Archives for category: Poverty
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Who Abandoned the Children of Philadelphia?

By dianeravitch
July 13, 2013 //
36

A new survey shows that Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of any of the nation’s 10 largest cities.

28% of the city’s people are poor, as are 39% of its children. The national child poverty rate is 23%.

Now we know from reformers that poverty is no “excuse” for low test scores, but we also know from the reality-based world that low income is highly correlated with low test scores. If you want to learn more, read Richard Rothstein’s “Class and Schools,” or google Helen Ladd’s “Education and Poverty: Confronting the Evidence.”

Thus, it makes no sense to strip the city’s schools of the arts, physical education, librarians, guidance counselors, social workers, and every other support personnel. These children desperately need a good education.

The state of Pennsylvania has a constitutional obligation to educate its children.

And the state thus far has cynically told Philadelphia to extract more taxes from its impoverished population. That is worse than no answer. That is negligence of a high order.

When the next election comes round, the people of Pennsylvania should hold accountable those who inflicted harm on the state’s most vulnerable children.

Categories Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Poverty

The Superintendent of a High-Performing District Speaks Out

By dianeravitch
July 7, 2013 //
77

An earlier post linked to an article by Scott Waldman in the Albany Times-Union, in which Waldman pointed out that rankings accurately reflect the socioeconomic status of families in the schools, not the quality of the schools. He asked, what do those school rankings really demonstrate?

This letter came from a superintendent in the area of upstate New York about which Waldman wrote:

 

I am the superintendent of one of the high performing schools Waldman identified. He is, of course, absolutely accurate. The issue has always been poverty–urban, rural, and increasingly, suburban. It is easier and more expedient for politicians and naysayers in general, to attack schools–their costs, their teachers, their calendar, their curriculum–rather than address the root cause of the discrepancies–multi-generational systemic poverty. We have known about the impact of poverty on student achievement for hundreds of years. We have known how standardized test scores are skewed by zip code for years. Even the inventors of standardized testing (in the very early twentieth century) argued that they should be used judiciously because they are so sensitive to environment. I know an urban educator very well, who constantly states that it is not that his kids (grade five) can’t learn–indeed, they have already learned some skills about survival that are much more compelling than their ELA scores. The problem is that the things they have learned can not be reduced to a multiple choice test.

 

Categories Poverty, Teacher Evaluations

Will Extremes of Inequality Create a New Movement for Change?

By dianeravitch
July 5, 2013 //
11

One of our regular readers and commenters Is a Tea Party activist who likes to joust with anyone who dares to express compassion for those whose lives are blighted by poverty. He scoffs at the idea that there is such a thing as communal responsibility. In his world, it is always nasty and brutish, and it is each one for himself.

So here is a story that appeared in the New York Times on July 2. It is about a woman who works for Kentucky Fried Chicken. She is a shift manager, and she is paid $7.75 an hour. She makes an extra 50 cents an hour because of her title and extra responsibilities. Her husband is unemployed. From her meager earnings, she must feed and clothe three children and pay the rent. She said, “I’m beyond not satisfied. This isn’t the life I want for my children. This isn’t the life I want for myself.” Last year, when boiling oil scalded her hands and she was out of work, she got $58 a week in workers’ compensation. A welfare queen, right?

The CEO of YUM!, which owns Taco Bell and KFC, makes $11.3 million per year. The Times says he “helped lead the battle against paid sick days.”

Fast food workers and other workers whose wages are barely above the poverty line are trying to unionize. Imagine that.

Categories Economy, Poverty

What Do All Those School Rankings Really Demonstrate?

By dianeravitch
July 5, 2013 //
24

Scott Waldman writes thoughtfully about education for the Albany Times-Union newspaper in upstate New York.

In this article, he demonstrates what most educators know and what ought to be common sense for everyone else:

The schools rankings in affluent districts have the highest rankings, and the schools in districts with high levels of poverty have the lowest rankings.

Some people don’t seem to know this. Unfortunately, the people who don’t know this are in Congress, state legislatures, the U.S. Department of Education, and the governors’ offices.

Thus, policymakers berate those who teach children in impoverished districts and even close or privatize their schools.

Children who grow up poor are not destined to do poorly in school. If they attend well-resourced schools that are not dominated by poverty and segregation, they do better in school.

Call it peer effects, or something about getting the attention and resources needed.

Categories Poverty, Privatization

How Fare the Pritzkers? Very Well Indeed.

By dianeravitch
June 23, 2013 //
27

I recently attended the commencement ceremonies at Queens College in New York City, one of the nation’s finest public institutions.

At the ceremony specifically for graduates of the education program, the dean opened his remarks by citing an African proverb, “How fare the children?”

The answer should be “The children are well.”

In a good and decent society, we take care of the children, because in doing so, we not only express our humanity, but we ensure our future.

In this society, it might be well to ask, “How fare the 1%?”

The 1% fare exceedingly well. Their share of the national income rises each year.

And none fare so well as the Pritzker family of Chicago.

Penny Pritzker was a member of the Chicago Board of Education.

She voted to close 50 Chicago public schools while increasing the growth of charter schools, one of which bears her name.

Soon she will be President Obama’s Secretary of Commerce.

Her brother fares well too.

How fare the children?

Not so well.

Nearly one of every four children in the United States lives in poverty.

Many go to bad hungry; growing numbers are homeless.

Many are in schools without art or music, without guidance counselors or librarians.

Many are in classes so large that they get no individual attention.

Whose fault is this?

It must be their teachers.

They must be graded, ranked, evaluated closely.

Makes no sense, but the mainstream media has swallowed it whole.

 

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Chicago, Childhood, Pre-K, K, Poverty

Teacher to Iowa Media: Stop Bashing Teachers and Schools

By dianeravitch
June 5, 2013 //
13

Amy Prime teaches second grade in Iowa. She writes strong opinion pieces and in this one, she lambastes the Des Moines Register (which publishes her articles) for its most recent editorial blasting the schools. In this case,the newspaper complained that Iowa schools did not have test scores as high as Maryland.

Have Iowa’s test scores “stagnated”? Whence came the belief that they must go up every year, like stock prices?

She writes:

“Even if our scores have “stagnated,” as the Register article asserts, then Iowa teachers should be praised for maintaining such high scores with that added challenge. I’d like to see a feature congratulating teachers for not allowing our kids to slip when we have been forced to deal with larger class sizes, decreased funding, more English-as-a-second-language students, less planning and prep time, the slashing of our music and arts programs, the demoralization of our profession in the media, increased interference from politicians and businessmen, and more.”

Amy challenges the editorial writers to talk to teachers, not to Stanford researchers or people from the governor’s office.

Categories Poverty, Pre-K, Support for public schools, Teachers and Teaching, Testing

Sharp Increase in Homeless Kids in NYC

By dianeravitch
June 2, 2013 //
18

Yoav Gonen and Frank Rosario in the New York Post report a spike in the number of homeless students in the New York City public schools.

They write:

“More than 53,000 city public-school students lack a permanent home — a fivefold increase over 2008, figures show.

“While the economy’s collapse led to a huge spike in the number of homeless kids in public schools, the figure has continued to climb by more than 10,000 kids since 2010, according to city Department of Education data.

“As of October 2012, one out of every 20 public-school students was living in a shelter, at an address shared by multiple families or in a hotel or motel.”

Advocates for the homeless predicted that the numbers would increase.

Patrick Markee of the Coalition for the Homeless said, “The continuing economic crisis and the high cost of housing continue to be pricing out more and more kids and families from the housing market…At the same time, the failures of Mayor Bloomerg’s policies . . . have contributed to all-time records of homelessness.” He cited the Bloomberg administration’s decision to eliminate affordable-housing assistance as a major source of the problem.

The articles cite two schools where more than 40 percent of the students were homeless.

Homeless students have a hard time doing their studies. When the test scores come out, these schools are likely to have low scores. If so, the leadership of the Department of Education will label them “failing schools,” and they may be closed. This will increase the burdens on the students who are homeless.

Categories Bloomberg, Michael, Poverty

Dare They Send Their Child to the Neighborhood School?

By dianeravitch
May 31, 2013 //
11

Andy Hines, a writer and stay-at-home dad, describes his family’s debate about where to send their child to school. They live in San Diego, one of the nation’s best urban school districts, but most advantaged parents shun the neighborhood school. Instead they seek out magnet schools, charter schools, religious schools–anything but the neighborhood school.

Michael Petrilli wrote about the same soul-searching process in his book “The Diverse Schools Dilemma.” Should advantaged parents take a chance on the neighborhood school, where most children are poor and nonwhite? Or should they move to a more affluent district?

This is what Andy Hinds discovered about his neighborhood school:

“Our local public elementary school is a five-minute walk from our house. It has undergone major renovations in the past year, and although it’s not much to look at from the street, the campus is tidy and attractive, with a huge sports field, a brand-new playground, a cute little library, vegetable gardens and whimsical murals and sculptures brightening up the outdoor spaces. The principal is energetic and accessible, the staff turnover is low and the parents who do send their kids there think it’s a wonderful school.”

What’s the problem? Almost every student is poor, and more than half are English language learners.

What did the Hinds family decide? Read on.

Categories Poverty, Segregation , Racial Isolation and Integration, Support for public schools

It’s Time to Get Mad

By dianeravitch
May 31, 2013 //
50

Adam Kirk Edgerton is mad. He is mad at President Obama because he acts like a Republican.

Edgerton runs the Upward Bound program at Salem State University in Massachusetts. His students are losing their scholarships. Many students are losing scholarships.

Edgerton writes:

” I woke up mad today because when it comes to education policy, there is little daylight between a national Democrat and a national Republican. Dismantling civil-rights era social programs and replacing them with market-based reforms is what truly brings President Obama and the Republicans together.”

He adds:

“What I will argue is this: a Democratic administration is deliberately funneling funds away from direct services to poor people and towards administrators and consultants and bureaucrats. Race to the Top pays some pretty good grant-funded salaries to curriculum writers in Central Offices. It puts on a good conference (I’ve been to one). What it doesn’t do is teach kids, or shelter them in safe homes, or feed them healthy food.”

Categories Higher Education, Poverty, Students

Where Is the Support for Our Children?

By dianeravitch
May 30, 2013 //
30

This teacher describes how the testing mania–the evil spawn of No Child Left Behind–has consumed his school without changing the odds against the students. They are still behind and certain to remain far behind.

He writes:

I teach fourth grade in a Philadelphia public school. Though the school has made AYP for the past two years, most of the students are not performing at grade level in math or reading. So, at this school, like most urban schools, the standardized tests have become our god, informing every aspect of our teaching.

For instance I am required to teach reading and math only. If I submit lesson plans with science or social studies or something else, I am out of compliance and will be told to get back into compliance. The principal is a competent and supportive school leader who is simply navigating the academic culture that has developed since NCLB and high stakes testing began. From the district, to the region, to the school, and finally the classroom, every one is under intense pressure to get the test scores up. From day one we are focused on teaching test taking skills. ( and this is in a context where teacher evaluation is not yet tied to the test scores. )

Why is it so difficult to get the students to perform better? I could write a five page blog describing the actual challenges our children contend with that profoundly effect every aspect of their lives, which also happens to include their school experience.

After more than a decade of “academic improvements” and increased oversight and “support”, the student population that has struggled the most, still struggles. Isn’t it obvious by now that we are not addressing the real problems, but are persistently dealing with the symptoms? Where is the real support for our children?

Categories NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Philadelphia, Poverty, Testing
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