An Unlevel Playing Field; An Epidemic Ignored

Just a month ago I was talking with a principal of a city charter school and we were discussing the topic of attendance. I mentioned that I was frustrated at all the work I put into some of my lessons only to have half or a third of the students show up. He told me that his school had also had some difficulty with attendance in the past, but that they now have a good policy in place that has put a stop to any major issues. “If a kid misses twenty unexcused days we can expel them. That keeps most of our kids coming regularly.” Philadelphia Public schools do not have these same options. Expelling a student from a public school requires a serious offense, and truancy is not on that list. This further convinced me that comparing a public school in Philadelphia to a charter school in Philadelphia is unfair, as is comparing Philadelphia public schools to schools in other districts that adhere to even stricter attendance policies.

Before we want to make any real change in the School District of Philadelphia maybe we should look at the district’s stance on student attendance. If you read the message the district prints on its webpage or the policy that is placed in the student handbook, you might be fooled into believing the school district takes student attendance seriously. Looking at the actions and messages directed towards teachers and students reveals a drastically different reality.

What is the district’s real stance? As I have finished my fifth year of teaching in Philadelphia I would say their stance is one of indifference and cover up. Indifference- I have seen a countless number of students move from grade to grade regardless of how much they attend school (what lesson does that teach?). When I looked at district policies in Lower Merion and Upper Darby they have policies that link student success to attendance. In Lower Merion if a student has 4 class cuts in a school year they FAIL that course. Upper Darby requires that students who have missed 20 days lose 10% of their grade average; everyday after 20 is minus 1 more percentage point. Those two, and every other district I researched, said that students with unexcused absences cannot make up work. This is not the case in Philadelphia policies (take a look). Cover-up- I already mentioned kids being passed along. I have also actually received letters from high ups in the district essentially saying “do whatever it takes to pass kids in your subject”. Verbally we were told, “Pass all students” (though some had missed over 80 days of school). A countless number of teachers, including myself, have had their grades changed by administrators (this story was highlighted last year in the Inquirer). This year our staff was told at the end of the year that if we had a class in which more than 25% of our class failed, even if those failures were due to attendance, the district considered that unacceptable and teachers would be held accountable. The message that is being sent to teachers is very different that the message that officially appears in district policy.

An unbelievable example: The following is the exact yearly attendance of one of my classes for the 2009-2010 school year. I have changed the names of students for obvious legal reasons. I also want it to be known that I really do love most of these students and I realize that they have some crazy life circumstances. Most of these students have expressed that my class was one of their best classes this year. This being the case, I am frightened to see their attendance in classes they didn’t like. I cannot ignore the fact that the indifference the district shows towards their lack of attendance is causing problems of epidemic proportions. Could I really feel like an educator and pass 75% of these students? Well, I managed to get 68% of these students to pass and that is only because I allow students to make up almost all of their work regardless of why they were absent. Unfortunately the actual practices of the school district enable students rather than prepare them. I would have been severely reprimanded had I followed the policies of Upper Darby or Lower Merion, and consequentially if I had followed their policies only 27% of my class would have passed. How can we expect real change, real improvement, or competitive schools unless the issue of attendance is addressed seriously. Would it be a mighty mountain to climb? Absolutely! Yet I think it can be accomplished and I know it needs to be if we are to see real improvement as a school district and a city.

1 of my 5 classes (this class had the worst attendance of all 5 classes, but these are the real statistics, no fabrication)

Formating this is funky but the information breaks down as follows

Student , Cuts, Unexcused Abs., Total Absences, Final Mark

Brian 7 32 39 F

Wayne 20 19 39 D

Joe 12 50 62 D

Britney 4 80 84 F

Kim 13 19 32 C

Steph 3 31 34 B

Ciarra 5 42 47 D

Tracy 21 27 48 B

Tony 4 56 60 D

Maria 3 16 19 B

Liz 1 35 36 B

Natalie 5 56 61 C

Sam 96 71 167 F

Elliana 16 43 59 F

Kristen 8 14 24 D

Siani 0 5 5 C

Cynthia 25 36 61 F

Quran 11 50 61 F

Brandon 3 39 42 D

Lauren 37 38 75 F

Nellie 6 35 41 C

Carrie 4 32 36 B

*There were five additional students in this class for whom I do not have attendance records because they are special education and not on my role. Their attendance was equally bad, if not worse.

A realistic number and percent of students that would have passed in these three school districts

Philadelphia: 15 out of 22 or 68% of students passed

Lower Merion and Upper Darby: 6 out of 22 or 27% of students passed

(To determine this I used their attendance policies and then looked at whether or not their grades would have dropped below failing)

No real solutions can occur until we are able to take educating students seriously. Passing students along who would be failed in other districts or fired from their jobs does not help our students in any way. Punishing teachers for trying to hold their students to reasonable standards is wrong and only worsens the problem. Of course, tackling the causes of truancy is a huge and monumental task but let’s not sweep this under the rug just because it is a challenge. Our district and communities need to make real commitments to address the problem of truancy.

SLAM; A Good Thing

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman introduced a new reform called Summer Learning and More (SLAM) this summer. In the SLAM Program students in underachieving schools are automatically enrolled in their home school for the month of July, regardless of their current academic performance.

Kudos to Arlene Ackerman, I think summer enrichment is something our students are definitely in need of, especially the younger K-8 students (I think getting a job could be a more valuable learning experience for some of our older students however). That said, this is a great alternative for many kids who spend their summers on the sweltering streets of Philadelphia. This is a great opportunity if kids are underperforming or parents just want to give their kids something constructive to do during the summer.

SLAM for educators: Currently, the staff members of SLAM schools have the option of working at their school’s summer program. In future Renaissance schools I believe summer work will be mandatory for teaching staff. As a teacher who loves kids I personally want to spend my summers recuperating and reenergizing for the next school year, but SLAM can be a good situation for educators who want to make an extra buck, as long as the compensation is fair. From a teacher’s perspective, as long as the process remains voluntary it is also a benefit for teachers. Hopefully next year the district will have a better system in place to ensure that teacher-student ratios are right. Otherwise we could have a waste of taxpayer money. This year teachers were guaranteed a position before the district had any clue about enrollment. Having schools full of teachers with few students is foolish.

While I believe the district has many other issues they need to address before real progress can be made, SLAM is one of the few good ideas being implemented by the current administration, as long as it can be run efficiently. Hopefully the funding will remain in the future, which is no guarantee.

Please check out my next blog, in it I want to discuss an issue the district can’t continue to ignore if it wants to bring about significant improvements in Philly education.

What are your thoughts about SLAM?

Teacher Action Group, A good start…

Last Monday I attended a meeting held by Teacher Action Group (TAG). The group was made up of about 20-25 Philadelphia teachers. The meeting was well organized and TAG had some good informative details about the school district’s “Renaissance” school plan. From my understanding TAG does not see the “Renaissance” school plan as something that can be stopped, an opinion with which I strongly agree. Their goal is to find some key ways in which teachers can influence the way in which the Renaissance plan comes about; another step which I believe is extremely important.

Here is a list of some of the areas in which TAG hopes to influence the Renaissance Process:

- Accountability, TAG wants to ensure that there is accountability for the “Renaissance” schools.

- School Advisory Councils, TAG would like encourage caring individuals (parents and teachers) to be on the committees that will be making key decisions on Renaissance Schools.

- Reconstitution, TAG would like communities and teachers to a voice in which schools are chosen to be “turned around.”

- Slowing Down the Process, TAG would like to ensure that this process is not rushed into without proper time to implement quality change.

- Innovation Schools, these are the schools that will be run by teachers and principals, TAG would like to see that these schools be the number one choice.

My Remaining Concerns -

I agree with TAG on a number of points. I agree that the creation of Renaissance Schools cannot be stopped and that it is important for teachers to try to influence this process. I also agree that drastic changes need to be made in Philadelphia Public School system in general. Where I may differ is that I am and will remain in opposition to this the whole Renaissance plan as it currently stands. I just don’t agree that the majority of the proposed Renaissance changes are the right ones. These changes do not address the biggest issue in Philly schools, discipline, or the myriad of other issues that are pushing quality professionals away. Another problem is that these changes are coming about from the wrong direction. A community will only be given a say in the matter after authorities (who are unfamiliar with the community in question) make the decision to reconstitute their neighborhood school. This translates to an experiment on kids who have already been experimented on before (Educational Management Organizations being the latest example). So while I do feel it is important to try to be a voice in the process, I also feel it is important to speak up when something is wrong. Frankly, I think this entire “turn around” process is wrong. Unless some major changes can be made in the reconstitution process this is going to further damage the students who need the most help.

How Many People Remember the Story of Derrion Albert? Another Reason "turnaound schools" Might be a Bad Idea...

The name probably doesn't ring a bell, but I bet the story will. Derrion Albert's story

was made famous, like many news stories these days, because it was posted on YouTube. One of

Derrion's classmates recorded his murder on a cell phone in Chicago's Southside this past

September. Six other young students were taped beating this boy to death in the most

gruesome fashion.

What I didn't know at the time and most people still don't know is that Derrion was

a student at one of Chicago's new "turnaround" schools. I am providing a link to another

blog that covers the story from an interesting perspective that links Derrion's death to

a climate that was created by the newly "turned around" Fenger high school.

http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2009/10/chicago-turnaround-deadliest-reform-of.html

Need to Know Information For Upset Educators, A Meeting to Take Action!

Hey everyone,

I want to inform you all of a great opportunity to have your voices heard. There is an organization "Teacher Action Group" that is strategizing a response to the Renaissance

School Plan. The meeting will be Monday February 8th at 6 P.M, location 4205 Chestnut St. I will be there to help organize a response. Click the link to check out the attached information flier, it is excellent.

Click Here for Meeting Information

ps- No, my school will not be part of the Renaissance model next year, but I still believe some of these changes will do more harm than good. If we don't stand up and say something now we may never get that chance. There are too many teachers who have worked too hard serving kids in Philadelphia to have no say in these sweeping reforms. We are the ones on the ground in these schools our ideas should matter! The district often wants us to look like the enemy and our Union has it's tail between it's legs. Every teacher knows that unless some other issues are dealt with in schools these new policies are not going to have the intended effect.

Empowering Teachers Makes a Difference

A friend sent me this great article that discusses the positive effects of including teacher input when making decisions on school reform. I recommend reading the article. Just click on the link and scroll down to page 16.

Let’s face it; this is the exact opposite of what is happening here in Philadelphia. Instead of including dedicated and committed educators in the decision process teachers are being treated as the villains and often pointed to as the main problem in our schools. I really believe that until multiple parties can sit down together and discuss what needs to be done to change the climate of “failing” schools all these reforms are going to not only be a failure, but a catastrophic waste of hundreds of millions of tax payers dollars.

Stay posted. In the next couple days I am going to post some direct steps educators can take to make sure their voices are heard amid all this change.

“The third- grade teacher has seen a noticeable and positive change since her district began to collect and analyze classroom teachers’ views on the conditions of teaching and learning.” (American Teacher, page 16)

http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americanteacher/at_feb10.pdf

No Longer Employees of the District...?

Charters and EMO’s will be hiring their own staff:

"If selected as a teacher for a Renaissance charter school, the employees will have the option to either request a leave of absence from the School District of Philadelphia for up to five years, or resign from the District and then accept the new position at the Charter School. If selected as a teacher for a Renaissance contract school, the employees will no longer be an employee of the School District of Philadelphia and will need to resign and accept the new position with the contract organization." -Philadelphia Notebook

We were told by Jerry Jordan that the employees of reconstituted schools would remain district employees! Yes, our backs are up against a wall as a union, but folks deserve to know the truth and should be given time to make a calculated decision. We weren’t given that opportunity.

You can’t tell me that Jerry Jordan didn’t know this. I am not here to bash our Union. Yet at the same time I can’t help but feel that the teachers were misled. So where do we go from here? I don’t merely want to be a complainer. Instead, I think we as teachers who care for our students need to make a stand and do the job our Union hasn’t been able to do. If we don’t organize now these sweeping and insulting “reforms” will occur without any real input from the people who have spent tens of thousands of hours serving kids.