The Principals We Need

                Growing up, the urban school principal was more than just an administrator.  The principal was a role model, a mentor, a life coach to students and a child psychologist to parents.  The principal was the purest definition of an educator.

                In school, the principal ran a tight ship.  The Principal was aware of everything that occurred in the building.  The principal was the first person in the building greeting students and teachers to make sure every staff and student got a good start to the day.  The principal could also be seen walking the halls monitoring student and teacher behavior inside the classroom making sure students were engaged in learning and teachers were making the lessons engaging.  At the end of the school day, the principal would remind students to be safe, do their homework, and come to school on time.  The principal would then stop by each teachers classroom to find out how the day went and if there were any needs or concerns.  The end of the day is when the principal began the work he/she was supposed to do during the school day.

                Today’s urban school principal is overwhelmed by central office bureaucracy, state and district demands, union regulations, and the affects poverty and crime have on children in the community who attend the neighborhood school.  These demands have taken principals away from being a presence in the school and community.  Today’s urban principal is spending more time away from the building, less time dealing with teaching and learning, less time with students and teachers, and less time being a partner in the community.  Today’s urban school principal has been reduced to a bean counter and paper pusher. 

                The school principals we need must be allowed to focus on learning and instruction.  They must be freed to work with teachers and support staff to ensure that struggling students are getting the additional support to improve deficit areas and to maintain or increase academic proficiency for students on grade level.  The principal also needs to mentor first year teachers and make sure veteran teachers continue to enhance their pedagogic and instruction skills.  A principal is only able to do this if he/she is in the building walking around conducting observations and monitoring student progress.

Finally, the school principal we need must be able to connect with the community.  It is well known that schools that thrive have the support of the community.  Schools not only had the support of parents, they also had the support of local businesses.  Unfortunately, the deterioration of a majority of urban communities has eroded the relationship between the school principal and the community.  Many principals have not fostered a relationship with the community because they fail to understand how a strong relationship with the community will aid in promoting a commitment to academic achievement.  Additionally, the principals we need must be able to develop relationships with parents.  Getting parents involved in the educational process is crucial to promoting a commitment to academic achievement. 

If the education is going to be turned around, one of the crucial components to a successful turnaround will be removing principals from some of the bureaucracy and allow them to that focus on improving learning and instruction, making sure students are engaged and teachers are providing engaging lesson plans, and fostering relationships with parents and the community.

Will Raising Teacher Salary Improved Education?

                There was a recent article in the New York Times by Dave Eggers and Ninive Clements Calegari titled “The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries.”  The premise of the article was that teachers should not be blamed for poor tests scores, District leadership should be blamed and teachers should be better supported.  Using the analogy of the military, Eggers and Calegari state:

                                “When we don’t get the results we want in our military endeavors

                                we don’t blame the soliders…if the results aren’t there, we blame

                                the planners.  We blame the generals, the secretary of defense, the

                                Joints Chiefs of Staff.  When we don’t like the way our students score

                                on international standardized tests, we blame the teachers[i].”

                The use of the military analogy to support their argument is very weak and inappropriate.  Their attempt to argue that teachers should not be solely held to blame for poor student performance has some merit.  Eggers and Calegari further argue what teachers need is more support, resources and training.  They argue the first place to start is to raise the salaries of teachers. 

                Eggers and Calegari argue the average pay of teachers is similar to a toll taker or bartenders.  They claim that teacher salaries have declined over the past 30 years with the average starting salary being $39,00 and the average ending salary (after 25 years in the profession) is $67,000[ii].  The low salaries they argue prevent the profession from attracting the most talented people.

Citing a poll by the McKinsey Consulting firm, the poll found that 68% of college students in 900 top-tier colleges stated they would consider teaching if salaries started at $65,000 and rose to a minimum of $150,000[iii].  With a projected high number of retirements occurring within the next 10 years combined with 20 percent of first year teachers leaving the profession, Eggers and Calegari argue it is time to restructure the teaching profession recruit and retain talented graduates.

Higher salaries will not solve the myriad of complex problems plaguing public education.  Increasing teacher salaries is important however one of the things teachers need is training.  Teachers need more training on how to provide instruction with students who have difficulty understanding the material.  Teachers need more training on using multiple techniques in classroom management.  Teachers need more training on diversity and sensitivity to diversity, teachers need a refresher in pedagogy, differentiated instruction for students with disabilities, and finally teachers need more training in their subject.  This can only occur if teachers receive training during the summer.  Teachers should be given vacation from the end of school in June to the end of July.  August to the start of the school year should be used for professional development training and school preparation.

In addition to training, teachers need more support in the classroom.  Districts need to hire more reading and math specialists, psychologists, behavioral health specialist, and other support staff to assists teachers with students who need academic and behavioral help.  The addition of staff will allow the teacher to focus on instruction while students who are struggling can receive individual or group help.

 
          Teachers are the foundation of our educational system.  The success of our economy, national security, and technical innovation depends on the products (students) of our educational system having a world class education.  There needs to be more investment in training teachers to become the effective instructors and world class professional that our educational system needs.

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[i] Eggers, David & Ninive Clements Calegari (2011) www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01eggers

[ii] ibid

[iii] ibid

Weekends Without Homework?

                Recently the Superintendent of the Galloway Township School District in New Jersey, recommended to the school board that schools should only assign students ’homework Monday through Thursday.  The superintendent also recommended that students receive no more than 10 minutes of homework multiplied by a student’s grade level per night

The rationale for this recommendation is to “ensure students are not assigned busywork and to give them time for family and extracurricular activities[i].”  The recommendation to give less homework is puzzling at a time when national confidence in education is at an all time low.  As documented in recent reports, last year 1.3 million students failed to earn their diploma[ii].  This report combined with the fact that US students have fallen behind their international peers in reading, math and science, Galloway Township School Districts might want to reconsider their stance on weekends without homework.

With US education wallowing in mediocrity, school districts, specifically small and suburban need to stop thinking their district is not contributing to the educational mediocrity.  According to the documentary, “Waiting on Superman”, the top 5% of US students’ rank 23^rd out of 29 developing countries.  It is time these districts to understand they no longer have the luxury to believe the fate of poor performing districts will not impact them.

The recommendation by the Superintendent to not assign homework to students on weekends is not based sound research or best practices.  The idea that no homework on weekends will give more time to spend with family is counter to current research.  There is a plethora of evidence that shows that families are spending less time together.  Research has shown that an alarming number of youth are spending a majority of their time watching tv and playing video games.  

Lastly, the idea that a Superintendent would recommend not assigning students homework over the weekend to give them more time to be involved in extracurricular activities is appalling.  With a mountain of evidence that show an increase in juvenile diabetes, obesity, and hyper tension because youth are not being physically active, not assigning homework on the weekends may not cause an increase in physical activity.

At a time when the US economy is projected to become second to China in the global economy within a few years, a school districts focus should be on how to ensure their students’ are prepared to compete academically with their global peers and focus more how to decrease the loss of instructional retention by students.  Giving students no homework over the weekend is not the answer.

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[i] www.philly.com/philly/education/20110525_ap_njschoolsdistrictmightbanweekendhomework.html

[ii] Wittenstein, Rebecca (2010).  Progress on Graduation Stalls: 1.3 Million Students Fail to Earn Diplomas

(www.edweek.org)

Is It Time to End Neighborhood School Policy?

                The national attention school districts across the country are receiving for their proposed plans to reduce staff, close and consolidate buildings, cut transportation, cut art and music programs, and end full-day pre-kindergarten, has parents wondering how will these proposed plans will impact their children’s education? 

                Families living in poor performing districts where proposed reductions will have the greatest impact have increased anxiety for their children’s education.  Examples of this anxiety can be witnessed in the infamous case of Tanya McDowell and the lesser known case of Kelley Williams-Bolar.  Both women who lived in poor performing districts have been convicted for falsifying residency documents in order for their children to attend school in a better district.

                The practice for some families to use the address of family members who reside in better performing districts has been occurring for decades, with the recession severely impacting district allocations, districts have begun to crack down harder on non-residents who are mostly minorities who live in poorer neighborhoods with failing schools.  Recognizing the potential of an influx of students from poor performing districts in a recession economy the McDowell and Williams-Bolar cases were decisions made to discourage parents from enrolling children who would be taking away resources from children who are legal residents.  However, the cases have also brought the attention to the ongoing disparity among districts and what desperate parents would do to ensure their children get a proper education.

                With state governments encouraging districts to think out of the box concerning how to educate children with fewer resources, Sam Chaltain argues that something drastic needs to be done.  Chaltain claims that access to the American Dream is being denied to some students based on their zip code[i].  Using legal arguments from the 1954 landmark Supreme Court Brown v Board of Education case and the lesser known 1973 Supreme Court case San Antonio v Rodriguez case, Chaltain argued:

 

                                “that the state’s tolerance of the wide disparity in school resources

..many which were determined by the value of property taxes-

violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14^th Amendment[ii]

As the disparity widens, it may be time to take bold steps to close the achievement gap by removing residential boundaries and allow students to attend school in any district. 

 
                There are a number of students who cross residential boundaries daily to attend school.  These students attend private, parochial, and charter schools.  States should consider in the voucher debate the use of vouchers for students to attend schools in neighboring districts.  States should also consider require districts to hold a lottery to take out of districts students as part of increasing educational equity and diversity.  It is ideas such as these that will ensure that a zip code doesn’t determine a child’s access to the American Dream.

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[i] Chaltain, Sam (5/23/11). Your Education is Not an Equal Opportunity. www.cnn.com

[ii] ibid

Do Kids Need A Summer Break?

                Last week (5/12/11), there was an interesting article by LZ Granderson entitled “We Need Year-Round School to Complete Globally.”  Granderson argues that while US students continue to fall behind globally in reading, math and science, our countries attitude is not reflective of the seriousness of the continuous decline.

                Granderson cites a 2009 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to support his argument for year-round school.  The report which occurs every three years assesses students (age 15) in 34 nations in math and science.  Currently US students age 15 rank 14^th in reading, 17^th in science, and 25^th in math.  The reports estimates that if US scores increased in reading, math, and science increased by 20 points over the next 20 years, the US economy would gain $41 trillion dollars over the lifetime of the generation born in 2010[i].  The data also showed that even though US students have fallen behind, their perception of their academic skills is higher than students in other countries.  Granderson believes the students high perception of their academic skills is due to praise given for mediocre work.  It is for these reasons Granderson argues that our country needs to consider converting to year-round schooling.

                On average, US students have a shorter school year (180 days) than students in countries such as Korea (220 days, ranks # 2 in math) and Finland (190 days, ranks # 1in math and science).  Having such a lengthy summer break, Granderson argues students, especially low income students’ are losing the academic knowledge acquired during the school year.  Citing the research of a summer-learning expert, Granderson claims that over the past century:

                                “each summer, our kids lose about a month of progress

                                in math and low income students lose as month as three

                                months worth of reading comprehension[ii]”

 Granderson reminds the readers the primary reason for summer break was for youth to help their family in the fields during growing season.  Since farming is less prevalent in a global economy, and more people live in cities than rural areas, US students are at home watching tv, playing video games, and losing valuable instruction time that could keep them competitive in the global market.

                There are a number of districts, both large and small that have converted to year-round schools.  While Granderson did not discuss or provide data on districts currently operating year-round schools, he argues:

                                “The world is getting smaller, the world is getting smarter and

                                if you look around you’ll see when it comes to education, we’re

                                no longer basking in the glow of superiority…We are wallowing

                                in mediocrity.  And our kids don’t even know it[iii].

With the economy still in recovery and some economist claiming that by 2016 China will over take the US as the leader of the global economy, our educational system is the main impetus to ensure the US remains the leader of the global economy.  Our nation must understand that students who receive poor to mediocre education present a threat to democracy, national security, and future economic leadership.

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[i] www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/10/granderson.yearround.school

[ii] ibid

[iii] ibid

Should School Districts Go To A Four-Day School Week?

                School Districts across the country are trying to find ways to fill gaps in their budgets from loss State allocations and the end of Federal Stimulus dollars.  Many of the strategies that are being considered or implemented are: 1) school closures and consolidation, 2) staff layoffs, 3) cuts to extracurricular activities, and 4) reduction in transportation.  However, one school district has gained national attention for considering a different strategy.

                The Coatesville School District in Pennsylvania is considering going to a four-day school week in order to prevent budget cuts and staff layoffs.  While the idea of a four-day school week is not new, the eyes of the nation are watching the Coatesville School District.  If Coatesville decides to approve a four-day school week and the change provides minimal or neutral academic gains, other school districts may follow their lead.

The Coatesville plan is to lengthen the school day by 80 minutes for elementary schools and 45 minutes for middle and high schools.  This would allow the district to utilize the exception to the Pennsylvania School Code which allows a district to measure a student’s time in class by hours instead of days[i].  While this would provide logistical problems for students involved in extracurricular activities, parents plans on what to do with children on off days, and will schools be able to provide enough instruction in four days.  However, Coatesville can look for guidance from over 125 school districts that are currently operating on a four-day school week. 

             There are many advantages to having a four day school week.  First is the savings gained from having unused buildings and buses.  Districts are able to reduce the costs of utilities, fuel, and payroll for non-instructional staff[ii].  Second, is the reduction of teacher burnout and staff turnover.  A four-day school week would also provide teachers the opportunity to recover from the demands of teaching.  Teachers would  be able to have more time to develop lesson plans, grade papers, spend time with their family, and they may remain in the field.

Lastly a four-day week could be beneficial to students who work or are looking for work.  A four-day school week would give students the opportunity to make more money and make them attractive to employers.  Due to the economic recession, many students are having to contribute to the household expenses or pay for their personal expenses to alleviate further strain to the household income.  Additionally, a four-day school week would also give students more time to work on their academic assignments.

           The disadvantages of a four-day school week mainly create concerns for parents.  Concerns such as making arrangements and paying for child care for younger children, how to prevent older children from becoming involved in high risk behavior s, and how to make sure children are learning and retaining the academic information needed to be promoted or graduate.

         The concept of a four-day school week could work for a small district like Coatesville, because a majority of the 125 districts utilizing a four-day school week are small.  There is not data that a larger district would be able to transition to a four-day school week due to the size of staff and student enrollment.

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[i] McLaughin, Danielle (4/19/2011).  Schools Consider 4-Day Week (www.msnbc.com)

[ii] Hardy, Dan & Lu, Adrienne (5/5/2011).  Two Pennsylvania School Districts Weigh Four-Day Week (www.philly.com)

Teacher Appreciation Week

                This week is Teacher Appreciation Week.  This week is dedicated to celebrating the teaching profession, highlighting the vital role teachers play in shaping the lives of youth, and providing the public the opportunity to express their appreciation and gratitude to the teachers who played an important role in their lives.

                Unfortunately, when Teacher Appreciation Week is over, teachers will go back to being underpaid, underappreciated, overly scrutinized, and mostly likely laid off.  Not since the start of the 20^th century when the educational system was transformed from an agrarian to an industrial system have teachers and the teaching profession received so much negative attention (see David Tyack 2005, The One Best System).

                With all the negative attention teachers and the teaching profession has been receiving, lost in the discourse is that teachers are more than just teachers.  Teachers are parents who have children and have the same concerns about the education of their children, they are husbands/wives who work late grading papers, creating lesson plans, and sponsors for student clubs, and they are highly educated professionals who chose a career in teaching knowing they will underpaid and undervalued.  Teachers also understand they will bear the brunt of the blame for problems plaguing education.

                Compared to other countries, teachers are a highly valued commodity.  In China teachers are considered Nation Builders and in Sweden and Germany teachers are viewed as an integral part of National Security.  In the US, teachers are “just teachers.”  It is no surprise that the US is trailing the aforementioned countries in educational categories such as math and science. 

                It is time our country begins to value teachers the same way as other countries.  Our country needs to understand that other countries are using teachers to build the next generation of competitors to compete against the US in the global economy. 

Other countries heavily invest in teachers, the US has not.  Other countries have adjusted their teacher pedagogy to reflect the needs of a global economy.  The US has not clearly defined teacher pedagogy in a global economy.  Lastly, other countries compensate their teachers in a manner that demonstrates their value to the country.  Other countries do not appear to have the same teacher turnover or vacancies as in the US.

                As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, contact your State and Federal representatives and ask them to vote against teacher layoffs and invest in teachers.  Remind them that teachers are a crucial component to a successful educational system and remind them that teachers placed us on the path to being productive citizens because they inspired and empowered us to pursue our dreams.  Lastly, honor teachers by sharing with your child(ren) stories about your favorite teacher(s) and the impact they had on your life.

For all the teachers who have made a difference in our lives by motivating, challenging, and believing in us.  THANK YOU!