As readers know, I often post comments that I find interesting. Sometimes I agree with them, sometimes I disagree, sometimes they raise questions that are sure to provoke discussion, which is healthy. I like this comment. One of the reasons I like it is that the writer recognizes that American education is not in crisis, that the overwhelming majority of public schools are successful, and that we must be temperate in grabbing at quick fixes or sweeping changes.
The reader writes:
Well, I must admit I did not read all the posts [about the Common Core]. I lost interest when I felt the conversation was becoming a list of advocates for their favorite methodology. To go back to Doctor Ravitch’s initial post, I see the issue as implementing an untested curriculum across many different environments with many different needs and various levels of teacher skills. Experience and research tell me that there is no single, best practice for education. Districts, schools, teachers, and most importantly children are each unique. What works in Ann Arbor, Michigan may not be successful 50 miles away in Detroit. Add to this the lack of fidelity when implementing initiatives and you must question anyone’s hope for a “program” or a “curriculum” that will “fix” public education.
I can not even agree that public education needs to be “fixed”. We have significant issues addressing the needs of large subgroups, but I still have faith that the majority of our children today are receiving a quality education. Millions of children are doing amazing things in our public schools. Thousands of educators are working effectively and in many cases heroically. However, we still have far too many children not being given the instruction and support they need. For these children the Common Core may not be the answer and in fact may be an additional barrier to their success. For these children Montessori classrooms may not be enough. For these children additional testing has definitely not led to improvement.
I do not know the answer for all the challenges facing education, but I believe it rests somewhere withing the affective domain. I think we need to focus less on finger-pointing and more support. Teachers and students must have HOPE. They must believe that what they do is important, valued work. We need to stop allowing public school educators to be convenient whipping boys for any politician looking for a platform or business looking to sell a commodity or service.
Education remains our best hope for the future not in the collection and recitation of facts. The future of our world depends on an education that instills hope, a sense of purpose, a willingness to take risks, the belief that one’s efforts and perseverance lead to success.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Philadelphia is in crisis. The superintendent is closing 29 schools, and now they are making unbelievable proposals about changing the teachers’ work environment, work load, as well as cutting salaries and more. Please read below.
School District Proposals to the PFT
Professional Teachers’ Contract:
• School District possesses full authority to act unilaterally with respect to any matter not expressly set forth in the Agreement.
• The School District may SUBCONTRACT, OUTSOURCE, or ASSIGN Federation bargaining unit work.
• Salary Reduction
o Less than $25,000: 5%
o $25,000 – $54,999: 10%
o $55,000 – Max: 13%
o Salaries remain unchanged until January 2017 – Performance based increases at that time based on evaluations from principal. Non-evaluated employees shall be eligible for an across-the-board increase in an amount to be determined
o Elimination of Masters/Masters +30/Doctorate/Senior Career
o NO step raises
o Elimination of National Board Certification bonus
o Elimination of Excess PL Bank
o Elimination of paybacks for missed preps
o Mandated Direct Deposit
o Elimination of Red Circling
• Benefits
o Less than $25,000: 5% Contribution
o $25,000 – $54,999: 10% Contribution
o $55,000 – Max: 13% Contribution
o Employees with a Spouse or Domestic Partner coverage will have a $70 surcharge if they could have an employer sponsored insurance
o Elimination of Opt-Out Program
o Elimination of PFT’s Health & Welfare Fund (dental, optical, Rx coverage through the district) – no longer will offer retirement counseling
o Elimination of PFT’s Legal Services Trust Fund
o Elimination of 20 year Sabbatical Leave
• Termination Pay – limited to $160 per day (unused sick/personal days)
• Lay-offs (reduction in force)
o Shall be accomplished within the parameters defined by the Superintendent
o Recalls are at the discretion of the Superintendent
o Any employee who is terminated, laid-off, suspended, or demoted shall be given written notice at least seven (7) days prior to the effective date of action
• School Day
o Increased to an 8 hour day (current 7 hours and 4 minutes)
o Reduced elementary lunch to 30 minutes (no longer can shorten day by fifteen minutes)
o Elimination of 15 minute breaks for nurses
o Nurses’ lunch may be scheduled at anytime during the day
o Teachers will participate in and lead PD as part of their regular assignment as determined by the principal
o Unlimited evening meetings (no compensation)
o Teacher will be available for conferences with parents/students for conferences, meetings, and support services/tutoring. These meetings may be conducted outside the normal workday without compensation.
o Professional duties shall include duties outside the normal workday: curriculum work, PD, meetings, bus duty, yard duty, and faculty meetings with no compensation
o Teachers may not leave the building for any reason during the school day without principals’ approval
o Nurses: Issues that occur during lunchtime, no longer receive comp time, no longer compensation for being called in early
o Overtime shall no longer be distributed equitably
• Preparation Periods
o Directed by administration
o All teachers will receive 225 minutes (middle school reduced)
• Assignment and Transfers
o SENIORITY ELIMINATED
o Elimination of Voluntary Transfers – All vacancies will be filled by Site Selection.
o Staff Selection Committees
• Includes one teacher, one parent, and principal (appointed by the principal).
• Principal has final say on the selections.
o If there are vacancies in schools after August 1st, the district will fill them based on student needs/ability of teachers – teachers could be transferred to fill vacancies
o Right to Returns may be denied by the principal
o Any teacher may be assigned to a specialist position (grade prep)
o Elimination of requirement of a librarian or LIMA with 1,000 students or more
o Elimination of caseload limits for counselors and requirements of one counselor in each school
• Roster
o No input from the Building Committee
o Notification “as early as possible” for proposed grade or class assignment
o Teachers may be assigned to unlimited classes outside their area of appointment
o No limit on number of preparations
o No limit of the amount of consecutive minutes rostered
o Teachers may be assigned a 6th period (high school) without compensation
o Elimination of “Leveling” deadline
o Elimination of class size
• Lesson Plans
o Must be completed on a format as directed by the district
o Minimum five (5) days of emergency lesson plans
• Working Conditions
o All teachers are to complete a PDP
o Principal determines criteria for Extra-Curricular Activities and selection of teachers.
o Elimination in limiting announcements made throughout the day
o Elimination of protecting female employees removing the requirement that women shall not be required to remain in any office when no other employee is in that office or is not located so others may hear/see her
o Elimination of providing copy machines
o Elimination of reimbursing staff for taxicab fares when returning from transporting ill children
o Nurses are required to transport equipment heavier than fifteen (15) pounds.
o Elimination of kindergarten interview days at the beginning of the year
o Teachers no longer may use reasonable force to protect themselves from attack or injury
o Elimination of requiring the district to provide a sufficient number of instructional materials and textbooks
• Observations
o Electronic devices may be used in the observation and supervision of an employee
o Observations no longer have to be returned within five (5) days
• Facilities
o Elimination of employee lounge
o Elimination of providing safe and healthful conditions when activities are outside of school
o Elimination of drinking fountains
o Elimination of parking facilities for staff
o Elimination of providing lunch for staff
o Elimination of providing a location for the health room that ensures privacy and confidentiality as well as a place for students to rest, a bathroom, hot and cold water, and A/C
o Elimination of accommodation rooms
o Elimination of providing a clothing locker and desk to teachers
o Elimination of a designated room for Speech and Hearing services and Psychologists
o Elimination of rooms for counselors that provide privacy and confidentiality, a telephone, file cabinet that locks, and a door
• Additional Issues
o All unsatisfactory anecdotal records (i.e. SEH-204’s, Unsatisfactory Observations) remain in your file for five (5) years instead of eighteen (18) months
o Elimination of Building Representatives being given time well before the end of every staff meeting for brief reports and announcements
o Joint meetings with administration and the building committee no longer will be held on school time
o No longer common prep time for middle/high schools building committees
o Waiver Votes
• Current: two-thirds – proposed change: majority
• Ballot process shall be in accordance with District procedures, instead of Federation
o Teachers recommended for dismissed by the PAR panel will not be subject to the grievance and arbitration procedures
o Summer Schools – selection will be made by the district
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It sounds like the Superintendent is taking revenge. These surreal policy changes certainly are not the actions of anyone dedicated to a system of public education.
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Beautifully and wisely written
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This post makes so much sense. Instead of getting bogged down in the details of whether this or that is the solution, we must realize that public education is best governed by local community stakeholders. Each school district is unique with unique communities that make up each school. That is why neighborhood schools are so important. As an administrator it is important to know and be a part of not only the school community, but the larger neighborhood community surrounding the school. I believe that is why most dsgregregation efforts have not been successful when the focus was on bussing kids out of their neighborhood schools. The best way to improve schools is to create community support systems and connect students and families with resources. As we have read often enough, many students living in poverty struggle in school. Struggling schools usually serve high poverty populations. Schools can not “cure” poverty, but by creating a positive supportive learning environment where every child is valued, we can begin to educate the “whole” child. Each school is unique, with unique needs and a unique population. What works in one school works because of the unique players involved. There is no way to replicate it because of the individual’s that make things happen. I have worked in enough school setting to know that when you take away some of the players, the game changes.
I am so weary of the Ed Deform rhetoric spewed from the mouths of noneducators. I am tired of mandates from elected officials who sit in ivory towers, far removed from classrooms. I am exhausted from the constant piling on of more unproven tests and standards. I don’t believe a VAM algorithm can evaluate whether someone is a great teacher. What I do believe in is my teachers and our students, and our ability to do right by children if allowed to teach our way. We are professionals with degrees. It is time for us to take back our schools. They can try to label my school as failing, but I know it is not. We are a safe haven for our students, and we are teaching them things that are important. Things that will guide them toward their future selves. Things like respect, perseverance, and responsibility that don’t show up on a standardized test.
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“For these children Montessori classrooms may not be enough. For these children additional testing has definitely not led to improvement.”
I know this is the conversation that lost the OP’s interest, but I still think it’s relevant. We have some newer Montessori public schools in my city, which all begin in preschool and go through the elementary grades, adding one new grade per year. They use mixed age groupings and looping, so students are assigned to the same teacher for at least two and sometimes three years. The only Montessori public school located in a low-income area here is a magnet schol that has attracted a diverse population –sizable numbers of Blacks, Hispanics and Whites. While their test scores have been pretty good, especially for the higher income children, there have been a number of complaints about the school. The most common complaints are that kids accepted in grade school don’t perform as well as those who start Montessori in preschool, and that the school has taken to abandoning the Montessori approach in the elementary grades in order to focus on test prep,
I know of progressive programs that have been abandoned in schools here, too, because not all curricula teach what is measured on standardized tests or lend themselves well to testing, This suggests that not only does high-stakes testing narrow the content of curriculum, but it also severely limits the curricular methods in favor of the drill for skill approach, which focuses on memorization and tends to undermine motivation. With the increased tests that are in the pipeline due to the Common Core, unfortunately, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
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Are the Montessori schools in your city traditional zoned schools or is admission more like charter schools? You said it was for the one in the low income neighborhood but did not mention the admission policy for the others.
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They are all magnet schools. Two are Montessori from PreK – 8th grade, including the one in the low income area I mentioned. The other two schools have Montessori from PreK – Grade 5 and IB middle school programs for grades 6-8.
Their admission requirements may differ a little by school, but generally, they accept siblings first, then 40% from within 1.5 miles of the school and the remaining seats are filled by students from other areas of the city and chosen by lottery. Many of the higher income students at the Montessori in the low income area I previously mentioned live in neighborhoods that are not far from the school but they are beyond 1.5 miles of the school.
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That seems like a good model to me, but I am one of the few who regularly post here that see the virtues in parents and students having a choice of schools and philosophies.
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