Not a big deal, but the parties have jointly agreed to extend the deadline to file Motions to Strike evidence heard in the hearing until Tuesday February 16th. That will probably be the next big update. Here’s the motion and the proposed order. Just a note on the rationale for the deadline extension (from the proposed order):
On Thursday, January 28, 2010, the Court stated that any motions to strike evidence presented during the hearing of this matter must be filed no later than 10 days after the transcripts are completed. The parties did not anticipate that the transcripts would be completed the following day, making the motions to strike due Monday, February 8, 2010.
Give me a break.
Come and Get It! Free Master’s in Teaching and Learning in Urban Schools from Peabody
The Nashville news outlets are abuzz with stories about the new MNPS/Peabody collaboration that will offer 24-student cohorts a chance at a free (i.e. MNPS-subsidized) Master’s degree from Peabody in exchange for working in a high-needs Metro school for at least three years (via The City Paper):
Peabody’s new “Master’s in Teaching and Learning in Urban Schools” program will welcome 24 students beginning this summer, with plans to train the inaugural class in the fields of math, science and literacy. After two years in the classroom, students will leave Peabody with a master’s degree and are committed to teach at least three years at still-to-be-determined underperforming Metro middle schools.
The program — designed to produce at least three 24-member groups of Metro teachers — is fueled by a discounted tuition of $13,000 offered by Peabody administrators, an amount to be paid by a combination of private dollars, raised by nonprofit organizations such as the Nashville Alliance for Public Education, along with federal grants.
And from Jaime Sarrio at The Tennessean:
The five-year commitment starts when they’re accepted to the program in the summer. If they leave before it’s up, they’ll owe Metro the cost of their degree.
Applicants will be required to meet all of the requirements of Vanderbilt University admissions and Metro Schools hiring guidelines. They will also have to have a valid teaching certificate and be a graduate of an accredited teacher licensure program. Teachers already in the district are also eligible.
“This is competitive,” Metro Nashville Director of Schools Jesse Register said. “We want a lot of applicants for this job because we want to recruit very high performing people.”
There’s the rub. This is a program only for already accredited teachers. Given the opportunity costs that science and math majors already face (i.e., they give up, on average, much higher paying jobs if they’re going to be teachers), this doesn’t really do anything to attract those sorts of teachers. In addition, it’s not going to draw in folks who aren’t already teachers. At the risk of being a Debbie Downer, I should also point out the mountain of research that shows that Master’s degrees don’t actually improve student achievement for those teachers that have them. But, hey, hopefully the folks at Peabody have addressed this and have designed a curriculum that will actually have an impact in the classroom and the district.
Finally, Camilla Benbow, Dean of Education and Human Development, gives a few more specifics (courtesy of the City Paper):
“All the students will teach in Metro classrooms while pursing their studies,” Benbow said. “They will be coached in their classrooms throughout the program to ensure they are using the most effective teaching strategies.”
Peabody educators designed the 30-hour curriculum to address the challenges of urban education, which Benbow said reflects the rapid pace of change in Davidson County.
“We hope that these teachers will be part of instructional improvements that echo throughout Metro schools,” she said.
Don’t get me wrong: I still think this is a good idea. I have high hopes that Peabody has designed a program to respond to the needs of urban educators and reformers; part of the problem with paying for graduate degrees in general is that, in the teacher effect data, you’ve got a lot of yahoos who just get a degree in cave-diving or whatever, which obviously ends up having no effect on student learning. Those folks are certainly pulling down the data. It remains to be seen whether a well-designed, targeted program can have an effect. I certainly hope so. At any rate, it’s a good sign that MNPS is thinking creatively about how to hire high quality teachers, develop them, and retain them.
For those of you reading blogs instead of watching the Super Bowl, Mike Byrd picked up the news of a new report on charter schools:
Mayor Karl Dean’s best answer to fixing Metro schools has been to promote the charter school fad, the hot latest big distraction in public education. Well, a new report on charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia reveals information about them more ominous than the probability that they cause governments to take their eye off the ball.
Here are the study’s key findings:
The study’s key findings suggest that charter schools, particularly those in the western United States are havens for white re-segregation from public schools; requirements for providing essential equity data to the federal government go unmet across the nation; and magnet schools are overlooked, in spite of showing greater levels of integration and academic achievement than charters.
I think it’s no surprise that charter schools are homogenized to the point of re-segregation (mostly poor minorities are in the schools in most major urban settings), but its surprising to me that charter schools in the Western U.S. are being used as a destination for white flight. What, they don’t have enough private schools to fit the bill (like we do here)? One thing you need to understand about this report: It’s coming from a place of decided skepticism of charter schools. A sample:
Despite federal pressure to increase charter schools–based on the notion that charter schools are superior to traditional public schools, in spite of no conclusive evidence in support of that claim–charter school enrollment remains concentrated in just five states.
Nevertheless, it’s an interesting look at the charter school movement in the United States. I’m not sure if I’ve been clear before but here it is: I cautiously accept some charter schools, so long as they’re well-organized, don’t pick off the “cream” of the public school population, and achieve excellent results, but I think them far from the panacea that much of the progressive education community has proclaimed them to be. However, like Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, NJ, I’m certainly willing to embrace whatever lifts the poorest and most disadvantaged children among us out of their depressing circumstances and gives them a real chance to succeed. As Mayor Booker said in a recent interview:
I have no loyalty to vouchers, I have no loyalty to charter schools, I have no loyalty to traditional models. I have loyalty to outcomes: how can poor, often minority, marginalized young people succeed? That is ultimately what I am all about, and right now we have catastrophic failures all across America in these populations. It’s unacceptable and unless we have the courage to embrace innovation and always be about an evidence-based model for the future that focuses on what is working and what is a proven success, it will continue.
That is well spoken indeed (the man is an idol of mine).
Original Image: New York Daily News
You may have already heard (this one went national pretty quickly), but a 12-year old New York City student was arrested last Monday for doodling on her desk. Oh, the humanity! MSNBC has the story:
Twelve-year-old Alexa Gonzalez scribbled “Lex was here 2/1/10″ on her desk Monday at Junior High School 190 in Queens. She also wrote “I love my friends Abby and Faith.”
The girl says the doodles could have been erased.
Moraima Tamacho says her daughter was released several hours after she was taken in handcuffs to a police station.
Honestly, whose decision was that? Some administrator? The teacher? The police officer? ANYBODY in that chain should have had the sense to say that what was going on was ridiculous. This was a failure of many people, not just one. I think I can fairly say that this ties in to the increasing securitization and criminalization of our schools, and the dangerous effects that such a transformation can have. Good grief.
The Tennessean has a short reaction story to the news that the state won’t be taking over Cameron Middle and Glencliff High under the new “Achievement School District” section of the First to the Top legislation:
Tennessee’s “Achievement School District” was created to win millions in federal grant dollars by showing that the state was aggressive about improving failing schools — going so far as to take them out of their home districts and run them as a group.
But a month after its formation, some lawmakers say the district is already going soft on school reform.
Two Metro Nashville schools tagged for inclusion in the district are instead being left in the hands of local school officials. It’s not different from how the state has addressed persistently failing schools in the past.
Critics say that’s counter to the intent of the achievement district, but Tennessee Commissioner of Education Tim Webb said reform has to be tailored to each school.
“Critics” aren’t real happy with the way things have played out?
No we’re not.
And it seems that this might be the game plan, not only here in Nashville, but across the state:
Webb said he planned to approach leaders in other districts affected by the law to come up with a collaborative plan similar to the one in Nashville.
Good for Mayor Dean, though. From his statement, it doesn’t actually sound to me like he’s particularly happy about the plan (might he be miffed that he’s not going to be given control?):
Mayor Karl Dean, an advocate of school reform who last year was poised to assume control of the Nashville district, said he supported the decision to turn Cameron into a charter school.”The announcement does show a decision to embrace reform measures for those two schools. Is it enough? At this point, I don’t think we know,” he said in a statement.
Given his notable support for charter schools, I think Mayor Dean was pretty much hemmed in to saying that converting Cameron into a charter is a good idea. Notice, though, that he doesn’t really say anything about the Glencliff plan and that, in his opinion, he’s not sure if these moves are going to be enough to do any good.
Two points:
1) Has anyone considered how this will affect our chances of getting RTTT money? You can be sure that the people who are reading and judging these applications are acutely aware of what states are doing. If we say we have a grand, innovative plan to swoop in and takeover failing schools (whether that’s a good idea or not), and then clearly back away from that plan less than a month after the legislation was passed and the application was submitted, you’ve got to wonder what kind of message that’s sending to the judges. I can easily see them saying, “Well, if they’re not going to follow through on this “Achievement School District” thing, what else was just window dressing?”
2) There’s definitely some merit in what Sara Mead, the expert analyst quoted by the Tennessean, said:
“The law is successful whether or not the state ends up getting to take the school over or if it gets the districts to do what they should be doing,” she said.
I think that may be right. As long as reform happens, we shouldn’t care too much about where it’s coming from. The only thing is, there are some of us that are worried that, without a change in leadership, and a real “fresh start” (that term has been ruined by the political connotations associated with it), these schools don’t have much of a chance to actually change.
WPLN is on its game with regards to education:
Metro School officials are considering moving the start time for high schools to later in the morning. To gauge support from parents and staff, the district will be conducting an automated telephone survey Thursday night.
. . .
The district-wide automated telephone survey will take place Thursday night between 7 and 8 p.m.
Officials say they hope to poll all staff members and every family.
As I’ve previously mentioned, we started school at 8:40 when I was in high school, and I turned out fine. Just sayin’. Answer your phone tonight between 7pm and 8pm. On a related note, I wonder if the results will be skewed by the prevalence of folks ditching land-lines for cell phones? I know survey researchers have been aware of this, but I wonder if cellphone numbers are included in the survey database…
WPLN carried a story yesterday, that runs in tandem with the Tennessean’s report on Dr. Register’s plans for Cameron MS and Glencliff HS:
State education officials announced their first steps to overhaul Tennessee’s most underperforming schools Wednesday and the actions are far less dramatic than originally conceived.
…
Commissioner Webb says he’s holstering the strong arm approach for now.
“So the tough talk didn’t go. It’s not just out there hanging. It’s actually reality. But the point is there are other strategies and other ways that we can achieve the same results and do what’s best for children.”
When asked what has changed since submitting the state’s Race to the Top application, Commissioner Webb says he met with teachers and principals and saw “great things going on.”
Webb says the state may avoid taking fully taking over the 11 other schools that are slated to come under state control.
This development, of course, also follows the news from Memphis, reported last week by the Memphis Daily News:
A state takeover of any public schools isn’t going to happen until 2011 at the earliest, Memphis schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash said late last week after an afternoon of conference calls with state education commissioner Tim Webb.
The assurance came after state education officials included eight Memphis high schools that could be candidates for a state takeover in its application for federal Race to the Top (RTTT) funding this month.
…
Cash said he remains wary of “throwing everything aside and starting anew with unproven strategies and entities that are maybe trying to privatize much of public education at this time.”Cash said he and the school system approve of the reform legislation in general. But they hope to win passage of amendments later that clarify what a state takeover would mean and how much time would be given to collaboration between the state and a school system before the system loses complete control of a failing school.
“I had questions everyday. But this was sort of a ‘be quiet and just vote’-type thing, to be honest with you,” Cash said in describing the passage of the legislation in Nashville. “Most of the schools that will be targeted early on will be from the four or five largest school districts in the state. Yes, I had questions about that. But it was happening so fast that you don’t really have a dialogue and a chance to deal with it.”
All these developments make me wonder a bit about what’s going on. Clearly the “Achievement School District” roll-out wasn’t going to happen immediately, but all the hedging, and especially the kickback from Memphis, is not great. Here’s the thing: these schools have been failing forever. Incremental change just isn’t going to do it. In many respects, a basic change in leadership is probably needed just to shake things up. What Dr. Register is doing with Cameron gets that done (though, I gotta say, on a gut level, I’m a little uncomfortable converting a public school into a charter — that’s just a visceral reaction). However, just adding “resources” probably isn’t going to get it done. I have to say, I’m disappointed. Maybe its just because Dr. Webb is on the way out, or maybe it’s because locals are bucking the regulations, but I’m upset; leaving these kids in failing schools one minute more without attempting really drastic change is unacceptable. Folks need to let go of their fiefdoms and try something new, even if it means they lose a little bit of power.
The Tennessean has the story this morning:
Metro Nashville will try what the state education commissioner called a “Hail Mary” on its two lowest-performing schools, turning control of one over to a charter school company and possibly putting the other on a year-round schedule.
District Director Jesse Register said Tuesday that Cameron Middle will become the state’s first public school to transition into a charter, with a yet-to-be-named charter school company possibly taking it over a grade at a time. Glencliff High, one of the state’s lowest-performing high schools, could see longer school days in addition to dropping the traditional months-long summer break.
It’s an interesting plan, and definitely NOT a Mayoral takeover (as I hinted might be coming). Makes me wonder how much Dr. Register and Mayor Dean are on the same page. Reaction coming later, so check back for an update this afternoon.
A quirky update from the Doe v. Cheatham county case: June Griffin has filed a reply to Plaintiffs’ response to her Motion to Intervene. The highlights:
Inclusion by Intervenor is justified in that by means of the federal income tax, the Department of Education in Washington removes jurisdictional boundaries and involves all taxpayers, whereas without such a Department, States and Counties would be free to run their schools with participation only by the effected localities and Intervenor would be happy to stay out of what would be called “other people’s business.” Such is not the case.
I find it hard to believe that Mrs. Griffin would ever find the world so perfectly situated so that she would be “happy to stay out of what would be called ‘other people’s business.’”
Plaintiff further avers that entrance by Intervenor would “probably delay or prejudice the adjudication of the rights of the original parties.” Intervenor states here vehemently that probably is certainly an unclear distinction and it may be probably speculated that her Intervention would end such claims of favoritism to these parties.
Wow. I just got lost there. I hate to just exerpt huge chunks of text here, but you need to read this. It’s important.
There is a hypocritical favoritism and exercise of excluding the Bible-believing Christian can be demonstrated in just a few examples. If the intent of the Plaintiff is to exclude spiritual philosophy or practice, it must go further in its pursuit to exclude the spiritual practice of Halloween which certainly includes spirits and things unseen, as well as Greek myths about gods and goddesses – a mere figment of one’s imagination, the cupids of Valentine’s Day, a spiritual cherub designed to effect the soul of the intended victim or lover, as the case may be, any presence or use of foods in the school cafeteria which has been ‘blessed’ or ‘prayed for’ by a rabbi and is marked on the box with a “k” or “U” (Union of Orthodox Rabbis). Why would one prayer be allowed over another? Consider the mythical creature of Santa Claus, a spirit who is incarnated and visits once a year with great celebration and crafts. The personification of talking animals, things unreal which enflame the imagination, render it impossible to exclude spiritual entities.
Good Lord — Mrs. Griffin has, with one swipe, taken down Halloween (is she comparing the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition to the spooks and haunts of Halloween?), the Greek pantheon, Cupid, Hebrew National hotdogs (My God!), Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Bambi. I got nothing here, folks.
Oh, but we’re not just sticking with philosophical complaints, my friends. We’re entering into the realm of political relevance:
The aforementioned facts and hypocrisies have provoked a national tax revolt and “tea parties” with large gatherings and rallies loudly proclaiming that the taxpaying public wants to be rid of all burdensome and ridiculous demands and exactions from the Federal Government, and have provoked State Legislatures to adopt Sovereignty Resolutions, calls for prayers to the God of our Fathers and of the Bible, the remembrance of our national covenant of II Chron. 7:14 daily circulates the internet – all making strong statements that “push has come to shove.”
Oh, snap. Just for reference, the “covenant” that she mentions (2nd Chronicles 7:14) is as follows:
[I]f my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
There is, of course, a lot more, and you should certainly check it out. One last parting shot:
Such interventions as included in this lawsuit are a panacea to revolt and victories for the taxpayer should be hailed as a good thing by the Court, surely averting national disaster of one kind or another.
Note: Mrs. Griffin also filed an affidavit and, somewhat inexplicably, a press clipping.
