Not-the-Notes Blog 1 March 2017

Something happened this evening preventing the live broadcast of Lowell's School Committee Meeting for March 1. Until the taped meeting materializes, there won't be any notes about what transpired; however, this doesn't mean there isn't anything to think about.Found in the Permissions to Enter, are 4 requests totaling $882,470. All of these requests are expenditures from the Special Education Tuition account and are for Out of District (OOD) costs to agencies servicing student Individual Education Plans (IEPs).When the services necessary to provide a free and adequate education for a student cannot be met within the local school district, they must be contracted out. It is the legal responsibility of the school district to ensure that all students have access to the educational services that they need, and if the services cannot be provided from within, the district must provide those services through an agency that can. No one gets turned away because educational needs are challenging.All of the recent talk about vouchers and funding and such got me thinking about this. With the implementation of a voucher, or "school choice" program, would there be a requirement for all school settings (public, charter, private/religious) to equitably accept students regardless of special education need?Here's how that is playing out right now in Lowell. Students receiving services are counted as Students with Disabilities on DESE's student profile for Lowell Public School District. This number is reported at 16% (data from 2016-17). There are several educational environments for special education service delivery as shown in the following graphic. This data, the most recent on DESE's Lowell Public Schools profile site, is from 2015 and is the most recent reported on DESE's site. The data includes children aged 6-21 with IEPs. In thinking about what might happen should a voucher program become reality, I took a look at what currently occurs with traditional public schools and charter schools. Charter Schools should reflect a similar demographic to the local public school district. In principle, sometimes charter schools do, but sometimes they do not.In Lowell, the Community Charter School reports 15.5% of enrolled students have disabilities, yet the Collegiate Charter School reports 11.6% (both 2016-17 data, same timeframe as reported for LPSD above).Using the most recent data available for educational environments (2015), however, reveals that sometimes digging deeper into data can be interesting. Take a look at the data specifying educational environment, especially those environments that require specialized intervention and services, such as Out of District placements.Neither of the two charter schools have special education students needing either substantially separate services or separate schools/facilities/homebound-hospital placements?So as the proponents of a voucher, or "choice" system continue to push their agenda forward, I'll be watching to see if those hollering about choice for all families and students really mean all. Or do they mean just those students with less challenging needs. 

It Doesn't End with Vouchers

If you don't know about H.R. 610, here is a link to the text and the bill's progress. I urge you to follow it and, if you feel strongly about it, respond to it. While my Congressional Representative is not a member of the House Committee currently reviewing this legislation, I want her to know exactly how this bill will impact our Local Education Agency (LEA).A tacked on provision in this legislation can be found at the very end: dismantling (my word) of the No Hungry Kids Act. Under the No Hungry Kids Act, fruit and vegetable offerings increased and low- and non-fat milk was offered. Those requirements would be removed. Additionally, the proposal in HR610 would eliminate monitoring school lunch/breakfast choices for sodium, trans fats and saturated fats.Why does this matter? Childhood and adult obesity continues to be a factor in health and well-being. In school food programs students are exposed to healthier eating options. If you are unfamiliar with the effects of less healthy food choices, read Michael Pollan or Mark Bittman or Jamie Oliver. If you want to see the results of eating high-sodium, high-fat and out of balance carbs, see the film Supersize Me.Students who receive school lunches in high poverty (economically disadvantaged - to use MA DESE's new terminology) currently have more healthy choices. Unbelievably, HR610 proposes to change that by eliminating the requirements for low sodium, low fat and fresh fruit/vegetable choices.To what purpose?  The cynic in me wonders what giant food supplier or lobby is balking at the "expense" of providing students with healthy breakfasts and lunches.Keeping school food service as a healthy eating opportunity gives me yet another reason to stay on top of HR610.

A Non-Knitter Knitting

Somewhere back in my past, someone in my family - possibly my Grandmother - showed me how to knit and purl.  And I'm pretty good with that as far as it goes. For the rest, I turn to Youtube videos. My grip on knitting skills is pretty tenuous, but I can make a mean scarf, a basic hat, and once I even made a pair of mittens.So when the Womens' march linked to published directions for signature Pussy Hats, well the pattern seemed like something I could handle, so I decided to give it a try. It would have been a lot easier had I not waited until the last possible moment to try to find pink yarn. I've learned that using a different yarn weight is not an easy change to make. However, I got some stellar advice from a local yarn shop, an easier pattern (!), and a set of circular needles. Love those circular needles.Working with the much more bulky yarn that I was able to procure, produced a first hat that could have fit two heads. Despite having many students look at me over my career as if I had two heads, I find I do not. I have one. So, 3 days before the Boston March, I ripped the hat apart and re-rolled the yarn into a ball.Attempt Number 2: the original Pussy Hat pattern. This was the pattern that I originally saw on the Interwebs and thought I could handle. Except the yarn was more bulky, the needles I had were 1 size too large, and I needed to do this quickly. Sure, all the elements of success were right there, weren't they?All of which is to say, when you see me on Saturday - if you see me in what I hope will be a sea of pink solidarity - my Pussy Hat will be quite flawed, just like I myself am. I will be wearing it proudly, however, because I did it. I finished it, and I learned from it. Despite the wrong turns I took some action.Which seems like a metaphor for the next 4 years.

Finding Joy

For Christmas, my Mother (see Mom, I can use the preferred nomenclature!) gifted me with The Book of Joy. The book, a record of a 2015 meet-up between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, is a wonderful chronicle of a week-long conversation between these two as they attempt to answer the question "How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering?"Really, finding that "joy" is a challenge for many of us. There's a bit of fatalism in this. We cannot always control our universe and for those of us with the control-freak gene, that causes conflict.

...Anguish and sadness in many ways are things that you cannot control. They happen.

And then, there was this

There are going to be frustrations in life. The question is not: How do I escape? It is: How can I use this as something positive?

I've thought of these words often over the past 24 hours. So much of what I trusted in, believed in, thought of as givens, has been turned on its head. For me, there is little I can control so the question really does become, how can I use this as something positive?Last Sunday, the actress Meryl Streep used her time on the microphone at the Golden Globes to do just that. Like Ms. Streep, one of the most pivotal, unforgettable moments of the past Presidential campaign was the sight of Candidate Trump mocking a disabled reporter. It shocked and angered me. And was followed by a seemingly never-ending barrage of events, each one more concerning than the next. And yet, the Candidate has become the President-elect and will shortly be installed in office.Can those of us who are disheartened by this escape? I don't believe we can, nor do I believe we should. Because if we don't stand for what we believe in - whether it is health care or education or treatment of our fellow citizens who are less fortunate and who struggle - we have lost the moment for change.We can, however, reach for positivity. We can stand through protest, we can stand by reaching out to disenfranchised and fearful. We can empower our lawmakers to also stand firm by contacting them when there is an important policy vote. We can let them know we are watching.We can rise to the challenges ahead of us. What positivity can be made from all of this?

Square Peg, Round Hole

Huffington Post published a blog entry by Gay Groover Christmus recently that resonated with me as a retired educator who taught pre-NCLB. The article, "4 Things Worse Than Not Learning to Read in Kindergarten" is well worth the read time for anyone wondering about the current state of education policy, and I would encourage you to do so.Think about the absurd notion that every child leaving Kindergarten must be able to read at a particular, and I would call it arbitrary, level. And if the child does not, there is a "problem" that needs to be addressed immediately.If your family is like mine, you can recall some family member who disliked and/or struggled with reading throughout K-12 schooling, yet, in adulthood achieved career and academic success. What would have happened had that family member had to endure the current state of early childhood "no exceptions" education?I believe each child is different and comes to any academic task with different background, different motivation, different readiness levels. Yet, here we are in the 21st century attempting to industrialize and mechanize reading (and math and writing) so children don't "fall behind". Fall behind what? If a child doesn't read F&P Level C by the end of Kindergarten, does that really mean the child needs to be labeled as academically failing for the next 12 years and beyond? I say no.The collective and public "we" has a lack of trust in educators' judgement and our public schools that didn't exist when I started my career. Political expedience is reversing the narrative that our schools provide excellence in education for all students to a mantra-like chant of  a "failing" public education system (a post or two for another time, perhaps).To me, this change in mindset which morphed over my career as an educator and my days as a parent of a school-aged child is most distressing. The narrative of failure and fear of failing to "effectively" educate students - even when the educational demands are inappropriate - is manufactured by ed-reformers with an obvious agenda.  Children, particularly early education students, are suffering for it. They are being taught academics before they are ready to retain and use them; we are forcing a square peg into a round hole.What happens to those children when they are forced to perform academically before they are  ready and prepared to acquire academic skills like reading? Resentment, frustration, aversion to learning, and a missed opportunity to foster a love for the act of reading (or math, or writing) and discovering literature as that child matures. What learning is left to the side because there is no time to explore?Yes, of course, there are some children who are ready to read as kindergarten students, and a skilled educator not only recognizes that readiness, but designs instruction to meet that child's needs. Should a child need more support, or when there is a learning challenge, trust that the same educator will seek out solutions and work with parents to ensure that child receives that support that is needed.What Ms. Christmus' article reminds us is that unrealistic expectations and demands really should have no place in a child's education.

And Now.... In-Your-Face Prejudice

Within the past week, our United Teachers of Lowell organized and hosted a FirstBook "Books on Wheels" event where over 2000 students and their families received free books. As we sorted and organized 40,000+ books, we heard about a fire in a near-by Lawrence school, the Bruce School, and the impact of the loss on students, teachers and classrooms. What could we do to help? Hearing that the destruction impacted 7th and 8th grade classrooms, we set aside over 500 books from our event to donate to the Bruce School. The books were selected by Lowell middle-school teachers working to unpack pallets, boxed up by students and educators who were volunteering at our event, and picked up on Saturday - our event's distribution day - by the Principal of the Bruce School and the Lawrence Schools COO. One would think this would be a feel-good moment. Not so fast.We sent a press release (link here) to the Lawrence Eagle Tribune and other news outlets in the Merrimack Valley. However, the report in the Lawrence Eagle Tribune was not accurate  (I refer to paragraph 3) and stated that all the donated books were in Spanish. This is simply untrue.As a co-chair of the event, our concern in Lowell was that the diversity of the donated materials from FirstBook (and the Disney Publishing house) would not be reflective of our LOWELL community, and as a Lowell community, we raised funds to supplement the FirstBook truck with many linguistic and culturally diverse books. Those supplemental books, meant for our Lowell families, were not included in the donation to Bruce School.And so, with inaccurate reporting, the caller to the United Teachers of Lowell based her outburst on misinformation.  Dear Anonymous Caller to the UTL Office,I regret that I was not there to take your phone call. In what can only be characterized as boorish and rude behavior, I understand you are angry and upset that the United Teachers of Lowell donated books to the Bruce School. You seem to be upset that "we" shouldn't be giving Spanish language books to "those people". In fact, how dare we do so?As I understand it, your objections seem to be focused on the linguistic quality of the books because they were not "American". Madam, I am not sure which language you consider "American" as most of us are immigrants to this continent, unless you intend for everyone to learn and speak the language of indigenous people.You are, of course, aware that America is a very large land area which includes countries in both Northern and Southern hemispheres. Just considering the North American continent would encompass at least two other languages, including a very large country to our south where the citizens speak the language you object to, Spanish.As an acquaintance of mine said to me, recent political posturing appears to have given people a microphone to spout hate and ugliness. So let me be perfectly clear that I do understand the unstated purpose for your telephone call. Racism and intolerance.Regardless of what the language make up of the donated books, you have boldly allowed your prejudices and bias to reach the point at which you feel free to blast away at an act of generosity from one organization to another without regard to tolerance of differences. Your ignorance is on display.Unfortunately, the climate of tolerance in our country is being challenged, and an atmosphere of intolerance may become more accepted, even in progressive states such as Massachusetts.This cannot stand. Your comments were out of line, hateful and intolerant of our communities. 

The $100,000 Question

Massachusetts, one of the highest regarded public education systems world-wide, is embroiled in a ballot initiative, Question 2.  Question 2 proponents want to raise the current cap on charter schools to include 12 new charter school each year. Opponents - and full disclosure, I land in that category for a number of reasons - want to keep charter schools capped at current levels.One would think that the state governing boards making decisions about which charter schools to approve and how many might try to maintain neutrality in such a debate. But here in Massachusetts, one would be wrong.Paul Sagan, the appointed Chair of the Commonwealth Board of Education (by Governor Baker who is an advocate for charter schools and lifting the cap) is one of those who gives thumbs-up or thumbs-down to charter schools in Massachusetts. Paul Sagan, it was recently revealed, donated $100,000 of his own money toward the campaign tasked with tasked with getting Massachusetts voters to vote Yes on 2. Does that seem wrong to anyone else?Mr. Sagan, who sits on a number of Boards of Directors, used to serve as an executive in a company called Akamai. Mr. Sagan, it was revealed yesterday, also deeded over some of his stock to a family fund supporting charter schools.How, I ask you, is this allowed to stand? Why is there not more outcry for Mr. Sagan to resign from the Board of Education?Mr. Sagan's boss, Governor Baker, apparently thinks this is a big "nothingburger". Yes, that is indeed the terminology Mr. Baker used to describe these ethically questionable donations when asked about it. Nothing to see here, move along.Even if one were to swallow the spin that Mr. Sagan's monetary support for lifting the cap on charter schools is perfectly allowable, there is an aura of cronyism here. Instead, of neutrality and impartiality when making decisions about charter school approval, it appears that the "fix" is in.Political appointees are certainly well within their right to donate and support whatever makes them politically happy. However, when your appointed position on a very high-level board making decisions about how many and which charter applications receive approvals will be impacted by whether or not a ballot initiative passes, that is not a "nothingburger".That is the real deal, and a raw one at that.

Follow the money

With the election about 8 weeks away, there's a lot of available "information", and I use that term lightly, about Ballot Question 2 (Balletopedia website for detailed text and Pro/Con Arguments). For anyone who may have missed it, Ballot Question 2 favors lifting the current cap on charter schools allowing up to an additional 12 new charter schools each year.I was having a discussion about this with a family member from a different state who pointed out that the "No On 2" people are not making their case strongly enough. The advertising on the "Yes" or lift-the-cap side is much slicker and more abundant. I don't think that's something that can be denied what with the MILLIONS of dollars being poured into innocuous sounding Question 2 proponent groups - groups with names like Great Schools Massachusetts, Families for Excellent Schools, and Democrats for Education Reform (DFER).The names of these groups are engineered to lull voters into thinking these groups are something they are not, because who in their right mind would not want a GREAT school in Massachusetts; which family members would want their child in an EXCELLENT school?  In reality, thanks to diligent and tireless reporting - not from the fourth estate, but from ordinary citizens who have sensed such groups had something more than greatness and excellence in mind, one finds that the funding behind those slick and prolific ads urging voters to vote "YES" on Question 2 more than a bit misleading.Here are three links to recent stories that all voters should read before deciding how to vote.

• Maurice Cunningham's "The Hidden Money Behind Great Schools: Strategic Grant Partners",
• Jonathan Pelton's "Charter School Industry Targets Massachusetts",
• Boston Globe "Donors Behind Charter Push Keep to Shadows").

Ask yourself, what is the return on investment that will make shelling out thousands or millions of dollars towards lifting the charter school cap worthwhile for out-of-state investors and hedge fund managers? That is the $18 million dollar question.

First Days

It is back-to-school time here in the City in which I taught for nearly 30 years. You can sense the anticipation in the  breezes that flow down the Merrimack. There is  an almost unidentifiable change to the air. We are changing seasons; we are changing routines.I loved the first day of school when I was teaching. Make no mistake about it, those first days - and oftentimes weeks - are exhausting as teachers and their new students work to find common ground and to build a community. The first day, the day when everyone wears a little vulnerability in anticipation of new things, the first day is special. And for every teacher who starts rebuilding a new community of learners today, I wish you the best.My mind floods with the memories of some of those wonderfully special students who made the 30 first days that I was privileged to be part of special. So many unique personalities! You kids have enriched my life in ways I could never have imagined.In 1990, I was returning to the classroom after a summer of health crises. I remember the exhaustion that year was not from teaching, but from treatments. Dragging my sorry self into a classroom filled with second graders was not only teacher-exhausting, it was physically and mentally exhausting. Yet every single morning, one of my bubbly, precious second graders, Anita, would throw her arms into the air and tell me "Mrs. Bisson, you look mahvelous today!" Now I know the reality was, I didn't look even close to passable most days. Some mornings, Anita's greeting was the one thing that kept me moving forward. A few years later, this special girl lost her own battle with cancer - and took a piece of my heart with her to heaven.All of "my" kids whether you are grown with your own children or still in the middle of schooling, I am grateful to every single one of you. You challenged me to do better, to figure it out, and yet, every day you taught me something about making the most of our time here in our classroom community and on this earth. All those times when you thought I was teaching you, you were really teaching me.Students are meeting their teachers once again today. May you all have a year filled with precious moments and memory-making. Cherish each moment as you build a lifetime of memories.

LFF 2016: The View From Here

Fans of music and festivals know to keep the last weekend of July free for the Lowell Folk Festival. This year marked the 30th year for this stellar event and, for me, it was one of the best in recent memory. The weather was outstanding and the performances a treat. Did I mention the food?  If you've missed this annual free (!) festival, block out the last weekend in July on next year's calendar. You won't be disappointed.The diversity of Lowell is always a driving theme to the folk festival. Where else could you couple Cape Breton fiddling with rock-a-billy and Inuit throat singing? So many of Lowell's great photographers are out and about capturing the crowds and music and excitement - I have nothing to add to that.  But I do have a bit of another perspective on the folk festival, here's my Walking Lowell homage to this year's festival. Click the image below to go to the video.

A Technology Dilemma

Sometimes what appears to be an inventive solution to a time-consuming problem slips into place without the thorough scrutiny that it needs.  Enter Exhibit 1: ClassDojo.ClassDojo is an application which, according to the application website, "connects teachers with parents and students to build amazing classroom communities." Who wouldn't want to do that? As an educator, I know that the success of my students was always connected to open dialog and understanding between teacher, student, and home. This could be an effective and time-efficient way to do so.ClassDojo is free for teachers and seems to be cross-platform and useable on several devices. It allows a teacher to give a virtual high-five to students for a number of categories, allows for behavior monitoring and feedback to parents who also sign up, and allows students to post work to the a portfolio. All of this sounds like a dream come true to those of us who kept records in folders and stick-on notes. The skeptic in me knows there is no such thing as a free lunch and wants to know how the company is going to monetize this.However, in this article from the New York Times, there is much to consider when thinking about privacy of student data. In addition to concerns about using the program in a way that publicly shames a student for behavior missteps, there is in my opinion, a larger issue. Where is the students' data being shared and with whom? Do school districts have a clear policy for individual data being collected and then stored in the cloud or other internet based technology.

ClassDojo does not seek explicit parental consent for teachers to log detailed information about a child’s conduct. Although the app’s terms of service state that teachers who sign up guarantee that their schools have authorized them to do so, many teachers can download ClassDojo, and other free apps, without vetting by school supervisors.

Technology most certainly has a place in education; but parents first and foremost should know how the data being collected about their child is being used and/or shared. In order to opt-out of ClassDojo, a parent must initiate the process through email to the classroom teacher or the company.Although one of ClassDojo's co-founders has stated that the company will not sell, lease or share students' individual information to third parties, one of the potential revenue streams for ClassDojo is a (pay) service detailing behavior analyses for parents. The company may also use individual student data to customize advertisements for students based on interests and surveys. Think Facebook-style targeted click ads directed at students.Parents, administrators and educators are rightly divided on using these types of programs and the increasing collection of data which then is stored somewhere in the internet. Data collection and storage is an issue that should concern everyone. What happens to the large amounts of data being collected in schools from test scores, surveys, and teacher evaluations. Can the collected data be corrected if it incorrect? Can it be expunged?The answer to how to ensure student data in particular is kept private and secure is not one for which there will be a simple solution, but it is one issue we should all keep in mind as data collection and storage are increasingly reliant on internet and cloud storage.   

Teaching Conflict Resolutions Through Pretzel

Put yourself back in elementary school and imagine your reaction to a classmate calling you a name or hurting your feelings through action or word. Would you speak up or would you allow that hurt to fester and grow into something more significant? Would you feel listened to? And if you caused the hurt would you recognize it as such?In our adult conversation, do we listen - really listen - to each other even when the conversation is difficult? I am not so sure any more. Maybe what we adults could use is a refresher course in conflict resolution.Ruth Sidney Charmey, author of Teaching Children to Care and a co-founder of the Northeast Foundation for Children invented a powerful activity for children named "Pretzel" (click on the link to find out how the activity was implemented) as a way to teach children conflict resolution and empathy.My good friend and colleague, Paula Gendron, introduced me to Pretzel as a means to teach children awareness of others. Although from year to year it morphed into other small treats (Skittle, Sticker) according to the allergy concerns in the classroom, the premise always remained the same: we all need to feel safe in our classroom community in order to do our best work. In my classrooms, we used this activity almost weekly to heighten awareness and sensitivity  in the classroom community.Two of the rules or norms for Pretzel would be applicable to all of us.  The first one would seem fairly easy: find something positive to say and compliment someone.  It's easy to see negativity, and that can wear anyone down.  I believe that when I look for something positive to say, no matter how seemingly insignificant, it can change not only my mindset, but another's as well. For my former students, it was a requirement that there be something positive noticed and complimented whenever we participated in Pretzel.The second norm is a bit harder to do whether you are a child or an adult. When someone offers a criticism, the listener needs to really listen without interjecting commentary or excuses. It is important for the listener to remember that the words are expressing how someone perceives a situation.Listening without becoming defensive or commenting defensively is very hard whether or not you are 8 or 18 or 48 or 108. However, listening to another viewpoint or version of events along with an awareness and acceptance of how someone feels is an essential component to developing empathy. When an 8-year-old hears a classmate say that walking away from one friend to play with another caused hurt feelings, the first reaction is denial. We need to notice more when words and actions might cause another person hurt. We need to be more empathetic.Grownups need to practice conflict resolution now more than ever. We are bombarded daily with bully talk and hate speech that inflames and does not resolve anything. We need to accept that there may be more than one way to perceive a situation, listen no matter how difficult to hear, and develop our adult empathy. And maybe once we adults practice the skills of conflict resolution, we'll have less conflict to resolve. 

What Defines A "Good" School?

Recently, the Boston Globe published a letter from Joy Robinson-Lynch positing that if Boston needs more available spots in classical education schools (like Boston Latin), the school department might consider creating them.  After all, Boston Public Schools certainly know how to run a successful classical education institution - they've had years to practice and refine that.Framing that thought in terms of Lowell's local school issues, I wonder if in Lowell the same thought should apply. Looking at the Wait Lists for our Lowell Public Schools also indicate that some schools in Lowell are more sought after than others. If there is an abundance of students waiting to attend a middle school like the Daley Middle School, shouldn't there be some thought into why that one school is in high demand? What is it that makes the Daley so desirable? Is the the leadership at the school? The culture? The academics? The staff?  Or is it something else?I taught for 5 years at the Cardinal O'Connell School when it was a Pre-K to Grade 4 elementary school. As an older school, the building itself had some charming quirks, but it also had a great leadership team and a caring faculty who, because of the small size of the school, really knew each and every student. What it didn't have was a cafeteria.  Sometimes when a family left for the (new-at-the-time) Lincoln School, that would be the reason given for transferring. Fortunately, not everyone valued separate lunch space as a deciding factor in a child's educational success.Is it just a perception or is there something tangibly identifiable that sets apart the schools perceived to be desirable? That's something that may be explored further under a new assessment model being considered by a consortium of school districts from across Massachusetts. Measuring positivity in a school's culture may be more difficult to quantify, but it is equally important to the overall picture of whether or not a school is a success. What are those factors that families value that fall outside of numbers and test scores?Are we ready to use more measures to define good schools? I hope so!  

Slammed

The New York Times carried an interesting story about Kansas conservatives and the effort to demonize education even further through linguistics. The article "Public Schools? To Kansas Conservatives They're 'Government' Schools", really confused me for a bit. Don't most schools - unless we're talking about private schools, have some government oversight and funding?As it turns out, Kansas conservatives, and I would suppose others throughout the United States who are like-minded, do have a deeper purpose for referencing schools as "government" schools.In Kansas, the legislature and the court system have been engaged in a battle royale over funding inequities. There is little to no desire to raise taxes to support schools; in fact, the current governor is quite proud of budget cuts which resulted in income tax cuts. Under a court-threat to close the schools due to funding inequities, the Kansas legislature seems to have come up with a way to satisfy the courts for the time-being, but the ill-will generated in this bloodbath isn't over.Referring to public schools as "government schools" in Kansas is not simply a matter of linguistic semantics. No, it is rebranding a public institution to create negative reactions which, in the final accounting, could very well result in less public funding and less support for the public school system.But the question I had when I first heard the term "government" schools is this:  If the goal is to rid a municipality, a state, or a country of publicly supported and funded schools, then which institutions will be immune?Here in Lowell many parochial schools receive some support from Title I. Some parochial school students are transported to their school-of-choice via public school bus.  Government funding? I think so. Charter Schools also receive public funding in the per-pupil assessment coming from the City.  And in parts of the United States, some homeschooled students participate in extracurricular activities or school sports funded through... public funding.  Are all of these school "government" schools too?I believe the purposeful substitution of the term "government" for "public" leaves an intentionally negative connotation, one that is meant to lessen financial support for schools that serve everyone. It is meant to paint hard-working educators as slackers with hands out. It is meant to further the notion that our public school system is irreparably broken and only serves those who are too lazy to go elsewhere.And what exactly would be the alternative to a "government" school?  How about a corporately run school? Do you know of any of those? It's pretty clear that the issue is not just that the government is spending money, it also is who controls where that money is spent. The people making the funding decisions couldn't possibly want control of education funding for their own personal benefit could they?To me, what is happening in Kansas bears a close watch because it could happen anywhere. Even here in Massachusetts. 

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy....

Baton Rouge. Minneapolis. Dallas.If there is any doubt that this is a messed up world, the last 2 days should clear that up. It is undeniable that we live at a crossroads of how we, all of us, mean to treat each other.My childhood straddled the Civil Rights movement. In 1963 when Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the of the Lincoln Memorial, I was 11 years old. That speech, made 53 years ago in August, spoke of the "promissory note to which every American was to fall heir".  I reread Dr. King's speech today and would suggest you do so too. Many of those same injustices and struggles continue to confront us now.I lived in a world of privilege, a white, middle-class upbringing in middle America. I never worried about what fate my father or brother or husband or son might meet with doing ordinary errands. People don't, as a rule, lock their car doors when I walk nearby, nor does the conversation stop when I enter a store. So as far as understanding what it means to beof color and living in the United States, I cannot possibly understand the depth of hurt and resentment and anger. But I can do something.Whether someone looks the same or different from me, I can look that person in the eyeand smile. I can nod and say hello. I can be more mindful of the subtle speech that telegraphs cultural and racial differences and take care to object to generalities. I can stand strongly against those politicians who would use the language of intolerance to garner votes.We are at a clear crossroads and it is time for some introspection into the kind of world we want to live in. 

Detroit's Cautionary Tale

Yesterday's New York Times carried the story of America's failure to educate students. Detroit's schools are a glimpse into an education future that should never be allowed to happen.When educators warn about creating a two-tier or caste system of schools, the glaring example of this has to be Detroit's schools. Detroit has created education choice, but the rush to something other than the public school system - schools that accept all comers  - has come with a steep cost to families and students left trying to find a good academic fit.  Tales of schools attempting to lure students from one school to another include enticements such as raffle tickets, bicycles, and cash.The history behind the current state of education in Detroit is, of course, based in the corporate tradition of making money.

To throw the competition wide open, Michigan allowed an unusually large number of institutions, more than any other state, to create charters: public school districts, community colleges and universities. It gave those institutions a financial incentive: a 3 percent share of the dollars that go to the charter schools. And only they — not the governor, not the state commissioner or board of education — could shut down failing schools.

Just as marketers and sales people entice customers with "delighters", schools that can offer no improvement over another, are using the same corporate-based incentives to lure students from one school to another. Why? Because the Detroit's school-age population cannot support the number of charts operating in the City.Think about that for one moment. Michigan allows a large group of institutions to create charter schools, there is an additional financial incentive above and beyond the per pupil costs, and the decision to close a failing charter is not made by a state board of education, it's made by the charter institution. Is it any wonder that 80 percent of charter schools in Michigan are run by for-profit corporations?The story of Detroit's schools, the failures of state and local governments and elected representatives to protect and provide for the education of all children, the blatant abuses by higher academia and corporations. This is a cautionary tale for all of us.Read Kate Zernike's entire piece in the June 28 New York Times here.   

Step Therapy Reality Check

WBZ's I-Team recently broadcast a story of a 22-year-old college student's experience with medical insurance that should be a cautionary tale for all. Reading Eitan Kling-Levine's story and the subsequent price he paid with his personal health should shock you.And in case you think this would never happen to you, let me share a personal experience with "step therapy", albeit one with lesser consequences and a happier ending.Several years ago, I was diagnosed with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Not only a relational inconvenience as the snoring kept my partner awake, it was a source of concern as I was continually exhausted from interrupted sleep. The standard protocol for this would be a CPAP, something I had familiarity with as my Dad had COPD and had attempted to use one.Now I, the patient, know myself fairly well and, as an extremely light sleeper on a "good" day, I knew the noise of the CPAP would keep me awake as much as the sleep apnea did. And then there are the usual side-effects. So I did quite a bit of research and discovered that in my case a dental device called a mandibular advancement device (MAD), fashioned by a dentist with sleep apnea expertise, would be a more effective solution. And, to my great amazement, a renowned expert in this therapy had a practice in Worcester, MA - 40 minutes away. So I set about getting approvals and referrals.My primary care doctor and the neurologist in that network, all submitted their paperwork. Everything was proceeding smoothly until a pinhead at the insurance company intervened and rejected the referrals. As I had not "failed" with a CPAP  (a $2,000-$3,000 expense), I was not approved for the MAD device ($1,400). In other words, I was not allowed the use of a less costly, more appropriate therapy unless I stepped through the CPAP therapy and failed.  Does that make any sense?In the end, through the advocacy of a very skilled and persistent referral department in my health care provider's practice, the MAD device was eventually approved. It took over 6 months; that was 6 months of loss of sleep, anxiety over a load of paperwork and frustration that a solution to a health problem was put on hold by an insurance company.  It could have been worse as you learn from reading Eitan Kling-Levine's story.Step Therapy is bad for the health of people, good for the health of someone's bottom line. From what I can read, the Massachusetts bill correcting this insanity has been referred to committee.Hopefully that isn't "step therapy" for killing the measure. 

Get Ready Massachusetts

Make no mistake about it. The new and improved testing that is coming at Massachusetts schools starting next spring is a debacle in the making.Thanks to Tracy Novick for making some of the details more apparent to those interested in trying to stay informed about the new requirements. Read her latest post (link in previous sentence) and be prepared. Especially if you teach Grades 4 or 8.To say that I am stunned that DESE might want to ramp up the move to computer-driven assessments would be an understatement.  First of all, DESE just awarded the test contract to Measured Progress, the company responsible for MCAS 1.0.  As pointed out in Ms. Novick's post, this would be rather unremarkable except for the fact that Measured Progress' subcontractor is none other than Pearson. And Pearson is responsible for.... if you're answering PARCC Testing, you go to the head of the class.  And for bonus points, exactly which Commissioner of Education sits on the PARCC Consortium Board? That's right, Mitchell Chester. The Massachusetts Commissioner of Education can't possibly have any influence in selecting a test contractor with a subcontractor connection to the (rejected) PARCC test. That would be preposterous.For all tested grades, especially 3-8 (Grade 10 is still tied to MCAS as a graduation requirement), a newly developed test for the upcoming spring will be quite an interesting process. I know it was a long time ago, but when I took Educational Measurement classes, it was quite clear that test writing is not for dummies. Assessment items need to be tried out, revised, and normed. That takes time. MCAS 2.0 is scheduled for roll-out next Spring. To create test items, try them out, norm the test, print the test, and deliver the test to school districts in time for a Test Window of April 3 - May 26 (which, by the way, includes a school vacation week in the middle) seems like a mighty big mountain to climb. Unless of course, a portion of the test might have already been developed. As PARCC has.So why should Grade 4 and Grade 8 teachers be concerned here? As if the above might not be concern enough, Grades 4 and 8 are required to administer this yet-to-be developed test on computers. This spring, many sources reported on documented evidence that students score lower on computerized tests than they do on traditional paper-pencil versions of the same test (see WAPO link here).So to sum it up, our 4th and 8th grade students will take a yet-to-be developed high-stakes test using computers. The logistical demands for this are an unknown, the technology skill set is unknown, and the test items unwritten. What could possibly go wrong?To me, the whole business seems like a case study for wag the dog. In my darker moments, the target test groups, Grades 4 and 8, have been selected to tip schools into under-performing categories. Urban students who have less exposure to rich technology experiences are going to struggle with an online test and those test results will not reflect the students' knowledge of curriculum. The lower results will most likely tip Level 3 and Level 4 schools into lower performance categories which means.....If you muttered more state take-overs (and privatization), you just went to the head of the class.

Throw It Against The Wall

We have a working theory in our house: sometimes those outrageous, non-sensical things you hear about are actually not really meant to succeed.  Here is a case in point: a recent article in the New Republic (What Big Food Doesn't Want You To Know) and cross tweeted by Mark Bittman was published using the premise that large food producers are misusing public funds to pressure Congress to their advantage. What stunned me was that food board receiving funding for their very existence, had convinced Congress to exempt these same groups from the FOIA by including such language in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill. In other words, these groups, using government funds, would be able to operate in secrecy. Outrageous? I thought so.The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is not only a good thing, it is a necessary thing when there is a corporate culture of hiding information that might affect a person's well-being. As in Listeria outbreaks. Or E-coli. Or corporate mergers that make competition something that occurs in name only.So when the food industry groups want to make such groups exempt from the FOIA, my first reaction is "that can't be legal" followed by "that is outrageous". In other words, throw the idea against the wall and see if it sticks.  I hope this one does not.Now I have a personal story to tell here too. Once I had a student who had a severe illness which prevented her from physically attending school. As part of the student's IEP, I would allow my mathematics lessons to be videotaped; I would not have a problem doing so once the privacy of my other students was ensured. As part of the process, I was required to sign a permission document which the school department lawyer diligently drafted, however, when I read that document my jaw dropped. Why? Because buried in the language of giving permission to tape lessons - which I had sort of assumed meant I wasn't going to pursue copyright - was language stating that I would give up all of my collective bargaining rights.Wait. What? Do away with all of those collective bargaining rights while giving permission to record a lesson? I don't think so - I liked the protections my union negotiated contract afforded me. Things like not being fired at will. Or a working environment that was reasonable. In the end, after I refused to sign a document that required such a thing, and the school department's lawyer revised the document.There's something dishonorable about both of these two instances, isn't there? And without paying close attention, most of the time, such occurrences escape public notice.  Throw it against the wall and see if a) anyone is paying attention and b) what one can get away with. 

The Discomfort of New Places

In theory, I enjoy the idea of travel. In reality, I miss my "stuff". And knowing precisely where everything is.There is nothing like 24 hours in airports and planes and a 6-hour time zone change to turn even the most Pollyanna-ish of us into raging maniacs of intolerance for humanity. And that is especially true if you have to connect to anyplace through LAX.But the physical - and mental - discomfort of getting to and from a new place is not where the value of travel can be found. The value of travel, for me, is found in a new sense of understanding.Speaking for myself, as much as I want to try to fit in - to have that truly locally inspired experience - it will be quite easy to spot me as a visitor.  While it can be exhilarating to break away from the familiar, it is disconcerting. Learning to negotiate my environment when it is unfamiliar has a rather steep learning curve fraught with opportunities to look idiotic. Try asking for postage in French. Or coffee in London ("you takin'?") .Whether it is learning that my northeastern compulsion to life's pace, or aggressive driving, or whatever it is in my daily life that drives me, building more understanding of someone or something different for me comes from travel. This time around I learned that frozen concoctions are indeed delicious breakfast foods. And pineapple juice and champagne do indeed go together.So along with those magnificent views, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, I hope I've learned, absorbed, and maybe take a bit of understanding what once was unfamiliar back with me.