The Annenberg Institute for School Reform has published an informative review of the controversy over the so-called parent trigger law.
It explains the genesis of the idea, how it evolved, who is behind it, where it has been adopted, and why it offers meager prospects for either parent empowerment or school improvement. The brief includes a good summary of how parents can help improve their schools.
This just in, as I prepare to join a march and rally in Austin with “Save Texas Schools.” Be it noted that the superintendent in Austin, a high-performing district on NAEP, is an alum of the unaccredited Broad Superintendent Academy, which allegedly teaches management skills. The board majority shifted against her 5-4 after the last election but the previous board had extended her contract at its last meeting.
The parent writes:
Dear Diane, Thank you so much for sharing our story! ~~
There are many misconceptions about our school. Some created by self-serving “we can do better” groups. MOST created and broadcast by our own School District! I wish to address Five. ~~
First, “EMHS is always failing”. When EMHS was “born” in August 2008, it was already rated Academically Unacceptable (AU). That is NOT what they promised the neighborhood. It was supposed to be a fresh start. Our students and staff have lived and worked under this AU guillotine from day one. 😦 ~~
Second, “EMHS cannot fix itself.” EMHS is no longer AU. The hard-working students and staff turned the school around. Within two years, grades, test scores and graduation rates were WAY UP. And drop-out and discipline reports were way down. ~~ Their reward? Their beloved and successful Principal was replaced. And (10/20/2011) two months into the new school year the district Superintendent announced that IDEA Charter would take over their school in a year!!! ~~
Three, “The Community does not care.” Many emotionally exhausted, heart-broken students and staff left the school. Many more stayed and FOUGHT BACK. Eventually, thousands across Austin wrote, called, and protested FOR the school. As Diane said, it took an election and 14 months to cancel the IDEA plan. Now the Super is telling another story to scare us all. ~~
Four, “The TEA Commissioner will close EMHS”. But, why would he? EMHS is AA! And scores are way up. ~~ And, there is a lot going on right now in Texas education (testing, funding, etc.). He is busy. Why would he bother messing with our school??? Because the pissed off / embarrassed Super went charging over there to tell him that the new Board had messed up and EMHS was now out of compliance! ~~
Finally, Five: “Nothing at EMHS has worked./ We have tried everything.” Nearing 5 years of existence, EMHS has been subjected to 4 MAJOR restructurings by the District. IDEA is number 5. When I think of how wonderful our little campus family is and how well they are performing. I think about how glorious they might already have become. If not for the constant churning actions of their heartless (stupid?) District. ~~
Despite the District’s constant reminders to the world that EMHS is garbage. Our campus family is one of the most loving, compassionate, hard-working, and determined groups that I have ever had the honor of being a part of. ~~
Please pray for us. Thank you.
Signed: Toni Rayner, EMHS mom x2.
The Indiana State Senate voted to halt implementation of the Common Core standards until there had been hearings across the state. The action was brought about by the fervent opposition of two angry moms.
Join thousands of others to say no to rewards and punishments tied to test scores:
Richard Rothstein spoke to the AASA and told them that “reformers” like Joel Klein were wrong in claiming that high expectations and better teachers would close the achievement gap.
Here is a summary of his presentation:
Rothstein: Segregation Practices Block Achievement Gains
by Sasha Pudelski
Richard Rothstein gave a powerful lecture Thursday at the Federal Relations Luncheon where he urged AASA members to recognize the historical underpinnings of the academic achievement gap.
Rothstein, a senior fellow at the UC Berkeley School of Law, discussed how local, state and federal policies since the Great Depression have contributed to the intentional racial and socio-economic segregation of schools and communities. He urged superintendents to be proud of the academic gains that have been made over the past decade with regards to NAEP scores, graduation rates and other academic measures and to recognize the limitations of schools districts in doing more to improve low-income student achievement levels.
Rothstein’s latest social policy project, which he spoke of extensively during the lunch, is to educate policymakers, school leaders and others about how calculated policy changes aimed at maintaining segregated communities and schools since segregation in the 1930s continue to prohibit disadvantaged populations of students from reaching the same levels of achievement as their middle-class white counterparts.
“We have state-sponsored segregation and we will never narrow the achievement gap unless this goes away,” said Rothstein. But as a society, he argued, we have become convinced inaccurately that segregation is an accident of demographics rather than a long-standing deliberate attempt by our leaders to maintain separate communities and school districts.
Rothstein told the audience that school leaders need to stop apologizing for the achievement gap when they’re doing so much to improve it. He touched on a recent longitudinal analysis he authored that found while the most disadvantaged students in the country are improving on TIMSS, PISA and other benchmarking measures, disadvantaged students in places like Finland and Canada are actually doing worse on these measures over time.
He criticized those in the reform movement who believe that evidence of one school that succeeds in educating concentrated groups of disadvantaged students is evidence that it is possible everywhere. He slammed school reformers like Joel Klein, former chancellor of the New York City schools, who argue that if school leaders had higher expectations and higher-quality teachers, they could ensure every poor, hungry, mobile student was achieving in an equivalent manner to his stable, rich, healthy peer.
Rothstein concluded by insisting that if the United States ever hopes to make radical gains in eradicating the achievement gap, the answer is not in the school reform agenda, but in concrete changes to federal, state and local policy that force disadvantaged students to be integrated into middle-class or high-wealth school districts.
“When disadvantaged students are grouped together in schools, their challenges are compounded and build upon each other. … Unless we integrate disadvantaged students into middle class schools, we will never narrow the achievement gap beyond what we’ve done today,” Rothstein said.
(Sasha Pudelski is a government affairs manager with AASA.)
Sarah Darer Littman writes regularly about education for Connecticut media.
She recently took her daughter on a tour to select a college where she could get a strong bachelor’s degree and prepare for a career in teaching. Yes, there are still idealistic young people who see teaching as their vocation, their calling.
Imagine her surprise when one young college guide said he planned to try TFA before embarking on his real career.
This got Sarah thinking about why Governor Malloy is so eager to deploy these ill-trained young people for the districts where students have the highest needs. Shouldn’t these students get experienced, highly qualified expert teachers?
Mother Crusader reports on an anomalous situation in New Jersey.
When the state wants to put charter schools in the suburbs, the state informs the district and parents have a chance to be heard. The suburbs are Governor Christie’s base.
But when the state decides to put charters in an urban district, why bother soliciting their opinion? Who cares what they think?
You have to see this wonderful video of a basketball game in Texas between two high school teams.
It is about the kindness that adolescents can show for one another.
It’s about a young man with a disability who loves basketball.
It’s about the love that others showed to him.
Nearly 150 professors at universities in Massachusetts issued a statement in opposition to high-stakes testing.
As the national movement against the misuse and abuse of standardized tests grows, the mainstream media is starting to take note and report on it.
More than 800 school boards in Texas; prominent superintendents like Joshua Starr and Heath Morrison; teachers at Garfield High in Seattle; students in Portland, Oregon, and Providence, RI.
Every day, the reaction against high-stakes testing gets stronger and louder.
As the Hechinger Report explains, Finland doesn’t give standardized tests, yet its students excel on the international standardized tests. Finland has this idea deeply grounded in its education system: it trusts its teachers to make their own tests and to decide how well students are doing.
By contrast, we trust no one and test everyone.
We waste billions of dollars on testing even as budgets are cut, teachers are laid off and class sizes grow. Worse, we waste a large number of weeks of instruction on testing and preparing to take tests. Kids are practicing to satisfy Pearson instead of learning new skills and knowledge.
Will our leaders ever come to their senses? Probably not until millions of parents withhold their child from the testing machine. Probably not until thousands of superintendents and principals speak out. Probably not until thousands of school boards say no.
Probably not until entire school districts refuse to give the tests or refuse to send the results to the state.
