Wake Up!!!

Article in the Houston Chronicle....do these facts not disturb our leaders???

Expert says education at risk if state's spending cuts enacted

By GARY SCHARRER
Austin bureau

Feb. 23, 2011, 10:50PM

AUSTIN — For Texans to truly understand the state's grim future may require all 1,030 school superintendents to immediately cancel high school sports — including Friday night football, demographer Steve Murdock says.

Of course, doing so might get them all fired.

So, the lights still will shine on Texas high school football this fall. But the coming crisis will not go away, he said.

According to Murdock, unless state leaders address the current trend line, by 2040 three out of every 10 Texas workers will not have a high school diploma.

Education is the only remedy, he said, and the early budget plans would make the trend line much worse.

Public education stands to lose about $11.5 billion from current funding levels. The cuts likely would lead to larger class sizes and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs for teachers and education support staff. The budget proposals also would cut early childhood intervention, teen parenting eduction, reading, math and science initiatives, and programs to help students stay in school.

Pre-K, TEXAS grants

Murdock is particularly concerned about the two programs he says are most critical: high quality pre-kindergarten and TEXAS grants, which he considers the building blocks for elevating public education.

Both programs, however, face severe budget cuts.

The preliminary House budget plan would cut about $222 million out of Pre-K funding for the next two years affecting about 101,000 children currently in the full-day program. The TEXAS grant program faces a 41 percent budget cut, dropping the number of students who get college financial help from nearly 87,000 to 27,000.

"I am very concerned," said Murdock, a sociology professor at Rice University and the former state demographer who also served as U.S. Census Bureau director in the George W. Bush administration. "It's not like we have a lot of slack in the system where we can slip a little bit and still be OK."

Minority children now make up at least 66 percent of the state's 4.8 million public school enrollment, most from low-income families. In the last 10 years, the number of children from low-income families has increased by 893,055, surpassing overall enrollment growth during the same period.

Education is the single best predictor of income, Murdock says, and the combination of explosive Hispanic population growth and low academic achievement produces the sour forecast.

"We are lagging now and to fail to educate this population is a formula for long-term disaster for Texas," Murdock said. "The thing that is most important for us to recognize is that what we do today with these young people will determine the future for all of us."

Catching kids early

Proposed cuts to Pre-K funding disturb Spring Branch ISD school board member Susan Kellner. Spring Branch has had a model Pre-K program for years and a full-day program for 10 years.

Pre-K works, Kellner said, citing statistics showing that Spring Branch students perform 5 percent to 9.2 percent better on reading, math and writing tests if they attended Pre- K.

"If you catch them early, you catch any kind of learning disability, you catch any kind of family dynamic that you help them with, you catch speech problems, and you can remediate when their brains are so malleable," Kellner said. "You can change the way they learn. This is the way you get kids to college."

House Public Education Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, said he cannot defend the proposed cuts in Pre-K and TEXAS grant funding.

"We have some serious, serious decisions to make," Eissler said. "If you predict the future based on today, it's not bright."

The consensus of Pre-K research is that Pre-K investment is the best place to spend education money because it delivers the greatest return, said Ed Fuller, an education researcher at the University of Texas at Austin.

Cutting education spending is like mortgaging the state's future, he said, and will take years to recover.

"Essentially," Fuller said, "we're going to end up with two groups of people: one who can afford to have their kids educated, and a much larger group of Texans who can't afford to have their kids educated."

In the long run, Texas will lose money as struggling students drop out, he said. They end up paying fewer taxes and needing more social services or end up incarcerated, he said.

The Close of a Chapter

I have been saddened the past few days after I received the news that the education department at CitySquare (formerly Central Dallas Ministries--where I used to work) will be closing. That means the After School Academy, summer program, Teen U, Mid-Teen U, and Roseland Library/Bookstore will all be coming to end in May, along with the community center in Roseland. To be honest, I was really heartbroken by this news--heartbroken for the families and kids and the community that love these programs and that are benefiting in so many immeasurable ways, for Janet who has dedicated her entire life the past 13-15 years to developing the department to what it is today, and just a little bit for myself because these programs and the people that ARE the programs have played such an enormous role in my life and are so close to my heart.

The reason I came to Dallas in February 2003 (8 years ago) was to intern under Janet and learn about the challenges of urban life and of urban education. The very first people I met here were Janet and the kids and families of the After School Academy in Turner Courts and the members of the Central Dallas church. I never really expected to still be here in Dallas eight years later, but the experiences I had and the relationships I built there changed me so much...they helped me define a purpose and passion for my life. They helped me to shape a much deeper and more diverse world view. They taught me about empathy, about compassion, about community, and about justice in ways I had never previously understood those words. Every single day I learned so much....about people, about education, about kids, about injustice, about hope, about real community, about struggle...and about myself. I learned so much about the potential in kids and discovered this strong desire to make sure every child has a chance to capitalize on that potential. I loved everything about the ideals, the mission, the vision, the principles, and the practice of our programs....(I still say "our" although I haven't been a staff member in almost 5 years)....we were so unique from other after school organizations and had so much substance. I loved that children were always valued and never exploited, even if it meant losing funding opportunities or public recognition at times. I love that it was always about the quality more than the quantity and that standard was never compromised. I love that the program valued people and parents and that it thrived on the wisdom and strengths that everybody brought to the table, not just program directors. I love that each new generation of the After School Academy or University of Values was a family more than it was a program...a family that keeps in touch long after the programs have ended or moved or changed. There was always so much love....real love. Even though I wasn't as involved as I once was, I could still drop by Roseland every Friday afternoon and find that same love, that same sense of family and community. No matter what changes I personally went through, I could always go back there and sort of find myself again. And now it won't be there. At least not in the same way it always has been. And that makes me really, really sad.

And then my heart breaks for the kids....kids who love having a place to call their own, a place that feels like "theirs", a place they can go to find that same sense of love and family that means so much to me as well. If you've ever seen the way Katrina hugs her kids in the library and the smiles on their faces when they see her, if you could see the kids busily working in the growing garden behind the ASA, if you could see the polite way they greet a visitor, if you could see the books, the artwork, the artifacts from all sorts of amazing learning experiments splashed across the walls, you would know in an instant why this is so tragic. Although I know Janet and Katrina and others will stay in touch with kids long after the program is gone, it will be hard to fill those special hours every afternoon. It was so exciting to see the program grow and develop over the years....so exciting each time an amazing idea got put into action....and now it just seems like such a loss, although I know it isn't. It's just how I feel right now.

And then there's Janet. What can I say about this woman to accurately describe her drive, her passion, her excitement for these kids and for this calling? The entire education department existed because of Janet....because when she came to Dallas however many years ago (14-15?) she got to know her neighbors and the kids in her community. She began having a handful of kids over to her apartment every afternoon after school....and then she began going to their schools....and she began to see a lot of things, but mostly she saw potential. She saw kids who were capable of anything, even if no one else saw it. She saw kids that were worth investing in, even if no one else was investing. From that very first after school program in the living room to the wide array of learning opportunities you see at Roseland today, Janet has been working tirelessly to "helps kids envision who they can and will one day become." I don't think any of us will ever know just how much she put of herself into making each program be the very best it could be. I think back to the old summer program days. Countless hours went into each University of Values summer program....planning the theme, gathering resources, working out administrative details, planning field trips, planning the QUALITY staff development for the teen workers, and then once the program started, putting in 10-12 hour days at the camp, followed by hours each evening responding to the journals, morning message boards, and lesson plans of each teen staff member....for eight weeks straight. Many years, Janet was the only full-time staff member and the responsibility for running after school programs and summer programs was on her shoulders alone. There were times of success, times of failure, times filled with growing pains....but each year brought new lessons, new possibilities, new things to tweak and new things to try....and each year, the program grew a little more and got a little better. Staff members (like me) have come and gone. Parents have come and gone. Kids have come and gone. Locations and buildings have come and gone. But Janet was there from day one...this is her "baby." I can't really imagine Janet without the After School Academy to develop, without summer programs to plan, without "director of education" behind her name. I got a chance to eat with Janet the other night and visit with her about all of this, and although it hasn't been an easy adjustment, she in her usual optimism is looking forward to her new role and the new possibilities at CitySquare. I know she will do amazing things in this new direction, but I will really miss seeing what could have unfolded in the other one. Maybe it's silly but I feel as sad as though something has died, although I know it hasn't and never will. The After School Academy and University of Values and the programs at Roseland will always be alive in every kid, every staff member, every parent, every teacher who was blessed to be a part of its very special, very unique history...it will always be a little part of us-- or in some cases like me, a big part of us. I'm so thankful to have been a part of it, to have known Kashia, Bubba, Whitney, Tiffany, Jessica, Kendell, Octavia, Demarcus, Wyshina, Ms. Fields, Chanel, Ravyn, Deidre, Jhor-Dai, Deshaumbra, Jazmine, Jordan, Daijha, Demarcus, Antionette, Regina, Deandre, Dezaree, Jazz, Adrian, Danielle, Khris, Tionna, Twasanna, Daquaylon, Damian, Tyrese, Chartaydra, Rosco, Buddy, Keishunna, Tatiyana, Maurice, Latrice, Ladarrius, Shaniqua, Diamond, Katrina, Paula, Ladaysha, Iesha, Niesha, Eddie, Vanessa, Nathan, Erica, Rocio, Victor, Sylvia, Phantasia, Triniti, Amaya, Briana, Junior.....and so, so, SO many more people that mean the world to me and have given me a kind of unconditional acceptance that I never found elsewhere. I'm so thankful to have been able to learn so much from a mentor like Janet. I'm so thankful to have just been there and thankful that these places and faces have been such a special part of my life. The things I learned there have given me something to aspire to find and achieve again, they have given me a new lens through which to see the world, and above all else they have given me a new definition of hope.

So while this is the close of a chapter in many ways, I know the story really isn't over...not for Janet, not for CitySquare, and not for the kids. There are many chapters yet to be written. But I think deep down, this one that's ending will always be my personal favorite. Thank you, Janet, for all you have done, for teaching me so very much, and for giving so many people the gift of this experience through your hard work, your sacrifice of time, and your commitment to your belief in people and kids. I know your "ripple" has only just begun....I can't wait to see where it reaches.

SOS!!

So for those in the technology world, there are a lot of little abbreviations like LOL (laugh out loud), ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing), etc that people use in facebooking and texting...one I've started to use a lot is SMH (shaking my head). Yep, I've been SMHing a lot the past couple of weeks as the Texas Legislature has reconvened and started to talk about this severe budget crunch our state is facing. First up on the chopping block are BILLIONS, yes that's right, BILLIONS of dollars for public education, libraries, and other fundamental pillars of a democracy.

Now what this means for local school districts is disturbing. Last night at the Dallas ISD school board meeting, it was announced that if the budget cuts go through as currently discussed, that could mean a potential $253 million cut out of a $1.2 billion budget for our district. Right now they are looking at cutting 3,100 campus employees and 800 non-campus employees. WHAT???? That's almost FOUR-THOUSAND PEOPLE!!! There are only roughly 10,000 teachers in the district! And we're just talking about the Dallas district alone...not the other large districts in the Metroplex that will be affected, as well as districts across the state. If this is not a serious crisis for our state and for our country, I don't know what is. Not only is this a drastic hit to the local economy, but the challenge that will remain for the teachers who keep their jobs is staggering. Classrooms are crowded to the brim already and teachers are fighting to keep up with the needs of an ever-changing and diverse population of students, more and more of whom are English language learners in Texas and require more intensive instruction than we can possibly provide as it is. Just as the topic of public education is beginning to make its way back into the national conversation, just as we are starting to recognize the inequities and the inefficiencies of our current system, we are talking about cutting it to the bone even more??

I have mentioned in previous posts that I didn't necessarily think that pumping lots more money into education was the answer and that we currently have resources to work with....but I never thought we needed to go the other direction. I also mentioned that I thought there are teachers who don't need to be in a classroom, but eliminating 4,000 of them in one chop is not going to help the situation. This is seriously scary to me. Not just for the reason of job security for myself, but for the sanity of the teachers who will keep their jobs and for the poor quality of the education we will be providing to our future leaders. I don't understand.....it seems so obvious that one of the best ways to build a strong economy is to build a strong education system. I don't understand how giving millions of kids a sub-par, crappy education is going to benefit our country in the long run. I don't understand how laying off thousands of professionals who will have absolutely no where else to go is going to strengthen our state's economy. About the only business that is going to be booming in twenty years is the prison industry with this kind of dis-investment of the public education system.

But we've got to do more than SMH....we need to contact our representatives and voice our concerns and let them know that education is worth investing in. We need to fight for our schools, for our teachers, and most importantly for our kids....we can't just sit passively by and let this happen. I don't know what to do but we've got to do something....nothing good can come out taking a hacksaw to education.

Yeah, this is more than a SMH moment....this is an SOS!!!