Why don't we do what we know?

Twice this week, I had two separate conversations with colleagues who clearly described a list of actions that would produce improved achievement in our schools. In both situations, after we had talked a while, they each looked at me and said, "We know what to do, why don't we do it?"

After thinking about it a while, here is my preliminary answer is that we need courage, alignment, persistence. Courage to admit when we are not actually implementing the good ideas. One of my friends said, "Knowing about an idea and starting it passes as good work." We need courage to complete the implementation and followthrough. We need alignment between best practices and what teachers are actually doing every day. Great if we know what research says, but we have to design materials and systems so that they seamlessly incorporate those features rather than placing the burden upon the teacher to make the match. Finally, we need persistence to see good ideas through. Too often, the teacher changes, the principal moves, the fill-in-the-blank and we give up on the idea.

How do we close the knowing doing gap?

Effective or Not? Know the Difference.

On my Friday freeway trip, returning from a great Thanksgiving celebration, I caught an interview on KPCC. An LAUSD teacher from Jefferson high along with a charter school advocate and a couple high school students. The most appalling thing is that no one was willing to say that we could tell effective from ineffective teachers.

I had a similar experience with a group of school administrators recently. We viewed the Meet the Press episode where Gingrich, Sharpton, and Duncan were giving their views. Once the segment concluded, I asked, "What makes a teacher effective?" No one answered. I don't know if they were unwilling or unable.

Here's what. The structure of education is changing right now. Those of us in public education often complain that one of our constraints is the inability to remove bad teachers from the classroom. Well, that constraint might be changing. We BETTER be willing and able at time to say which teachers are effective and what makes them so.

common standards are out for commenthttp://www.corestandards.org/

View and comment on the common standards.

Did NCLB Kill Reading Rainbow?

see related NPR stories: "Reading Rainbow Reaches It's Final Chapter" and Claudio's story.

You know things have gone too far when shows like Reading Rainbow won't get funded because people think "how to read" is more important than the pleasure of reading. It's that mixed bag of NCLB...mixed with our sometimes irrational responses to it. Let's make sure that all kids learn to read AND learn to enjoy reading.

The future is closer than you think

Today, August 26, 2009, the U.S. Department of Education released a notice of proposed requirements for School Improvement Grants (SIG) authorized under Sec. 1003(g) of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The proposed requirements focus on what information State educational agencies (SEAs) should consider when allocating funds to local educational agencies (LEAs). SEAs must still allocate at least 95% of all SIG funds to LEAs for schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. Unlike prior guidance, however, SEAs will have different criteria to consider when allocating funds to LEAs. LEAs must divide their schools into three different tiers when applying for SIG funds:

· Tier I: The lowest-achieving 5% of Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring in the State, or the five lowest-achieving Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring in the State, whichever number of schools is greater.
· Tier II: Equally low-achieving secondary schools (both middle and high schools) in the State that are eligible for, but do not receive, Title I funds.
· Tier III: The remaining Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring that are not Tier I schools in the State. The Secretary encourages an SEA to develop criteria to further differentiate among the schools in Tier III, either in the State as a whole or within an LEA.

SEAs are directed to give priority to those LEAs serving the largest number of Tier I and II schools. SEAs are also directed to give priority to those LEAs that display the strongest commitment to turning around failing schools, especially those interested in implementing one of four new “rigorous interventions”:

· Turnaround model, which would include, among other actions, replacing the principal and at least 50 percent of the school’s staff, adopting a new governance structure, and implementing a new or revised instructional program.
· Restart model, in which an LEA would close the school and reopen it under the management of a charter school operator, a charter management organization (CMO), or an educational management organization (EMO) that has been selected through a rigorous review process.
· School closure, in which an LEA would close the school and enroll the students who attended the school in other, high-achieving schools in the LEA.
· Transformation model, which would address four specific areas critical to transforming the lowest achieving schools:
o Developing teacher and school leader effectiveness;
o Implementing comprehensive instructional reform strategies;
o Extending learning time and creating community-oriented schools; and
o Providing operating flexibility and sustained support.
These proposed requirements are open for public comment through September 25, 2009 and are available at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-20612.htm

California's First Step to Arne's Vision?

SB 742 look it up on http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/ for the latest status.

BILL SUMMARY: SB 742 would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and the State Board of Education (SBE) to annually, commencing in November of 2010, identify the 10 lowest performing schools in the state and require the district of those schools to notify parents and employees of the specific facts and options. The bill would create an advisory committee to the SPI for the purpose of making recommendations to the SBE on how to identify the lowest performing schools.

The local education agency of an identified school would be required to initiate at least one of the following "renewal" efforts:

Restructure the internal operations of the school, including but not limited to, school leadership, certificated and classified staff, and curriculum.

Operate the school under the oversight of a nonprofit management organization with which the SPI and SBE have jointly entered into a contract.

Reopen the school as charter school jointly approved by the local education agency, the SPI, and the SBE.

Change, Change, Change

The Coalition for Student Achievement, whose members include The Broad Foundation, The Gates Foundation, The U. S. Chamber of Commerce, The Business Roundtable, and the Thomas Fordham Institute, has issued a report entitled, Smart Options: Investing the Recovery Funds for Student Success. Investments to Avoid include: "broad-based class size reductions not tied to specific student achievement outcome goals, and; salary increases for teachers who earn a master's degree, not tied to demonstrable student outcomes or high need areas such as math and science. . . " The report identifies five priorities:
national standards

• a p-16 data system
• teacher evaluation revisions
• turn-around schools (see yesterday's post)
• supports for struggling students

This is the Future

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/518/index.html

Juneteenth

Today we celebrate freedom from slavery which came two years late for those of us in Texas. See the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

Perspective

Washington Post: For the Rookie, It's Been a Learning Experience
This story should have one extra phrase: "too bad it hasn't been for the kids".
Once again we get the poor, pitiful teacher from a foreign land sob story. Why don't we tell the story from Ashley's or Abel's point of view? It might go something like, "Here I sit in a building full of well paid professionals. They take money for educating me, but they never deliver. Year after year, the neophytes are featured in the Post, but I get nothing, not even the education I deserve."

Sixth to Twelfth Grade Math Teacher Opportunity

The Inland Counties Math Project is offering a free 5 day workshop on July 6 through 10. The location is likely to be Cal State San Bernardino. Teachers will get information about algebraic processes and gain understanding into applications for grade 6 through algebra. Register online. If you have questions, call Sarah Winter at 537-5455 in the 909.

Are We Ready?

Check out this video. Gives some perspective of things to come....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY
After viewing, ask yourself...am I preparing children to use technology that is yet to be invented to solve problems that are yet to be discovered?

National Standards are coming!

Looks like national standards are on the way, except they can't be called National because education is a states right matter. So, Common Standards, it is.... Click this link for the June 1 Washington Post article

Memorial Day Gratitude

Memorial Day was originally designed to honor soldiers who served in the Civil War. This weekend, I'd like to take a moment to say something about the nearly 200,000 African American soldiers who served. Serving the country in the Kansas Colored Calvary, the Louisiana Native Guard, United States Colored Troops or the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, they honored the country.



Harriet Tubman served in the war, first as a nurse then as a scout. In July of 1863, Harriet Tubman led troops under the command of Colonel James Montgomery in the Combahee River expedition, disrupting Southern supply lines by destroying bridges and railroads. The mission also freed more than 750 slaves, transporting them. . . . Tubman came under Confederate fire on this mission. General Saxton, who reported the raid to Secretary of War Stanton, said "This is the only military command in American history wherein a woman, black or white, led the raid and under whose inspiration it was originated and conducted." Francis Dumas later became the first non-white officer.

Thanks to each and every soldier and person connected to a soldier this Memorial Day.

Day of the Teacher

Today is the Day of the Teacher. Let's all take a moment to recognize a teacher who impacted us. This year, I honor Mr. Bailey. He was my 7th and 8th grade English teacher who demystified the English language by teaching how to diagram sentences. This helped me become a much better writer and speaker. He was a dedicated, knowledgeable professional and the first African-American man I had seen teach. I wonder what he is doing and where he is now.

Good teachers need prep....Are you listening Arne? Barack?

From the New York Times blog, "Room for Debate".
Good teachers must also be connoisseurs of error. Over time, good teachers can anticipate predictable errors and misconceptions, understand the logic behind the error, and help move students toward a deeper understanding. . . . So those who are thinking of teaching should be prepared for a steep learning curve in the first few years on the job. .....

Richter Scale Day

April 29 is Richter Scale Day, celebrating the birthday of Charles Richter.
The Richter magnitude scale is used worldwide to measure the amount of energy released during earthquakes, particularly smaller, local quakes. Charles Richter and Beno Gutenberg at the California Institute of Technology developed the logarithmic scale in 1935 to study seismic activity in California.

Algebra: In Simplest Terms http://www.learner.org/resources/series66.html * Program 19, "Logarithmic Functions," explains how the Richter scale measures quake magnitude * Program 11, "Circle and Parabola," demonstrates how P and S waves are used to locate an earthquake's epicenter

California Cuts ...I mean "expenditure solutions"

Now that the legislature has settled the budget (if you think settled means having the shebang rely on a May 19 vote) and districts are beginning to make cuts. A lady at one of our board meetings said she was in Sacramento and learned that the governor is referring to the cuts as "expenditure solutions". Sadly, these expenditure solutions are structured in a way that it makes the instructional functions of the district much more vulnerable than other functions. Specifically, they gave "sweep" rights to state programs such as gifted, teacher credentialing, school improvement (the only money that principals have available to customize their school/leadership/professional development/materials offerings". Rights were given to sweep any carryover that school BUILDINGS and instruction had left. What is not evident is many principals and districts had frozen this money in the prior year, so that "sweep" is a two year deprivation. PLUS the legislature gave "flexibility" for four future years of the same dollars.

Get out there. Find out how your district is making the cuts.

Meanwhile....in classrooms

So the budget and the education policy hubbub continues. In the meantime, teachers are trying to figure out how to get students to master the very rigorous California content standards and principals are trying to figure out how to support them in doing so. The year-end California standards tests are just 3 short months away. Did you hear me???? Three months.

Here is a short example of what a second grader is expected to know by then: reading 2 of 34 standards: recognize cause-and-effect relationships in a text and identify the use of rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration in poetry. mathematics 3 of 35 standards: Understand and use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction and Use the commutative and associative rules to simplify mental calculations and to check results. History/Social Science 2 of 17 standards: Describe food production and consumption long ago and today, including the roles of farmers, processors, distributors, weather, and land and water resources AND Label from memory a simple map of the North American continent, including the countries, oceans, Great Lakes, major rivers, and mountain ranges. Identify the essential map elements: title, legend, directional indicator, scale, and date. Science 1 of 26 standards: know many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents. Some characteristics are caused or influenced by the environment. PLUS physical education, visual and performing arts, plus drug prevention, eating well, dental care, Constitution Day, Dr. Suess Read Across America..... All this for a seven year old!

So I hope you can see why I would be just a tad indignant when the governor suggests school should be shortened by a week and ranting talk show hosts berate public school teachers. I wish any one of them would give it a try for a week.

Wish Lists on Wait

Michelle Rhee: Ready, Fire, Train
Virginia's Turnaround Specialists Interview w John Merrow#4: podcast transcript video
Bill Gates, "We have not seen dramatic improvements..."
Barack Obama: Wish List May Have to Wait

Proponents of education reform are beginning to run up against. Relative newcomers to the game are finding out that the solutions are not easy fixes. Improving achievement takes long term planning and, in my opinion, a systems approach. One critical missing factor is a focus on what students are learning (and what teachers are teaching).

Rhee's plan promotes firing many teachers and on professional development for the rest, including support from a Massachusetts consulting firm. Virginia's plan included training people who were supposed to go into a school, reform it an move on. Gate's plan was to change the structure of high schools. Obama's plan includes many of the same, and his nominated Secretary of Education believes that charters and entrepreneurs will do the trick.

Here in California, I am betting on knowing the California content standards and teaching to them. Everyone learning grade level standards. Professional development based on aligning the instructional materials, teaching methods, and assessments with the content standards. Performance evaluations based on the ability of each person to help students learn those grade level standards. This is the only thing I can see working. A state's content standards aren't the bee's knees or the end-all be-all. Nevertheless, they do take each core discipline and impose a logical sequence upon them. They establish a common foundation for offerings of professional development, objectives for classroom visits, communication to parents, and performance demands for students. Why can't we all get motivated behind those, learn them, teach them, assess them and see what happens?