The John
Avery Parker School was designated as a Level 4 school in spring 2010. After
implementing a three-year Turnaround Plan, the school needed to meet
performance criteria set by the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education to move out of Level 4 – a score of 75 on two MCAS-based indicators-
Performance and Progress Index (PPI) for all students and for high needs
students.
As shown
below, the Parker School exceeded both of these scores.
2013
|
PPI
|
PPI High Needs
|
Level 4 exit threshold
|
75
|
75
|
Parker School
|
83
|
80
|
The PPI scores
for the Parker School were similar to those (and higher than some) of the Level
4 schools that the Commissioner determined should exit Level 4.
Schools
that exited Level 4
|
PPI
|
PPI High Needs
|
|
William Monroe Trotter Innovation
School
|
Boston
|
100
|
100
|
Alfred J. Zanetti PK-8
|
Springfield
|
100
|
96
|
Union Hill Elementary
|
Worcester
|
99
|
99
|
William P. Connery Elementary
|
Lynn
|
94
|
98
|
Charlotte M. Murkland Elementary
|
Lowell
|
91
|
93
|
Gerena Elementary
|
Springfield
|
89
|
88
|
Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School
|
Boston
|
86
|
88
|
Matthew J. Kuss Middle
|
Fall River
|
83
|
81
|
John Avery Parker Elementary
School
|
New Bedford
|
83
|
80
|
Blackstone Innovation Elementary
|
Boston
|
82
|
82
|
Harbor Middle Pilot School
|
Boston
|
82
|
86
|
Homer Street Elementary
|
Springfield
|
82
|
82
|
E.J. Harrington Elementary
|
Lynn
|
77
|
78
|
John J Doran Elementary
|
Fall River
|
75
|
74
|
John F. Kennedy Elementary
|
Boston
|
71
|
68
|
The Parker
School’s PPI scores were higher than those that remained in Level 4 and the
three other schools that were designated as Level 5.
PPI
|
PPI High Needs
|
||
John Avery Parker Elementary
School
|
New Bedford
|
83
|
80
|
Remaining
in Level 4
|
|||
SPARK Academy
Formerly South Lawrence East Middle School) |
Lawrence
|
77
|
72
|
Jeremiah E. Burke High
School*
|
Boston
|
76
|
79
|
Brightwood Elementary*
|
Springfield
|
73
|
73
|
Elias Brookings
Elementary*
|
Springfield
|
68
|
68
|
English High School
|
Boston
|
67
|
70
|
Chandler Elementary*
|
Worcester
|
64
|
64
|
Elihu Greenwood
|
Boston
|
63
|
65
|
Dearborn Middle School
|
Boston
|
59
|
59
|
William J. Dean
|
Holyoke
|
53
|
59
|
High School of
Commerce
|
Springfield
|
51
|
51
|
White Street
Elementary
|
Springfield
|
47
|
47
|
M. Marcus Kiley Middle
|
Springfield
|
37
|
40
|
John F. Kennedy Middle
|
Springfield
|
23
|
23
|
Community Day
Arlington Elementary
|
Lawrence
|
54
|
52
|
South Lawrence East Middle
School (8th Grade)
|
Lawrence
|
77
|
72
|
Chestnut Street Middle
|
Springfield
|
25
|
27
|
Designated
as Level 5
|
|||
Morgan Elementary
|
Holyoke
|
61
|
58
|
Paul Dever
|
Boston
|
58
|
58
|
Holland
|
Boston
|
52
|
52
|
*Exited Level 4 in 2014
The school had a higher 2013 school percentile rank among similar
schools than many of the Level 4 schools, including some that exited Level 4 in
2013.
School
Percentile
|
Commissioner’s
Decision-2013
|
||
Elementary Schools
|
|||
Alfred J. Zanetti PK-8
|
Springfield
|
63
|
Exited
|
Charlotte M. Murkland Elementary
|
Lowell
|
26
|
Exited
|
William Monroe Trotter Innovation School
|
Boston
|
21
|
Exited
|
John J Doran Elementary
|
Fall River
|
21
|
Exited
|
Union Hill Elementary
|
Worcester
|
19
|
|
E.J. Harrington Elementary
|
Lynn
|
18
|
Exited
|
William P. Connery Elementary
|
Lynn
|
15
|
Exited
|
John Avery Parker Elementary School
|
New Bedford
|
15
|
Level 5
|
Dearborn Middle School
|
Boston
|
10
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
Blackstone Innovation Elementary
|
Boston
|
9
|
Exited
|
John F. Kennedy Elementary
|
Boston
|
9
|
Exited
|
Homer Street Elementary
|
Springfield
|
8
|
Exited
|
Morgan Elementary
|
Holyoke
|
8
|
Level 5
|
Chandler Elementary*
|
Worcester
|
8
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
Elihu Greenwood
|
Boston
|
4
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
Gerena Elementary
|
Springfield
|
4
|
Exited
|
Community Day Arlington Elementary
|
Lawrence
|
4
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
Paul Dever
|
Boston
|
4
|
Level 5
|
Elias Brookings Elementary*
|
Springfield
|
3
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
White Street Elementary
|
Springfield
|
3
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
John P Holland
|
Boston
|
3
|
Level 5
|
Brightwood Elementary*
|
Springfield
|
1
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
Elementary-Middle Schools
|
|||
Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School
|
Boston
|
28
|
Exited
|
High Schools
|
|||
English High School
|
Boston
|
6
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
Jeremiah E. Burke High School*
|
Boston
|
4
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
High School of Commerce
|
Springfield
|
2
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
William J. Dean
|
Holyoke
|
2
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
Middle Schools
|
|||
Matthew J. Kuss Middle
|
Fall River
|
39
|
Exited
|
Harbor Middle Pilot School
|
Boston
|
11
|
Exited
|
SPARK Academy
Formerly South Lawrence East Middle School) |
Lawrence
|
8
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
South Lawrence East Middle School (8th
Grade)
|
Lawrence
|
8
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
Chestnut Street Middle
|
Springfield
|
2
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
M. Marcus Kiley Middle
|
Springfield
|
1
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
John F. Kennedy Middle
|
Springfield
|
1
|
Continued
in Level 4
|
While the Commissioner may consider additional factors in
making a decision about Level 4 schools, the data do not appear to support a
Level 5 designation. Based on the data, the Parker School is an outlier.
As noted in the NBEA appeal to the Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education on May 9, 2013-
Interestingly,
under the exit criteria currently used for Level 4 schools (authorized as part
of Massachusetts’ flexibility waiver from the Elementary and Secondary School
Act), Level 4 schools need to achieve a cumulative PPI of 75 or higher in the
aggregate and for all subgroups of students by the end of the turnaround
period. As Parker’s aggregate PPI is 83
and high needs students PPI is 80, its performance was well above the threshold
to exit Level 4 status.[1] In fact, its PPI scores in both categories
were higher than three schools that exited Level 4 to Level 3 and higher in one
category and close in the other category than four schools that exited Level 4
to Level 3. (Attachment G.) Clearly, Parker students are achieving
academic growth, moving towards proficiency.[2] This has led many to question not only why
Parker was designated a Level 5 school but why it did not become a Level 3
school. Rather than the disruption and
instability that comes with a Level 5 designation, the Commissioner could have
extended Parker’s Level 4 status (as he did for many other schools) if he still
had concerns, thus allowing the Parker teachers to continue on the path of
improvement.
[1] http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/accountability/report/school.aspx?linkid=31&orgcode=02010115&orgtypecode=6&.
[2] It
is not expected that an underperforming school will hit all proficiency targets
after three years. Instead, the goal is
to halve the proficiency gaps by 2017. ,
Parker met the intermediary targets for narrowing the proficiency gaps in math
and science and showed improvement in ELA.
It also met the growth target in math and was at the state median in
ELA. Parker teachers are on the right
path and if had they the curriculum and coaching supports in ELA, it likely
would have been enough to help their students improve more quickly in ELA.
20 comments:
For an education system that lives and breathes DATA, these numbers are extremely compelling. I find these numbers to contradict the argument by the DESE to designate the Parker School a Level 5 school. Clearly there is a designed agenda going on in NBPS amongst the DESE and the superintendants office. It is time for those organizations empowered with the responsibilities to defend the integrity of the teacher and the student to come forward and fight to discredit the level 5 designation of the Parker School, whether they are MTA, NBEA, NB City Council or the NB School Committee.
Something is very wrong in NBPS!
How horrible. Clearly an abuse of power. What is the hidden agenda here? What did Dr. Durkin and Mitchell Chester cook up in an attempt to advice their agenda while abusing innocent hard working teachers?
Low laying fruit. That is what Parker was and is. Grandstanding will be next. Watch.
They broke up the team of teachers at Parker that achieved these results and it was the W R O N G move. The Dream Team selected by Miss New Bedford 2010 has started leaving before the 100th day of school. It seems like the person who approves all the poor hiring decisions should say more than, "Turnaround work isn't for everyone."
Smoke and mirrors again in New Bedford enabling those with political connections & ambitions to pursue their agenda & game plan for higher positions. Why am I not surprised. The average Joe has NO idea how political education is....
Parker was the perfect school to take over. The old team initiated the turn around and made it the hidden gem of the NBPS. Consider the school collateral damage in Chester's quest to privatize urban education. Notice how all the students there are called "scholars". Wouldn't be surprised if in a few years Parker became a charter. Only time will tell.
So, is it true that Dr. Durkin is receiving 30K on top of her 180K to oversee the Parker School turnaround plan? If so, it will be even more lucrative if the additional 30K is allowed to be applied towards her retirement salary.
^ no, it''s not true. It was stated in the newspaper that she's wasn't taking any additional money for being the overseer of Parker
But once again this will never be made public and will continue to be swept under the rug in hush hush fashion.
Parker was really never low it was all a pack of lies....other schools were lower,but somehow their scores became high by majic.
I was working at Parker during that year. Mr. Fay had implemented many positive changes and all staff were on board and working hard. The staff that were there in the 3 years after the level 4 designation were very good teachers and could prove it with data, but after meeting with Mitchell Chester that last year, it was obvious to me that no matter what we did, he had no intention of exiting the school. He was arrogant, rude and not interested in looking at our work. We had received rave reviews from the states own panel of evaluators, and he showed absolutely no interest in any of this information. I bid out as soon as possible because I suspected from his attitude that he would declare it level 5 anyway, despite the data... and he did. How can any of the states evaluations be considered fair after that?
I'm personally waiting for the belly flop of this years scores to come out in the fall. Removing that staff was a horrible move, the students are suffering and most parents are extremely unhappy. It's very sad that this is no longer about New Bedford's children (the future of our city) but is instead about power and politics. I hope i have a front row seat to see the egg on their faces! Last year's scores will be impossible to top with a new and VERY inexperienced staff.
Hegemonic behavior.
Mr Fay implementing positive changes are you kidding he was very mean to some people,you must of hung out at the office with the group.
^ Please! Obviously you have an ax to grind seeing as though you responded to something that had nothing to do with the original post. It was about a school that was unfairly brought to slaughter so that others could come out as victors. Since you mentioned Mr. Fay I'll continue on that subject. I was someone who worked for Mr. Fay while he was at Parker and I honestly have never seen anyone work as hard as he did to help all of us come together and create an effective team, which he did. By you making such rude comments only adds to the perception of negativity that is connected to the school that we all loved and never wanted to leave. Unfortunately, it was fear of not being able to provide for our families that we had to make such a hard choice. Shame on you....
It is illogical when trying to comprehend what happened to the Parker students. The data absolutely showed a strong upswing. The students were becoming scholars, this was evident not just in the test scores there were additional data points that vividly pointed to positive growth; negative behavior incidents dropped, community engagement had risen, parent involvement had risen, vertical teaming went up, data/progress monitoring was used on a weekly basis to drive instruction and students' reports of enjoying school was higher than past records. These markers are significant determinations for continued positive change. The commissioner and the NB administration of course had all these data points in addition to the testing data. Politics and high ranking “educators” were the basis of the level 5 designation, not the overwhelming positive data. To capitalize of personal agendas children had to become the victims. Such a crime….such a crime.
I also want to use this forum to apologize to the children and community of Parker School. I should have done more to have my voice heard. It was clear months before the designation that Parker was going level 5, it was apparent Mr. Mitchell, Mrs. Durkin, the Mayor, and The School Committee were ignoring the evidence for their own personal agenda AND it was clear the children would be the casualties.
I did attempt to speak through the correct channels, aka the 1 scheduled opportunity to ask questions and speak with the all parties mentioned above. However, when I was called upon to for my first question regarding the data I was told: I am not here to take questions I am here for answers (a very close paraphrase of Mr. Mitchell’s response). In that moment I knew the students were doomed. I choose to not take on or “fight” Mr. Mitchell, Mrs. Durkin, the Mayor, and The School Committee and I was wrong not too. I should have thought about the children whose voices were not being heard. The children who deserved to be represented and dignified and I choose not to. All of the teachers have moved on with their careers, Administration have all moved on, The Mayor and school committee have all moved on Mr. Mitchell has moved on, Dr. Durkin has continued with her personal agenda and I have moved on WHILE the children of Parker School have received instability, chaos, and a subpar education. Research shows that the likelihood for those children to rebound from this is low. In other words they will not /did not move on. They will stay stagnant and fall more behind. I envisioned this 2 years ago yet did not fight for the children. It is this guilt that keeps me up at night. I am sorry I did not do more.
Sorry to say but PARCC will deliver the final blow to most NBPS. Watch, wait, and see.
I wish Durkin , the Mayor and the school committee possessed your love and devotion towards the NB students. We all know that they are in it for their own personal agendas. It's a shame that when she leaves the NB schools in chaos, the teachers will be the ones who have to pick up the pieces. We are here for our kids. Dr. Durkin is here to receive her ridiculous pay check.
I previously wrote this post used the incorrect wording.
Can you please delete that post and use this one instead? However, it is important to note that Mr. Fay's predecessor is the one most people view as running the school into the ground.
Mr. Fay is a man of integrity. I am glad to have had the chance at least once in my career to work with someone like him. He stood firm in his convictions and never used the students and staff as pawns to promote his career or agenda. I always felt like his decisions were made based on what was best for the children of the school. He had a remarkable ability to work with the most difficult parents who distrusted the educational establishment. Even more amazingly, he defended the work of his hardworking staff from the naysayers bent on invalidating reports of increased student achievement. There were no gotcha moments with Mr. Fay. You always knew where you stood and he always made his expectations clear. When I think of my time working for Mr. Fay, I think of a popular phrase from a medical drama I watch where the doctor says before beginning surgery, “It’s a beautiful day to save lives.” While I am not some fancy pants surgeon, I always felt like my work and the work of my fellow teachers was the difference between success and a life of unfulfilled potential for our students. Mr. Fay inspired that kind of pride in his workers. I wish I could say the same about his successor but I cannot. His successor was wasteful with both resources and time. The interesting thing is when she was first announced as our principal, we were filled with hope that she would help us continue the work we started with Mr. Fay. How soon our hopes were dashed! Data meetings with her often went cancelled and when they did occur meetings often were used to discuss weekend plans or cosmetics. PRIDE Time (the school-wide reading intervention) was a complete and utter failure. It was too overarching and she did not have the support staff needed to implement it. Mind you, the staff under Mr. Fay’s guidance had more success making sure struggling students got the intervention they needed. He was more mindful of the limitations and knew how to turn them into assets rather than liabilities. This often meant teachers using prep time to work with struggling learners. In addition, teachers also volunteered to have one after school period every Tuesday for remediation. The teachers did it with little complaint and fanfare. Also, Mr. Fay’s successor did not have a good understanding of scheduling and could not guide support staff like SPED tutors to create schedules conducive for co-teaching and in-class reading/math support. Finally, she was wasteful of resources that had been provided to the school under Mr. Fay’s watch. A three-year license for My Virtual Reading Coach was purchased specifically for Parker at the tune of $30,000 but the new principal did not encourage its use and it was barely used by new staffers. If you learn anything from what I have written it is this; effective leadership can produce positive change. I have no confidence in Mr. Fay’s successor to do this. I only hope that that the additional hours, young staff, and increased community support pick up the slack for her inadequacies.
I was at Parker for two of Fay’s three years. I left for a position in another school because it suited me, not because of Paul. He is my standard to judge all principals by since the first day I met him. He was the most organized man I ever met and smart as a whip. He was a realist who saw the situation on the ground and could envision what Parker should be able to become. He was able to draw information from data I had no chance of seeing. Numbers were his language, but he was pretty darn good at relating to people too. I never saw him lose his cool or get flustered no matter the situation the parent, student, or staff member brought to him. I felt he was really going to get Parker on the right path. When he retired or was replaced, I don’t know the details, the future of that school was definitely in jeopardy. He had a fantastic work ethic and brought out the best in a great staff. I miss Parker and that group. The teachers there were dedicated and great. Slamming him is garbage.
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