Too Soon?

As some of you might have heard, right before teachers were released on Spring Break Baltimore County announced that the search for its new Superintendent was over: enter S. Dallas Dance, from Texas (really).  The switch did not come as a surprise as the superintendent of the last 12 years, Dr. Joe Hairston, declared that he would be stepping down months ago through an interview with The Sun.  That revelation came in October, so after nearly 6 months of searching, everyone was ready to hear what BCPS had come up with.

At first glance, Dance seems like a highly competent candidate: he has been a teacher, an assistant principal, a principal, and (most recently) the chief of middle schools for the Houston Independent School District (The Sun).  His last job earned him a great deal of authority due to the vast size of the Houston Independent School District, yet many worry that he is not ready for this new role.  Dance will be 31 years old when he takes office, making him the youngest BCPS superintendent in 50 years, according to Bowie.  Each of the positions he has held in the past have lasted for about two years, including his role as teacher.  Many parents are worried that he is simply trying to climb the career ladder, and that he will be gone from this role in another two.

At this point, he is certainly saying all of the right things.  He has been continually claiming that he wants to be "transparent", "open", and surrounded with "divergent" points of view.  I cannot help but wonder, however, how ready he is for this position having only taught for two years.  Many of us will soon be "2-year vets", but I certainly do not think I am now ready to be an assistant principal, much less a handful of years removed from being a superintendent.  I am also unsure of how 'in-touch' he will be with the issues of educators if he has only spent a limited amount of time in the classroom.  Ultimately, though, I am excited that BCPS picked a fresh new face for the new head of schools, someone who is hopefully devoid of cronies waiting for kickbacks as well as antiquated views on education.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this hire turns out; this dance is only just beginning.

It’s No Wonder Why This Generation Can’t Hold a Conversation…

On Wednesday, Governor Chris Christie announced that New Jersey’s first virtual school will be opening this fall. The New Jersey Vitrual Charter School will serve grades K-10 in its first year and hopes to expand to 11th and 12th grades in 2013 and 2014. Headquartered in Newark, students from all over the state will be able to attend this school.
Although identified as a virtual school, attendees will have access to blended learning in addition to online classes. Students will also be responsible to taking all state-required tests.

The idea sounds cute, at best. I am all for integrating technology into the classroom, but I am worried that schools like this one eliminate one of the key aspects of school: social learning. How do we expect children to appropriately interact with one another when at least seven hours of the day are spent in front of a computer screen. I wonder if a computer can properly nurture the development of kindergarten-aged children. Lastly, I am curious to see this school’s budget. I just don’t (and probably won’t ever) understand why resources are spent constructing virtual charter schools when Newark’s functioning public schools lack technology and other valuable resources…like books!

Yes, technology needs to be integrated into our schools, but how much is too much?

Reform?

Out of her big city chancellor job, Michelle Rhee has taken her talents to New York City. Since 2010, she and former chancellor of New York City Public Schools, Joel Klein, have joined forces in spearheading StudentsFirstNY. StudentsFirstNY is a school reform movement that promotes charter schools, resists tenure, and aims to rid New York City’s public schools of “ineffective” teachers. According to a New York Times Article, the two “have formed a statewide political group in New York with an eye toward being a counterweight to the powerful teachers’ union in the 2013 mayoral election.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the current mayor of New York City, is an advocate of school reform, but will most likely be replaced by a candidate with different views on education and teacher unions in the upcoming election. Both Rhee and Klein are notorious for going head-to-head with unions and are strong opponents of tenure. Thus, the two, in addition to a board of big name reformists, are pushing to bring StudentsFirstNY to the forefront of the reform discussion before 2013.

If you can recall, Michelle Rhee resigned from her position as chancellor of DC schools at the end of 2010. Initially installed by Mayor Adrian Fenty, Rhee was given absolute control over the district’s public schools. During her time as chancellor, Rhee fired hundred of teachers and shut down plenty of schools due to lack of student achievement as measured by standardized test scores. Rhee even adopted an evaluation system in which student test scores accounted for half of a teacher’s evaluation. It is no wonder why dozens of DC schools are now under investigation for cheating under Rhee’s term as chancellor.

While I am not completely at odds with the StudentsFirst reform philosophy, there are some aspects that truly concern me. Research shows that most charter schools have little to no effect of student achievement. Why aren’t these resources being poured into public schools? Furthermore, until standardized tests measure growth instead of mastery of what are supposed to be grade-appropriate skills, there is no way that test scores should determine if a teacher is ineffective or not. Lastly, as an educator and member of a union, I am a supporter of teacher unions and tenure as they provide valuable benefits to the profession. Neither should be used as a scapegoat for the problems our education system is facing. So while I can appreciate Michelle Rhee and Joel Klein’s radical reform ideologies, I am not sure of how the StudentsFirstNY movement will work to academically enrich our children.

Baltimore City PTA: Congratulations?

At the most recent meeting of Baltimore City’s school board, I was shocked to hear applause and congratulations that Baltimore City Schools is now an official member of the PTA. City school board commissioners congratulated the representatives of the PTA for meeting and having seven member-schools. I sat there dumbfounded by the idea that we did not have an organized PTA this entire time. I knew that my school did not have an official PTA organization, despite how often we hear that collaboration and communication with families is integral to a school’s success. I figured that was my school alone and surely other parts of Baltimore City must be utilizing this historic organization to better our schools and, at the bare minimum, meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind…right?

Apparently, Baltimore City Public Schools had member-schools and had an official PTA Council of Baltimore City before 2008. In 2008, however, the city PTA “was stripped of its authority to operate under the auspices of the state organization, amid concerns that the its [sic] president was expressing his personal views of the schools [sic] chief in his official capacity.” The President of the Baltimore City PTAs “gave Alonso an F for his revisions of the system’s organizational chart (he said it doesn’t include parents and community)” in his 2008 report card of the district. The PTA had various paperwork accountability problems, but was ordered to “cease and desist” essentially for being critical of City Schools not involving parents and community members.

At the board meeting I attended, the new PTA president said that the newly reauthorized PTA is attempting to organize PTA chapters and had 7 school-members. This entire ordeal seems somewhat absurd. Is it not more beneficial for our students to be advocated for by their parents and teachers on a regular basis rather than entirely disbanding the PTA for 4 years for standing up for family involvement? I worry that the PTA will struggle to gain traction within Baltimore itself even Baltimore once again has a voice in the state’s parent advocacy organization.

Is Red-Shirting A Solution?

I recently read an opinion piece in the Baltimore Sun that addressed the important issue of preparing Baltimore City students for the demands and challenges of college.  The author proposes using the idea of “red shirting” college-bound Baltimore youth to give them an additional year to sharpen their skills before heading off to college.  At first glance, the idea has merit.  Indeed, the author points to many current prep school and college remediation models that may work for many students.  Perhaps on a tailored, individualized basis such intensive preparation can really help students truly succeed in college.  The author’s emphasis on experimentation is also alluring  -- why not try this method and see if it can help ensure Baltimore’s children are ready to take full advantage of the academic opportunities afforded by post-secondary education?

However, as I thought about this proposal, I kept returning to the thought that this must be a temporary solution; a sort of stop-gap that might help in the short term but is not really a long-term fix.  There are two primary reasons that I keep thinking this.  The first, and most alarming, is that this proposal assumes that inner-city students inherently need a different formula for schooling, that they must be educated in a different way and with a different time frame than their suburban peers.  This is troublesome.  We should expect that all our schools provide an excellent education – not an “OK” education in 4 years and a “Good” one in 5.  If public schools are to remain a foundational piece of our democratic society, they must all provide an excellent education that prepares children for the various demands of their future.  Additionally, this proposal alarms me because I want to ask the question, “What are you doing in this extra year that you aren’t doing in the first four years of high school? Or all of K-12?”  If there is some combination of skill work or academic work that prepares students in a better way, we should be utilizing these methods throughout their education. 

Is academically “red-shirting” high school students a viable option to prepare them for college, or does this send our inner-city students a message that is demoralizing?  While experimentation in this area may reveal valuable findings, I think that spending more time in high school will not substantially improve the outcomes for our students.