Back to School

The School District issed the following statement on Saturday in response to the Notebook‘s story on the 2009 state-sponsored study flagging dozens of schools for possible cheating on the PSSA test:

STATEMENT

Unfortunately the District did not receive a copy of the 2009 forensic analysis released by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Information from the erasure analysis would have been very useful in supporting the District’s investigations, although we agree with PDE’s spokesperson, Mr. Eller, that in its current format, it is not user-friendly. Given the resources PDE expended in 2009 to conduct the forensic analysis, as well as those used to conduct the 2011 analysis, it would be helpful if PDE had provided additional guidance on how to use the results of these important and useful analyses.

Below is description of the District’s very robust test monitoring protocol.

Approximately 75% of schools, including charters, are visited during PSSA testing. The visits are unannounced and the specific classroom visited at a school is randomly selected. Test monitors are provided a checklist that lays out “what to look for”, including inappropriate assistance to students while the test is being administered. All school Test Coordinators receive mandated training about six weeks before the test window and the training includes information on the type of assistance that is allowed and what is prohibited. Officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), staff from the Data Recognition Corporation (PDE’s vendor) and staff from the Office of Assessment, present this information both orally and in writing. Test Coordinators then turn-around this training at their schools.

Reported violations of test security are investigated by staff from the Office of Assessment. In each of the past three years, the Office of Assessment has received about 10-15 allegations of breaches in test security and there have been a few substantiated cases. Allegations may come from parents, teachers, principals, test monitors, community members, PDE or concerned citizens. The allegations are communicated by phone, email, test-monitoring forms and by letter. The District does not use an outside service to investigate these claims. All allegations that are reported to us are investigated, but as it is an investigative process, whenever we are in the midst of an investigation, we have to maintain the fidelity of the process.

Once a test security violation is reported, staff from the Office of Assessment call the school in question and make arrangements to conduct an investigation about the validity of the alleged test violation. If the violation is considered low-level, the school is contacted by the Office of Assessment to correct the offense (e.g., failing to cover materials in the hallway during the testing period).

If the allegation is more serious, arrangements will be made to meet with the school principal and Test Coordinator—and arrangements may also be made to meet with (1) students, teachers, and or other people making the allegation, (2) witnesses to the allegation and (3) other individuals involved in the allegation. Staff members receive written notification of a test security investigation at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. All staff members are provided the opportunity to have union representation present at the meetings.

Once an investigation is completed, a written report and recommendations are submitted to the Deputy Chief of Accountability and a determination is made as to whether or not further action is required. The Deputy Chief will recommend the next appropriate action that occurs in response to more serious breaches in test security. In these instances, the appropriate administrator (Principal, Assistant Superintendent) will conduct a disciplinary investigation and determine if any disciplinary action is required. Office of Assessment personnel attend the disciplinary investigation as expert witnesses.

The District takes testing security very seriously and works hard to ensure that students are tested using all established protocol in order to ensure accurate results. Investigations determine that most of the alleged security breaches reported to the District annually are unfounded.

We entrust the care of our young people to our principals and teachers and the overwhelming majority of them are hardworking professionals who take on that task with fidelity. Until we have reason to believe otherwise, we stand on the integrity of these individuals who educate our students throughout the year.
 

Benefits of high-quality early learning programs are clear, particularly for the country’s neediest children. For one, research into brain development shows that the period between preschool and third grade is critical for learning language skills, developing the ability to self-regulate behavior, and being able to work with peers. For another, there is the alarming number of children not proficient in reading by the end of third grade—a benchmark increasingly considered important. Further, fewer students are referred to special education programs when they receive proper early learning backgrounds, and research indicates a significant association between a poor early child educational experience, and dropping out of middle or high school.

That’s why the National Association of Elementary School Principals has championed early learning issues for years. However, as the organization notes, the nation “has yet to fully commit and align policy, funding, and practice” for early child education. Recognizing this problem, with support from the ING Foundation, in 2010 NAESP convened a Task Force of leading researchers, advocates, policymakers, and practitioners to determine what efforts are most likely to provide high-quality learning experiences for our young children. They recently released a white paper—“Building & Supporting an Aligned System: A Vision for Transforming Education Across the Pre-K-Grade Three Years”—reflecting this research effort and outlining 10 action steps for bettering early child learning in America.

It’s difficult to dispute that the national context warrants greater effort toward alignment for early childhood education. As the report puts it, “[t]he current state of pre-K through third grade education reflects a complicated web of federal, state, and local policies and practices.” Pre-K programs are voluntary (and so they are unevenly implemented) and lack a coherent structure of governance, funding, and implementation. The availability of full-day Kindergarten is also highly variable (and is increasingly on the chopping block amid budget cuts)—and in many cases, parents have to pay out-of-pocket for the full day option. Further, the report notes that federal policy and funding is housed in various different federal agencies—which contribute to a lack of cohesion.

To address these issues in part, the report calls for the revision of legislation including ESEA (along with virtually everyone else in the education community)—which lacks a focus on early years, IDEA—which has some divisions that can exclude children with needs from receiving developmental care they need, and Child Care and Head Start statutes and regulations.

Problems on the federal level are largely mirrored on the state level, with the exception of a few states (the report lists Maryland, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and North Carolina) that have made early childhood learning a major priority, and have begun to break down silos between it and education for older children.

To achieve their goals, in the report the task force recommends 10 action steps for policymakers and other stakeholders. In addition to better federal, state, and local alignment and funding, action steps include:

• Leverage and integrate private funding with public resources.
• Create an aligned continuum of research-based, age-appropriate standards and assessments for young children that include all important aspects of early child development and learning—not just the subjects covered by standardized tests.
• Develop and support an effective, well-compensated work force with high-quality teacher and administrator preparation programs, professional development, and continuing education.
• Develop state and local longitudinal data systems that include pre-K student and program information.
• Evaluate models of early learning integration and alignment through research.

Though action on the part of legislative policymakers is critical in creating a better early learning system, NAESP task force member Lisa Guernsey (of the New America Foundation) pointed out in a report briefing that principals (and school board members) can also make a huge difference, which is why the action steps strive to support principals. Principals of schools serving young children can work with teachers and make connections with community early learning programs and organizations to improve their schools. Principals of schools serving older children can collaborate with principals of feeder preschools and early grades to better understand the students coming into their school—their backgrounds, their strengths and weaknesses, and the types of progress achieved in their early learning programs.

Lisa emphasized, however, that we do need a change in the system, and that we can’t expect superhero principals to carry all the responsibility. A recent Edweek article notes that states are starting to push new laws and initiatives for early education—a promising indication of shifting priorities to this issue. Let’s hope these efforts are planned and implemented well, using the sorts of considerations outlined by the NAESP recommendations, rather than the too-frequent quick-and dirty, one-size-fits all education policies with good intentions we’ve seen in the past.

THE ACREAGE — Motorists will have to slow down in front of Seminole Ridge High School twice a day this school year.

Palm Beach County workers plan to install flashing lights and a 20 mph school speed limit zone on the normally 45 mph Seminole Pratt Whitney Road in front of the high school in time for the first day of school Aug. 22.

The 20 mph speed limit will be in effect for the stretch in front of the school when students are arriving in the morning and leaving in the afternoon, said Deputy County Engineer Tanya McConnell.

The speed zone comes at the urging of elected officials and residents throughout the western Palm Beach County communities who said the road is unsafe for children walking to school.

Indian Trail Improvement District Board member Ralph Bair said that stretch of road has had a history of near-misses and students being hit by cars since the school opened.

On Oct. 27, 17-year-old Ryan Garcia was hit and injured by a school bus as Garcia crossed Seminole Pratt-Whitney Road just north of the school shortly before sunrise. Garcia’s family, along with parents and elected officials like school board member Marcia Andrews, marched along the road in December with signs demanding the speed zone.

It’s certainly better than what we had before, Andrews said of the new speed zone and lights. She said the county should institute 20 mph school speed zones in front of all the district’s schools. We have to make sure we keep it safe for all our students. There is no price tag on a person’s life.

This year, county commissioners asked engineers to study the roads around high schools in the county to see if any others needed speed zones, McConnell said.

The only other high schools that county engineers said warranted speed zones were West Boca Raton High School and John I. Leonard High School in Greenacres. Speed zones are planned for those schools this year, McConnell said.

Bair said the county also needs to extend the sidewalk on the east side of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road about 2 miles north to Orange Boulevard to make it safer for students. The sidewalks now extend only about one-third of a mile north of the school to a shopping center.

There’s no place for kids to walk and when it is wet they walk on the road, Bair said.

McConnell said county engineers are considering some extension of the sidewalks north of the school this year.

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In our fifth installment of goal setting tips, we want everyone to remember to never give up on your goals. This motto cannot be any more apparent than when viewing celebrities in today’s society. Some celebrities are actors, some are athletes, and other celebrities are musicians and artists. The one common thread between them all is that they set goals and never gave up on them.

Beyoncé is a goal-setter who continues to raise the bar for herself. She is a 16-time Grammy Award recipient and 42-time Grammy nominee. She has been recognized by many other award associations including MTV, BET and the American Music Awards. In a recent interview, Beyoncé said, “I know what I want and I have goals, and Ive met so many of my goals. I just keep making new goals, because Im never satisfied and I always want to grow.” Beyoncé is a constant goal setter and should be a great inspiration to many people.

One of the most successful actors and celebrities of our time is also, Will Smith. He has been nominated for Academy, Golden Globe, MTV and BET awards, and has won numerous Grammys. Will has an amazing track record in the entertainment business, which can be attested to his commitment and perseverance and the fact he always stayed focused on his goals. From a young age, Will learned from his father that laying a foundation of goals can help you achieve anything. One example of this Will gave in a recent interview was building a brick wall with his brother when they were just kids. Will initially thought this was an impossible task. It took him a year and half, but he finally completed the wall. Examples like this are why Will is a successful celebrity around the globe. He works hard and follows through on his goals.

Lance Armstrong is an inspirational athlete, and a goal-oriented celebrity. He is a seven-time winner of the Tour de France, the world’s most grueling bicycle race, and is also the chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for Cancer Research. Lance is a great role model when it comes to goal setting because he has achieved so much professionally and has also beaten the odds in his personal life as well. In 1996, Lance was diagnosed with cancer and worked tirelessly through treatment on his way to a full recovery. In 2008, when Lance launched the opening of the Livestrong Foundation, he stated, “As an athlete, I know it’s easy to set goals—whether it’s winning the Tour de France, lowering my marathon time or trying to eat a little healthier. The hard part is follow-through: staying focused and motivated over the long term…to achieve your goals.” For his determination both on and off the race course, Lance has been recognized by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, ABC, BBC, and the United States Olympic Committee.

Is there a celebrity that you know of that inspires you to set goals and never give up on them?

This summer I am interning with the Notebook through the Samuel S. Fels Fund graduate internship program. I am researching school turnaround for the October edition of the Notebook and will be blogging periodically.

I grew up in Sharon Hill, PA, and currently reside in West Philadelphia. I taught 9-11th grade humanities for three years at Mastery Charter High School, Lenfest Campus. I am currently a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.

Two brief encounters recently led me to reflect on something that has been lost in the recent noise about catastrophe in the District’s leadership and budget: the good things happening in Philly schools.

First, a veteran middle school teacher urged me to seek out those good things. Not long afterward, I was reading at the 69th Street bus stop when a voice called my name.

When I looked up, I saw a 19-year-old man with the face of a 14-year-old I once taught. It indeed was Nadir, my former student as a freshman at Mastery Lenfest.

After we calmed from the astonishment of seeing each other, he told me that he had just finished his first year at Ursinus College. It was tough, he said, but also fun. He looked forward to his second year and to choosing a major. When the school year ended, he came back home to live with his mother. He’s looking for a summer job, but also for a book to read. I recommended a range of authors from Toni Morrison to Stephenie Meyer. I was pleased to hear that he had enjoyed reading Morrison, along with Ellison, Baldwin, and others, in his African-American literature class.

I was so happy to hear how well he had been doing, and smiled at the thought that as his 9th grade humanities teacher, I might have had something to do with his success.

I am no longer a high school teacher, but I am still involved in the movement to improve education experiences for young people. And like the veteran middle school teacher, I care about sharing positive stories to remind us that what we do–as students, parents, instructors, administrators, academics, advocates, and community members–makes a difference.

So, I’d like to remind you of a few things that you may have forgotten already during the tumultuous month of June. Thousands of seniors across the District celebrated graduations:

• From Germantown High School’s class of 2011, one senior was offered over a million dollars in scholarships!
• Graduates of St. Christopher Hospital’s Health Tech Program moved closer to realizing their dreams as medical professionals.
• Boys’ Latin Charter High School celebrated its first graduation, which drew Mayor Nutter and Gov. Corbett.

To all graduates, congratulations and good luck!

Also, in a city that in the past, has been criticized for high rates of obesity, it is nice to see two schools receive recognition for their health initiatives.

Of course, there are other stories that never make it into the media. An example would be the thousands of teachers who built strong, caring, supportive relationships with their students and help change their lives for the better.

I would love it if you would share some of your uplifting narratives here.