Chicago Federal Programs WORK!!

Hi All,

I have spent a good part of the past week describing how the federally funded 21st Century CCLC program get results contrary to what Mick Mulvaney of the OMB says is a program that shows "no demonstrable evidence they're actually doing that;" meaning, achieving student success. What follows is one person who benefits from the CCLC and you can see that the students DO make strides. Remember, if you would please, Mulvaney wants to completely dump this program. I believe you'll find her introductory comments and final thoughts most revealing.

Here's what she had to say: Thank you for reaching out. YES!! 21st Century CCLC is how we currently fund nearly all of our after school/family engagement programs at the school and has allowed us to build a positive school culture at the school. To give you a snapshot, I have copied the schedule of programs that are set to begin this Monday 3/27 at Pilsen. This funding pays for all these programs and my salary and has allowed me to work in the school for the past 5 years to make all the programs and connections happen. The schedule does not include all the one time events like high school fairs, community field trips, and parent workshops I organize as well. It is incredibly effective in so many ways, and this is me trying to be objective as I have seen some ineffective government funded after school programs.

I also copied below a post I put on social media regarding the proposed cuts.

There is so much evidence for these programs, it is infuriating that that was said and am working to fight this as I believe wholeheartedly in the effectiveness of the 21st Century model of converting a school into a "community center" to offer expanded services.

Grade K-2
Design Dance Hip Hop/Jazz
T/TH 3:00 - 4:30

Grade K-2
120
Little Builders Science Club
M/W 3:00- 4:30

K-2
Yoga
M 3:00 - 4:30

K-2 Cafeteria
Make and Take Craft Club
W 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 2-8
Taekwondo
T/TH 3:00 - 4:30

Grades K-3
Garden Club
T 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 3-5
Gym, Basketball Club
M/W 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 3-5 Boys
Addams Park, America SCORES Chicago
Mon - Fri, 3:00 - 4:30

Grades, 3-5 Girls
America SCORES Chicago
Mon - Fri., 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 4-8
Garden Club 4-8
T, 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 3-8
Open Books ReadthenWrite
M/W, 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 5-8
Drumline
T/TH, 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 5,6,7,8
Changing Worlds Hip Hop
M/W, 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 6,7,8
Audio Broadcasting
Th, 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 6,7,8 Girls
America SCORES Chicago
Mon - Fri., 3:00 - 4:30

Grades 6,7,8 Boys
Addams Park
America SCORES Chicago
Mon - Fri., 3:00 - 4:30

Parents
Adult English Classes
M & F, 9:00 – 11:00

There have been many outright lies I have seen daily from the White House since January and unfortunately I haven't always had the energy or understanding to address them every time. But the past 5 years of my life have been dedicated to making my school a Community Center through the 21st CCLC program they say has no purpose. There is countless evidence for after school programs and it is posted on the ed.gov website. Here is some more specific to Illinois: http://www.ilcommunityschools.org/research
The 21st CCLC program has allowed me to remain in the school as "Coach Stacey" and help bring programs to students and families. This year alone our students have been able to learn to be journalists, dancers, authors, soccer players, basketball players, photographers, poets, community activists, artists, songwriters and producers, podcasters, yogis, world chefs, gardeners, martial artists, scientists, chess experts, math competitors, musicians, to name a few. Our parents have been able to learn English through the program to help them better help their students and be more involved in the school.
Students need to WANT to come to school and when they are learning hands on, feel a part of something, and have positive mentors through these programs they can connect their school day with the after school experience, they are engaged in their school and not in the streets. I cannot fathom how they can justify cutting after school programs, public school funding, school lunches, and health care and increase military spending.

Do I Have This Right

Lets see...there's a bill in Congress to do away with the Dept. of Education and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget says that doing away with certain programs is fine since they don't help kids (paraphrasing as I covered this over the past couple of days). Mind you, this is in conjuction with the Dept. of Education pushing vouchers very hard.

Yes, vouchers allow someone to choose where to go to school. Okay, we've got that. But possessing a voucher is no assurance that a child who comes from a neighborhood of blight, poverty, unemployment and additional environmental negative influences/factors simply means a family can shop around. In fact, the introduction of vouchers into such areas may likely not result in a child benefitting in the least. One thing is certain, the neighborhood public schools will see fewer dollars.

Robbing neighborhood public schools of funding is already a serious problem and taking additional funds, whether from local/state/federal sources, will simply further exacerbate what is already a crisis. Here's one educator saying NO to vouchers!

Dick

No - I Don't Think So

The claim made by Mick Mulvaney that there is "no demonstrable evidence [that various education programs] they're actually doing that" flies in the face of the facts as I pointed out in yesterday's blog. Mulvaney's claim that there is absolutely NO evidence ought to give anyone in the education community pause.

Mulvaney isn't saying there is a slight or small degree of evidence, he's saying there is none! Come on, zero evidence of a program, any program, helping students? To make such an outlandish statement is not only false but it also flies in the face of logic that a multimillion dollar education is doing nothing!!

I'd have some respect for the man and his position if he could articulate areas of growth or a lack of growth and what could be done to improve these particulars portions of the education journey. That simply wasn't the case. I'm also left with wondering if he bothered to work with those in the Department of Education who could have provided him with some guidance on the matter. I have serious reservations if that took place.

Dick

Dept. of Education Report - Astounding!!

Yesterday I shared with you the exact quote of Mick Mulvaney, Head of the Office of Management and Budget, who proclaimed last week, when presenting the federal budget, that the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (over 9,500 nationwide in all 50 states) were to be eliminated. Mulvaney said, there is "no demonstrable evidence they're actually working."

Well, Mr. Mulvaney is wrong. I went to the website for the Department of Education, the agency overseeing the 21st Century Community Learning program, and read the Executive Summary for the most recent year on record, 2013-14, regarding the program. Let me share the results, in part, of the report.

Because of the program there was an improvement in math grades of 36.5%, a gain of 36.8% in English grades and a 49.4% improvement in homework completion. By the way, scores on state tests also indicated improvement as a result of the CCLC. I'm not fabricating or adjusting any figures...I'm simply reporting what the Dept. of Ed. has reported.

I have a number of questions and I'll get to some of them tomorrow, and the in the coming days, but here is my primary question that I'd like to have Mr. Mulvaney answer, particularly to these low income areas served by the CCLC. Did Mr. Mulavaney bother to seek this information either from the pdf I've referenced or from Education Secretary DeVos? If so, he should have come to a different conclusion.

Dick

Mulvaney is Wrong

Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Office of Manangement and Budget proclaimed last week that the federal government is eliminating the 21st Century Community Learning Centers which help 1,600,000 children with before and after-school programs. Actually Mr. Mulvaney is wrong but I'll let you, first, examine his actual quote.

"They're supposed to be educational programs right? Guess what? There's no demonstrable evidence they're acutally doing that. There's no demonstrable evidence they're actually helping results, they're helping kids do better in school." I guess that Mr. Mulvaney didn't bother to look at the Afterschool Alliance (https://www.afterschoolalliance.org) or the Global Family Research Project (www.globalfrp.org) prior to making is false claim.

This is simply a callous statement and one that isn't based on the data. It would be one thing if he actually could prove his case. pr Aside from his inability to back up his allegation, it's just as bad that Mr. Mulvaney seemed to have little compassion for the children and their families when he made his pronouncement.

Dick

It Matters

As further program cuts hit the Department of Education I have had a number of people not only lament the cuts but they have also said that writing Secretary DeVos or the Ranking Members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce does little good. I don't have any data that making phone calls or letter writing actually changes ones view or opinion on various issues. I just don't.

But I don know the following; our voices of concern must be heard, our leaders need to understand that a 14% cut is something that will hurt children, and that it is not okay to harm an institution so embedded in our way of life. I DO understand that putting pressure on people does work in many instances. Let's be honest, we have all succumbed to or felt the pressure to do or not do something.

Since public education does matter in our society then speaking up to preserve and advance learning is essential. Of that I am certain.

Dick

Bits and Pieces

Here's but a short list of events that took place yesterday in the city schools, around the state and in our nation

- Mayor Emanuel asked the city teachers to call off the one-day strike

- A State of IL House Cmte. voted 18-1 to have a 21 person elected CPS Board of Education rather than having it appointed by the Mayor

- President Trump called for $500 million more for charters and school vouchers (I'll have more to say on this!!) There are further cuts to parts of the Department of Education

- The CPS brass is opposed, naturally, to an elected Board of Education

Years Later

After a number of years, the ugly head of a scandal at CPS is continuing to rear its ugly head. The transgression involves Gary Solomon, co-owner of SUPES Academy, and Barbara Byrd-Bennett the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and the planned kickback of dollars to the then CEO in return for SUPES being awarded a contract with the school system. That kickback never took place.

Both Byrd-Bennett and Solomon have plead guilty to some charges and each will likely serve some time.

This has nothing to do with day-to-day learning at the schools but it is worth commenting on for another reason. The issues facing CPS are many and this lingering episode merely adds one more chapter of negativity that everyone could do without. Amid the ongoing financial woes facing the schools, this problem gives the naysayers further ammunition to condemn the work of the schools at a time when the schools, the students and teachers need support.

Dick

A Disaster by any Name

Hurricanes, tornadoes, and torrential rains are catastrophes that afflict many including school students. As you well know, from your own knowledge base in addition to reading this blog over the years, poverty is as much a calamity inflicting harm on children as these physical disasters.

Well, you can add another recent strike against those who live without many resources who are simply doing their best to help their children get a decent education. Anyone who doesn't think that millions more, particularly in poor rural and urban areas, will be harmed by losing health care insurance are sadly mistaken. School age students will surely be affected.

That's about as clear as one can make it. The children who don't receive proper medical attention are bound to be all the worse off when it comes to their schooling.

Sad, disgusting and all too true.

Dick

Public Education - The Long Road

For each of us, from the beginning, the need to become educated is one of the great beauties of our nation. We place a premium on (or at least we ought to) the members of our society being able to act in a thoughtful manner, respecting the rights of others, upholding our ideals, engaging in and protecting our liberties and so much more.

There are many forces at work that do the above; family, civic organizations, religious affiliations, the community, various laws/regulations and, of course, the enterprise of education.

And throughout our history public education has surely had a profound impact on America. At any one point in time we can certainly point to some aspect(s) of pubic education which must adapt to change and respond to its citizenry. But from the first moments a child enters a school to their last days of formal education, the long road of educating Americans is one that justifies our very course, our very civilization. For without the precious institution of public education we surely would not be endowed with the abundance that most have achieved.

It must be said that we have do our very best to see to it that public education flourishes for ALL.

Dick

Chicago Schools on the Rise

Mention Chicago and someone is bound to talk about the tragedy of so many gun deaths. And while it is true that gun violence is a significant problem which needs addressing, that one fact obscures the major gains made in the city's public schools. A recent piece by the New York Times (the entire link is below) pointed out that the city reading and math scores showed the most significant gains of any big city in America between 2011-15. Those scores were up a whopping 3.7%

And it's not just math and reading that has revealed great growth. A report put out by CPS indicates that 2/3's of the schools are rated as strong or excelling in the Arts.

I don't want to take away from your reading the piece, which I highly recommend, but the Times article gets to a more substantive issue involving what happens in schools in Chicago and elsewhere in America on a daily basis. That critical element, which often gets glossed over, revolves around the school principal.

I hope you will take the time to read this wonderful piece!!

Thanks,
Dick

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/opinion/sunday/want-to-fix-schools-go-to-the-principals-office.html?emc=edit_ty_20170310&nl=opinion-today&nlid=47559377&te=1

Poverty in Education

Poverty doesn't show up in one form, not at all. Poverty affects education in so very many ways and it isn't merely of a school system being denied or not able to raise the funds to adequately take care of the needs of all of the students. This, of course, is a very real problem in many schools in America.

But poverty strikes school students in many other ways. Perhaps a family has a low or minimal income and they can't afford decent housing (lack of heat or A/C) for their kids. It might also be that the lack of a decent wage precludes families from providing - though they'd like to - proper nutrition, clothing and health care.

Surely we can agree that a child going to school without these basics is just as crucial as the school not having enough money.

And poverty, as it affects schools, rears its ugly head when a home/apartment/shelter is in a blighted or unsafe area of a neighborhood. Obviously, a young person reared in such an area is much more likely to be negatively impacted and he/she may well suffer the effects at school.

Yes, poverty rears its head in many ugly ways and the harm it causes students is significant.

Dick

Lend A Hand

Plenty of people say that they can change the world. I think the more appropriate way to say it, without losing that feeling of idealism or optimism, is to say that 'I want to do my part to help, to see to it that I can lend a helping hand.' That is exactly what Schools Count Corp is all about, just trying to help some people in need.

March is that time of the year where we gear up to assess the needs of schools we serve and their nearly 15,000 students. That's right, we reach that many children. SCC provides art supplies, readers, pencils, school uniforms, binders, notebooks, crayons, winter coats, loose leaf paper, folders and more to those who might otherwise go without. We also build at least one elementary school band program a year. This year we'll put instruments in the hands of the Medgar Evers students.

You can lend a hand by making a tax deductible contribution to affect this change. You should know that for every dollar you donate, the entire dollar goes towards purchasing the needed supplies and resources. No money is ever used to administer our charity. You can be certain your generous donation goes where it's intended...to the children.

To make a donation you can do so by going to our website at www.schoolscountcorp.org and making the donation online. If you prefer, you can make a check payable to Schools Count Corp. and mail it to Dick Flesher, 14004 John Humphrey Dr., Orland Park, IL. 60462.

Thank you for 'lending a hand!' Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Dick

Don't Let it Happen

My apologies for not personalizing this note as I'd prefer, so given that disclaimer, I'll do my best.

It has been my pleasure to have been a teacher for 33 years, another three as a substitute and nearly 12 years working with many of you through Schools Count Corp. I'm writing because I am alarmed at two pieces of pending federal legislation that have been introduced in the U. S. House of Representatives. HR 610 would introduce vouchers to all types of elementary and schools types of schools (yes public school funding would be impacted). It is awaiting action in the Committee on Education and the Workforce. HR 899 would terminate the Department of Education (yes, that includes many extraordinarily successful title programs) on December 31, 2018. As of this morning the bill is not yet in committee.

I'm not only alarmed by these pieces of legislation I am disgusted that they have seen the light of day. There's been too much progress with education in this country not to forge ahead. Eliminating Title I for those who are in poverty would be a travesty. And Title IX...look at the progress in terms of providing equity to all in terms of full participation in all types of activities/athletics and the like. These are but a few provisions, among many, that must not be struck down.

We should not stand for these two pieces of legislation to even make it to the floor of the House or Senate. I am asking you to take a minute, should you so feel inclined, to send me a note that I will get to House majority and minority leadership in the Committee on Education and the Workforce. I'll also send copies to Secretary DeVos. Simply email me the note, it can be brief, at rich219@comcast.net. Kindly sign the note if you would please. I'd like these no later than this Thursday, March 9th. Many thanks!

Respectfully,
Dick

All That Jazz

If it's April it must be time for some electrifying jazz!! That's right, our Eight Annual Jazz Benefit will be held next month on Tuesday, April 25th. As always, the multiple jazz ensembles from Hinsdale Central High School will be performing. This year all of the proceeds will benefit Medgar Evers Elementary on the southside of Chicago.

Medgar Evers is a high performing school with a music teacher but without band instruments. We are going to raise money to enable them to start their very own band and they are truly excited about the prospects. Who wouldn't be!!

As of this morning we are certain that the evening will kick off at 7:00 pm but right now we aren't sure on the venue so stay tuned. As in the past, admission to this wonderful event is $5 per person and $10 for the entire family. We are sure to have some refreshments in addition to some of your all-time favorites!!!

Looking forward to seeing you!!

Dick

The Future of our Cities

Wherever you stand on public education and the menu of schools one thing is a certainty. Unless and until money is put into business enterprises - which affords people jobs - little will change in areas of blight and neglect. I mention this because schools of all sorts in these areas will not be able to make the changes necessary to end of poverty and the dim prospects that so many face.

Look, the problem is complex and it ISN'T linear. Just because students or a school achieves a good of success doesn't mean that businesses and jobs will be created or that poverty suddenly ends. The fix for endemic problems doesn't lie in ONE solution or have but one cause.

The same can be said of violence and gangs. Having ONE solution, greater police patrols or more police in a neighborhood, won't end the problem of vacant buildings, unemployment and hopelessness. Again, the idea that there is some magic button that can be pushed which causes a long-term problem to disappear is simplistic and not reasonable. Again, this isn't linear and the concerns of certain areas of any city will have to be dealt with on many fronts.

I'm writing this, in part, because people need to stop accusing schools of not performing or not doing enough to put a halt to a litany of problems that have little to no control over.

Dick

Looking at an Entire Neighborhood

Nearly two weeks ago I started a discussion dealing with violence, the deaths of some small children, and what is to be done so that the kids can get an education and escape the hardships in some of the inner city neighborhoods. Well, as fate would have it, I go a bit sidetracked with some issues dealing with charters, funding shortfalls and the like.

In essence, if you'll recall, I was talking about community civic efforts to push forward; looking for investors, sitting down with gang members, the clergy, business leaders and neighborhood constituents. All of these groups need to come together to figure out a way to break the cycle of poverty, blight, a loss of hope, violence, unemployment and the like.

Where does education fit in? Honestly, in the short term, education may not be a means to solve the above endemic issues and problems. In the long view, though, this is the only way that the maddening cycle of neglect and despair will come to an end. This has to be an important conversation piece, as a community is being built up, to ensure that positive gains are sustained and it will only happen with bright, forward-thinking people who have the education and experience to sustain growth in the various neighborhoods.

More to come on these and other critical issues.

Dick

More Charters Ahead for CPS?

Despite a new teacher's contract that caps CPS accepting new charters, 17 organizations have officially kicked off their desire to open as many as 20 new charter schools in Chicago. The process is a long one and there is every probability that many of these planned schools won't open but that's not stopping these companies.

The firms typically start the process of establishing a charter by submitting a 'Letter of Intent' though this is not a requirement. It will take the better part of a year to submit all of the rest of the paperwork. Most of those seeking to open a charter are looking at opening in the fall of 2018.

Currently 58,000 children in Chicago attend charter schools and it does appear as though the number will grow at some time in the future. As long as none of the current charters close, according to the deal worked out with CTU, an additional 9 charter could be added. If that happens there will be less funding for the neighborhood school in that particular area.

Whether a school is a charter or the traditional neighborhood building the fact remains...there are financial woes ahead for each type of organization.

Dick