5(3) ways to close the achievement gap

Even though this blog post actually only has 3 ways to close the achievement gap, it is still an interesting discussion, based on two of the people involved, Valeria Silva and Bernadeia Johnson, the superintendents of St. Paul Public Schools and Minneapolis Public Schools respectively.

"Silva: I’d require more time and more days per student in academic programs. That’s not the same thing as saying we need a longer school year. That isn’t necessary for every student. But for kids who are struggling, summer school and community education programs should be a must, not an option."

Having taught summer school, I question whether our current model can truly close the achievement gap, but I agree wholeheartedly with her assessment, we cannot close the achievement gap without increasing contact days and hours with teachers. As a staunch union member, I understand the difficulties with increasing the number of days teachers work, but when you compare us to other countries, we lag behind in contact hours and days.

5 Ways to Close the Achievement Gap

What does this say about Minnesota?

Yesterday, I posted a link to a study that shows that Minnesota is falling behind the rest of the country in the achievement gap. Then, we have this study that shows that Minnesota students are some of the best in the country on 4th grade Math tests. Also, we have one of the most equitable funding systems in the country, and having been a teacher in Chicago Public Schools, I can attest to that. So which is it? Are we failing our low income and disadvantaged students are are we succeeding? I think we have a long way to go, but it's encouraging to see that we are still succeeding by some measures.

Minnesota Schools Receive Praise

"I was wrong" - The Minnesota Achievement Gap

Well, I've said this before myself, and it turns out I was wrong as well.

from an article at minnpost...

"The statistical argument we'd hide behind was that our kids of color weren't doing so much worse than kids of color in other states, but rather the gap was mostly a function of our white kids doing so much better than white kids in other states.

I was wrong. That argument is simply not true, according to the latest evidence."

Minnesota's stubborn and scary reading achievement gap

Interactive Map of Poverty Rates in USA

From mint.com

There's a lot of these maps around the internet. Here's one from Mint. It looks at the poverty rate in every US County. Interesting, although as educators can attest, you can live in a "weathy" county, and teach students who live in poverty.

http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/poverty-10182010/

Districts Take Bigger Role in Preparing New School Leaders

A great article that looks at changing how principals are prepared to be administers in low performing schools. Wouldn't it make sense that this is done for teachers too?

"The federal drive to improve the nation's lowest-performing schools has created a surge in demand for principals trained and experienced in leading long-struggling schools to success. The scarcity of the so-called 'turnaround principal' has led more urban districts to get involved directly with local colleges of education and other training programs, according to a study released Wednesday by the Wallace Foundation.

Researchers from the Boston-based Education Development Center, Inc. analyzed leadership training in eight cities which had received Wallace Foundation grants to experiment with principal preparation: Boston; Chicago; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Jefferson County, Ky.; Providence, R.I.; St. Louis; Springfield, Ill.; and Springfield, Mass.

At minimum, most of the districts changed their hiring criteria for school leaders assigned to work in struggling schools. Districts required these principals to have more explicit understanding of school and district systems and procedures, as well as internships in difficult schools.

'I don't think districts realized how big a contribution they make just by having those positions become transparent,' said Cheryl L. King, a co-author and the EDC's director of leadership for learning innovation. 'The more we can know about that job and what it entails, the better we will be at preparing candidates to step into those shoes.'

Districts Take Bigger Role in Preparing New School Leaders

Macrowikinomics : Beyond Superman to a New Model of Education

"But it's wrong to blame teachers, who overall are a) underpaid, and b) striving to do the best with the limited resources they are given. Nor does the research show that charter schools achieve better outcomes.

The root of the malaise in our schools is the outmoded model of pedagogy. Teachers and text books are assumed to be the source of knowledge. Teachers 'teach' -- they impart knowledge to their students, who through practice and assignments learn how to perform well on tests.

This is the very best model of pedagogy that 18th century technology can provide. It's teacher-centered model that is one way, one-size-fits-all and the student is isolated in the learning process. It's time for a rethinking of the entire model of learning. We need to move to a customized and collaborative model that embraces 21st century learning technology and techniques. This is not about technology per se -- it's about a change in the relationship between the student and teacher in the learning process."

Don Tapscott is a writer of a book called Macrowikinomics and has written a series of articles that hit home with the issues facing education. Every time people complain about poor education and then blame teachers don't realize that teachers can only work with the materials at hand. I taught in a Chicago Public School with excellent teachers, but we had terrible resources. The reading curriculum in particular was strikingly bad, and did nothing to develop a love of reading.

Now that my job is to be the tech trainer in St. Louis Park Public Schools, it's my job to train the teachers to move beyond the 18th century pedagogy that we have traditionally used.

Don Tapscott: Macrowikinomics : Beyond Superman to a New Model of Education

Mike Green: National Crisis: Black boys failing

An interesting article from the Huffington Post:

"Despite the tragic circumstances that cripple so many of our potentially productive youth, the academic failures of millions of our Black boys isn't the core problem. The core problem is the failure of the adult Black population to effectively address underlying issues that have led to an overwhelming crisis situation. Dr. Ferguson alludes to it when he says we need to have conversations we don't want to have. And without actively engaging in those conversations, we watch millions of Black children arrive on their first day at the gates of public schools ill-prepared for a system of education, which they experience as foreign to the environment in which they are raised.

Were it not for the insightful wisdom of my mother, I, too, would've been added to the statistical data that have continued to tell the story of a national tragedy long ignored.

...

Heretofore, we have held symposiums, conferences, summits and academic conventions that have resulted in the multiple crises we face today. We cannot afford more of the same. We need something altogether different. But that requires us to come together and discuss this issue honestly. It requires that we work together. And if we cannot, we must clearly identify the divergence in thoughts, ideals and paths. "

It is a very long article and interesting, written from the perspective of a black man and his own personal struggles and the struggles of black boys in general. His point about symposiums is absolutely correct. We have to stop talking about it, we need to start doing something about it.


Mike Green: National Crisis: Black boys failing

Beverly Daniel Tatum

Here's a great interview with the excellent author, professor and current college president Beverly Daniel Tatum. The interviewer asks some great questions, and then gets out of the way to allow Dr. Tatum to discuss critical race theory.

Give it a read!

Rebecca Costa: Superman Versus The Supermemes

I read over at the huffington post a post about education by Rebecca Costa. I think it's a really interesting look at the problems facing education, but I do have some concerns about the issues she feels faces education. I'll have to find a copy of her book The Watchman's Rattle: Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction. Perhaps she further details these topics there.

Which supermemes currently prevent progress in education? The Watchman's Rattle describes five universal behaviors that inhibit solving the problem once and for all:

1) Irrational Opposition: This occurs when people are more comfortable rejecting remedies rather than advocating solutions. If every solution that is proposed can be found to be flawed, then none will be adopted. Simply put, across-the-board opposition results in gridlock.

I completely agree with this. Too many solutions are rejected because there isn't any proof that it works. Although it's hard to justify trying something that hasn't been shown to work when your job, your school and the children you teach rely on you to meet certain standards.

2) Counterfeit Correlation: When we hastily determine the relationship between a cause and effect(s), this leads to an incorrect diagnosis of our problems. We are left to pursue one ineffective remedy after another, all the while wasting precious time and resources as the problem continues to grow in magnitude. In the case of education, we have sited everything from outdated textbooks, the eradication of physical education, poor school lunch programs and low teacher salaries as the culprit -- but how many of these quick fixes are based on valid scientific studies?

I feel that this is in direct conflict with the previous statement, although I do agree with it as well. There are countless "solutions" that are suggested that have been proven to have no correlation with student performance.

3) Personalization of Blame: As soon as we hold each individual accountable for debt, obesity, and depression, and other such issues, society is off the hook. Blame the parents for the fact that they aren't more involved in their children's education and the systemic problem doesn't have to be addressed.

Isn't there also a problem when we blame systems, as in, I don't have to take personal responsibility for debt, obesity and depression. I think there needs to be a balance in how much the system and how much the person is blamed.

4) Silo Thinking: In tackling complex, multi-dimensional problems, it is crucial that nations, organizations, and individuals work in tandem. Adopting a territorial mindset greatly impedes progress. In the case of education, why aren't neuroscientists who understand how the human brain learns part of the discussion? Does it make sense to fix education without first understanding how the brain loads content, solves problems and retains information?

Absolutely. I'd love to hear what other resources could be used to improve education.

5) Extreme Economics: The financial bottom line becomes the unilateral litmus test in determining which solutions are valid. Economic considerations drive decisions for everything, from hospital care, immigration policy, to whether each child needs a locker, computer or physical education. We begin to speak in economic terms such as 'investing in our children's education.' Really? Since when was education an investment? It was supposed to be a 'right.'

Yep! Although, wouldn't an economist be another great resource in looking at how to reform schools?

Read the rest of the article here: Rebecca Costa: Superman Versus The Supermemes

California Supreme Court Upholds Law Granting Undocumented Students In-State Tuition

The California Supreme Court has upheld a law that allows undocumented students to pay instate tuition. College is necessary tool to achieve in today's market and residents of a state should not be denied the same opportunity other residents get.

"WASHINGTON -- The California Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld AB 540, a law allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition -- rather than the more expensive out-of-state tuition -- at public colleges and universities. The decision overturned a lower court's ruling and will likely have a wider impact as 10 other states have a law similar to AB 540.

The plaintiffs in the case were out-of-state students and their families, who argued that they should not have to pay higher tuition while undocumented immigrants were granted the lower in-state rate. 'U.S. citizens should have at least the same rights as undocumented immigrants,' said plaintiff Aaron Dallek, an Illinois native who graduated from UC Berkeley in 2006."


California Supreme Court Upholds Law Granting Undocumented Students In-State Tuition

St. Cloud Working to Close Gap in Students Taking AP Classes

Interesting article from MPR...

"The district is seeing signs of success in some student populations. For instance, the number of blacks and Hispanics enrolled in AP classes has tripled in three years.

In 2007-08, a total of 526 students enrolled in AP classes. Approximately 10 percent of those students were non-white.

In 2010-11, 694 students enrolled in AP classes, with the number of non-white students growing to nearly 14 percent.

Still, honors and AP classes still do not reflect the proportion of minority students enrolled in the district."

Schools work to enroll minority students in AP classes

Global Education Conference

Huffington Post has all the information on the Global Education Conference. Really amazing presentations. It's fun to look at all the sessions available and realize that they will be led by people from all over.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/esther-wojcicki/inviting-all-educators-wo_b_783105.html

Black Boys lagging in Public Schools

Here's a report, although lacking a link to the original research, that supports other research that shows black boys are significantly lagging behind in test scores. Interesting reading. What kind of school system do we have in this country if 12 percent of 4th grade black boys are proficient in reading? 12 percent? Really?

black boys lagging badly in school