New Year’s Resolution: Occupy Public Schools

                As we prepare to celebrate the holiday season we are often asked what our New Year’s Resolution is.  Many people want to make more money, some want to lose weight and others want the new year to be better than the last year. 

                This upcoming year I would like to ask all of those people who occupied city hall, town centers, and Wall Street to take that same passion and energy and give it to our public schools.  I would like to ask all the people who were outraged and saddened by the documentary “Waiting on Superman” to take that feeling of hopelessness and turn it into hope at our public schools.  And for those who like to complain about their tax money being squandered by schools districts, it is time to get involved in your tax investment.

                Our public schools are in great need of individuals who can offer their expertise during these tough economic times.  There are a number of schools who need mentors, tutors, reading coaches, and other volunteers to work with students to improve areas of need and enhance strengths.  There are also students who need assistance with planning for post high school life.  There are some students who need assistance applying to college and other post-secondary high school programs, assistance with SAT prep, and financial aid paperwork.  There are also students who need assistance with preparation to enter the workforce after high school.

                For those whose talents may not be working directly with students, your talents’ can be used to advocate at the city and private sector.  Individuals can lobby on behalf of public schools at the state or local level to end some of the bureaucracy that stifles schools from being innovative.  Individuals can also lobby the private sector to adopt a school, provide internships, or help to raise funds for scholarships, building refurbishment or technology.  Individuals can also lobby at the state level for greater equitable funding for public schools.

                The statement made by the occupy movement has demonstrated that the 99% is tired of business as usual and they want the country to change.  The next phase of the occupy movement should be to demand more from our public educational system.  Education is the gateway to unlimited opportunity in the global economy.  Occupying public education may ensure the next generation will be 50% and moving toward a more equal society.

Cyber Schools Targeting Low Income Communities

                As school districts across the country have laid off teachers, central office staff, closed school, and increased classroom size, cyber schools have been growing at rapid rate.  Currently there are 250,000 students enrolled in cyber schools across the country and the enrollment is growing.  However, one of the areas cyber schools are growing the most is in low income school districts[i].

                The first question that must be asked is a cyber school a viable option for low income public school students?  For low income students who are unable to attend school because they are medically fragile and unable to attend school, a cyber school would be a viable option because it would allow them to work and not over exerting their system.  For low income students who are gifted and their school does not have a gifted program, a cyber school may be viable option allowing the student to work on more advance work.  However, for most low income students, specifically those who struggle with the academic content have sporadic attendance, or behavioral problems, cyber schools are targeting these students. 

The largest cyber school company, K12 has been moving into low income neighborhoods across the country.  K12 was founded by conservative educator William Bennett, and a group of former business moguls.  Cyber schools provide instruction by teachers who communicate with students via the e-mail, the internet or by phone.  This leads us to question number two: can low income students effectively learn by phone, e-mail, or the internet?

If low income public school students are struggling in a classroom with a teacher and classroom assistant, how are they expected to catch up on the learning missed in the classroom and get on track academically with a virtual teacher?  How does a virtual teacher become familiar with the triggers of a student who becomes frustrated when he/she has problems comprehending a lesson?  Teaching and learning is more about understanding the subtle nuances of students, nurturing and building the confidence of fragile psyche.  This can only be done if the student is in the presence of the teacher.

This leads us to the third and final question:  what additional support can a cyber school offer to a low income student who is struggling academically due to family instability?  How can a cyber school recognize if the barrier to learning is due to hunger, domestic violence, or mental and physical abuse.  What if the barrier to learning is due to the loss of a parent, sibling, or close family member?  Lastly, what happens if the student accumulates a number of absences due to loss of internet or phone service?  Does the virtual teacher have access to resources to refer a family to social service agencies that could help stabilize the family?

                Cyber schools can play a very important role in providing an alternative to traditional school settings.  However, targeting low income neighborhoods where academic needs among students is greatest, is not a good match for low income communities.  Since cyber schools are for profit entities, they mostly likely will not provide the resources a low income student needs to academically thrive.  In these tough economic times, the last thing low income districts and communities need is a cyber school that takes funding away from schools and the students do not academically get back on track.  Cyber school would serve low income communities better by offering tutorial services, homework help, and instruction of medically fragile students via home instruction or home bound services for students who are temporarily incapacitated.

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[i] www.nytimes.com2011/12/03/opinion/virtually-educated

The Bloomberg Plan?

                Last week, New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg made some controversial statements concerning school improvement.  According to Mayor Bloomberg:

                                “If I had the ability to design the system and say this is

                                what we’re going to do, you would cut the number of

                                teachers in half and weed out all of the bad ones[i].”

Mayor Bloomberg further stated that doubling the class size with a better teacher is a good deal for the students.  Claiming that in districts across the country, teachers are no longer hired from the top of their classes, but are instead culled from the bottom 20 percent and not from the best schools[ii].  Mayor Bloomberg later claimed his statements were taken out of context.

                While Mayor Bloomberg’s statements may or may not have been taken out of context, in this current economic environment where there has been unprecedented cuts and layoffs to school districts across the county, Mayor Bloomberg’s statements may provide some insight on a future educational strategy that is being considered if a worst case scenario were to occur. 

                For several months there has been speculation of additional cuts and layoffs to public school districts as states continue to manage their deficits.  As the economy continues to sputter, states will once again have to make tough decisions on how to fund their public school districts.  Mayor Bloomberg’s statements should be considered as a potential strategy for mayors across the country.

                This school year, public school districts across the country petition their states to allow for increases in classroom size and teacher unions agreed to some teacher layoffs in order to offset lost allocations.  Combine these concessions with new teacher accountability measures via the teacher evaluation process; and a strong case can be made for Mayor Bloomberg’s plan. 

                By increasing class size and cutting teaching staff by “weeding out” the bad teachers, districts could increase class size to 25 to 30 students, add an additional teacher and one (possibly two) classroom assistants.  The money saved by weeding out bad teachers (who mostly likely receive a higher salary), hiring first year teachers and more classroom assistants could actually save money that could be utilized for additional support for students.

                With the current economic turmoil projected not to end for another couple of years, Mayor Bloomberg’s plan may not be the ideal plan for advocates of small class size and staffing, but in these economic times, unpopular measures may have to be taken in the short term to ensure our public education system doesn’t fully implode due to budgetary problems.

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[i] www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/michael-bloomberg-in=mit-_n_1125737.html

[ii] ibid

Internet for All

In this era of No Child Left Behind and high stakes testing, the digital divide between the “haves” and “have not’s” has gotten greater.  As the country became primarily focused on academic achievement through prescribed scores, lost due to rote memorization and an emphasis on fragmented pieces of knowledge was learning and how to apply what is learned to access the world.  The most glaring loss however was the integration and utilization of technology to assists learning.  While No Child Left Behind legislation was being crafted, absent from the legislation was the integration of technology into the teaching and learning experience to reflect the needs of the global economy.

Understanding this oversight and the need to reduce the digital divide, the Obama administration has begun an initiative to provide families with affordable access to the internet. With a third of American homes not having the internet, the federal government partnered with internet providers and non-profit agencies to develop “Connect to Compete.”  Connect to Compete is a national pilot program whose mission is to provide low cost internet at $9.95 per month and $150 laptops to families who are eligible for free and reduced school lunches[i].

In this current global economy, this initiative could provide a huge boost to significantly reducing the digital divide.  Providing affordable internet and laptops to income eligible families gives them access to the global economy.  However for public education, we may finally see the integration and utilization of technology that is occurring in private schools and wealthier districts.

In private schools and wealthier districts, technology is integrated into the teaching and learning experience.  Teachers utilize the internet to post classroom assignments, notes, schedules and other class related materials for students and parents to access from their home computers.  Students can submit assignments to teachers, submit questions, and view their grades.  However, a majority of public school students do not have this opportunity due to several barriers.

The lack of internet and a computer in the home is one of the barriers facing many public school students.  Compounding this problem is that most public school districts have not developed the systems to integrate technology into the teaching and learning experience.  With all of the needs of a public school district, integrating technology into the curriculum to prepare students for the global economy is a low priority when there are infrastructure, staffing, and other needs to be addressed.  Since most public school districts do not have the integration of technology into the teaching and learning experience as part of their district wide strategic plan, having access to the internet will partially address the mission of Connect to Compete.

In order for Connect to Compete to fulfill its mission of providing income eligible families with access to affordable internet and laptops to decrease the digital divide and to provide access to the global economy, public school districts will have to do their part to support this initiative. 

Having access to affordable internet is not enough to prepare and compete in the global economy.  Students in poorer districts need to be taught how to utilize the internet as their counterparts in wealthier districts and private schools provide to their students.  This can only be accomplished if public school districts place in their strategic plan the integration of technology into the teaching and learning experience.

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[i] www.cbsnews.com/2102-502303_162-57321326