Back to School

ESEA reauthorization is clearly a hot topic in the education community. Recently, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)—an LFA member—published a white paper outlining their policy recommendations to be included in this legislation. As the white paper puts it, “[a]s Congress works to reauthorize ESEA . . . transforming educator preparation and strengthening accountability for preparation programs is vital to ensuring that high school graduates are college- and career-ready.” So why is teacher preparation important—especially in the context of many competing interests and organizations vying for ESEA consideration?

The white paper points out that students need to graduate from high school prepared to either enter college or begin a career—but too often they do not have adequate skills and knowledge to effectively do either. Many college students have to take remedial courses to catch up, and many entering the workforce are unable to offer necessary skills to employers. The paper notes that “in both cases, these high school graduates are at significant risk of not maximizing their employment and earning potential over time. Not only are these individuals disadvantaged by this reality, but our country suffers economically and socially when its citizens are not able to fully contribute to their community.”

In response, federal, state, and local policy makers are focusing on improving the education system to better ensure that students have the knowledge and skills they need, and educator preparation is a key element to improving the system. The paper reports that “currently 90% of new teachers are prepared in institutions of higher education (IHEs), and even those preparing to be teachers through nonprofit, state or district programs usually receive some of their preparation through IHEs.” Further, “[t]he schools of education at IHEs offer programs that lead to initial certification.

Among the difficulties related to this issue, general education teachers are required to effectively teach an increasingly diverse population, including low-income students (disadvantaged tend to have less effective teachers, further perpetuating inequality—in conjunction with other significant factors), students with disabilities, and English language learners.

Amid this context, the AACTE makes five compelling reauthorization policy recommendations. Among them:

The federally-funded Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) program has been highly effective at enabling partnerships “which provides funding to partnerships between teacher preparation institutions and high-need school districts”—allowing for mutual gains through strengthening teacher preparation based on classroom experience (including exposure to student diversity), and improving the already-established teachers at the school, all leading to increased student achievement. Further, colleges for teacher education “use these funds to improve their preparation programs by evaluating the effectiveness of their graduates, implementing targeted changes based on graduates’ experience, and strengthening and evaluating clinical practice.”

Thus, the AACTE urges Congress to include the TQP program in ESEA reauthorization, with the addition of more rigorous requirements for grantees, and an expanded focus on preparing and supporting all relevant school personnel.

Speaking of multiple measures, the third recommendation pushes for a diversity of assessment methods of teachers, including classroom observations, peer reviews, and school-wide progress on meeting goals (in other words, not simply test scores).

Another recommendation holds that “current accountability provisions in Title II of HEA should be streamlined and focused on program outcomes, and the federal government should actively enforce provisions regarding the identification and closure of low-performing and at-risk programs.”

A major theme of these recommendations is calling for stricter quality-control measures for teacher education colleges and programs—impressive given that AACTE’s membership includes these very organizations. They clearly want to make teacher preparation better, and in turn public education better. Let’s hope Congress takes their pragmatic policy recommendations seriously.

The mayor’s original proposal for a build and lease back was a very bright idea in a bad real estate market.  As I recall, there were 15 respondents.  Finally, the Devon group was selected, but lo and behold, only a 2 year lease back which is nothing.  Also Clayton and Haslam happen to be the advisers of the Devon group.  Very astute people, made their fortunes by hard work, and no one should think that they will be dumb enough not to look after getting a good return on whatever dollars they invest.

Forgot to ask first an important question.  I read that there is mold and other toxic influence in the old Carter school.  That is a negligence issue.  I asked several people who were “riding this horse” real hard, if there is a health inspection report anywhere, that has ever been published since the formation of our nation, but there is nothing to back up that claim.  But there were promises by politicians to get votes.  Plenty of promises.

At the same time the KCS educational results are disastrous as they have been for at least 11 years.  I looked at only the past 11 years.  Disastrous means only 15.5% of those kids entering as freshman are job/college ready when leaving high school.  That means that 84.5% will be minimum wage mostly unemployed.  A real bum deal based on how much we pay for education per child.  In tax dollars.  One only has to know how to subtract, a real challenging task nowdays, and look at the 2010 TN Report Card and the 2010 ACT report to get these numbers.  Well, WE pay the tax dollars.  Of course if your parents are wealthy, don’t even have to be a Haslam or Clayton, you will go to a private school, where the job/college readiness is not 15.5% but 95-99% – for less money in many than what the tax dollars buy us at KCS.  So such wealthy parents don’t have to care about what will happen to our state or country as a result of the poor education.  They will say that they do…but please…actions speak.  Not words.  Everybody promises…well not everybody…only the BOE and the superintendent… “Improving our children’s education”, “World class education” and similar lofty goals that we never even come close to and naturally no one can measure, or they might discover that we spend most of our tax dollars accomplishing nothing more than stuffing some pockets…ummm…sorry….paying six figure salaries for doing something that has zero impact on increasing ACT scores.  That’s just an innovative way of stuffing pockets.  Of course one also needs then “public relations” people, not just one of course, to work the fog machine…mirrors…disinformation principals, that say that if you repeat something enough, people may not know better, and people will accept it, as truth.

Hence the importance of focusing on the very important few things like the ACT score itself, and you can also repeatedly ask a simple question like  “What ACT average consolidated score will we achieve in the 2012 school year for spending $384 million dollars on our schools.”  My God, that’s complicated.  Then they will say, we have a great goal called 100/90/90/90.  That is similar to a tactical nuclear cannon shot to produce a huge fog bank.  It is like tear gas.  It will make you cry.  Just go back to the same simple question that is rather simple, and should be very easy to answer.

Man, I am sure firing some missiles and we are not sure where they will hit.  They WILL hit, I know where, but not today.

What will Governor Haslam do about the education disaster?  I like that man.  But the odds are that he will also not make the moves necessary to increase our schools’ low performance, just like any other politician or appointee by an elected body or individual.  Bills ARE passed “for education”.  My point is, are they the right bills that would increase the ACT SUFFICIENTLY next year, or the year after?  NOT SO FAR.  Maybe ten years from now?  A REAL Maybe.  Forget THAT ball game.  It would be TOO LATE.

We better focus on something a thousand times more important than some issues I see in the Sentinel and here with such enthusiasm, before we become like Mexico.  THAT is our direction now, thanks to a very old, archaic education system, about which our leaders do nothing more than lip service So FAR.

The BOE could be asking some hard questions and demand increased ACT scores NOW.  Well, BOE, you just have to pick the right indicator of educational results, which is the ACT, and demand at least a 0.5 point increase per annum in it, instead of just assuming that you are in expert hands now.  The results to date for several decades indicated that you are NOT in expert hands.  Don’t accept how many kids will be above 21 ACT.  That’s not meaningful, since a 21 ACT has a very poor job readiness definition.  It’s BS.  Ask for the average consolidated ACT score for the district that will be achieved.  That’s meaningful.  There will be tons of hesitancy to answer you.  Just insist.  Each of you is in charge.

You may be told that we as a Board must agree about everything first, even if you as an individual have a question.  That is also a classic disinformation control position.  YOU, represent the public, who pay the taxes that finances the entire school system.  I would hope that YOU do not represent the system that produced the incredibly poor results, that YOU have witnessed and did nothing about.  Not you, just the majority of you to date.

You supposed to be in charge.  So take charge!  If you look back at history, there are tons of examples showing that prior experts accomplished nothing that shows real improvement in education.  Just like to date.  Past BOEs did nothing about it.  Well, all BOEs did nothing about it to date.

You could!

BOYNTON BEACH — Park Vista High School’s principal and athletic director offered Wednesday night to open up four spots on the school’s cheerleading teams this fall after complaints from a group of parents that the squads had no black members.

Eight black Park Vista students and their parents raised the issue before the Palm Beach County School Board on June 15, saying the students had been racially harassed for trying out for the team.

Wednesday’s decision came after an emotional, closed-door discussion at the school between parents, students and officials at the school, called at the School Board’s request.

It will allow all girls who did not make the cheerleading team to audition for the four new spots, two of which will be on the varsity squad and two on the junior varsity.

Whether it will settle the issue was unclear Wednesday as the students and parents differed in their responses to it.

Derrick Wells, whose daughter Treasure Lewis is one of the eight girls, said the families will reject the offer outright.

“We came with one focus, that all girls be placed on the team,” Wells said.

However, Kathleen Alexis, mother of Maya Jean-Charles, said the parents would think about the offer. Alexis said she is concerned that the girls who already are on the team would be far ahead of any new cheerleaders who join the squads in August.

And her daughter Maya smiled and high-fived another girl when school officials announced their decision after a brief meeting among themselves after the longer meeting with the parents and students.

“We’ll have our back handsprings by then,” Maya said.

Park Vista officials had first told students that they would not be given another chance to make the fall football cheerleading team, but that future tryouts would follow three days of clinics, would be videotaped and would be judged by a diverse panel. There were no blacks among this year’s judges.

The school officials revised this stance after the two-hour meeting with the parents and the students.

Reggie Myers, Park Vista’s principal, said the school is making the change to counter any sense of unfairness in the selection process.

School officials were concerned that less time had been allotted for clinics before tryouts this year. Only a few hours were devoted to them this year, down from two or three days in the past.

Some people had asked whether the students who did not make the team had enough experience to compete against squad veterans.

“It bothers you any time there’s comments being made at this school,” said Myers, who is black.

Park Vista opened in 2003 andserves students from Boynton Beach and western Lake Worth. According to enrollment data from last November, 61 percent of Park Vista’s nearly 3,000 students are white, 21 percent are Hispanic and 11 percent are black.

Past Cobra squads have had black cheerleaders, school yearbooks from 2006 through 2009 reveal.

David Kooper, LAUSD board member Richard Vladovic’s chief of staff, has been hired as principal of Gulf Avenue Elementary School in Wilmington.

A San Pedro native who was an LAUSD teacher and magnet coordinator at South Shores Magnet School, Kooper has worked with Vladovic since his election in 2007. Vladovic, himself a former LAUSD administrator, was re-elected this year and will be sworn in Friday, the same day that Kooper takes on his new job.

Local District 8 Superintendent Mike Romero called Kooper an innovator and an instructional leader, saying he’s a good fit for Gulf Avenue, which is one of the local district’s three remaining year-round schools. Classes at the campus start July 5.

“The wealth of experiences serving as Vladovic’s chief of staff over the past few years will pay great dividends at Gulf Avenue,” Romero said.

Kooper said he was excited for the opportunity. Asked if spoke Spanish, Kooper replied: “Claro que sí.” The school is overwhelmingly Latino.

The news of his new position was made public in Vladovic’s blog. Vladovic announced Kooper’s departure with “sadness.” *

Nora Armenta, who’s been principal at Gulf Avenue since 2007, earlier this month became director of early education programs across the district, Romero said. She’s now based at the district’s downtown Beaudry Avenue offices.

* Vladovic may have been especially emotional, because he apparently vented at today’s school board meeting on the new Cameron Diaz film “Bad Teacher,” according to the LA Times. Vladovic took issue with the movie’s depiction of a potty-mouthed teacher who cares little about her students’ academic success.

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