards for math, reading, and writing by this coming fall.

The eventual hope is that once these national standards would be implemented, students test scores would be benchmarked against scores of international students. In addition, the idea is that students would improve their overall chance of being more competitive internationally as well as prepare students for college and careers. If Maryland were to adopt these new standards, the MSA would probably no longer be used. In its place, we would see new tests written collaboratively with other state school systems. I believe this to be an interesting prospect. While it would probably not be something that we could see instantly within the school system, I would be very interested in seeing how national standards affect student performance.

A 21st Century Kind of Civics Education

Students at my school enter the building every day decked out in Obama garb (before they are subject to the uniform code, of course!), and seeing our president as an icon for inner-city students has made me wonder about the implications of this election. Surely there is profound cultural, ideological, and historical significance surrounding the election of our first African-American president, but does the recent attention given to our government mean that our students understand the processes by which Obama was elected and functions on a daily basis? Is the newfound hope in our country translating to an increased understanding of and desire to participate in democracy?

As the product of a hands-on, experiential government class in high school, I learned the value of interacting with our elected officials and community leaders, attending important political events, and volunteering in local campaigns and service initiatives. I got to see how the Constitution and structure of our government play out in current events and what my role in those events could be. I learned first-hand that I had a voice, and that what I had to say mattered. It saddens me to think that there are few, if any, similar opportunities for the students at the high school where I work. Despite the attention that Government receives as an HSA-tested subject, I fear that there is little practical application to the material that students are drilled about. The Bridge projects give real-world examples for concepts in government, but the most recent round of these projects were returned with only a 68 percent acceptance rate – the lowest of all four subjects. I strongly believe that tying this material to interactive experiences would allow students to see the importance of government and their views about it.

A recent article about Sandra Day O’Connor’s crusade to bring civics back into the forefront of American education cements this view – students know more about TV and pop culture than they do about their chances to make a difference in their country, their communities, and their own lives. I sincerely hope that O’Connor, Obama, and others can inspire and educate our youth about the opportunities available to them, while encouraging schools to reinstate civics – a 21^st Century kind of civics – into their core curricula.

Bad Press

Admittedly, I am not particularly good at keeping up with the news and I definitely had to Google "Baltimore City Schools news" to find something to write about in this post. What can I say? Watching the news just depresses me most nights. I don't really need to see video coverage of the tragedies my students tell me about so nonchalantly.

Anyway, one of the top hits was all about former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele's recent comments about how Frederick Douglass High is teaching its students next to nothing. I had heard a lot about this school. There was that documentary on HBO a little while ago and a current member of our staff used to teach there. He told of fires, weapons, droves of students roaming the halls anonymously, burnt out teachers who cut their own classes... It seemed outrageous but he assured us it was all true. And from what I had seen and heard about Baltimore schools, I had to believe him. I mean, have you seen season four of "The Wire"? This place is crazy!

With all this bad press, it's no wonder no one wants to come teach in Baltimore.

Last spring some of my colleagues and I dropped by Douglass for a visit with that staff member I mentioned. He prepped us for the madness we were about to see but I think we were all shocked by the almost eerily quiet hallways. Students were in classes and it looked like they were learning something. Is this the Frederick Douglass Steele saw? My co-worker was amazed at the difference, almost embarrassed that his horror stories suddenly seemed completely fictional.

In the article, I read that Douglass has been making tremendous improvements in the last two years and it looks like people are starting to notice. I guess HBO hasn't had the chance to come back and do a follow-up documentary on the successes the school has had.

I can't help but wonder if a little positive propoganda couldn't turn educators on to the charm of Charm City schools...

No More Bubbles!

No Child Left Behind has forced our schools to place an incredible amount of importance on standardized tests. There is so much riding on the scores our students receive; it is hard not to feel the pressure when you walk into a school building during the month of March. Is the pressure reserved just for the students, who are actually completing the test? In my experience, the entire staff feels the extreme pressure of ensuring that our students succeed and score as high as possible on their exams.

As an elementary school teacher, it is painful to watch my students stress themselves out over filling in the right bubble. I have a wonderful group of 6 and 7 year olds who must bear the burden of completing a 4 day long standardized test (the Stanford 10). Every morning for a week, they are forced to sit in rows and fill in bubble after bubble for over an hour. It seems like so much time is spent preparing for the tests and we are losing valuable time for meaningful learning experiences. The time we have spent tutoring and taking practice tests could have been much better spent exploring new reading strategies, finding different ways to solve 5 + 7, or experimenting with magnets.

The stress my students feel is further expressed through my own stress as their teacher. I want my students to do well; I want them to show everyone that they are intelligent and talented students regardless of their home lives and situations. We are so quick to assume that children of low income, high-need communities are not as talented as their peers from “better” communities. I have spent the past 6 months giving my students every possible educational opportunity I can and I know they are prepared for their test. I know that my students have the skills to succeed; I just hope that the stress we have placed on them doesn’t hold them back from doing their best.

It kills me to watch my little first grades spend hours completing mindless work, filling in bubbles, when I know they should be up and exploring the word around them. So, just like the post below, I’m wondering how young is too young? And, how much time are we wasting with all this testing?

How Young Is Too Young?

With Stanford 10(the state test for first and second graders in Baltimore City) right around the corner I found myself in a grade level meeting today panicking about the test that will begin Monday the 9th. The administration was asking me and the other first and second grade teachers if we and our students were ready. “I sure hope so,” I replied. Six pairs of eyes stared at me and I couldn’t help but feel frustrated and annoyed that so much pressure is placed on our students to perform well. My students are six and seven years old! That is too young to be tested.

There are so many outside factors that affect our students’ scores. On a practice Stanford 10 my class took last week I had one of my brightest girls miss an entire section of reading questions because she came to school upset about a fight she had got into with her grandmother that morning. Because of this she refused to try and left several questions blank and randomly answered the rest. Her test, along with any other student having a bad day, is not true reflection of what they know but a reflection of how difficult their home lives are.

At our meeting this week we discussed the concept that many of our students are passing the first grade but are bombing the city benchmarks. I am more concerned with how my students are doing in first grade with first grade curriculum than whether they can decode the very difficult Stanford 10. There are so many more important life skills and concepts I want my students to grasp. Instead we have been cramming for the test.

We’ve planned a parent meeting last minute to discuss making sure your child is prepared on test day, sent home extra homework packets focusing on test prep, planned parties for post-Stanford 10 in an effort to motivate students to try their best and almost anything else to prepare our students. While I think we are as ready as we can be, why do I still feel like our scores may be outside of our control? And at this point I find myself saying I really can’t worry about it anymore. The test is Monday. My students are what they are. The test is what it is. I just wish my students could be valued for more than being basic, proficient or advanced.

Shove This Up Your AYP

The bees are buzzing, the snow is melting, yes, friends, it is that time of year. The MSA is in the air. I feel as though we have begun a mad sprint in the midst of a marathon. I am constantly evaluating, myself and my students. Who is ready? Do they really understand inferencing? Do my BCRs look anything like the state "standard"? My students have started evolving into walking As, Ps, and Bs. The pressure is mounting. My school has always made AYP, but this year the bar is even higher and with so many schools closing and dumping their students on our doorsteps, I don't know if we will make it.

It is a double-edged sword; however, because I question, how can we NOT make it. The MSA is the only place in the world where 33% is considered proficient. I know I demand higher scores for my students in my own classroom, but the truth is, all a student has to get on the MSA to be considered proficient is one out of every three questions. In my mind, these floor low standards are shameful. But if they are really floor low, why are we struggling so to meet them?

I cannot help but wonder if suburban schools feel the same stress that my school feels. And even if they do, I have to question, whose stakes are higher? I have to assume the middle and upper class students in the county are more confident going to to the exam, as their prior knowledge is higher. They know what a SAUCER is. They have seen a MAPLE tree. They have music programs which introduce them to SAXOPHONES. My students don't just have to find the answer, they have to figure out what in the world the question means.

Last year, my students scored 81% advanced and proficient in reading (compared to last year's 54%) and 93% advanced or proficient in math (last year's 77%). Dundalk Middle School is the nearest county school and here students scored 56.8% proficient or above in math and 77.3% proficient or above in language arts. Does this mean city schools are a better place to be? I would argue that education is not limited by one's placement in the city or the county, but the capabilities of the teachers in the classroom.

Attention to Attendance

Throughout this school year, there has been a dramatic call to attendance. My administration has threatened that inaccurate attendance data can ultimately result in losing your job. BCPSS truancy teams echoed these warnings in professional development meetings as well. Our CEO wanted us to get students back in school in order to boost attendance. All of these actions draw attention to attendance data and its relevance in the school setting.

It is obvious that kids cannot learn unless they are in school, but by knocking on their home doors is not going to change attendance problems. I believe that accurate collection of attendance data is a tool to better understand how dire attendance problems are, but ultimately we need to figure out why students are not coming to school. At my school, we have a full-time position supposedly dedication solely to attendance. The school has also purchased technology that tracks students' entrance into the building and attendance for each class period. Even with these additional resources, our attendance is the worst in school history.

As a teacher, I am frustrated with the narrow focus on attendance. I constantly call students' homes in an effort to understand where students are at when they are not in school, but I do not feel as though this brings students back into the classroom. Overall, I think there are only a hand full of students who are chronically absent. I believe these cases should be handled by the additional support teams put in place to improve attendance. I rather focus on ensuring that the rest of my students improve upon their attendance and are in class daily.

The National Center for Education Statistics suggests coding each absence in an effort to see where students are when they are not in school (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009804). I think this coding would give me a better understanding of the reasons why students miss school. Even though the coding would be time consuming, I would be able to look for patterns in the data and work with my teaching team to address specific reasons for missing school. By addressing the reasons students are absent, we would be able to improve behavior patterns and in turn raise attendance.

I want my students in class each day, but I do not believe the recent attention to attendance will change attendance patterns, only create sudden rises in attendance, followed by drops.

Voice

In my mailbox this past week was a letter of congratulations for helping Maryland achieve its status as the state with the BEST schools in the country. The rest of the day was spent seeing everything that would suggest otherwise.

My main question was: how? How could we possibly be so high, when most of us working in the city could rattle off failing schools like old friends? To see the breakdown, you need only log into Ed Week, where they give you state report cards and everything (Ed Week's Report). Maryland is right on top with Massachusetts for overall. Its two lowest scores are in The Teaching Profession (a 72%, making us 28th), and Standards, Assessments, and Accountability (an 83.9%, making us 25th). We are top ten in the other categories: Chance for Success (88.2%, 5th), K-12 Achievement (82.5%, 2nd), Transitions and Alignment (96.4%, 1st), and School Finance (85.4, 9th).

I wasn't able to find much on how the ratings were done, but the question remains: How can a state whose major city had the fourth-worst drop out rate in the country last year--how can that state be #1? (Graduation Rate)

So maybe it's just statistics, right? Maybe Baltimore isn't significant enough to really drop the overall score.

Let's talk stats.

Here are some population numbers for Maryland: Baltimore City has a population of about 650,000. If you add up the next 12 biggest cities in Maryland, their combined population is about 710,000. (City Populations). So, just talking cities, we've got just about half the population covered.

If we move out to state-wide, Baltimore's 650,000 is now pitted against about 5,600,000. We're still talking 11.6% of the state's population.

Granted, not all of the city schools are bad. But not all of the county schools are that great either. Run over to PG county and look for #1, tell me what you find; numbers-wise they add another 820,000 to the mix, raising our total to 1,470,000, or roughly 25%. (County Populations)

City schools can't be doing that bad, though, right? Again, let's find some data.

Here's an article on how great we're doing on our AP tests. The lowest county score is 21.9% of students passing AP tests; we have 2.7%.

Again, 21.9% vs. 2.7% (and the highest one is 31.4%, if you wanted to know).

The city's graduation rate last year was 34%. Fourth-worst nationwide.

State test scores? Look at this table, and notice the only two scores in the 60's: Baltimore City (65%) and Prince George's (64.5%). (HSA Scores).

But let's not talk about that. Let's not achievement levels in reading or math. Let's not talk about transportation or food or after school programs or soccer fields with bent goals and football games where you can't see the players through the dust. Let's not talk about students getting their tongues cut off in a cafeteria, getting stabbed on school grounds, freezing in 30 degree classrooms, having only leaded water available to drink.

No, no. Let's talk about what's good. We got a 100% on Early Childhood Education! We got a 90% on College Readiness!

The problem is that nobody cares. During a three-part interview of Alonso, Baltimore's new CEO, the recent killing on school grounds comes up.

Here's why we're #1:
"Markel Williams, 15, was stabbed to death by a fellow student outside William H. Lemmel Middle School...All weekend, [Alonso] waited for e-mails from an angry public, calls from activists demanding change, cries from parents who didn't feel safe sending their kids to school anymore. They never came.... A poor black boy with disciplinary problems had been slain at a failing school. It was almost as though it was to be expected."

We have an entire sector of society that doesn't even get a phone call for a brutal killing in a school. Not one. If things aren't noticed for that, why would they be noticed for poor test scores, failing graduation rates, systemic corruption and absolute failure to provide any reasonable education to students?

These things go unseen. Worse yet, they are ignored. They are consciously ignored. How can Maryland celebrate anything when this is going on?

In my mailbox, I'm told we're number one. In my classroom, my ninth grade students are on average at a 5th grade math level. Maybe 10% of all my students (9-12, now) can divide. My 4th grade word problem drills wreak havoc on every class.

I would like to see what schools were rated. I would like to know what Education Week looked at when they gave Maryland its grade. I would like to know what they did not include.

We are #1 because we ignore the 650,000 that make us shudder. We have our pride because we forget those who need the most, because we have accepted that this is the way things are. We are the best because every day we let people live and die unseen. Voiceless.

How Work-Study Can (And Can't) Support Learning

We are constantly reminded that our public education system must be improved so that America's children will grow up and be competitive in the global economy.  This conclusion is well founded, and is just one of the reasons that work-study programs have been integrated into high schools across the country.  Real world experience not only helps students make meaningful connections with the academic content, but also allows for the development of interpersonal and life skills.

However, my experience with work-study meant neither work nor studying.  Instead, it was a course given to seniors who had completed all required courses and available electives.  Without adequate staffing/resources to offer advanced coursework, these students were given multiple sections of work-study (many had expressed no interest in the program and were not currently employed).  However, the schedule was made during the first week of school, so there was little time to find meaningful work for them.

Rather than engaging in true work-study, many of our brightest seniors began either leaving school early or resigned to mundane tasks around the building.

This is not a condemnation of work-study altogether; instead it is an urgent call for administrators to find programs that actually work to support learning.  Perhaps most impressive has been the model used by the Cristo Rey Network, which operates more than a dozen Jesuit high schools across the country--one of which just opened in Fells Point.  It is called the Corporate Internship Program (CIP) and was first created to make private, college-preparatory schools affordable for students in a low-income area of Chicago. 

Cristo Rey soon discovered, however, that their program brought with it many other advantages.  The CIP depends on more than 90 partnerships with reputable companies in downtown Chicago--including banks, law firms, and hospitals.  Students work five days a month in entry-level positions and earn roughly 65% of their tuition, literally investing students in their own education.  At the same time, they develop strong work ethic, network with business leaders, and gain valuable real world experience.

This is what schools should bring to the students of Baltimore City.  Cristo Rey provides a strong example of how/why work-study can be a viable option that is integrated into high school curriculum.  However, if students are going to compete in a global economy, their work experience must extend beyond making copies or washing boards.  And that means schools must begin the search for positive community partners, all of whom share a stake in our children's future.  The search must begin now.

My view is that our work-study program should either be eliminated or transformed into something like CIP at Cristo Rey.  Only then will it live up to its name.

For More Information:  http://www.cristorey.net/cwsp/overview.html

I teach in the "smartest" state in the country

That's right. I teach in Maryland, which according to Collegeboard is #1 in the nation in Advanced Placement Performance and Participation. We have it going on. With this great news, Governor Martin O'Malley proclaimed yesterday that Maryland education needs to move towards focusing on how we are doing globally. His vision is outlined in Liz Bowie's "O'Malley sets goals for schools" article from the Baltimore Sun. (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.education25feb25,0,7503658.story)

O'Malley is quoted as saying, "if we want our students to compete in the global economy with students from Europe, Asia and across the world, we should benchmark their academic achievements against students from ... elsewhere in the world." As a Baltimore City school teacher, I couldn't stop but think, my students aren't ready for that. At the end of the article it is mentioned that Baltimore City is going to be participating in study comparing Baltimore to other urban districts around the country. Andres Alonso, Baltimore City Schools Superintendent states that "we need to know where we stand."

My takeaway from that is that overall Maryland public schools are excellent, but Baltimore City schools are not. I wish that O'Malley would invest the money in trying to bring up the Baltimore City school system. Yes, Baltimore City has more money spent per pupil than any other school district, but I think that Baltimore City students need more resources. Sure, for a kid in Howard county passing the AP Calculus exam might be the most stressful thing on his/her mind (I took AP's in high school and yes, I thought that if I failed one my life would be over), but for most of my students, AP's are not stressing them out. It is life outside of school that causes the drama, the fights, and the absences from school. Kudos to Maryland for getting the ranking, but why don't we make sure that every child in Maryland is getting an excellent education before we try to take on the world.

Walk A Mile In My Shoes

The first sentence of this article found on wbaltv.com on February 17, 2009, reads: “Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon put school violence at the top of her agenda Tuesday after paying a visit to one of two high schools that were the scenes of recent stabbings.” Really? So school violence is at the top of her agenda for one day. Hmm…not so sure one day is enough to make a difference. Stabbings and other forms of violence have been going on in Baltimore before these recent incidents, yet that Tuesday it was at the top of the list. I have always said that people have no clue what another profession is like until they experience it. This is a prime example. You read headlines all the time about school violence, and then on some random ‘Tuesday’ the mayor or some other elected official decides they want to show face and ‘hear’ what is happening in the schools. The problem with this is that when schools have notice that an elected official or some other big wig is coming to the school, the administration pulls out all the stops to make it appear as if everything is ok. Instead of being exposed to the problem, it’s actually covered up, and no one really knows what’s going on. What officials need to do is pop up at schools and truly spend a day or maybe even a half day to really see what its like. Students are assaulted everyday; many times nothing happens. Teachers are also often taken advantage of and left with no recourse. People need to truly see what goes on from day to day, and maybe then they will feel a sense of urgency to make some much needed changes.

On both ends, people need to see that there are hard working teachers who come in everyday, ready to execute great lessons, but are often thwarted by disrespectful students or interrupted time and time again by announcements and meaningless ‘meetings.’ On the other hand there are also those teachers who come in, pass out worksheets, and collect a check. Those students, in this case are being short changed. Something needs to happen; soon. Again, no one really knows what it’s like to be a teacher in Baltimore City until they experience it.

Can small classes make the difference?

In the continuing debate over class size, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently remarked, “It’s the teacher looking a child in the eye, and teachers can look lots of children in the eye,” he added. “If you have to have smaller class size or better teachers, go with the better teachers every time.” While there is nothing more immediately important for the education of a child than an effective teacher, the value of small class sizes cannot be ignored, especially given that having a more manageably sized class can boost the effectiveness of a struggling teacher.

In my two years teaching in a Baltimore City public high school, I have had classes ranging in size from thirteen to thirty-two students. Class size has made all the difference in my ability to maintain order, provide differentiated instruction, and give immediate feedback to best meet my students’ needs. While it was a rare occasion for all thirty-two students to make it to class on the same day (typical attendance for my largest class was about twenty-eight students), I found any number nearing thirty relatively difficult to manage, even if I could handle the same students in a smaller group without problem. More experienced teachers would also benefit from the additional interaction with each student and reduced workload allowed by a smaller roster, even if they do not face the same struggles with discipline that I do.

As the article notes, there are potentially significant drawbacks to a shift to small class sizes (e.g., the creation of an even greater shortage of highly qualified teachers in urban districts) even when there has not been a clear correlation between class size and student achievement. Despite the fact that studies have shown that better performing schools often have larger class sizes, these schools typically serve a student population that doesn’t as desperately need the intensive remediation, support, and air-tight discipline that a small class environment can more readily provide.

Ideally, we should have great teachers in small classrooms throughout Baltimore; however, we know that precious few teachers in this system ever reach greatness. The question remains, how many passable teachers could become good; how many good teachers could become great, if provided with the resources to succeed?

What Is Too Much To Say?

Recently a school therapist was charged with sexually molesting a 13 year old middle school student. The story was reported locally, including a story by the Baltimore Sun (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.cw.molest18feb18,0,6313649.story), and at least somewhat nationally (it was included in a Massachusetts’s newspaper). There is no doubt that this is a tramatic event with a multitude of people being affected, each with their own unique reaction to this event. Perhaps it is fear, hate, anger, disbelief, or betrayal. An entire volume could be filled. I would like to discuss, however, the media coverage of this story.

If you read the above website, and view the attached video clip, you should notice how extremely detailed the story is. In fact, details straight from the police report describing the exact act are present. Then, the school where the accused worked was stated. I ask, “is this too much to say?” Was it not enough to report that a school therapist is accused of molesting a 13 year-old child and is currently in jail? Did we need to know exactly what they were doing, and where, and how many times it had happened before? Did the school where he worked at have to broadcast to the city? Maybe they did need to be included. Maybe the school was included so parents won’t automatically think that the accused worked at their child’s school. Maybe media’s need to report what is sensational (and horrible) drove the editor’s decision. Maybe the implications of including these details were just never discussed.

As educators we are always looking out for the best interests of our students. So, what about the student in this story? What are the implications of this news coverage for him? Will his peers find out that it was him (the school has a relatively small population and word usually travels fast in that type of setting)? What are the implications for that school? Would you want to send your child there? What are the implications for the staff of that school? How did this happen with someone they worked with every day?

I offer only questions and not answers. These questions, however, I believe are important to contemplate and discuss so that situations that may occur in the future are addressed in an appropriate manner. Personally, I don’t know if this one was.

money, money, money, money, money, MONEY!

On Friday, Governor O'Malley announced that he would be withdrawing the changes in education funding formulas that took so much money out of our school system. Apparently Baltimore City Schools will see $84 million dollars more than projected but the funding formulas that were already in place will remain the same, including the Thornton Law. The Baltimore Sun applauds O'Malley for his committment to education, including a quote from a member of the Board of School Comissioners stating, "I had great confidence that the governor would continue his strong support of the progress in City Schools and I am very appreciative of the Baltimore City delegation for making this their top priority this year." While I understand that the governor is the figurehead for all that happens within his government, I don't think he had a choice. If I remember my World News correctly, the state had to restore funding cuts as a result of this stimulus plan. If education really was his committment would he have cut so much from the budget in the first place? And is he replenishing all of this money because he is being held responsible for allocating his funds? While a public official taking credit for something they didn't do is hardly surprising, the fact still remains that we now have $84 million dollars for the city schools that we didn't have before. My question is, will any of us see this money? Will all the talk of jobs being lost and schools closing down stop? I know it won't make a difference in my school. In class last week we were talking about small schools and the possibility of tearing down the big complexes and making new, smaller buildings. Seems to me that you could build a lot of small schools with $84 million dollars that you didn't think you would have. At the very least you could fix up the ones you do have so I don't hear about a school closing every day on my way to work because of a lack of heat, or water, or electricity. I would like to hear what O'Malley and Alonso plan to do with the money now that we have it. I don't know if withdrawing the changes to the funding formulas is what needs to happen. Maybe we just need to make different changes.

Reasons To Hope For Increased Rigor

With the national standards movement codified in No Child Left Behind, schools are facing a challenge to implement increased rigor in classrooms across the country in order to prepare students for the "global economy" and more directly for the standardized tests that hold schools accountable for student progress. While he testing is an obviously debatable notion, I believe that the increased call for rigor in the classroom is absolutely in the best interest of students, and there is mounting evidence that this call is being answered nationally, in Maryland, and beginning to be addressed in an increasingly systematic way in Baltimore.

A national education publication titled "The Progress of Education Reform" (published by the Education Commission of the States) focused its most recent article on the growth in the number of students taking and the number of schools offering dual credit programs that allow high school students to simultaneously earn credit toward high school and college. The article primarily focused on ways to fund these programs; however, the growth of programs like Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and concurrent enrollment is a promising statement about education's rise to the call to provide challenge and rigor in classrooms.

Maryland has recently been hailed in a number of publications for its growing number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses, taking AP exams, and the highest statewide passage rate on these exams in the country. (See link at the end of the article.) Despite this good news, the AP Annual Report discussed the fact that minority students, particularly African American students, are still underrepresented in terms of both those taking and passing the exams. If we consider the fact that so many African American students in this nation have been left behind in terms of rigor up until now, this cannot be a surprising fact; however, the Advanced Placement program has begun giving grants to schools in Baltimore City to increase AP offerings. These grants are called 3+3 because the goal is to add three AP course offerings to the school's curriculum over the next three years. This is exciting news, but initially seems to offer no guarantee that students in Baltimore City's most struggling high schools will be able to access the course content, even if their school received one of these prestigious grants. At least, this was my initial worry. It turns out thought that this grant actually provides funding for teachers who will not teach a AP to attend professional development workshops provided by the AP team in order to increase rigor in ALL classrooms and courses throughout the school, which will provide better preparation for AP courses when students reach their junior and senior years. The most recent of these workshops, which was attended by all faculty members from my high school (which has received a grant) offered clear and useful strategies for defining, scaffolding, and achieving increased rigor in all classes. Teachers left the workshop with real tools, fresh ideas, and a strong desire to work together to implement these in their classrooms. All of this evidence seems to provide a real hope for the increased rigor that our students need in order to increase their mastery, passage rates on the HSA, and ability to complete beyond the wall of their particular high school. The key now is to take time to plan, implement, and evaluate these strategies through departmental and faculty collaboration. Let's hope it happens!

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2009/2/4/maryland-ranks-no-1-in-ap-tests success.html?s_cid=rss:on-education:maryland-ranks-no-1-in-ap-tests-success

Welcome to the new face of urban education Baltimore

Two week ago, I took a select group of my 10th grade Biology students on a field trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Our group consisted of 20 students, myself, and a community member from Federal Hill who had volunteered to chaperone. As we sat eating lunch before heading back to school, the chaperone commented on how different the demographics of the group were this year than last year. “It seems like you have many more Hispanic students this year,” he said, referencing the five Spanish-speaking students who had come with us. I agreed with him and explained that this year I had a class of 15 ELLs (English Language Learners). I explained to the chaperone that there did seem to be an increase in immigrant students at our school in general. He said it seemed unusual that we still “had immigrants coming into this country at this day and age.”

I held my tongue. I wanted to point out that immigrants are STILL entering the country, and STILL looking for work and education. It seemed pretty naïve and narrow minded to think that immigration in the United States magically disappeared after a certain time period. Clearly, the fact that so many ELL’s were in my classroom, from different countries like Honduras, Mexico, Liberia, Guinea, and the Congo, proved that immigration had not halted. But later, I began to think of his comment within the context of Baltimore City. Most immigrants seemed to gravitate towards major metropolises such as New York or Los Angeles. These are cities where established ethnic populations from every country around the world already exist. What did it mean, then, that Baltimore City was experiencing an increase in immigrants? What would a typical Baltimore City classroom look like in 10 years? How would the needs of students who barely spoke English, were illiterate in their native languages, and had no prior access to formal education be met? These were the challenges I was currently facing with the ELL’s in my own classroom.

A recent New York Times article (link at the end) profiled a secondary school dedicated to such immigrant students. In Ellis Preparatory Academy, students not only face the challenges of learning content, but also a new language, how to read, and sometimes, how to learn – in high school. How do you meet all of these demands? Ellis Prepartory succeeds because of committed teachers who want to work with immigrants, because the state of New York allots more money to immigrant students to help them bridge these gaps, and because of its small school size. But who would serve these students in growing immigrant urban centers like Baltimore where such a demand is not recognized? Of course there are ESOL programs throughout the city, but people seem to forget that learning English is an ongoing process. And an immigrant student does not enter school only at the elementary school level – many high school students are immigrants too. How do you ever “catch them up”?
When people think of “urban education,” most automatically picture poor, black students. Historically, Baltimore fits the stereotypical picture of urban education pretty well. But the face of urban education is rapidly changing to include more immigrants. There are more questions than answers about how to accommodate these students at this point, much like this post. Welcome to the new face of urban education Baltimore.

In School for the First Time, Teenage Immigrants Struggle

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/education/25ellis.html?_r=2&scp=5&sq=immigrant%20students&st=cse

Replacing Defeatism with Self-Empowerment

“…I fundamentally think that the reason there is violence [in the schools] is as much about people not loving the kids as about lack of capacity or the spillover from the outside." --Dr. Andres Alonso

This quote from the recent Baltimore sun series on the CEO really struck me. It was so in line with conversations I have had with administrators at the high school where I work and with my recent experiences helping seniors with their HSA Bridge projects. While Alonso was referring to school violence, I believe that this care, concern, and love for the kids can significantly change not only a student’s behavior, but also his or her achievement and self-worth. As a student of public policy but also an employee of a small high school, I have come to realize that research, policy, and reform ideas often fail to incorporate what is not quantifiable. We can count how many violent incidents occurred or how many students passed a test, but we cannot put into numbers how life experiences have changed a student’s outlook, or as I have seen repeatedly, how a defeatist attitude can truly prevent academic success.

This defeatism became apparent to me when, after encouraging a senior to try to spell a basic word without asking for help, she said, “How do you know I can do it when I don’t know I can do it?” She and other students create self-fulfilling prophecies by telling themselves (and others) that they can’t do it or don’t understand… but when they are persuaded that this is a negative and false mindset, they do great things; most importantly, they are proud of themselves for doing what they thought was impossible. In the past few weeks of working with these students on their projects, I have learned how far sincere encouragement can go and how much the students truly appreciate it. While I can only imagine how difficult it would be to erase such a detrimental mentality from an entire class, I know that I will be cognizant of it in my own classroom when I teach next year. I hope that educators and reformers acknowledge and incorporate some of the less tangible but crucial aspects of an effective education into their own ideas and practices.

Consider the Benchmark.

I teach 9th grade English at a citywide school where the English Benchmark Assessments, administered once per quarter, are a primary means of evaluating English teacher effectiveness, a kind of catch-all accountability tool that simultaneously answers the questions Are they learning? and Are they teaching? The January Benchmark featured two reading selections that rated, according to the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test, somewhere between an 8th and 10th grade reading level. This presents a significant problem for many of my students, and it highlights one of the most glaring issues plaguing Baltimore City Public Schools: low student reading levels.

Consider X., an overage 9th grade student in my English classroom at a citywide school. He’s a future basketball standout whose enormous, spindly hand swallows my own when we greet each other at the door with a handshake. X. does not have an IEP, but his independent reading level, according to various diagnostics I have administered, falls somewhere between first and third grade, which puts him roughly six to eight years behind his peers. He’s operating with the same reading skills as a first grader.

Unsurprisingly, X. bombed the January Benchmark, scoring a meager 20.8%. When we went over students’ scores in class, X. told me that he’d guessed randomly because he simply couldn’t understand the questions or the answer choices.

X. is hardly the exception. According to one diagnostic I have used this year, my students read, on average, just below a 4th grade reading level. A different metric rates the average of all three classes at a beginning 6th grade level. The first measure I mentioned also rates about 10% of my students at a 1st grade reading level, while another 10% slot in higher than 8th. There is an obvious and wide disparity in students’ reading ability levels within my classes, though somewhere between 4th and 6th grade is a fair approximation of average class reading level. This means that, on average, my students are taking a test to determine how well they are learning English that features lengthy reading selections roughly four to six years above their independent reading level.

This is of course deeply infuriating, frustrating, and depressing. X. had literally never read a book from cover to cover in his life until we read (with a lot of help from an audio version) Elie Wiesel’s Night in class. X’s reading experience and ability reflect poorly on everybody involved in his educational life – his teachers, administrators, counselors, &c. I’m stumped as to how I should teach a lesson to a student like X. (who cannot read aloud words like “several” and “straight”) while I simultaneously teach Z. (a student who reads Poe for fun during independent reading time and asks me what words like “atavistically” and “clairvoyance” mean) and then ask them to demonstrate their understanding on the same assessment.

Worst of all is the question that ultimately rises whenever Baltimore’s crushing systemic inadequacies are exposed: what can we do as a community to fix this? I only know that it has to begin with us refusing to socially promote students to the next grade who simply cannot read, and that has to begin in early education.

We already know that the kids come as is. Until we start finding better methods of holding teachers, students, and community members accountable for student learning, they’re going to keep coming underprepared, and we’re going to continue having immense difficulty getting them where they need to be. Realistically, there's very little that I can do as a 9th grade English teacher for a student who is reading at a first grade level. X. has been lost in the shuffle for eight years. We're in the state with the best achievement on Advanced Placement tests in the nation, and yet many of our ninth graders cannot even comprehend the questions on tests designed merely to check in to ensure that they're learning something. How do we fix this?

What's happened to the "learning" part of service learning?

To receive a Maryland high school diploma, students are expected to complete seventy-five hours of service learning. According to MSDE, service learning experiences should be linked to academic learning, benefit the community and require students to actively reflect on their experience. In some schools throughout Baltimore City, students are given service learning hours for experiences that meet few, if any, of the criteria detailed by MSDE. I am most concerned with the lack of learning associated with the activities that students are completing for service learning hours.

At my school, students are given service learning hours for washing boards or putting chairs on top of desks. In October, during breast cancer awareness month, a teacher led a campaign to raise money and promised students 3 hours of service learning for each dollar donated. What are students learning from this? That they can “buy” their way out of civic responsibilities. Students now have a warped idea of what service learning is and schools are perpetuating this by continuing to grant students hours for activities that meet none of the criteria established by MSDE.

Service learning needs to be revamped in the city. We owe it to our students to ensure that they are having meaningful experiences outside of the classroom. The article I have attached describes how Baltimore City College has infused service learning into their classes. If each class made service learning a component of the class the experiences would hopefully be meaningful and should definitely be linked to academics. I think that schools should consider making service learning a requirement in classes.
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr187.shtml

What's on your report card?

As a teacher in a Baltimore City charter school, the recent school board vote to renew contracts for three charters in the city sparked both interest and concern: what does it take to keep a charter alive in the city and whose job is it to keep it alive?

The school board tabled the vote for Baltimore City’s first charter school, the Maryland Academy of Technology and Health Sciences, because of a high number of suspensions in the previous academic year. The Inside Ed blog in the Baltimore Sun reported that more than 80 students were suspended at least once last year at MATHS. According to the demographic data provided in the 2008 Maryland Report Card (mdreportcard.org), 208 students attended the school last year. As a Spanish teacher turned MSA math prep teacher, I can tell you that’s 38% of the student body. What are the suspension statistics for this year? Could higher test scores (or some other criteria) outweigh a high suspension rate in the eyes of the school board?

While less specifically, but maybe more importantly, how was the school able to suspend this many students, at least once, without someone from North Avenue stepping in before it got out of hand? Where is the boundary between school sovereignty and system control? I understand the importance site-based management, but if schools are expected to meet a certain standard, is it the duty of the governing body to make sure that its constituents are meeting those expectations along the way? Just as teachers give progress checks and informal assessments to inform our decisions, remediate when necessary, and enrich where possible, the system has to do the same for the schools.

I’m asking a lot of questions here, because I think they are interesting points for discussion, but really, I have my own suspicions of what the answers might be, and a lot of you probably do too. One question I don’t have an answer to: What are The Green School, Rosemont Elementary, and ConneXions doing that MATHS is not and how/can whatever it is be replicated?

Filtering the Internet - Hindering Engagement

Before Dr. Alonso’s recent live chat, readers of the Baltimore Sun education blog, Inside Ed, were asked to submit questions for the CEO. Inside Ed received 45 submissions (which you can read here) seven of which discussed BCPSS’s Internet filter, often referred to as Bess. Just a month before the live chat, another lengthy discussion had taken place on Inside Ed about the Internet filter and the uselessness of TSS. Based on the length of these conversations and the number of interested parties (including teachers, parents, and central office staff), I think it’s fair to say that the Internet filter is a hot topic in Baltimore. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to me, it was not a topic that was discussed during the live chat -- even though almost 20% of the Inside Ed submissions discussed it.

Teachers in Baltimore are more than ready to use technology to engage students and teach technology literacy. English teachers want their students to blog about reading Shakespeare; math teachers want students to make music videos about calculating the surface area of a pyramid; Social Studies teachers want to use Google image search to find historical photos to show students. We want to access lesson plans written by teachers across the country or the world. We want to show our students interesting videos and audio clips. We want our students to use the Internet to research interesting topics.

Not only does appropriate use of technology engage students and “hook” them into content, but technology literacy is an essential skill that schools must teach, particularly because so many of our students do not have access to a computer or the Internet at home. While my students are experts at designing myspace pages, they need real practice performing research. However, as “veteran teacher” notes in the Inside Ed comments, the filter “won't allow students to research breast or prostate cancer and yet will allow them to research the NBA statistics at their leisure.”

Teachers in Baltimore must be able to bypass the filters so that we can access educational YouTube videos, Google image searches, and blogs (like this one!) while in the school building. When planning lessons at school, teachers must be able to access the resources that will help them create the best possible lesson for students. When planning lessons at home, teachers need to be sure that the videos or images that they plan to show students are actually accessible once they get to school.

Let’s face it – I know that many of my students will never use the Pythagorean Theorem again after they finish geometry (although they should because it is AWESOME). What I’m more interested in is making sure that my students have every door of opportunity open to them after they graduate. With the Internet filter blocking so much useful content, my students will not be as technology savvy as their peers in the county, and so I’m sending them into the world already a step behind. That’s no way to start.

Gangs and City Schools... Whose responsibility?

The high school where I teach has had a police officer give a presentation about gangs twice – once to the faculty, and once at Back-to-School night. While informative, as it explained gang issues across the city, how to recognize telltale signs of gang involvement, and who to contact if you suspect a child is involved in a gang, it stopped short of offering possible solutions to the epidemic. And, while I was pleased to see that my administration was taking this problem seriously enough to arrange for the presentation, I was disheartened by what appeared to be the end of the dialogue on gangs at our school. No one talked about what we, as a school community, were going to do in order to discourage students from joining gangs. No one brought up ideas for engaging the students in a discussion about gangs, or how to combat their appeal by providing a safe and nurturing learning environment. No one suggested creating additional after-school activities to give our students alternatives instead of being out on the streets.

But my school isn’t the only one who is reluctant to shoulder the responsibility of keeping kids out of gangs. In fact, in the recent series of articles in The Baltimore Sun about Dr. Alonso, the City Schools CEO, had a forceful response when asked what schools were doing about the problem.

"How is it the responsibility of the school system to deal with gangs?" he snapped. "Gangs are not in the schools. Gangs are being formed on the outside."

"They're in the schools," the great-grandmother said.

"I know, and we have a responsibility," he shot back. His next few sentences were disjointed as he tried to regain his composure.

We're missing the fact that it is a community conversation," he said. "What are the parents doing?"

The audience clapped. He continued: "What are the students doing? What is everyone doing? It is so unfair to the professionals in the school to say, 'What are you doing about gangs?' Let me tell you what we're doing about gangs, now, let me tell you." He went on with a list, including gang awareness programs and more school police.

"The reason I'm responding with such passion," he said, "is because there's no way for me to predict whether one of my kids is going to get shot two blocks away from school in a gang-related incident. And, and, for anyone to suggest that this is the responsibility of the school system is a form of madness."

While I do agree that the prevalence of gangs – and young people joining them – is a community issue, and should be addressed at the community level, I do believe that we, as educational institutions, could be doing more. Why aren’t we offering more after-school programs, or weekend activities to keep kids off the streets? Why don’t we have in-school mentoring programs that tackle tough issues like gangs, drugs, and peer pressure? Why aren’t we bringing more positive role models into our schools? Why aren’t we, by our actions, saying to our children, “We care about you and want you to be safe and make good decisions?”

This Sunday’s cover story in The Baltimore Sun talked about how gang members are turning themselves around with the help of counselors and places including the Rose Street Community Center. Though I doubt that schools would invite former gang members like Tony Wilson to talk to students, I think the idea of bringing the issue to the forefront is imperative. As teachers, we see the gang symbols written on our desks and notebooks; we see the handshakes in the hall; we see the colors being worn – but are we content to accept it as a part of city life, to wash our hands of it because it is a “community” issue?

Someone once told me that by teaching in the City, you must be willing to take on the role of a teacher and a parent, because unfortunately, the reality is that too many of our students do not have stable home environments. Effective teachers of urban students will step into the role of a caring adult who is a strong role model. If the community is not willing to step up and fight for our kids, then maybe the schools need to… before it is too late.

After all, if our students do not have places where they can seek advice and discuss alternatives before they join a gang, what choice do we expect them to make? Most young people who become gang members are looking for a family, for something to belong to, and for some form of community. If they do not have this at home, and if we could provide this at school, maybe, just maybe, we would see a decrease in gang activity. It’s a long shot, yes, but at this point, I think it’s worth trying.

Bridge Projects: A Project Monitor's Perspective

No Child Left Behind has required all students develop mastery on state developed tests. Maryland requires that all seniors pass all four high school assessment exams (HSA) in the four content areas, algebra, English, government, and biology, before they receive a high school diploma. Some students experience difficulty passing the assessment exams. In order for students to meet graduation requirements and the requirements set forth by NCLB, Maryland State Department of Education developed the High School Assessment Bridge Plan, which allows for a student to demonstrate mastery of specific academic content. The Bridge Plan is available only to those students who have failed a particular HSA test two times. Those students complete a project in order meet graduation requirements. Their highest score on the test determines the number of projects the student must complete. For example, on the Biology HSA, the passing score is a 400. A student with a score of 378 must complete one project, but a student with a score of 377 must do two projects.

From the student’s perspective, the projects can seem very appealing. Science bridge projects require students to design and carry out an experiment and then interpret the results in order to draw conclusions. The projects are very similar to science fair projects. Many students find the projects difficult and time consuming. After completing projects, the students, themselves, cannot say that they truly know any more biology than they knew before they began the project. The bridge plan is not necessarily easier than the HSA exam itself; because the projects require more work and time. However, the projects are a better alternative for those who were unable to pass the standardized test. The students work with an adult (project monitor), who makes sure the students are completing all the steps correctly. In addition, students have the option of completing the projects over several sittings. If the student’s project is not accepted, the student only has to redo the portion of the project that did not meet the requirements. This makes projects more appealing for many students because who fail the test, even by one point, must sit for another 3 hours and redo the entire test.

However, from a Project Monitor and Bridge Scorer standpoint, there are a few snags in the system. As a Project Monitor, teachers must give up their own time during school, after school and on Saturdays to work with students without compensation (other than the satisfaction of student achievement). Many times the teachers spend a great deal of time searching for students and struggling to get them to stay after school to work on projects. Sometimes monitors have to beg teachers to excuse students from other classes. The projects pose an additional problem for students with special needs; they often have the most difficulty with the exams and therefore have 3 or more projects to complete. With the projects, however, many students do not receive sufficient accommodations, as prescribed by the individualized education plan (IEP) – they receive the exact same project and have to complete the same work under the same time constraints as regular education students. In some schools, the administration expects all teachers to help, regardless of teacher schedules but cannot afford proper compensation.

As a Bridge Scorer, teachers continue to sacrifice their Saturdays and Sundays to look at
hundreds of student projects. As a monitor it is a good idea to become a scorer, because you become familiar with the project expectations and are better equipped to help your students. The scorers must be certified teachers, although the content of the certification seems to be less important. Many biology scorers are middle school teachers or chemistry teachers who may not have strong HSA Biology content. To help the scorers, the state developed rubrics, and the district offered training. The rubrics contain sample answers. However, the sample is not necessarily the only possible answer. Some teachers are not strong enough in their content area to think outside of the rubric box. For example, an English project requires the student to change the verb so the sentence makes sense – I left home and go the store. There are 2 verbs in the sentence – the directions are not specific as to which verb to change, but the rubric only contains one choice. If the scorer does not know enough grammar – a student who says, “I leave home and go to the store “could be marked wrong because the rubric only contains "I left home and went to the store".

The main problem with the scoring system is that there is no way to eliminate bias; it is hard for teachers to grade fairly. Although teachers do not score projects from their own schools, there is no way to account for bias – in favor of students from one school or against students from another school. Every teacher comes to the table with differing student expectations and their own personal opinions about the students and the schools. For science, every project needs 20 points in order to be accepted. Two scorers look at the projects individually, erring on the side of the student, and give it a score ranging from 1-26 points. The scores do not have to be identical, if both say it passes, the project is accepted. However, experience shows that frequently, there is a large range in the scores given even for the same project. One project was reviewed by 4 scorers – with four separate and different scores ranging from 7 to 23. Two people thought the project deserved to pass (giving it 20 pts or higher), while two others gave the project less than 10 points.

The Bridge Plan is in its first year, so with time, some of these kinks may work themselves out of the system. The goal was to create a method for students who struggle with the timed, standardized test to meet graduation requirements. Nevertheless, the scoring system is flawed due to incompetent and/or biased scorers, or maybe simply inadequate training. Furthermore, the students do not develop true mastery of the content, although they may be more engaged. The bridge plan ( at least in City Schools) has truly become more work for teachers and stress for the administration. For most, it is "volunteer," but when a student needs help, and in Baltimore many students do, very few teachers will say no to helping a child graduate. In many cases, this direction of the NCLB educational reform is requiring teachers to work much harder than the students.

Where has the math/science fair gone?

Where have the math/science fairs gone? As a teacher in Baltimore City, I find it disheartening that we do not hold a city wide math/science fair nor do many schools host a within-school math/science fair and competition. The county school system hosts a math, science, and technology fair every spring and so do many other school systems in the country. How can we expect our students to compete when we do not challenge them with the same opportunities and experiences?

Growing up the science fair was always something to which I looked forward. From the fourth grade through tenth grade everyone in school participated in the yearly science fair. It was a tradition. It involved a lot of hard work and time outside of school, but the end results were sometimes exemplary, usually interesting, and more often than not, left one with a feeling of accomplishment. Math/Science Fair research projects are an excellent way for students to learn about and experience the research process. By conducting the experiment, analyzing the data, evaluating and explaining their results, the student is challenged to think and apply their knowledge.

We have spent time and resources at every high school in Baltimore City for the Bridge Projects which, once completed, will allow students who have not passed the HSA to graduate. If we had only continued to hold science fairs in middle and high school s we may have challenged and prepared our students for success in far in advance of their graduation deadline. I do not think that establishing/reestablishing a city-wide math/science fair would be easy, but I think it can and should be approached in small steps.

First, we should plan now to host a science fair for all high schools in the spring of 2010. By selecting a date and informing school administrations, teachers, and students we can allow them to prepare and plan for these activities. The rubrics, sample work pieces, and procedures for the competition should be planned in advance.

Second, for the first time event we can plan on having more lenient rules in order to allow more students to experience the science fair. One example may be to allow the students to present a poster of their work with the data instead of a poster with an accompanying research paper.

Third, schools should be supplied with sample ideas of projects. More credit would of course be given to more creative projects, but the competition is also based on the ability of the student to explain their experiment, their data, and their conclusions. Ideally, this step would be phased out over time, and student interest takes hold.

Fourth, each school should have a minimum number of students/ projects that they are required to send to the city wide competition. In this way, schools will most likely have within school competitions to which their student body will be invited. The support of the student body is one of the most crucial steps in being able to generate their support and participation over the years.

Fifth, the members of the community and parents should be invited to build their support.

Sixth, over time this process can develop so that the rules are more stringent, the quality of student work sought is better, important members of the community and colleges can be invited to serve as judges and to meet the students. Middle schools students should also be invited to these competitions so that they know what will be expected of them in a few years.

The catch in these plans, is that there must be someone who will take on the role of planning the math/science fair event and he/she should begin soon.

Parent/Community Involvement: The Key to Transformation of Baltimore City Schools?

I was very intrigued to read a recent three-part series in the Baltimore Sun (February 9-11), which chronicles the C.E.O of the Baltimore City Public School System, Andrés Alonso, and his work to transform the city’s school system to give its students the education they deserve. The third part of the series stands out in my mind as Alonso targets what he deems to be the biggest challenge of this transformation: “overcoming the community’s acceptance that things are always as they will be.”

I question if Baltimore City community members believe in the possibility of transformation with the kids it has. In the Baltimore Sun article, Alonso speaks of how he was shocked at the lack of parental/community outrage after a student at Lemmel Middle School was fatally stabbed. A friend of mine who works at the school said after the incident parents were allowed to vote on whether or not metal detectors should be placed in the school. Shockingly, the majority vote was no! The principal of Lemmel, appalled, overturned the parents vote and installed the metal detectors. It is disheartening that after such an event, community support was lackluster. How will transformation of our city schools happen without parental support and conviction?

Today, I had a parent tell me she was done with her son—that he can do whatever he wants and she washes her hands of it. She told me it was on me to figure out if he could be saved. Like Alonso, I am also determined to deliver for my students. I create engaging and effective lessons, I motivate my students to achieve high levels of success and I hold them to high and rigorous standards; but can I really save them? I find that quite the burden to shoulder. I reached out to this parent because I needed help—how do I help students when I can not engage their influencers in conversation? Parental involvement is an obvious challenge in city school systems where parents may have multiple jobs to hold down, where they do not understand the school system, and where they may have personal issues to deal with. The article in the Sun highlights that it is Alonso’s firm belief, a belief that I also support, that in order for the Baltimore City School System to truly change, parents and other influencers of our children need to step up and support the transformation. However, I must question what this means for our administrations and teachers. After sending home letters and making personal phone calls home to invite families to share in our school communities, when does it become part of North Avenue and Alonso’s responsibility to help us shoulder this burden? What ideas does he have to help us increase parental and community support in our schools?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/k12/bal-alonso,0,3267664.storygallery

Stimulation

The economic stimulus recently presented by Congress includes 150 billion for school districts. The implications of this plan, if passed, are major, as the funds would be meant for use for all aspects, including school renovations.

This money is clearly part of a larger agenda to solve the economical crisis that that is currently happening, a solution to which I would be interested in (someone) finding. However, while I always support money being spent on public education, I foresee a number of problems with the bill. In my two years in Baltimore, and particularly in my school, I have not seen a huge number of systemic changes to address glaring problems. I worry first and foremost about how the money will be spent…will we build a new state of the art gym when our library doesn’t have books or computers? Another massive problem with the bill is that the funds will only last for two years. Will we start new programs that are wonderful, only to have them cease to operate when the money is gone?

The New York Times ran an article about Congress’ stimulus package, addressing both the support and criticism of the bill. Many are “wondering how school districts could spend so many new billions so fast, whether such an outpouring of dollars would lead to higher student achievement, and what might happen in two years when the stimulus money ends” (NYTimes, Jan 28). Everyone is always focused on student achievement, but the effects of new programs and spending may not be seen for perhaps 3 or 4 years…how will and when we assess how effective the spending is?

The NEA supports the bill.“We’ve been arguing that the federal government hasn’t been living up to its commitments, but these increases go a substantial way toward meeting them,” said Joel Packer, a lobbyist for the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union."

There is some interesting criticism:

“Frederick Hess, an education policy analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, criticized the bill as failing to include mechanisms to encourage districts to bring school budgets in line with property tax revenues, which have plunged with the bursting of the real estate bubble. It’s like an alcoholic at the end of the night when the bars close, and the solution is to open the bar for another hour,” Mr. Hess said.

Are we all going to become drunks in a late night bar?

I have found that, when drinking, the best way to stay drunk in a bar is to find an all night bar where I can keep drinking, or find some to take home. Perhaps schools will benefit most when there is a steady stream of support, which can be supported both on local and national levels.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/education/28educ.html?ref=politics

Better on paper...

In the last day or so, Andres Alonso helped pass a revised policy that will give parents a formal input into Baltimore City schools governance. Ideally, this policy is putting more power into the hands of those directly affected by the education system- parents. Its intention is to help encourage parents and legal guardians to be more involved in their students’ lives, to advocate for their rights as learners in this city, and to try and promote more leadership in their communities. As usual, I believe this to be an amazing plan…on paper.

I work in a school where my room reaches temperatures of over 98 degrees because of faulty heating. Our girls’ bathroom contains five bathroom stalls, only one has a door. Of course, it does not lock. Class sizes are beginning to quietly steep above 36 per class, which I believe to be too high for a school that has not made AYP in numerous years. We still have three working copiers, but no longer receive shipments of paper to make copies. Students are beginning to run halls because of the increase in teacher/student ratio. And of course, there is always the occasional leak from my ceiling which has ruined student work, almost started an electrical fire, and has irritated a number of students when they get wet.

Ironically, the beginning of the school year did not look like this. It was not until the end of October, when we received word that our school would have to lose approximately 1 million dollars because of Fair Student Funding, that these issues became a problem. I remember sitting in a school board meetings analyzing the policy and reflecting with colleagues. What an amazing plan, this Fair Student Funding- on paper.

All the above mentioned problems are things that I have reported to parents- the occasional parents that come up to school. Please call North Ave. and report these problems, talk to my administration to get this figured out, make your voice heard and things will happen! There have been numerous parent/team meetings, even a community barbeque; but the turnout has always proved disappointing. I guess I have to ask myself then- do I really think this revised policy will actually have a great effect? Make more parents and legal guardians willing to make a stand and advocate for what their children deserve? I can’t say that I do-not the effect Alonso’s pushing for. I think that's one of the biggest problems in our system...there needs to be more parental advocacy! But how?

And as far as that Fair Student Funding and the money that was then pushed into other schools? I know we lost about 8 teachers- one who now teaches only one high school class, one who teaches with a co-teacher, and another who teaches three classes of about eleven at a higher performing middle school. The others I have lost touch with. So is this what Alonso was aiming for when he enacted this policy? I hope not…maybe some things are just better on paper.

Are We Missing What Matters Most in the Struggle to Fulfill HSA Requirements in '09?

A January 27th article from the Baltimore Sun attempted to report the number of seniors who may not graduate in Maryland due to the HSA requirements facing the Class of 2009. The Maryland State School Board seemed fixated on getting clear numbers, which are important, but they seem far less concerned with what these requirements mean, even for the seniors who meet them. Currently, about 70% of the seniors at my school are working on meeting the HSA requirements by completed what are called Bridge Projects. Supporting students in the completion of these projects has become the focus, actually obsession is probably more accurate, of my administration, and thereby the entire school. Currently students have been pulled out of ALL of their classes for a two week period in order to work on Bridge Projects from the time they arrive in the building until the final bell rings when they run screaming for the door because they have been sitting in the same room, staring at the same people, struggling with the same material for days on end.

There are a couple of huge and obvious problems here: investing these students in their education through a rigorous and engaging lesson that allows for collaboration, critical thinking, or other meaningful experiences is simple not possible given the structure and time pressures of "the Bridge." The second major issue presented by this structure is that these students are missing ALL of their classes. If this was really going to be over in two weeks, this might be a salvageable scenario, but the reality is that these kids will be working on bridge until they are finished or the final submission deadline...or a couple of days after that because an extension will inevitably be made somehow. This could result in students missing several weeks of instruction in all subjects, including those subjects required for graduation. Making all of this work up will be daunting for students; teachers are being encouraged to "condense" it. Grading students who didn't complete the assignments because the administration removed them from classes is an ethical challenge. All of this is a macabre twist on education, but then comes the bottom line: Students who meet the HSA requirements, complete enough condensed make-up work to pass, and who walk across the stage to receive a diploma in the spring will still not have had full access to the curriculum that they deserve and are entitled to as seniors. So after all of that, they may still go to college or work ill-prepared, and let me remind you that we are talking about the students who have worked so hard during their senior years.

How can this be happening? How does a parent, a teacher, a principal, or any other person who loves a student balance meeting the HSA requirements with the equally important need to prepare students (beyond 9th grade Algebra and 10th grade English and Government) for the "real world" of college and career? I don't know. I'm struggling daily with that. But I believe that it starts with asking the right questions - all of the right questions. These questions need to focus on time, resources, and most significantly our priorities. The Maryland State School Board, North Avenue, and anyone else who has a shred of control or the remaining energy to stand up against injustice need to start asking real questions about how these requirements impact students beyond the change of them not graduating. After all, a piece of paper isn't really the point of education. Is it?

Professional Development?

An article in Education Week this week talks about one of the potential reasons why students in the United States perform worse on international standardized tests than students in other industrialized countries: the quantity and quality of professional development that we engage in. While other countries spend time on sustained projects and meetings that directly work to improve instruction, in the United States teachers meet sporadically about varying topics that do not connect together in a unified manner.

This American style of development is predominantly what is offered in Baltimore City, and it offers little real help for teachers who constantly struggle in the city schools. We have days off on occasion and North Avenue has sessions intended to help teachers improve, but they are by no means linked from month to month, and, from what I have heard, what is done is not even done effectively. MathWorks, the new elementary/middle school math program, seems to be one of the first efforts to create a sustained, continuous program that works to help teachers improve their craft. In these meetings, teachers informally gather and discuss math content and different strategies for teaching it. However, still missing from this program are group efforts of writing lessons and analyzing, as a group, their effectiveness in the classroom through video analysis or direct observation, which is one of the most successful components of the lesson-study model used in Japan to train and develop teachers.

In order to ensure that teachers in Baltimore and the rest of the country are as effective in the classroom as teachers around the world, it is essential to reform the ongoing professional development provided for teachers.

Separate but Equitable in 2009

“Equity: The Commission believes that educational opportunities should not depend on a jurisdiction’s relative ability to raise revenue from local sources. Accordingly, the Commission worked under the premise that, to the extent practicable, funding for education should be wealth-equalized so that per pupil State aid in less wealthy jurisdictions is greater than per pupil State aid in more wealthy jurisdictions.”

Commission on Education Finance, Equity, and Excellence (the “Thornton Commission”)
Final Report (2002)

“When the government, therefore, has secured to each of its citizens equal rights before the law, and equal opportunities for improvement and progress, it has accomplished the end for which it was organized, and performed all of the functions respecting social advantages with which it is endowed. Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts, or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences, and the attempt to do so can only result in accentuating the difficulties of the present situation.”

-Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Of late, the great outcry among advocates for Maryland’s urban schools has been over the drastic cuts in state funding to struggling school districts. Given that statewide funding will be $140 million less than was expected under Thornton, and that Baltimore City and Prince George’s County will suffer the largest cuts ($23 million and $35 million, respectively), it is difficult to dispute Dr. Alonso’s contention that the budget adjustment represents “an effective rollback of Thornton,” particularly the Commission’s call for “wealth-equalized” funding, quoted above.

What is always lost in this debate, though, is the fact that even at its best Thornton simply maintains a system of “equitable” de facto segregation. 92.4% of public school students in Baltimore are nonwhite, and – as anyone working in the system will attest – this statistic masks the even greater segregation present at the level of individual schools. This stands in stark contrast to neighboring jurisdictions, which report minority enrollment of 50% (Baltimore Co.), 41% (Howard Co.), and 33% (Anne Arundel Co.) (Source: 2008 Maryland Report Card). That Thornton seeks to make funding among these districts more “equitable” is admirable, but it betrays the fact that our conventional wisdom is stuck in 1896, with its unspoken assumption that “to attempt to [eradicate racial instincts] can only result in accentuating the difficulties of the present situation” (Plessy, above).

On the issue of equity, we appear to still be capable of impassioned dissent. One of my students, upon reading Dr. Alonso’s letter to families today, crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it across the room in disgust. Half a century after Brown v. Board of Education, though, few would bat an eyelash at the absence of white faces in our city’s schools.

Stay Tuned for Year 3

I should have written this back in May when the course ended, but there were a lot of things going on (those of you who know me know what). We are on hiatus until next February (2009), when we should have another class of BCPSS teachers with thoughts to share about their ideas for school reform.

There are a lot of posts here, so if you do stumble upon us during our "off-season", take them a bit at a time rather than trying to read through them all at once. And who knows, maybe I'll stop back to post my thoughts, should I be so moved.