21 January 2021: The Gates Have Opened & Change is in the Air

Yesterday was a giant cathartic and emotional day for me as it must have been for many others. Watching the change of our country’s leadership, a transition that was fraught with previously unimagined chaos, filled my heart with many emotions.

One of the most surprising to me was the release I felt as a woman watching another woman, a woman of Black and South Asian descent, finally, FINALLY become Vice President of the United States.

For a woman who is approaching the eighth decade, it has been a long wait. One of my first adult work experiences was as an Administrative Assistant, a job title that, at the dawn of women attempting to break traditional career barriers in the late 1970s, was meant to be “more than” a secretary. Unfortunately, the title did not translate into much more than office help-mate. I still was required to get coffee, run errands and often referred to as my girl, as in “I’ll have my girl set up that meeting for next week.”

So when Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President yesterday, I expected it to mark a big, historic moment. What I did not expect was that after so many years of disappointment that in some very important quarters, women were not equal - and in many important ways still are not treated equally to men - I would be watching Kamala Harris’ swearing in through tears.

The importance the 2021 Presidential Inaugural ceremonies also brought to mind one of my fondest, most vivid and important memories of a nearly 30-year teaching career. After posting this on FaceBook yesterday, I’ve decided to include that memory here.

I'm thinking of the group of third grade students that were in my classroom back in 2008-2009. When President Obama was inaugurated my third graders and I turned on the classroom TV before the swearing in. As the new President took the Oath of Office, without any prompting, the whole class stood - every single one - raised their hands along with President Obama and repeated his part right along with him.

I will never forget how that spontaneity signalled what the first African American President meant to these multicultural and multi-lingusitic 8- and 9-year olds.

If ever there was a teachable moment, that moment when the children became the teacher was one.

There is a relation between the two: for my third grade students, seeing themselves reflected in Barack Obama when he became the 44th President of the United States is analogous to my witnessing Kamala Harris break that glass ceiling to become the 49th Vice President.

I know in my heart that there is much work to be done in order to make this country and our society a better one. The days ahead will be difficult. There will be resistance, but forging ahead is what we must do for our future generations. It is this work that must be undertaken. It is John Lewis’ “good trouble”; it is Lincoln’s listening to our better angels, it is the brilliant Amanda Gorman’s Hill We Climb.

Even if it takes 243 minutes, 243 hours, 243 weeks, or 243 years. The gates have opened and change is in the air.

A Day "After"

I found a Tweet this morning that is really burning in my mind. The Tweet posted originally by @JustinAion is this:

A first year teacher asked me a question today. It shook me deeply.

I will ask you.

In your teaching career, how many times have you had a “day after”?

I admit that even as a retired teacher it shook me too. And so I started to think on that and, if I’m honest, cry a little.

There are days after that are both personal and local: the death of a former student, the death of a family member. There are the days when I’ve had a professional day after. The days after I lost it with a student and needed to apologize and start regaining their trust. There are those days after a local tragedy, like a devastating and life-stealing fire.

And there are the days after a national crisis.

Oh, those day-afters are among the most difficult.

Unfortunately, in my teaching time, there were many of those: the Challenger explosion, Oklahoma City, Columbine, 9-11, Newtowne.

I don’t believe that handling myself and addressing a “day after” was ever something I was comfortable with. And that, thank goodness, is how it should be. “Days after” should be an abnormality. Days after are mind-numbing and faith-stealing.

As a classroom community, it was important to find a safe space, free from judgement, to express questions and fears. That of course, takes time: time to build student/teacher norms and trust. I will always have a deep appreciation for Morning Meetings and was always grateful to have had the support from Administrators who recognized the value of Responsive Classroom.

Answering big questions from young children can be difficult and challenging. It takes courage to answer children’s questions, to calmly counter rumors and misconceptions with objectivity and facts. It also takes courage to admit when you yourself don’t understand what is transpiring or has happened. I have heard and read postings from several parents who, in this period of tele-education, express wonder and gratitude at the calm and gentle way educators are opening discussions and allaying fears about an event that they, too, are questioning.

There will undoubtedly and unfortunately always be “days after” for all of us. There is no remedy for how to get through - just lead with mindfulness and a caring heart.

It is what educators have always done.

Back-to-School? You Go First.

To me, reopening schools and deciding on the best course of action to do so is a matter of trust.

I’ve been out of my classrooms for 5 years now and my granddaughter is not old enough that her parents need to make a decision about this Fall over the next weeks. So I admittedly do not have any skin in this fight, but I do know limburger cheese when I smell it. And the insistence by some in leadership positions that school buildings reopen for the Fall academic year is pretty ripe.

The New York Times editorial staff posted a piece today (“Reopening Schools Will Be a Huge Undertaking”) outlining many reasons why children need to be back in schools: socialization, food insecurity, social emotional health, and academics. I don’t think there is an educator that I know who would disagree that the overnight switch from face-to-face learning to distance learning has been “less than”. The sudden shutdown of school buildings and the resulting switch to distance learning will have impact on students - and educators - for many years.

The plans for returning to school buildings in the Fall that I have been reading and the advisories coming from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) appear to me to be just trying to accommodate a face-to-face return to school buildings happen without any significant guarantees of funding. We’ve all experienced the impact that those advisories can have. Theoretical plans and mandates coming from state and federal Departments of Education often come without any consideration of the realities in terms of costs.

Here’s an example from our very own Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). In the past weeks, DESE published guidance on classroom configuration which has been thoroughly analyzed by Blogger and Worcester School Committee Member Tracy Novick. I have to ask this: Was this entire document some undergraduate education major’s project? There are so many things wrong with this DESE “guidance”: 3 feet distance chair to chair in place of CDC recommended 6 feet; teacher in the front, removing all other classroom furniture but the student and teacher desks and chairs.

Loading 24 to 30+ students into building spaces where air quality has been an issue will also make safely reopening school buildings difficult if not impossible. For many school districts, including Lowell, carving out the suggested additional space needed to accommodate social distancing and student/faculty safety will be a very big factor. Where will the space be found and how will it be paid for? Nearly every nook and cranny in Lowell’s school buildings (K-8) is being used as learning space already. There is no more space available to socially-distance the nearly 15,000 students in Lowell Public Schools, no new school buildings, and even if there were, there is no money to pay for more space.

While the Times editorial suggests decision-makers think “outside the box” and consider instructional spaces created under tents in outdoor settings, that idea will only go so far if the virus lingers through the colder, winter months, as one might expect it will. However, more importantly, funding necessary for all of these out-of-the-box ideas will still need to materialize and the very same Federal government insisting that schools reopen buildings in the Fall is seemingly unwilling to back that up. At this writing, the Heroes Act, an act that might just provide some desperately needed monetary help is languishing in the US Senate.

Schools in Massachusetts have long been underfunded, and that is particularly true in the Gateway cities like Lowell. At the time the Student Opportunity Act was signed and passed last November, Lowell Public Schools was operating with $50 Million less as the Commonwealth has not kept the promise of funding public schools for more than 25 years. Schools systems like Lowell have cut and cut and cut until there really is no more to cut. If the Commonwealth cannot adequately fund schools under “normal” circumstances, what makes anyone trust that the extraordinary measures needed to keep students and faculty safe for a building reopening in Fall 2020 will end well?

From where I observe, this really does all boil down to trust, which has historically been tested and unearned. Locally, educators and parents see plans being made that put student and staff lives in danger. State and federal leaders are insisting that school buildings reopen as usual and yet there appears to be an unwillingness to dedicate adequate and appropriate funding and resources to do so safely. And that feels a lot like business as usual in the field of education.

In other words:

Many teachers, and parents, are wary of reopening schools. They fear policymakers will cut corners and safety measures will prove inadequate. These fears have been reinforced by the president and by Vice President Mike Pence, both of whom have publicly encouraged corner-cutting. Such a strategy is willfully shortsighted. It might succeed in reopening schools for a time, but it is not likely to allow schools to remain open.

As my grandfather used to tell me, “you reap what you sow.” That certainly seems applicable now - because of the history of underfunding schools and the history of unfunded mandates, parents and educators do not trust that buildings can reopen safely. They are pushing back on this idea and rightly so. Corner cutting will yield deadly results.

Let's Get Real About Affordable Higher Education

Fifty years ago, in September 1970, I matriculated to Plymouth State College, now Plymouth State University, and began studying to become a teacher. I don’t recall the particulars now, but I do recall that some time later I added up all the tuition, fees, and room and board costs of my four years at Plymouth which was approximately a rip-roaring $10,000. Included in those fees were things like performance and music lessons (I was a piano “major” in a Music Education track) and course overload fees.

For the 2019-2020 academic year, an in-state undergraduate year of study at Plymouth State costs $25,790 - $11,870 in tuition, $2,570 in fees, and estimated $11,350, depending upon housing and dining choices, in room and board. The tutition portion of my first year at Plymouth was $600 each semester. I understand inflation has occurred over the 50 years, but I am truly gobsmacked by the 989 percent increase students and their families pay for an equivalent year of education. And, to be clear, Plymouth is not being singled out here except that it is a comparison I feel I can make because of my experience. Take a look at your own institute of higher education; I’m willing to bet there have been similar increases.

We hear a lot about diversifying the teaching force in our public schools, and rightly so. It is my strong belief that, on top of education being one of the most maligned career choices today, students experiencing the effect of an over-$100,000 investment in undergraduate school as an education major, see loans and repayment of same as a showstopper on a public educator’s salary. The financial pile-on continues when one considers costs of required licensure and testing (MTEL), as well as the requirement for a graduate degree in education by the fifth year of employment.

Here’s what I think. In order to increase the diversification of teaching and education force, there needs to be a real effort to make higher education affordable. In order to make a career in education a choice for BIPOC and language-diverse candidates, I believe the credentials - the degree, the license, the post-graduate requirements - have to be attainable financially without causing a lifetime of choking debt.

Once this country gets serious about creating an affordable pathway through higher education, a career in education will become a viable option, and the efforts to foster a teaching population reflective of the diversity in our society will begin in earnest.

Footing the Bill for Reopening Schools

Once, long ago, I had a student in my third grade classroom with severe allergies triggered by contact. The reaction to coming in contact with an allergen or with someone who had touched the allergen was severe and could result in anaphylaxis. All of the staff members who worked with this student were trained to spot triggers and how to administer an epi pen.

As is usual in such a circumstance, the student had a 504 plan. One of the protections for the student was that I, as teacher, would ensure all students cleaned their hands upon returning to our classroom - which was kept as a safe place - so as not to inadvertently bring the allergen into the classroom space. For this purpose, the 504 plan specified using hand sanitizers as students re-entered the classroom space.

These were the requirements for enabling this student to be educated, and I was responsible for implementing these safety accommodations. That is, of course, is a civil right and is outlined in the 504 guidelines which you can read here. What was not part of the plan was the provision of the hand sanitizer, which, as you might imagine with multiple cleanings and 25 students, was depleted every week.

The catch was that, as the District did not supply the hand sanitizer, I became personally responsible for purchasing it in order to ensure the 504’s provisions were being implemented properly. So what does this little anecdote from the past have to do with planning for re-opening schools in the Fall?

I’d say a lot.

School districts have not had adequate funds to operate for years. Unless something prevents them for doing so, the current Legislature will use this year’s predicted revenue shortfalls to delay increased funding of the Student Opportunity Act which was a step in correcting those shortfalls. And now we hear local predictions that state funding will be even less than the previous year.

And yet, in order to re-open schools, health experts are stipulating that schools reopen in the fall with requirements such as additional sanitizing procedures in place (more personnel, more equipment, more supplies), fewer students in already over-crowded spaces (more personnel? split schedules? more costs), hot water for hand washing (higher expenses), more soap, more bus transportation, and temperature monitoring, There will need to be modifications to just about every aspect of a school’s logistics including school facilities that have long needed attention when budgets became impossible.

And just who will supply the personnel, equipment, and supplies to keep students - and staff - safe in the classrooms? If you look at past practice as described previously, you can see the writing on the wall.

I don’t believe anyone who is advocating that schools re-open sooner rather than later has a clue about the impact of preparing for school reopenings. Just considering the funding aspect of implementing safe reopening protocols, if we cannot keep everyone safe in a building, if government entities are unwilling to pony-up the funds to ensure everyone’s safety, brick-and-mortar buildings should not reopen. That’s my opinion, plain and simple.

Not reopening our schools will have enormous impact on our students. I don’t know any educators who think remote or distant learning is the best environment for learning.  My fear though is that, like my experience in providing for the intervention mandated by that 504, quite a lot of the needed supplies for new cleaning protocols will come from an educator’s personal funds.

Unless school funding matches the need to keep everyone - students and staff - safe, there should be no brick-and-mortar reopening of schools. There may be no other choice than to continue the less-than-optimal environment of remote/distance learning.

My Grief Cycle for A Not Normal Time

None of us - NONE OF US - is living normally right now, are we? No surprise here, but stress levels in this household are incredibly high as I/we have recently come to the conclusions that our old normal is no more.

While I am not alone in high levels of anxiety, and while I do think we need to take a zen moment to collect ourselves and practice thoughtful decision-making, I understand that is not easy. I am guilty myself of being over anxious and fretful, and full of emotions these days.

For myself, I am trying to understand where my mind is here and to make some sense of what I am feeling. As I have in the past when faced with emotional challenging times, I think of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler. It gives me some comfort to recognize that states of grief also apply to my own feelings of loss right now.

The denial stage was of course easy to recognize. In January not many outside of the field of infectious disease could wrap their mind around what was happening, first in China and then like wildfire throughout the world. How could this be happening? Our scientists will surely solve this. The federal government continued to insist this was all a giant hoax until, with thousands infected just here in the US, COVID-19 itself can no longer be denied..

I am angry. I am angry at lack of anything resembling leadership from the federal government, and at a governor who seems to be stuck in presenting the optics of being “in charge” without actually making an unpopular decision. Gov. Baker’s response to closing public schools happened AFTER all districts had already decided to close for some time period. How is that leadership? And yes, that makes me angry.

In place of the federal officials claiming COVID-19 is a political hoax, what if our dear leader had offered some measure of leadership by accepting help and assistance from other countries or private labs to develop a test for potential carriers? And what if those tests were widely available instead of being rationed to the most ill? What if instead of a delayed response to controlling the virus’ spread, extraordinary measure had been put in place to increase its containment? Would things be different today? I believe they would and I am angry.

I feel drawn to bargaining, but bargaining simply causes one to absorb guilt for something we have no control over. COVID-19 is not my fault, yet there is a boatload of guilt placed on us. If only I had been more diligent in isolating myself from family members. If only I had not gone for a walk. If only I had been more diligent in hand washing. Because “if only” is irrational, we turn to bargaining. Spare my family member, take me.

Which brings me to depression. Yes, I feel depressed and this is where my feelings live most of the time now. I feel an intense sadness for things that are lost: jobs, human contact., security. We sat at dinner tonight talking about how our retirement looks nothing like we had envisioned. We are insecure about what lies ahead and that is frightening financially and health-wise.

The final stage of the Kubler-Ross cycle of course is acceptance. We hope to be able to accept this new normal knowing that, for now, we cannot. For myself, I hope acceptance will bring peace of mind and, although the ways we had once practiced may be severely altered or even missing, new ones will start to take shape. In acceptance, I know my mind will be more open to change and in so doing new norms begin to take place.

I do not know what lies ahead for me, for us, for my family and friends. I do feel deeply that things have and will continue to change. That change will be difficult for this creature of habit, and I will mourn what has been, but I will also eventually learn to accept the new normal. And that is something that comforts me.

Changing Gears

We are learning to live in a new reality. As our normal daily schedules continue to be impacted by new ways to mitigate this current health threat, several things come to my mind.

We have always washed hands after touching anything from outside. My Dad worked in an agricultural business; I learned early about salmonella and wash my hands after handling raw eggshells.

Handwashing is a way of life for us - always has been. Now we are hypervigilant; we have hand sanitizer in our cars, we keep a container of Chlorox wipes on our kitchen counter, we wipe down door handles, light switches, locks, faucets, remotes, phones… anything and everything. Like most everyone I know, our hands are scrubbed raw.

We have taken the advice of healthcare professionals by keeping our distance, we have a plan for what happens if one of us is ill. We worry not only about picking up a viral infection oursleves, but about unwittingly spreading it to friends or family, especially those who are vulnerable to the ravages of this pandemic. We simply don’t have reliable facts. Our government is not very forthcoming or truthful in this regard, nor does the federal government seem very knowledgeable. I have an unprecedented distrust of the information coming from it.

There is an old John Wesley quote that applies now. It gives me some measure of comfort, because it is all I have to offer:

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.

As we move through the next days and weeks, and perhaps months, this is the truth that guides me. Stay healthy my friends.

First Days

Do you remember your first day of school?

I recently came across some photographs my mother took on our first day of school in Huron, Ohio. In one, a line-up of neighborhood children are waiting for the bus. Bus Zero – Bunky’s bus. How I can even recall those details so many years later is a testament to the pleasant memories I had growing up in a small town in northwestern Ohio.

In another photograph, the first day of third grade for me, I am sitting on a rock boarder near our garage. From that image came a flood of memories – the smell of stiff new leather shoes, a new metal lunchbox stylishly tartan plaid, hair pulled back into a tight pony tail, and of course the smell of air on a morning in September when summer fades toward fall. 

Those warm and wonderful memories are juxtaposed with the reports from Mississippi detailing the aftermath of ICE raids on the first day of school. The children of workers rounded up by ICE went off to their first day of school with all of the anticipation that encapsulates a first day of school, but those young children returned home from their first day of school was not the stuff from which warm memories are created. It was nightmarish and cruel. 

Those children arrived home to uncertainty and fear. Not knowing what has happened to your parent and the uncertainty of where you will stay or who will take care of you is a cruel brand of separation anxiety that is likely to scar these children for years. Acting DHS Secretary McAleenan may claim that the 680 workers were given an opportunity to use cellphones, make arrangements, released, whatever, but the reality is that did not always happen. Many questions linger including whether the cooperation – and timing of the raids – from the processing plants’ managers was retaliation for harassment charges.

In my opinion, if our immigration and naturalization policies and laws need to address new realities, have that discussion and revise accordingly. Instilling a sense of insecurity, anxiety, and fear because it is expedient to enact a round-up of immigrant parents is cruel, and without a doubt will result in irreparable harm to the children whose first day of school in Mississippi featured chaos and anxiety.

Massive round-ups of and raids on immigrant workers, many of whom seem to have been knowingly employed under suspicious circumstances, does not make this country “safer”. It makes our country heartless and without empathy and the collateral damage can be found in the fears of children.

We Have Become Insane

This was a story featured in the online edition of the New York Times this morning. And it has really driven home for me how insane and "normalized" mass shootings have become, as if that wasn't totally obvious already.

Apparently, along with this week's advice for potty-training a child, we now need expert advice in helping kiddos to cope with our own - and the child's - fears after a mass shooting. Our country has experienced so many of these gut-wrenching mass shootings that advice is needed?

Allow me to rant a bit here. There are actual solutions to the number of violent terroristic acts involving mass shootings. Licensing and strict registration of guns for example. Or amunition. Yet legislation always seems to be dead on arrival in the hallowed halls of the US Congress. So what happens? Experts offer advice about everything except to address the elephant in the room.

As an educator, I was trained to respond to an active shooting situation during our yearly active shooting drills. Specifically, that meant instructing my 8-, 9-, and 10-year old students how to defend themselves should a shooter enter our school building and/or classroom. We planned to stack classroom furniture in front of our door, throw whatever was handy (like a stapler), hide silently against wall so as to not be visible to anyone looking from the hallway into our classroom interior, and/or run like hell to a "meeting place." My paraprofessional and I scoped out a closet that I and a mobility-disabled student could attempt to hide in since a sprint out of the building was not possible. We removed the closet bar and brainstormed ways to make that closet a viable hiding place.

So I ask: Have we become insane? The solution to mass shootings is to stop them. This week over 30 families have a huge hole in their hearts where a loved one once lived. Many other families are coping with serious injury that will take weeks to physically heal and a lifetime of therapy to cope and recover, if that is even possible. 

Are we to believe that the solution to mass shootings is to learn to live with that fear?

You say potato: Losing track of low income/economically disadvantaged students

WBUR's Max Larkin's piece on the way Massachusetts has changed counting children living in poverty, How Massachusetts Lost Count of Its Poor Students, was published yesterday. While Massachusetts educators are paying attention, this is a topic that deserves much broader discussion as the unintended consequences are substantial.

In 2015, the Commonwealth began recalculating the number of students living in poverty based upon a new metric which included enrollment in programs like SNAP. Using this new way of counting and classifying the needs of students meant the use a new label, "economically disadvantaged", replacing the term "low income". However, more than a change in labeling data collection resulted. 

In Lowell prior to the new measures, the average (and I stress the use of the word AVERAGE) poverty rate district-wide was in the 75.1% (2013-14 DESE Select Population data). In the particular school in which I taught, that rate was closer to 85% (84.9%). Using the new means of measurement, in 2014-15, Lowell's District calculation of students in poverty, now referenced as "economically disadvantaged" was reduced to 49%. So according to the new measure, over the summer break about one-third of Lowell Public School's students disappeared from the count of children who lived in poverty.

Why does this matter? When we look at student growth and achievement, there are factors within the school and classroom over which educators have control but there are also factors which influence student growth over which educators have little to no control. One of those factors is the impact of living in poverty. This is a huge reason school districts make every attempt to provide students who are low income or economically disadvantaged with additional services. Such services range from wrap-around services for health and housing security to additional educational opportunities like books for home enjoyment and field trips.

As an educator, it did not make sense to me that over the summer break one-third of our students were suddenly no longer in need of such extra supports. Certainly no one could imagine that over the summer months about a third of Lowell's students for whom poverty was a factor had suddenly become financially stable.

Poverty levels are often a consideration for needs-based grants. Here's an example: In Lowell, the United Teachers of Lowell applied for participation in the FirstBook Books on Wheelsfree book distribution program in 2015. To qualify, the District needs-based percentage had to be 70%. Under the new calculation using CEP, Lowell's 49.1% economically disadvantaged calculation would have disqualified our students and their families from the benefits this wonderful program: books to add to a home library. Luckily our Title I office had actual data which did allow us to qualify for the program.

Which makes me wonder: what other needs-based programs are our children living in poverty missing because a district or school no longer qualifies based upon economically disadvantaged data collected by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education? Are our children who are living in poverty missing the additional services needed to help them be as successful as their more affluent peers based upon a falsely "improved" low income number?

When the Commonwealth falsely represents students living in poverty based on a flawed new metric, the consequences have a significant and real impact on our most vulnerable students.

They've Got To Be Carefully Taught

You've got to be taught to hate and fear

You've got to be taught from year to year

It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear

You've got to be carefully taught.

Oscar Hammerstein II, "You've Got to Be Taught" from the musical South Pacific, 1949

Photo by Todd Trapani on Pexels.com

One thing I've learned as a parent and as an educator: children mirror our own behavior. That makes sense, doesn't it? Has anyone had their own child pick up some naughty language which was repeated at a most inopportune moment?

Besides being excellent observers, children look to adults - those who are their caregivers and those encountered through media as "celebrity" - for models of acceptable behaviors and interactions.

This, of course, causes me to wonder about the effect the racist and hyper-charged hate-filled "soundbites" that are blasting into our lives on a daily, and oftentimes hourly basis. What impact is this having on our children?

When adults use disparaging taunts and insulting nicknames to refer to others around them, particularly those with whom there is a disagreement, children intuit that this is an okay way to react and respond. When an adult feels compelled to tell someone to "go back where you came from" or targets people of color, the message is again condoning what I believe and know are unacceptably racist behaviors.

It won't take much for this to spill over into diverse classrooms. School staff - all of us really - will need to be ready to counteract and replace the unacceptable with inclusiveness and kindness. While that is going to be challenging when each day brings a new low in personal interactions from some corners, it is important, essential work.

Because they've got to be carefully taught can run both ways.

Online Preschool? Surely you jest.

Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

I was once called an education technology pioneer, probably because there wasn't anything I wouldn't try at least once if it seemed like it might be a good fit for my students. Drawing on my experience in the private sector, and as an Instructional Technology Specialist in public schools, I embraced the idea that technology was a tool and there was a core of programming that should be in every student's technology toolbox.

This article, An Online Preschool Closes a Gap But Exposes Another, published in the New York Times, however, indicates to me that educational technology has gone too far.

Briefly, the article tells of less-affluent communities who are embracing a Pre-School curriculum developed by Waterford. You can learn more about the mission of this non-profit here and read more about their partnerships.

While "preschool for all" should be must be a priority for US education, replacing a face-to-face preschool with screen time and 15 minutes of technology programming bothers me. I agree, every child should have access to preschool. As an early grade educator, I recognize that the fact that many communities that cannot and do not offer a quality preschool program puts some young children at a disadvantage which is difficult to overcome.

For some communities, offering universal preschool education through public schools is a matter of economics. There just isn't adequate public funding for the public schools to offer preschool programs to every family wanting to send a child to preschool. Community budgets are strapped, and there are as many reasons for short funds as there are preschoolers, so community leaders do as the mayor in Fowler, California has done: offer a freebie program for online preschool access.

While I understand that this may seem like a good idea on the surface, it is not. In an effort to ensure every child can read by Grade 3, academics are being foisted onto 4 year olds. That is wrong.

The question is: Just what should a preschool program look like? Should a preschool be 15 minutes of drill and kill on a computer? Who is deciding which computer-aided skills are taught? I ask this because I was stunned to discover the Waterford program teaching silent letters as a phonics skills appropriate for preschoolers. When I actively taught Grade 2, "i+gh" for example was a second grade skill, not a preschool/pre-reading skill.

Preschool, in my opinion, should be heavily weighted toward teaching children to get along with each other, to share and take turns, and to learn appropriate group social behaviors. Preschoolers should also be allowed to learn by experiences; those experiences are important to everything that comes later in learning. Preschool children need to form a strong, compassionate, relationship with the adults teaching them. A positive preschool experience sets the stage for lifelong learning attitudes. These are the things a 15-minute daily online preschool program can never provide.

Our education leaders, in fact all of us, need to step up efforts to make an affordable universal preschool experience available to all who would like one, and stop relying on questionable "free" software to fill in the gap.

Retired & Expired & Letting Go

For the first time since 1974, I no longer hold a teaching license. I decided not to renew my licenses (I have three), and that is something I am discovering to be a source of some apprehension. I retired several years ago from active teaching, however, my identity for most of my life has been, and I imagine will continue to be, synonymous with education.

I've wanted to be a teacher since the second grade - which oddly was my favorite grade level to teach - and despite a few detours, that is what I've done with most of my working career. But like most things, it is time to officially bring that to a close; my time has passed and it is time to officially let some things go.

Throughout my years of teaching I experienced, as you might expect, good days and bad days, but, as with most who enter the field of education, I wouldn't have traded for another career. Working with children and families and learning from colleagues has been a rare privilege.

I was fortunate to re-enter education when teaching was, I think, at its best. I think it is difficult to describe that to people. There was a level of collegiality between administrators and teachers based upon mutual respect and trust. And it was that mutual respect and trust that made the hard work of education exceptionally rewarding. We worked hard, the children worked hard, we all learned. And still we had fun.

My principals were exacting and their expectations were high, yet I never felt that I couldn't try new ideas for reaching students. I trusted my administrators and colleagues, but more importantly, they trusted me.

As I move into this next phase of my life's story, I do know that I am not leaving education far behind. I have a granddaughter who will be entering school in the next few years, and thus, my interest in education is changing focus a bit.

The paper proclaiming my legitimacy as an educator may have expired, but there is still much to think about and speak up for. And that is what I will continue to do.

It Isn't Just the Cuts

Budget season is going full tilt in Lowell and the outlook is definitely not very palatable.

The School Department is running on fumes: no K-8 libraries this past academic year, proposed cuts to fine arts positions, proposals to cut services for students in guidance, behavioral supports, Special Education. Who knows where it will end?

Well, here's where I get off:

I think a question should not be just about what services and positions will need to be cut. I think the big questions is this: Why isn't the Commonwealth of Massachusetts adequately funding schools so our children receive all of the services they need to succeed? 

By all, I mean: why are schools going without libraries, or technology, or nurses, or social workers, or paraprofessionals, or class sizes that enable an educator to address the needs of the students in front of them in a consistent, thoughtful, reflective way? Why are these and other services that enable our English Language Learners, our Special Education students and our students living in trauma and poverty to be better supported on the chopping block?

Today, across Massachusetts, educators, parents, students, community members are gathering in both Boston and Springfield to SHOW our Legislators that we are not willing to accept the flimsy excuses that have left public school funding scratching for scraps for the last 25-plus years. We are showing up to let you all know IN PERSON that it is beyond time to fix the Foundation Formulas and that our Commonwealth needs to fund our schools so that all of our youngest citizens get an equitable and adequately funded public education.

So even though I could be doing about a million other things today, I will show up, not only for the Rally at 5, but also to engage any Legislator who will agree to speak with me about the importance of funding our future through supporting the Promise Act and the Cherish Act. This is for all the students I've taught, the ELLs, the SpED students, the children living in poverty - and for my baby granddaughter, who just might be able to attend a fully and adequately funded school when she enters Kindergarten five years from now if the Promise Act is passed this year.

And that is why I'll be attending today's Rally to Fund Our Future on the Common. Will you?

I'm Not Giving Up On You

Maybe you've seen this awesome YouTube video floating around. If not, take a listen to the PS22 Chorus led by Gregg Breinberg, singing with Andy Grammer.

https://youtu.be/KL9qp0FNEzU

Look at the faces on the students who are about as engaged as any child can be. These are fifth graders and they are not only having the time of their life, they are making a memory never to be forgotten. What would their school experience be if there were no music opportunities in their young lives?

The former music educator in me can certainly appreciate the skill and organization that propels this group of musicians. But I would argue that the connection made to an art like music is just as important.

As a high school freshman, when my Dad's career took him to New England. it was music that made the culture shock of moving from the comfortable Midwestern community in which I had grown up more bearable. There were friendships that were made in the music room; it was a place where I had something in common with my otherwise foreign New England peers. It was the only place I felt less of a freak or outsider.

What if that safe place that my high school's music program provided had not been available to me? Because I was different, I already felt a lot of teenaged alienation, and yet, the experience of practicing with other students in our orchestra and chorus helped me to belong. And by belonging, I had a pathway in as a student; it made me into an engaged learner which is something that has stayed with me throughout my life.

One of the impacts bothering me about the test-driven curriculum that we see today is that the arts are in increased danger of losing funding during tough budget times. The disciplines of music and art are often looked upon a frills. I would disagree.

While not every student will choose a career as an artist or musician, our schools should be places where students can experience and appreciate the arts in a personal way. Sometimes, as it was for me, that encounter with the arts may become the difference between a dismal and exceptional educational experience.

As the budget season gets underway in our public schools, Gateway communities in Massachusetts are faced decisions about which programs to keep and which will be cut. When municipal school budgets like we see in Gateway cities do not adequately provide for educational expenses, the temptation will always be to jettison the arts. That I believe is not only short-sighted, it is wrong.

The solution, however, is within our grasp. With 25-year-old Foundation Budget formulas driving which programs are funded and which are not, the answer lies with the Legislature's capacity for adopting the Promise Act and for making progress toward fully and adequately funding all of our public schools.

So on May 16, I'll be on the Boston Common rallying with my colleagues to demand our Legislature does the right thing for our students. Somewhere in that crowd might be a young person for whom the arts is a safe way to engage in learning, just as it was for me. I not only won't give up on you. I cannot give up.

The Envelop System of Foundation Budgets

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When I first met my mother-in-law, I was totally fascinated by the organization she used to allocate family finances, the system we fondly refer to as the "envelop system". My mother-in-law would take an amount of money each week, break it down into smaller portions, and put each portion in its own coin-sized manila envelop which was kept handy throughout the week.

For example, if she budgeted $100 for food shopping throughout the week, five $20-bills would be put into the grocery envelop. When the money was gone, she either shifted cash from another envelop to buy something or went without until next payday.

In my mind, this is an apt analogy for what is happening in the Foundation Budget nightmare currently in place in our Commonwealth. The Commonwealth assigns a set dollar amount of aid for each community based on particular spending allocations, the chunk of money arrives at the municipality and when it doesn't fully cover one spending category, the schools shift the funding from one category to another that has been shorted.

However, one of the biggest issues with the Commonwealth's envelop system is that the money going into each envelop is the same amount as was used in 1993, over 25 years ago. Imagine trying to run your own household using the same amounts of cash as you comfortably spent in 1993.

Lowell Superintendents' Forum, 4/22/2019

In Lowell, we heard last Monday about a shortfall of nearly 500 classroom teachers each year. Big underfunded and under-calculated items in the Foundation Budget are surely contributing factors to this. If a district such as Lowell has huge differences between the Commonwealth's foundation budget determinations for school spending and the amount spent is more than what has been put aside, there are two choices.

Applying the "envelop system" demands a municipality either a) add money from the municipal coffers to make up that difference or b) shift funding from one category to another.

Of course these differences between state funding and actual spending are quite common - not to mention quite large - when the basis for the Foundation Budget calculations have not be updated in about 25 years. If state funding is based in the 1990s but actual expenses reflect the reality of 2019, it follows logically that there will be a huge conflict between state funding and reality. The differences are exacerbated when a municipality, like Lowell, Brockton, Springfield or Worcester, cannot contribute beyond what has been calculated in the Foundation Budget numbers, something a more affluent city of town might be able to do. It follows, then that some difficult educational budgeting choices must be made.

A gateway city, like Lowell, has nearly zero percent chance of not feeling some excruciating budget pain which brings us up to the shortfall of 500 classroom teachers. It is indeed painful to Lowell and to our children.

Four major areas - think of them as "envelopes" - need Foundation Budget reform: English Language Learners, Special Education (not including the Circuit Breaker), Health Insurance and Low Income. All of these funding categories are based on amounts that were set in 1993 which means that when one looks at what the Commonwealth funds and what the expense reality in 2019 is, there are huge variances.

Lowell Superintendents' Forum, 4/22/2019

Let's consider the budget "envelops" for a couple of these categories. The Foundation Budget calculates Special Education spending at $16.7 million, but the actual cost of Special Education in Lowell is $31.1 million. That's a difference of $14.4 million which has to come out of one of the other budget envelopes. Health Insurance as budgeted through the Foundation Budget calculations is figured at $17.3 million, but the actual insurance costs, even after switching to a cost-effective plan like the GIC, is $33.1 million. Surely no one in Massachusetts is expecting to pay the same insurance costs as they did in 1993, so is it any wonder that the Foundation Fund amount is so out of whack?

As a taxpayer, a voter, and as a former educator, I am shocked when local politicians claim there's no money to correct this. I think it is more likely there is no courage because that is what it will take to face the reality of underfunding schools. Revenues to fund schools, as well as transportation and infrastructure, in our Commonwealth are essential.

The envelop is empty and there is no time to waste.

Diversify and Commit

The Lowell Public Schools has a racially and ethnically diverse student population. This chart generated by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) gives some insight into that.

Data from http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=01600000&orgtypecode=5&

The teaching workforce, however, looks like this:

Data generated from http://dashboard.lowell.k12.ma.us/pillar3.html

While the school building administrators (Principals and LSAA) looks like this:

Data generated from http://dashboard.lowell.k12.ma.us/pillar3.html

With all the research - Google to find more - on diversification of the workforce and the positive impact on students, clearly Lowell needs to step up.

Lowell also needs to put far more serious import and effort into Human Resources and Recruiting. Recently, both the Interim director of Human Resources AND the Assistant HR Director left their positions. The School Department's CFO is apparently attempting to take on many of the HR Director's responsibilities.

In my opinion, that is definitely NOT OKAY. In order to recruit and retain diverse, qualified candidates for positions within the Lowell Public Schools, this department needs a full-time and, dare I say, professionally trained HR Director. If Lowell Public Schools is serious about diversifying the workforce to be more of a reflection of the students in our schools, throwing off the tasks of HR onto the responsibilities of the finance officer, who already has a pretty full plate, is ridiculous.

However, along with giving the Human Resources Department the resources - human (oh the irony) and fiscal - to begin to diversify the school work force, there needs to be other considerations that will call for a long-term remedy. Can Lowell can "grow their own" diverse education workforce? Read more about how one district in Oregon is doing just that.

Some years ago, Lowell had a program for Paraprofessionals that would enable those interested to pursue certification as educators, although at the time, I believe the certification was limited to Special Education. Would Lowell be willing to invest whatever monetary expense might be needed to help our Paraprofessionals transition to licensure as educators?

We also need to do a little soul-searching on how attractive a career in education may appear to students in secondary schools. Are there internships that could be explored for High School age students? Can Lowell partner with MCC and UML to make a degree in education affordable and accessible for LHS students who commit to working in District?

The conversations have started, and that is encouraging. But to achieve the vision of having a diverse education workforce reflective of our students here in Lowell, there will need to be some other commitments made. Let's put our money where our mouths are.

Don't Sit This Out. Please.

Don't sit tomorrow's election out. Go vote.Think your vote "doesn't matter". I disagree. Recently in the MA3 Congressional District Primary, less than 150 (recounted) votes was the difference between the eventual winner, Lori Trahan and second place, Dan Koh. Yeah, those 150 votes mattered. Quite a bit as it turned out. Your vote might just be a deciding factor; go vote.Yes, I agree with you that the electoral college is an abomination but we are in the mid-terms and the electoral college won't be a factor this time. Maybe who you vote for will be able to help change the presidential election process; however, so go vote.Good ol' boy/girl network making you think it's pointless. Vote anyway. It will only be pointless if you don't vote your heart and mind. If the candidate for office is unopposed and you write in a name, that also sends a message. As I learned in Latin class, illegitimi non carborundum. You can look that one up and then go vote.Does an Election Day on a November Tuesday seem inconvenient?  (The answer to why we vote on the first Tuesday in November is here.) Your vote could change that; after all many states allow early voting now.  Absentee ballots can still be petitioned for and submitted prior to noon today (see MA Secretary of State Absentee Voting or call your City/Town elections office). And although the Early Voting window is closed for this election, you can and should still go vote.Hard to get to the polls? Need a ride? Contact candidate campaign offices. Oftentimes there are volunteers who can help with that. And by-the-way, the rumors about free Lyft and Uber rides are not exactly true. Here's the straight talk dispelling rumor and misunderstanding from Snopes. Get a ride and go vote.In Massachusetts, the polls must be open from 7 am until 8 pm; some places are allowed to open at 5:45 am, so check with your city or town election office. If you are in line at 8 pm, you must be allowed to vote. DO NOT GET OUT OF LINE (that is also true for most other states). The Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office has a detailed list of when (and why) you might be asked for identification and also about requesting a "provisional ballot". Check here. Know the voting regulations and go vote.Listen, we all need to make time for this civic obligation. There are some important issues that are being decided and even more coming in the future. You may or may not be cancelling out my vote; go vote anyway.

More is Less

Sometimes I wonder if we've lost our collective minds when it comes to early childhood education.  This morning, I found this well-written article, from January 2016's Atlantic: "The New Preschool is Crushing Kids".  Thoughtfully written by author Erika Christakas, the idea that our education system has shifted from a "protected" childhood to a "prepared" one resonated. Ask educators and you will hear that what used to be taught in second grade, is now a requirement for first grade. First grade expectations are have moved down to kindergarten. And preschool? Yes, preschool is filled with academic skills.  It's the trickle down theory of education.According to Christakas though, all of this new "rigor" may not translate into academic success.

New research sounds a particularly disquieting note. A major evaluation of Tennessee’s publicly funded preschool system, published in September, found that although children who had attended preschool initially exhibited more “school readiness” skills when they entered kindergarten than did their non-preschool-attending peers, by the time they were in first grade their attitudes toward school were deteriorating. And by second grade they performed worse on tests measuring literacy, language, and math skills.

Could it be that by forcing young children to perform academic skills at such an early age is killing their curiosity and love for learning?Our schools seem to focus on the "cognitive potential" learners, even those of a very young age. When test scores are published and reported, we hear about gaps in achievement between advantaged and disadvantaged learners.In my experience, such gaps are a function of a child who needs more time to experience the world, to learn the language used in school, to converse, to listen, and to experiment. It troubles me that in place of deepening and enriching the experiences of young children, young learners are subjected to more seat/paper/desk work. In an impatient rush to boost test scores and school ratings, there has been a misguided effort to push academic skills and concepts earlier and earlier at the expense of learning that is developmentally appropriate.I was taught that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. I believe our edu-crats need to take heed of this adage. More is definitely less for our youngest learners.

Early Childhood Education Insanity (my rant)

Our first grandchild arrived in August, and as many grandparents come to understand, things have changed since we raised our own children. Babies don't sleep with crib bumpers, or on their tummies. Children don't wear winter coats in car seats. I most definitely have zero applicable knowledge when it comes to infants. Times have changed, research has changed, thinking has changed.My wheelhouse, though, is education. I wonder - often as it turns out - if my own thinking as a teacher is outdated. I was reminded of this when a colleague shared the school district's current Early Childhood (PreK) progress report with me - which was over 10 pages long. These 3- and 4-year-olds have been "in school" barely 5 weeks and already their teachers are tasked with assessing their progress.Progress in what, exactly? When one is 3- or 4-years old, shouldn't the ultimate goal be to learn to love learning? To get along with others and take turns? Socialize?  A 10-page checklist of skills - by category - seems ridiculous for a little one who has only been on this planet for less than 5 trips around the sun.It did make me curious: what exactly is being asked of young children, so I did some browsing through Boston Public School's Early Childhood page. Check out the "robust questions" intended to spark conversation with 3- or 4-year olds in Centers found in the vocabulary section of this document,  "What is the inspiration for your work?" "What is your plan for structure?"Looking at the assessments recommended for this age group, there are a number of screening and assessment tools recommended and required.  Some would be useful as a child's language development progresses; one that seems "optional" but noted in use in some school PreK programs is Fountas & Pinnell benchmark testing. That's right, some schools endeavor to find a 3-year-olds "independent" reading level. No, they are not kidding. Shouldn't we be reading to children this young and not expecting them to read to us?Here's my question as a new grandparent and a retired educator:

When do young children get to just be young children?

Is there such a driving need to prove children are "learning" at such young ages that reasonable expectations, developmental appropriateness and an emphasis on developing social skills and love of learning been replaced by assessment, evaluation, and checklists?My hope is that the pendulum swings back to more child-friendly early childhood education before my granddaughter reaches school-age.