Thanks,
Dick
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Calling All Volunteers
Thanks,
Dick
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Post Script
As a follow up to yesterday's blog concerning the largely failed infusion of $3 billion federal dollars into 'turnarounds,' I want to add a couple of thoughts. It should come as no surprise that many of the 1,500 schools receiving 'turnaround' funds had problems.
Those concerns are not borne simply out of a lack of staffing, expertise and technology as the U. S. Dept. of Education points out. The issues confronting the schools go far beyond these considerations. Until every government body, doling out funds, realizes this fact then 'turnarounds' or any other hybrid will likely encounter difficulties.
The school community as a whole, along with the neighborhood in which the school/students/families reside, must be examined and taken into account when determining the path forward. Simply removing staff, part of a staff or having some other sort of pre-determined and ill conceived criteria that dictates which schools get money and which don't won't suffice.
We can and must do better!
Dick
Those concerns are not borne simply out of a lack of staffing, expertise and technology as the U. S. Dept. of Education points out. The issues confronting the schools go far beyond these considerations. Until every government body, doling out funds, realizes this fact then 'turnarounds' or any other hybrid will likely encounter difficulties.
The school community as a whole, along with the neighborhood in which the school/students/families reside, must be examined and taken into account when determining the path forward. Simply removing staff, part of a staff or having some other sort of pre-determined and ill conceived criteria that dictates which schools get money and which don't won't suffice.
We can and must do better!
Dick
Monday, May 18, 2015
Turnaround or Not?!
The Washington Post recently came out with some hard hitting results on turnaround schools which were provided with funds as they were among the poorest schools in America. None other than the U.S. Dept. of Education's own research arm said that the $3 billion provided to 1,500 schools was pretty much a wash if not a failure of sorts.
The findings saw 1/3 of the turnaround schools performing better, 1/3 performing the same as prior to the infusion of federal money and 1/3 performing worse. Not exactly a resounding success.
The question that many will ask is why? Those schools responding to the follow up survey regarding the failure of the poorest performing schools to get turned around had some stark reminders relative to the difficulty of turning around. The three biggest obstacles were a lack of staffing, technology difficulties and a lack of expertise.
To those who toil in schools and who follow the plight of poor communities and struggling students, the news is nothing new. Without the proper resources, aside from funding, nothing will improve in schools. Chalk this up to the Dept. of Education not getting it right from the get go.
Dick
The findings saw 1/3 of the turnaround schools performing better, 1/3 performing the same as prior to the infusion of federal money and 1/3 performing worse. Not exactly a resounding success.
The question that many will ask is why? Those schools responding to the follow up survey regarding the failure of the poorest performing schools to get turned around had some stark reminders relative to the difficulty of turning around. The three biggest obstacles were a lack of staffing, technology difficulties and a lack of expertise.
To those who toil in schools and who follow the plight of poor communities and struggling students, the news is nothing new. Without the proper resources, aside from funding, nothing will improve in schools. Chalk this up to the Dept. of Education not getting it right from the get go.
Dick
Friday, May 15, 2015
If it's May then it's Supply Time
With Memorial Day and the end of May in sight then it must be time to collect student school supplies. Many area schools are generously donating perfectly reusable supplies to School Count so that we, in turn, can get them in the hands of children who have such great needs.
So as the supplies start rolling in please keep in mind that we need volunteers to go out with me to load the trucks. Beyond that I'll need people to come to our home in Mokena on Sat., May 30th and Sat., June 6th to sort and box the donated goods. Sorting/boxing will take place from 9:00 am to noon.
To be part of the fun and important work or assisting children just shoot me an email at rich219@comcast.net to let me know you can lend a hand.
Thanks,
Dick
So as the supplies start rolling in please keep in mind that we need volunteers to go out with me to load the trucks. Beyond that I'll need people to come to our home in Mokena on Sat., May 30th and Sat., June 6th to sort and box the donated goods. Sorting/boxing will take place from 9:00 am to noon.
To be part of the fun and important work or assisting children just shoot me an email at rich219@comcast.net to let me know you can lend a hand.
Thanks,
Dick
Thursday, May 14, 2015
A Lesson in Learning
It doesn't matter if its the classroom or the principal's office or the board room of the Board of Education. What counts in all of these arenas is the component of cooperation. Unless it is pervasive and ever present not much in any meaningful way will take place in terms of educating children.
Students need to cooperate with teachers and the staff, in turn, must do likewise with the students. The building administration has no choice but to do the same with their entire staff...B & G, the teachers, students, parents, cafeteria personnel and the Board of Education. The same goes for the Board of Education. They have to find meaningful avenues to work collaboratively with one another, the community, the various staffs and more.
In this day and age of reform, high stakes standardized testing, and more, the time tested lessons that have always been part of education, since we all entered kindergarten, are as true and proven today as decades ago. Cooperation has always been a hallmark of the process of learning and today, more than ever, we need a healthy dose of it.
Dick
Students need to cooperate with teachers and the staff, in turn, must do likewise with the students. The building administration has no choice but to do the same with their entire staff...B & G, the teachers, students, parents, cafeteria personnel and the Board of Education. The same goes for the Board of Education. They have to find meaningful avenues to work collaboratively with one another, the community, the various staffs and more.
In this day and age of reform, high stakes standardized testing, and more, the time tested lessons that have always been part of education, since we all entered kindergarten, are as true and proven today as decades ago. Cooperation has always been a hallmark of the process of learning and today, more than ever, we need a healthy dose of it.
Dick
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Take Heed!
Recently NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia made some remarks to the Detroit Economic Club concerning where education needs to move in the future. Ms. Garcia framed her comments around the oft-used them of the "whole child."
But her points should surely be taken to heart. As the NEA boss said, "the pillars of 'whole child education' are equity (every single student having the tools and resources to succeed), education that inspires (a collaborative effort between school staff to design the most exciting and engaging learning environment imaginable), and a personalized relationship between teacher and student and home and school."
These may not sound terribly new when examining the long history of education in America but, in my view, they have gone terribly absent in the recent couple of decades which have been highlighted by a homogenized system that has as its guidepost standardized testing.
Garcia is right on point regarding the way forward!
Dick
But her points should surely be taken to heart. As the NEA boss said, "the pillars of 'whole child education' are equity (every single student having the tools and resources to succeed), education that inspires (a collaborative effort between school staff to design the most exciting and engaging learning environment imaginable), and a personalized relationship between teacher and student and home and school."
These may not sound terribly new when examining the long history of education in America but, in my view, they have gone terribly absent in the recent couple of decades which have been highlighted by a homogenized system that has as its guidepost standardized testing.
Garcia is right on point regarding the way forward!
Dick
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
An Unspoken Truth on School Finances
It is an elephant in the room. Whether in negotiations or informal talks the topic regarding the monetary effect of providing Educational Services (Special Education and other related services) is simply not discussed. And we shouldn't kid ourselves, Educational Services take up a sizeable portion of the funding of most schools. That's fine!
My point is this...when people discuss teacher salaries, spending on capital projects, insurance, property taxes, state funding or any other money related issue, recognition has to be made concerning the rapid increase in spending, in recent years, that has to be devoted to providing Educational Services.
Often people lament the fairly large increases in spending in schools without understanding that it isn't merely teachers asking for more. The public may be surprised to find that spending on traditional education programs has remained fairly stable in recent years. I am aware of the fact that some schools have witnessed a rapid expansion of Ed. Services in recent years.
The public at large needs to realize that as there is a demand for more services then more money will be needed. At the same time, I tire of people saying that the increase in school expenses is somehow the fault of teachers.
Dick
My point is this...when people discuss teacher salaries, spending on capital projects, insurance, property taxes, state funding or any other money related issue, recognition has to be made concerning the rapid increase in spending, in recent years, that has to be devoted to providing Educational Services.
Often people lament the fairly large increases in spending in schools without understanding that it isn't merely teachers asking for more. The public may be surprised to find that spending on traditional education programs has remained fairly stable in recent years. I am aware of the fact that some schools have witnessed a rapid expansion of Ed. Services in recent years.
The public at large needs to realize that as there is a demand for more services then more money will be needed. At the same time, I tire of people saying that the increase in school expenses is somehow the fault of teachers.
Dick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
