Up Down All Around & Never Again

I attended an end of year party. The teachers in attendance were joyous and the room was filled with laughter. It was a reunion of sorts, as several teachers no longer on the faculty came to say goodbye. It was the last time they would all be together.

Next year, the school buildings 100^th birthday, it will no longer be a public school. The building is being turned into a charter school. Although a few teachers were asked to remain, none chose to stay. The new charter will have a longer day and a longer school year, but offered no increase in salary. Teachers were expected to work an extra 20 hours a month + 3 full weeks in July for the same money they are paid now.

Not exactly fair is it? That’s why teachers need unions.

Here was a school that just a few short years ago had it together. A tight staff led by a supportive administration, teachers had bought in, worked hard, test scores were up, and no one transferred out of this school. Then the principal retired. The new principal gave no support to staff, blamed them for the problems this inner city high poverty school faced, and after one year teachers left in droves. In the second year some took early retirement in the middle of the year. By spring the amount of teachers seeking transfers multiplies exponentially.  This year test scores went down.  When it was announced the school was being given to a charter operator, no one decided to stay.

If there is a way to turn a school around to the dark side the school the School District of Philadelphia has demonstrated how to do it. Their plan to improve schools, hire someone to manage the school.

What do we pay these school administrators for?

In This Corner

Tomas Hanna Associate Superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) an all-around good guy, widely respected by even me, sat one seat away from Jack Stollsteimer, formerly a federal prosecutor and State Schools Safety Advocate. At times it was a good thing Steve Kerr, a specialist in rehabilitation sat between them. Steve fortunately, is a large, good natured man.

The forum was held by the Philadelphia Inquirer as follow up to the series on school violence. Tomas and Jack sometimes stared at each other like prize fighters, at other times they interrupted each other, and several times wagged their fingers at each other. Tomas claimed the school district was effectively dealing with the school violence problem and making progress. Jack stated the problem had been ignored for the past ten years and was only getting worse.

BY the end of the debate even Tomas stated the SDP has a problem with credibility. He is so right. These guys do need each other. If jack gets his job back a state safety advocate and Tomas actually gets the SDP to effectively tackle violence, then Jack can give Tomas the credibility he needs. But the facts are violence has been a problem in Philadelphia for years and the problem won’t go away by eliminating the position of schools safety advocate so the school district can fudge the numbers, a problem the mayor stated must be resolved now. The mayor now realizes that for whatever reasons, principals under report violence. We all know the reason. Principals have to make their bosses look good, and if they don’t, their bosses can only look good by firing them.  Truth does have its consequences. Now that the truth is out, hopefully the heads at the top which designed this system to under report violence will also be fired. The public should demand it and if politicians don’t do it one way or another, then these politicians should be held accountable. Then when the system is true and honest, maybe, just maybe we can develop an accountability system for teachers instead of letting all the you know what roll downhill and: “Blame The Teacher.”

I’ve been fighting this fight for ten years.  In the United States 44 schools are listed as persistently dangerous. 43 of them are in Philadelphia. I’ve been calling for truth for 10 years and my career has suffered for it. I’m either about to win a major victory or die as a good soldier.

Is it about Race?

I was told by one African American principal that I may not know how to teach Black kids.  The other day I heard one principal say of that same principal who spoke to me, I’m surprised he doesn’t know how to work with Black children.

I didn’t take the bait in either conversation. Though I can’t say I was stunned into silence, I did figure silence was the best response.  None the less these comments bothered me. I went to a child’s first birthday party today. The girl is adopted and is Black while the parents are White. In the car with me were my wife and our close friend whose spouse happens to Black. They have four kids. As I told her the story I stated, “Mixed couples don’t decide to raise their children Black or White, they raise them with love to be participate in our society. Of course as soon as I said it I realized she was the expert, not me. Since she enthusiastically agreed with me, I decided to make it the topic of this week’s blog.

Kids are not Black or white, they’re just kids. My dad grew up poor and was in fights all the time. Did people then think Jewish kids had to be taught differently?  When the Italians, Irish, Polish, and Asian all immigrated here and faced discrimination, unable to get a job, did schools say we have to teach these children of various ethnicities differently?

The answer isn’t no, it’s hell no, but the fact these discussion take place by both Black and White principals demonstrates we are not over the race question. A law suit is currently underway in Philadelphia begun by teachers who are white and were told by their principal they were unable to teach Black children. Another article stated the principal forced these teachers to read a book about teaching Black children. Are the Blacks of 2011 taking us back to before Brown V Board of Education?

Discrimination by those in the education field is beyond reprehensible.   To reach Dr. King’s dream all children must be treated the same and taught the same.  In Philadelphia, both the CEO of the School District and the President of the Teacher’s union are African American and can share personal stories of racism. I admire them both. Together they need to, and I expect they will resolve this issue.

If teaching is about race, then our country is a failure.

Lateral

In football a lateral is a backward pass. If the ball hits the ground it is similar to a fumble and can be picked up by either team who then take possession of the ball and try to move it forward to their goal.

In Philadelphia, many students are treated laterally. In one advisory only 11 children have been together all year. The others came from various schools. Teachers frequently do not have access as to why these students were transferred. What issues are causing their distress? It’s seldom cognitive, yet they arrive at a new school and magically their behavior is supposed to change.

In one recent situation the parent just came home from jail. In another the only known physical parent was murdered. These facts are learned through the grapevine, not from a Functional Behavior Plan. Is it a wonder these kids have more on their mind than academics? Inner-city schools need to address issues interfering with intellectual activity. When children are hurting physically we send them to the nurse. When they’re hurting emotionally we have nowhere to send them. Society through the schools needs to address social emotional issues and we need to involve the whole family. These kids are the ones charter schools won’t take and vouchers won’t help. They end up in our prisons and in time may come to be the greatest threat to our nation.

For preaching this I am considered by some to be a radical, a noise maker, a malcontent.  I maintain that I am devoted to my students beyond the realm of others who are only trying to advance their careers. Some see the students I am talking about as items that need to be swept under the rug lest they derail the ego train.

Even as I proof read this I am struck by the sadness and truth of what I have written. My message to the bureaucrats is to get real and let teachers help. If I as a teacher can’t help, and I (the teacher) am (are) the face the child sees every day, then what hope does this child have? The child has been dropped. Who will pick up this child and help them advance to the goal we share?

Can the School District of Philadelphia Save Itself

With a $629 million dollar deficit, with supporters of Dr. Ackerman calling politicians racist and many others calling Dr. Ackerman racist, a recent expose´ on school violence where the person in charge of discipline insinuated it was the pregnant teachers fault that a boy punched her in the stomach, whether or not the School District of Philadelphia can save itself is a pertinent question. On top of this, a bruhaha is developing over improperly awarded contracts.

Politicians have taken a liking to running schools. Dr. Ackerman to her credit, recently took one away from a company with close ties to a politician. The company had failed in ten years to create improvements. In the meantime, the Chair of the School Reform Commission, technically Dr. Ackerman’s boss, has been found to have met privately to save the school for the politicians closely associated firm. The School Reform Commission’s law firm represents the company (closely associated to the politician). The chairmen met with the politician and the firm which recently won the contract to run the school. The new firm then backed out. The school was given back to the politician, but the company has since backed out citing hostility on the part of the community members who make up the school: The ones who elected the politician in the first place.

The chairmen of the School Reform Commission (SRC) has stepped in it. The SRC recently gave a brand new publicly paid for school to another charter school operator represented by, you guessed, the law firm of the SRC Chairmen.

It’s a good thing the state stepped in to take over the School District of Philadelphia to insure fiscal responsibility and safe, improved schools for our children to attend.

Politicians promise to take action on school violence, Pass the mustard please

The real danger in our schools is just beginning. The politicians have promised to take action and will begin by forming committees and holding hearings. I heard one radio talk show today where “experts” were interviewed. These experts communicated how similar Comprehensive Student Assistance Program (CSAP) was to School wide Behavior Supports. CSAP, which was exposed in the recent Philadelphia Inquirer series as being a fraud, is a program to work with families and students whom are struggling to experience success. They do this by delineating reachable goals and enact strategies to engage the children in an effort to experience academic success no how minimal that success may be. CSAP focuses on the Individual. SBS works with an entire school to improve behavior in the classroom, halls, and lunchroom.  It frequently encompasses a bully prevention program. They have little if anything in common, but the experts said…….

So how does one get to be an expert?  The qualification I have seen is minimal if any classroom experience. And I know what I would like to ask these experts: What took you so long? Unfortunately I know the answer. They didn’t trust the teachers who for the past ten years have been trying to make this an issue.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/119306489.html

The Truth is Reported: Violence Stifles Education. What will we do? Pt.1

 

Climate of Violence Stifles City Schools

Below are a series of links which cover discipline within the school district of Philadelphia. The report is shocking.  In one article a district representative responding to an incident where a pregnant women was punched in the stomach states, ”A pregnant women should know how to defend herself. “ The superintendent, Dr. Ackerman constantly tries to duck accountability by blaming the teachers. I wonder if you teach in a large city if your discipline system is bad as ours. I look forward to reading your comments. (The last in this series of articles will be out Friday and Sunday. I’ll post it during the week).

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/118724939.html

http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-28/news/29354320_1_school-violence-administrators-michael-lodise

http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-29/news/29362088_1_indecent-assault-simple-assault-charge-kindergartners

http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-29/news/29362088_1_indecent-assault-simple-assault-charge-kindergartners

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/school-violence/118957119.html?cmpid=15585797

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/school-violence/118885059.html?cmpid=15585797

Finally!

A significant barrier that separates a high performing Philadelphia schools from poorly performing Philadelphia school is not the academic ability of the students, nor the instructional effectiveness of the teachers. Thee most debilitating obstacle between success and failure is the emotional stability and resiliency of young people attending school in our youngest grades. Research has been replicated proving that repetitive exposure to violence prevalent in many high poverty neighborhoods is so debilitating, many students (15%-25%) enter schools for the first time already suffering from emotional disorders.  When interventions are not offered to children at young ages we fail them, and according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we prevent them from being able to help themselves progress as they age.

Emotional deficits habitually lead to cognitive deficits. The systemic failure to recognize emotional insufficiencies in our children leads to academic shortfalls demonstrated by the School District of Philadelphia’s low test scores. It is also sadly demonstrated by unacceptable levels of violence at many Philadelphia schools, and high incarceration rates for children from low socioeconomic homes.

As this week’s series of articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, administration has created a two tiered discipline system across our city. The magnet and charter schools have it and the neighborhood schools don’t.  Separate is not equal, but with the right interventions we could make it so. Too bad the current administration lacks the political to make this happen.

The article linked below is long, but worth the read. Teachers, we are making a comeback.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/118756044.html

And for these she gets paid how much!?

Discipline problems and violence in Philadelphia city schools are not new. In a report by Judge Ellen Green-Ceisler on school discipline she states,

I observed a prevalence of Level I offenses including violations of the

school uniform code, wandering in the hallways and students who were

tardy for class, disruptive, aggressive, and disrespectful to the teachers.

The teachers with whom I spoke said that reporting these violations was useless since nothing would be done

Green-Ceisler, 2006

In March 2011 the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission issued a report concluding their investigation into violence within Philadelphia schools. The investigation was prompted by a violent incident which occurred at a local school in December 2009, resulting in multiple victims requiring hospital treatment. The conclusion of the report was: “racial violence and conflicts routinely interferes with student learning in district schools” (Graham, 2011, para. 3). In language reinforcing the findings of Judge Green-Ceisler the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations wrote:

District policies fail to provide a clear consistent framework for

preventing and resolving intergroup conflicts, and these policies

are neither uniformly implemented, nor clearly communicated.

(Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, 2011, p. 9)

In five years nothing in Philadelphia has changed yet the person in charge schools gets paid more than the Mayor and the Police Chief combined. The mayor is running for reelection virtually unopposed. The Police Chief is equally popular. But the head of schools has divided Philadelphia by race with not a single White person speaking on her behalf. Teachers are blamed for students not achieving while test scores have continuously risen since the late 90s.

It is really very simple. Look at Philadelphia’s good schools and you will find schools that enforce the student code of conduct. Look at Philadelphia’s poorly performing schools and you see an absence of discipline.

Is it Them, or Us

 

This week the School District of Philadelphia announced it does not have a budget crises of $450 million: Programs do not need to be slashed, all is well. What was announced is that the school district has 70,000 empty seats, roughly the same number of children who are in Charter Schools, but whom the school districts pay for.

Thus the plan unfolds. By closing down buildings, by making kids walk further to schools, by increasing class sizes, the budget will balance.

Politicians again think they know best. “Teacher quality has been found to be 20 times more important than any other factor, including poverty, in determining which kids succeed,” Daniels said before the Indiana General Assembly on Jan. 11. “Class size, by comparison, is virtually meaningless.” (Daniels is the Governor of Indiana).

How much quality feedback can you give a child when you’re seeing 33 children instead of 17? How much attention can you give a child in class when you have 33 students instead of 17? There are great medical personnel out there, but they only see one patient at a time. How do we elect politicians who can formulate such poor policy? Is it them, or us that make these unfortunate mistakes?

We are educators. Our unions for those of us that have them have done a terrible job of informing the public. We the Teachers must become the minutemen of education, or surely there will be no public education in this country.