Providence Schools (and beyond)

Providence Schools Superintendent Search Advisory Group Community Forum - 2/15/12, 6pm, PCTA

2012-02-10T17:32:00.000-05:00

The Providence Schools Superintendent Search Advisory Group, which is conducting the work of identifying a permanent superintendent for the Providence Public Schools, is holding a Community Forum on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 from 6:00-8:00PM at the Providence Career & Technical Academy, 41 Fricker Street.

As well, the search group has created survey, online here and via http://www.educateprovidence.org that allows you to share input through March 3. Information on http://www.educateprovidence.org says that the survey results will be posted after March 12.

I have to say that I remain skeptical about the extent to which community input will be valued and at the same time totally committed to asking you to participate. My skepticism comes from my belief that the process isn't set up to be swayed or deeply informed by community input, so the survey and the forum may simply serve as release valves. I'd love to be wrong. Prove me wrong! I'm not being cynical. At least I hope I am not.

I do think it's essential to share your views about whom you want to lead our city's schools and the direction you think that person should take. So weigh in. If you believe as I do that the current acting superintendent, Sue Lusi, should continue, use the comment sections at the end to indicate that, and use the rest of the form to try to indicate what you value and think is important.

I hope that the forum on the 15th is conducted so that there's some public airing of the public's questions and views. I think there's value to small group discussions, as happened at the community conversation on education that I and 50 or so others attended on January 28, but there's a corresponding lack of accountability. I appreciate the opportunity to connect with others concerned about education in Providence, but that doesn't serve the same purpose as asking hard questions of leaders and being part of a group that hears those leaders respond. That's valuable too, and I hope it's part of the upcoming forum.

RIDE's SurveyWorks - do it

2012-02-09T14:08:00.000-05:00

Public school (district and charter) families, if you haven't already, please take a few minutes to participate in Rhode Island Department of Education's SurveyWorks at http://surveyworks.ride.ri.gov/. Taking the survey allows you to express what's working well and what needs improvement at your children's schools - it's a real way to weigh in about what matters.

You probably already know about the survey from notes home and other communications from your kids' schools - if not, you should know that you need a code for your kid's school to take the survey, which you can find out from the school. Otherwise, you just need about 10 minutes - just click on the Take a Survey link and get started. You can and should take the survey once for each kid you have in school.

If you don't want to or can't take the survey online, the site provides a way to print out a hard copy which you can return to your child's school or you can get a hard copy at your child's school. The survey is available in Spanish and English. The survey closes in a week, on Thursday, February 16, so take it while you can.

What happens to the data that are being collected? That's a real question from me. I think and hope it's shared with the school's principal and teachers so they can know what's working well and what isn't.I hope that if an area of concern emerges for a school, school staff members reach out to parents to learn more. I hope it's used to inform future planning for parent and family involvement.

Providence Children's Film Festival - February 16-21

2012-02-07T11:02:00.000-05:00

This is so awesome. Click here for Kidoinfo's in depth coverage of the upcoming Providence Children's Film Festival and then plan to check out the films with your kids!

You can go to the PCFF's site for even more info and to buy tickets.

One of the aspects of this film festival that I love is that the selection committee includes kids from 5 to 13 years old. Films for kids chosen by kids - we will see you there!

American School Board Journal's take on charter school expansion

2012-02-06T15:35:00.000-05:00

I am not fully done reading the February 2012 issue of the American School Board Journal but am suggesting now that if charter schools interest you - whether you're pro, con, or conflicted - this issue, which focuses on the role of school boards in managing and regulating charter school expansion, is full of good reads. "Follow the Money" suggests that school board members be clear about where charter school funding comes from and offers the National School Board Association's view on charter schools:

The National School Boards Association takes the position that charters can have a role in sparking innovation, as an alternative education setting for families wanting something different, or even as an escape from a difficult local situation. But NSBA also argues there should be some ground rules: Charters should abide by the same regulations as traditional public schools, and they should be held accountable to the same degree.

Finally, NSBA believes local school boards should retain authority over charters, retaining their role as the public trustees overseeing education services within their communities.

Emphasis mine. Very different from what's happening in Rhode Island now.

"Plan for the Best" offers perspectives on facilities and program planning that will bolster districts' public district systems, thus mitigating charter school promoters' opportunism; its author, Kelley D. Carey, offers a perspective that doesn't map fully with the concerns or realities of many urban districts, including Providence, but his point that what parents are looking for is a well run, credible, effective school system and that the best way to preserve strong district systems is for school board to provide that is inarguably good advice for all.

2012 Charter Public School Open House - TONIGHT!

2012-02-06T15:13:00.000-05:00

Better late than not at all, I hope, here's info about this evening's Rhode Island League of Charter Schools 2012 Charter Public School Open House, which is tonight, Monday, February 6, 2012, from 5:30 to 7:30pm at Times2 Academy, 50 Fillmore St. in Providence.

You can speak to school representatives, get info about RI's 15 charter schools, and apply on the spot if you wish.

Participants include:

Academy for Career Exploration
The Beacon Charter High School for the Arts
Blackstone Academy Charter School
The Compass School
The Greene School
Highlander Charter School
International Charter School
Kingston Hill Academy
The Learning Community
NEL/CPS Construction Career Academy
Paul Cuffee School
R.I. Nurses Institute Middle College
The Segue Institute for Learning
Times2 Academy
Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts

Links to all of the schools' websites are here.

Sorry about the last minute share - this got on my radar late last week and was just now able to get to the blog to write about it. Hope that those who wish to go are already in the know!

Providence Teacher of the Year - nominate by February 10!

2012-02-03T17:37:00.000-05:00

This is cool - PPSD is seeking nominations for the district's teacher of the year, something that hasn't been a district initiative for I don't know how long. Quite a while. Glad to see this happening - not that identifying one great teacher out of many is adequate but it's a step in the right direction.

Here's most of PPSD's press release, which can be found in full here.

--

Providence Schools is restoring the practice of selecting a Teacher of the Year for the district, and is asking students, staff, families and the community to submit nominations for teachers who exemplify the best of the profession.

The nominee should possess the following characteristics:

Be knowledgeable in their content area.
Be a master at instructional delivery.
Be able to and demonstrate the ability to inspire students from all backgrounds with multiple
learning abilities.
Be respected by their students, parents, peers and colleagues.
Be active in the community.
Be articulate in state and national educational issues.
Be a model representative of their teaching colleagues in the Providence Public Schools.
Have at least three years of teaching experience.

Nominations must be received by Friday, February 10. Nominees will then be asked to provide the selection committee with their résumé and professional credentials, letters of recommendation, and their answers to a series of open-ended essay questions, giving the selection committee a feel for the individual style and philosophy of each candidate. The winner chosen for Providence will represent the district in the statewide selection of Teacher of the Year, with the winner at that level representing Rhode Island in the national competition.

Those wishing to nominate a teacher are asked to write a letter to the “Teacher of the Year Selection Committee,” describing how the nominee meets the criteria above, and why that candidate stands out among his or her colleagues. Letters should be submitted to Mr. Earnest Cox in the Office of Advanced Academics, Fine Arts & World Languages at the district office, 797 Westminster Street, Providence, or by e-mail at earnest.cox@ppsd.org, with “Teacher of the Year” in the subject line. Questions about the nomination process can be directed to Mr. Cox by e-mail or at (401) 456-9286.

Achievement First Mayoral Academies Receive Preliminary Approval

2012-02-03T17:33:00.000-05:00

Apologies for the sporadic recent posting - amped up demands at work and home have limited my time. Happy to have a few minutes now to to note - as all locally who care already know - that yesterday, the Rhode Island Board of Regents voted to preliminarily approve Achievement First's Mayoral Charter schools application. The vote was 5-4 - more details online via various news outlets, including WRNI's Education Blog and the Providence Journal.

Navigating School: Social Pressures of Adolesence - panel at Lincoln School in Providence tonight!

2012-01-31T12:44:00.001-05:00

Short on time this week but want to share what I can! Just saw this on Facebook - the event is tonight, hard for folks to get out at the last minute but if want to share anyway.

I wish I could go. I have been impressed Dr. Elizabeth Englandar's antibullying curriculum and other work - visit http://elizabethenglander.com for more about it.

Please go to http://www.lincolnschool.org/page.cfm?p=2745&newsid=1241 for full info and to RSVP.

I hope that this is a conversation, redux

2012-01-27T08:28:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, Saturday 1/28 from 10:00-11:30am, Mayor Taveras and Superintendent Lusi are co-hosting another community conversation about Providence's public schools at the John Hope Settlement House, 7 Thomas P. Whitten Way. Full info is here.

Another such meeting happened last month on the first night of Hanukah, as I noted - happy to see that there's another scheduled. I am going to try to be there and will report on what transpired if so, and of course would love comments from others who were either at December's gathering or who will be there tomorrow.

Join the elephant mother herd.

2012-01-25T14:14:00.001-05:00

February 2012's East Side Monthly is out; the content isn't yet online but if you stumble upon it at a coffeeshop, you can read my latest column, "Tiger Moms vs. Elephant Moms," which I had originally titled "The Herd of the Elephant Mothers." I am not terribly thrilled with either title but did enjoy writing this quite a bit, and here it is, in case your travels don't take you to East Side coffeeshops for the above mentioned stumbling-upon:

The Herd of the Elephant Mothers

Image from here.

For families with kids in transition from one phase of school to the next, midwinter is application and registration time. As families get down to the brass tacks of the school choice process, I am riveted by the conversations you’re having about what’s next educationally for your kids. Yes, I am listening to you three at the corner table at Seven Stars, huddled over coffee and obsessing about which kindergarten will be the best fit for your four year olds, wondering about the unknowns of public schools, the price tag of private schools, the lottery-driven gamble of charter schools, or the possibility of moving to a new town “for the schools.” I am shamelessly eavesdropping, and sometimes I will ask to join in, because I am fascinated with parents’ motivations about their educational choices that they make for and with their children.

While our rationales for school choice vary widely, the desire to find alignment between our own values and those to which a school is committed is our preeminent guide. We want to know that our kids attend schools that want for our kids what we want for our kids and--as the kids themselves build more sophisticated visions of the future--what they want for themselves.

As arguments about choices and charters dominate our Facebook and face-to-face conversations (well, mine, at any rate), it’s essential to acknowledge that not all families have access to the same sort of choices. Obviously, the wealthy have more options than the poor, including though not limited to choice of town and neighborhood. While I won’t be spilling much ink this month exploring the implications of and possible ways to address this inequity, I would be remiss if I didn’t note it.

No matter where we are economically and otherwise, the hopes and dreams we have for our kids (and those that the kids have for themselves) depend in large part on the skills, habits of mind, content, attitudes, and ways of relating to others that they learn both at school and at home. So we seek schools that value what we value in order to achieve a measure of understanding, continuity, and support network for young people that extends from home to school and back again.

I was thinking about this need for a good fit when I recently read Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. If you aren’t familiar with the book, you have likely heard the phrase “tiger mother” as a description of a parent who demands sky high achievement from their kids, who expects perfection and beyond in pursuits that the parents choose, who requires obedience and is willing and even eager to limit many of the common (in our culture) joys of childhood for the sake of the attainment of such perfection.

I will admit that when my kids bring home grades that don’t match the levels of achievement of which I know they’re capable, my own inner tiger mother has been known to emerge for a growl. However--and this is why it may be instructive to read Tiger Mother itself rather than read about it--Chua is willing to ride her myopic quest for perfection to crazytown. She bullies, harangues, and verbally abuses her daughters, with mixed results: one acquiesces, one rebels. Though there’s no way I endorse or would suggest emulating her methods, I feel muted admiration for Chua’s willingness to put her experience of extreme parenting out there and for her ability to describe how her understanding shifted when her seemingly irresistible force meet the apparently immovable object of her daughter’s will.

I had expected the relationship with her daughters' schools to be a substantial aspect of Chua’s story, but alas, no. The most significant discussion of school is when Chua describes herself pacing the hallway waiting for the start of gym, recess, or lunch (irrelevant, in her view) so she can whisk her daughter away for yet more violin practice. Chua also grumbles about time-consuming community building events such as parent association potlucks as ridiculous, distracting nuisances. She makes it clear that school is for mastering math, science, and literacy--not for the arts, not for athletics, and certainly not for socially oriented community building. When school doesn’t conform to Chua’s values, it too is pushed aside.

At that point, I knew that my occasional grade-related roars do not qualify me to be a tiger mother. I would not be able to stand the hyperfocused life that she describes. I understand how endless hours of practicing and sky-high expectations can push kids to reach their potential. I admire that Chua has equipped her kids with resilience and ability to confront obstacles. However, I couldn’t stand the resulting loss of community, which I value so much for our family.

I’m really more of an elephant mother. Elephants learn socially and mother their young collectively. Experienced elephant mothers model parenting behavior for younger elephant mothers. Young adult female elephants serve as “allmothers” (my new favorite word) as they practice their skills by looking after all of the younger offspring. This seems like a much more resonant metaphor than the tiger mother, frantically focused on her own offspring to the exclusion of other people’s children as well as nearly everything else in life.

While I have high academic expectations for my kids, I also expect them to thrive amidst diversity and respect differences. I expect them to identify the assets of their communities and be a part of solving challenges. In order for this to happen, you need to be an elephant mother (or father) and appreciate not only being part of the diverse, multicultural, multilingual herd but also taking on some real responsibility for the welfare of all kids, not just your own.

$470,000 RIDE tech grant - looking for info

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

This short ProJo story about a technology grant open to all RI schools caught my eye - interesting. I haven't researched it, don't know what's funding it or into what policy context it fits. Here's the story in full:

The Rhode Island Department of Education will award a $470,000 grant to help a school use technology to redesign its instruction.

The school would become a pilot program to help launch a statewide initiative in technology-driven improvements. Applicants will propose a school site where they will create a technology-rich learning environment that uses tools such as digital curriculum, gaming, virtual learning and expanded learning.

RIDE has scheduled a conference on Saturday, Feb. 11 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Rhode Island College that will feature expert speakers from across the country.

Not sure how the conference connects or if it's open to the public. Also don't know what the proposal process is for the funding, nor whether this proposal is supposed to launch a new school or support technology implementation in an existing school. I'm posting this here now in the hope that someone already connected to the work might weigh in. I'll also hit up the RIDE website and other sources to see what else I can find when I have a few minutes.

I'm interested in this issues as I see the challenges that are happening as a result is and isn't happening with technology use in the schools in which I regularly spend time. I'm thinking a lot about opportunities met and opportunities missed and will be focusing more on that in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, any insight into the deal with this grant? Please share if so.

PPSD High School Registration and Open High Schools + transportation issues

2012-01-19T10:53:00.000-05:00

As is the case for middle schools, Providence Public Schools' high school registration and open houses are coming up soon, as follows:

Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 6:00-8:00pm
Mount Pleasant High School, 434 Mt. Pleasant Avenue

E-Cubed Academy, 812 Branch Avenue

Cooley & PAIS High School, 182 Thurbers Avenue

Classical High School, 770 Westminster Street

Thursday, January 26, 2012, 6:00-8:00pm
Central High School, 70 Fricker Street

Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, 375 Adelaide Avenue

Providence Career & Technical Academy (PCTA), 91 Fricker Street

Hope High School, 324 Hope Street

The High Schools Open House flier from PPSD is here. For more, see last week's post about middle school registration for specific how and when info. The only differences for high school registration is that high school registrations are due by February 10 and that the "neighborhood" radius is three miles rather than one and a half miles for middle schools.

Unrelated to registration but related to the three mile neighborhood designation: if you're not already paying attention to Youth 4 Change Alliance's Transportation 4 Education campaign, please take a minute to visit their website to get up to speed on the ways in which inadequate transportation for high school students to and from school poses serious challenges to their ability to attend and, of course, succeed in school. Important issue that needs our attention - thanks to Y4C for the advocacy and light-shining.

PPSD Middle School Registration and Open Middle Schools

2012-01-13T14:16:00.000-05:00

It's almost middle school registration time! Later this month, Providence middle schools will be open for prospective sixth grade students and their families as follows:

Monday, January 23, 6:00-8:00pm
Gilbert Stuart Middle School, 188 Princeton Avenue

Roger Williams Middle School, 278 Thurbers Avenue

Nathan Bishop Middle School, 101 Sessions Street

Wednesday, January 25

Esek Hopkins Middle School, 480 Charles Street

DelSesto Middle School, 152 Springfield Street

Nathanael Greene Middle School, 721 Chalkstone Avenue

This year, Providence Public Schools has created a useful checklist that clearly outlines the registration process. It's here, and additional info about registration can be found here at the main registration page. Student assignment is explained here; generally speaking, Providence uses a neighborhood school policy with some choice built in. Eighty percent of a school's population is drawn from its neighborhood, and twenty percent can choose to attend from outside the neighborhood. Middle school "neighborhoods" are defined as a mile and a half radius from the school. You can ask PPSD registration which is/are your neighborhood school(s).

Fifth graders at schools in Providence--public schools and private schools--will receive registration forms on January 17, according to the info I learned when I called PPSD registration (401-456-9297) and are due back to the school by February 3. I encourage you to verify this information through your child's school and/or your own call to the registration office. If you're coming in from outside Providence, you need to go to the PPSD registration center to obtain and return the middle school registration form. See the checklist for more details about that.

Our family went through this a year ago, I wrote about the process in January 2011 when we visited visited middle schools with our fifth grader and again in June 2011 when we finally found out to which middle school our kid has been assigned. Barring any disruptive events such as last year's school closures, I believe that families will find out much earlier this year about school assignment, though I don't know when. If anyone does know, please share!

Hope High School students advocate for healthier lunches and make a salad bar happen

2012-01-11T13:38:00.000-05:00

The image to the left comes from a November 20122 post on Hope United's Facebook page that illustrates the results of surveys that Hope United - a Hope High School student group focused on social justice activism based at Hope High School - conducted with other Hope students. They brought the results to the attention of Sodexo, and the first salad bar in a Providence high school made its debut on Monday. See this Providence Journal story for more.

Along with the salad and other healthier food options now available to Hope High School students, we have an example of student activism resulting in timely implementation of real changes. The students did fabulous work - they identified an issue, researched it, and made their case. Sodexo's responsiveness is encouraging, and I hope we can find ways to identify demand for healthier food options in all of our schools. I'll be writing about nutrition and wellness issues for the March 2012 East Side Monthly, so stay tuned for more.

East Side Public Education Coalition statement on proposed Achievement First charter school proposal

2012-01-09T09:46:00.011-05:00

I'm sharing a letter that I worked on with several other members of the East Side Public Education Coalition that states our stand on the proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academies about which I and others have written extensively.

Before that, I want to point out an opinion piece by educator Dan Ross, "A Charter School Prayer for the New Year," which hits a couple of the same points (thanks, sharp-eyed Facebook friend, for sharing this link this weekend). This can't be said enough: "Charters were never supposed to be the answer--they were supposed to provide answers." And:

When Albert Shanker, the former president of the American Federation of Teachers, first proposed the idea of charter schools, he envisioned them as opportunities for small groups of teachers and parents to collaborate and develop experimental educational environments, an idea that recalls former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis' notion of the states as "laboratories of democracy" in the federal system. If successful, the lessons learned from these pioneering schools could be applied writ large, affording all children the chance to benefit their innovations.

But ironically, in spite of the excellence of charters like KIPP, Uncommon Schools, and Achievement First, educators have largely learned nothing from their successes. That's not to say that charters are inherently better than traditional public schools -- studies have shown that the best charters perform as well as the best traditional public schools and that the worst charters perform just as a poorly as the worst -- but rather that in this challenging work, we cannot afford to ignore right answers, no matter where they come from.

In the face of our current educational crisis, how can we stand idly by while we have proof of concept for extended school days and school years, and fresh best practices in pedagogy, professional development, human capital strategy, teacher evaluation, and instructional leadership? Why are we leaving it to the charters to do the scaling up of these new models themselves by expanding their own fundamentally limited networks instead of implementing them en masse?

Ross' piece captures some of what I've been feeling about this as a person who enthusiastically supports many specific charter schools but hates how the idea of charters is being used as a weapon against traditional public school systems. Right on.

And now, here's our ESPEC letter, which can also be found on ESPEC's blog.

January 8, 2012
Board of Regents
Rhode Island Department of Education
255 Westminster Street
Providence, RI 02903

To Whom It May Concern:

The application submitted by Achievement First to the Rhode Island Department of Education to open two Mayoral Academy charter schools has provided community members from Providence and beyond with an opportunity to participate in a discussion about the programs and structures that will allow all children in public schools to receive the support and challenge they need to succeed in school and life. Both Achievement First’s proposed program and achievements and successes happening now in Providence’s public schools have informed our understanding of what is required to create and sustain such schools and the system that supports them.

We believe we must find ways to do what we know works to improve the public system. Rhode Island public school students trail the nation in measures of academic achievement and face an appalling racial and socioeconomic achievement gap. As we address these challenges, we must find the political will to face barriers to the institution of meaningful changes, which include:

a longer school day and school year
accessible high quality early childhood education
providing wraparound support services
community partnerships that allow for expanded learning opportunities and more time for learning
high quality curriculum matched to the needs of the learner
school-based decision-making by principal, teachers and parents on budget allocation, hiring and personnel management
meaningful professional development which meets both national standards and local needs
an assistant principal in every school with 400 or more students

We support strategic planning and investments that leverage these strategies for the benefit of as many children as possible.

Given the district’s dwindling finances and stagnant population, the establishment of Achievement First charter schools at the scale proposed by the charter application could have the effect of closing at least one district school and pulling resources away from Providence Schools at the time they are most needed. Given that the district has a high number of schools that struggle to support their students, including those schools identified as Persistently Low Achieving (PLA) schools for which closure is an option, we understand the urgent need for alternatives and choices. However, Providence has chosen to keep these schools open and invest in their staff members, students, and structures in order to improve student achievement. We need to focus on improvements that can be made in the existing public schools, learning from and keeping what works and changing what does not. We are concerned that if RIDE were to approve this charter application, it would divert scarce resources from our existing public schools and decrease the possibility that all children in Providence public schools would have the opportunity to attend high performing schools.

Mayor Taveras and Superintendent Lusi have stated that they wish to learn from Achievement First’s successes in other states to bring better practices to the Providence Public Schools. It is important to note that while there already are numerous “bright lights” in the Providence Schools, as acknowledged in the Education Opportunity Working Group’s November 2011 “Educate Providence” report, the Providence Public School Department (PPSD) does not have a system in place to identify, acknowledge, celebrate, and disseminate best practices already in existence. We contend that PPSD should use its resources to study and disseminate best practices already in our system before bringing in an outside organization to run our schools. Without the habits of sharing knowledge within the district, there’s no clear way for a newly introduced organization to share its practices.

Though Achievement First would present an option that could appeal to a number of PPSD families, the prospect of opening a new school will cause a level of disruption that our district can’t sustain. Choices about the schools offering educational options to the students in our district should align with the mission and vision of the district. However, the district’s vision isn’t at all clear at this time. We believe that the plans from the Mayor’s office and the Superintendent’s office need to be aligned and clarified, with appropriate and meaningful public input, before we make such potentially impactful decisions about introducing new schools into PPSD.

We are concerned about the unacknowledged cost impact that proposed Achievement First schools may pose. When Providence closed several schools last year, a leading rationale was transportation cost reduction. However, because they are not neighborhood schools, the Achievement First charter schools will increase transportation costs significantly due to the need to bring children from four different communities to the schools.

We are also concerned that the Achievement First schools may exacerbate rather than ameliorate the district’s equity issues. For example, an advantage of charter schools is that they have the potential for more flexibility than in-district public schools. Achievement First uses that flexibility to offer a significantly longer school day that allows educators to create a more effective learning environment. However, the length of the Achievement First school day stands in stark contrast to that of the Providence Public Schools’ standard school day. It seems inequitable that if this application were approved, some Providence children would have an 8.50 hour day and 190 -195 day school year, while others would have only a 6.08 hour day and 180 day school year. We want to know how the district can use its resources to pursue expanded and extended learning for all students.

We support choices and welcome innovation in our school district. We are not opposed to charter schools. However, we are not convinced that this is the right choice, and note that because the deadline for prospective charter schools to apply to RIDE is March 1, 2012, it is likely that additional charter applications, such as that of the Meeting Street School, will be submitted that offer both options to Providence students as well as potential threats to the district’s finances. We therefore suggest that the Board of Regents at the very least delay making a decision about the Achievement First application until we have a fuller picture of the charter options for the 2013 school year.

While the individual members of ESPEC hold diverse views, we agree that it is not clear that bringing these particular Achievement First charter schools to Providence at the currently proposed scale is the best decision. We therefore oppose the charter application as it currently stands. We agree with the concerns raised by other community groups about the financial costs, the failure to serve the whole student population, and the loss of public accountability inherent in the Achievement First application. We have observed that the public process to date has been divisive and unhelpful to parents who are genuinely seeking information. We believe strongly that concerned parents and community groups should pull together so that energy currently devoted toward and against Achievement First is instead directed toward identifying the assets of the schools we currently have in Providence and working systematically and swiftly toward their improvement.

As Mayor Taveras and Providence Public Schools administrators implement improvements that improve the learning experience and outcomes of all our children in all our schools, we must manage our scarce resources as wisely as possible both to encourage innovation and to preserve and invest in existing schools. We are aware of how challenging this is, and in that light want to question whether establishing Achievement First Schools in Providence via the Mayoral Academy charter school structure is the best move we can make now for long-run success.

Sincerely,

Jill Davidson
Michael Kenney
Bill Mott
Harlan Rich
Kim Rohm
Karina Wood
on behalf of the ESPEC Steering Committee

cc: Governor Lincoln Chaffee
Mayor Angel Taveras
Superintendent Susan Lusi
Julie Tremaine, Executive Editor, East Side Monthly
Linda Borg, Education Reporter, Providence Journal

RI Regents Achievement First Mayoral Academy Hearing Tomorrow, 4:00pm

2012-01-04T17:37:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow, the RI Board of Regents is hearing public comment on the proposal from Achievement First to start two Rhode Island Mayoral Academies charter schools in Providence as part of its monthly meeting (meeting agenda here), which is scheduled to take place from 4-6pm at the Rhode Island Department of Education, Room 501, 255 Westminster Street in Providence. Arrive a half hour early (3:30pm) to sign up for public comment.

Providence Superintendent Search Launched

2012-01-04T16:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's ProJo reports that the Providence School Board has launched a search for a new superintendent:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The School Board is launching a national search for a new school superintendent.

Interim Supt. Susan Lusi has been running the 22,000-student district since July and she plans to apply for the job. Former Supt. Tom Brady announced his resignation in late March after it became clear that there were differences between his leadership approach and that of newly elected Mayor Angel Taveras.

Neil D. Steinberg, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, will lead an advisory search committee that will help the school board. The committee will be composed of business, non-profit and community leaders along with parents and educators.

The school board will not use a search firm.

I wonder whether the advisory search committee has been selected and by whom it will be selected. While it will be interesting to see who else applies for the position and what they might bring to the role, I am happy that Sue Lusi is committed for the long haul. I would very much like to see her continue in the role.

The Learning Community in the NY Times + PPSD kindergarten registration

2012-01-03T13:03:00.001-05:00

Happy new year! Like most of you, I was away holidaying and vacationing, all very lovely and restful-ish (click here for my thoughts from last year on being a parent of three young kids during school vacations). In related news, I'm actually very happy to be back at work. Hope my kids and yours feel similarly about their first day of school in 2012.

I was yet more pleased to read "The Central Falls Success," an op-ed in today's New York Times by Joe Nocera on the great work that The Learning Community is doing in Central Falls. When I, and many others, talk about the need for all kinds of schools (charter, public, independent) to identify challenges in our communities and develop collaborative solutions and ongoing partnerships, THIS is what we're talking about. Kudos to The Learning Community for wider recognition!

And for those of you with names at the start of the alphabet and kids heading toward kindergarten, today's your day! Providence Public Schools kindergarten registration starts today and runs through February 10. Click here for a past Providence Schools and Beyond post on this year's kindergarten registration and visit the district's registration web page here.

PPSD's site also tells us that there's a gathering planned for 1/5. 6:30pm at the Student Registration Center at 325 Ocean Street for incoming kindergarten families - click here for the flier in English and Spanish. The district held a couple other such meetings at the end of last year as well; having informational meetings to help parents get up to speed on the registration process is a new and very welcome thing for PPSD. I am wishing all the best to everyone involved in the process this year.

At MLK for the best half hour of my day

2011-12-22T12:33:00.000-05:00

Why do I ever think that it's possible to make a super quick visit to my kids' elementary school, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary? The idea that I can just run in and drop something off--today, a couple of Stop and Shop gift cards for families in need and a plate of cookies for the office staff--is ridiculous in the best possible way.

I am so grateful for the connections and relationships in that school, for the ongoing conversations, for the friendships. But today, though I really love them, I swear I really was going to run in, make my delivery, and get out of there, ten minutes tops, for real this time. So of course before I knew it, I was wrapping a dozen or so presents from the MLK school community to a handful of children who would otherwise experience a bleak holiday next week. I had no choice, really, and though I had thought I had places to go and people to see in the most urgent way, there was nowhere else I'd rather have been. If I didn't have to come back to work, I'd still be there, wrapping and shooting the breeze. Even if just for a half an hour or so, I was so happy to be reminded that our family is a part of a school community that makes a real effort to think about all kids and all families.

King's staff members discreetly identified a group of kids whose families are struggling significantly and King's principal, Derrick Ciesla, shared his intention on Facebook to match donations from the King community. A few people shared his post, and word started getting out. King's staff members, families, and people who are outside the school community who heard about the Santa Ciesla project and wanted to help came through--are still coming through--with incredible generosity.

If you want to see the MLK elves in action, WPRI sent a reporter out yesterday - you can check out their report, which was on the 6:00 evening news, here. The photo to the right is a still from the video they shot - I love this image as it featured another MLK parent, Lorraine Lalli, who I suspect was similarly sucked it. I am telling you, do not step foot in that building unless you want to feel really great as a small part of a big effort to take care of those who need it most this holiday season.

I suspect other schools are doing the same. For sure, King in past years has quietly reached out to families in need. Perhaps the social media angle made this big and noticeable this year. Either way, I am happy to celebrate principal Ciesla and everyone at King for their generosity and grateful for the best 30 minutes of my day today.

"Form vs Function" - January East Side Monthly column online

2011-12-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

The January East Side Monthly is online, and with it my column on the impact of the quality of school facilities on learning. Kudos to ESM for the spiffy new online format!

Here's the original version of the piece (bit longer, with links, but pretty much the same):

When our family chose to move to the East Side of Providence in 2004, we were gratified to see the wide range of K-12 schools in the neighborhood. As a family with two (at the time) and (now) three young kids, we wanted to live in a place where we would have options and possibilities that would fit our kids as they developed. That reasoning applied to choosing Providence generally and the East Side specifically. We had relocated from an urban area and wanted to remain city-dwellers for a number of reasons, including diversity within schools and a diversity of choice among schools. At that time, we toured a number of public, private, and religiously affiliated East Side schools and since that time, I’ve given many tours of one school in particular (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, which all of my kids have attended or are currently enrolled).

Before now, I have not spent a whole lot of time analyzing the schools’ facilities for my own kids, and for the most part, the family members to whom I have given tours of King also have not made the school building their chief concern. Speaking for myself, the physical structure of the buildings seemed too much of an immutable element for serious consideration. I certainly noticed whether or not the buildings were clean and well cared for, but didn’t think critically beyond that. Instead, I focused on what I could learn about the schools’ culture, climate, values, curriculum, atmosphere, and habits of family involvement in kids’ education. Those were the factors that seemed to matter most at the time and for the most part, continue to have the strongest influence on the quality of my kids’ education.

That said, for those who wish to ponder the question of whether and how school facilities matter to young people’s learning and lasting success in school, the K-12 school facilities in our neighborhood offer the full range of what’s possible. Beautiful renovations and lovely campuses on lush lawns contrast with timeworn buildings and schools situated in buildings not necessarily designed as schools at all. We have new and aged buildings. Our neighborhood has school facilities that demonstrate care and thoughtfulness architecturally, environmentally and educationally and school facilities that demonstrate exactly the opposite qualities. There’s a huge and inequitable range of quality among school facilities nationwide, and the East Side replicates that.

So how much does do the quality of facilities really matter to learning? Part of the reason that I write this column is to share what turns up when I dive into educational research to answer questions that nag me. I figure if I’m thinking about something, you might be, too. So here’s what I found out about the ways that school facilities affect the experience of teaching and learning.

According to the 21^st Century School Fund, a Washington DC-based nonprofit dedicated to the idea that communities are responsible for creating healthy, safe, and educationally appropriate learning environments, nearly every recent study shows a correlation between the condition of school facilities and educational achievement once student demographic factors were excluded as factors. Students test results are lower in inadequate facilities, as are attendance rates. Drop out rates are higher.

Poor facilities also directly impact the health of everyone who spends time in them, students and teachers alike. According to the United States General Accounting Office, one in five students nationwide attend poorly ventilated schools--perhaps more in Providence given the age of and wear and tear on many of our city’s schools. Temperature, noise, and access to daylight add to the factors that detract from adequate conditions for teaching and learning.

Inadequate facilities can also affect a school’s ability to retain high quality educators; teachers are more likely to take more sick days in building with poor air quality and severely run-down facilities and are less likely to remain at those schools for the long haul. Certainly, high-quality environments for teaching and learning aren’t the only factor for a school’s success. Every day, in our neighborhood, across the city, and nationwide, we see wonderful teachers creating positive change in the lives of young people in cruddy conditions. We know that strong relationships among and between students and educators, excellent curricula, and other factors matter hugely.

Financial crises have forced Providence Public Schools have had to abandon the facilities master planning recommendations presented to the Providence School Board in 2010, and our current stagnant financial climate makes capital improvements more challenging for all of our neighborhood’s schools. That said, given the right kinds of fundraising and financial management, independent schools may have more control over their facilities development than public schools, which are necessarily included in the overall planning processes of the Providence Public School district, which itself is directly affected by the school building funding and regulations that come from the Rhode Island Department of Education and the General Assembly. At the end of the most recent General Assembly legislative session, school building and capital improvement funds were put on an “indefinite freeze” statewide.

It’s tempting, given the challenges that we face, to bury our heads in the sands of deferral. But we can’t continue to pretend that facilities don’t matter as much as they do. We need to advocate for proper funding to ensure that all of our schools offer at least basic appropriate conditions for teaching and learning, including up-to-speed technological infrastructure. You may want to follow the progress of H.R. 2948, the Fix America's Schools Today (FAST) bill, introduced in September 2011. Co-sponsored by U.S. Representative David Cicilline, the FAST bill is designed to be both a school improvement program and a jobs stimulus bill. Rhode Island’s legislators should consider complementary state level legislation so that we can ensure that the places for learning in our neighborhood, and all neighborhoods, offer fair access to learning and can remain at the center of our communities.

Pecha Kucha Providence tomorrow - 20x20 on the relationship between schools and families

2011-12-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

With other brave souls, I will be sharing thoughts tomorrow night (Wednesday, 12/21) on the topic of relationships at Pecha Kucha Providence at The Met at Hope Artiste Village, 1005 Main Street in Pawtucket. Doors open @ 7:20.

Per the Pecha Kucha format. I'll be presenting 20 images and talking about each for 20 seconds. My topic is not actually on the relationship in general between families and schools but rather on the specific, particular, evolving relationship between my family and the Providence Public Schools. There may be generalizations to be made. Or there may not be. In any event, it's our story about which as, if you're reading this, you know I obsess, so I'm going for it. I would love to see some of you there!

Rhode Island wins federal Early Learning Race to the Top grant

2011-12-20T10:54:00.001-05:00

As WPRI reports, Rhode Island's youngest learners will be the beneficiaries of a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge award from the United States Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. Rhode Island is one of nine states to win early learning RttT grant funds. Based on the strength of existing programs including Ready to Learn Providence, Rhode Island applied for $50,000 million to support early learning statewide with a focus on underserved communities. These funds have the potential to create universal high quality preK programs, which would address a one of our state's most fundamental equity issues. Fantastic news!

Update - just ran across this analysis on the Quick and the Ed blog that shares criteria and scoring methods for the states that applied for the RttT-ELC funds. Yeah, I know I cheered above, and I am happy for Rhode Island in this instance, but not at the expense of other states' young learners. I remain opposed in terms of equity to the notion that states must compete to win funding that most if not all so urgently need. Winning comes down to following the rules of the scoring, which does not necessarily demand the same skill set among professionals as building strong programs.

I hope that this is a conversation.

2011-12-15T09:43:00.002-05:00

Heads up for those who want to attend meetings about Providence's schools until the bitter end of 2011: on Tuesday, December 20, Mayor Angel Taveras and Superintendent Susan Lusi will be co-hosting a Community Conversation on Education in Providence from 6:30-8:00pm at Nathanael Greene Middle School, 721 Chalkstone Avenue in Providence.

A bit more info about the event is here: http://cityof.providenceri.com/mayor/community-conversation-on-education-in-providence along with a link to what presumably is the subject of the discussion, the Educate Providence website which features the outcome of the Education Opportunities Working Group. I say that I hope it's a conversation because the report from the group is well worth discussing, exploring, and understanding in terms of their likely impact on Providence's education system.

This event is also scheduled on the first night of Hanukkah, so I can't be there. I understand it's hard to find dates that work well for most people, and one assumes that this date was chosen with the understanding that some of us would have family obligations. Nevertheless, it's really unfortunately scheduled; I hope that another such session will be held in early January for those who can't make it either because of Hanukkah or because this is generally such a wildly busy time of year for many across the religious, or not, spectrum.

Update from Angela Romans, who emailed the following: "Yes, we are planning to have 2 more such meetings in January and are working out the dates. Those will be announced and posted by next week." Excellent to hear and when those dates are posted, I'll share them here.

Providence School Board candidates public forum 12/14 6-8pm

2011-12-13T11:07:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow evening (Wednesday, 12/14) from 6:00-8:00pm, in the Providence Career and Technical Academy auditorium, 41 Fricker Street, candidates for Providence School Board vacancies, of which there are three, will appear at a public forum so that interested community members can meet and ask questions of the candidates. The forum will occur from 6-8PM.

I wonder if this different from past such forums, during which the audience didn't direct participate but listened to questions posed to the candidates by members of the School Board Nominating Commission. This seems more like a general Q and A. I can't go but would love a report from anyone who can and does attend.

The full announcement from the Mayor's office about the search for Providence School Board candidates and related activities, including this forum, is here.

Kudos to Central High School for NEASC accreditation

2011-12-13T10:06:00.000-05:00

The ProJo reports that Providence's Central High School has received initial accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). NEASC's Commission on Public Secondary Schools awards accreditation after a school meets benchmarks and standards as assessed by self-study and visits from evaluators. Central joins four other NEASC-accredited Providence high schools -- Classical, Hope, E-Cubed, and PAIS @ the Juanita Sanchez Education Complex -- and 40 accredited high schools statewide. Here's the full list of RI high schools with full accreditation; William B. Cooley Health Science Technology High School @ the Juanita Sanchez Education Complex is a candidate for accreditation.

Kudos to Central for meeting the NEASC standards - all high schools should, of course, and while we support them all to do so, we can celebrate the achievement of those that do.

Are School Uniforms a Good Fit?

2011-12-07T12:47:00.000-05:00

I'm catching up on posting East Side Monthly columns! Here's what I wrote for the November 2011 issue, which isn't online due to ESM's spiffy website makeover, which features content from December 2011 onward (and I didn't write for that issue due to work craziness). I am back at it - January's ESM education column is on equity and school facilities and should be out soon. But for now - here's November's column on school uniforms and whether they're right for Providence's public schools, along with my thanks to the people who gave me their time and thoughts on the subject.

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At a recent citywide gathering of parents with children in the Providence Public Schools, I found myself in the minority when the subject of school uniforms arose. First off, in order to establish my minority position, I will share that I’m not in favor of mandatory uniforms, especially in public schools. That’s not to say that I don’t want kids to look their best. Clearly stated and consistently enforced dress codes create an atmosphere for learning with minimal distraction while still allowing for choice and free expression, and the Providence Public Schools’ dress code is a fine example. However, most other parents in whose company I found myself spoke up enthusiastically for school uniforms. Their kids and their peers would benefit tremendously from school uniforms, they said as they urged the Providence Public Schools to make uniforms mandatory in all schools.

The overwhelmingly positive response from parents from across the city made me reconsider my own anti-uniform stance. What was so attractive about the idea of school uniforms in all of our public schools--and why didn’t I share that view?

Those who support mandatory school uniforms believe that uniforms emphasize to young people that they are at school to learn. Christina Murphy Pyman, a past Vartan Gregorian Elementary School at Fox Point parent, sums up what many in favor of school uniforms believe. “Uniforms are especially good for girls, who seem to be obsessed with how they look and what label they are wearing at a frighteningly young age,” notes Pyman. “They need to learn that it isn't how you look but what you can accomplish and they need to learn to focus! Wearing the right jeans when they grow up will not land them the job they want in the real world.”

Some uniform proponents argue that mandatory school uniforms correlate with a safer school culture and that uniforms can help students feel like they’re part of a team, which can increase a sense of school pride. Others say it’s just easier to get dressed in the morning. Allyson Seaborn, a friend who grew up in the United States (without school uniforms) and moved to Australia in high school, shared that all Australian public and private school students wear uniforms, and she is a major proponent of mandatory uniforms for school. “Honestly, as a parent I send my two kids off to school each day without any whinging, fashion planning, colour coordination of socks, or my daughter looking like a tart,” she explains. “They just go to school to learn. Uniforms are about making school years a little bit easier and more practical.” Seaborn’s thoughts resonated with Hope High School teacher Laura Maxwell, who while not endorsing uniforms, commented that uniforms would reduce the “decision fatigue” that is a significant factor in our lives.

Not such a big surprise, then, that school uniforms are such an appealing idea. However, they aren’t a sartorial panacea that will fix what’s ailing a school. Do dress codes eliminate distractions and put the focus on learning? Probably not. Research indicates that academic outcomes aren’t improved at schools with uniforms as compared to schools with similar populations and programs. Dr. Corey D. B. Walker, chair of Brown University’s Africana Studies department and president of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School’s Parent-Teacher Organization, suggests that insisting on compliance to a uniform policy may well be a distraction to learning. “Administrators and communities should focus their energy on providing adequate resources so that schools can do what they do best--educate our children,” Walker says. “Since we have no reliable data to support all the ‘good’ that school uniforms do, we should focus our energy on ensuring that all schools have the requisite resources to serve all students in the pursuit of achieving the best of their potential.”

Others with experience wearing school uniforms as students feel that the uniforms put them or their kids at a real disadvantage. Providence Public School parent Karen Seiler recalls, “As someone who wore a uniform to school I can tell you they accomplish none of the supposed benefits. Students distinguish their wealth, status, and cliques through hairstyle, jewelry, shoes, and so on.” Another friend whose children attended a charter school with a strictly enforced uniform policy was plagued by the anxiety of getting the uniform up to snuff in the mornings and the inevitable loss of time in schools (and loss of work for her) when her kids were sent home for noncompliance. Uniforms established an anxiety about school in terms of fitting in and meeting expectations that her kids are still sorting through, years later.

School uniforms represent what many families want for their kids and their schools: a calm, orderly, focused learning environment, and therein lies their appeal. But the challenges that face us as we work to create great schools for all children are complex, and the solutions require a parallel level of complexity and nuance. Dr. Corey D. B. Walker takes the point further, noting, “The discourse on school uniforms strikes me as emblematic of the problem of public school education in our nation--the simplistic pursuit of a single remedy to alleviate the systemic problems that have been and continue to be part of the history of public education in America.”

When we talk about schools, we often fail to make the distinction between standards and standardization. A dress code represents standards; a uniform, standardization. The consequences to insisting on standardization in a multicultural society are significant, as Walker suggests. “School uniforms imperially impose a Euro-centric norm and conception of proper conduct and behavior that is antithetical to a society that claims to value cultural diversity.” While public and charter schools, which are not required to educate any and all students, may well benefit from mandatory uniform policies, uniforms don’t have a meaningful place in our public schools. With respect to those who are in favor, I hope to work together with educators and students to create places of learning where high standards and personal freedom can coexist.

MLK Elementary tours!

2011-12-06T14:08:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, along with other family members, students, and staff members, I'll be giving tours of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School at 35 Camp Street in Providence during the coming weeks. Please come and see the school in preparation for kindergarten enrollment, which is happening between 1/3/12 and 2/10/12. Visit http://www.providenceschools.org/inside-ppsd/registration for more information about registering your child for kindergarten (and other grades).

We welcome you on a tour if you're curious about the school for a child in any grade or in preparation for school for your little kids in years to come. Click on the image for a larger version of the flier, and please share this info.

The tours of King are happening as follows:

(tomorrow!) Wednesday 12/7, 5:00pm

Friday 12/9, 11:00am

Friday, 12/16, 11:00am

Friday, 1/6, 11:00am

Friday, 1/20, 11:00am

Friday, 1/27, 11:00am

Friday, 2/3, 11:00am

With the exception of tomorrow evening's tour, all tours are led by fifth grade students with support form parents and include a meeting with school principal Derrick Ciesla. Please contact MLK Elementary at 456-9398 to sign up for a tour.

If any readers know of PPSD elementary school tours happening at other schools, I'd love to share that info here - let me know! Thanks.

Family and community engagement: less is more

2011-12-06T13:30:00.002-05:00

Would you like to go to a meeting? Because, man, do we have them this week. Tonight, tomorrow night, and Thursday night are full of meetings and hearings related to the Achievement First Mayoral Academies charter school application that's been submitted to RIDE. Tonight, there's a Providence City Council education subcommittee hearing at 5:30 at City Hall (more info here). Tomorrow and Thursday night, the Rhode Island Board of Regents is holding hearings in Providence, tomorrow at 6pm at Kennedy Elementary School, Thursday at 6pm at Alvarez High School (more info, respectively aligned along some sort of spectrum here, here, and here). And that's just what's happening in Providence related to this one particular topic.

In Providence, it's also Open Schools Week for elementary schools, which means that families interested in public elementary schools are likely taking time off work or away from other responsibilities to visit schools. I'm spending evenings and lunch hours getting ready for and giving tours of MLK Elementary, where my kids go to school. This is great! But again, this week? With everything else? Too much.

Read on for schedule-related bitching and moaning, if that's your pleasure...

While I'd be way crankier if there were no hearings or publicly available information, I am sufficiently cranky with all of this happening immediately, right now, one after the other, especially since there is no actual rush as far as I am aware. As Tom Hoffman points out, the deadline for charter applications is four months away. There's ample time for various public entities to schedule hearings in ways that allow families with kids (or any of you out there who may work evenings or just otherwise have plenty going on) to plan to attend. After a strenuous bout of childcare wrangling, I think I'll be able to attend tomorrow night's Regents' hearing at Kennedy but that's it. And I am blessed with a daytime job, fairly easy kids, a car, and a spouse who supports my desire to participate.

Generally, I regard myself as a fortunate person, especially when it comes to being able to be involved with the schools in my community. Though I work full time, I have enough control over my time to be able to spend time in schools. I have been able to form meaningful relationships with other family members, staff members, students, and administrators. I feel like I am able to contribute to conversations about what's happening in education in Providence and beyond in a variety of ways - in conversations, in public forums, on this blog, in my East Side Monthly column, and in my professional life. And as a member of the dominant culture who speaks English and feels happy and at home in school settings, I am well aware of my privilege and access, and happy to use some of it to ask that we think about ways to schedule hearings and opportunities for family and community involvement that support that involvement.

When possible, I hope that the various towns involved with this proposal, along with RIDE, communicate with each other about when hearings are happening, and try to make sure they don't happen on weeks when there are other big district-wide events such as Open Schools Week. I have no expectation that all of us can attend everything, but this week's event pile-up is way beyond possible for most regular folks.

In order to have consistent, inclusive family and community involvement, we really need better planning. Too many events, while better than too few, create their own frustrations that could be avoided by better planning. Moving forward, let's look at the various demands on folks' time and try to schedule them in ways that are possible for the largest possible group of people.

RIDE Public Forum on ESEA Flexibility, Monday, December 12

2011-12-05T10:55:00.000-05:00

This information comes from the RIDE email list - thought it was worth sharing for those who may not be on the list:

You are invited to join Commissioner Deborah A. Gist for a public forum to discuss Rhode Island’s request for flexibility under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)/No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The forum will be held Monday, December 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 255 Westminster Street in Providence, in room 260.

As you may know, the U.S. Department of Education is inviting states to request flexibility, on behalf of their districts and schools, in order to better focus on improving student learning. This opportunity would provide educators and state and local leaders with flexibility regarding specific requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), in exchange for rigorous and comprehensive state-developed plans designed to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity, and improve the quality of instruction.

Rhode Island is beginning to develop its request for flexibility, and the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education offers this public forum to present information about this opportunity and to request your input. Please contact Kim Bright (kimberly.bright@ride.ri.gov) with any questions about this event.

If you wish to subscribe to the RIDE mailing list, sign up here: http://www.ride.ri.gov/ride/subscribe.aspx

Report on 11/29 Providence City Council Hearing on Achievement First's Mayor Academies Proposal from Richard Purnell

2011-12-01T16:19:00.001-05:00

The following report comes from Richard Purnell, a parents of a Providence Public School student who was able to attend the Providence City Council's Education Subcommittee's hearing on Achievement First's proposal to establish two Mayoral Academies in Providence to serve student from Providence and surrounding municipalities. Commentary/clarifications from me are in brackets [like this]. Many thanks to Richard for this report!

I arrived at the council's meeting room on the third floor of City Hall a little before 5 pm - in time for me to see them setting up some folding chairs in the "back" of the room by the windows. Pretty soon it would be SRO. Linda Borg [the Providence Journal's education reporter] was front and center, Angela Romans [Mayor Taveras' Senior Adviser on Education] was nearby, and the scene was being taped [by Jessica Jennings] for the perennial documentary on educational progress in Providence. I took one of the chairs by the window, which gave me a pretty good view but - as it turned out - poor acoustics. Around 5:03 pm, I watched Councilor Zurier bring the room to order and convene the meeting with a declared quorum, knowing that I would have to leave around 6:00 pm.

Councilor Zurier explained that this was going to be conducted as an information-seeking meeting and that people would have several other opportunities soon to express their views about Achievement First (AF). Following a presentation by AF, there would be an opportunity to ask questions. He explained that there were time constraints associated with the meeting and told us what the order and manner of questioning would be, with members of the education subcommittee going first, councilpersons next, and the public last.\

The City Councilors I could clearly identify from my vantage point were Councilors Matos, Yurdin Narducci Solomon, Correia, Jennings, Principe, Zurier, and (I think) Salvatore. Others may have been there and I did not see or recognize them. I had heard from Councilor Jackson the day before that his presence would be required elsewhere at the time of the meeting, but that he would have wanted to attend. The principal spokesperson for AF at the meeting was Reshma Singh. She was assisted from time to time by a woman, Christine Lopes, and a man, whose name I later found out is Bill Fischer.

For an "exact" account of what transpired, I have been told by City Clerk Anna Stetson that minutes of the meeting will be available in a couple of weeks, at the earliest. I would also recommend Linda Borg's article in the November 30th issue of the Providence Journal for a fine synopsis of important exchanges that took place [sorry, can't find it online]. What follows will be some impressions, reactions, and afterthoughts regarding what I was able to witness over the sirens and other street noises that competed with the proceedings from where I sat.

I was impressed with the manner in which Councilor Zurier conducted the meeting and the efforts councilors made to present salient issues to the AF spokesperson. There were a few instances when things had to be "ushered" along by the chair, but this was carried out in a considerate manner. The presentation by AF was coherent and polished; there were handouts, but I think they were only available for the subcommittee members. Perhaps when I get the minutes I'll be able to obtain the handouts also.

One reaction I had was to AF's response to a question about their reputation for not encouraging or engaging parents in the "operation" of their schools. Basically, what I heard them say was that there would be a parent on the mayoral board and that would seem to satisfy that demand.

Another reaction was when Councilor Principe was questioning Ms Singh about the recent news that four AF schools in Connecticut had not made their AYPs. Her response was to point out that these schools had made great progress in test scores, but that they just were not great enough to bring them over the mark set for acceptable performance. AYPs, she said, were incredibly complex to fathom and she had recently spent considerable time familiarizing herself with them. What needed to be focused on, she said, were the great strides made by the students. I'll let the reader reflect a little on where we have heard that response before and how it was received. I also wondered about the impetus for really digging into understanding AYPs being failing to attain them. I suppose you really don't have to understand what it is you are supposed to be attaining until you don't attain it.

Councilor Principe's concentration on AF's failure to make AYPs seemed to have a very valid query: Why should a community that has schools with passing AYPs in some of its schools need to import an organization with failing AYPs when it can look to its own successful schools for answers?
One thing I was hoping to hear brought up was the low numbers of students projected to be in the classes their two schools will contain. So lower class sizes and fewer of the more challenging students gets presented as raising the bar of education in Providence. On a somewhat related note, I thought wouldn't it be grand if Walmart gave Providence (instead of AF) $250,000 for each of two elementary schools it opened with "176 students the first year." I got those numbers from an article by Linda Borg, which seemed to be based on responses from AF. I wondered at the time why it said two schools the first year when elsewhere they speak of opening a school in 2013 and the second in 2014. There's a lot that needs sorting out (as in deeper educational thinking) here.

So, to wrap things up for now, the more I see folks dig into the inner workings and long-term implications of the AF way of looking at what it has to offer Providence's needs for closing its achievement gaps, the more it looks to be a facade. The path to school reform in Providence needs to be paved with more than good intentions and hyperbole. I sincerely hope more of us will get out to these hearings on the AF proposal and think critically about what is being offered as a solution for one of our most important issues: the true condition of our public schools and what it is compared to what it should be. --Richard Purnell

Final Achievement First note of the day: per this AP report that ran on Channel 10's website, the Warwick School Committee voted last night to opposed the creation of the Achievement First Mayor Academies that would draw students from Warwick, citing concerns about cost and lack of familiarity with Achievement First.

Community Letter on Achievement First's Providence Mayoral Academies Proposal

2011-12-01T15:41:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, on Monday, November 28, a coalition of Providence City Council members (Bryan Principe, Ward 13; Davian Sanchez, Ward 11; Kevin Jackson, Ward 3; Luis Aponte, Ward 10; Michael Correia, Ward 6; Nicholas Narducci, Ward 4; and Carmen Castillo, Ward 9; community groups and citizens delivered a letter to Governor Lincoln Chafee that described their concerns about Achievement First's proposal to open two Mayoral Academy charter schools in Providence in 2013 and 2014 to serve students from Providence and surrounding communities. Click here to view the letter on Google Docs.

Meetings and hearings on Achievement First's application to open Mayor Academies in Providence

2011-11-29T18:21:00.002-05:00

Regular Providence Schools and Beyond readers will know that for much of 2011, citizens of Providence, Cranston, and other municipalities have been debating the merits and detriments of a proposal from charter management organization Achievement First to open two Mayoral Academies in the coming years to serve K-12 students. Following the Rhode Island Board of Regents’ rejection of a version of the proposal to open the schools in Cranston to serve students in grades K-12 from Cranston and Providence, Achievement First resubmitted the charter application with a view to open the schools in Providence in 2013 and 2014 to serve students not only from Providence and Cranston but also (name other surrounding towns). That proposal is front and center in Providence this week.

Yesterday, a coalition of Providence neighborhood associations, parent organizations, student organizing groups, private-sector unions, community organizing groups, and public officials (including the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization, of which I am a member) announced its opposition to the establishment of a network of Achievement First Mayoral Academies in Providence. The coalition held a rally and press conference at the State House and delivered a letter to the Governor expressing its concern about and lack of interest in the prospect of Achievement First’s establishment of the Mayoral Academies in Providence. Click here to view the letter on Google Docs. The group used Facebook to organize - if you want to join in, go here: http://www.facebook.com/events/245049805555073/. The Brown Daily Herald covered yesterday's protest nicely here.

More Achievement First news, this from Councilman Sam Zurier’s Ward 2 email newsletter: tonight (Tuesday, November 29) at 5:00pm, the Providence City Council’s Education Subcommittee will hear a presentation from representatives of Achievement First, which has applied to operate a mayoral academy charter school in Providence. Members of the City Council will ask questions, including questions submitted from the public. Councilman Zurier did not say this, but I would guess that you cannot be there, as I cannot due to work obligations, he may accept questions via email or phone calls. The hearing will take place in Providence City Hall, 25 Dorrance Street.

Next week, on Tuesday, December 6, the Providence City Council Education Subcommittee will hear the School Department’s projection of the financial impact of the new charter school if it is approved. I’ll share the time when it’s announced.

Both of these Providence City Council Education Subcommittee Meetings precede next week’s Rhode Island Board of Regents’ hearings on the proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academies. WRNI’s Education Blog reports that the hearings will take place as follows:

Wednesday, December 7, 6:00pm, Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School, 195 Nelson Street in Providence
Thursday, December 8, 6:00pm Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, 375 Adelaide Avenue in Providence

Please - whether you're avidly opposed to or in support of Achievement First--and especially if you want to know more--do what you can to learn about the financial, social, educational and other impacts these schools may have on our city. Come to the hearings and sign up for public comment - make your views known.

Info sessions for Kindergarten: tonight and 11/28

2011-11-22T15:00:00.001-05:00

This morning, PPSD's Office of Family and Community Engagement shared the flier above that shares dates for information meetings for families with children who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2012, and I am happy to help spread the word. You'll see that there was already a session today, and there's another tonight, with more on Monday, 11/28. Definitely go if you can to get answers to any questions you may have about registration!

PPSD Kindergarten Registration for 2012! January 3-February 10, 2012

2011-11-21T08:58:00.000-05:00

Heads up to families looking at kindergarten: Providence Public Schools will be registering children for kindergarten and first grade from January 3 to February 10, 2012. The registration is done alphabetically; click here for a PDF of the schedule. You can vist the Providence Public Schools' website's registration section for details about registration requirements and assignment policies.

Please spend time during December to visit schools, both those in your neighborhood (remember, Providence has a neighborhood school enrollment policy for general education students) and those outside your neighborhood that interest you. Open Schools week is 12
/5-12/8, as described on this PDF flier.

In an upcoming post, I'll revist and refresh thoughts about the value of visiting schools and how you can interpret and understand information about schools in our community. If you're curious now, check out the posts that share the labels I've given to past posts. You'll notice that in previous years, Kindergarten registration was much later in the year. It's fanstastic that registration is earlier now, and I hope that means that the process of assigning students and notifying families of those assignments will happen commensurately earlier as well. Last year (which was complicated due to the school closures), we received verification of my kindergartner's school assignment (MLK Elementary) at nearly the end of the school year. Here's hoping that families will find out much sooner and be that much less anxious during what should be an exciting time of transition.

Worries about what may happen aside, the earlier start to kindergarten registration is a great start toward improved operations. Way to go, PPSD!

Bright Night's Got Talent! Excellent opportunity for young people to show their stuff.

2011-11-18T15:10:00.002-05:00

I am happy to pass along a very cool opportunity for young performers to perform at Bright Night! Visit http://www.brightnight.org/bngt.html for all of the details - here's a bit of what's happening:

Welcome to Bright Night’s Got Talent, where you could win the chance to perform at Bright Night Providence 2012!

There are four age groups - performers are allowed two minutes in the first round (December 10) and five minutes in the second round. This contest is open to groups and individuals. The dates for the contest are December 10, & 17, 2011. December 10 will be the preliminary round, and December 17 will be the semi-finals. Winners will be awarded a paid performance as part of Bright Night Providence on 12/31/2011.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: SUNDAY DECEMBER 4, 2011 @ 5:00PM!

Visit http://www.brightnight.org/bngt.html for all of the info, and share the word so that as many young people as possible have the opportunity to participate.

Education Opportunities Working Group report released

2011-11-17T15:48:00.000-05:00

Quick post to share that the Mayor's Office released its Education Opportunities Working Group report on Monday afternoon at Veazie Street Elementary School. The report, Educate Providence, is available at http://providenceri.com/educate-providence for your perusal. I've downloaded the full 89 page report but have not yet read - will do, and would love thoughts from any of you who have had the time to dive in. What do the recommendations that resulted from the Education Opportunities Working Group's work mean for our city's schools immediately and long-term?

Alfie Kohn on the connections between play and learning

2011-11-16T11:12:00.000-05:00

At the Coalition of Essential Schools' Fall Forum last week, Alfie Kohn and Deborah Meier conversed with each other and a room full of educators and students about the value and role of play in education. In "How children's 'play' is being sneakily redefined," Alfie shared his remarks from their session with the Washington Post's Answer Sheet.

The piece is well worth a read for all of us who are concerned about not only recess (a huge concern here in Providence and elsewhere) but also the ways the rigidly defined curriculum and schedules that confront our kids in school aren't necessarily creating the best conditions for teaching, learning, and allowing them to develop into their best selves.

Providence Schools and Beyond: unpaused!

2011-11-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

After an extensive pause, today I’m hitting “play” on this blog, which I needed to put on ice for a few weeks in order to focus my energy completely on the Coalition of Essential Schools’ Fall Forum 2011, which took place last week. The shortest possible story about Fall Forum is: big success! I’ll be posting more extensively about Fall Forum and the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) in the near future.

But first, I want to share my own professional news. After working at CES for more than 12 years, which has been a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience, I have moved onto a new opportunity. I’m now the Director of Publications and Communications at Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR). ESR provides support and services to educators and school communities in areas that include secondary school redesign, school culture, social-emotional learning, and conflict resolution. I’m working on maintaining abd expanding ESR’s publications, developing an electronic product distribution strategy, and refining and expanding ESR’s communications capacity. I’m thrilled to be there and hope that what I learn can continue to inform my understanding of the opportunities and challenges that face public schools in Providence and beyond.

Blog, consider yourself unpaused. Away we go!

Teach-in: How Would Achievement First Impact Our Community? 10/19 7pm

2011-10-16T17:24:00.001-04:00

Am surfacing from this month's blog break to let people know about an event of interest this week.

On Wednesday, October 19, from 7:00-9:00pm, the Coalition to Defend Public Education is sponsoring a teach-in entitled "How Would Achievement First Impact Our Community?" to offer a forum to discuss issues surrounding the soon-to-be-proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academy in Providence. Hear from parents, educators, community members, and others who will voice their concerns and discuss ideas for the way to truly improve and defend public education in Providence and in Rhode Island. The forum will be held at St. Michael's Church located at 239 Oxford Street in Providence.

Speakers will include Caroline Apgar, New Haven teacher and graduate of Teach for America, Jennifer Davey, Cranston parent, Tom Hoffman, blogger on education issues at tuttlesvc.org and Providence parents and teachers. For more information, contact the Coalition to Defend Public Education at 401-400-0373 or email coalitiontodefendpubliced@gmail.com.

If you're on Facebook, there's an event page for the teach-in here.

Blog break due to energies elsewhere + Coalition of Essential Schools' Fall Forum happening here!

2011-10-07T07:57:00.000-04:00

As you have likely surmised from the lighter volume of posts lately, circumstances are preventing me from posting to this blog as often as I had or would prefer.

I regret this but do think that the circumstances are good for education in Providence, Rhode Island, and beyond. I am focusing my energy for the next month the Coalition of Essential Schools' Fall Forum 2011: A Conversation Among Friends, which is happening here in Providence at The Met School's Public Street campus on November 10-12. Who will be there? Adults and young people who believe that challenging learning for all students everyone can--and must--be infused not only with high standards but also with creativity, personal expression, learning from mistakes, relevance, exploration, and genuine passion.

This year's Fall Forum is going to be amazing - we'll have Deborah Meier and Alfie Kohn in conversation about the intersections between work, play and learning, Tony Estrella from the Gamm Theater leading theater workshop based on Hamlet's soliloquies, more than 100 workshops created by educators and students for educators and students, day-long visits to schools that are truly walking the walk of creating meaningful, academically challenging teaching and learning experience, and much more. I hope that you can join us. Visit http://www.essentialschools.org/events/8 for Fall Forum information, links to registration, and everything else.

Here's a special offer for Providence Schools and Beyond readers. The Coalition of Essential Schools is making the large endeavor of Fall Forum happen with a small staff, and we're seeking volunteers who will be able to attend Fall Forum for $100, a significantly reduced rate, in exchange for 6 hours of work. Most volunteer shifts will happen during the second week of November and, of course, the conference itself. You can download the Fall Forum 2011 volunteer flier here or email fallforum@essentialschools.org to let us know you'd like to volunteer to make Fall Forum happen. Feel free to spread the word about this; we have lots of interest in volunteer spots and a limited number of them. I'd love for some to go to local folks who want to connect with educators and students from around the country who will be in Providence to share what they know works best for our schools for the long haul.

So - I may pop in and post from time to time but don't count on anything regular until the second half of November. In the meantime. please visit the links to the right, and for Providence education news particularly, read Tom Hoffman's Tuttle SVC, the ProJo's education coverage, WRNI's education blog, ESPEC's blog, whatever WSPEC is saying and doing, and keep your eye on Aaron Regunberg's columns in GoLocalProv - definitely do not miss his piece published today on Achievement First.

This Digital Life - October 2011's East Side Monthly Column

2011-09-28T06:36:00.001-04:00

My education column in October's East Side Monthly focuses not on school but on learning as it happens throughout our lives--in this case, learning as a family about ways to live safely and confidently in the digital world. It's not yet online as I write this though it may be as you read this--click on the link back there in the previous sentence to see it in context once it's available, or keep reading.
--

This Digital Life

Recently, our family traveled internationally. My kids left the country for the first time, a fantastic experience that allowed them to see the world from an alternative perspective, hear the business of daily life conducted in a different language, and, because we didn’t purchase international data plans for our phones, interact rather more than usual with their father and me. This unanticipated benefit revealed how habitually we tend to peek at email and other information served up on our little handheld devices. This is a real boon, as it untethers us from our desks, but it also chips away at sustained interactions with our kids—not to mention each other and the world around us—in ways of which I had not been particularly thoughtful.

Now that we’re back in Providence with data flowing freely, I’m incorporating aspects of lessons learned from our analog week to our daily lives. After absorbing the insight my inadvertent or intentional uses of interactive technology teach my kids about the role and value of technologically mediated communication, I’m committed to spending far less time and attention monitoring messages while we’re together. This, of course, increases my chances of thinking an uninterrupted thought, and one of those thoughts prompted me to wonder about the ways family members can learn from each other about our increasingly digital lives.

To get my head around this issue, I connected with local experts Trevor O’Driscoll, Wheeler Middle School’s dean and creator of Wheeler Middle School’s parent technology handbook, Anisa Raoof, founder and publisher of Kidoinfo.com, and David Niguidula, educational technology researcher and founder of Ideas Consulting. In addition to their professional perspectives, they live what they learn: O’Driscoll, Raoof, and Niguidula are parents of kids ranging in age from preschool to college. Here are some of the takeaways:

According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, 93 percent of children in the United States between the ages of 12 and 17 are online, and that online connection increasingly comes from any form of technology that has a screen. The days of using a desktop or laptop to get online are long past. For many parents and educators, this ubiquity of social media may make us feel like we’re at the fabulous hub of technological innovation—as Anisa Raoof put it, like “kids in a candy store.”

While this newly digital life feels tempting to many adults, it’s the native habitat of our kids. Many adults formed interpersonal and work habits without the current presence of ever-present connectivity. Our kids are digital natives who can help us understand our world now, and in turn often need help understanding how to navigate it. Parents and teachers can help by “modeling good behavior,” says Raoof. “As parents we need to set boundaries for ourselves. What messages am I sending to them if I behave as if it’s okay to be online all the time? It’s extremely important to have boundaries that apply to everyone in the family.” The analogy of teaching kids about building lifelong healthy nutritional habits applies.

Henry and R2D2 IRL

At the same time, expressing interest in our kids’ online lives allows us to become more fluent in the online world’s opportunities and challenges and helps parents stay connected to our kids’ interests. All three experts strongly advocated situating online access in a family’s public spaces when possible in order to encourage family interaction as well as visibility. Raoff notes, “Putting the computer in kitchen works well for us. When my kids use it, we can have a discussion. I am right there and they are excited to share what they find with me.”

Online access made visible to parents also allows us to coach our kids to make good decisions about their technologically mediated interactions. The best filter, Trevor O’Driscoll suggests, is between a kid’s own ears rather than site blocking software, and that filter is best installed through family conversations. “First of all,” says O’Driscoll, “You have to know what kids are expected to do and want to do with technology. Adults in kids’ lives have to stay up to date and everyone needs to keep talking. If we never have the conversations with kids, then they have no guidelines. If your decision is to ban online access or install site blocking programs, that will backfire, because when you release them into the wild, which will happen sooner or later, they will have no concept about how to filter any of this independently.”

David Niguidula offers another useful analogy, suggesting that teaching kids about how to conduct healthy online lives is similar to teaching children to be safe drivers. He explains, “You’re in control of a machine that is very cool and gets you to places you want to go. The skills and understanding about how to work that machine doesn’t come automatically; adults need to teach levels of safety and consciousness. We want kids to have the ability and benefits, and that requires training and conversations about behavior and an awareness not only of your own actions bout also about what everyone else could do.”

Your family may already have agreements and ongoing conversations about your online lives. If your family is more like mine and could use some help thinking more coherently about the benefits and possible pitfalls of online interactions, here are a couple of resources: check out Common Sense Media at www.commonsensemedia.org and the Family Online Safety Institute at www.fosi.org. In whatever way makes sense, you do take the time to talk with the people in your life about how to be smart digital citizens.

Providence Schools need a clear, equitable staffing plan

2011-09-22T15:45:00.000-04:00

With her permission, I am posting a letter that Providence Public Schools parent Lorraine Lalli sent to Nina Pande, Acting President of the Providence School Board, cc-ed to all school board members and Superintendent Susan Lusi. Lorraine and I have kids who attend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, the school that she describes here.

The problem Lorraine outlines - that PPSD needs clear guidelines for school staffing - applies to all schools within the district. Please read Lorraine's letter and consider adding your own thoughts about ways to use resources as equitably as possible throughout our school system. The professionalism of King's principal, Derrick Ciesla, and the school's staff members go farther than one could ever expect to ensure good conditions for teaching and learning, but without appropriate staffing, the situation at King is precarious, and the situation is likely to repeat at other schools if we do not adopt and adhere to clear staffing guidelines.

Dear Ms. Pande,

I am writing to urge the Providence School Board to implement a staffing plan for Providence Public Schools that indicates clear guidelines about when a school needs the support of a second building administrator. This staffing plan is essential to ensure adequate staffing resources in the District's Elementary Schools.

Currently, my children attend the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School ("King"). This school was greatly impacted by the closing of other District schools at the end of last academic year. As a result, enrollment at King increased by about 25% (120 students) to over 620 pupils for the 2011-2012 academic year. When the School Board voted to close Windmill Elementary, it was explained that approximately 100+ students would be reassigned to King School. The determination of King's ability to service additional students from Windmill Elementary was at all times dependent upon an additional building administrator, namely an Assistant Principal, being assigned to the school to support a larger student body. This additional building administrator was never assigned. Resources saved from the closing of Windmill School failed to follow the impacted students as expected. As a result, King does not have adequate administrative staffing.

While I am sensitive to the budget realities of the Providence School District, I am disappointed by the failure to provide the administrative support necessary to ensure the success of the students at King School. While we currently have an unassigned teacher serving in the role of "Special Assistant to the Principal" this in unacceptable and inadequate support for our students. Highly-qualified professionals should be serving as administrative leaders in our buildings.

At this point in time, it appears that the District leadership is unwilling to make an affirmative statement about when a school should have additional administrative support. That is why I urge the Providence School Board to adopt guidelines for administrative staffing of schools. Best practices from the National Association of Elementary School Principals indicate that an assistant principal should be assigned where enrollment is over 400 students. Past District practice was to assign assistant principals where enrollment was over 500 students (i.e., Veazie Street Elementary). If the District is unwilling to assign administrate support where it is so clearly needed, then the School Board must establish a policy that dictates when an assistant principal is necessary.

The students of King School need the support of highly qualified teachers and administrators. While I have complete confidence in our Principal, Derrick Cielsa, additional administrative support is needed to service a school of our size. This week, I learned that one of our strongest building staff members, Reading Specialist Susan Martin, has been hired as an Assistant Principal at Woods-Young Elementary School. Ms. Martin has been at King for 11 years, providing essential support for the under-resourced King school above and beyond her assigned duties. The loss of Ms. Martin makes the need for additional administrative support at King even more urgent.

Some important factors to consider about King School:

Our current enrollment is well over 600 students. This includes two self-contained special education classrooms and an inclusion class at each grade level.
Since last year, we have an additional 120 students, increasing our student population by approximately 25%. Increases were heavier at the higher grades levels, with a doubling in size of the fourth and fifth grades.
We have 7 new faculty members, with at least one new faculty member in each grade from first to fifth. Our overall faculty size increased by over 10%.
Although we have met AYP, last year 30% of our students did not meet proficiency in reading and 53% were below proficiency in math. We must continue to make academic improvements and need the full support of the District to continue our progress.
The latest InfoWorks data indicates that 71% of our students qualified for free or reduced lunch.
Our school is over 80% diverse. We have the one of the highest (if not the highest) percentage of African-American students, at 40%.

As a parent, I urge the School Board to take a leadership position in defining adequate staffing levels for our elementary schools by adopting a staffing plan for the District's elementary schools.

Thank you,

Lorraine Lalli

City Council teachers contract hearings this week - please participate!

2011-09-19T07:11:00.002-04:00

I am passing on a message from Karina Wood, executive director of Better Providence, about several important public education-related meetings happening this week. Please attend if you can and help spread the word. Thanks!

FYI, also from Better Providence, you can download and read the full text of the proposed teachers' contract here (PDF download).

From Karina:

It is super-important that lots of parents from all across Providence come to the following Council hearings and meetings this week at City Hall and speak out on the teachers contract.

Issues to raise could include:

teacher hiring policy: is the Criterion-Based Hiring (interview) agreement in this contract null and void because all vacancies will be filled internally with the teachers who currently have no positions?
no recess time allocated in school day
abolition of site-based management
no parent-teacher meetings required in school year
school day lengthened by just 5 minutes this year and to just 15 mins in 3 years' time
no improvement in restoring art and music to our schools

MONDAY, 9/19, 5:30pm: The Education Subcommittee Hearing is at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, City Hall, 3rd floor, on TEACHER HIRING PRACTICES as codified in the new teachers contract. Public comment will be taken. Parents and all PVD residents are encouraged to attend, express your views and ask questions.

TUESDAY, 9/20, 5:00pm: Council Finance Committee meets, 3rd floor conference room, City Hall -- Council's Internal Auditor will present FISCAL AUDIT OF THE NEW TEACHERS CONTRACT.

WEDNESDAY, 9/21, 5:30pm: PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TEACHERS CONTRACT, City Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall. Parents and all PVD residents encouraged to give public comment.

If you can only come on one night, the most important one is the PUBLIC HEARING on the Teachers Contract on WEDNESDAY, 9/19, 5:30pm.

Please let me know if you are able to come and please forward this information to others.

Thanks!
Karina

Help Save Central Falls' Library! Adams Memorial Library Gala, September 30

2011-09-16T17:43:00.001-04:00

Please join my friends from Leadership Rhode Island and many others at Central Falls' Adams Memorial Library Gala on September 30 at 6:30pm. It's going to be a fabulous night for a cause that could not be better. As Central Falls struggles financially, services are being cut and its library is at immediate risk of closing. Here's some of what you will enjoy at the Gala and ways to help:

The Fundraiser will be held on Friday, September 30, 2011 at the Adams Memorial Library, 205 Central Street in Central Falls. The evening will begin at 6:30PM with live entertainment by Steve Palumbo, music by Broad Street Ceilli Band featuring members of Pendragon & Freinds, hors d'oeuvres by Tom's Market, open bar from Bartending by Dennis, special appearances by Big Nazo and Ten 31 Productions, and an opportunity to bid at our Silent Auction with items from local businesses and artists. We are asking our immediate and expanded community to support this event by becoming a donor to our silent auction.

Visit the Adams Memorial Library Gala web page for the full line up of fun, and please do what you can to lend your support. Please join us to preserve a safe spot for learning and literacy!

Never stop learning: Idealist.org grad school job fair in Providence, 9/20

2011-09-15T06:24:00.002-04:00

I'm passing and fully endorsing a suggestion from my friend Kath Connolly, who suggests that you consider visiting Idealist.org's graduate school fair, happening September 20 in Providence.

And here's some words from Kath on why you should go if you have any inkling that graduate education might be in your future, and why you should help spread the word:

Idealist.org, an organization which is near and dear to my heart, is having one of its AMAZING free Grad Fairs in Providence next week. Representatives from 70 different grad school programs that some how are connected to doing good will convene in Providence on Sept. 20 to talk with anyone who is interested about their programs. I've been to these events a few times and it is a really interesting mix of education, policy, advocacy, research, etc. and a wide range of content areas. It is a great way for folks who are not even sure about grad school, but are doing some soul searching about career paths and next steps. It is really interesting to walk around a room with so many different options and think about what feels resonant.

Here are the particulars:

Idealist.org Grad Fair

Sept 20

5-8 pm

Brown University, Andrews Dining Hall

Brown Street and Cushing Streets, Providence

more details: http://www.idealist.org/view/fair/P8wZb9WtMKh4/

Thanks for the heads-up, Kath!

Volunteer Opportunity: Inspiring Minds' early elementary literacy initiative

2011-09-08T17:49:00.006-04:00

In the September 2011 issue of East Side Monthly, I wrote about the powerful work that Inspiring Minds (formerly Volunteers in Providence Schools) is doing to improve early elementary students' literacy skills in a very big way across Providence. The link to the article online is here, and a version of it is below. Read one, read both - and then appreciate the teachers and adults in your life who made it possible to do so and consider seriously whether you can contribute an hour a week to make a real difference in a young person's life and learning.

--

Hey, you. Yes, you, reading this column right now. I’m about to ask you to channel your general good will toward children and your belief that education has the power to transform us individually and collectively into action. Misanthropes should flip the page. There’s nothing here for you.

Have the cynics moved on? Excellent. For the rest of you, I have a specific proposal: go back to school. The best thing you can do to support meaningful teaching and learning is to spend time inside a school on a regular basis. It’s the only real way to comprehend the opportunities and challenges that confront schools and the people who work and learn in them. A perennially red-hot topic of public discourse, education actually quite difficult to talk about because so many of us already feel saturated with information about schools. We constantly see portrayals of schools in our media. Most of us have put in plenty of time as students. Many of us are currently or have recently been parents of schoolchildren. A healthy number of us have worked in or with schools at some point in our careers.

The evidence that a thoughtful person can glean from these exposures is meaningful, but it’s not enough to understand the specific challenges of teaching and learning in today’s schools. Schools of all sorts have changed enormously since many of us spent time in them as students. Most parents have some sort of contact with their kids’ schools that generally happens during the trailing edges of the day or one-off events designed specifically to welcome visitors. The only real way to understand the opportunities and challenges that today’s students and educators face is to be with them as often as you reasonably can.

By dint of reading this column, you have definitively established your bona fides as a non-cynical person who cares about young people, but you may nonetheless be thinking that I am asking quite a lot of you. Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that you drop everything and start hanging out at your neighborhood school. Please, don’t do that. I am suggesting that you consider volunteering with Inspiring Minds (formerly and sometimes still known as Volunteers in Providence Schools, or VIPS) for an hour or two a week helping Providence’s early elementary schoolchildren to become proficient readers by third grade. Without any prior training or skills--with simply the desire to show up on a consistent basis--you can help ensure that children that you work with have the skills they need to become lifelong learners.

I talked with Executive Director of Inspiring Minds Terri Adelman about “The Time is Now: Proficiency in Reading and Math by Third Grade,” Inspiring Minds’ flagship program that is committed to focusing the powerful resource of adults who are willing to spend time with kids in kindergarten through third grade working on literacy and math skills. Describing the purpose of the program, Adelman said, “Study after study shows that for lifelong academic success, it really matters that kids know how to read by third grade. Until then, their work is to learn, but after third grade, that kids need to use their literacy skills to gain critical knowledge and information. So learning to read by third grade is essential so that our kids are able to do well in school and graduate as well-educated citizens.”

Driven by the conviction that the best use of its resources--primarily the human resources of volunteers--is to ensure that all early learners are getting the help and support that they need, Inspiring Minds focuses on younger elementary school children Inspiring Minds aims to accelerate the learning of those young students who need extra support. Working in collaboration with the Providence Public Schools in ten elementary schools, the program pairs volunteers with students who have been identified as likely to benefit from added support. During this school year, Inspiring Minds aims to match 800 students with volunteers, who receive training and ongoing support. In future years, Adelman hopes to expand the “The Time Is Now” program to reach students in every elementary school citywide.

Inspiring Minds volunteers work with students two to three times a week, though individual volunteers can be one member of a team and therefore spend time with the child with whom they are matched once a week. More hours are great, but not necessary. The impact of volunteers’ work is powerful: data collected during prior implementations of the program demonstrate that children who participate in “The Time is Now” program learn 30 percent faster than their peers who don’t get extra help.

An hour a week. Maybe two. I know how hard it is to find that kind of time, I really do, and I acknowledge that not all of us have it. But just consider the clear impact that an hour or two per week working on reading and math with eager young learners can have not only on them but also on you. If the commitment really is too much, and I can understand why for some it may well be, I still urge you to contact Inspiring Minds to offer your help. There are ways that you can participate in the life of a school less intensively, and the organization itself needs support so it can continue to thrive.

For many of us, the good karma alone is likely enough. In case you need more, you’ll have the opportunity to spend time in a school gaining insight into the lives of teachers and students today that you can get in no other way. We need more citizens with that insight.

Welcome to Mamapedia readers!

2011-09-07T08:22:00.001-04:00

Hi to all, new readers from Mamapedia, which today features "Heading to Kindergarten," a version of the starting kindergarten post I shared here recently. And to returning readers, too, of course. Thanks, nice people at Mamapedia!

"Heading to Kindergarten" refers to a photo of my son Elias that didn't make it onto the page, so here he is! Rather, here he was - this little kindergarten kid is now a tall, confident sixth grader starting middle school.

If you're wondering what's up with no recent posts here: getting three boys ready for and launched into the school year plus, you know, life/work/everything has been what's up. It's been one of those weeks when the business of actually having kids in school has expanded into any available time to write about school.

New posts are coming on subjects that will include the recent education goings-on here in Providence and beyond, helping kids stay organized and motivated in the face of homework, transportation policies and kids' safety, making family decisions about thoughtful interactive technology use, and more.

First Day of School - Wednesday, August 31 (hurricane delay!)

2011-08-26T16:53:00.000-04:00

So, turns out my kids might have been a little bit right when they predicted that the first day of school wouldn't happen due to Hurricane Irene. Just got a call from PPSD saying that the first day of school is not Tuesday, August 30. It's now Wednesday, August 31, with a make up day scheduled for Friday, January 20, 2012, a day already set aside for make up.

Stay safe, everyone.

Messer Elementary School at Bridgham: Help Needed Monday, 8/29

2011-08-26T06:33:00.001-04:00

Judi Jeroslow, West Side Public Education Coalition volunteer, passed on this request for help on Monday, August 29 to get Messer Elementary School at the Bridgham school building ready for the first day of school. Happy to share it! From Judi:

As we enter into the weekend, I want to put out a call for anyone who can lend a hand on Monday, August 29th, at the Bridgham school building (1655 Westminster Street). We'll be planting plants and flowers, painting classroom numbers on the pavement outside, and hanging maps and mascots around the building. If you have a free hour or two and want to help out, please let me know. School starts Tuesday and we're hoping to make it easier for those little kids to navigate around that big huge building on their first day of school. Thanks!

p.s. If anyone has a pickup truck and is willing to help haul soil, please let me know!

If you can help or have resources to contribute, please contact Judi via email or post a comment here and I'll pass it on.

Providence Public Schools first day: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 (but will be we UNDERWATER and BLOWN AWAY???)

2011-08-25T07:01:00.005-04:00

Leo making the academic magic happen on the first day of school.

Sometimes I peek at the stats to find out what brought people to this blog. #1 on the search terms for the past few days: variations on "first day of school Providence."

The first day of school for the Providence Public Schools is Tuesday, August 30. You can go to the Providence Public Schools website at http://www.providenceschools.org and download a 2011-2012 school year calendar, a PDF in English and Spanish versions.

We're shifting into back to school mode this weekend: shopping for new sneakers, getting haircuts, washing backpacks, getting those last pages of summer reading done, procuring school supplies. I'm in an "all systems go" mindset, though my kids are starting to suggest that Hurricane Irene's impending arrival will cancel the first day of school. This is, apparently, a topic of wild speculation among the elementary and middle school set as they face down the first day of school from the feral camaraderie of the last week of summer camp. "But mom, EVERYONE says that there will be no school on Tuesday because we will be UNDERWATER and the schools are all going to BLOW AWAY!!!" Okay, kids.

As previously noted, PPSD has brought in extra logistical and planning support to ensure the easiest possible first day for all, an idea that seems especially fortuitous now that the first day of school may indeed coincide with the aftermath of Irene which is getting many in addition to my kids and their goofy friends all wound up--or, rather, keeping us all wound up after this week's seismic shakeup. The earthquake that rattled many schools in and around Virginia and Colorado on their first day of the new academic year triggered thousands of communities in the mid-Atlantic states up through New England to inspect buildings and review disaster planning, so perhaps this can been seem as lucky timing.

Here's hoping that despite the shakes and storms that nature is throwing at us, Providence and other communities are prepared and ready, with a focus on safety for everyone.

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

2011-08-24T05:46:00.003-04:00

Last night, we participated in Henry's Kindergarten orientation at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in preparation for the start of the school year on August 30. We feel oriented, ready for Kindergarten action and very excited!

Conversation on the playground while we were there reminded me of a Kidoinfo.com article that I wrote a couple of years ago. The original is here, and I've adapted it to reflect a few minor developments. Enjoy and please share with other incoming Kindergarten families!

--

This fall, for the third--and final!--time, I am sending a child off to kindergarten. We are very excited and a little nervous. Whether you are preparing your first child (and yourself) for kindergarten or you’re readying the next one on deck, here are some strategies to help ensure that your family is ready for this transition.

Read about it. We have a much-loved copy of Rosemary Wells’ My Kindergarten that is the star of the bedtime book routine right now. We love how My Kindergarten takes a careful look at what happens in the lives of a kindergarten student, her teacher, and her classmates throughout the year. It’s useful at all year long, and has given us a lot to talk about to help our kids visualize what life in the classroom might be like.

Visit. If you can, visit your child’s school. Each school will have its own policy, and some may welcome visits more readily than others. This time of the year is a key time for teachers to do preparation for the start of the school year, and they may not have much time to chat. But if you have not already, see if it’s possible to visit the classroom that your child will be in. Look at where the coat hooks, cubbies and bathrooms are. See where the outdoor play space is, if the school has one, and what the door that your child will enter looks like. Take a picture, if you can, to make the school feel familiar when the year begins. Many schools also offer kindergarten orientations, kindergarten playdates, and other ways for kids and parents to meet each other and their teachers before the official first day. Go if you can, and if you see your kid making friends with others, take a moment to swap phone numbers with parents so it’s easy to set up play dates once the school year is under way.

Ask questions. The school may have sent you a lot of information about transportation, food, classroom routines, but if it has not, or if you have additional questions, give the school a call. Find out when lunch is and how to pay for it, how to talk with the school nurse if your child has health concerns, what the bus schedule is like, and anything else that you may need. You may not get all of the answers you seek, but the school office is a great place to start, and a great place to make friends with the staff members who are there to make sure your kids are safe and that school is running smoothly.

Make a study space. Homework? In kindergarten? Well, maybe a little. Different schools will have different policies, but nearly all kids will benefit from having a quiet, organized space to work, think, read, draw, store valued work from school and, yes, do a little bit of homework from time to time. An orderly, well-supplied study space will become more important later on, but establishing it in kindergarten makes your little kid feel big and like she belongs in the world of big-kid school.

Don’t forget to take a picture! I often get so caught up in the first day of school frenzy that I forget to take a picture of the big event! This photo shows my son Elias saying goodbye on his second day of school, because I was so excited about getting him there on the first day that I completely forgot to take a picture. So take a moment to get your big kid’s first day on film (and hey, if it’s the second, close enough!).

Talk about it…but not too much. For us, the parents, our kids’ kindergarten debuts are thrilling milestone. And for many kids, it’s a pretty great day. But remember, many kids locally have at least a week left of summer vacation. As much as it’s important to take time to get ready, it’s also important to enjoy this time, to let your children sleep a little late if they are so inclined, to spend a lot of time outdoors, to do all the fun end-of-summer kid stuff that they can. For some kids, transitioning to a mostly-inside, fairly structured routine can be a bit of a challenge. So for now, talk about what’s coming, get ready, but also enjoy the last few weeks in ways that allow all of you to face the first day well-rested, happy, and confident that your child’s entry to kindergarten is the start of a great adventure of learning, making friends, getting to know a new place, and having fun.

Thoughts on the Achievement First Mayoral Academy proposal, charter schools, and in-district public schools

2011-08-23T08:58:00.004-04:00

I have refrained from opinionating about the pros and cons about the proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academies because I have not wanted to join what feels like one of two sides:

those that doggedly flog and endorse the proposal and seem to indicate without a great deal of critical thinking that charter schools = excellence (and in-district public schools = mediocrity)
those who vehemently resist the AF Mayoral Academies proposal and seem to indicate without a great deal of critical thinking that charter schools = evil conspiracy

As is usually the habit of truth, the reality is likely in murky gray, and really, who wants to go there in one's free time? Much easier just to pick a side, to go with a group. But I cannot. After many months of resistance, it's time to pull on the hip waders and slog through.

I'm a huge fan of many charter schools. I've worked for many years at the Coalition of Essential Schools and seen many extraordinary charter schools in action and in collaboration with many in-district public schools and independent schools. I served on the board of a charter school in San Francisco. I entered my oldest child into the lotteries for three charter schools when we moved to Providence and am very up front about the fact that if he had been selected for a spot at any of the three, he and his brothers would likely be there. It's worth noting that in every instance, these schools are "independent" charter schools that emerged from their communities for specific purposes and are autonomously run by their own boards. They're not "Mc-Charters" operated by large charter management organizations that import a model that's not connected to the school's community.

That's why I wholeheartedly support most of Rhode Island's existing charter schools. At the very least, I support their existence and in some cases, think that the work they're doing with kids is great; that said, I don't at all claim to be familiar with them all.

And I have not ever felt that my support of well-run, community-based charter schools takes away from my ardent support of public schools in general and the Providence Public Schools, where my kids and 20,000+ of their peers, are students. Our schools--already urgently in need of improvement and already benefiting from considerable assets and investments--were sorely battered and bruised this past school year. We need to do all we can to address shortcomings and build on our strengths. I am passionately in it for the long haul as a parent, a community member, and, to the extent that it's useful, education professional, to do just that. A strong public school system that serves all kids in all neighborhood with the highest levels of quality, caring, and equity is absolutely imperative. It's maddening and frustrating that I or anyone else would even have to assert that, but of course we must, over and over and over.

Now that Mayor Tavera s and the Providence School board have endorsed the proposal to create the Achievement First Mayoral Academies that will serve 900 Providence students, we will need to amplify the volume of that statement radically. I report these developments not with outrage but with urgent questions about the ways the opening of Achievement First Mayoral Academies will affect students who remain enrolled in Providence's public schools. Here are a few:

How will the Achievement First Mayoral Academies will be an asset to all current and future PPSD students (as well as Cranston's public school students)? Will there be collaborative relationships and knowledge sharing established such as that between the Learning Community and Central Falls Public Schools? Or is this strictly a competition?
How will students be recruited and selected so that the newly opened charter schools don't skim off the "cream of the crop?"
How will the schools' culture, governance, curriculum, approaches to discipline, and other elements reflect our community's hopes and dreams for our children? How much room is there in the Achievement First model for local input?
What will be the real long- and short-term financial impact on Providence Public Schools' budget and students?
How will the newly opened charter schools avoid the effects of (re)segregation that has been the effect of many charter schools nationwide? Evidence abounds for this: see reports from Minnesota, California, and Florida for a sense of this effect.

These are questions that should apply to all existing and future charter school that enroll Providence students. They are questions that I expect elected and appointed policy makers to ask and to insist on evidence that demonstrates that all students in Providence will attend better schools as result of these proposed new charters.

School Board and City Council education subcommittee meetings this week + more

2011-08-22T09:54:00.000-04:00

Week before school starts and it's all PPSD-related meetings meetings meetings. Here are a few that have hit my post-vacation radar:

Tonight - Monday, August 22

Providence School Board Meeting, 6:30pm, 797 Westminster Street, 3rd floor: The School Board will meet to discuss a number of issues including the potential participation of Providence in the Achievement First Mayor Academies being proposed for Providence and Cranston. School board meeting agenda available here. Arrive early to sign up for public comment if you have thoughts on any of the agenda items or if something else PPSD-related is on your mind that you want on the record.

Parents Advisory Council meeting, 6pm, Family Resource Center, 379 Washington Street: The Parents Advisory Council (PAC) is a gathering of representatives from all Providence public schools. If you are interested in joining the PAC to represent your school, please join us! I have been a PAC member for several years and will be representing Nathan Bishop Middle School during the coming year.

Tomorrow night - Tuesday, August 23

City Council Education Subcommittee meeting, 5:30pm, Providence City Hall, 3rd floor: The School Department will report on issues related to the reopening of school, including the length of the instructional day, assignment of children from closed schools and the teacher "match" process.

Wednesday, August 24

Rhode Island Jobs for Justice Cranston parent rally, 5pm (or perhaps 6pm) onward: A series of rallies is planned in Cranston for families in that district to stand up for their schools. May be of interest to Providence folks with an interest in what's happening with the proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academies. More details here at Tuttle SVC.

What we did for our summer vacation

2011-08-22T07:03:00.001-04:00

Family vacation: victory!!!

Happy to say that Providence Schools and Beyond has returned, or more properly, I have returned from vacation to write it.

We went to Montreal for the week. Loved every minute of it. Took the Metro everywhere, learned a very little bit more French, really enjoyed seeing the world from a different perspective.

We experienced much but of course left wishing we had many more days to explore and get to know Montreal. I left obsessed with RESO/La Ville Souterraine, Montreal's underground city tunnel network. It is AMAZING, the largest underground network in the world. Elias and I walked for nearly an hour down there one night and barely covered any of it. It links well over a hundred kilometers of hotels, malls, supermarkets, shopping centers, apartments, government buildings, civic centers, arts and cultural buildings, all connected by Metro stations. As long as you pop up to the surface to get some vitamin D from time to time, you really could live down there - not that you'd really want to since Montreal is so fantastic but on a very cold and snowy day, I totally get the appeal, and just think that such a massive urban planning effort as a citywide underground network is supercool.

Drove home through the Lake Champlain area into Vermont, stopped at the Ben and Jerry's factory and spent the next day at the Shelburne Museum. Also very excellent. And now we're back for the last week of summer vacation for the guys - school starts August 30.

On Vacation

2011-08-14T21:47:00.002-04:00

Be back the week of the 22nd! Let me know if the PPSD earth shakes this week and I'll catch up when I get back.

PPSD's first day of school: time for PPPPPPP

2011-08-12T13:08:00.002-04:00

The association between "first day of school" and "emergency" is unsettling. That said, help is good. A calm, well run first day of school (and all subsequent days) is great. Coordinating Marine logistics in Iraq might well be adequate preparation for May Col. Pete Gaynor to help ensure that teachers and students--along with their buses, cafeteria tables, books, and everything else--are in the places that they're supposed to be.

"Providence schools to get help from emergency manager," from yesterday's ProJo news blog:

PROVIDENCE -- Providence Emergency Management Agency Director Col. Pete Gaynor will assist the School Department with the opening of school Aug. 30.

Gaynor will maintain his position at PEMA while he takes on this temporary role. He will not receive any additional compensation for his service.

To provide expert logistical support, especially to schools and students most affected by the closure of five schools this year, Interim Supt. Susan Lusi is drawing upon Gaynor's nationally recognized logistics skills.

Gaynor is working with Lusi and other school leaders to make sure supplies and supports are in place to help students, parents, teachers and administrators start the year off on the right foot.

"Colonel Gaynor is a tremendous asset to the City of Providence," said Mayor Angel Taveras. "His unique expertise in coordinating large-scale operations and training in logistics management will provide PPSD with an extra layer of support in making sure that the first day of school in Providence goes off as smoothly as possible. Students, parents and teachers deserve nothing less."

"I greatly appreciate Col. Gaynor's willingness to share his skills and abilities with us," said Lusi. "The last few months have been a challenge for everyone at the department and having this extra layer of support will ensure efficient operations and a smooth opening for all of our schools. This is priority number one for our team."

Gaynor, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, has participated in military operations in numerous theaters, including Iraq, where he was responsible for daily operations with I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) in the Al Anbar Province.

Gaynor began meeting with School Department administrators this week and expects to continue working closely with the team through the beginning of September.

--

*PPPPPPP: proper prior planning prevents piss-poor performance

Providence Teachers Union contract in full

2011-08-11T06:34:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday, the members of the Providence Teachers Union voted with a robust majority in favor to ratify the contract discussed here and elsewhere previously. Here's the ProJo's report on the outcome.

BetterProvidence has posted the full text of the contract (PDF download) for your analysis, distraction, enjoyment. Not for me to judge. You have your fun and I'll have mine. Since this blog constitutes one of my main pastimes, infer what you will about mine.

Ready to Learn Providence free high quality preschool opportunity for 4 year olds

2011-08-10T08:21:00.003-04:00

If you're a Providence resident with a child who will be four by September 1 and are interested in an option for pre-Kindergarten, visit Ready to Learn Providence's website to find out about the Rhode Island Department of Education's highly rated preschool program, which runs five days a week all day. You can also find information about additional locations. You can learn more about the program here.

The program takes place at the Liston Campus of CCRI on the south side of Providence and is free, with additional locations elsewhere in Providence and Warwick. Applications (PDF download) are due by August 15.

Hope High School students: what did you do this summer? Read on to find out!

2011-08-08T11:42:00.000-04:00

Summer can be a tremendous time for learning for students, as evidenced by the intense projects on which some Hope High School students have been working. During the past month, students from Hope High School's H2O After School programs participated in "The Experience," a four-week program in which they honed their entrepreneurial skills as product developers and marketers. Channel 6 ABC news reported on their efforts, and if you're on Facebook, you visit Hope H2O's Facebook page to learn more both about "The Experience" and Hope H2O's work in general.

And as I've written about previously, other Hope students in Edinburgh, Scotland to perform Laurie Brooks' "Triangle" at the American High School Theater Festival that's part of Edinburgh's Fringe Festival. They're performing this week, so send excellent vibes across the ocean! Recent local press coverage from GoLocalProv is here, and Rhode Island College's PR office covered the production in detail here; both Christine Auxier, a drama teacher at Hope and "Triangle" director and the production's technical director, Alonzo Jones, are RIC grads. Jones is also a Hope High School graduate.

Rock on, Hope High School!!!

Back to School Guide from KidoInfo

2011-08-05T06:56:00.001-04:00

Thank you, Kidoinfo,com, for compiling your school-related information into a school guide. It's a really great way to get your head back into the game. And the game is gong to start soon - Providence Public School's first day is Tuesday, August 30.

My kids go to day camp for most of the summer, unless we're all off for vacation together or one or another child is visiting relatives, so most of the time, our summer routine isn't dramatically different from the school routine. But it's definitely more chill - no homework, no jackets (not to mention gloves/hats/boots), no "do you have that items you need for that thing you are doing afterschool" discussions. The start time is the same for my elementary-age kids but my middle school son will have to get the party started an hour earlier.

And it's summer, with all of the conditions that pertain thereunto. It's light out later, dinner has drifted later, we're just all more laid back. So yes, I definitely feel like I need to get my head back into school mode within the next few weeks. Those of you who are searching for info about back to school, first day of kindergarten, talking with your kids about what's happening at schools, etc. (and I know from the site statistics that many of you are searching for that info) will find the Kidoinfo.com's school resources to be a big help.

What will the new PPSD-PTU teachers contract mean for teaching and learning?

2011-08-04T11:36:00.001-04:00

Mayor Taveras' August 2 announcement mentioned in the previous post focuses mainly the tentative agreement between the Providence Teacher Union and the City on the teachers contract, on which PPSD teachers are voting today (click here for a PDF version of a letter from Providence Teachers Union president Steve Smith that contains the announcement of the vote).

Each side seems to have given big to get big in certain areas. The union agreed to criterion based hiring to replace hiring/classroom assignment controlled by seniority. The city agreed to nearly all fired teachers keeping their jobs. The city nets $53 million in savings as a result of the agreement, which in our current dire financial situation is, of course, the big win. As former school board president Kathy Crain argues in GoLocalProv, the contract doesn’t seem to contain significant improvement in the conditions it establishes for teaching and learning, so no big wins for students.

Since this is a follow up post to thoughts about the length of the school day, it’s worth noting that the contract itself doesn’t expand instructional time in any meaningful way, other than adding 5 minutes a year to the day over the course of three years. Not nothing, but not really something either.

Additional stipulations of the new tentative agreement that have been released are provided by the Mayor’s announcement and reported by the ProJo, Providence Business News, and other outlets.The contract itself has not yet been made available to the public.

Last but definitely not least, take a few minutes to review the list of reactions and questions about the new contract that Better Providence is compiling on Facebook. Very thoughtful. I want to know the answers and thank Better Providence for asking for more clarity.

PPSD Middle/High School Common Planning Time/Early Release: No More

2011-08-04T11:00:00.003-04:00

Update to the previous post about Councilman Zurier’s upcoming hearing about PPSD’s practice of releasing middle and high school students early in order to accommodate the need for teachers’ common planning time: an announcement from Mayor Taveras’ office released Tuesday states, "...the district will immediately increase instructional time by ending the practice of dismissing students early every week to accommodate state-mandated common planning time."

That’s it? Well, okay then.

The City Council Education Subcommittee's August 23 5:30pm hearing, according to email that Councilman Zurier sent to constituents, is still going forward to "review other issues related to the re-opening of school this fall, including the assignment plans for children who were in schools closed this Spring, and the “match” process by which teachers from the closed schools were assigned new positions."

The Mayor’s August 2 announcement focused mainly on the recently negotiated contract with the Providence Teachers Union. More about that in the next post.

Common planning time and early release - seeking alternative solutions

2011-08-02T09:18:00.000-04:00

Ward 2 City Council member Sam Zurier is holding a meeting on August 23 that will focus on the impact of common planning time on middle and high school schedules. Last year, middle and high schools released students early to accommodate common planning time for teachers. For more on the effects, reactions, and possible repercussions of the early release time, please see GoLocalProv's "Providence Schools Violated State Law."

Here's Councilman Zurier's invitation, which is extended not only to parents but also to anyone who would like to comment on or learn more about the impact of common planning time on instructional time:

I would like to give you a heads up that the City Council Education Subcommittee will be holding a meeting on Tuesday, August 23 at 5:30 p.m. It will take place at City Halll on the third floor. The purpose of the meeting is to ask the School Department how it is going to handle common planning time in middle and high schools this year, with the hope that they have found an alternative to the early release program they ran last year. I am hoping that some parents can come to the meeting to express their concerns with last year’s program.

On the role of parents as kids' media swamp guides

2011-07-28T07:13:00.003-04:00

We were going to take the kids to the beach on Sunday, but rain and threats of thunderstorms killed that idea. Plan B emerged: movie at the Patriot* which is no longer called the Patriot by its management but is and probably forever will be the Patriot to the rest of us. Us, that day = kids who are 14, 11, 10, 8, and two 5 year olds and their parents including me whose ages are perhaps not so relevant.

So what to see? Much of the discussion centered on what might be suitable for the younger kids while still entertaining the older kids, not to mention the shall-remain-ageless adults. In case you're curious or even if you're not but nevertheless intend to finish this paragraph, please know that we ended up at Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides which was maybe a little scary for some 5 year olds but these particular two 5 year olds are each third children and have already been sullied fairly thoroughly by traversing the rough path through media swamp charted by their older siblings. Two of the adults of the party had already seen the movie and signed off, so off to the Patriot we went. It was Johnny Depp-a-riffic which is all I really need to be entertained for $2.00 on an overcast Sunday afternoon.

possible manifestation of media awamp angst (image from http://roberthood.net)

Back to the what-to-see dilemma: I knew there was a sensible web site out there somewhere on the internets that would guide us but could not remember it at the time. I have since, thanks in large part to The Washington Post's Answer Sheet blog today, which mentions Common Sense Media's resources for parents and educators, which include a easy to understand at a glance and fairly neutral guide to movies and their suitability for children of various ages. Not that I will always follow its dicta; Common Sense Media recommends that kids ages 12 and up see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides which clearly didn't happen for us.

In addition to more reviews of games, apps, tv shows, websites, books and music, the site also offers useful media education tools targeted to various ages (including adults). As my own kids start to wade more deeply into the aforementioned media swamp, I'm glad to have access to advice about ways to manage online privacy. Parents should also check out the section for educators--because of course that is what we are--which include more focused resources on digital citizenship.

I'm glad to have this resource now, because I've been thinking some but not doing a lot to figure out how to teach my own kids to use and think about media responsibly. Our main tools right now are our judgment, the clock, and the off button. My kids watch tv (rarely live, usually what's recorded on the DVR or streaming from NetFlix and somewhat parent-approved, though we do watch sports live, usually as a family, with a long-help family habit of muting the volume on the ads), see some movies with us, use the internet fairly sparingly, and play on our iPhones and their apps in various amounts (not such much most of the time and a whole lot during long car trips). I've been guided by my own judgment mostly, and we use time as the main way to control their media consumption; for example, during the week, they can watch tv and/or use the computer on their own from 6-7 or so (dog walking/head clearing/dinner making time in my world). But I don't have any illusions that I can control the media they bump up against outside or for that matter inside our house, so we need to help them make good decisions, and we need to be aware of what's out there.

I would really love to hear any responses you have about what you think of this topic, tools or guides that you use, your family policies about media use, anything related.

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* $2.00 second-run theater in East Providence. Although last weekend, that Tom Hanks movie Larry Crowne was playing which is weird because didn't it just come out?

Hope to see you at the Save our Schools Rally and March, Washington DC, July 30

2011-07-25T07:00:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, July 30, my son Elias and I will be in Washington DC representing the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) at the Rally and March for Education and Justice, part of the Save our Schools March and National Call to Action that's happening this week. You can visit the SOS site for details on all of the events, which are taking place both in DC and nationwide from July 28-July 31.

During the SOS Rally and March on Saturday, I'll be at a CES table on the Ellipse. I'd love to see any Rhode Islanders/Providence Schools and Beyond readers, so please stop by and say hi! I'll have lots of info about CES's upcoming Fall Forum, our annual conference that will take place November 10-12 in Providence, and will generally be hanging out and enjoying the positive energy of thousands coming together to stand up for education that focuses on the long-term needs of young people rather than the short-term demands of high-stakes standardized testing.

WSPEC info sessions and soccer tournament for Messer/West Broadway students and families

2011-07-21T17:36:00.002-04:00

Three cheers for the work of the West Side Public Education Coalition as it rallies the community to support the students of Asa Messer and West Broadway Elementary Schools as they transition into the Bridgham Middle School building (which will be called what? Bridgham Elementary?).

With support from the Mayor's office, PPSD and other organizations, WSPEC is holding a soccer tournament and info sessions about the renovations being done to the Bridgham building this Saturday, July 23 and next Saturday, July 30 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm at Mansion Field next to the fire station at Messer and Union Streets. Read more about the events here on WSPEC's website.

This feels to me like the exact right thing to do. Transitions such as this one require not only resources but strong, clear communication about what's happening our kids as they're assigned to schools, and WSPEC is stepping up to make sure that happens.

Moonlighting - thoughts on homework

2011-07-20T07:15:00.003-04:00

This is a version of my August East Side Monthly education column, which the editors titled "Moonlighting" (way better title than I came up with originally!). It's not online yet but is out and about in the neighborhood.

Moonlighting

There is so very much to love about summer: the beach, the sun and perhaps at the top of list for many parents, students, and teachers, the long, homework-free evenings. As I write this, school has only just let out for the year, and I am thoroughly enjoying not having to inquire about the status of homework. I expect that every one of this summer’s 65 homework-free nights to be just as delightful as these first few.

The uses and limits of homework are on my mind now because our kids are stepping into phases of their educational careers that will demand more of them. Our youngest son starts kindergarten, his third-grade brother faces the NECAP tests for the first time, and their oldest brother enters middle school.

Truth be told, in terms of the sheer volume of homework, I don’t have much about which to gripe. Last year, our elementary school kids had ten to 20 minutes a night, with a bit more demanded of our fifth grader from time to time. The work--worksheets, most of the time--provided a glimpse into what the kids were doing in class.

Rarely, however, was the homework joyful, thought provoking, or work that really needed to be done at home. That dullness tended to confirm my suspicions about homework’s futility. Research and advocacy supporting the case against homework from outspoken critics such as author Alfie Kohn (The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing) and filmmaker Vicki Abeles (“Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture”) intensified my own anxiety about homework.

As much as I am glad to be free of the homework grind for the summer, I wouldn’t want to do away with it entirely come fall. As kids do homework, parents and other adults (I’m thinking of afterschool program staff, who carry much of the homework-helping load) can observe their choices, coach them to improve, and give them a high five when they ace a question. Homework provides opportunities to see kids think and work through challenges. Of course, time spent on homework would be more valuable if the homework itself were more engaging and meaningful.

When my oldest son was in Ms. Abrames’ kindergarten class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, he had one or two homework assignments per week, generally fun, manageable projects. He counted the number of light bulbs in our house and charted his findings or, with our help, created a family tree. These homework assignments were fun for a five-year old and easy for most families to support.

Just as we felt like we were getting the hang of what was expected, one mid-November assignment felt radically different. Ms. Abrames asked the children to keep a moon journal for a week. The task was simple: go out every night, look at the moon, and draw pictures of what you see. Parents could record kids’ verbal descriptions. After dinner every night, we put on coats and hats and went in search of the moon. Leaving the house with a little kid at that time of night was truly exciting (parents with young children in the Don’t Get Out Much Fellowship, you hear me, right?). During the school day, the kids shared their data and observations in a collaborative study of the moon and the night sky.

The moon journal homework held special significance for me because I had the same assignment in graduate school. As I worked toward a Masters of Education, I took in a course taught by Eleanor Duckworth, the author of The Having of Wonderful Ideas: And Other Essays on Teaching and Learning. Professor Duckworth asked us to keep moon journals that were fundamentally the same as those that Ms. Abrames assigned to her kindergarteners at King. We used them similarly immediate and concrete ways, pooling our data and observations in class to arrive at collective insights about our understanding of and assumptions about the moon. Professor Duckworth employed the moon journals to help her students internalize the irreplaceable value of direct experience and evidence in the act of learning.

Useful and meaningful homework--really any school-related work done outside of class--should share the qualities of both moon journal experiences. Ideally, homework should not always rigidly insist on the “right answer.” It should foster independent thinking and effort, and the out-of-school setting really should make a difference to its successful completion. Perhaps most of all, just as the moon journals were essential to the classroom experience, homework should be tied to the in-class learning that happens the next time teachers and students convene.

Of course, not every assignment will blow the minds of young people. There’s a role for homework that reinforces and builds on what kids have learned, and not every assignment will thrill and scintillate. But there certainly is room for improvement.

Finally, it’s worth noting that “more, faster, better” is the mantra in many schools. Expectations are high all around and continue to rise. Kids need to be prepared for this, the twenty-first century, as they traverse the achievement gap and prepare themselves for uncertain futures. School structures such as expanded school days and longer, block-scheduled classes allow time both for instruction and the kind of independent work, necessary for learning, which is often assigned as homework. Ideally, kids should have the opportunity to work on essential schoolwork in school while also having the time to create art, perform music, and run around at recess. Their learning would improve and families’ frayed nerves would be soothed. I suggest that we use the extra time and peace of mind to go out and gaze at the moon.

Got Carter (meet our new dog!)

2011-07-19T17:08:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, I'll be back to posting about schools, schools, nothing but Providence (and beyond) schools but today I want to share why posting has been a bit light lately. Meet our newest family member!

This is Carter, our new dog who we adopted last week from Big Fluffy Dog Rescue. He's great! We are all delighted with each other. We'll be working with him and a trainer so he can learn a few city-dog skills so perhaps I'll expand into canine education coverage (just kidding).

Welcome Back to Providence, Dr. Lusi!

2011-07-18T06:40:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Dr. Susan F. Lusi, who today steps into her new job as Providence's Interim Superintendent. I am delighted that you're here and eager to support you as you start your work leading Providence onto new strengths.

An item from the Woonsocket Call that mentions Dr. Lusi as the Woonsocket School Committee's first choice as that city's interim superintendent. We know now that Dr. Lusi chose to go with Providence. With Dr. Lusi unavailable, the Woonsocket School Committee chose Dr. Collette B. Trailor to fill its interim slot, which is slated to be filled permanently by the start of the school year. Best of luck to Dr. Trailor and whomever ends up in the permanent spot.

There are a number of other open superintendent spots in the state which I hope for our mutual benefit are filled by strong, collaborative leaders who are willing to stay the course and work together--and with the rest of us--to move all of Rhode Island's cities and towns forward.

National view of Race to the Top spending thus far

2011-07-13T07:27:00.001-04:00

In one of the many kinds of conversations I have with fellow education-obsessed friends and acquaintances, one person or another often asks, "So what's going on with the Race to the Top money in Rhode Island?" This post is for them.

Here's a rundown from New America Foundations' Ed Money Watch blog on the states' progress (or lack thereof) toward spending Race to the Top (RttT) funds that analyzes "Race to the Top: Reform Efforts Under Way and Information Sharing Could Be Improved," (link opens to a PDF) a recently released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the pace of RttT spending thus far, along with descriptions of the ways the states intend to use the funds to improve education.

Twelve states have received RttT grants, Delaware and Tennessee in Phase One, which awarded funds in March 2010. Rhode Island was among a group of 10 states that received Phase Two RttT award in August 2010. Of those 10 states, only four (not Rhode Island) have spent more than 10 percent of the funds thus far, well off the pace that their plans set for dispersing funds statewide to improve schools. I should note that I am not sure when the funds were actually granted to Rhode Island; on page 20, the GAO report features a chart that shows that the U.S. Department of Education approved plans for spending Year One funds of $24,812,51 on April 8, 2011.

If you want to know RttT's national ambitions and progress thus far, the GAO report is worth a perusal. While you can also dig in and find out a bit more about what's happening in Rhode Island in particular, the real value is the national context, which is across most of the states that received first and second phase RttT funding, implementation has been slow, as has the program's capacity to make a national impact on ed reform.

TONIGHT! Public meeting on the future use of Asa Messer Elementary School building

2011-07-12T15:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the last minute share: in the spirit of better late than never, here's a heads-up about a public meeting on future use of the former Asa Messer school building happening TONIGHT at the Asa Messer School Building located at 158 Messer Street, Providence from 6:00-7:30 PM.

More info here: http://cityof.providenceri.com/mayor/city-holds-first-community-forum-on-the-re-use-of

I have another meeting that conflicts but will try to stop by toward the end - would love a report from anyone who can make it for the whole thing.

Thanks, Kathy

2011-07-11T20:21:00.002-04:00

The ProJo is reporting that Kathy Crain is resigning from the Providence School Board effective immediately.

"I joined the school board because I believe that education is supposed to level the playing field," Crain said. "But over the past six months under Mayor Taveras's administration, I've come to think differently. Public education is not about children; it's about power and politics."

With tears in her eyes, Crain said that she hopes parents will take control of their children's education because it's clear that the politicians will not.

Big thanks to Kathy for standing up for what's right for kids during an incredibly difficult time. Kathy, I'm looking forward to working with you to make Providence's schools better for all kids in all neighborhoods.

Free Minds Free People today and tomorrow - stop by and say hi

2011-07-08T06:01:00.001-04:00

Today and tomorrow, I'll be at Free Minds, Free People representing the Coalition of Essential Schools and generally hanging out and enjoying a concentration of positive education energy that's descended on Providence.

Free Minds, Free People is taking place at Providence Career and Technical Academy at 91 Fricker Street. You can register onsite, and if you can't make it, follow what's happening via FMFP's blog and Twitter stream (follow #FMFP2011). I'll be tweeting as @CESNational (with an occasional comment from my personal Twitter account, @dazzlingbetty).

If you're there, stop by CES's table in the gym to say hi. And while you're there, take a minute to learn about CES and Fall Forum, our fabulous, powerful annual conference which will be happening this year in Providence, November 10-12.

no progress on 2011's schools in need of intervention

2011-07-07T09:13:00.000-04:00

Something to keep an eye on as PPSD pushes forward toward the upcoming school year: on July 4, Go Local Prov reported that the Providence Public Schools are at an impasse with the Rhode Island Department of Education in regard to the four district schools identified as requiring intervention due to insufficient progress toward academic goals. The four schools, which RIDE identified on March 29 (PDF link to RIDE press release), are Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, Hope Information Technology School, Mount Pleasant High School and Mary E. Fogarty Elementary School.

PPSD spokesperson Christina O'Reilly's statement in the Go Local Prov story indicates concern on the district's part about the way RIDE used federal guidelines to identify the schools. The district didn't submit the schools' plans within the 45 days required by RIDE, and there's been no subsequent progress, which raises huge questions for students and teachers returning to those schools next month.

For background, here's RIDE's statement on "persistently low-achieving schools," which identifies all of the schools that it designated in need of intervention last year and this. Those that the department identified last year have received $12.5 million (PDF link to RIDE press release) in federal School Improvement Grant funds for four Providence schools and Central Falls High School.

And for national perspective, look at Atlanta's test score cheating debacle and remember that standardized test scores--which are the mechanism that RIDE uses to choose which schools it designates as persistently low-achieving--are a highly imperfect way to make decisions that have such high stakes for students and their schools.

Who remembers and why does it matter?

2011-07-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

So, I took a week off there - sorry for not sharing that I would! Welcome back.

Last week, on the East Side Public Education Coalition's blog, Dr. Harlan Rich shared "Reflections on Change and 'Institutional Memory'" in response to ProJo coverage of the exodus (some by budget-cutting position elimination, some by retirement/moving on to new opportunities) of nearly all of PPSD's leadership team. Dr. Rich's thoughts on the largely untapped value of parents as key stakeholders and points of continuity/agents of change can and should be successfully expanded to include students, alumni, and community members as we face a down a new school year starting startlingly soon with a new acting superintendent, extremely strained relations between the Mayor's office and the school board, and--with all of the accompanying opportunities and challenges--without the aforementioned departed leadership team (COO Carleton Jones and acting chief academic officer Paula Shannon excepted).

Dr. Rich makes the point that PPSD has a substantial if inconsistent history of involving parents in decisions about school leadership and other planning. The district needs to stay the course on that and go much further, developing policies and a culture that systematically--across neighborhood, language, and other differences--involves and includes parents/family members, students, and neighborhood stakeholders.

Homework

2011-06-28T07:29:00.002-04:00

Elias caught in the act of homework.

I'm putting together the next East Side Monthly column about homework's benefits and limits. My daily perspective is limited to elementary school, so I'd love to hear from readers who are in or who are family members of middle or high school students about your sense of role homework plays (or does not play) in supporting young people to make meaning of what they're learning. And of course, elementary folks too, please weigh in.

My own view: homework has its limited uses. However, what makes a real difference are extended school days featuring longer classes that allow time for students to work independently or in groups with the right kind of support in suitable learning environments.

More to come. What do you think?

Message from Kathy Crain, PPSD Board President - school shut-down volunteer help needed today/tomorrow

2011-06-27T09:39:00.000-04:00

This message is from Kathy Crain, Providence Public Schools Board President, asking for volunteer assistance today and tomorrow with the shut-down of several schools that won't be open next year. Please respond to Kathy at kathleen.crain@ppsd.org if you can lend a hand.

Dear Friends/Supporters of Providence Public Schools,

As you know, many schools have undergone major changes this summer, including the closure and transfer of schools. Our financial condition prohibits us from hiring outside assistance to catalogue and move supplies and other materials in preparation for next year. Accordingly, we are asking for volunteers this Monday and Tuesday, June 27th and 28th to help out at the following schools:

BRIDGHAM MIDDLE SCHOOL: 10-20 volunteers
WEST BROADWAY AT DELSESTO: 10-20 volunteers
CARL LAURO: 10-20 volunteers

If you are available to volunteer, please email me back as soon as possible! Please feel free to pass this email along to anyone that may be willing to help out. Any all donations of time and labor are greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting the Providence Public Schools, and most importantly, our students, in a true time of need.

Best,

Kathy Crain

Providence Schools Nutrition Advisory Group via Kids First - meeting tomorrow, 11am, 7 Stars on Hope Street

2011-06-22T06:14:00.001-04:00

Serendipitously, July's East Side Monthly issue with "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Breakfast" caught the eye of Jennifer Quigley-Harris, Communications Director at Kids First / Real Food First and a parent of two kids in the Providence Public Schools.

Jennifer asked me to share the following opportunity:

I'd like to pass along an open invite to any parents, guardians, grandparents or interested community members in Providence that would like to be a part of a newly forming Providence Schools Nutrition Advisory Group for next school year to join us at a very informal first meeting on Thursday June 23rd at 11 am at Seven Stars Bakery on Hope Street.

Representatives from Kids First will be in attendance and hopefully some kind of plan for action will begin to come together to address the need for further positive improvements in the school food system and offerings district-wide.

Please bring your enthusiasm and positive attitude! All welcome.

Yes, this gathering is happening tomorrow. Jennifer mentioned that if you can't make it and would like to be part of the conversation as it continues, you should be in touch with her at jqh@kidsfirstri.org, and please spread the word to others who might be interested.

I'll be there tomorrow though will be arriving late. (Why late, you ask? I'll be coming from the Mosaic Dedication at MLK Elementary - the fabulous "We Love to Read" mosaic featured on the home page of this blog was the product of King's annual mosaic in 2010. This year: volcano! It's awesome. I'll post photos tomorrow.)

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Breakfast

2011-06-22T05:59:00.003-04:00

In response to the wide variety of reactions I've heard from parents, teachers, and kids to the Breakfast in the Classroom program that's been phased into Providence Public School Elementary classrooms this year, I wrote "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Breakfast" for July's East Side Monthly, which has hit the streets but isn't yet online. Here's a slightly longer version of the piece that's in ESM.

To get connected to the Providence Schools Nutrition Advisory Group that's being convened by Kids First for conversation and action about the challenges and opportunities of school food and nutrition, see the next post, and please share in the comments.

--

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Breakfast

I
Every morning just before we head off for school, my three bleary-eyed and crazy-haired sons eat breakfast: yogurt, cereal, milk, a bagel, waffles. On a really good day, a piece of fruit.

II
Every morning just after the school bell rings, teachers unzip coolers, one with milk and juice and the other with food: muffins, yogurt in a tube, cereal bars, or pancakes that are served in a bag at room temperature. All food is sealed up in plastic bags, unless it’s in a tube.

III
During breakfast at home, we multitask. Who has a baseball game? Is that book report in your homework folder? Yes, I am going to comb your hair! Sit still for a second, you monkey. We make lunches, sign permission slips, scan fliers fished out of backpacks. They fight over the sports section. They eat. We leave.

IV
During breakfast in the classroom, teachers and kids multitask . They take attendance, collect homework, listen to P.A. announcements. Breakfast in the classroom is available for all. Most kids eat what’s provided with little hands-on help from teachers. They throw away wrappers, wipe up spills, and grab the broom from the corner of the classroom to deal with errant muffin crumbs. Within ten minutes, the school day continues.

V
Breakfast at home happens because someone is on hand to wake the children, find the cream cheese buried in the fridge, and otherwise expedite kids through their morning and out the door. Our family represents what is possible but not necessarily what is typical. We have resources and systems that provide enough time, money, and clarity to shop for food, roust the kids from bed, and ensure that they are passably clean, dressed, and ready to roll. Some days, despite our best intentions and favorable conditions, the whole circus of our morning routine disintegrates. One kid or another abandons breakfast in favor of last-minute homework completion, a lost shoe, or a temper tantrum. That kid is hungry until lunch, or was, before the breakfast in the classroom option.

VI
According to Rhode Island Kids Count, before Providence’s breakfast in the classroom program began in 2011, 34 percent of the city’s low-income children participated in the universal breakfast program. Eighty-eight percent of Providence Public Schools’ students qualify for free or reduced price lunch. While some of those children may eat breakfast at home or en route to school, many do not. Unless they ate breakfast when they arrived at school, those kids were hungry until lunch.

VII
Prior to the breakfast in the classroom program, Providence Public Schools already provided universal breakfast—free breakfast for every student without regard to the financial status of that child’s family. Most schools served it in the cafeteria before the school day started. Kids had to get there early enough to grab some breakfast, and they had to be hungry and focused enough to eat it in the same space where all of their friends were running around, playing, gossiping, and blowing off steam before the school day started. Late to school? No breakfast. Distracted? No breakfast. Though everyone theoretically could have breakfast, not enough kids actually did.

VIII
Hundreds of low-income urban communities nationwide are implementing the breakfast in the classroom program. Food manufacturers produce items for the program that meet state nutrition standards. More food eaten means more food purchased. Follow the money, if you’re so inclined. Of course, you can also follow the money trail left by the box of Cheerios in our kitchen cupboard.

IX
Kate Keizler, parent, Vartan Gregorian Elementary School at Fox Point: “When I look at the breakfast in the classroom program, I see students who have what they need to take command of their morning, and that sets the tone for them to feel in control for the rest of the day. I see a society that is committed to making sure that kids get what they need to be ready to learn and enjoy school.”

X
Kathy Sullivan, third grade teacher at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School: “I think that the breakfast in the classroom program is a good thing because more kids actually eat breakfast, and it doesn’t really take up any extra time at the start of the day. That part is easy. But it’s not right to say that it doesn’t require extra time during the day. The kids are having an extra drink, and that means an extra bathroom trip later in the morning. We don’t have that kind of time. Kids can’t miss ten minutes of the most important teaching time of the day.”

XI
If kids are going to earn the NECAP scores needed to demonstrate that they are learning at the pace the state has set for them, they need both that breakfast and that extra bathroom break. Somehow, we need to find a little breathing room.

XII
Ellen Santaniello, parent of a second grader at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School: “I worry that our kids are being required to take mostly highly processed, sugary food at 9:00am. For my kid, this is like being given drugs. Since this program began, her lunchbox comes home nearly full, she is frantically hungry at 3:00pm, and both her teachers and I have noticed a decrease in focus and self control. I felt I had no choice but to tell her teacher that she can't participate, but now she feels isolated and ostracized while the other kids eat. Does anyone know what, if any, choice we have here?”

XIII
Does the choice really need to be between no breakfast at all and an industrially produced breakfast in a bag? What would it take to create other options?

TONIGHT! Deborah Gist at PCTA for community forum, 6:30pm

2011-06-21T13:54:00.000-04:00

Tonight!

Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist will hold a community forum Tuesday, June 21, 6:30-8:00pm at the Providence Career and Technical Academy, 91 Fricker Street.

During the course of the school year, Commissioner Gist has held community forums in every school district in the state. More info here: http://www.ride.ri.gov/Commissioner/Visits-Forums.aspx

Thanks to Better Providence for the heads up about this.

Providence School Board Seat Open - Applications Due Friday, 6/24

2011-06-21T06:15:00.000-04:00

The Providence School Board Commission announced yesterday that it is searching for candidates to fill the Providence School Board seat left empty by Phil Gould's recent resignation.

Information about the position and the process is online here in English--http://cityof.providenceri.com/mayor/commission-launches-search-to-fill-school-board-0--and Spanish--http://cityof.providenceri.com/mayor/comision-inicia-busqueda-para-llenar-asiento-0. The position's full description can be downloaded here: http://cityof.providenceri.com/efile/651.

The application deadline is this Friday, June 24 at 4:00pm. You can download the application here: http://cityof.providenceri.com/efile/1119. The application notes that interviews are likely to happen on Monday, June 27.

"The Inconvenient Truth behind Waiting for Superman" screening tomorrow

2011-06-20T20:57:00.000-04:00

Heads up for anyone who has some free time tomorrow evening. A film called "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman" will be screened at 6:00pm at the Providence Teachers' Union Office, 99 Corliss Street in Providence.

The film screening is being sponsored by the Coalition to Defend Public Education. More about the film can be found here: http://www.waitingforsupermantruth.org/

I haven't seen it but am happy that someone took on what I considered to be the misleading narrative of "Waiting for Superman." Several PPSD parents who I know have seen "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman" recommend it, so I'm passing it on.

Providence City Summer Lunch Program, July 5-August 19

2011-06-20T10:54:00.000-04:00

Starting July 5, the City of Providence will serve lunch (and, at one site, breakfast) to kids who are 18 years old and younger. Lunches are served Monday through Friday through August 19. More info on the City of Providence's website here.

During the 2010-2012 school year, 88% of Providence's school children were (and for this the final week of school still are) eligible for free and reduced lunch during the school year. The city expect to feed 5,000 kids per day during the summer at the following locations:

Davey Lopes Pool
227 Dudley Street
11:30AM – 1:30PM

Fox Point Waterpark
Wickenden Street
11:45AM – 1:45PM

George J. West Waterpark
Chalkstone/Mount Pleasant Avenue
10:45AM – 12:45PM

Joslin Recreation Center Pool
17 Hyat Street
11:00AM – 1:00PM

Harriet and Sayles Waterpark
199 Oxford Street
11:45AM – 1:45PM

Neutaconkanut Recreation Center Pool
675 Plainfield Street
11:45AM – 1:45PM

Recreation Department – Main Building Waterpark
11 West Drive
11:45AM – 1:15PM

Pleasant Street Waterpark
Pleasant Street
12:00 – 1:30PM

Sackett Street Waterpark
159 Sackett Street
11:00AM – 12:45PM

Selim-Rogers Recreation Center Pool
60 Camden Avenue
10:45AM – 12:45PM

Southside Waterpark
674 Prairie Avenue
11:15AM – 1:15PM

West End Recreation Center Bucklin Pool
109 Bucklin Street
12:00 – 1:30PM

Zuccolo Recreation Center Pool
11 Gesler Street
12:00 – 1:30PM

Elmwood Community Center
155 Niagara
10:30AM – 12:30PM

Lockwood Plaza
50 Prairie Avenue
11:30AM – 1:30PM

Billy Taylor Playground
Camp Street
11:45AM – 1:45PM

Candace Street Playground
Candace & Orms Street
10:30AM – 12:30PM

Dexter Training Ground
73 Dexter Street
10:30AM – 12:30PM

Fargnoli Park
Across 950 Smith Street
11:00AM – 1:00PM

Mattie Smith Playground
Glenham & Taylor Street
8:00 – 9:00AM (Breakfast)
11:30AM – 1:00PM (Lunch)

O’Brien Park
Corner of Regent Street & River Avenue
10:30AM – 12:30PM

Pearl Street Playground
Pearl & Providence Streets
11:15AM – 1:15PM

Riverside Park
50 Aleppo Street
11:15AM – 1:15PM

Wiggins Village
207 Cranston Street
11:00AM – 1:00PM

Donigian Park
247 Valley Street
11:30AM – 1:30PM

Hope High School Theater Students Ready "Triangle" for Scotland - performances in Providence this week!

2011-06-20T06:39:00.000-04:00

Hope students performing "Triangle" earlier this year

As previously on this blog shared here and here Hope High School's theater company will be performing Laurie Brooks' "Triangle" at the American High School Theater Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in August. Local fans and supporters can catch performances of "Triangle" this week - Hope's theater students will perform at the Carriage House, 9 Duncan Avenue in Providence on Friday, June 24 at 7:00pm and Sunday, June 26 at 3:00pm. Tickets are $10 and as Channing Grey reported in the ProJo over the weekend, "will help defray travel expenses. Students, parents and the community have raised all but $10,000 of $106,000 needed to send the students to Scotland."

"Triangle" focuses on the modern-day connections to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which happened in New York City in 1911, killing 140 workers. Hope High School's appearance at the American High School Theater Festival marks the school's third time at the even in recent years, an extraordinary accomplishment for Hope theater teacher Christine Auxier, her students, and everyone who has supported them.

Get out to see "Triangle" this week and celebrate our local - soon to be international - talent!

Summer Learning Opportunities - Providence and Statewide

2011-06-15T11:22:00.001-04:00

Related to my question yesterday about low- or no-cost opportunities for summer fun and learning for kids in Providence, I have three resources to share:

1. Providence After School Alliance (PASA) is offering summer opportunities for Providence middle school students during July. You can access PASA's summer AfterZone brochure here.

2. Mt. Hope Learning Center is offering a low-cost summer camp for kids in grades K-5. Information available here - and for more on Mt. Hope Learning Center's work, you can read this from March 2011's East Side Monthly.

Rhode Island After School Plus Alliance's Summer Learning Map

3. My friends at Rhode Island After School Plus Alliance (RIASPA) reminded me of a map that they've created that provides information about summer learning opportunities statewide; you can access the map through this link on RIASPA's site.

The summer learning opportunities map is a great source of comprehensive information about summer opportunities for kids that combine fun and learning - and for more on that, RIASPA's policy brief on summer learning is well worth a read. You can download the PDF here.

I am happy to help spread the word about other opportunities for fun, meaningful summer learning in and around Providence, particularly low- and no-cost options. Thanks for these suggestions, and I welcome more! Post in the comments or email me at jill(dot)davidson(at)gmail.com.

Interim PPSD Superintendent Announced: Dr. Susan F. Lusi

2011-06-15T10:38:00.000-04:00

WRNI's Education Blog and GoLocalProv have the news that Dr. Susan F. Lusi, the outgoing Portsmouth, RI superintendent, has been appointed as Providence Public Schools' interim superintendent. Dr. Lusi will serve as the Providence School Board conducts a nationwide search for a permanent superintendent.

This being Rhode Island, I know Dr. Lusi slightly; she and I crossed paths at the Coalition of Essential Schools long ago. Her experience, which includes work as chief of staff to two previous PPSD superintendents from 2001-2003, is well suited to keeping the district stable and moving forward. I'm very excited to welcome Dr. Lusi back to Providence and, as a member of the Parents Advisory Committee, to collaborate with her. And it's encouraging to have this piece of the puzzle in place as we start to get our minds around PPSD's future.

Providence Parks and Recreation Department summer sports programs for kids

2011-06-14T07:26:00.002-04:00

As my own kids remind me as frequently as possible, just 9 days of school left! My fifth grader has calculated that amount to the hour, minute, and second, exclusive of lunch, recess, and gym, which in his judgment "don't count." It's a thoughtful calculation, executed with confidence and accuracy. PPSD's mathematics curriculum and pedagogy in action!

Onto summer! Information about Providence Parks and Recreation Department's summer sports programs for kids can be found here, and you can click on the flier to the left for program info. The youth sports programs are free, with free lunch provided, and most are available for kids age 9-12.

In a future post, I'll pull together information about other low- or no-cost summer options. If anyone has already compiled or knows of such a list, please give me a heads up.

No Achievement First Mayoral Academies Regents' vote this week

2011-06-13T14:51:00.001-04:00

WRNI's Education Blog has posted the news that the RI Board of Regents won't be voting this week on the Achievement First Mayoral Academies proposal to create charter schools in Cranston to serve Providence and Cranston students. The vote was to have taken place at 11:00am on Thursday, 6/16; now the vote has been postponed (no date announced) and Thursday's Regents meeting will include a hearing on the charter proposal.

If you're able to attend, the Regents meeting will take place in room 501 at the RI Department of Education (RIDE), 255 Westminster Street, Providence. Sign up for public comments is at 10:30.

Say it, Helen Gym - what parents want must be central to the discourse and action about our kids' schools

2011-06-09T11:30:00.001-04:00

Philadelphia parent activist Helen Gym's op ed in CNN today, "Reformers, please listen to what parents what from schools," is making me so happy. Gym clearly defines the mismatch between current reform rhetoric and the qualities and services that matter most to parents. A small part of her piece:

For many parents, the elements of what makes a quality school seem completely at odds with the national buzz about education reform:

-- While parents talk about programs rich in the arts, sciences and history, politicians talk about covering the basics through a one-size-fits-all curricula.

-- While we talk about building critical thinkers and creative problem-solvers for a complicated and dynamic world, they talk about hiring billion-dollar testing companies that infiltrate every aspect of teaching and learning, drilling the notion of knowledge down to a single test score.

-- While we talk about smaller class sizes to help students and teachers build nurturing relationships with one another, they talk about maximizing capacity and "creating efficiencies."

-- While we talk about building an experienced, stable and professional teaching force where teachers are prepared with a depth of knowledge in their subject areas and are committed to the profession, others talk about relying on a temporary teaching force or focusing on education managers.

-- While we talk about sustainable change based upon policies that have been proved to work, politicians and the private sector demand dramatic and disruptive changes that do little to significantly improve children's educational experiences.

And in this lies the critical difference between what many parents see as their hopes for a quality school system and the politicians and billionaire venture philanthropists dominating the education reform landscape. The latter have become so enamored with the structure and management of education that they've forgotten about the substance and practice of it.

Thank you so much, Ms. Gym. I am sharing this with all of the parent activists I know so we can have a bright star to focus on and remind us what our work is really about.

Organizations that Gym mentions in her piece and/or are useful associated resources:

Philly's Parents United for Responsible Education group
Parents Across America, which I am going to connect this blog with in a more meaningful way in the coming weeks
The Notebook, for which Gym writes a weekly blog, is Philadelphia's online and print resource for independent news and views on the city's public schools and is one of my inspirations and aspirations for this blog

Celebrating Central High School Girls' Softball: Division III State Champions!!!

2011-06-09T08:11:00.001-04:00

Kudos to Providence's Central High School's girls' softball team for winning the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division III Championship! The undefeated Knights beat the Central Falls High School Warriors in a best of three series on Sunday, June 5 at Rhode Island College. The ProJo's coverage is here.

Except for the standings listed on the Rhode Island Interscholastic League's site, that ProJo story is the only coverage that I can find anywhere. Not for the first time do I wish that there were a blog or other site that covered high school sports in Providence. Calling aspiring sports journalists . . .

Providence Public Schools - one hour delay today, June 9, 2011

2011-06-09T07:51:00.003-04:00

PPSD has a one hour delay today, June 9, 2011.

I missed the Parent Link cal that came in at 6:13 (must remember to return the cordless phone to its charger in my bedroom - it always wanders off) that conveyed the news that PPSD has a one hour delay due to damage from last night's storm, which until I learned it caused damage that had this sort of impact I thought was awesomely mesmerizing. Found out when I went to PPSD's website to check a fact for another blog post (yay Central High School girl's softball!) and saw the one hour delay news on the home page.

Update: Fortes Elementary, Lima Elementary, Fortes/Lima Annex and Webster Elementary School are all closed today due to last night's storm damage.

So what's up with Providence's libraries?

2011-06-07T07:47:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, in the context of a post about Providence Public Schools' summer reading lists and the Providence Community Libraries' summer programming, I mentioned a conflict that's threatening our libraries.

For those who want to know more, WPRI's Ted Nesi ran through the facilities dispute between Providence Community Library and Providence Public Library that's triggered PCL to send layoff notices to all of its employees and may imperil community use of the library starting July 1. It's the clearest presentation that I have read of the conflict, its origins, and what Mayor Taveras, District 4 State Representative Gordon Fox, and City Council members are doing to find resolution to keep our libraries open this summer so that kids and adults can access the world of ideas.

Providence Schools' 2011 Summer Reading Lists - the actual lists

2011-06-06T07:02:00.001-04:00

These are the Providence Schools' 2011 summer reading lists for grades K-8 that I referred to in the previous post; original in PDF form is here on the Providence Community Libraries site.

Grades K & 1
Anansi books / various authors

Jamela's Dress and other Jamela books / Nikki Daly

Moon Rope and other titles / Lois Ehlert

Koala Lou and other titles / Mem Fox

One Afternoon / Yumi Heo

A Cool Drink of Water and other titles / Barbara Kerley

The Owl and the Pussycat / Edward Lear

One Leaf Rides the Wind / Celeste Mannis

Please Malese / Amy McDonald

Uno Dos Tres / Pat Mora

Just a Minute and Just in Case / Yuyi Morales

Bikes for Rent / Isaac Olaleye

A is for Africa and other titles / Ifeoma Onyefulu

Bee-Bim-Bop / Linda Sue Park

Mice and Beans / Pam Munoz Ryan

All the World / Elizabeth Garton Scanlon

Madlenka and other Madlenka books / Peter Sis

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten and other Miss Bindergarten books / Joseph Slate

Jack and the Box / Art Speigelman and other TOON books

Apples, Apples, Apples and other titles / Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

Bunnies on the Go / Rick Walton

Yoko and My Kindergarten / Rosemary Wells

We Are in a Book and other Elephant and Piggie books / Mo Willems

Seven Blind Mice / Ed Young

K-1 Spanish/Bilingual

The Party for Papa Luis = La Fiesta para Papa Luis / Diane Gonzales Bertrand

Oh, Crumps! = Ay, Caramba! / Lee Bock

Magda's Tortillas = Las Tortillas de Magda / Becky Chavarria-Chairez

Freight Train = Tren de Carga / Donald Crews

Dia de mercado y los otros / Lois Ehlert

La primera luna llena de gatita / Kevin Henkes

Uno Dos Tres / Pat Mora

Arroz con frijoles-- y unos amables ratones / Pam Munoz Ryan

Donde viven los monstruos / Maurice Sendak

Leale a su conjito / Rosemary Wells

Grades 2 & 3
Juan Bobo folktales / various authors

My Painted House or Kofi and His Magic / Maya Angelou

Frantastic Voyage and other Franny K. Stein books / Jim Benton

Going, Going, Gone! with the Pain and the Great One and other “the Pain and the Great One” books / Judy Blume

The Intrepid Canadian Expedition and other Flat Stanley books / Jeff Brown

Runaway Rice Cake / Ying Chang Compestine

Bink and Gollie / Kate DiCamillo

Around the World: Who's Been Here and other "Whose been here" books / Lindsay Barrett George

Never Smile at a Monkey and other books / Steve Jenkins

We’re Sailing Down the Nile / Laurie Kreb

Pop / Meghan McCarthy

Adele and Simon / Barbara McClintock

Bad News for Outlaws / Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

On the Road and other "Down Girl and Sit"books / Lucy Nolan

Pictures from Our Vacation / Lynn Rae Perkins

Mirror, Mirror / Marilyn Singer

The Karate Mouse and other titles / Geronimo or Thea Stilton

Chato Goes Cruising and other Chato books / Gary Soto

Lulu and the Brontosaurus / Judith Viorst

Coming to America: A Muslim Family’s Story and other titles / Bernard Wolf

2-3 Spanish/Bilingual

The Princess and the Pea = La Princesa y el Guisante / Francesc Boada

Rene Has Two Last Names = Rene tiene dos apellidos / Rene Colato Lainez

Family Pictures = Cuadros de Familia / Carmen Lomas Garza

The Bossy Gallito = El gallo de bodas / Lucia M. Gonzalez

I Wish I Had Freckles Like Abby = Quisiera tener pecas como Abby y los otros / Kathryn
Heling y Deborah Hembrook

Frederick / Leo Lionni

La verdadera historia de los tres cerditos / Jon Scieszka

Chato y su cena / Gary Soto

Carlos and the Cornfield = Carlos y la milpa de maiz / Jan Romero Stevens

Sonia Sotomayor: a Judge in the Bronx = la juez que cresio en el Bronx / Jonah Winter

Grades 4 & 5
From the Bellybutton of the Moon and other titles / Francisco X. Alarcon

How Tia Lola Came to Visit Stay and other Tia Lola books / Julia Alvarez

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and other titles / Lynn Curlee

Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School / Candace Fleming

Nory Ryan’s Song or Maggie’s Door / Patricia Reilly Giff

Turtle in Paradise / Jennifer L. Holm

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon / Grace Lin

Touch Blue / Cynthia Lord

Emily’s Fortune / Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Boys of Steel: the Creators of Superman / Marc Tyler Nobleman

Come with Me: Poems for a Journey and other titles / Naomi Shihab Nye

Masters of Disaster / Gary Paulsen

Junkyard Wonders / Patricia Polacco

Green / Laura Peyton Roberts

Erika-San and other titles / Allen Say

How I Learned Geography / Uri Shulevitz

Dancing Pancake / Eileen Spinelli

What Happened on Fox Street / Tricia Springstubb

Gator on the Loose / Susan Stauffacher

My Life as a Book / Janet Tashjian

Grades 6-8
Chains or Forge / Laurie Halse Anderson

Strange Case of Origami Yoda / Tom Angleberger

Anything but Typical / Nora Raleigh Baskin

Warriors Don't Cry : a Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High / Melba Pattillo Beals

Chasing Vermeer/ Blue Balliett

Colibri / Ann Cameron

Breadwinner / Deborah Ellis

The Graveyard Book / Neil Gaiman

Letters from Rifka / Karen Hesse

Scat / Carl Hiassen

Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf : A Year Told through Stuff / Jennifer L. Holm

Across Five Aprils / Irene Hunt

Color of My Words / Lynn Joseph

The Merchant of Death and other Pendragon books / D.J. MacHale

A Dream of Freedom : the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 / Diane McWhorter

A Single Shard / Linda Sue Park

Voyage of the Frog / Gary Paulsen

True Meaning of Smekday / Adam Rex

The River Between Us / Richard Peck

Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi

Keeping Corner / Kashmira Sheth

When You Reach Me / Rebecca Stead

One Crazy Summer / Rita Garcia Williams

American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang

Providence Schools' 2011 Summer Reading Lists

2011-06-06T06:53:00.003-04:00

Via Kidoinfo, I found info on the Providence Community Libraries' "Un Mundo, Muchas Historias/One World, Many Stories" summer reading program and the Providence Schools' 2011 summer reading lists for kindergarteners through eighth graders (FYI, that link opens a PDF - here's the summer reading list in quickly converted text form). The list offers lots of interesting titles that the Providence Community Libraries will have on hand. I don't know how the Providence Schools' list was developed nor how individual schools may plan to use it; I'll ask around to try to find answers to both of those unknowns.

A few are our family favorites; I know that Rosemary Wells' My Kindergarten will be in heavy rotation among Henry's nightly books as he gets ready for kindergarten in the fall. Many are new to me, and I suspect new to my kids, who, in addition to the rising kindergarteners, are heading into third and sixth grades.

Our incoming sixth grader is already fired up for lots of reading time this summer; he already has plans to get busy with The Hobbit, an interest sparked by what he's learning in library during school, which offers the perfect chance to say yay and thank you, school librarians! I'm interested to see titles from the list catch his eye.

Our incoming third grader was breezing through the Harry Potter books for a few months with great delight but he's slowed down. At home, he isn't reading as much as he used to, and I'm not sure why. I've been looking forward to unrushed trips to the library with him and have been eager to figure out what will capture his interest.

And as Mr. Incoming Kindergartener would tell you, he can't read yet. But he's getting very very close! He loves books passionately and doesn't let his place on the far side of the reading line slow him down. I am eager to keep him swimming in a sea of books all summer; there's nowhere he'd rather be (except maybe in a sea of Legos) and there's no better way to get him ready to learn in the fall.

Assuming (hoping desperately) that the current dispute between the Providence Community Libraries and the Providence Public Library will be resolved, we'll see you at the library this summer!

Update: Here's a bit more about Providence's library dispute.

Achievement First Mayoral Academies hearing in Providence, June 9, 6pm, Alvarez High School

2011-06-03T15:18:00.003-04:00

For those who may be following the progress of the Achievement First Mayor Academies proposal to open a charter school to serve Cranston and Providence students, please note that there will be a hearing in Providence on the matter on June 9 at 6 p.m. at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, located at 375 Adelaide Ave. in Providence.

For those who would like learn more about the Achievement First Mayor Academies charter school proposal:

Here's the latest ProJo article on the Achievement First Mayor Academies charter school proposal.
Here's a list of concerns about the proposal compiled by local blogger Tom Hoffman (and here's the link to his blog post that originally presented that list, if you prefer your PDF links in their native habitat).
Here's a Cranston Herald op ed by RI-CAN head Maryellen Butke that clarifies the way the Achievement First Mayor Academies would be funded.
Here's where you can find the proposal itself on RIDE's website

Providence people, please try to attend the hearing next week on Thursday, June 9, 6 p.m. at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, 375 Adelaide Ave. I am exceedingly frustrated that I cannot go; I have a the final meeting of the PPSD Parents Advisory Council group, of which I am an active member. This hearing is an opportunity to express whatever views you may have about possible impact this proposed charter school, which would serve up to 900 students from Providence.

PPSD middle school placement letter has arrived

2011-06-02T16:18:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, we received notification from PPSD that Elias had a spot at Nathan Bishop Middle School. He'll start there in the fall with many friends from MLK Elementary School and elsewhere--preschool, soccer, baseball, religious school, camp, the playground. Bishop is our neighborhood school, both in terms of PPSD's definition (neighborhood = kid lives within a mile and a half of the school) and in the very real everyday sense, because we live across the street (no, we don't live in the Brown Stadium).

I've written a bit about our process of identifying which middle school option would suit him best, and I think that he and his friends will have a great experience at Bishop. Mostly, I am relieved to have certain word that he'll be there in the fall.

Patiently waiting is not in my natural skill set, so I didn't enjoy this extended process of waiting to hear about middle school placement. For sure, I am not the only person who felt that way. And for sure, not everyone is as satisfied with the outcome. One of Elias' classmates who lives on the other side of the city desperately wanted a seat at Bishop. She well below spot #50 on the wait list, and she is crushed not to be heading onto middle school with her friends. I don't know how far beyond her spot Bishop's wait list extends, but I suspect there are many more.

I hope that the families who wanted to attend or remain at soon the be closed Bridgham Middle School are happy with their children's assignments. And of course I hope that all families across the city will send their newly minted middle schoolers to schools that will help their kids be their best selves as they get ready for high school and the next steps in their lives.

It will take a whole lot more than hope, of course. For those families who did not get a seat at the middle school of your choice, I hope you get involved with your kid's school and direct your passion and energy toward making it the high quality school it needs to be for your kid and all kids.

I will be right there with you; I'll be representing Bishop next year on the district's Parent Advisory Committee (PAC), which meets monthly for collaborative school improvement work and problem-solving, and I am eager to connect with representatives from the other middle schools across the city. If your kid attends or will attend Greene, DelSesto, Roger Williams, Gilbert Stuart, or Esek Hopkins, please join us at the PAC so we can work together with school staff to create the best places for our kids to learn and grow. I'll be posting next year's PAC dates here, and if you have any questions or want to talk, post a comment here or email me at jill.davidson (at) gmail (dot) com.

"Going Public" feature of PPSD graduates in June's East Side Monthly

2011-05-31T07:13:00.004-04:00

Readers on the East Side of Providence may already have seen a paper copy of June's East Side Monthly featuring profiles that I wrote of six East Side public high school students soon to graduate The cover features Hope High School seniors Ashley Davega, Alex Ahlquist, and Mike Chibante, with Classical High School seniors Alex Schmeling, Sharon Weissburg, and Dana Heng in a full-page interior photo. You can see and read the whole feature online; flip to page 22. All photos are by Amy Amerantes.

I had a tremendously fun time meeting these students and writing their profiles. Many thanks to Hope High School principal Scott Sutherland and Classical High School principal Scott Barr, who responded to my query to meet students who had made the most of their opportunities inside and outside of school gracefully and efficiently.

The common threads among all six students' experiences through their educational experiences seem to be:

consistent support from family, teachers, and members of their communities
an understanding that learning happens inside and outside of the classroom, and that it's all connected
passions and interests that help organize their learning

All six students clearly benefited from educational experiences at school and in their communities that created ample opportunity for exploration, personalization, and high levels of achievement with the right kind of support for each kid. Of course, the profiles of these students are anecdotes, not necessarily indicators of the experiences of all young people in our public schools. I cannot say whether they represent what is typical. But I can say that they represent what is possible with the right kind of caring adults, high standards, the students' own commitment to hard work, and a strong sense of identity, of who they are as intellectuals and members of their communities.

Classical's Alex Schmeling, Sharon Weissburg, and Dana Heng will graduate on Friday, June 10; Hope's Mike Chibante, Alex Ahlquist, and Ashley Davega will graduate on Monday, June 13*. I wish all of them a wonderful end to the school year and all the best for a great summer and a strong start at each of their colleges** in the fall. Thank you for showing us examples of what's possible for yourselves and all of our young people.

--

* A link to a PDF of all Providence Public School high school graduation dates is here.

** Of course, college acceptance is not the only indicator of these students' successes. Still, not for nothing, it's an impressive list:

Alex Ahlquist (Hope) - U. Mass Amherst
Alex Schmeling (Classical) - Yale
Ashley Davega (Hope) - URI
Dana Heng (Classical) - University of Vermont
Mike Chibante (Hope) - New England Institute of Art
Sharon Weissburg (Classical) - Boston University or Brown

Free Minds Free People conference - July 7-10, right here in Providence!

2011-05-26T16:55:00.000-04:00

Providence Schools and Beyond readers should check out the upcoming Free Minds Free People conference, which is happening in Providence, July 7-10. The conference is designed as a highly interactive way to bring together young people, educators, family and community members, and others to share ideas about how to create meaning and value in education.

As a parent, I am really looking forward to learning ways to be involved with my kids' schools and school system in ways that help them and all kids in Providence develop habits of mind and heart, and solid academic skills, that will carry them through all of the learning they'll do in their lives. And I'm bringing them, because the conference offers sessions for kids and childcare (yay!).

I'll also be there representing the Coalition of Essential Schools, making connections between what we're doing, especially our Fall Forum in November (also in Providence!) and the energy of the networks that Free Minds Free People is bringing together. I'm excited.

Early Bird discounts for Free Minds Free People end on June 1 so register today!

Achievement First Mayoral Academies updates

2011-05-23T17:12:00.001-04:00

I am doing little more here than saying "what he said" and pointing you to Tom Hoffman's Tuttle SVC blog for information about public meetings scheduled this week and next on the Achievement First Mayoral Academies charter proposal. The meetings are scheduled for on May 26 and May 31, 6pm each time at Cranston City Hall. For more info, read Tom's post here. Also worth reading are Tom's questions to RIDE about the application.

For those who may not be following the issue, this affects Providence public schools because the new charter schools that would open as a result would accept students from Providence. These students--and their per-pupil funding--would leave the district. This may be great news if you believe that the Achievement First will provide a better education than PPSD could offer. I am not opposed to charter schools as a way to offer high-quality options, but I don't know enough yet about the ways these schools would serve our city's kids (and Cranston's kids) to determine their value.

Given the possible impact (the schools will serve 2,000 kids!), we should be able to learn much more about these schools than the charter application indicates, and should be able to benefit from a process that allows the publicto comment on a full application rather than the current incomplete version.

PPSD teacher match event delayed

2011-05-23T16:38:00.002-04:00

A follow up and update to last week's post that mentioned the teacher-school job match event scheduled for this week. It's been postponed, ~~possibly~~ to June 6-8. I wish I could point you to info on PPSD's web site ~~or anywhere else~~ to confirm this, but info about this this change hasn't yet been posted ~~or published~~. I believe that the new dates have gone out to teachers and principals who will participate in the event, which is how I found out.

Update! The ProJo ran a news item about the match event delay on its news blog today here. From the article:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence School Department and the Providence Teachers Union have agreed to postpone a job fair for displaced teachers until the week of June 6.

Here are the new dates:

Monday, June 6, for high schools.
Tuesday, June 7, for elementary schools.
Wednesday, June 8, for middle schools.

The so-called "match events" will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. each day at a location to be announced.

The district said it is delaying the job events in order to make more openings available for teachers who have lost their jobs due to school closings. Four schools -- three elementary schools and a middle school -- will close this summer because the city is facing a $110-million budget deficit.