So what's happening today? Nemo, NECAP, Arne, Randi

So what's happening out there?

• There is a metric sludgeload of snow and ice, melting and still intact, out there. PPSD schools are back in session after days off on Friday and yesterday due to the storm known as Nemo. I know that people all over the city are still digging out, and that the streets are now hazardous not only for cars but also for the many people, kids included, who have to walk in them to get places due to unshoveled sidewalks. I am glad school is back in business today and hope that everyone on the roads is extra careful as the city continues to clean up.
• NECAP scores came out on Friday, 2/8. I don't want to dwell on them because I don't want to give them undue attention, but it's worth noting. Overall, the state as a whole went up, and Providence as a district did not. If this were being used purely as a diagnostic measure to tune up teaching and learning, I'd be more inclined to spend time and attention analyzing. As it is, feel free to do so yourself: http://www.ride.ri.gov/Assessment/NECAP.aspx
• United States Education Secretary Arne Duncan didn't come to Providence last night to discuss school safety.
• He didn't come here today either to participate in the kick-off event for United Providence (which I believe is supposed to be United Providence! with a ! I note that, but decline to reproduce it).  American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten did, though. UP (and please, can we just call it that? Without its decorative exclamation point?) is collaboration between the Providence Teachers Union and the district that is managing some of Providence's persistently low-performing schools.

Other happenings I'll get to in near-future posts (until work and life overtake me again, at least).

Full Version of November 2012 East Side Monthly piece on MLK Elementary's Possible Move to Become an In-District Charter School

November's East Side Monthly is out, with an abruptly abridged version of a piece I wrote on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School's process of applying for status as an in-district charter school. Please read the full version below, which provides a fuller picture of this development. There's more to say, and more that's happened since I wrote this, which we can get into in subsequent posts.

--

Illustration by Jessica Pollak

A Reinvention? MLK Elementary Considers Charter Status

Broadly described, charter schools are publicly funded elementary, middle, and high schools that have freedom from some of the rules, regulations, and policies that apply to other public school. With this autonomy—which allows greater control over budget, instruction, assessment, governance, leadership, student population, teacher hiring and firing, professional development, and other factors—charter schools are accountable for producing certain student achievement results. In Rhode Island, schools' charters are granted by the state. Charter schools are not part of school districts; they regulated by their own governing boards and each functions as an independent districts.

Some outspoken advocates say that charter schools will save our public schools. Others assert that charter schools will destroy our public schools. The discussion of these possibilities is endlessly fascinating, but not germane to the immediate proceedings, so let’s move on.

As this school year began, the Providence Public Schools invited all of its schools to apply to the state to become “in-district” charter schools, a process that would ordinarily have begun a year ago. Two factors created the conditions for this development. The first was the Providence Public Schools’ urgent need for more flexibility in order to create better conditions for student achievement. The second was the availability of federal charter school funding administered by the Rhode Island Department of Education. The district envisioned that such schools would work with local education and social service partners to create and implement an educational program that would serve students within Providence. This process unfolded with extraordinary haste, which was somewhat understandable in order to capture an opportunity, but also unfortunate, because schools have been asked to take a tremendous leap of faith while basic questions remain unanswered.

Nevertheless, several schools asked for support from the district to submit charter applications in December 2012, which would allow them to be considered for charter status for 2013-2014 academic year. One is the East Side’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, which serves approximately 600 students in kindergarten through fifth grade (and where two of my three kids are enrolled; our third is a King alum). King’s leadership team formed a partnership with The Learning Community charter school, a Central Falls school that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade. On October 1, King submitted a prospectus that described its vision for its reinvention as a charter school, which was approved on October 10. King will submit a full charter application to the state on December 1; by that date, the school’s faculty members—who would remain members of the Providence Teachers Union—and parents—whose children would remain students at King if they wish—will vote about whether to proceed with the charter application, which will go forward with majority approval by both groups.

Derrick Ciesla, King’s principal since 2009, believes that the potential upside for the school validates the risks of moving quickly. If King were an in-district charter school, the school community would have the opportunity to make decisions that would improve students’ academic achievement while bolstering family involvement. Cielsa says that increased independence from the district, combined with additional funding, would make possible “opportunities that we will otherwise never benefit from or have access to, namely, funding for special programs, more teachers, support staff, new books, computers, and equipment.”

Ciesla also views the charter possibility as a way to have more control over student population. Like most public elementary schools in Providence, King is designated as a neighborhood school, which means that it may enroll up to 80 percent of its students from a neighborhood zone defined by the district as a mile around the school. However, due to school closures at the end of the 2010-2011 school year, district enrollment decisions, and other factors, well more than half of King’s students are from more than a mile away. King plans to ask for a variance to state charter law in order to remain a neighborhood school and to use the charter process to accelerate school improvement so that King indeed remains (as it has been for many years) a school of choice for the diverse families that it has served for, in some cases, generations who come in part though not entirely from the East Side. “My goal is to close the achievement gap,” says Ciesla. “I want to do that with the students we are serving now as well as whatever students of whatever ethnicity we may serve in the future.”

King will convene several community conversations at which staff members, current families, and interested neighbors can gather to give input, ask questions, and understand the potential benefits and risks, including the benefits and risks of remaining a school that serves its neighborhood, however that may be defined. The school will also include parents on the team that will write the charter application.

“Everyone at MLK agrees that the most important thing here is to educate all of our children to the best of our abilities,” Ciesla notes. “It doesn't matter what background our students come from. I want to give each of them a solid learning foundation that will provide them with the chance to succeed in their education and in the rest of their lives.”

PPSD in-district charter process - the questions

This post is a recap and expansion of the questions I asked yesterday about the in-district charter school process that is now unfolding within PPSD. In subsequent posts, I'll share answers and information as it becomes available.

• What are PPSD's specific motivations for introducing in-district charters?

• Why is this happening so hastily? Teachers found out about this in some (all?) schools with almost no time to consider before voting to move forward. Potential partner organizations had a week to respond to indicate interest in the partnership possibility, which may have limited the capacity for strong potential partners to respond.

• What exactly is required of school communities on October 1? Per RIDE guidelines (online at http://ride.ri.gov/Commissioner/charterschools/applications.aspx) the December 1 application deadline is clear, but the October 1 deadline is not mentioned.

• Are schools submitting applications to become in-district charters in the 2013-2014 school year, or 2014-2015?

• Why is this happening with a lack of clear information from the district? What are PPSD's plans for putting out a FAQ or other document that clearly briefs the public on this process?

• What's the specific plan and timeline for parent/family involvement in terms of finding out more, collaborating with school-based planning teams on the charter applications, and, of course, voting. 

• What are the specific requirements for parent votes? RIDE regulations say that more than 50% majority parent vote is required for a school to convert to charter. What is the mechanism of the vote - is it 50% of parents/family members who show up for a meeting or 50% of all parents/family members? When in the process does the vote occur - before, simultaneous with, or after the faculty vote?

• What happens to the neighborhood status of these schools? Do they become schools that have no neighborhood zone and to which any student in the district can apply?

• What will be the governance structure for these in-district charters? Will they have their own boards or be part of PPSD and the Providence School Board?

• How will the teachers of these in-district charters be represented by the PTU? Will they negotiate individual school-based contracts with the district?

PPSD in-district charters - some info and questions (updated)

Without any time for a meaningful post, here's today's ProJo article on in-district charters in Providence, which is the first meaningful description I've heard about this initiative. Bits and pieces of this keep floating by my parental and professional radar and I (and many others) have a long list of questions.

Okay, story first, reproduced in full below (online here):

Schools given the chance to become chartersSo far, nine have accepted invitation by superintendent who intends to shake up system

By LINDA BORG JOURNAL STAFF WRITER 

   PROVIDENCE –– The Providence schools superintendent and the president of the teachers’ union are about to embark on a groundbreaking experiment that will change the way students learn in some of the city’s 42 public schools.

   Every school is being asked to become a district-operated charter school. In a system where more than half of the schools are identified as chronically low-performing, charter school status would enable schools to tap into federal money and have greater flexibility over everything from the length of the school day to the way the school day is divided.

   Susan Lusi, together with Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith and School Board President Keith Oliveira, are promoting the idea of district-operated charters, which would give principals greater say over what happens in the classroom without sacrificing union protection for teachers.

   Charter schools were originally designed to serve as incubators of reform, but that collaboration never took hold in Rhode Island. Lusi wants to change that and combat the often negative perception that charters operate outside the traditional public school system.

   “I think Providence is leading the way,” said Kathy Christie, a spokeswoman for the Education Commission of the States, a national clearinghouse on education policy and research. “You can either moan about charters or you can take the bull by the horns. It’s laudable.”

   Charter schools were originally designed to serve as incubators of reform, but that collaboration never took hold in Rhode Island. Lusi wants to change that and combat the often negative perception that charters operate outside the traditional public school system.

   “I think Providence is leading the way,” said Kathy Christie, a spokeswoman for the Education Commission of the States, a national clearinghouse on education policy and research. “You can either moan about charters or you can take the bull by the horns. It’s laudable.”

   Christie says there aren’t many districts, outside of post-Katrina New Orleans, that have embraced charter schools as a way to jump-start reform. New Orleans turned over a large number of its public schools to national charter school operators after its buildings were devastated by Katrina. 

  Lusi says she wouldn’t impose charter status on any school that wasn’t willing. State law prohibits it. To become a charter, 65 percent of the school’s teachers must vote yes and a majority of parents have to do the same.

   Nonprofit organizations such as Inspiring Minds were always asking Lusi what they could do to help. One day, she woke up and said, “What if I just say yes?”

   After years of watching the latest school reforms come and go, Lusi recognizes that the district can’t do it alone, especially given the enormous cost of turning schools around.

   Each Providence public school that becomes a charter has to find a partner –– another charter like Times2 or the Learning Community or a nonprofit like Inspiring Minds or the Providence After-School Alliance. The partner doesn’t have to be in Providence.

   While the district alone doesn’t have the capacity to make systemic changes, Lusi says, an outside partner brings additional resources to the table along with a fresh perspective.

   “Central Falls,” she said, “showed all of us that there were positive ways for charters and districts to work together.”

   Given the us-versus-them attitude toward charter schools, Lusi was pleasantly surprised when nine Providence schools said they were willing to pursue charter school status. This was especially encouraging given how roiled the district last year when Mayor Angel Taveras fired all of the district’s 1,900 teachers. (They were all rehired.)

   While Central Falls is an exception, many school districts in Rhode Island have traditionally been hostile to charter schools because they are seen as competition, siphoning students and resources away from the traditional public schools.

   Witness the deep-seated opposition last winter to Achievement First, a charter-management operator that successfully applied to open two elementary schools in Providence.

   While Central Falls is an exception, many school districts in Rhode Island have traditionally been hostile to charter schools because they are seen as competition, siphoning students and resources away from the traditional public schools.

   Witness the deep-seated opposition last winter to Achievement First, a charter-management operator that successfully applied to open two elementary schools in Providence.

   With so many schools under the gun to improve student achievement, Lusi knew she had to do something to shake up a system that has remained largely unchanged, despite wave after wave of reform.

   “People don’t think they have permission to think outside the box,” Lusi said Tuesday. “Symbolically, this is a signal to think outside the box.”

   Providence and many other districts, she says, have been trapped by the notion that school has to look the same in every building: 50-minute periods, a 6.5-hour day, 26 students per class. It doesn’t, Lusi says. There is no research that says that the old agrarian model of learning works. In fact, there is a growing body of research that says schools should fine-tune their instruction to meet the diverse ways students learn.

   Providence has already begun to tinker with tradition. This year, most of the city’s high schools have a longer day. They have also adopted a class schedule with longer blocks of time. Some schools are toying with the idea of offering a Saturday academy or afterschool enrichment programs.

   Providence has already begun to tinker with tradition. This year, most of the city’s high schools have a longer day. They have also adopted a class schedule with longer blocks of time. Some schools are toying with the idea of offering a Saturday academy or afterschool enrichment programs.

   Lusi says charter schools do three important things that the district needs: create a school culture that is warm and welcoming, bring in partners with innovative ways of looking at teaching and learning, and attract additional resources. About $5 million in federal money is available for new charters.

   Providence is facing a tough deadline, however. The nine schools that have applied to be charters — seven elementary schools, Nathan Bishop Middle School and E3 High School — have to submit preliminary information to the state Department of Education by Oct. 1. The final applications are due Dec. 1.

   Smith, the teachers’ union president, could not be reached for comment this week.

My top-of-mind questions:

• Why is this happening so hastily? There may be a good reason but without explanation, it's worrisome. Teachers found out about this in some (all?) schools with almost no time to consider before voting to move forward (see this from Tom Hoffman for more on that). Potential partner organizations had a week (or less, depending on when this RFP came to their attention) to respond to indicate interest in the partnership possibility. I understand the concept of carpe diem, of course, but am concerned that this incredibly brief window won't allow strong partners time needed to respond.
• Why is this happening with a lack of clear information from the district? Please, PPSD, put out an FAQ for the public! 
• What's the plan for parent/family involvement???
• How will the teachers of these in-district charters be represented by the union - will they negotiate school-based contracts (like the Boston Pilot Schools)?

Update - more questions that arose during the day:

• What is the specific motivation for introducing in-district charters? Why is this happening now in this way?
• What happens to the neighborhood status of these schools? Do they become schools that have no neighborhood zone and to which any student in the district can apply?
• What will be the governance structure for these in-district charters? Will they have their own boards or be part of PPSD and the Providence School Board?
• Per the statement in the article that 65% of the parents in the school have to vote for charter status. How and when will that happen? Is that accurate? Is it binding as the article seems to imply?
• What's the RIDE policy that spells all of this out? I haven't had time to trawl through RIDE's website - if anyone has a pointer, I'd be grateful.

Second update: my next post summarizes these questions and adds a couple more. Click here for that. 

My top-of-mind response:

I think that this could be a way toward greater autonomy in ways that still allow for teachers' union representation. This could be an exciting development. It's a way to get to the belief that no two schools are alike and away from the cookie-cutter policies we have now. However, it's critical we have more information and clarity. Hoping for that ASAP.

Update - additional response:

Without specific information about neighborhood status, governance, and other questions above (and questions that we haven't yet added), my reaction is more reserved than it was this morning when I wrote the above paragraph. Bottom line: NEED TO KNOW MUCH MORE. Please, PPSD, do more than post media article about this to your Facebook page. Share some coherent and comprehensive information about this process, please.

Providence Public Schools 2012-2013 start and stop times

Equally useful and intriguing, here's the full schedule of Providence Public Schools' start and end times for 2012-2013, which the district posted on its Facebook page yesterday and made available on its website as well in PDF form; click here to access it in English, here in Spanish. The version below is small and hard to read, so go download the PPSD PDFs and follow along.

The utility of this is obvious, as is the intrigue once you take a look at the middle schools. I'd love to know what's behind the "later" start at all but Gilbert Stuart? For that matter, what's with the 8:04 start all of the other days? 

Presumably, this is happening in some attempt to handle 144 extra minutes per year (an extra minute a day for 4/5 of a 180 day school year). Why? I'd love to know. I suppose it doesn't really matter how that additional 2 hours and 24 minutes will be used. Parsed out as one minute per day, that time won't have any meaningful impact for most teachers and students.

With all that deserves inquiry, conversation, and energy within PPSD, this is low on the list. But it is odd.

More interesting is the longer days at some school, which strikes me as sensible. Every school should be different to accommodate its plans and goals, and I want to interpret the variety of schedules as a sign that the district is pulling back from insisting on lock-step scheduling for all and allowing flexibility, and that the PTU is in support of the same. It seems like every varied schedule will have its own story and process.

I look at the Roger Williams Middle School schedule, which creates a longer school day 4 days a week and then an earlier release time on Tuesdays, as an indication that faculty are meeting and working on Tuesday afternoons. I'll be interested to hear whether people interpret that as early release (which it isn't - kids aren't losing instructional time as was the case several years ago when middle schools released early so that faculty could meet) and/or feel inconvenienced by this. Presumably community partners who run afterschool programs will adjust.

As for my own middle school kid, who's entering seventh grade at Nathan Bishop, I hope he doesn't see this. We happen to live across the street from the school, and it takes him just about a minute to get there, and I believe that he thinks that school starts at 8:00. He's a very letter of the law guy who often is responsible for getting himself to school on time without a huge amount of parental nudging. So he gets there "on time" which really means he has a few minutes to hang with friends and deal with whatever 12 year old boys need to deal with. If he knew that school really started at 8:06 (except Tuesdays!), he'd act on that and luxuriate in his perceived extra time at home reading the heck out of the sports section or staring into space (when I catch sight of him, these appear to be his primary morning activities). So if you see him, keep this whole schedule thing under your hat, okay? Thanks so much.

Providence Teachers Union contract in full

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.

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

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.

"The Inconvenient Truth behind Waiting for Superman" screening tomorrow

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.

When's the last day of school in Providence?

No, really. Last day of school for the 2010-2011 academic year in PPSD? Not yet decided (or at least not yet communicated). Nor is the first day of the 2011-2012 academic year. This inconveniences and frustrates, well, pretty much everyone: families, employers and co-workers of PPSD parents, community-based summer program providers, teachers and other professional staff, the district itself, the many tens of thousands of us who are directly or indirectly affected by the public schools. Huge ripple effect.

Whatever people are responsible for determining this, get it together. I know it's related to union/district negotiations. You'd think that all involved would want to score some easily-earned good will and make these two dates known so the rest of us can get on with our lives.

City Council Education Subcommittee Hearing, March 30, 5:00-8:00pm

For all busy education watchdogs/activists: the pace has been mad this week but don't let up! Make plans to attend the City Council Education Subcommittee Hearing at City Hall on Wednesday, March 30 at 5:00pm.

The Providence Teachers Union contract is the single largest municipal expenditure in Providence, and it determines a large slice of education policy and school management conditions for our children. The Education Subcommittee will invite the public to comment on the contract, including the provisions they support and those they would like to see improved.

So make plans to attend, go, learn, comment! If you're a Facebook sort, you can RSVP here.

Providence City Council teachers contract hearings, 2/17 and 2/22

Karina Wood, Interim Executive Director of the nonpartisan citizens' initiative BetterProvidence, has passed on information about the hearings that the Providence City Council is holding this week to gather information about the contract between the Providence Teachers Union and the Providence Public Schools. Here's Karina's announcement:

The contract with the Providence Teachers Union has a major effect on the cost of education in Providence and on the policies and practices by which our children learn in the classroom. The contract need to be renewed by August, 2011.

This Thursday, February 17 at 4:30 p.m., at City Hall, the City Council’s Education Subcommittee of the Finance Committee is inviting the lead contract negotiators to present the goals they have for the upcoming negotiations. Superintendent Tom Brady, Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith, and Providence School Board President Kathy Crain have been invited to make presentations and take questions from the committee. 

The public is invited and welcomed to attend. Please come if you can.

Ed Fitzpatrick wrote about the upcoming teachers contract hearings in today's ProJo, with a focus on City Council member Sam Zurier, who initiated the hearings. The ProJo's Alisha Pina also reported this story last week.

This is a unique opportunity to learn more about the union and district's aims and expectations, which will have a tremendous impact both on the ways Providence spends money not only on salaries but much more, and on the ways teachers can spend their time as professionals working toward the best possible learning outcomes for our kids. It's also a chance, as time permits, for you to offer your perspective as a citizen about the ways resources can and should be used to create the best conditions for teaching and learning in our city's public schools.
 
There will be a second teachers contract hearing on Tuesday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m.