Teacher Sick Leave - The Challenge of What is Right for Adults and Our Kids

As many teachers and researchers recognize, the person who has the ultimate impact on student achievement is the teacher standing in front of them day in and day out, throughout the school year. Although there are many high quality teachers in Baltimore City who sacrifice their time and health for the good of their kids, we all know of or may have heard of the teacher who is not there for their kids on such a consistent basis.

Recently, stories have been reported in the Baltimore Sun that administrators and school system officials are trying to "crack down" on teacher truancy within BCPSS because it is nearly impossible to be an effective teacher if your attendance is sporadic or poor. City Officials say this is a distorted message. "What the CEO has said is that if we have employees (not just teachers) that are not coming to work and there is not a legitimate reason for those absences it should be reflected in one’s evaluation," said Tisha Edwards, Alonso's chief of staff. "I think that’s a reasonable expectation in EVERY profession."

I do understand that people get sick, things happen in life, and we all need to look out for our own well being. Should teachers that miss an excessive amount of days be held accountable for being out of the classroom? If they do not have legitimate personal or family excuses, yes. I think that instead of sending threats of impending evaluations or reprimands (as some BCPSS teachers have reported), administrators should work with staff members to help them be more likely to attend work consistently and offer support where necessary. Having teachers in class everyday does impact student achievement and we should be working as a district to support teachers in their demanding (and stressful) jobs rather than place punitive measures on them.

I do believe this is what Dr. Alonso and city school officials truly believe, and unfortunately the message is being distorted as it travels through the messengers to the receivers. Lateness and chronic absence costs the school system more money, lowers student achievement, and hurts the collaborative efforts at a school. Principals should be messaging this to their staff and working with any staff who have attendance problems to solve the issue so that they can be present in the classroom consistently.

Board Meeting: Count(r)y Style

     As all of us resident bloggers must do, I had the fortune of attending a School Board Meeting last night.  Mine was a bit different, however, as it was at "the Greenwood Campus" and it turned into a date with Robby Apple Bassler.  As you may have guessed by now, my meeting was of the Baltimore County variety, a fact that made me unsure of what to expect.  After explaining the assignment to fellow teachers at my school, I was told (following a period of bewilderment/confusion about the reasoning behind it) to either a) bring NO-DOZ with me or b) not go.  Needless to say, I followed neither directive.

     While wading through the rigamarole that seems to be the trademark of every school-affiliated meeting everywhere, I hunkered down for what I assumed would be a long and tedious meeting.  During the 'open-mic' (my term, not BCPS') time, however, I began to notice an interesting pattern: each speaker was both older, and each was vehemently opposed to the construction of a certain elementary school near Mays Chapel.  I quickly and surreptitiously googled "mays+chapel+school" on my smartphone, only to find this article.  My smartphone then died, however at that point I was able to connect this nugget to the overcrowded nature of the meeting and to the presence of a news truck in the parking lot.  After listening to the citizen's arguments and to the position of the board, I came home to do more research.

     I discovered that the elementary schools in the Hampden and Stoneleigh neighborhoods are severely overcrowded, and the solution that BCPS has proposed and will most likely follow through with is to build a new school on the site of a park that they have owned for 26 years.  As I saw both in the article and at the meeting, many of the retired citizens were enraged that "their park" was being "taken away" from them, and they demanded that another course of action be sought.  In his analysis, the President of the Board noted that he too lives in this neighborhood, and that he had heard a number of suggestions during the past few days (Robby and I particularly enjoyed the idea of "buying an abandoned school in the city and using it"; we deemed this questionably-legal at best).  Despite the wishes of the retirees, the President announced that construction was all but guaranteed to happen.  

     After this debacle, I cannot help but think about the perception of our schools within our communities.  Despite the fact that BCPS had purchased this land with this intent 2 years before any of the current neighboring condos even had blueprints, these people wanted nothing to do with a school.  They didn't care that finding another option would be expensive at a time when schools like mine (in year 2 of restructuring) had their budgets cut by more than 50% in the summer of 2011.  They also did not think it relevant that the nature and intent of the park's owner was outlined in the leases that they signed (who reads those things anyway, right?  RIGHT?....).  The lack of concern for and dismissal of a school by these citizens was very upsetting and, unfortunately, largely indicative of a majority of the mindsets regarding our schools.  If we want to change the outcomes of our students' educations inside our buildings, then we must also change the minds of those watching from outside our buildings.  

(P.S.  This post has gotten too long, but the most disconcerting of all was the fact that people get bent out of shape about issues like these, yet no one blinks when a school like mine is egregiously underfunded due to the County's decision to 'eliminate' Title I middle school funding.  I guess I'll save that for another post.)

Generation Gap

I decided to show my students a movie. While that might put me in line with Cameron Diaz's "Bad Teacher," in my defense, the movie was a historical film. I wanted to show the film because I felt that the historical events of the United States during World War II should, especially with regards to race relations, should be of interest. I showed my kids one of my favorite movies, "The Tuskegee Airmen," and I was disheartened. Because "Red Tails," was out in theaters, and I remembered that my students were aware of the movie when it was released, I had high hopes that they would love my movie. Sadly, my kids seem interested in small portions, but overall unimpressed. Why could they not see the merits in this film? Why am I and those of my generation and earlier respectful and appreciative of those that set the foundations for us to follow?

As I reflect on the decision to show the film, I am reminded that even though I am a history buff, not all of my students will be. Yet, a part of me was hoping that I would light a spark within them to be interested, if not fully fascinated, with history. At the least I hoped my students would have an appreciation for the sacrifices of the soldiers and African Americans throughout that time period. I feel that a disconnect with the realities African Americans faced has created a generation gap almost as deep as the achievement gap. As teachers I think it is important to continue to expose our students to resources that are culturally relevant. Even if the relevant resources are not appreciated at the time, maybe they will stick later on. Though I was saddened by the overall reactions, or lack there of, to the movie, I was pleased when a student told me that he wanted to be in the Air Force, and the movie reminded him of a Bessie Coleman article we'd read earlier in the year. While the impact may have been minimal, there was an impact.

Link to complete article: http://www.ethicsscoreboard.com/list/classmovies.html

More Money, More Problems

Maryland received a $6.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue to improve underperforming schools within the state. Baltimore City Schools, along with Prince George’s County Schools, are typically allotted funds from federal school improvement grants. In the Baltimore Sun article, Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary, states that’s the money helps with “the very difficult work of turning around some of our hardest to serve schools.” More federal funding increases the likelihood that students will have access to basic school supplies, technology, and instructional resources; however money should not be viewed as the sole solution for failing schools.

As seen in Detroit, the issue is not whether money is available; it is more so how will schools access money and whether they can allocate money to the most essential areas. The Detroit Free Press reports that Detroit Public Schools only spent 42% of their $6.3 million grant. WestEd’s research, a San Francisco-based education and development agency, indicates that “bureaucratic hurdles and impediments” stop schools from spending federal funding. An exhaustive, time consuming approval process delays the delivery of necessary resources, which leaves many school personnel feeling disgruntled and uninterested in utilizing funds. Furthermore, money may be disproportionately allocated to programs or student subgroups that do not need additional funding. Stringent federal guidelines may prohibit schools from spending money in areas simply because they do not align with federal regulations.

Uninhibited funding programs, such as DonorsChoose.org, should indicate to policy makers that teachers need more than money. Teachers need thoughtful, research-based initiatives coupled with flexible funding to impact their students. Teachers, students, and families should have a more direct means of deciding how school money is allocated, especially considering that they are the individuals directly impacted by the lack of funds or resources. Money isn’t the saving grace for schools. Assessing the needs of each area and creating flexible means to allocate money provides a more promising future for Baltimore’s students.

Principal Turnover Study

A new study commissioned by New Leaders for New Schools shows evidence that first-year principals are becoming less likely to stay in their schools after one or two years.  The report cites a few specific factors that are in support of the idea that quickly replacing poorly performing principals can have a negative impact on a school community.  The report is titled “First-year principals in Urban School Districts: How Actions and Working Conditions Relate to Outcomes" and specifically looks at the turnover rates for principals in urban school systems including Baltimore, Washington D.C, Chicago, Oakland, Memphis, and New York City.

Some of the facts that the Baltimore Sun notes in their article are:

(1)    New principals placed in schools that aren’t making AYP are more likely to leave

(2)    New principals are more likely to leave when test scores decline in their first year

(3)    The vast majority of schools that lost its principal after one year noted declining achievement in subsequent years with a new principal 

This report seems to conclude the obvious—new principals in failing schools aren’t likely to stay in their schools.  This could be for a variety of reasons.  The school could be facing closure, the administration could be zero-based, or the principal just might not be able to deal with the demands of a school in need of a radical overhaul.  However, this report shows that a constant turnover of principals is not a good option for a failing school.  It often takes more than one year to turn a school around and schools need consistent leadership. Principals who are not doing well in their first year may still be the best option for a school if given the supports they need to improve for a second year.

Read the Baltimore Sun article here.

Read the full study here.

Size Matters

There has recently been this push toward smaller schools that really scares me. The pundits have made a plethora of arguments with any number of data points to back up their claims that smaller schools are more successful. Annually News week creates a list of the top 100 schools and  in 2008 there was notice made that there was a trend of smaller schools out ranking larger ones.(Newsweek Excerpt). Naturally in a district, which we will leave nameless, we saw a rise in the number of schools to lower the number of students per school. There were a multitude of reasons given for this; Smaller schools have less students so they are safer, the students feel less like a number, smaller class sizes are better for learning, blah , blah blah. They go on and on. No please don't mistake my irreverence for their points as nonacceptance of the points themselves. In fact I whole heartily agree with the POINTS just not what they are using them to attempt to validate. Yes smaller class sizes... Good; Safety... , Important; Students feeling cherished, loved , and welcome...,PRICELESS. But what does come at a price is RESOURCES!!!! 

So a handful of these new schools gets the support of Bill Gates. What about the rest of them? How is it the natural reaction  to lowering class sizes is to make a whole new school? Why not just get more teachers in the same school? So now you have two sets of everything, where as with one school you could have just gotten teachers in the areas needed. Of course we also now need two principals, two sets of admin staff, two set of cafeteria staff, to electricity bills, to phone bills, and for every sport for boys and girls two sets of every thing.  So, now the budget is divided amongst these mini schools and everyone is surprised that the school has no money for things like calculators, paper, or after school programs.  (My personal favorite sports teams without basic safety equipment) 

Often the response has been get rid of sports, or stop offering programs like say robotics, or theater, or teachers and coaches will have to make up the difference(because they are paid SO highly they can afford to buy supplies for all their classes or teams). It's not fair for the kids, the teachers or the community. Here's a thought, why not take some time and come up with a real solution to the issues. instead of piling on new schools. Combine two or three of these small schools. After-all; Why can't a school of 2000 students have a small school feel? Why cant they have small class sizes? Why cant it be safe? These things could all be true, with good planing and prudent action. Small schools and big schools can and must coexist. However, too much of one will create a system much like that of our nameless district with no money, tons of schools, disgruntled teachers, disappointed families, and students left to suffer.

Value-Added Scores: The Truth Behind the Numbers

           The title of this blog post would lead one to believe that I am in support of an evaluation method that utilizes student test scores. This is definitely not the case. People in favor of these value-added scores will try to defend their opinion by saying that the ratings are based on a student’s progress and not just the base score. This begs the question, how can one compare the concepts learned in a 7^th grade math class to those learned in an 8^th grade math class when the material is much more challenging? A team of fifth grade teachers in New York is currently experiencing the lack of truth behind their evaluation ratings in which 40% was determined by student standardized test scores.

            The Principal at Public School 146 describes her fifth grade team as a group of hard-working, talented teachers that are dedicated to student achievement (staying until 7 pm on many Friday evenings). From winning a Fulbright scholarship to working as an Archaeologist in France, this team of teachers has a variety of backgrounds that would be impressive for college professors. After pushing 96% of their fifth graders to proficiency in English and 89% for math, one would think that these teachers would have some of the highest ratings in the state. This is not the case. This team of teachers had value-added scores that ranged from 1 to 11, all out of 100. One of the reasons for these low ratings is the fact that 97% of the students were proficient in math as fourth graders. After briefly reading about these teachers, do you agree with their low ratings?

            Some states have already adopted the use of value-added scores for teacher evaluations. In many cases, strong teachers are getting mediocre evaluations and some who get the highest are just ending up in a good situation. It is imperative that we fight this measure and work to find a better way to evaluate teachers. 

Click here to read the full article.

School Optional?

In the wake of the recent school shooting in Ohio, columnist and Baltimore City Schools Teacher, John Clayton Young teachers has begun to take a closer look at how reasonable or realistic it is to require all students to attend school in his March 12th Baltimore Sun article. Unsafe and unwelcoming environments are prevalent, and bullying has become commonplace, but Young insists that, “no matter the case, children are still required by law to be subjected to institutionalized education, no matter the cost.” This means that even if students feel angry, upset, uncomfortable, or even unsafe there is very little room for flexibility within laws. For some students, being forced to submit to the rigid structure of a school day could feel like prison, and the pressures of the social experience and unwelcome bullying could also feel unbearable. In a recent case the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, Dr. Alonzo wrote to the parent of an allegedly bullied child and insisted that the district would not take action against her as a parent for the student’s truancy because the issue of bullying had not been resolved. If we do require students to attend school, what measurable actions are we taking to ensure their safety? And should parents who fear for their student’s safety and wellbeing not be able to keep student’s home?

There are many policies about bullying, but in reality there is very little that has improved within the culture of our schools to demonstrate their effectiveness. Students still feel unsafe, violence in the name of “self-defense” still occurs, and students are still absent from school out of fear. Baltimore City has verbally asserted the anti-bullying stance, but there must be a critical change in the culture and the environments of our schools in order to make schools institutions of learning and collaboration, instead of places breeding fear, negativity, and violence.

If school were an environment were the students’ minds were consistently being pushed to their limits with new ideas and stretched with creativity, I would support our current laws. If schools focused on building culture and embraced difference among students while creating well-rounded citizens, I would completely understand why every student was required to attend, but the reality is that our schools are far from great institutions of learning. Our schools are struggling to produce proficient readers, writers, and mathematicians, so safety and educating the whole child has become secondary. Until we are able to recreate the structure of schools so that all students feel safe, welcome, and supported in learning we will continue to see a culture of violence and indifference towards learning. It is time that we rethink our constructs of education and the requirements we currently ask students to meet and the environments in which we ask them to do so. For now, parents should have every right to pull their children from school and explore other options if their needs are not being met because as a society we have yet to prove that our method of educating is effective.

Falling Behind

As testing starts and the school year comes to a close, the most frequently asked question by my students is whether every test, grade, or project will hinder or improve their chances of proceeding to the eighth grade. I typically tell my students that if they are passing all of their classes they will be promoted. However, my response to students who are struggling to pass isn’t as concrete. In a NPR segment, Tovia Smith narrates the debate concerning the effectiveness of retaining students to improve their reading scores.

During the segment, Tim Taylor, president of Colorado Succeeds, maintains that retention benefits students by preventing them from having a false sense of academic achievement. In contrast, teachers discuss how retaining students is detrimental to a child’s social development and lowers academic expectations. Additionally, many anti-retention advocates argue that states should focus more on the issue of illiteracy by allocating funds to provide more tutoring opportunities instead of stigmatizing struggling readers. In Baltimore, the debate about holding students back remains blurry. A Baltimore Sun article describes how social promotion and “summer learning packets” were commonplace in 2003.

While Baltimore City Schools have taken greater strides to include more summer school opportunities and grade level interventions, teachers continue to discuss how students are promoted without knowing essential skills for the next grade level. My students have also voiced concerns about students being promoted despite their academic shortcomings, which in their perception lowers the academic expectations for the entire school. I agree that students receive mixed messages about academic expectations, and I question whether our present use of summer school and teacher accountability initiatives hold students responsible for their role in education. How can we ensure that we encourage taking ownership and foster confidence in our children while maintaining clear academic expectations?

Evaluation Based Pay with a TWIST!

In Iowa a bill is being proposed which would require teacher evaluations to include student performance. The value added measures the bill proposes take into account a student’s background and demographics when determining whether that child is making expected annual growth. This in effect doesn’t penalize a teacher for students who come in to their class already grade levels behind, which is the criticism of some other systems. Student performance information would be used as a “validating factor” when rating teacher effectiveness. A teacher who is exceptional during their observations should also have matching student achievement data. This however does call for a little faith in the observation tool and the observer.  According to this system when the observation data and student achievement data don’t match, administrators are called to evaluate the teacher’s practices. The main goal of this proposal is to identify and remove ineffective teachers from the system.

There are several challenges that I can already see with this system knowing our administrators in Baltimore. One, I have a feeling that if such a system were to be put into place in Baltimore there would be a lot of discrepancies between the observation data and the student achievement data.  Leaving administrators with a lot of paper work when re-evaluations of teacher practices have to be done. Also administrators aren’t the most objective people in the district and so teacher rankings end up being subjective measures based on how well a teacher is able to kiss that place where the sun don’t shine. This was evident with a similar value added measures implemented in New York, teachers were ranked as "high-quality educators one year only to be rated as poor the following year.” This doesn’t make much sense! I don't believe we should all jump into this band wagon. Our problem is we are all looking for that silver bullet so when a new system come out we all load up our guns thinking 'there we have it our cure to the education mess.' Well none exists! Problems in education require us to create a dynamic solutions for our dynamic classrooms. If you have ever stepped foot into an educational institution you will come to see every single classroom is unique, every school is unique, and so every school district is unique. Other challenges for the value added system include how to account for transfer students, team-taught classes or non-tested subjects like art or music.

Now back to the point on main purpose of the value added system. It seems very noble; teachers who are less than high qualified won't teach any of our children. There problem solved, remove bad teachers and our students will learn. This could be feasible goal… in high performing, high resource schools districts, which can recruit and retain highly effective teachers. However, in a school district like Baltimore city where teacher turn over rate is about 3 to 4 years it will be hard to keep highly qualified teachers in the system. And what happens after a round of evaluations and a district finds out that it needs to replace a significant number of their teachers. What does a district do especially when people aren’t lining up at the hiring fair to apply for a teaching position? 

I see many things wrong with the proposed system or maybe I am just too critical! Find out more below.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120311/NEWS/303110027/-1/groupblogs/Education-reform-plan-places-focus-quality-teachers

Sinking Morale

In a recent New York Times Article, MetLife's Survey of the American Teacher revealed that teacher morale is at its lowest point since 1989. The survey included teachers, parents, and students and indicates particular factors that have caused the significant drop in satisfaction. Of the factors mentioned, common ones include:

• Increased pressure of standardized testing
• Increasing class sizes with fewer resources
• Overall job security.

The most interesting piece of the article for me was the section that identified that the results were consistent across teachers who were working in poor and stable neighborhoods. While ignoring the lack of clarity surrounding what a "stable" neighborhood is, it is also interesting to see that the race and ethnicity of the students, and length of a teacher’s experience, had little bearing on the survey's results. Despite the apparent consistency across the profession, the survey also noted that teachers working in urban schools with a large population of minority students reported lower satisfaction with their jobs.

Common trends amongst teachers who were satisfied with their jobs included a stronger sense of job security, more opportunities for (meaningful) professional development, longer planning time, and higher levels of parental involvement.

For those teaching in Baltimore City, most of these factors are familiar and relevant in our day to day work. It raises the question of what it would take to increase teacher satisfaction overall, but particularly in urban areas where many of these issues are magnified. It would appear that a multitude of factors result in higher or lower satisfaction, but how many of these factors are within the district, school, and teacher's control?

-Michelle

For Art's Sake

While arts education isn’t the hottest topic in Baltimore City reform circles, maybe its absence should be. An issue that has for years been condemned to a whisper—a need at once both clearly manifest and nearly mute under tons of testing turmoil—arts education is suddenly being spun to a different beat. And some urban school districts are beginning to listen.


Last week, the Chicago Tribute released an article with the headline, New study shows arts programs helped improve academic scores at three CPS schools. The article describes a recent study, conducted in partnership by the educational arts non-profit Changing Worlds and Loyola University, which attributed significant testing gains to arts programs in three Chicago Public Schools. Researchers tracked the test scores of 95 students enrolled in these schools, all of whom participated in Changing Worlds’ Literacy and Cultural Connections Programs, to find that “fourth graders who started with the program in 2009 saw an 11.5 percentage point gain in composite test scores,” and that these same students “scored on average more than 11 percentage points higher than fourth through sixth graders at the same schools who did not take part in the [arts] program.” (Let’s ignore for a moment that the creator of the program funded 50% of the study, and take them at their word.)

After Chicago Public School officials recently adopted a longer school day, many groups are using research like this to push arts enrichment activities into newly available time slots. Personally, I think this would be a valuable use of time. As a test-obsessed nation, we’ve gone too long starving students of the arts in service of sought-after scores. Rigorous arts education helps provide students with a means for thinking abstractly and creatively about topics—skills that serve them academically, as well as in more obvious artistic fields.

But the artist in me is sad to see that arts education is selling out. Should arts education have to play into the testing game to achieve its goals? Can’t we just appreciate this kind of learning, for art’s sake?

Read the article here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-cps-arts-20120228,0,2307593.story

  

Choosing Charter Schools

Dr. Steve Perry, a renowned educator, has an educational segment on CNN called Perry's Principles. In his recent segments he has discussed teacher evaluations, Dr. Alonzo's progress in Baltimore city public schools, and paying students to attend school. On one segment he is asked by parent for advice in choosing a charter school. The video brings to light a problem that most parents have which is a lack of knowledge about charter schools or schools in general. Steve Perry founded a public charter school in Hartford, Connecticut so he is considered somewhat of an expert. He offers the advice of completely ignoring any information on the internet about a school. "You must visit the school during a school day."

There are many websites and publications that boast to have the vital information that parents need to make the critical decision of school choice. Most of these websites and publications are missing key factors that affect the success and functionality of a school. Factors such as attendance rate, teacher turnover rate, and suspension rate are missing in these reports. Parents should conduct research and visits to schools. When visiting schools, it is important that parents ask questions that are important to them. If parents want their child to have an exceptional football coach, then they should ask to speak to the athletic director, the football coaches, and the head of football booster club. Dr. Perry insists on parents conducting multiple visits including the open house to get a complete picture of how a school operates.

 The link for the video is below:

·         http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2012/02/26/perry-charter-school.cnn

T. Sims

A Superintendent for All?

In a recent article, Liz Bowie of the Baltimore Sun newspaper broke down Baltimore County’s search to find a new superintendent.

Read more at:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-12-01/news/bs-md-co-superintendent-search-20111201_1_attea-associates-search-firm-conduct-search

While the article states that in the last decade minority enrollment has increased in the county from 38% to 54% and students on subsidized meals has increased from 27% to 43%, Bowie also states that Baltimore County is “not seen as a major urban school system.” To say this is severely undercutting the paradigm shift of some Baltimore County schools away from a suburban model.

The company that Baltimore County Public Schools hired for the superintendent search claims that they reach out to parents, local community members, and officials in higher education in order to target the area’s specific needs and interests when picking a superintendent. The real question in my mind is, “What ‘areas’ are you specifically targeting for their opinions?” Are they too neglecting the increasingly urban environment of Baltimore County?

In my experience in Baltimore County, there have been many systemic changes for turn-around schools based on the successes of schools with vastly different demographics. For example, one policy in my school last year required all English teachers to assess my students on their ability to fill out “SOAPSTone” templates, a resource from the AVID college and career readiness board, on a variety of higher than grade level informational texts. For many of my students who were sufficiently below grade level in reading, the daily drills did more to frustrate them with reading than actually improve their levels. I am sure that a similar program may have worked in other schools in the county, but there was little done to consider the actual needs of my students. Whoever the new superintendent is, they must realize that Baltimore County serves a wide array of students, all with very different needs.

In order to have a superintendent that is effective in bringing change to Baltimore County as a whole, I think that we need to begin searching for someone with experience in both urban and suburban communities. Parents and community members from all areas of Baltimore must be represented, or else Baltimore will end up with someone looking for a panacea for two vastly different problems.

The Baltimore Sun: Principal Turnover

            Erica L. Green’s Baltimore Sun Blog post comments on a recent study by the RAND Corporation titled, “First-Year Principals in Urban School Districts: How Actions and Working Conditions Relate to Outcomes.” The report examines the working conditions of first-year principals and relates information on those factors to school achievement and principal retention. 

            In Baltimore City, New Leaders for New Schools has produced “nearly half of the city’s new principals in the last four years,” (Green) yet these principals are not sticking around. In 2007, a reported 188 principals led schools in Baltimore City. Today only 50 of those remain. In addition, Baltimore’s principal corps are younger, less experienced, and increasingly from regions outside of Baltimore and even Maryland. Many of these newcomers are more likely to leave if their school is unable to make AYP or if test scores decline in their first year. Furthermore, schools that lost its principal after one year noted declining achievement in subsequent years, according to the report. We must find a way to attract and support talented leaders for our schools.

            In my opinion, the ability to turn around a failing school rests just as much on a strong principal as it does on good teaching. I really believe that a good principal can make a mediocre teacher better, and a good teacher transformational. The type of change that we need to see across Baltimore City cannot just happen in individual classrooms; it needs to happen throughout entire schools. Good principals are an essential part of the equation to ensure these outcomes. 

A Dicey Future for Pre-K Kids

It’s no surprise that children who attend high-quality preschools enter kindergarten with stronger reading and writing skills. Perhaps more intriguingly, reformers assert that these studious 3- to 4-year-olds are less likely to become high school dropouts or face unemployment and incarceration. Whereas past dropout-prevention efforts have focused on at-risk teens, studies now suggest that offering preschoolers small class sizes, frequent parent conferences and effective teachers is the best approach to ensuring student achievement down the road.

Unfortunately, the majority of middle- and low-income families can’t afford to enroll their children in the best and priciest programs; currently, only about a third of Maryland’s 4-year-olds attend “high-quality kindergarten” schools, which can cost anywhere from $300 to $500 a month. And the other 66%? Well, you can forget about Harvard, kid.

Of course, the guys at North Ave. know that early childhood education is important — they just don’t know how to fund expanded access to high-quality ECE programs. The newest proposition is to legalize table games at Maryland’s slot sites, and use the gambling revenue to fund free, full-day pre-K for low-income families.

But is gambling revenue stable enough to support public education? Some argue that Maryland’s transition from slot machines to full-on casinos is inevitable, but others are more skeptical, stating that we should examine the real “efficacy of our current gambling program” before making any major expansions. Either way, it’s hard to oppose any bill that promises students more equitable access to a better education.

Overtime? Or Overpaid?

The Baltimore Sun published an article this week that spotlighted the amount of money the Baltimore City School System has paid employees in overtime over the past four years. My initial reaction to the steep figure, which is $14 million dollars, was relatively neutral. With 10,800 employees, you figure that overtime costs are inevitable.

However, as I continued reading I was completely shocked to discover that the top overtime earner in 2011 was Ralph Askins – Dr. Alonso’s driver. Askins “more than doubled his $76,816 wages, logging roughly $78,000 in overtime last year.” I actually had to take an extra couple of seconds to process these numbers. Am I missing something? Alonso’s chauffeur, who does also provide security, makes more money than Gov. Martin O’Malley and the highest-paid educator in any city school.

So, what are the Baltimore City Public Schools officials saying about this? Tisha Edwards commented about the overtime figures and made valid points about overtime being necessary at times to keep students safe, fill gaps and support the operations department. She also said that while overtime is an “expected expense for the system,” they are going to make sure that “those dollars are always being scrutinized.”

Askins declined to comment, which makes the situation that much more unclear to me. While I can understand Alonso’s need for some form of security working in the tougher parts of the city after hours, the amount of money Askin is making seems somewhat absurd! I would have liked to hear what the driver had to say about his salary and overtime figures in hopes of gaining some clarity. Until then, I can only hope that Edwards’ promise to scrutinize overtime spending will hold true. 

Are Baltimore Students Degreeless in Debt?

Earlier this fall, a Johns Hopkins study found that only 6 percent of Baltimore City's High School Class of 2004 graduated from two-year colleges within six years. Why are so few students graduating from these two-year colleges? The Hopkins researchers suggested that perhaps the city schools are pushing students into two-year programs because it's easier and cheaper. These schools, however, do not serve their students very well. On the other hand, 34% of the Class of 2004 graduated within six years from four-year colleges.

But another reason is also likely playing a factor. Although two-year schools are generally more affordable than four-year colleges, students going to college from predominantly low-income urban school systems probably have to take out loans to finance their education. But because low-income students are generally averse to debt, it's more likely that these students would adopt risky behaviors to minimize the amount of loans they need to take out. If students choose to delay enrollment after high school, enroll college part-time, or work full-time, then they become more at risk for not completing their degrees. This was what I discovered in my new report, entitled Degreeless in Debt: What Happens to Borrowers Who Drop Out, recently released from Education Sector, an education policy think tank in D.C.

To read more about the Hopkins study, click here.

To read more about my new report, click here.

Baltimore Sun Article: Suspension

Baltimore Sun Article: Suspension

The article details a state-wide approach to reducing suspensions and overturning the zero tolerance approach in schools. It particularly reference the notion that zero tolerance was heavily used in the last decade (2000s) to reduce crime and stabilize tough schools. Currently, Baltimore County has one of the highest suspension rates in the state of Maryland. Moving forward, the state has decided to pressure school districts to revise their Code of Conducts to the point that it would be hard for schools to suspend for issues unless they are violent or extremely dangerous. This is the result of a 15 year old who was long-term suspended and missed a whole year of school. Therefore, to reduce this type of disposition, schools would have to develop alternatives to suspension.
This makes me think about my school and how our suspension rate this school year is very high. The only strategy that we have is detention and Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS). I feel these are ineffective and really do not curve behaviors. I do believe schools should suspend students who show consistent negative behaviors, but I believe we must create solutions that empower our students and. It disempower them. Education is an avenue of support for students, but if the institution of learning works as a prison then we are doomed. What can be done? Well, learn your students, develop strong mentoring programs, engage student's through programs such as athletics, and remain consistent with consequences. The solution isn't easy or always fast, but changing the way schools think is half the battle.

High Stakes Testing 2.0

In his State of the Union address, President Obama talked about his wish to see teachers move away from teaching to the test. No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the landmark education law signed by President Bush in 2002 implemented a high-stakes testing regime throughout the country that severely penalized schools and school systems for failing to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The heavy reliance on testing data produced some unintended consequences, as some schools began to narrow their focus to reading and math instruction because they were the only two subjects tested under NCLB. Additionally, past incidences of cheating on tests have led the National Center for Fair & Open Testing to urge the Department of Education to avoid tying incentives to test scores.

Recently, the American Federation of Teachers announced that it supported President Obama's calls to move away from test-based accountability as it existed under NCLB. Instead, they argue, test data should be used to improve teacher practices and truly measure student knowledge. As the country moves toward a redefined version of NCLB, or towards a modified understanding of teacher and school accountability, the hope is that a more nuanced approach toward school, student and teacher performance will be taken. If testing is used as a tool to improve rather than broadly criticize, hopefully the pressure to cheat will disappear, and stories like this will not happen in Baltimore.

Back to Basics Math Instruction

Baltimore City Public Schools introduced in the last two years a new instructional framework based on "rigor, engagement, and intervention." According to the framework, students in Baltimore City classrooms need to be engaged in high level learning at all times, and those who are not achieving at these rigorous levels need to have interventions so that they can master skills and then move on to higher level work. To these ends, the city has pushed efforts for more collaborative teamwork in classrooms, student-centered, and inquiry-based learning, especially in math and science.

At the same time, in focusing on the instruction piece of student learning, many schools are spending time developing teachers' proficiency in explicit instruction. Explicit instruction is often thought of as a more traditional method of instruction, and is characterized in some education circles as the "old" method of teaching. However, in an article on EducationNews.org, Barry Garelick offers a still-untested hypothesis that it is explicit instruction and a "back to basics" approach that is needed in math to lower the rates of students categorized as special needs. In his article, "Mathematics Education: Being Outwitted by Stupidity," Garelick argues that low levels of success later in school are a result of poor understandings and mastery of basic math processes and facts. In order to obtain this basic knowledge, math instruction needs explicit instruction and automaticity rather than an emphasis on conceptual knowledge in the early years.

Garelick suggests that educators not abandon "traditional" math instruction that could have "failed millions" because it was improperly given. Rather, he writes, it might actually be what is necessary to finally reach those higher levels of rigor everyone wants. There are many critics to the "drill and kill" style of teaching, and yet there are also great numbers of students (many in BCPSS) who can not keep up with math at higher levels. Perhaps when it comes to math, a happy medium must be found.

Note: The discussion that follows the article is very interesting and plays into the debate over a wide, shallow curriculum (that many states currently have) and the narrower, deeper Common Core State Standards that do not spiral as much material through the grade levels.

Teacher Evaluations: Should They Be Published?

This past week, the New York City Education Department released teachers’ individual performance ratings. The released information included teachers’ names and schools so anyone could look up a specific teacher’s evaluation. It is ironic, then, that the NYC Education Department “admonished” the media not to “use the scores to label or pillory teachers.” However, given the recent trend to blame teachers (and teachers alone) for the failures in our education system, how could the media, parents, and other stakeholders do anything with this information except what the NYC Education Department allegedly did not intend?

For me, the NYT article highlights many of the problems that exist in current teacher evaluation systems. The ratings published in NYC were based on students’ gains on the state’s math and English exams over the past five years. However, the margin of error for student gains was as high as 53 percentage points (in English). The article also mentioned that for some teachers, they were evaluated based on the achievement of as few as 10 students. With so much error in student gains, it seems almost ridiculous that this information would serve any constructive purpose.

As much as sources in the article insist that these rankings will not be used to judge teachers in isolation, unfortunately not everyone will consider the data’s margin of error or the possibility of bias when they read these rankings. In my opinion, if school districts are going to publish teacher evaluations at all, at least it should be accurate, reliable, and fair. This means that most school districts should rethink how they evaluate teachers before announcing these evaluations to the public.

You can find the NYT article at the following URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/02/24/teacher-data-reports-are-released

City Schools Students (and teachers!) Support the Bottle Tax

Patterson High School students were featured in The Baltimore Sun this week supporting a proposed bottle tax that would help raise money for facility upgrades.  Baltimore City Schools currently has a $2.8 billion list of facility repairs and the visit to Patterson highlighted some major problems.  The students and The Baltimore Education Coalition invited City Council Vice President Edward Reisinger and education advocates on a tour of Patterson that featured broken boilers, sweaty classrooms and students comparing Patterson to a “prison” and a “slave ship”.   The proposed bottle tax would increase the tax on bottled beverages from 2% to 5% and would generate $10 million annually.

Without a doubt, many city schools are desperately in need of repair and renovation.  The bottle tax is one potential way to increase funding, but we need to find many more.  Student and teachers should not be subjected to conditions like those in Patterson High School.  It’s a much more regular occurrence to find school conditions like this than many people realize.  Students cannot learn to their full potential while sitting in a sweltering classroom.  Kudos to the students and teachers at Patterson for speaking up about this important piece of legislation.

Food, Glorious Food?

            The Baltimore Sun caught my attention this week, as it relayed the news that Maryland’s Court of Appeals ruled that “Maryland, its Department of Education and its superintendent of schools are not responsible for ensuring that school-provided lunches won't send students to the hospital in anaphylactic shock” because “a state cannot be found negligent under the National School Lunch Act, which requires states to provide nutritious meals to students in need.” 

Who makes this up?

The startling ridiculousness of the article’s headline and first few paragraphs explains the story of Liana Pace, a five-year-old with a severe peanut allergy, who was accidentally served a peanut butter sandwich in her school’s cafeteria.  Although Liana’s mom informed the school nurse of her daughter’s allergy, the nurse did not convey this information to the cafeteria worker.  As Judge Clayton Greene Jr. opined, “ ‘On this particular day, a cafeteria worker gave Liana a peanut butter sandwich [because she had neither her own lunch nor lunch money]. Liana resisted eating the sandwich, informing the worker that she was not allowed to have peanut butter…The worker mistook her protests as misbehavior and ordered her to eat the sandwich. Liana complied.’ ”  Apparently, not everything’s fine down here in Lunch Lady Land.

I do not intend to overlook the seriousness of these events; although Liana survived, she developed anxiety and transferred schools.  This is certainly a traumatic experience for her, and it will likely condition her view of school and education for a long time.  School should be a safe place, and even when the classroom does not feel like one for many of Baltimore City’s and America’s struggling students, the cafeteria and the free time to socialize that it supports should be.  Given my students’ complaints about their thirty minute lunch period – lines are too long, the food is garbage, there is not enough time to eat or relax, the cafeteria is too crazy – should we not reconsider the importance of giving kids downtime each day?  If not recess or an open gym to discharge their energy, then perhaps a longer lunch period, which would at least give them more time to socialize and unwind?  While such a move is typically unpopular in today’s high-stakes testing world, adolescent developmental theories make a strong case for giving kids time to interact with one another during the school day.  Maybe such a move would develop calmer, more focused students?  

            If nothing else Liana’s case reminds us of the value of teamwork and communication, especially among school employees like nurses and cafeteria workers.  If Adam Sandler is correct, we can all learn from Lunch Lady and her beloved Sloppy Joe.

To learn more, check out http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-school-lunch-suit-20120223,0,2839957.story

The Shortlist

A Baltimore County 6th Grade Teacher


12 Things She Can’t Live Without


Though this may sound trite, I would be remiss without saying that being a teacher is grueling. I chose the word grueling because it is a new vocabulary word that we introduced to our 6th graders this week. The examples I gave my students when introducing the terminology all dealt with my experiences in the classroom and in life. In order to be a truly effective teacher and make the vocabulary meaningful, I wanted my kids to visualize the relevance of the vocabulary to their lives as well. While teaching is grueling, here’s The Shortlist of what I can’t live without; in teaching and in life, so I don't burnout.

1/ My Car.

I currently reside in another state, driving an hour and a half each way. Without a reliable vehicle I can’t teach my kids every day. Though as the cost of gas increases, the drive seems more grueling each week =)

2/ Coffee

I have two coffee pots and a French press at home, one in my classroom, and I am a frequent patron at Starbucks. I always order my coffee as strong as I can get it and always extra hot.

3/ SanDisk Pink Flash Drive

The 8GB piece of plastic is my professional lifeline. All my lesson plans, resources, handouts, Hopkins work, etc is on that jump drive. I constantly check to make sure I have it, without it I would be loss.

4/ The Copy Machine.

5/ Cupcakes (Red Velvet, Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Caramel…..) I love to bake and decorate them. When I am feeling really nice, I bake them for my kids.

6/ My DVR.

I can catch up on any and all TV shows, movies, news reports I can’t watch live. Plus……..I can fast forward through all commercials!


7/ The 6th Grade Reading Team.

We are all very different. But we have found a rhythm and flow this school year. Just the volume of lessons and resources we have collaborated on and shared with each other has made the high achievement of our students possible.

8/ My Laptop.

9/ Campbell’s Soup-at-Hand.

I never seem to have time to sit down and eat lunch. Soup-at-Hand is so quick and easy, and I can stockpile them in my closet.

10/ Passing PRAXIS II scores!

11/ Books.

I absolutely love reading. There is something so magical about reading an amazing novel. I still remember the first time I read Pride and Prejudice. Each time I read that book I fall in love with Mr. Darcy all over again……….it’s those experiences with reading that I want to pass on to my kids.

12/ My kids.

Without my kids I don’t know how I could survive. My students drive me crazy, cause me numerous frustrations, but in the end they amaze me with their capacity for learning, and I wouldn’t have them any other way.

To Read Full Article: http://k6educators.about.com/cs/helpforteachers/a/avoidburnout.htm

Unsatisfactory Teachers or Saving Money?

This month, The Baltimore Sun published a front-page article concerning the number of city schools teachers that received unsatisfactory ratings on their mid-year evaluations. The cause for this spike in unsatisfactory ratings, in a city where the majority (around 60% of teachers) were rated proficient last year, is up for debate and sheds light on the issues of a new progressive contract in a depressed economy. With mistrust from teachers and pressure on city and school administrations to increase student achievement, performance improvement plans or PIPs have angered teachers and called into question the motivation of rating a teacher unsatisfactory.

Without a doubt, the historic ways that teachers have been evaluated is outdated and possibly ineffective. Baltimore City has taken the bold step of approving a new contract that rewards teachers monetarily for being highly effective academic leaders in their classrooms and schools. The distrust that existed prior to the contract’s approval is surfacing again though. Are more teachers unsatisfactory to save money or have the standards been raised? Although many teachers regard PIPs as negative or precursors to termination, they can help struggling teachers receive supports, which theoretically increases all teachers’ effectiveness.

In the end, Baltimore City Public Schools is in the business of doing what is best for our children. By rewarding good teaching, all teachers will aspire to be proficient in their craft. Unfortunately, in some cases the label of having a PIP has spurred a conversation that is not focused on the central point of the issue, which is helping all of Baltimore’s children receive the best possible education we can provide them.