First week of school kaleidoscope (2 days down, 2 days to go)

Forms filled out. Forms forms forms. More forms.

NO PEANUT BUTTER! NO PEANUT ANYTHING! NO NO NO A THOUSAND TIMES NO!

Three trips to Staples (and one last week, too).

Label maker! Resulting, probably temporary, sense of calm and organization.

Campaign to pry information from children about what happened at school relaunched. Children proving wilier than ever. Learned little.

School drop off in a four-dimensional craze of children. Fourth grader disappears immediately. First grader clings to my hand. Mayor Taveras visiting. Trying to talk education with him and say hi to first grade teacher at the same time. Hugs and kisses and handshakes with parent and teacher and kid friends. So good to see everyone.

Homework. Realization that middle kid has apparently forgotten how to form legible letters over the summer. Realization that oldest kid has somehow figured out that writing clearly is a useful skill. Realization that there is hope.

No bus passes. No idea if/when they may be bestowed. Resulting drama brewing?

PAC meetings. Meetings meetings meetings. PTO meetings next week. All the meetings.

Kids tired, voluntarily going to bed early. I am right there with them.

Photographic evidence of second day of school:

Henry and Leo, shady characters.

Afterschool with the fabulous Adelle.

Kindergarten assignments have been made...what next?

For most of last week, I left it on the field, hence few posts here. This week will probably be similar but I will attempt to post when possible.

A couple of weeks ago, families of incoming kindergartners received letters from PPSD informing them of their children's placements. I am tuned into this mostly through my connection as a long-time parent at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, where I help school staff and students (fifth graders are the tour guides at King) to offer tours to prospective families. We have had a flurry of interest from newly assigned families and we've done our best to accommodate their desire to tour King and learn more. Though I am sure there's similar interest all over town, I am not at all sure whether people have the opportunity to see the schools where their kids will be. Ideally, it would be great for elementary schools to offer some kind of open house/orientation during this time of year, and as part of the PPSD Parent Advisory Council, I'll work on whether it's possible to build that into next year's schedule.

This is happening now because the district made K assignments far earlier than in years past. I haven't been tracking in any formal way, but I know that generally, families don't find out until June, often near or past the end of school, where their kids will be the following year. PPSD has been working on tuning up the registration process and while I have heard that there is still plenty of room for improvement, the district should get a shout out, which this is, for getting word to parents in a speedier way about K assignments.

If your kid is going to another school and you want to take a peek inside, please note, as I am sure you already have if you've read this far, that there is no formal program within PPSD for doing that kind of thing. Getting access to schools during this time of year is handled on a school by school basis and it's a crazy busy time of year. For sure, you should be able to check out your kid's assigned school but at this point, you may not be able to. I'd definitely call the school, and see if there's anything they can do for you. If you can't get a tour, you may want to ask for the name of a parent who's willing to talk with you. PTO leaders are usually willing to do this (sorry, fellow PTO people, for potentially putting yet more on your plates)

More things you can do as an incoming family:

• Ask for the phone/email of the PTO president and be in touch with her/him to ask to be put on any email list they might have. Some schools send weekly emails to families and that's a good way to get a sense of what's doing at a school.
• Ask about whether you can attend an upcoming PTO meeting or other school event.
• Ask whether the school has a Facebook group you can join. Some do. Here's a link to the MLK PTO Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mlkpto/
• Ask whether it's possible to set up a meeting with the principal or assistant principal to learn more about the school. Again, crazy busy time of year, etc., so it may be tricky. But if you have specific concerns or questions, don't just sit on them. Pick up the phone and get the info that you need.

As the mom of a kindergartner this year, I will say that it's been a super year. Henry is reading, and confident about math, and has lots of new friends. He's had a terrific year and is eagerly anticipating first grade. I wish I could guarantee it will be the same for you - can't of course. But I can wish you all the best, and whether this is your first or fifth kid heading off to kindergarten, do what you can to be involved not only with your kid but also with her/his school, not only for your own kid but also for all of the kids at that school and in the district. They need you!  But first, enjoy the rest of preschool and the summer. 

PS: For what it's worth, we'll be doing one more tour of MLK this Thursday, 5/17, at 9:30am. Please spread the word if you know people who'd like to see the school.

My email to the Providence School Board in support of Dr. Susan Lusi

Dear Members of the Providence School Board,

I am contacting you to ask that you appoint Dr. Susan Lusi as the permanent Superintendent of the Providence Public Schools. I strongly believe that her credentials and experience for this position are exemplary. 

During the past year, Dr. Lusi has led our district away from chaos and toward sorely needed order. PPSD cannot afford the interruption and disruption that will result if the you do not appoint Dr. Lusi; we need the continuity of her leadership not only for its own sake but because her work has been exemplary. Dr. Lusi is building systems that will see the district through the long haul. Her attention to dealing with back-office issues around data management and systems integration represent work that has been overlooked or poorly attended to for years. She takes teaching and learning seriously. The partnership with the Providence Teachers Union that she has forged to support a cohort of schools receiving federal School Improvement Grants represents an important collaborative step. She has the knowledge and experience to work well with the Rhode Island Department of Education.

As a parent of three children in the Providence Public Schools and member of the District's Parent Advisory Council leadership group, I can attest that Dr. Lusi communicates with parents and families confidently, compassionately, thoughtfully, and competently. Providence's public schools have benefited from the commitment, fierce focus and work ethic, deep expertise and experience, and local roots and knowledge that she has provided and will continue to bring to the job. 

Thank you for your consideration of my request to appoint Dr. Susan Lusi as the permanent Superintendent of the Providence Public Schools and for your public service.

Sincerely,

Jill Davidson 

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Please see this post for more on why it's important to support Dr. Susan Lusi and some information about the possibile alternative.

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

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.

Interim PPSD Superintendent Announced: Dr. Susan F. Lusi

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.

PPSD middle school placement letter has arrived

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.