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.

The Challenge for Diversity

There is a conflict of interest currently occurring in America. In a country where dreams are supposed to come true, every person does not always have the same access to their dreams. Whether it is gender, race, or socioeconomic status, many Americans have barriers that must be overcome in order to succeed. In order to combat this problem of a lack of fairness and increase the probability of reaching one’s dreams, the government has created laws like Affirmative Action. In reading about these laws, one can only ponder whether or not they have led to a rise in the craving for diversity by universities and companies. Don’t get me wrong, I am an advocate of diverse environments both in the collegial and professional settings. I am just concerned that a current Supreme Court case may halt some industries quest for diversity.

Fisher v. University of Texas, No. 11-345, a case brought up by a Caucasian student named Abigail Fischer who was denied admission to the University of Texas, is the case that threatens the future of diverse environments in this country. As teachers in a school system where the majority of the students served are minorities, we must remain knowledgeable about the possible obstacles that may rise as a result of this in the coming years. In the past, legislation required schools to consider race when selecting students for admission. This was put in place so that the institution would have both academic and racial diversity. The Grutter decision, however, addressed arguments against this fact by allowing states to take account of race in admissions as opposed to requiring them. At the present time, several states, including California and Michigan, banned the practice, and public universities in both states have seen a drop in minority admissions. If this Supreme Court case totally reverses the legislation that supports Affirmative Action, all of our students will be faced with even more challenges when trying to enter an institution of higher learning.

Click here to read the full article.

What Do We Really Value?

It's no secret that the facilities and learning environments in Baltimore City Public Schools are outdated and ineffective. Without adequate school buildings, resources, and technology our students will continue to fall behind their peers in other districts. Although inadequate facilities are one part in a multifaceted, deep-rooted issue, the results thereof continue to plague Baltimore City Public Schools and many inhabitants of this city.

Dr. Alonzo’s proposed plan is seeking $1.2 billion to conduct massive renovations, while Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is seeking a meager $300 million to fix the same problems. In her recent State of the City Address she spoke out against the CEO’s plan suggesting that it was both unreasonable and unrealistic, but how realistic is it to believe that without massive and radical change, Baltimore City students will even stand a chance when competing against students from other districts. Thinking back to her re-election campaign just a few months ago, one of the “Solutions for Baltimore” presented as apart of her political platform was Better Schools. Within this, Rawlings-Blake insisted that she was committed to both innovation in education as well as school construction. There is nothing innovative about the decrepit conditions of many city schools or the lack of resources therein.

Politics are a tricky game. While it sounds nice to say all the wonderful things one will and must do in Baltimore to continue to produce “results” in the public education system, the real challenge comes when it is time to take action; proposing $300 million dollars to complete $2.8 billion in needed repairs is laughable. Social theorist Harriet Martineau said it best: in Baltimore City our morals-the things we espouse to be good and right-do not align with our manners-our conduct, actions, and standards for behavior.

At what point do we stop playing politics, live up to all that we claim to value, and make critical decisions that will promote systemic change within our failing school system that will truly lead to innovation and student achievement?

The Baltimore Sun Article can be found here

Racing Toward Mediocrity

This article highlights a small issue that is emblematic of the general state of Baltimore public schools.  When hundreds of Maryland students came to Baltimore to compete in regional track championships, the only facility available was the Fifth Regiment Armory.  The drill hall in this building was intended for military exercises, not sprinters.  Every runner who was quoted in the article expressed great dissatisfaction with the facilities, citing some of their personal worst times on the aged, slippery floor of the armory.  The improvised track pales in comparison to elite facilities like the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex, one of the other facilities in the championship hosting rotation.

I would never argue that athletic facilities ought to be a higher priority for a school district (or a city) than education.  But there is no question that good athletic teams, and good athletic facilities to support them, engender a sense of pride in our schools that few things can.  Our students are not proud of their schools, and our decrepit facilities certainly contribute to this.  Though we need to stay focused on maintaining an excellent learning environment for our students, articles like this one point out that the failing physical state of our schools gets noticed by people other than our students.  If we want to B-More, we need to work to change this.

Who Determines Failure?

In a little over a week, the Chicago Board of Education will vote on the fates of ten schools that were identified as “failing.” One of these schools is Brian Piccolo Elementary School. Upon hearing of its potential closure and turnaround, 30 parents of students at the school organized a sit-in on Friday evening. One of these parents, Shronda Wilson, argues that "They have a new principal. They haven't given her a chance. She has come here from the beginning of the school year and done a tremendous job. They have good teachers here." The proposed closure did not involve the Local School Council and while the school community has proposed an alternative improvement plan, they say the Chicago Board of Education has failed to respond to it. The Chicago Board of Education has yet to respond to the sit-in at Piccolo Elementary.

With the recent announcement of school closures in Baltimore City, the reality for many students, parents, teachers, and communities is that they will need to find a new school for the next year. The recent events in Chicago Public Schools and other districts around the country shed light on the issue surrounding school closings and those deemed as “failing.” What measures are used to determine failure and ultimately, if the parents of the students believe in the school, can and should it affect the fate of the school?

The article can be found here.

School Closures and Warnings of More

This week, the Baltimore City School Board had its dreaded school closings meeting. At this meeting, the Board announced that Southside Academy High School would be closing at the end of the year, pending an official vote on March 27. Three middle school sections of K-8 schools—Moravia Park, Federal Hill Prep, and Steuart Hill Academy—will be closing at the end of the year, while their elementary counterparts will continue.

In comparison to Alonso’s first two years in office, this is a relatively small number of school closings. It is nevertheless a struggle for the students, families, and teachers in these four schools. While students and teachers are trying to find schools for the next year, they must also keep motivated through June. Neither families nor teachers had a warning that their schools were going to be shut down until after the meeting. I have heard that teachers were told the morning following the meeting while they were already in school. I applaud their strength for being able to teach after hearing that news, but fear for the students who will inevitably struggle to transition to new school cultures and schools that are much farther from home.

Arguably the most surprising news from this is that the district is planning to close dozens of schools next year. City Schools CEO Andres Alonso ominously warns, “It’s going to be radical next year.” I doubt that my school would be closed next year, but one can never be sure. I can’t help but think of the dozens of teachers and hundreds of families who didn’t know their schools were under consideration for closing until it was too late.

The full article, as published by the Baltimore Sun, is available here.

WHAT! No more “No Child Left Behind”

What do the following states have in common: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Well this week all of them received a waiver exempting them from some parts of the “No child left behind” act passed during the President Bush’s error. This Reuters article by Caren Bohan describes President Obama’s decision to give exemptions for the “No child left behind” act. Bohan states that with these exception schools will no longer have the dread of slapping a “label of "failure" on so many schools.” She also highlights some of President Obama’s reasons for giving the waivers such as letting “school and state officials pursue "higher, more honest standards" instead of following a one-size-fits-all template.”

As much as I disagree with how “No child left behind” evaluates schools, I believed it served the important role of shedding light on how badly the American school systems need reform. I view these exceptions as a way for the president to run away from fixing our school system. The aforementioned states now have to come up with their own stringent benchmarks for which to hold their schools systems accountable. I feel that some of the states will be more lenient than the federal government when schools fail to meet their mandates. The federal government was better able to create a universal (though flawed) system of evaluation. And it also created a pressure that made people uncomfortable and as a result pushed people to work harder. I am not sure that all states will give people the same kind of pressure.

Furthermore, by going the route of exemption rather than the route of create new guidelines to help the schools system, the issue of our failing schools system will get pushed further and further down on the governments long to-do list. I believe we should move to address the issues instead of differing them for later.

Learn more about the article at:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/09/us-obama-education-idUSTRE8182E720120209

It's Not All About the Benjamins?

In this week’s New York Times Sabrina Tavernise analyzes a study that concludes that “while the achievement gap between white and black students has narrowed significantly over the past few decades, the gap between rich and poor students has grown substantially during the same period.” 

            On the one hand these findings reflect the progress that our country has made regarding the problem of race.  I can imagine that for people who lived through Jim Crow and who struggled for liberty and justice during the Civil Rights Movement, this progress is to be applauded.  No, our country is not yet the example of racial harmony that that Dr. King envisioned it would be, but we have come a long way since people were not allowed to eat at restaurants simply because of their race. 

The study that Tavernise examines seems to indicate that income does more to determine educational success than does race.  She cites another study that asserts that parents with more income are more able to expose their children to places like museums than are parents with less income.  To fix education according to this line of thinking, now that we’ve slayed the Race Dragon, we need to kill the Income Monster too.

Nonetheless, that mechanical thinking is exactly what James J. Heckman, an economist at the University of Chicago, cautions against.  As he explains in Tavernise’s article, “ ‘The danger is we will revert back to the mindset of the war on poverty, when poverty was just a matter of income, and giving families more would improve the prospects of their children.  If people conclude that, it’s a mistake.’ ”  Heckman’s claim is an important but uncomfortable one: namely, that there is more to poverty than simply not having money.  Later Tavernise quotes Charles Murray, who works at the American Enterprise Institute, when he argues that “ ‘When the economy recovers, you’ll still see all these problems persisting for reasons that have nothing to do with money and everything to do with culture.’ ”  While I wish that Tavernise had allowed Murray to elaborate upon his understanding of “culture” and its contributions to the achievement gap, this thought, as stated, provides fodder for contentious debate.  If income is not the root cause of the achievement gap and if culture is deeply personal, does that mean that there is something fundamentally wrong or flawed about many Americans and that the only way to close the gap is to correct their ways of life?  What does that mean for the purposes of our jobs as teachers in Baltimore City?  Is the teacher a mechanic who has to give the broken car a new engine? 

Although I agree that narrowly defining income inequality as the source of the achievement gap risks oversimplification, adopting Heckman’s and Murray’s stance is a much messier, more complicated, and perhaps more judgmental approach and one that we – especially in Teach For America – likely do not like to or want to hear.  Are Heckman’s and Murray’s views the ugly truth, or are they just ugly?

To read more, check out http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/education/education-gap-grows-between-rich-and-poor-studies-show.html?_r=1&ref=education

Congrats Maryland! But Let’s Keep Up the Hard Work in Teaching Our Students Financial Literacy

I’ve got to say that I can’t wait until April 1^st. No, not because it’s April Fool’s Day or because it means the school year is almost ending – but because April is the official financial literacy month. I think financial literacy is so important that I’m going to start celebrating it a little early this year – in February.

In Baltimore, third quarter just started last week. This means that – for the first time – students from 1^st grade to 12^th grade are finally learning about personal finance in their social studies and government classes. It’s about time that students are learning this material in school, at a young age – so that they are prepared to make important financial decisions as they reach their early teens. This is especially important for students to plan for what they want to do after high school – whether it’s work or college.

This is a huge step for Maryland schools. In 2010, the State Board of Education adopted a state curriculum for personal financial literacy education, and required all school systems to implement a K-12 program of instruction by September 2011. Even more important, Maryland understood that it couldn’t stop with just standards and a curriculum – it won three grants to provide teachers professional development:

1. 
   
   $48,000 from PNC Bank to train teachers on delivering financial literacy instruction


2. 
   
   $25,000 from the Investment Company Institute Education Foundation to develop webinars on teaching savings and investing.


3. 
   
   $75,000 from the federal College Access Challenge Grant Program to support college financial literacy instruction.

The most exciting part is the federal College Access Challenge Grant. Since 2007, this program has provided states matching grants to support efforts to prepare more low-income students to enroll in and succeed in college. In 2010, the program was dramatically expanded when Congress decided to devote $750 million over five years under the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. This has allowed states like Maryland to win an award, which in turn, has led high-poverty cities like Baltimore to benefit.

This can have a powerful effect in Baltimore, where many students might profess the desire to go to college – but not know the costs and risks involved. The College Access Challenge Grant will train guidance counselors, and middle and high school teachers and administrators on how to teach about college loans, debt, federal student aid, and the FAFSA application for financial aid.

But all good things will eventually come to an end. These grants will soon run out, and I hope that teachers will be sufficiently prepared to teach one of the most important life lessons about financial planning. With April coming upon us, I urge the Maryland State Department of Education to continue its commitment to financial literacy, through teaching and assessment - and especially focus on how it will prepare students for their careers and college after high school.

To read more about how Maryland is implementing its personal financial literacy education, read here.