Powerful Reads

Surprisingly, I've managed to get a lot of reading done lately! It's been awhile since I've actually made it through several books...it seems I always start something and then end up starting something else and have about 10 half-read books sitting around. The past few weeks I finished up some of those "half-done" books and then read some others cover to cover as well.

The first was Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America. I had started this awhile back and didn't really get into it, but this time when I picked it back up, I was consumed by it. This book did a good job of providing a lot of the background research that has shaped America's views on poverty and education for the past several decades and then telling the story of Geoff Canada and the Harlem Children's Zone within that context. The Harlem Children's Zone is a project to completely transform the community of Harlem by first transforming the lives of children through a closely connected network of services and opportunities that begin at birth and continue all the way to college. The HCZ seeks to fill any gap that is the result of poverty to ensure that children in Harlem have the same opportunities to compete with their middle class peers, despite background or income level. Canada started out over 20 years ago by operating several after school programs, dropout prevention programs, etc. but the results were hit and miss. A particular program might address one need in a child's life, but there were so many other obstacles that could potentially still derail that child. Therefore although there were many good programs doing great things, the impact wasn't noticeable in the overall scheme of changing poverty in Harlem. As a result, Canada has tried to put together an organization that is much more concentrated and continuous in its focus and that attempts to weave such a tight safety net that no children can slip through. This was such an interesting book. First of all, Canada is an inspiring figure. His determination, his logic, his focus, and his "realness" really make him a one-of-a-kind leader. The whole concept is intriguing, although skeptics wonder how you could make this kind of effort scalable because of the enormous cost. However, I learned so much about the history of how America has viewed and treated poverty and what research has said about poverty that gave me many "aha!" moments for better understanding our situation in America today. And I have to admit, I think Canada's "conveyor belt" method is going to prove most effective in the long run as opposed to the hit and miss efforts we usually see.



In the meantime, I was also reading the Waiting for Superman companion book that is comprised of several articles by people in the education reform world. There were a number of different viewpoints but some valid solutions were discussed. Some of it was more of the same, but there was several articles where I was introduced to some things I hadn't thought about before. I think this would be a good book for people just trying to learn more about this education crisis and about the different issues involved without getting too complex.



Then in just a matter of a few days, I read Work Hard. Be Nice. which is about the two guys who started the KIPP charter schools. It chronicles their entire journey, from the early days as Teach for America teachers in Houston to their first attempts at facilitating KIPP within existing public schools to the development of the KIPP Foundation that trains school leaders to open KIPP schools all across the country. While I didn't always agree 100% with some of Feinberg and Levin's methods, I had to admire their tenacity and dedication to the kids as well as their willingness to learn, grow, and adapt. They just wanted to be better teachers and achieve better results with kids and they were willing to learn and be mentored and to innovate in order for that to happen. These guys were tireless and they were fighters. They absolutely would not give up even when the traditional public school institutional red tape got in the way. Even when they were not getting the results they wanted. Even when they were making enemies left and right. But they ended up being instrumental in showing America that poor kids not only CAN learn, they WILL learn if the expectations are put in place and if teachers do whatever it takes to ensure that it happens. These guys never claimed they had the answers but they didn't wait for the answers to come to them....they went out and found them. The author did a good job of not just sanctifying these two guys...he definitely included some portrayals that weren't always flattering, yet you still end up being inspired by their pure determination to make a difference. They never intended to start a nationwide chain of schools. They just wanted to figure out how to best teach the kids in front of them. I think that's what has to happen for real education reform. We can't always legislate from the top what needs to happen. We need to put the kind of people in classrooms who look at the faces in front of them and do whatever it takes for them to learn.



Finally, I read Lighting Their Fires by Rafe Esquith. Rafe is an exceptional teacher in Los Angeles. He's written a couple of other books as well. This particular book was more about the character he tries to instill in his students. It could actually be read by parents as well as teachers. The whole book is written against the backdrop of him taking some of his students to an LA Dodgers game and how that experience exemplifies many of the values he tries to engrain in his kids. Things like being on time, managing time, the ability to focus and concentrate, developing a personal code of behavior, valuing reading over television, doing whatever you do with excellence, learning unselfishness, exhibiting humility, and learning to appreciate delayed gratification...all values that are pretty scarce in younger generations. I kept thinking of all you parents out there who might enjoy this book....I recommend it! It was a quick read. I read almost the whole thing during the 4 1/2 hours that I was proctoring a practice SAT test for the Upward Bound class on Saturday.



It feels good for the stack beside my bed to be whittled down a bit...but it won't be long I'm sure before it's piled up even with the mattress again!

Concrete Steps

I recently joined Twitter with the intention of mainly following different people and organizations related to education and education reform so I can continue to stay informed of the discussion and debate that is heating up in our nation regarding this critical topic. It has been interesting and I have definitely come across some informative and thought-provoking blog posts and articles, but at the same time I sometimes get overwhelmed with all the TALK. All the debate. All the analysis and contradicting viewpoints. In the meantime, our schools are staying EXACTLY the same. "Waiting for Superman" was meant to start a conversation but it was also meant to spur some real action. However, even the most compelled among us seem to be at somewhat of a loss as to where to start. The system is so vast, so complicated, so complex...it involves so many millions of people...how can we change such a monster??

I was talking to my dad the other day about the screening and panel at CDM last week and he just bluntly asked, "Well, what do you think would fix the schools? What do you think is the answer?" I have been mulling over that question for quite some time now and trying to come up with some concrete things that I think could make a difference. Not the abstract things like, "Parents need to be more involved" because we can't really do anything about that. But what are some practical, concrete action steps we can take immediately to begin transforming this system??

Here are some key factors that I, in all my expertise (sarcasm, folks, sarcasm), feel that we could begin working on as a district and as a state:

1) Rigorous and demanding teacher preparation programs

Whether a university based or alternative certification program, we need to begin raising our standards for what kind of people can have the privilege of teaching in our classrooms. I was thinking of a medical school analogy. First of all, there are steep requirements for even being accepted into medical school. Then, out of those candidates that are accepted, many are weeded out after the first year of med school. Right now, you only have to have a 2.5 gpa in your undergraduate studies to be accepted into a teacher prep program. There are really no other qualifications, other than not having a criminal background. What if we raised our standards for who can be accepted initially into a teacher prep program, and then raised the standards for what it takes to complete a teacher prep program? What if we weeded out the worst teachers before they even made it to a classroom, just like we weed out people who aren't cut out to be doctors before they ever make it into a hospital?

Then the teacher prep programs themselves need to be more rigorous, hands-on, and meaningful. Although many districts and school have a "mentoring" program for new teachers, it is usually a joke. But if we could develop a meaningful master-teacher/apprentice teacher component as part of teacher preparation, I think we could ensure that even first-year teachers are better equipped to lead and guide students in a demanding curriculum.

If we made becoming a teacher a more challenging process and it became a more elite career, then we could pay teachers more and thus recruit more quality people...and create a whole new cycle.

So what are the concrete steps?? Our State Board of Education and Texas Education Agency need to revamp the laws, standards, and policies that guide the requirements for teacher preparation programs, at both the university level and in alternative certification programs. Right now, alt-cert programs are for-profit organizations...they're more concerned with getting as many candidates enrolled as possible...that's how they stay in business. The quality of the program is secondary. Even as a product and beneficiary of alternative certification, I think it is truly damaging our educational system.

2) Continue investing in early-education programs, especially in low-income areas

The research is abundant: if a child has limited learning experiences, limited literacy experiences, limited exposure to books and high-level conversational vocabulary...they will start school already behind. It is critical that kids arrive on the first day of kindergarten with certain pre-reading skills and a literacy foundation. There has been so much research done on the difference between children in poverty and children from more affluent areas as far as the number of hours being read to, the number of books in the home, the number of words they've heard and the type of words heard, etc. and the impact this has on their future learning. I could go into all of the research on this subject, but bottom line, it is ESSENTIAL. The research of the effectiveness of programs like Head Start is mixed, but this biggest problem is that any progress that was made in Head Start is erased when the students arrive at a sub-par public school in their same low-income neighborhood. If we have quality teachers and quality curriculum and quality resources in place when the kids transition from Head Start to public school, then I believe we would really start to see the impact of having that early education piece in place. It doesn't always have to be Head Start. That is just one program of many that could potentially impact early education. I like the idea at the Harlem Children's Zone of "Baby College". This is a nine week course for expecting parents or parents of small children that trains them on ways to work with their children to build them up and prepare them educationally. The program also addresses other areas such as nutrition, discipline, etc. that have an impact on a child's early years. Most parents love their children and want the best for their children, but many don't come from backgrounds where buying books or going to the library or museums was a priority. They want their children to be successful, but they don't always have the tools or resources to know WHAT to do with their kids, because it wasn't a part of their own upbringing, perhaps. Even for middle and upper class parents, we've got to continue to educate them on the importance of cultivating creative learning experiences and not always relying on television or video games to entertain the kids. If children arrive for their 12 years of public education with a strong foundation for learning, then I believe we could be more effective in those 12 years.

So the concrete steps? Continue to invest in programs that promote early education. Expand programs that provide early education to low-income families and expand programs that work with parents on things they can do at home to help their children. Support programs that provide books and reading materials to neighborhoods and homes where these resources are scarce.

These are just two steps, but now this blog post is getting out of control again, so maybe there will be a part two in a couple of days! Stay tuned as I solve America's education crisis one blog post at a time! :-P

TEACHED

TEACHED 8-min Extended Trailer May 2010 from Loudspeaker Films on Vimeo.

So I'm not sure when this is coming out...seems to have some of the same themes as "Waiting for Superman"...but looks like they include a wider variety of voices, which I look forward to hearing.

So glad education is becoming a topic people want to talk about!!

Upward Bound

Wow! What a weekend! I feel I have been running a million miles an hour for about a week straight and this weekend was particularly eventful. Most of the weekend involved state fair, birthday, and eating activities with the Fletcher/Eckstein/Joyner/Skidmore clan, which was GREAT, but one of the highlights was my first day with the Upward Bound program at Mountain View College on Saturday morning.

I may have mentioned previously that I will be working a few hours a month with Upward Bound, which is a federally funded grant program that targets low-income high school students who are potential first-generation college students and provides them with an array of resources and support to assist them in getting to college and completing college. There are Upward Bound programs across the country and, from what I see, they are quite successful in motivating and assisting students and families with achieving the goal of college. The particular program I work with targets students from five high schools in Dallas and Grand Prairie, including Kimball, where Dezeray goes. So I was able to get Dezeray and her mom the information and she applied and got in, which I am SO excited about. Upward Bound provides tutors and staff at each high school location to provide support throughout the week for the students in the program. They also host "Saturday Academies" twice a month in which students will receive SAT/ACT test prep instruction as well as a Written Word class and other informative workshops and seminars. The students also take lots of college trips and visits and other enrichment trips outside of the city. For example, they are going to New Orleans over the Thanksgiving break. I am just such a fan of programs like this that provide opportunities for students to see glimpses of the world outside of their Dallas, Texas neighborhoods and allows them to get some richer context for setting goals and dreams for their future.

My job will be to teach the Written Word class at the Saturday Academies. The goal is just to focus on writing skills and getting students more comfortable with expressing themselves through writing. I was a little nervous about the position at first because I have never taught high school students...all my experience has been with elementary and middle school children. To be honest, I've always secretly been a little intimidated by high school students. However, on Saturday, I was blown away by the maturity and focus of the 100-150 students who attended the Academy. I quickly decided I've been in middle school too long. I had no idea that kids eventually grow up a little and actually get some sense! (J/K). Our assignment on Saturday was to write letters to Congressmen because the federal funding for the Upward Bound program is in danger of being cut when the budget is voted on in November. I was really impressed at the writing ability of the students and the thoughtfulness of their letters. Also, I could tell from the letters how much this program has meant to them and what a loss it would be if the program had to close its doors.

When we look at what is going on in many of our public high schools, we tend to focus on the negative. We look at dropout rates and teen pregnancy rates and low test scores. We look at the gang activity and students who seem to be making all the wrong choices. We get so focused on those problems that all the potential in those schools gets overshadowed and overlooked. But what I loved on Saturday is that I looked out across a room and all I saw was potential. Hope. Determination. Good kids who want something better for themselves. I saw dozens of Dezerays and I was so happy that she is connecting with other kids who have the expectations and goals for themselves that she does. These are kids who believe education is a way out and they value these opportunities. I am so looking forward to knowing them better over the next few months and being a small part of the team that is working to make sure that they graduate with options and opportunities, despite the school, neighborhood, or income level they come from.

It has really been refreshing the past few weeks to get involved with programs like Upward Bound and to get more involved with the programs at Roseland with Central Dallas as well. Each day I meet kids that renew my hope and renew my commitment to doing whatever I can to make sure they get all the tools and resources they need to pursue whatever it is they want to pursue in life. It is so encouraging to be surrounded by adults and staff members who share that commitment. I don't always feel that same shared zeal here at my school, so I am really thriving off the encouragement and inspiration I get from my colleagues and co-workers in these other programs and organizations.

However, I am really alarmed that the Upward Bound program could be losing its funding in November. I just think investment in education is a terrible area to cut. Please read the following information about the funding for this program:

What is the Immediate Funding Crisis?

· The College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) provided four years of funding to
support nearly 200 Upward Bound projects. These is a separate pot of money from the other funds that support all other TRIO projects. Once the CCRAA money is gone, Congress will need to find additional money to support the programs formerly funded by CCRAA.

· According to a recent letter from the Department of Education, the funding for the
CCRAA projects will expire on in the middle of the 2011-2012 academic year on
December 30, 2011. (See attached.) Important Note: Due to different funding cycles,
some of these projects have an end date of May 2012. To the best of our knowledge,
these projects will have funding through that time; however, they will still be subject to a severe squeeze in the number of projects that will be funded in the FY 2012 competition.

What is the Solution?

· We need Congress to put an additional $34 million in the FY 2011 appropriations
legislation to fund the CCRAA projects through the remainder of the 2011-2012 program
year. Otherwise, these projects will expire before the next grant competition, which will be in FY 2012 (and fund projects that will be in academic year 2012-2013).

· We only have one talking point: Unless you put $34 million into Upward Bound in FY
2011, we will lose 200 programs serving 12,000 students!

What Happens Next?
· Members of Congress are actively campaigning around their home states and districts.Over the next several weeks they will be meeting with constituents to try and earn their votes in the upcoming midterm elections. Once they return on November 15, they will pass one or more of the following pieces of legislation. Our objective is to get funding into one of these pieces of appropriations legislation:

o Continuing Resolution (CR) This is a short-term, stop-gap measure to keep
the government running after the end of the fiscal year (September 30). The
current CR runs through December 3, 2010. Congress will have to pass another
CR or an omnibus (see below) before that date.
o Omnibus Appropriations Bill (omnibus or sometimes called minibus) This is a longer-term bill that combines several appropriations bills into one larger
bill. Because the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill, which funds TRIO,
is often controversial (due to issues relating to healthcare), this will likely be
linked with other, less controversial spending bills. An omnibus bill usually lasts
for a longer period of time, possibly even until the end of the fiscal year
(September 30).

· Due to the ever-changing nature of the political game, we won't know which vehicle
Congress will use to set spending for the rest of FY 2011. They very well might pass
something that lasts only until the beginning of next year. Regardless of whichever
route they choose, our message stays the same: Support putting $34 million into
Upward Bound in FY 2011 or we will lose 200 programs serving 12,000 students
next year!

What Should We Do?
· There are several ways that you can reach out to your legislators to get their support:
o Attend townhall meetings and public forums
§ Be sure to bring large groups wearing TRIO hats, pins, sweatshirts, etc.
§ Come ready to ask about this issue and ask for their leadership in taking
care of this situation.
o Request face-to-face meetings at local offices
o Ask your institutional leaders to write letters requesting funds
· Make it clear to legislators that these programs serving students in their community WILL go away after December 2011 unless they take action.

Points to make:
o The longevity of the program in your community (Is it an older, well-established
program that people have come to rely on? Is it a brand new program serving
pent-up demand for services?)
o The impact of the program in your community (e.g., provide success rates for
your students applying, getting into and graduating from college.)
· Be sure to involve your institutional and community leaders, parents, students, and
alumni! We need all hands on deck if we are to be successful!

I would ask anyone reading this (which may be no one) to take a moment to advocate for the continuance of this program, whether by contacting your U.S. legislators by letter, phone call, or email. I wish all of you that do read this blog had the opportunity to get to know some of these amazing kids that I get to interact with each and every day. If you could know them and see the potential they have first hand, you would know every dollar invested in them and their future is worth it! Let's work together to invest our tax money in stuff that has some positive return...like educated, productive leaders and citizens! Let me know if you have questions or suggestions!

What I Didn't Get to Say!

Last night, Central Dallas Ministries hosted a screening of the "Waiting for Superman" documentary that I referred to in earlier posts. After the film, there was a "town hall forum" discussion and I had the opportunity to be one of the panelists. I was a little nervous about this because first of all, I am much more comfortable blogging my thoughts than speaking them in front of large groups of people (especially a large group of professionals, business leaders, other seasoned educators...not kids!!), and second of all, do I even know what I am talking about?? At the same time, this is a topic that I am always eager to discuss so I was happy to be a part. Other panelists included a former school board trustee, an elementary principal, a non-profit education leader, a parent, the president of Dallas AFT (teacher's union), the founder of a successful charter school network, and myself. Unfortunately, time ran out after only a few questions to the panel and I felt that the surface was hardly scratched.

I think the point of the panel and discussion forums such as these is to really start a conversation about...what are we going to DO?? Not just keep talking about what's wrong and what needs to change, but HOW are we going to change it? What are the practical steps we need to take as people sincerely concerned about equitable, quality public education in America? However, the discussion never seems to quite get to those practical steps. To be honest, I found myself quite irritated during the discussion by the AFT president. The first question we were asked was just about our general reaction to the film. She, quite predictably, started channeling Randi Weingarten and the same spiel that the unions have been arguing since the film came out....that she is saddened that there wasn't one successful traditional public school or public school teacher featured in the film, that she is upset about the beating that public schools are taking from this movie, that there are so many great teachers working their hearts out everywhere, that there are some great schools in DISD, blah, blah, blah. OKAY!! We get that!! We know there are good teachers and good schools out there. WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THEM!!! But if everyone is doing such a good job, then why is America ranked 25th in math and 21st in science out of 30 developed countries? Why do we only have a national average of proficiency in reading and math that is less than 30%?? That's a wake-up call, people! We can sit around and get defensive and talk about how good hearted and hard working teachers are and how much they sacrifice all day, but no one has the power to change those statistics more than teachers, so they HAVE to be the target of this conversation! So the union representatives can keep defending their teachers if they want to, but that's not going to change those frightening numbers that you see above. Yes, there are GREAT teachers!! No one is bashing them or discrediting the work they do!! But for every good teacher, there are six or seven mediocre ones and maybe two or three truly bad ones. (I'm just going off what I see in the schools I've been in.) For every great teacher who brings success to 30 students, there are 80 more slipping through the cracks in the rooms down the hall. So that's part of what this conversation is about. To me, if you are truly a great teacher, you know this. You have to acknowledge this. You have to be outraged that your colleagues are not giving the same effort you are and that all your hard work one year might be flushed down the toilet with a lazy, half-hearted, complacent, incompetent, whatever the case may be (fill in the blank here) teacher the next year.

At the same time that teachers are worked to death and underpaid, we are spoiled. We are spoiled because we are in pretty much the only career in the world where we really don't have to achieve any results at all to keep our jobs. We are rarely observed, rarely evaluated, and rarely disciplined. We are rarely fired. There are rarely any real consequences or real accountability for not doing a good job. Sometimes I hear things like "you're going to get written up for that." I've been in education almost six years and am still mystified by that. Okay, written up? What does that mean? And what happens? Well, apparently nothing. There are no consequences!!! Maybe that's why discipline is such a problem in our schools. How can we deliver an appropriate system of expectations, accountability, and consequences for students when there are none for ourselves?

We are spoiled because we think we actually earn three months off in the summer. We think we are not obligated to work past 3:30pm and get outraged if we are asked to do so. (Lots of teachers DO put in lots of their own time past the contracted hours, even bad ones do, but what career doesn't have to work long hours to get results?? Yet teachers have the loudest voices about how hard and how long we have to work). I wonder how many teachers could go into the corporate world or the business world and survive. We are walking around out here like we're the victims, like we're the only ones putting in long hours out here in America. Like we're the only ones not getting appreciated and paid well. Yes, teaching is TOUGH!! It is exhausting, mentally and physically and financially draining. We do have to deal with unimaginable challenges and we do have the pressures of unimaginable responsibilities on our shoulders. But that is the nature of what we do. That is what teaching is. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!! This victim mentality is getting us nowhere.

I want to write more about the actual movie itself, but I have a day off from school today and about a zillion things to do...so this post will be continued....