DESE loves Ed Reform and once again we find ourselves on the threshold of yet another trendy educational strategy that’s going to become the savior of urban schools. New and different is not always better; but then again is it truly a novel idea or an old unpopular one that’s gotten a severe face lift? “Innovation Schools Initiative.” A charter school by any other name could not smell fouler. This legislation is simply the means to force feed super charged charter schools onto districts. May I remind everyone that the only reason why they work is because they can pick their students, require certain criteria, and expel any habitual disciplinary offenders. Innovation Schools will be allowed to “Secure freedom from district rules and/or contract provisions” (mass.gov)
Once more, just about anyone can propose one, including teachers’ unions, by the way! (Hey Lou…. ) And is run by a board of trustees that may or may not have any background in education whatsoever. The difference is that with an Innovation School, it is indeed classified as a public school. Their funds are released by the school committee and ultimately are answerable to them. Does anyone else see the potential bloodbath that will ensue here? In Denver, Colorado where they just opened their 3rd Innovation School this year (a 4th was just approved and 2 more awaiting approval), a contentious battle is on the verge of turning into a legal one because the school committee is hesitating at releasing the schools’ funds. Under the new legislation Innovation Schools would receive the same per pupil expenditure as every other student in the district, BUT these Innovation schools have a lengthy list of additional services required to operate which have averaged between $350,000 to almost $700,000. The dispute is a simple one; the school committee has no idea where to get that kind of money. With more “innovation” on its way into Denver, I shudder to think at what their budget crisis will look like. I fear even more what one of these schools would do to our district especially in light of this year’s budget and rumors that next year’s will be worse. Furlough days anyone?
The one thing I don’t understand is why not simply bestow all this autonomy and power to existing schools? Better yet, stop trying to circumvent NCLB, and just burn it. Power was stripped from districts and administrators and now they seek to give it to those that are willing to sell out on their contract. Attaching teacher retention to student performance with no accountability on part of the parent is completely inequitable and against everything that the contract represents.
I’ve heard that an innovation school within NBHS is being proposed. Will creating an isolated school within a school splinter the identity of the high school? Will it diminish its already stretched budget? How will structural autonomy be achieved? A great deal of funding will have to be allocated towards aggressively tackling abysmal at-risk student attendance rates, which I am not convinced will be aided by lengthening the school day and year. Tactics including wraparound services, family counseling and home visits will be paramount to their success. These are not new ideas; there is simply never enough funding. We just lost all Math & Literacy coaches and they helped EVERY student in the district. It would be nice to get them back since they were instrumental in improved student scores on the MCAS and addressing the achievement gap at the most critical level for students of the district.
Innovation Schools’ emphasized autonomy is assumed the secret to success, but this autonomy comes at a steep price. What will it cost the other students of the district? What will it cost the teachers?
“The innovation plan must also include measurable, annual goals that assess factors such as student achievement and school performance. In exchange for authority to operate the school with increased autonomy, Innovation School operators will be held responsible, under a contract with the local school committee, for advancing student learning and meeting these annual benchmarks” (mass.gov)
Remember, when you lose your job because your students could not or would not perform, the union won’t be able to help you because you will have nullified your own contract.
18 comments:
A Trojan horse for sure.
Charter schools cannot pick their students nor can they require certain criteria. And as far as expulsion, they must follow the same procedures as the district. I understand that you are part of NBPS and therefore, MUST hate anything non-NBPS but let's not spread lies. It is especially disconcerting coming from an educator.
To the previous post. What you call lies are actually facts but obviously you have an agenda. How disconcerting coming from an educator.
Whether it be charter or innovation schools, the student or parent must make the concious decision to enroll the student into the school. That alone denotes care and concern on part of the parent or student. Those are not the at-risk students that need the most help. If the plan is to really help those students who have horrible attendance and discipline problems, then volunteer enrollment will not work. They need to be agressively recruited or given no other option. They need structure and tough love. It's getting a little ridiculous with all these alternative programs. I realize we are trying to prevent these kids from dropping out but obviously coddling them is not working because the dropout rate has only gotten worse. And this is not a realistic reflection of the real world. Your boss isn't going to let you keep your job if you habitually call in sick, come in late or do not perform your job as instructed. We need to teach these kids to survive and be self -sufficient.
http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr1.html?section=06
I thought I would write about the issue of coddling students however, as I began it became overwhelming, where does one start? From Elementry where teachers are "encouraged" to move kids on ready or not. Middle Schools were "behavior" problems are a result of teachers not meeting the needs of the kids. The High School where teachers are looked at when others are looking at the drop out rate.We all know that many of our kids start out with less than others, all the more reason to treat them as the world will treat them. Teach them,help them, and care about them but lets stop lying to them.
The proposed innovation school at nbhs has nothing to do with children. It has everything to do with one nbhs teacher who is willing to sell out every other teacher so he can get himself a nice position making big bucks.
I share the concern of coddling with the previous post. The promoting of students despite their readiness is widespread and troubling. The achievement gap is almost impossible to make up once a student reaches the high school level. What happened to the New Bedford Public Schools Elementary Promotion Policy? It requires 95% attendance or the principal reserves the right to retain the student. This is a logical and completely fair policy. It still allows for 9 unexcused absences in a year. They also demand minimum benchmark scores on reading, math and ELA. Is this being enforced? Why isn't the same policy in effect at the middle schools? This is a reasonable attempt to improve the attendance and overall participation level of all the students in the district. It also deals with the problem while it is still fresh. This also doesn't cost any money!!! The only negative side effect will be some very irate parents who will tantrum over their child's retention, but need to be enlightened as to why it's important their child is in school. Waiting to address these bad habits until the student gets to the high school is a little late, wouldn't you say? Preventative and immediate action seems so much more common sense to me. It also holds the most potential for actually making a positive difference.
Grin and bear it NBEA. You have just about had it. Lou and his band of merry men and women can't protect you any longer. Between Race to the Top, Innovation Schools, Charter Schools, merit pay, extra pay for teaching AP classes if the kids achieve, and excessive testing of students, the union is about done and all of you will be applying for jobs under a new system you are currently fighting. And the interesting fact is that part of the destruction is being sought from a self-serving person from within who has decided to try a new approach. This time the high school Judas will do it right. He will approach getting his way and his new job by using politics. That sound you hear is the *** kissing up to school committee members, school officials, the Mayor, and maybe even Lou if he thinks it will do ang good. Now we have gone from The leadership Academy" to an "Innovation School". Believe me, this thing is real. The high school is in such bad shape, according to teachers, that anything that might work is being considered, including Innovation Schools. I have been teaching for 20 years now and can adapt to anything but I'm listing some things I would like to have experienced before I retire in a few years:
I would like to have my mother supevise me as I prepare to be an administrator.
I would like to have the power to hire my mother in law and sister in law to teach at my school.
I would like my kid to be hired to teach in the same building I teach in regardless of if I'm a teacher or an administrator.
I would like my kid to be hired to teach because I'm a school committee member.
I would like to be brought back as a consultant when I retire.
Can we not open the discourse without slandering our colleagues? Isn't it possible to model intellectual problem solving? Must we subtly bully each other?
We are creating the environment that we have in our schools.
To the blogger referencing hiring. I know that you are talking about Normandin, NBHS, the NBSC, and PRAB respectively. It really makes me wonder why we had to recently sign a receipt of ethics form in order to get our checks. It never changes. Those in power do whatever they want to do. What kills me is when they talk about "the kids come first." Sometimes it is more apparent than others exactly what kids they speak of: Their own.
This will only continue as hand picked and connected teachers will be chosen for this Innovation School. The individual at the lead of implementing the new school is the same individual who was behind the Leadership Academy. More money will be paid to this person and his handpicked group to research the idea, visit schools, have meetings, discuss ways to circumvent the contract, etc. This individual also lead the charge for the AP idea. A team play this individual is not.
There must be something our union can do about individuals who consistently work against what we have fought so hard to obtain. In some districts with much stronger unions there would be consequences to pay for betrayal.
Since some of these comments are abusive I'm wondering if this all shouldn't be removed. As far as hiring practices on the part of the administration I doubt the people doing the hiring were family members
I disagree with the previous post. People should be able to share their opinions. You shared yours but you want to delete mine.
Shame on you!!!
Are you aware that ANYONE not just Union people can view these posts? Aren't we trashed enough without hurting each other?
To the last post: Where is the trash talk? Be specific, please.
To the poster that accused me of spilling lies. I do not hate everything outside of NBPS. I think Charter Schools are lovely little learning communities, but I do not believe that they are what they claim themselves to be. They do not address the true at-risk students of this district. They are idealistic alternatives for parents who have sincere care for their child’s education and actively participate in the implementation of it. Again, the mere fact that they fill out the application for enrollment proves this. Here are a few examples that illustrate the glaring differences from the local Global Learning Charter and general public:
“Parents/guardians are required to attend at least two Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences per year.” -At NBHS, the only parents that show up to Open House are the ones that are engaged in their child’s lives and usually hear only good things from their teachers. Parent participation is optional, and the parents a teacher really needs to speak to never shows up. We are lucky if there is a working phone number on file!
“Parents and guardians of students who are absent from school must call the school before 8:15 AM on the day of the absence. Inform the Main Office that the student will not be attending school. If you have not reported your child absent before 9:30 AM, we will treat that absence as an emergency and will attempt to contact you. If the school suspects that the identity of the parent/guardian caller is suspicious, we will call you and verify the absence. Any student who attempts to falsify or forge an absence report will be considered for disciplinary action. A written absence note signed by a parent or guardian explaining the reason for the student’s absence must be turned in on the following day.” –I thought this was especially amusing. NBHS has roughly 3,000 students. Student absences are followed up by an automated telephone call that every student for the last 20 years has known how to intercept from their parents. And absentee notes are a joke. Ask any high school teacher. I witnessed a student 3 years ago submit a stapled packet of 54 photocopied absentee notes, with the various dates filled in by hand. No excuse, No reason for absence and they were accepted. If the high school didn’t do this, my guess would be more than 50% of those students would not receive credit for their classes every semester. Can’t have that now, can we? State wouldn’t like that, nor would downtown.
“Emergency extended absences approved by the Principal
For students who have received prior permission from the Principal for extended absences based on emergency family situations, the following policy applies:
-It is the responsibility of the student to secure any and all missed work.
-The student must make up any and all work within 5 school days of returning. Any work not made up within 5 days may not be accepted.” – Please! 3 days before grades close students will pass in 26 missing assignments that are more than 1-2 months late. Again, if this work wasn’t accepted by teachers, the failure rate would be even worse than what it is. It has also been my observation that many absentee parents miraculously appear when an opportunity to attack and blame a teacher for their child’s failure is presented to them.
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“After the 3rd unexcused tardy in any one term, students will automatically be assigned office detention. ON THE DAY OF THE 3rd LATE ARRIVAL, parents will be informed that the student has been assigned detention. Detention will last until 4:00 PM and parents will be responsible for transportation. After the 7th Tardy, a parent conference will be scheduled to develop a plan to assist the student in arriving on time.” – What?! Inconvenience a parent? Gasp! Who ever heard of such a thing? Andy Kulack must be divine then since he has managed to cut overall daily tardiness in half (from an average of 300-400 tardies a day last year; no joke!) with his no nonsense new policy. It would not surprise me at all if he has heard grief for this since our discipline numbers are up as a result. Without parent support, the only options are strict authoritarian policies with consistent heavy enforcement. These tactics are unpopular and are met more often with reprimand then support. But they also complain about high tardy and absentee numbers.
“Unauthorized Use of Electronics, Toys and Games
The school reserves the right to confiscate any unauthorized item in the student’s possession on school premises, …..Any parent or guardian may pick up the student’s belongings at the Main Office or students may pick up confiscated items on the last day of school.” – NBHS doesn’t have the power to do this. We’ve begged for the power to be able to do this. The SC is too afraid of standing up to parents on this matter, even though it presents a major security risk to the building with kids texting each other and letting each other into the building illegally.
I won’t even touch the dress code. Global has uniforms. We exhaust ourselves just trying to get the kids to wear their IDs and take off hoods. And I could go for days on Expulsion and Suspension conduct. Do you have any idea how many students have threatened, assaulted, vandalized, verbally abused students and staff, and very little or no consequences have been taken? Again pressure from the district and the state to lower dropout and attendance rates and cut suspension and discipline numbers down dictate how reality plays itself out at the high school. You can call me a pessimist, a cynic or accuse me of being disgusted with society as a whole, but don’t call me a liar. I see what I see and I see you as being one seriously naïve individual that has no clear sense of what is realistically going on in this district. You must work for charter. Have fun in Utopia while the rest of us sweat it out in the trenches.
To the NBHS teacher nothing you have stated surprises me, I see it every day at the middle school!!!!
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