The Education Spring
It doesn’t feel like Spring in Northwest Ohio. My lawn is no longer covered in snow, but another dose of the white stuff could be coming our way mid-week.
In Austin, Texas on the other hand, you can wear shorts and eat barbecue on a restaurant’s outdoor patio. I know because I did.
Earlier this month I traveled to Austin, Texas for the Network for Public Education (NPE) National Conference. Spring was definitely in the air in Austin, but it had less to do with the weather than with the NPE conference attendees.
The group of 400 teachers, administrators, students and parents spoke a great deal about spring, but the spring they were referring to is the upcoming “education spring,” which we are hopeful will play out over the next few months.
People are tired of the over-testing of children. They are tired of lawmakers and lobbyists who know nothing about education driving policy. They are tired of the narrative that public education is a failing entity.
But while they may be tired of what’s happening to public education, they are not too tired to stand up for what is right. They are not too tired to advocate for better funded schools, less testing and a better overall education policy for our children.
The 400 activists who convened in Austin believe that this spring we will see communities coming together in opposition to the “education reformers” and their harmful policies, and every one of them is doing something to make change happen. They shared inspirational stories and demonstrated what can happen when you stand up for public education.
For example, there was Jesse Hagopian, a teacher from Seattle, who is a building rep for the teachers at Garfield High School. He and his colleagues worked with parents and students to opt out of the MAP standardized test. Although Jessie and the other Garfield teachers were afraid of the consequences for their stand, they did what they saw as the right thing and were able to stop the administration of the MAP test.
There were representatives from a parent group called Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment, or, as education advocate Diane Ravitch calls them, Mothers Against Drunk Testing. This group of moms was outraged by the number of high-stakes standardized tests high school children were slated to take and they worked across the state to build support, while engaging in dialogue with elected officials. Pointing out that Texas was testing more than any other state, they persuaded legislators to pass House Bill 5, which reduced the number of high stakes tests from 15 to 5.
Hearing stories of “regular people” making a difference was inspiring, as were the remarks of some prominent education advocates in attendance, like Diane Ravitch, who dusted off her cowboy boots for the trip to the Lone Star State and gave one hell of a keynote address. Her guns were locked and loaded as she took aim at charter school profiteers and elected officials across the political spectrum.
She said for-profit charters should be stopped and banned, and called virtual charters a Ponzi scheme. On standardized testing, she pointed out that legislators love “school choice,” but will not give children the choice to opt out of high stakes tests. She questioned the effectiveness of the 3rd Grade Reading Guarantee (The state is saying my third grader is a failure. How does that encourage children to do better?). She had little positive to say about “education reformers” and their powerful astroturf groups funded by corporate billionaires, like Michelle Rhee’s organization, StudentsFirst (They don’t give a damn about kids).
Diane’s remarks captured the tone of the weekend. They reflected the determined, energetic spirit of the conference attendees, who resolved to go back to their communities, form coalitions with people who care about public schools, and defeat those who are destroying public education.
The thought of my fellow activists advocating for public schools across the country in the coming months excites me. I realize the education spring is just around the corner, no matter Ohio weathermen may say.
By Dan Greenberg, Sylvania Education Association
Report uncovers underperforming virtual schools
Major virtual schools report uncovers underperforming schools, recommends halt of their expansion
In the past decade, virtual education has moved quickly to the top of the K-12 public education reform agenda, with proponents arguing that technology revolutionizes teaching and learning at a reduced cost – despite a lack of substantive research to back up those claims.
The lack of research on virtual teaching and learning led the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice, to compile the first in a series of objective analyses regarding virtual schools.
The first report is titled Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2013: Politics, Performance, Policy, and Research Evidence, and is edited by Alex Molnar, a research professor with the University of Colorado Boulder. Contributing authors to the reports include Gary Miron of Western Michigan University, Luis Huerta of Columbia University’s Teacher College, Jennifer King Rice of the University of Maryland, and Larry Cuban of Stanford University.
There are now 347 full-time virtual schools enrolling nearly 200,000 students, with 68 percent of the schools operated by Education Management Organizations (EMO). There are 30 states and the District of Columbia that allow full-time virtual schools, with even more states allowing or requiring courses to be delivered online to traditional public school students.
The reports uncovered several unnerving facts, including that full-time virtual schools significantly underperformed on Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) compared to traditional brick-and-mortar and charter schools. In the 2010-11 school year, only 23.6 percent of virtual schools made AYP compared to 52 percent for traditional and charter schools.
In terms of student demographics, virtual schools also serve very different student populations that traditional or charter schools.
Three-quarters of the students in virtual schools are white, compared to the national mean of 54 percent. Black students account for 10.3 percent of the virtual school enrollment, compared to 16.5 percent for all public schools. The gap is even wider for Hispanic students, which is surprising given the large presence of virtual schools in states with large Hispanic populations like Arizona, Florida and California.
The number of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch in virtual schools is 10-percentage points lower than all public schools – 35.1 percent compared to 45.4 percent. Meanwhile, the proportion of students with disabilities being served by virtual schools is half the national average – 7.2 percent compared to 13.1 percent.
Despite the claim that virtual schools can provide quality learning at a reduced cost, there is no funding formula based on the actual costs of operating virtual schools. Virtual schools have lower costs associated with teacher salaries and benefits, facilities and maintenance, transportation, food service and other in-person services – compared to their brick-and-mortar counterparts – although some virtual schools receive the same amount of funding.
The reports also raised alarms regarding teacher certification and licensure requirements, noting those should be re-evaluated so teachers receive the support they need to instruct students through online learning. In that same vein, more research is needed to show how students acquire skills, attitudes and habits of learning online.
In light of evidence of underperforming schools, and lack of research into how to provide quality learning online, the reports’ authors suggest policymakers should suspend requirements that students take online courses to graduate from high school and that policymakers should slow or stop the growth of these virtual schools until more research and accountability measures can be put into place.
Along with Professors Molnar, Miron, Huerta, King Rice, and Cuban, contributors to this study included professors Sheryl Shafer of Teachers College, Columbia University, Brian Horvitz of Western Michigan University, and Charisse Gulosino at the University of Memphis.
The report was produced by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. It can be found at http://www.greatlakescenter.org.
The Puppet Masters
The education community is getting bombarded with new acronyms all the time: OTES, SLO, SGM, etc. Figuring out what they stand for is difficult. Figuring out their impact on public education in the short and long term is nearly impossible.
However, they are probably missing one very important acronym from their lexicon, one that represents the most influential corporate-funded political force operating in America today, one that has worked to dilute collective bargaining rights and privatize public education. ALEC.
ALEC, which stands for American Legislative Exchange Council, is a conservative organization that develops policies and language that can be used as part of legislation by multiple states across the country.
That probably doesn’t clarify much of anything.
In more concrete terms, ALEC creates legislation for elected officials to introduce in their states as their own brainchildren. ALEC is comprised of legislators and corporate leaders and has been operating in the shadows for about 40 years. They don’t solely focus on public education either. ALEC was the group behind the controversial “Stand your Ground” legislation in Florida, which was at the center of the Trayvon Martin shooting case.
In the documentary “United States of ALEC,” Bill Moyers calls the group “an organization hiding in plain sight, yet one of the most influential and powerful in American politics.”
Moyers’ comment about ALEC is absolutely on point. ALEC is more or less unknown in teacher circles. Teachers, who are focused on their students, generally don’t dabble in the political realm. They have not been interested in knowing or getting to know ALEC, at least until recently.
After the 2010 election — with the assaults to collective bargaining rights, the expansion of voucher programs and education reforms that emphasized testing and “accountability” — teachers in the Midwest got to know ALEC the hard way, though they still probably couldn’t identify it by name.
Think back to those bills that were signed into law in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio in early 2011. Ask yourself, how was it that different state legislatures came up with virtually identical anti-labor bills at the same time? The answer: ALEC. The group crafted the language and legislators waited for the most opportune time to introduce it. In Ohio they found it following the 2010 elections when Republicans took control of the Governor’s office and the legislature.
ALEC’s strategy is like the kid’s game of whack a mole. If they were to put out one piece of legislation at a time, education groups and organized labor could easily defeat each one in succession. Instead they toss out a slew of legislation all at once, so there isn’t enough time or resources to educate and mobilize the public. There is no way to effectively beat back all the reforms.
In “How Online Learning Companies Bought America’s Schools“ Lee Fang summed up ALEC’s strategy: “spread the unions thin ‘by playing offense’ with decoy legislation.” Spreading the unions thin has resulted in radical changes to classroom teachers’ everyday lives — changes that were made without the input of local school boards or educators.
As states have expanded voucher systems, schools have had to drastically reduced funding. These programs take money away from traditional public schools and give it to unaccountable and very often less effective private and charter schools. This means larger class sizes for us, less extra help for students and fewer electives.
They have also increased standardized testing, bringing with it the stress that goes along with constantly prepping students for high stakes tests. It’s frustrating because we all know that these tests are not a true indication of students’ progress and understanding. And now teachers are also experiencing the stress of state-mandated teacher evaluations.
These ALEC-induced policy changes have devastated teacher morale and driven many to retirement.
It’s astonishing how much impact one group can have without 95% of the public even knowing it exists.
By Dan Greenberg, Sylvania Education Association
Low Morale Equals Early Retirement for Some
Last year, my school district levy failed for the first time in fifteen years. We faced a huge deficit, and large-scale layoffs of teachers were imminent. Administrators and teachers collaborated , and one of the solutions to save money was to offer a retirement incentive of $24,000, to be paid out over the course of a three years.
The incentive worked. Thirty two teachers, or about 6% of teachers district-wide, decided to retire at the end of last school year.
This year, most in the district assumed the number of retirees would be way down, because all those that were thinking about retiring, left teaching last year, in order to take advantage of the incentive.
We were wrong. After the last school district board meeting, the number of teacher retirements approved by the board was….32.
How can this be? What would make teachers retire this year, when last year they could have received an extra $24,000? Our levy passed last May, on the second attempt, so there is no new budget crisis. Since we made large-scale reductions last year, there aren’t dramatic cuts planned for next year.
I had my theories, so I asked around, and my thoughts were confirmed.
What I found was that teachers were fed up with the attacks on their profession and public schools. They felt disrespected by politicians and community members. They were used to dealing with students who didn’t always show the respect they should have, but when they heard family members and friends say — through the Issue 2 battle in the fall — that they should “get a job that was for the whole year, not just nine months,” they lost faith. They lost the passion to continue doing the job they had loved for so many years.
Even though Issue 2 was defeated, the toll it has taken on teachers is evident. We get into the profession because of the noble work we can do for children, not because we consider teaching a great way to earn a buck or two. Issue 2 caused people to change the way they think about teaching. It’s a job now, not the rewarding career they used to know.
It’s sad.
These retirees are not “bad teachers.” These are not washed up teachers. These are my colleagues and friends who have inspired me through my 13 years of teaching. These are people who I have learned from and who have helped me grow as an educator.
More significantly, it’s a sad situation for the students in my district. They are losing role models and teachers with extensive knowledge about the subjects they teach. They are losing teachers who have a wealth of experience to draw upon, to make learning meaningful. They are losing caring individuals, who have known students’ families for years, and have taught older siblings and even their parents.
Moving forward, I’m worried. I worry about the morale of teachers in my building, district and the state overall. I worry that many good teachers will retire, rather than face the barrage by outsiders who don’t understand the nature of public schools and what we deal with every day. I worry that my children, and the other children in my community, will miss out on having the opportunity to learn from these wonderful and talented veteran teachers.
Thirty two of my colleagues will box up their personal items this June. They will have some cake and a few laughs, as they reminisce about the things they experienced throughout their careers. They’ll make jokes about how they never have to attend another in-service or proctor another test. It will be a bittersweet farewell in so many instances, as I consider how much my colleagues, my students and I will lose, with the departure of these exceptional educators.
By Dan Greenberg, Sylvania Education Association
Mentorvention and Student Success
As a Browns fan, I find little excitement in watching the Superbowl. My most compelling reasons to watch the spectacle a few weeks ago were:
- Tom Brady was the quarterback for my playoff fantasy football team.
- Julian Edelman, a fellow Kent State alum, was playing for the Patriots.
- Madonna’s half time show
- The commercials
It ended up that reason number four was the best of all, because it became the basis for my American Literature lesson Monday morning.
I have been teaching literature analysis, contrasting several adolescent short stories with Catcher in the Rye, and I want my students to understand how tone is expressed differently in each work. When I saw Chrysler’s new ad, narrated by Clint Eastwood, I immediately knew how I could use it in my class. The next morning, I showed it to my students and we had a lengthy discussion about how the commercial used images, music and words to create a defiant, determined and hopeful tone. From this engaging discussion, we turned to our attention to the way tone is established in literature.
Even when watching the Superbowl, my classroom is in the forefront of my mind. It’s part of my commitment to connecting with and teaching every student. That commitment is why I get so excited every year to make improvements on my lessons from years past, in order to have make them better and more compelling for my new crop of students. It’s why I spend my summers at teaching conferences and in my classroom. It’s why I spend my Sundays tucked away from my family in the basement office, so I can grade essays and create lesson plans for the week.
My investment of time is not the only way I work to make sure all students succeed. Every year, I examine the novels I teach, considering what pieces of literature are most apt to engage my classes. I found that my tenth graders were not enthusiastic about reading a series of classic novels, like Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace. Many did not complete the daily reading assignments or show willingness to participate in discussions. I decided to go beyond the classics and merged Jodi Piccoult’s novel Nineteen Minutes into my curriculum. Although I don’t see the novel as an outstanding piece of literature with underlying symbolism, like Lord of the Flies, it deals with bullying, school shootings and interpersonal relationships. It’s a suspenseful, high interest book, which kids understand, and can easily relate to. It makes students reflect on the way they treat each other.
Along with the new literature, I created a real-world connection, by showing clips of various news clips about bullying incidents, and had students write reaction journals, in class, about the stories. These assignments were graded on completion, and by giving class time, I was assured that all students would do the assignment.
This unit was a success, and what was most rewarding was that I had several students admit that Nineteen Minutes was the first assigned novel they had ever finished.
The place where my commitment to student success is most evident is in my mentoring. If students aren’t feeling emotionally balanced at school or have anxieties and unresolved issues, it doesn’t matter how good my or my colleagues’ instruction is, because students are not focused on class. For that reason I teamed up with colleagues and we created a program we coined “Mentorvention.” We encouraged staff members to reach out to students who seemed to be in need of a positive adult relationship or who were struggling academically. We planned a connections day, where we invited all the mentored students to a day-long workshop where they had opportunities to talk with their peers and adults outside the school setting. Students let down their guard, shared personal stories and even shed some tears. Their connection to their teachers, peers and school, grew and, for some, grades and behavior improved.
Beyond the formal mentoring program, I try to foster strong connections with my students by sharing personal stories about my family or my own high school experience, usually at the beginning of class. It gets the students attention and makes them more willing to talk about their lives in class and in writing assignments.
Making the commitment to helping all my students succeed is one that takes energy, creativity and time. It may mean giving up a Sunday afternoon to grade papers and make lesson plans, but it’s a far more rewarding way to spend an afternoon than watching the Browns.
By Dan Greenberg, Sylvania Education Association
Early Literacy: Making It Happen
If you were asked to define the word literacy, I am sure that it would be quite easy to come up with a definition. It could be defined as the basic ability to read. Others might say that it is the ability to communicate through reading and writing. One could even say that literacy is how humans use written words to function in our world today. No matter who is defining the word, there is no doubt that literacy is important in today’s world, yet we still live in a nation where more than 20 percent of adults read below a fifth grade level. Think about it; that is one out of every five adults reading below fifth grade level. In a society as sophisticated as ours, what does this mean?
Strong literacy skills are more likely to help individuals acquire decent paying jobs with more abilities to advance while poor literacy skills often lead to low paying jobs with less stability, poor working conditions, and unappealing hours. Aside from jobs and wages, just envision yourself unable to read and write. The simplest task to a literate person is almost impossible for one who struggles with reading and writing. Reading the labels on medication, writing a note to your child’s teacher, reading a map , a transaction at the ATM machine, reading a restaurant menu, reading street signs; all of these things come almost natural to a literate being, however not being able to perform these tasks could be dangerous.
The statistics in our correctional institutions are eye opening. Almost 85 percent of the children who enter the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, while 60 percent of the adults in prison are considered illiterate (Ellis, 2011). We cannot allow this to continue to happen in our nation. Illiteracy is a viscous cycle and we as a nation need to stop the cycle. The question is where do we begin?
I believe that early literacy is the key! The more children we can reach the better. The younger the children are when we reach them, even better! A typical 5-year old child is able to identify 22 letters and sounds of the alphabet compared to just 9 letters for a child from a low-income family (Ehri-Roberts, 2006). Children who cannot read at a third grade level by age 8 are exponentially more likely to enter the prison system (Ohio Governor’s Forum, 2008). Almost half of the children who are getting ready to enter kindergarten do not have the basic language skills that they will need to learn to read. This is where the work must begin.
It is because of statistics like these that programs like Reach Out and Read are so important. Reach out and Read is a program that promotes early literacy and school readiness. It prepares young children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. Through this program, doctors and nurses speak to parents about the importance of reading and they offer age appropriate tips and encouragement. After the educating happens in the office, each child (ages 6 months to 5 years) receives a new book to take home and keep. There are also volunteers in many of the doctor’s waiting rooms who are trained to engage the children in literacy and music activities. The impact this program and others like it are having on our youth is amazing!
We can only defeat this problem by working as a nation, one child at a time. As a teacher, parent, and member of our society, I strongly encourage you to do your part today. Start by simply donating a book, a dollar, or giving up time to volunteer. Grab a child and read to them. It is more valuable than you think!
by Michelle Vayansky, Community Outreach Committee Chairperson for Central OEA/NEA
Schools too quick to cut fine arts courses
In tough economic times, fine arts education courses are among the first on the chopping block. For some of my at-risk students, the arts sometimes are the sole reason they come to school. My students like music and they love art.
The arts are integral to learning; you can infuse the arts into the curriculum in so many different ways. The arts are just a wonderful way to get children excited about learning—as well as reaching those students that conventional education hasn’t been able to reach.
Unfortunately, we’re facing more tough times, and we’re bracing for some difficult choices. We are told to do more with less and make students succeed—even while bureaucrats, who know nothing about how to connect with students, slash education funding.
When Senate Bill 5 was being rammed through by Columbus politicians, teachers and school employees were making sacrifices, even as those same elected officials created loopholes that exempted them and upper management. So, while teachers and school employees see their wages and benefits gutted, the insiders and people at the top get big pay increases and bonuses.
For schools that have been lucky enough to hold onto arts education, SB 5 will cause further reductions that may wipe out these programs all together or stretch teachers, who are already split between two different schools, to try to serve students in maybe three or four schools.
SB 5, now Issue 2, on the November ballot, is not what our kids need—especially those with the odds stacked against them. That’s why I’m voting NO on Issue 2 to stop SB 5.
—Kenya Davis, elementary arts teacher, Reynoldsburg
Stand up for students and public education
For three decades, I worked in public education—dedicated to making a difference in the lives of my students. As a 30-year classroom veteran, I know what it takes to help our children achieve and succeed. I also know that if Issue 2 is approved this November, it will have a negative impact on public schools—and will hurt our students.
I began teaching in 1978, when educators didn’t have a voice to advocate on behalf of students and for the resources needed to help them succeed. Issue 2 will surely move public education in Ohio in the wrong direction by stripping educators of their collective bargaining rights and their ability to stand up for students and public education.
While I am retired, I can remember sitting at the bargaining table, fighting for adequate education funding and the things needed to attract the best and brightest to our profession. If we want the best for our children, we have to make sure teachers and education support professionals continue to have a voice in the workplace—one that they can use to demand that all students have access to quality public schools, no matter where they live.
If you care about the future of Ohio and the children who live here, you must vote NO on Issue 2 because it hurts all of us.
—Meg Ulmes, retired educator, Troy
Collective bargaining is democracy for educators!
Debate is good—it often yields innovation. Debate is the cornerstone of an educated modern society. Collective bargaining is just that—a debate. Collective bargaining allows educators to have a discussion about what we need to help ensure that our students are prepared to succeed.
And what happens in a debate? Both sides come to a table, sit down and present their arguments. In the end, each side gets a little of what they want, neither side controls the procedure, but both sides get a voice in the outcome. That is truly what happens in collective bargaining.
Unions don’t come to the table and receive all that they want. Countless hours are spent debating the merits of a particular contract provision. In the end, BOTH sides agree to terms. But the process doesn’t stop there either. Contracts are then voted on by BOTH sides. Sometimes these contracts go in front of mayors, city councils and school boards for approval. Collectively, we get a chance to voice our opinions in the process.
I’m entering my ninth year of teaching. Technical education is considered a “special subject,” so my program falls outside the provisions of our local union contract—meaning it could be cut at any time. Even though I’m not directly impacted by collective bargaining, I know it’s wrong to strip the collective bargaining rights of teachers and other educators.
Collective bargaining is democracy for the workers. Taking away that right is wrong. It’s the reason Issue 2 is unfair, and why I’m voting against it.
—Jeff Rhodes, technical education teacher, North Royalton
Banned Books Week: Celebrate the Right to Read
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| Judith Krug 2011 © American Library Association |
Another school year has begun and before you know it will be time to celebrate Banned Books Week (BBW), Sept 24-Oct 1. BBW was started in 1982 by American librarian and anti-censorship activist, the late Judith Krug, in response to the number of books that were being challenged in libraries and bookstores all over the country. It’s easy to be a censor. Some parents simply refuse to return books they deem offensive and happily pay a lost book fine instead. I call them the “silent censors.” Indykids, a weekly progressive newsletter for kids, is often refused shelf space in public libraries because it has been accused of being one-sided. Censorship is alive and well in America.
Some of the greatest works of American literature have been the most challenged books, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, or Fahrenheit 451— ironically, a book about how reading has been outlawed in the future.
A meaningful way to celebrate the First Amendment and intellectual freedom is to attend a local event during Banned Books Week. There are several events in Ohio such as the Word Warriors: Banned Brilliance of African American Authors on Tuesday, September 27, from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., at the Columbus Urban League, 788 Mt. Vernon Ave. And anyone can participate in the first time ever virtual book reading event, which will be staged on the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out YouTube channel by the American Library Association. Two and three minute videos of people reading banned books and telling their stories will be posted for viewing.
Of course, the best way to celebrate BBW is by reading those authors who have been consistently accused of writing books that describe sexual situations, promote occult religions, excessive violence and homosexuality, or encourage racism, the use of four letter words, and the taking of the name of ‘G_d’ in vain. Or lacking any of these supposed characteristics, there’s always one of my favorite reasons for censorship, “being inappropriate for age of audience.” Who decides what age is more ready for a concept than another age?
You could read books by Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank, Glass, and Fallout. Hopkins was recently uninvited to the Humble, Texas, Teen Lit Fest after a handful of parents were encouraged, by a librarian no less, into complaining to Superintendent Guy Sconzo. The librarian said Hopkins’ books talked about taboo subjects — drugs, addiction and suicide — and that this was too offensive for their innocent teenagers. Hopkins had participated in two previous Teen Lit festivals without incident, but I guess that was not considered relevant.
Read John Green’s Looking for Alaska or Will Grayson, Will Grayson, (see wickedawesomebooks.com), Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, or Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight series. These books have been read by millions of teenagers around the world in a time when kids would rather be watching TV, playing video games, playing sports or complain that they simply don’t have time to read. I believe that kids want to read! They want books that will inspire them, entertain them, relate to their lives, and describe what they are feeling in any format that they can get. School libraries, public libraries and parents just need to allow their children to read them — and providing some quiet time and space to do so wouldn’t hurt either.
By Susan Ridgeway, Wooster Education Association