Poverty Does Matter

Increased Child Poverty Rate Disproportionately Impacts The Nation's Youngest Learners
     "The Annie E. Casey Foundation is out with its 25th KIDS COUNT Data Book, which has been providing the public with an annual glimpse into the well being of American children for the past quarter-century.
    As big anniversaries do, this one provides a natural opening to look at how we have fared. Trends were both positive and troubling during a time of major demographic shifts: The nation’s population of children climbed from 64 million to 74 million. The percentage of white children declined, Latinos doubled and mothers of young kids entered the labor market in record numbers.
     On the bright side, more children are attending preschool than in 1990. The teen pregnancy rate is at a record low. Juvenile crime is down, and so is juvenile incarceration, though the United States still has a juvenile incarceration rate disproportionately much higher than other developed countries.

     But despite the advances, there has been a recent uptick in the single most important factor for predicting a child’s school readiness and life outcomes generally: whether or not he or she lives in poverty. After recessions end, the child poverty rate tends to continue climbing, and current circumstances appear no different. Even with different ways to measure it and different conclusions, KIDS COUNT shows a reversal of some of the gains made earlier in the past quarter-century, with approximately 16.4 million kids officially living in poverty in 2012. The number of children in single-parent homes was up, too: 35 percent, versus 25 percent in 1990...."

 

To read the full story, click here.

Why I Stopped Writing Recommendations for Teach For America

Congatulations to Slate Magazine for running an insightful piece by Catherine Michna entitled "Why I Stopped Writing Recommendation Letters for Teach for America". Michna is a Teach for America alumnus herself, but she has come to have serious reservations about TFA's model of sending thousands of poorly trained and ill-prepared recent college graduates to teach in high poverty schools, where they only stay for short periods of time before leaving: contributing to the high turnover rates in high poverty schools.

Congratulations to MCEA’s own Harry Klugel!

Congratulations to MCEA’s own Harry Klugel! Whose picture now appears on the NEA website (nea.org) as part of a collage commemorating the 1963 March on Washington and teachers who were there (slide #3).

You can read about Harry and watch a short video of his recollections of the March at http://neatoday.org/2013/08/23/i-was-there-teachers-are-witness-to-history-at-the-march-on-washington/ .

Harry is a retired teacher who spent his career as an MCEA activist, including several terms on the MCEA Board of Directors as well as service on several bargaining teams. Harry is still active as a Retiree Representative to the RA.

Congratulations Harry!

Seeing dropout indicators in 1st grade

EdWeek published a story about how data analysis is identifying risk factors for dropping out of school as early as first grade. The story features a report compiled by MCPS on how the system is able to identify warning signs that a student could be at risk of dropping out later in life. The aim of the program is to use these indicators as a guide to creating adequate interventions for these students.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/07/29/37firstgrade.h32.html?tkn=UNWFr10c4vdEW9gFkfO%2BsOIW9aIO9t0qGMIq&cmp=clp-edweek

Supporting English Learners: Educators Overcoming Roadblocks to Student Achievement

As part of its ongoing focus on equity in education, MCEA is sponsoring the third and final event of a three-part series on social justice and instructional practices for educators on May 28, 2013 at the MCEA Conference Center.

The Social Justice Series has focused on social justice issues and immigrant students in MCPS over the past year. Prior workshop topics included “The Maryland Dream Act and its Impact on Our Students” and "Immigrant Students: Working Together to Promote Their Success.”

At the upcoming teacher-led workshop, educators will examine issues related to English Language Learners and how to overcome obstacles to improving student achievement. Participants will review teacher-created English Learners case studies, collaborate with colleagues to identify and remediate roadblocks to achievement, and build capacity to advocate for students. The workshop is open to all MCEA members.

The Social Justice Series is a joint project developed by the MCEA Human & Civil Rights Committee, Minority Affairs Committee, and Instructional and Professional Development (IPD) Committee. There will be door prizes and light refreshments.

In addition to this Social Justice Series, MCEA has developed a partnership with McDaniel College to design and offer a graduate certificate program in Equity and Excellence in Education that provides an intensive, five-course graduate program in cultural competencies, race and urban education.

RSVP to Kiwana Hall at khall@mceanea.org  or 301-294-6232.

For more information on the Social Justice Workshops, contact: Carol E. Stewart, Special Educator, Northwood High School, (301) 649-8276

Social Justice Series: The DREAM Act.

You are invited to a panel discussion and question/answer session designed to educate MCEA members and their guests about the Maryland DREAM Act.

As educators, the public often turns to us for our advice and opinions. Join us for an opportunity to inform ourselves, learn from others, and voice your questions, comments, and concerns about this upcoming ballot measure.

The evening will be the inaugural event in an ongoing social justice series. It is co-sponsored by the Human and Civil Rights Committee, the Instruction and Professional Development Committee, and the Minority Affairs Committee.

Your RSVP is not required, but would assist in planning for the event. If you are able to RSVP, please email khall@mceanea.org.

We hope you'll join us on the 23rd!

MCEA member Lisa Farhi had this article posted in Valerie Strauss' Answer Sheet blog on the Washington Post website yesterday.

Great job Lisa!

Teacher: What school reformers don’t know

By Valerie Strauss

Policy makers and pundits don’t stop giving their opinions but we don’t hear enough from teachers in the debate about school reform. Many teachers ear their jobs may be jeopardized if they express their opinions; others say they have no time sit down and write a thoughtful piece.
One who accepted my invitation to write about the most pressing issues is Lisa Farhi of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, who has worked as consulting teacher within the school district’s professional growth system, a kindergarten classroom teacher and now a staff development teacher.

By Lisa Farhi

“We’re citizens and teachers—and neither is easy. Good luck.”

— Deborah Meier, 2002, inscription in my copy of “In Schools We Trust”


Back in 2002, I approached the microphone at the Washington D.C. bookstore Politics and Prose and told the author of “In Schools We Trust” that as a teacher degreed in human development, I was feeling
muzzled by the burgeoning high-stakes standardized testing movement. I said that in 10 years we would be slapping ourselves, saying, “OMG, we forgot about poverty” in our driven pursuit for so-called “accountability” of teachers and schools. We were choosing to ignore the conditions in which children live and how they affect their achievement in school.

Deborah Meier, still one of my lifelong heroes in education, told me to fight poverty as a citizen, not as a teacher.

That turned out to be good advice, considering that my schools superintendent at the time was a hard-liner who insisted that great teaching could overcome poverty, and because in the ensuing 10 years, proponents of No Child Left Behind hurled accusations of low expectations bordering on racial bias toward any teacher who raised concerns about economic struggles in the lives of children. I was heartened to read Helen Ladd’s and Edward B. Fiske’s comprehensive New York Times op-ed piece “Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?”, which chastises us as a society for ignoring the effects of poverty on student achievement.
Daniel Pink, author of “Drive,” recently expressed disbelief that those purporting to reform education through pay-for-performance think that a student’s test score represents solely the influence of the teacher, not any other variables in the student’s life. He is astounded by the lack of logic in this argument.
Since Montgomery County’s new superintendent, Joshua Starr, invited Pink to a public book club discussion of “Drive,” I feel that the muzzle has been loosened by a couple of notches.

I am now almost brave enough to fight poverty as a citizen AND as a teacher. Through these years of standardized testing domination and de-facto gag orders on my concerns about the effects of poverty on student achievement, I have served as a consulting teacher within the Montgomery County Public Schools professional growth system, a kindergarten classroom teacher and now a staff development teacher.
Linda Darling-Hammond’s March 20th Huffington Post piece about a recent Met Life survey, which found the lowest level of teacher satisfaction in 20 years, was entitled, “Maybe it’s Time to Ask the Teachers?” Well, since someone asked. . .
As a mentor, trainer of teachers and classroom teacher, my most profound conflict has been to convince detractors, pockets of the teacher-bashing media and random cocktail party guests that it’s possible for me to hold the highest of expectations for every student who crosses the schoolhouse door, while also caring mightily about whether or not they’re fed, clothed, housed and healthy.

In my own training and in the training I deliver, equity is paramount; I actively coach teachers in how to engage every student, every moment for optimum teaching and learning. In those same sessions, poverty has been taboo for fear that if teachers discuss it, we will AUTOMATICALLY lower our expectations for student achievement. I find this mutual exclusivity insulting to our intelligence and an assault on our freedom of speech. Why are we not trusted as professionals to be capable of holding high expectations for student achievement while also caring about whether or not families need support?

It’s hard to be an informed citizen and sustain teacher morale these days. Value-added, a method of using student standardized test scores to ealuate teachers, is the new, unwieldy way reformers are rooting out perceived poor teachers.

Some of my colleagues in New York didn’t make the value-added cut by a percentage point, despite their glowing observation reports by administrators. Good luck replacing all of the dedicated New York teachers willing to work in settings where the neediest students toil. Transiency, varied content areas, out-of -control class size and unaccountable upper management affect value-added scores more than my dinner party mates will ever acknowledge.

But who is paying attention to whether or not local, state and federal agencies are dealing withour 22% child poverty rate? We all know that countries such as Finland out-test us on international exams. Finland has a child poverty rate of about 5 percent.

If I were not in favor of evaluating teachers, I never would have participated as a consulting teacher in the peer assistance and review program in Montgomery County Public Schools. Like employees everywhere, we teachers need to be evaluated. I support MCPS’ professional growth system because it has built-in checks and balances that, when challenged, can be brought to hearing through due process. The program provides one year of intense support for improvement prior to any dismissal decisions.

To use Pink’s terminology, teaching is a heuristic, complex task. Teaching cannot be codified enough to be rewarded like widget making. I’m glad to work for a school system that understands the difference.
Yet since I read and advocate a lot, it hasn’t been easy being the recipient of widespread condescension. It seems that the most respected thinkers in education reform are those with the least experience in my field, yet with the most money. Bill Gates, Eli Broad, the Business Roundtable and the Governors’ Association are heard way above the din of harried teachers, trying to lesson-plan their way to continued employment, while spending their daytime hours reaching students with a set of variables so differentiated that these teachers are making up to 1,500 decisions per day.

What we do know is that the schools demonstrating the most success in closing the achievement gap are addressing families’ struggles outside the schoolhouse. I will gladly open my mind to programs that wrap services like health care, psychological support, nutrition programs, employment counseling, adult literacy support and parent advocacy around the school. I will fight as a teacher and as a citizen to get these services paid for within our public school system via local, state and federal funding.

But why privatize and then tout what is known to work, while simultaneously abdicating a societal responsibility for putting such services in place in all public schools? From the perspective of a public school employee, it feels like a bait and switch: here’s what works but you can’t have it; look over here, doesn’t it look nice? Too bad, it’s not for everyone.

Finally, if Education Secretary Arne Duncan and President Obama wish to keep the good (closely examining subgroup achievement) and throw out the bad (narrowing of the curriculum, lack of creativity) of No Child Left Behind, then why have they created Race to the Top, which relies heavily on test scores to evaluate teachers? The curriculum will be no broader, no more creative and no more focused on subgroup achievement, if teachers’ personal livelihoods hinge on individual student scores. It’s contradictory, demeaning and it’s also a deterrent to equity. Will the finest among us want to teach struggling students under that type of algorithmic pressure? Instead, we should be using student data to make better daily instructional decisions, not as cut scores for continued employment.

I encourage any education reformer to spend a month in our shoes. They’ll soon see that teaching is not only rocket science, but also an art. It is complex and human. It should be measured humanely and supported by programs that elevate students out of poverty. 

MCPS Black Male Graduation Rate Tops the Nation

A new report from the Schott Foundation entitled The Urgency of Now, reports that Montgomery County Public Schools has the highest black male graduation rate in the country among large school districts ( >10,000 students).

Too few black male students in MCPS still graduate compared to white, non-Latino male students. But the report documents that the gap has been closing. In just two years (07/08 to 09/10) the graduation rate in MCPS for white, non-Latino males students increased by 4%, while the graduation rate in MCPS for black male students increased by 9%.

There are some voices in the county which claim that MCPS isn't "showing results". The facts just don't back that up.

WPost Columnist Robinson Hits the Nail on the Head

Kudos to Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson for his clear and pointed analysis of the Chicago strike, the current neo-reform movement, and the undeniable role that poverty plays in our education system. Robinson rightly calls out the "brie-and-chablis 'reform' movement"... "whose knowledge of the inner-city schools crisis comes from a Hollywood movie".
     We cannot help but applaud Robinson's straightforward analysis that: "it is fair to insist that teachers approach their jobs with the assumption that every single child, rich or poor, can succeed. It is not fair to expect teachers to correct all the imbalances and remedy all the pathologies that result from growing inequality in our society."

Teachers are heroes, not villains, and it’s time to stop demonizing them.
By Eugene Robinson, Published: September 17. The Washington Post

It has become fashionable to blame all of society’s manifold sins and wickedness on “teachers unions,” as if it were possible to separate these supposedly evil organizations from the dedicated public servants who belong to them. News flash: Collective bargaining is not the problem, and taking that right away from teachers will not fix the schools.

Chicago teachers strike enters its second week: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is turning to the courts to try to put an end to a teachers strike that is entering its second week and has left parents scrambling to make alternative child-care arrangements for at least two more days.

It is true that teachers in Chicago have dug in their heels against Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s demands for “reform,” some of which are not unreasonable. I’d dig in, too, if I were constantly being lectured by self-righteous crusaders whose knowledge of the inner-city schools crisis comes from a Hollywood movie.

The problems that afflict public education go far beyond what George W. Bush memorably called “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” They go beyond whatever measure of institutional sclerosis may be attributed to tenure, beyond the inevitable cases of burnout, beyond the fact that teachers in some jurisdictions actually earn halfway decent salaries.

The fact is that teachers are being saddled with absurdly high expectations. Some studies have shown a correlation between student performance and teacher “effectiveness,” depending how this elusive quality is measured. But there is a whole body of academic literature proving the stronger correlation between student performance and a much more important variable: family income.

Yes, I’m talking about poverty. Sorry to be so gauche, but when teachers point out the relationship between income and achievement, they’re not shirking responsibility. They’re just stating an inconvenient truth.

According to figures compiled by the College Board, students from families making more than $200,000 score more than 300 points higher on the SAT, on average, than students from families making less than $20,000 a year. There is, in fact, a clear relationship all the way along the scale: Each increment in higher family income translates into points on the test.

Sean Reardon of Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis concluded in a recent study that the achievement gap between high-income and low-income students is actually widening. It is unclear why this might be happening; maybe it is due to increased income inequality, maybe the relationship between income and achievement has somehow become stronger, maybe there is some other reason.

Whatever the cause, our society’s answer seems to be: Beat up the teachers.

The brie-and-chablis “reform” movement would have us believe that most of the teachers in low-income, low-performing schools are incompetent — and, by extension, that most of the teachers in upper-crust schools, where students perform well, are paragons of pedagogical virtue.

But some of the most dedicated and talented teachers I’ve ever met were working in “failing” inner-city schools. And yes, in award-winning schools where, as in Lake Wobegon, “all the children are above average,” I’ve met some unimaginative hacks who should never be allowed near a classroom.

It is reasonable to hold teachers accountable for their performance. But it is not reasonable — or, in the end, productive — to hold them accountable for factors that lie far beyond their control. It is fair to insist that teachers approach their jobs with the assumption that every single child, rich or poor, can succeed. It is not fair to expect teachers to correct all the imbalances and remedy all the pathologies that result from growing inequality in our society.

You didn’t see any of this reality in “Waiting for ‘Superman,’ ” the 2010 documentary that argued we should “solve” the education crisis by establishing more charter schools and, of course, stomping the teachers unions. You won’t see it later this month in “Won’t Back Down,” starring Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal, which argues for “parent trigger” laws designed to produce yet more charter schools and yet more teacher-bashing.

I’ve always considered myself an apostate from liberal orthodoxy on the subject of education. I have no fundamental objection to charter schools, as long as they produce results. I believe in the centrality and primacy of public education, but I believe it’s immoral to tell parents, in effect, “Too bad for your kids, but we’ll fix the schools someday.”

But portraying teachers as villains doesn’t help a single child. Ignoring the reasons for the education gap in this country is no way to close it. And there’s a better way to learn about the crisis than going to the movies. Visit a school instead.

eugenerobinson@washpost.com

Collaborating to increase student achievement

This week's  Living in Dialogue blog on Edweek.org,  features a guest post by past MCEA President Mark Simon on how MCEA/MCPS collaboration has led to decreased teacher turnover and increased student achievement in low performing schools.

Specifically, the story details the collaborative intervention that occurred at Broad Acres ES starting back in 2000.  While not always smooth, the story of Broad Acres has become a go to case study in how union/district collaboration can work.  The study shows how decreasing teacher turnover has such a large impact on increasing student achievement and how long-term strategies, and not knee jerk "reforms," can lead to increased student achievement for our neediest students. 

What aren't we learning from Finland?

The Atlantic recently published an article titled, “What Americans Keep Ignoring about Finland’s School Success” 

A very interesting piece considering how often people like you point to Finland's educational success when discussing American education policies.    

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/ 

Who has been left behind?

Valerie Strauss shares with us Diane Ravitch's speech from the 2011 Opportunity to Learn Summit in today's Washington Post. 
As we approach the 10th anniversary of NCLB, Ms. Ravitch's speech is another fine illustration of how those policies have failed students and educators and is now being used by the "corporate reformers" who want public dollars to pay for their private charters and virtual schools. Very worth reading!

Nothing unusual about a teachers union leading reforms

Today's Washington Post has an article about the AFT's efforts to rebuild an impoverished school district in West Virginia. The AFT has found several partners to help address the myriad of social issues that afflict the community.

Ed "reformers" say that ineffective teachers and unions like to use poverty as an excuse for under performing students. Take a look at McDowell County and try to ignore the impact of social factors.

"The poverty, broken homes and isolation mean that most McDowell students start school behind. By 3, the average child in this country has a vocabulary of 12,000 words. In McDowell, that child knows 5,000."

There is a high rate of unemployment in the county. Drug use is a such a problem that the two major employers in the county, a coal mine and  a federal prison can't attract enough employees due to the inability of many applicants to pass drug tests. 80% of students are defined as poor by the state. The drop out rate is triple the national average. How could these not affect a child's ability to learn and succeed? But Bill Gates or Michelle Rhee would likely say that the unions are making up excuses to cover for the teachers who weren't working hard enough.

While this may be an extreme case, these same issues impact students all over the country and even here in Montgomery County.

Teachers unions have been helping to improve teaching and learning for decades. There is nothing unusual about it. 

Don't want to learn? Put 'em to work!

Former NEA Executive Director John Wilson has recently launched a blog on the Ed Week website. In his most recent post, he writes about Newt Gingrich's plan to motivate poor children in school; fire the unionized janitors and put the kids to work. Because, as Newt tells us, child labor laws are "...truly stupid..." (see the video below) So let's get rid of the adults who keep our buildings running and clean and get these kids excited about school! It is about time that someone pointed out how unionized janitors and child labor laws are driving down student performance.

Quality Education as a Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Schools

SNCC veteran, founder of the Algebra Project, and education activist Robert Moses will discuss and sign Quality Education as a Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Schools at an event sponsored by Teaching for Change, the Algebra Project, and Busboys & Poets on Monday, October 17 from 6:30-8:00pm at the DC Busboys & Poets (14th & V). Free and open to the public. More info: http://bbpbooks.teachingforchange.org/book/9780807032824

We can't discount student poverty

"Before we throw quality public school teachers under the school reform bus, it would seem far wiser to first fully explore ways of bringing them students prepared to learn. It makes much more sense to support Early Head Start and other programs with proven track records." - Marcus D. Pohlmann

Corporate school reformers love to focus on teacher effusiveness and evil unions when dissecting why some students don't perform well in school. What they avoid discussing is the impact of a student's poverty on his/her ability to learn and succeed in school. Marcus D. Pohlmann, a professor of political science at Rhodes College has written extensively on this and related topics. He paints a vivid picture of the hurdles that poor students have to overcome to be successful in the K-12 setting and ultimately be prepared for college or the work force. He was a guest columnist in today's Answer Sheet in the Washington Post and shares his views on why we can't discount the socioeconomic status of our students when we try to determine the best way to serve them. 

The changing face of America's youth

CNN.com recently ran a story that pointed out that in ten states across the country - including Maryland - white children are now in the minority compared with peers from other racial and ethnic groups. At the same time, we are seeing an erosion of public support for education funding. What do MCPS educators and Montgomery County residents think? Is there a correlation? As the CNN story pointed out "It's in everyone's interest that these diverse young people succeed, because they will serve as a backbone of the national economy and will support social programs older Americans rely upon, such as Social Security." But is public support for public education eroding because our schools' children no longer look like their own?