The Second Line Blog

NPR: Are Race and Charters Dividing Ed Reform?

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The Black Lives Matter Movement has had an undeniable impact on America as a whole and that includes the ed reform community. With a controversial platform put out by the Movement for Black Lives and an NAACP backed moratorium on charter schools, it has been virtually impossible for any in education reform to avoid weighing in. NPR decided to speak to a wide swath of well known voices in the education debate and grouped them into the following categories: organizers, pro charter backers, union leaders, the old guard, pro-market reformers, and an urban superintendent.  Not suprisingly, their opinions reflect what many see as a growing divide within the education reform movement.

Some education leaders are rushing to embrace the newly frank conversation about the racial impact of education reforms. Others are caught awkwardly in the middle. And some — especially conservative — reformers feel alienated.

Read the full story here.

Working within a Charter School Network: We Are The Solution.

 

One year ago,  I wouldn’t have been able to tell you ANYTHING positive about charter school systems because all I’d ever heard was nothing short of a pile up of negativity.

Too strict. Too many white teachers. Too few qualified teachers. Harsh discipline. The list goes on.

And now, I work for one. And I love it.

The Background

During my prior job serving children with a local Mental Health Rehabilitation Agency, I recall the shock I experienced upon entry into certain charter schools. The teachers of color, especially the male ones, were missing. I remember wondering where had all the teachers born and raised in New Orleans gone? I remember feeling worried that the differences between the adults at the front of the classroom and the students in the seats would make it harder for relationships to grow and for kids to learn.

Fast forward and here I am, working in precisely the kind of place I myself had felt uncomfortable visiting. The kind of place about which I had heard nothing but negative stories. I reflected even more on this question after reading a blog written by a former coworker of mine, someone with whom I had developed a good relationship during my first year.

In the blog, my former colleague depicts ASA as nothing more than an institution that ill-prepares kids for success beyond high school as a result of unrealistic goals and ideals. The piece was saturated in assertions about poor college persistence, unqualified and ill-equipped teaching staff, and questionable discipline practices. It was riddled with reports of grief and harm. There were no bright spots to be found. This was particularly troubling to me because I had just written about positive changes happening in the school that were helping to build stronger community ties and improve students’ high school experience. Education Post even ran my piece and yet here was someone saying the opposite.  

Now I’ll be the first to admit, there was a time I agreed with some of what my colleague had to say.  But I also know that scandal is more entertaining than improvement and progress and it was too bad that he didn’t include any of the good with the bad.

The Joy I Feel Doing this Work

With the bad rap New Orleans charter school systems get, where does it leave those of us who are employed by the very system that so many don’t trust?  This job, at a charter school, is without a doubt  the most fulfilling job I have had since graduating from college. And while it definitely becomes overwhelming at times, it brings me such joy. My soul is fed by seeing my students demonstrate their learning of not only classroom content, but of life.  

It is why I do this work.

As a member of the school culture and discipline team, I feel pride when I see my students working hard to utilize their coping skills to manage conflict.

It is why I do this work.

I celebrate the moments when students come to find me just to make sure I know that they’ve gone the whole day without being asked to leave class because they’ve been so on task.

It is why I do this work.

And there is nothing that comes close to the emotions that fill my heart on graduation day.

They are why I do this work.

 

We Are the Solution

When I return to the question at hand and ask myself whether or not I am a part of the problem or the solution, I believe wholeheartedly that I am part of the solution. That I have an obligation to be part of the solution.  And although I may be a small fish in a big pond, I stand on my faith that with persistence, confidence, and fearlessness, I can plant the seeds needed to help leadership teams to think differently. And teachers to think differently. And students and their families to think differently.

91 percent of our children attend charter schools. So while parents and community members may not always trust us, We, as educators and New Orleanians must help to bridge the gap between the charter community, the families they serve, and the community as a whole. Only then will we all be a part of the solution.

 
We must get this right. We owe it to our community. We owe it to our children. And as a mother of a son who will soon be entering the New Orleans public school system, I owe it to him.

Change:The Facelift the Orleans Parish School Board Desperately Needs

 

Say goodbye to the school board you used to know.

When Senate Bill 432 passed and was signed into law as Act 91 it should have been evident to New Orleanians that despite a gradual return to local control they will not be witnessing the same old school board that they once knew.

The school board and its members will have less power than the pre-Katrina school board. They essentially will not affect any operational procedures of charter schools; the OPSB has no say in charters’ curriculum, personnel, yearly calendar or contracts.

This new age school board will definitely need a new way of thinking and creative game planning in order to spread its influence, ideas and to ensure that  charter schools reach school board benchmarks.

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A Sit Down

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ben Kleban CEO of New Orleans College Prep who recently won a school board seat serving the 5th district (he will be stepping down from his role at New Orleans College Prep before his term begins). During our conversation, Kleban articulated some creative ideas about how to get New Orleans schools moving forward toward sustained future progress.

 

What determined your decision to run for the school board?

I see it as a real opportunity to bring an end to a fragmented system. I wonder, how many more gains can we achieve if we worked together toward a unified goal? Everyone on the same page, unifying the resources and officially dealing with the shortcomings in the system when they exist collectively. I’m thinking more of the future than I am of the past.

 

What are your thoughts on how the school board, along with the unification, will be beneficial to parents and families?

The ability to have local democracy where a parent doesn’t have to drive to Baton Rouge to address a group of officials that are out of touch — by no fault of their own–but they don’t live here in New Orleans. Parents should be more engaged to advocate for their children. Local school boards offer a more direct connection and opportunity for development of relationships with parents and students. A relationship that should be healthy for the success of schools.

 

The education of special needs students in our community is so important. What would make this process more efficient?

The local school board should be more accountable for the writing, governing and implementation of IEPs for special needs students. We need to make sure that each child is receiving adequate services that match their needs and we must be more vigilant in identifying violation issues. We should ensure that federal and state laws are being followed and we must commit ourselves to communicating to and educate parents about the process.

 

You recently wrote an article talking about your re-evaluation of discipline and suspensions. Can you elaborate on that for us?

I’d like to think that I have become better now than I was ten years ago. I know a lot more about our kids in our community as well. When I assessed what NOCP was doing well ,I discovered that suspensions rates wasn’t one of them. We were following a one size fits all process that wasn’t working. When we started looking at individual kids, addressing their issues and behavior planning just for them we determined that what  one child responded to well and what made them successful was totally different from another child. We needed a system that would not just involve suspensions and force but alternative individualized actions

 

As we wrap up, could you give us a statement from you that would represent all parties of this unification?

If the leadership of the system at the board level, the superintendent and the key stakeholders –the voices of input–are all on the same page and working from the same playbook to get to a common goal for our kids then there has got to be more opportunity for progress than what we have had thus far.

School board elections: Someone’s paying attention but it’s not us

 

Maybe if local school board elections came with an equal amount of hoopla as national elections, then local citizens would pay attention to these elections that affect their communities directly. Maybe if my local school board election was rocked with scandal and candidates started belittling each other at every turn, then parents would know who was running.

Now, that would be a step in the right direction.

According to Ballotpedia, “643 of America’s largest school districts by enrollment are holding elections for 2,041 seats. These elections will take place in 38 states. These districts collectively educated a total of 16,965,635 students during the 2013-2014 school year—34 percent of all K-12 students in the United States.”

The benefactors of these elections are paying attention. Big money, influence and government are paying attention. Parents are not paying attention to more important local races and the community hasn’t taken notice to what others see as a definite benefit.

Futurity.org reports on a study of school board races in four cities, researchers at Michigan State University and Columbia University discovered that outside donors have set up shop and are not looking to go anywhere anytime soon. The education of our children is seen as a lucrative commodity.

“Historically, school board elections have been low-budget and low turnout affairs often dominated by teacher unions. But that’s all changing with outside donors playing a large role in the school board elections in all four of the cities examined,” futurity.org reports.

And that trend probably isn’t a passing fad.

Do school board elections need sensationalism? No. Do they need scandal and drama when we are seeking to educate and get the best for our children? No. Do we need to be aware of who is making and influencing education policy in our communities? Yes.

Do parents and local communities need allies even if they are from outside of their communities?

Yes, but only if those parents identify and are engaged with said allies and those allies support the needs of families within these school districts.

Allies aren’t people who set up a field office in your community during the election cycle only to send in a moving company to pack up when the elections are over. Allies are those who are going to be there year after year with the support that communities say they need. Allies don’t pick a candidate to run in a race for an open seat. Allies back the candidate that the parents and community sees as a viable option.

But do I blame special interests for coming on in and taking advantage of us in our communities? Definitely not—our neglect is to be blamed.

You Will Not Label My Child!

 

School is in full swing and most of our children are beginning to settle into their school year.  Typically during the start of the school year parents begin to see an increase of behavior notices coming home concerning their child. The good news is behavior notices can bring attention to symptoms relating to an undiagnosed learning disability or the need for other special accommodations that may have otherwise gone undetected. However, behavior notices can also bring attention to other issues that may be occurring in the classroom such as racial, cultural or personality differences between your child and his/her teacher.  These differences, if left unchecked, can lead to your child being labeled a “problem” for issues that are out of their control. For example, if the leader of the classroom (the teacher) has an issue with your child that is more about cultural differences rather than your child’s learning or social behaviors, then you have a problem. Because once your child is labeled, it is very hard to undo, and the label can stick with them at each grade level.

 

Your child’s classroom is the epicenter of their social circle. The teacher holds the most popular position. If the teacher’s perception of or honest belief about your child changes in the slightest way it can have a profound effect on your child and those around him or her. Perceptions are powerful. It only takes one or two incidents where your child does something that is viewed as disrespectful or disruptive and things can begin to change quickly, such as:

 

  • Expectations for your child will be lessened;
  • There will be a lack of patience by the teacher when dealing with your child.
  • Your child’s actions will be viewed by the teacher in a hypersensitive way.
  • Other students can do the same behavior and it overlooked, but there is no tolerance when done by your child.

 

Teachers talk to other teachers about children who they feel are giving them the most problems and headaches. I also know that teachers share this information with other parents. Before you know it, your child has been labeled by the teachers, other parents, and sometimes other students. I call this the “catching effect,” your child becomes the scapegoat for everything.

A parent at local charter school is dealing with this issue. Since the 2nd week of school, her daughter, one of two children of color in her class began receiving behavior notices for what seemed like minor classroom disruptions like playing with a bracelet.  With each behavior notice the teacher’s description of the problems began to trouble her.  Her child’s demeanor has changed, her social interactions with other children have changed. She can’t understand what she keeps doing wrong. She needed to act immediately when her child asked her “Am the baddest kid in the whole world?” While assuring her child that she was just fine and not bad, she began to think it was possible that her daughter was being labeled a “problem” child.

What should a parent do if your suspect your child is being unfairly labeled?

  • ACT IMMEDIATELY!
  • Be honest with yourself. If your child’s behavior has not been the best, now is the time to address it and work to change this behavior.
  • Talk with your child, but NOT about their teacher. Reassure them that they are important and things will get better.
  • Meet with your child’s teacher to discuss the situation.  Try not to let your emotions lead the conversation. They may not be aware that the are actually projecting these feelings onto your child.
  • Have a cooperative attitude when meeting with the teacher.  Do not put the teacher on the defensive.
  • Be vigilant about following up. Email, call and meet with the teacher often.
  • And if necessary, consult the principal or another leader of the school or district.

 

If the situation does not improve, keep going up the chain of command. Talk to whoever you need to talk to until your concerns are heard and changes are done. Throughout the process of advocating for your child it’s important to remember a few things:

  • Your child is THE most important person in this situation.
  • Your child comes first.
  • It is important that your child’s spirit remains positive while going through this process.
  • It’s also important that your spirit remains positive.
  • More educators are on your side than not. Believe that help is there and this problem is fixable.

I believe it is important for our children to learn the lesson of standing up for themselves by watching us do it. If something isn’t right then it isn’t right. We are our child’s advocate.  By maintaining constant contact with your child’s teacher or administrative staff things will improve. The label assigned to your child will be removed and your child will be seen how they really are, a child with unlimited potential.

Bring the Energy of Protest into Policy

 

Education plays a key role in achieving racial equity in America.  Yet, sometimes it is difficult to find hope in the education policy arena. The system itself is steeped in unconscious racial bias, and even the best intentions sometimes perpetuate existing racial inequality. It is no wonder, then, that activists often times give up on making changes in this space and instead focus their attention on using protests and the media to be heard.  As a policy analyst working in the education field in New Orleans, I’ve seen exactly how disenfranchisement works.

 

First of all, the policymaking process is set up so that only the elite–those with stable working hours, digital literacy, Internet access, and high education levels—can attend. Blacks are less likely to have these resources, and so they are also less likely to be able to attend.  For example, Orleans Parish School Board meeting notices are often posted only a day in advance on the web.  Many of the Board’s committee meetings are held during the day, when it is not possible for many employees to take off work. Moreover, even as a policy analyst, it is difficult to fully analyze—in a day’s time or a week for Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) meetings—the changes the board is proposing, let alone assess their impact.

 

I often feel disconnected, caught-off guard, and frustrated by all of the coded legal jargon used and the process as a whole. And I’m not your average advocate or resident, I’m an attorney with years of experience in policy.  So I can only imagine how someone without a background in law might feel trying to navigate this field. I rarely see community members or even organizational leaders at these policy meetings, and when I do, it’s the same ones, those who have developed an expertise and understand what’s going on.

 

When groups attend—parents wanting to address standardized testing, or immigrants asking for ESL funding—the experience is neither empowering nor beneficial.  Quite the opposite, it often perpetuates unseemly racial dynamics as community members and leaders are often treated with disrespect.  There is something very grotesque about watching a white policymaker, who is seated on a platform above everyone else, looking down at papers or gazing at a phone screen while a Black parent speaks passionately about the impact of testing, school closures, or suspensions. Sometimes a policymaker will unnecessarily exert his or her power or intellectual prowess by becoming confrontational with a parent or advocate who is clearly not an expert on a point of data, law, or logic.  Habitually, the white policymaker will interrupt the parent to say, “Thank you. Please conclude your remarks. Your three minutes is up.” Parents and advocates drive anywhere between thirty minutes and two hours to give three minutes of testimony.  

 

A recent study showed that the more the poor, Blacks, and Hispanics, support a policy, the less likely the policy is to be enacted. Ashana Bigard, an outspoken advocate noted,

“People say parents don’t care because they don’t show up at meetings. Well, after Katrina, parents went to three hundred meetings and none of what they said was implemented.”

Meetings are merely for show, and the decisions already have been made behind closed doors.  This has become painfully clear to me while working with partners to try and pass legislation on the state level. Even in instances where the community is asked for feedback, the mechanisms to gather it are so weak that it is questionable whether the effort is genuine. It seems that opportunities for communities of color to actually influence policy are rare.  

 
Instead, activists take to the streets. Across the nation, protesters are chanting: “No justice, no peace!” and “Black lives matter!” They swarm the streets with signs.  They lay down in malls. They block intersections. They tell the world, “We can’t breath” and ask others to “say her name.” Despite the disenfranchisement in the policy arena, people of color have found a way to be heard.  Yet, I can’t help wonder when these worlds will begin to collide. When will we bring the energy of a protest to a policy meeting? When will we lay our bodies down at the steps of the statehouse to demand an end to the school-to-prison pipeline? Last month, the Movement for Black Lives recently released a policy agenda that includes a number of education reforms. I hope this is a start.  If education is going to be a means of achieving racial equity in America, we are going to have to focus our energy on deconstructing racism within the education policy-making arena.

Money, Power, No Respect: How Trump’s Privilege Hurts our Children.

Erratic, cynical and out-of-control are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think about Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.  Negative race relations are at an all-time high, so it is terrifying to potentially have someone this transparent about his prejudice and disdain for several minority and religious groups serve as President of the United States.

Like many other adults on both side of the campaign, I often wonder about the impression Trump leaves on our children and how they will be impacted if he is elected into office.

I felt especially unsettled following Trump’s most recent question to black voters, “What do you have to lose?”  As Trump recently said in his attempt to appeal to black voters:

“You’re living in poverty. Your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth are unemployed, what the hell do you have to lose?”

The trail of controversy and outrage associated with Trump’s campaign makes me even more frustrated and fearful about the impact it has on our children.

As Peter Finn writes,

“This is all in addition to how he treats people – the insults he has thrown at his opponents and their families like a schoolyard bully. If you did this in the workplace you would be fired; if you were a teacher and said in the classroom what Trump says in debates and speeches, you would be gone the next day; if you attempted to run for president of the United States as Trump has you would be laughed off the stage, in almost any other year.

OK, we get the weak Republican field. OK, we get the celebrity culture we are now in today. OK, we understand the allure of fame and fortune and even bluster.”

What does this teach our kids?

I have come to the conclusion that in addition to hate, Trump’s campaign perpetuates the unfortunate reality that money, power, and privilege can position you as a serious candidate in the 2016 presidential election. In other words, privilege reigns and hard work is a lie! And for a child, especially one who is not privileged, Trump’s message is a dangerous one.

If all your life you are told over and over again that hard work and character trump (no pun intended) struggle, then how do you make sense of Trump’s hateful rhetoric and the fact that he has been given a legitimate shot at being the leader of this country? This is the same country that created the American Dream, that gives everybody hope that they can achieve success and prosperity through hard work.

Barack Obama represents unparalleled strength and hard work, because the idea of a black man being President of the U.S. was one that seemed impossible for a very long time.

For most people of color, Barack Obama represents hope. Donald Trump represents the power of privilege and how it can be used to hurt others without consequences. And for marginalized groups in particular, this message is a dangerous one.

Throughout the history of oppression, hope is what has kept most minority groups going and motivated our children. All our lives we are told work pays off, but the reality is that more often than not it is privilege that affords you opportunities, not hard work.  

It is privilege that has granted this 70-year-old white billionaire the opportunity to capitalize off of the grief of families who’ve lost loved ones to violence at the hands of immigrants, while ignoring the grief of many more Americans who have lost loved ones to fellow Americans and even worse, police officers.  It is privilege that has granted this 70-year-old man the opportunity to use such a powerful platform to be divisive by publicly inciting hate and fear toward minority groups.

A report conducted by Southern Poverty Law Center, The Trump Effect, solicited 5,000 comments from K-12 educators nationwide, and at least 1,000 comments mentioned Trump as a factor that riled up racial and religious tension on campus. One respondent with a self-identified classroom that’s “50 percent Hispanic” stated that just Trump’s name alone was enough to “derail a class” with many students fearing that they would be “kicked out of the country.”

Teachers and parents alike are left to consider the implications of both addressing Trump’s rhetoric or avoiding it all together. The report also states:

“The biggest curriculum challenge is figuring what, whether or how to teach about the election. In most presidential election years, students from kindergarten to high school get some exposure to the process and the candidates. But it’s different this year.”

As Petula Dvorak states in The Washington Post,

“Think we’re in for a disastrous four years if Donald Trump is elected president? You’re being optimistic. Given what some of our children are learning from him, it may take an entire generation to recover from the hateful rhetoric he has aimed at immigrants, Muslims and Blacks Lives Matter protesters.”

How can we educate and empower our children?

As both an educator and a mother, I believe it is important to honor the fact that hard work does not equate to having privilege. However, although there may be sadness and frustration in acknowledging the flaws of this system, it does not mean that we should give up.  It does not mean that we work less. And it does not mean that we don’t continue to fight for equity and equality.

We are the protectors of our children. Whether you’re black, white, Native American, Latino, Muslim, or Asian, it is crucial that we have these conversations with our youths to help them process these messages of hatred.
Kimberly Harrington offers some amusing, yet thoughtful suggestions on her blog How to Talk to Your Kids About Donald Trump that I encourage you to read if you want to get started on the process.

How one local high school is working to strengthen its relationship within the community.

At Sci Academy, located in New Orleans East at the former site of Marion Abramson High School, the Collegiate Academies leadership team has been on a relentless mission to reshape how community members view the charter school system.

Despite common beliefs, plans to implement an improved school management system were already underway before Hurricane Katrina because of poor school performance. However, following the devastation of the storm, there was the need for an immediate return to a local school system. This is what made the emergence of the charter school system so swift, and community members so oppositional.

As stated in an op-ed in The Guardian, many parents and advocates who were just beginning the long process of putting their lives back together after catastrophic flooding were caught off guard by the quick transition.

According to The Cowen Institute, 91 percent of public school students in New Orleans attended public charter schools in the 2013-14 school year. Not only are charters in New Orleans serving a higher percentage of public school students than anywhere else in the nation, but they are also approaching the Louisiana state average in reading and mathematics proficiency scores —a rare accomplishment for an urban public school system.  

There has been a dramatic shift in the state of education in New Orleans post-hurricane Katrina. Although data shows that reading and mathematics test scores have improved, students, parents, and community members alike continue to desire more. According to a study conducted by the Education Research Alliance the what parents want most from schools is the following:

 

  1. closest distance from home,
  2. “C” or better academic performance on state report cards,
  3. valued extracurricular activities, such as football and band, and
  4. legacy status (high school names that recognized the history of the building and carried over post-Katrina).

 

The Alliance  also says:

“For families with children going to high schools, extracurriculars activities such as band and football seem especially important. For example, a high school with a legacy status, football and band, and a C grade would typically be preferred to one without legacy status, no football or band, and a B letter grade.”

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In addition to developing a specific role that focuses on community outreach, another way staff is working to improve student, parent and community satisfaction is by forming relationships with Marion Abramson alumni. The aim of this is to strengthen legacy status and help identify what alumni and community members need in order to feel more connected to the charter school that now lies on the soil where they once learned, cheered on their athletic and spirit teams, and made plans that would shape the rest of their lives.

After several months of talks and planning, Dale changed the name of Sci Academy to Abramson Sci Academy, integrating a piece of New Orleans school history into current school culture.

Now while this may not seem like much to some, as a graduate of a New Orleans high school that still remains, I can only imagine the void I would feel if they changed its name. I believe this is a major step to connecting members of the community to the school.

An article on charter schools in New Orleans in The New York Times says:

“This is a place where ‘Where did you go to school?’ refers to high school, so the move to erase neighborhood schools and replace them with charters after Katrina angered powerful alumni groups. About 7,500 teachers were fired — most of them black — damaging the city’s black middle class, economically and politically.”

Abramson Sci Academy is just one example of this.

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Marion Abramson High School following impact from Hurricane Katrina in 2005

 

However, according to The Times Picayune, Marion Abramson High School was far from perfect.

Like many high schools before Hurricane Katrina, the old Abramson had struggled academically, finishing its last year in 2005 with a school performance score from the state of 31.2 — far below what Louisiana considers ‘academically unacceptable.’”

With Abramson Sci Academy strengthening its academic performance, cultural ties, and extracurricular activities, Marion Abramson alumni now have the opportunity to be involved in both changing the narrative of their former school and enhancing the experiences of its current students by sharing the joys of the high school experience.

 
Leaders, staff and alumni of Abramson Sci Academy all believe that when students are happy and genuinely feel that school is their home and teachers are their family, they are more likely to be deeply engaged in the classroom and during co-curricular activities. This is the type of engagement that is key to keeping students on a path that leads to success beyond high school.