8th Grade, Diabetes, and Lead Dust

Recently, I have found myself worrying about two of my 8^th grade boys more than any other students. It’s probably because both of their mothers called me last week to share medical news – medical news that brought both to tears.

My first student has always been the heaviest child in school. At age 13 he weighs 170 pounds. Last week he was diagnosed with diabetes and hospitalized with respiratory problems. His mom is terrified that she is going to lose him.

My second student was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago. Last week, he was also diagnosed with lead poisoning. It turns out that his learning disabilities and hyperactivity are both likely the result of lead dust exposure while his mother was still pregnant. Now wracked with guilt, his mother is worried that her younger children might have also been exposed.

In these situations, what do we teachers do – especially us young teachers? What can we possibly say or do?

What would you do for these boys? For these families?

So far I’m just trying to play the role of teacher. I listen, I’m there for them, and I’m learning as much as possible about their issues so that I can share it with them.

Some of what I’ve learned, I will also share with you:

---Johns Hopkins has a Diabetes Center in Baltimore.

---This Center has a dedicated Children’s Center just for the treatment and study of childhood obesity.

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/diabetes/

---Most Baltimore homes built before 1950 contain lead paint.

---At least 50% of Baltimore’s homes probably contain lead paint.

---It does not take very much lead dust to cause harm to a child.

---The amount of lead dust in a sugar packet is enough to contaminate several family homes.

---Lead poisoning can cause: learning disabilities, severe brain damage, memory loss, stunted growth, and more.

http://baltimorehealth.org/lead.html

Desegregation in Baltimore City

Last week, the Washington Post ran an article citing a study that found that 54% of Maryland’s black students attend a “segregated” school—a school with more than 90% of students having a minority background. As those who live in segregated regions know, Brown vs. Board of Education did not translate, more than 50 years later, into schools that are integrated racially, ethnically, or socioeconomically. With the decline of busing, housing patterns have shaped school populations and guided schools that are increasingly homogeneous over the last 20 years. So What?
 

Results are mixed on integration’s impact on student achievement. Surely integration is better than segregation, but integration does not seem to be a silver bullet solution for increased student achievement. Although Amy Hawn Nelson may argue otherwise in her TEDx talk, there are many failing integrated schools, and integration cannot be the defining factor of an excellent education. A great education comes from instruction and learning. Perhaps, though, it is diversity and, in this case, integration, that can push an education from great to excellent.

I teach in one of the most diverse elementary/middle schools in Baltimore City, with a population that is 50% white, 36% black, and 6% Hispanic/Latino. Undoubtedly, this diversity of population does not on its own raise student achievement. Nonetheless, as educators know, a student’s background knowledge on a topic or skill can make or break his or her success as a learner. The more experiences and diversity of views we can expose our students to, the more prepared they will be for whatever learning assignment comes their way. 

To ensure full clarity, I am as enthusiastic, if not more, about the exposure that white students will have to minority students, be they black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, or otherwise. Non-Caucasian people in the United States are consistently exposed to upper middle class white culture on television and in music. A television show, produced by a black man and featuring a majority black cast, is not just television or a sitcom. It is considered black television. White students, on the other hand, are rarely exposed to beliefs outside of their homogeneous communities. Integrated schooling, while perhaps not a fix all for academics, will hopefully produce adults that are thoughtful and can work well with a heterogeneous population. 

It is no replacement for instruction and academic learning, but integrated, wonderful learning environments are the model we should be working towards here in Charm City.

Washington Post Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/report-half-of-black-students-in-maryland-attend-segregated-schools/2013/04/18/9097c29a-a83e-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html

Poet Warriors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v-ChtTiv80 

TEDx talk:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ffz1qOyY3Bk

Does Michelle Rhee Deserve to be Vilified?

To say that in the education world Michelle Rhee is a polarizing figure is like saying that infants have a little trouble with calculus. I recently read Anthony Cody’s and John Thompson’s articles about the ongoing Michele Rhee saga in Education Week.  What is helpful about vehemently condemning her personally and professionally?

One of the biggest problems with the vilifying of Michelle Rhee is that we are becoming a society increasingly intolerant of the necessary time it takes to go through the learning curve to become great. We value experience, but we no longer have the patience to give people in leadership positions the time necessary to acquire it. We shouldn't have thrown Rhee out like a disposable diaper; worthless as soon as the littlest bit of mess appeared.  We should have given her time to gain the experience she needed from her mistakes.

Do I think that Rhee knew about the cheating in her district and chose to do nothing about it? The evidence suggests that perhaps she did. Does that mean that I am ready to stone her politically and lose out on all the ideas and strategies that were good enough to make her Chancellor in the first place? Absolutely not.

Think what you like about Rhee, but at least she spent her time working to make the education system better. I am tired of smart-mouthed critics who spend their time publicly crucifying others just to hide the fact that their own strategies aren't working either.

We have a crisis in education. We as educators and reformers are all on the same side. We need to work together, to learn from our collective failures and to create a safe space for people to try and to fail and to learn from those mistakes and try again.  If critics tried as hard at positive reforms as they do at tearing down others who tried and did not meet expectations, we might all move a step closer to closing the achievement gap.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/04/who_created_excuses_for_michel.html

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/04/john_thompson_education_reform.html

Considering different governance structures in urban school districts

What governance structure of Baltimore City Public Schools should be implemented as a means of maintaining and improving our school district?  Should Dr. Andres Alonso and City Schools offices maintain their autonomy and strong decision-making abilities?  Conversely, should city public officials become more invested in Baltimore City Public Schools by taking on a direct governance role? 

Governor Martin O’Malley was quoted in April for being “open” to the idea of giving Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake more influence on Baltimore City Public Schools.  On one hand, I believe this idea makes sense.  Why shouldn’t public officials and policy makers be held more accountable to maintaining and improving one of the most public institutions of their constituency?   On another hand, this policy idea could allow further politics and bureaucracy into public education.  Furthermore, why shouldn’t professionals in education be the leaders of a school district instead of a public official with no related experience?  Governance structures of public school districts truly can be characterized as presenting us with a “Catch 22” experience.  Should experienced school leaders forfeit their autonomy and decision-making influence in order to receive more assistance from public officials?  Should public officials be more invested in public education by being directly responsible for maintaining and improving their schools?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/blog/bal-omalley-would-support-more-mayoral-control-of-schools-20130411,0,537464.story

Perceiving school reform as a process, not an event

Back in February the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research published a report called “Turning Around Performing Schools in Chicago.” This report summarizes the findings from a research study that examined five different reform models initiated by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) between 1997 and 2010 in 36 elementary and high schools identified as chronically low performing. The five reform models examined are: reconstitution (staff and leadership replacement), school closure and restart (staff/leadership replacement, governance replacement, change in attendance rules), school turnaround specialist program (leadership replacement), academy for Urban School Leadership (staff/leadership replacement, governance replacement) and Office of School Improvement (staff/leadership replacement).

While turnaround models to radically alter the educational landscape of the worst-performing schools have receive a great deal of attention, there has been little rigorous research on the impact of such reforms. Considering the lack of research, this report aims to provide answers to common questions regarding turning around low-performing schools, such as the demographics of students in the schools after intervention, teachers in the schools after intervention, and student outcomes in the schools after intervention.

Although this report makes clear how school reform occurred, and what actual changes came along with each of the intervention (reform model) in schools (i.e., teaching staff was less experienced in most schools after reform; the Closure and Restart model schools that were less likely to serve their original student population had substantially higher student outcome after reform; turning around reform models showed less success at the high school level than at the elementary level), this study does not provide answers to which aspects of reform are most critical to success or report student progress after the first four years of post reform. The fact that this study cannot determine exactly why improvements came about, however, highlights the important point that school reform is a process rather than an “event.”

Perceiving school reform as a process is particularly echoed in the fact that there were adequate data to analyze the effectiveness of the different turnaround models years after they were first implemented. While I hoped to find definite answers to the questions I had regarding school reform through reviewing this report, I am actually reminded by the data presented that the picture is very complex and can support many interpretations.

Although further research is needed to address the knowledge gap that exists on school improvement models, this report does confirm that realistic approaches that can be implemented in all schools, such as building the skills and knowledge of those individuals responsible for student learning, engaging the staff and community in setting goals, and targeting immediately addressable problems are good efforts to turn around low-performing schools.

 The report: http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Turnaround%20Report%20-%20Long%20Version%20FINAL.pdf

The Only Education Reform That Matters: Love

I love my students more than they will ever know.

“When those paper stacks get too high, the demands too tedious, the conversations too one-sided, the love of students gives us the reason. The opportunities we create for them to learn get reciprocated in the opportunities they create for us to grow.”

This is a quote from a teacher-written article on a site that I read back on Valentine’s Day. I knew that this was an article that I wanted to share with the class on the blog.

Love is a simple thing and yet it can be seen behind many different things we do. I love my students when I get to the building hours before the first bell rings and leave hours after the last. I love them when I grade 76 of the same exit tickets each day, but read each one as a different climb to success or fall towards failure. I love my students in the difficult conversations that we have and in the time and emotions that I invest into classroom skirmishes and detention battles.  As the quote above states, the learning opportunities that we create for our students are reciprocated in the opportunities that our students create for us to grow.

Students and teachers, we grow and learn together. This is love.

The conversations that we have around different school structures and systems brings to question are these different varieties and flavors, from charters and vouchers to community school models and federal incentive games, all just distractions? At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you call the system or the structure of the school, it only matters whether or not the people in the building truly love and care about the children that come into the building every day.

The teacher ends the article by saying that “a real school for children puts forth love in action, even when the system disallows those emotions.”

Upon deeper reflection, I have a correction: My students know exactly how much I love them.

I have a new, and clearer lens for viewing school reform: How does this policy, system, or idea support love for our students?

So I am left wondering what is it specifically about our current school system that disallows teachers acting out of love for our students? What can we do to create schools where it is easier for teachers, counselors, and administrators to act out of love for students?

http://www.good.is/posts/the-only-education-reform-that-matters-love

Integrity

As commonly known, Baltimore City Public Schools suffered a massive cheating scandal on standardized testing scores in 2009.  Consequently, multiple principals were fired and a prolonged investigation of standardized test scores took place from 2008-2010.  The investigation took place from 2008-2010 because that was the period where it was most believed that the cheating took place.  During this time frame, Dr. Andres Alonso received $29,000 in 2008,2009 and 2010 for improved tests scores throughout the district.  Despite BTU and administrative union efforts and requests, and despite strong possibilities that school-based cheating frequently took place, Dr. Alonso will not forfeit this large sum of money that he earned in bonuses from improved standardized test scores.

Integrity and honesty are two of the most important characteristics that district leaders and school leaders must demonstrate.  It is true that Dr. Alonso has launched an extensive effort to minimize cheating throughout Baltimore City Public Schools, but the fact remains that he is the sole person who financially benefited from these inflated test scores.  Throughout the time frame of the investigation (2008-2010), Dr. Alonso earned approximately $90,000 in bonuses for improvement in standardized test scores.  If testing integrity is a true issue in public education, and specifically in Baltimore City Public Schools, shouldn’t Dr. Alonso lead by example and forfeit the money?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-cheating-results-denial-20130413,0,7432871.story

Substitute Teachers; Rethinking What They Do

This is not a post inspired by an inspirational article or a substitute research report but I wanted to throw out a few ideas about subs that I would like to see your reaction.  I was talking with a non-TFA teacher from another city the other day and we were discussing our feelings on how we still do not feel as if we are able to take a day off.  Not that we NEED a day off, but if a situation were to arise (like being sick) that we could take off and that the ship would still be running.

I have visions of my students just sitting there in class, fist bumping themselves, celebrating that I am not there.  Although, I understand where they are coming from I would rather them be productive and look at a "day when the teacher's out" as not a carnival that during which they ignore their assignments but as a day that they can learn something. 

Here are my thoughts.  It would put substitute teachers out of a few part time jobs.  But what if we spent that money on a full-time substitute teacher.  The school would have a teacher whose permanent job would be to teach random classes.  They would be a resource teacher, a leadership teacher, etc.  They would have a room that students would go to when their teacher was out and they would have lessons from them.  They could teach them valuable things such as balancing a checkbook, how to write a resume, make themselves safe on the internet, etc.  The teacher could give grades to students, just to keep them in line during class.

This is just a thought that I had and thought that it would be fun to discuss.  So no more sick days worried if the kids have lit your desk on fire, no more stacks of half done sub-work assignments.  Yes, this does mean they wouldn't be working on MATH in a math class or READING in english but they would be learning something and not wasting their time.