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

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.

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

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. 

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

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!

West Side Walk for Better Schools, Saturday, 3/26, 8:00am

As a way to make visible the desire for walkable, neighborhood schools (some of which are threatened to be closed as a result of the city's recent cost-cutting measures), the West Broadway Neighborhood Association, the West Side Public Education Coalition (WSPEC), NoMADS and Project Future are inviting families and supporter to join a West Side Walk for Better Schools. The march will take place at 8:00am, leaving from Hudson Deli at 68 Hudson Street and lead participants to the 9:00am PPSD Forum that's taking place at Classical High School. Click here for details and a map; here's a link to a press release from WSPEC for more on the march.

"Why Aren't Parents Rioting in the Streets?"

NYC public school parent Rebecca Levey asks, "Why aren't parents rioting in the streets?" Her post, and a slightly different version of the same that appeared in Valerie Strauss' Answer Sheet in the Washington Post online edition, provides specific examples of why New York City students, educators and families have been, in her view, ill-used, abused, and lied to.

Is it a call to arms? I'm not sure. I'm not there and while the specific instance that pushed her over the edge is indeed egregious, so are so many other instances of inequitable treatment in NYC and elsewhere. Ms. Levey's voice joins those on other forums, such as the NYC Public School Parents blog, Leonie Haimson's Class Size Matters, and Gotham Schools, that passionately detail what's not working in the NYC public school system and what parents and the public can do to demand and create change.

Toward the end of her piece, Ms. Levey asks what many of us have often asked herself:

I used to joke about a city where private school was not an option. How quickly would the schools change if those with the most power to change them had to be part of the system? 

No joke, Ms. Levey. I want all of us to have options to send our kids where we think is best - and among those options must be a range of strong, supportive, thriving public schools.

And related: a parent/family group worth keeping an eye on, and joining, is Parents Across America, which has gathered a strong group of activists from across the United States to assert the primacy of parents in education policy and practice. Their kickoff event featuring Diane Ravitch is happening right now in NYC. Right on. Wish I could be there. Maybe someday, Providence Schools and Beyond might be a part of such a national conversation and movement.

Read this: "Rhode Island Risks Losing $4.3 Billion ‘Race to the Top’"

As the recent weather has demonstrated, when it rains, it pours. And same here: 2 blog posts in a day! I wanted to take just a minute, which is less than I have given the amount of work I've got, to share Angus Davis' statement on behalf of the Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education about Rhode Island's foolish move to cut charter funding. Read Davis' statement here.

The effect is not only to squash educational innovation here in RI, but also to put our state in serious jeopardy. We are otherwise likely to be in good standing to receive competitive Race to the Top ARRA stimulus funds. With this, as well as with Governor Carcieri's move to use the first round of educational stimulus money to plug budget holes, we're losing access to those funds, and to the advancement that will result.

Lacking the time, capacity, or expertise to get deeply into this infuriating decision, I want to inspire you to learn more. Read Davis' statement, think about it, and demand better for our young people and systems set up to educate them.

Youth Voices Forum, part 1

esterday, I particiated in Young Voices' Forum in which youth researchers presented their findings on what's happening in Providence schools. Around 125 youth and adults gathered to hear their presentation; we then broke in to small groups to review their five suggestions for change, with the charge to narrow them down to three, for which action groups will be established to create change.

The five issues were:
equitable funding formula
relevant, meaningful curriculum
academically challening, college-prep-for-all curriculum
high quality teachers
engaged parents and families

It wasn't clear which emerged as the top three though I believe equitable funding formula was high on most groups' list, and several groups repeated the suggestion to combine the 2 charges for curriculum, which I strongly support.

The work that these students have done for a year to get to this point has been impressive. They've interviewed a wide cross section of Providence high school students and have reviewed existing studies of the state of education in Providence. They're creating themselves as advocates for change around specific issues, and will be a strong player in building the demand for change.

On 2/10, we'll reconvene to learn which emerged as the top 3 issues and to plan steps for action. I'm looking forward to it. 4:30-7:00 at Cooley High School--even if you weren't there the first time, join in on this discussion about what's happening in our schools from the perspective of students, who know best what's happening and who are eager to create positive change.

Young Voices Survey + Upcoming Education Forums

I am aiming for every day posts here and realize that to do that, some days like today I need to be brief despite wanting to spend time and words and your attention in the details. So, to be brief, please to read this article about Young Voices' press conference yesterday in which they presented the results of a survey they've done about the state of education in Providence. Powerful work! It's so important to have clear evidence from the perspective of young people presented with strength and conviction about what's not working well about our schools, followed up by initiative for change.

I'm delighted and energized to see youth leadership here, and plan to attend to Young Voices' Youth-led Education Forums on Providence Schools that are scheduled to take place on Jan 27th (4:30-7) and Feb 10th (4:30-7) at the Cooley High School Cafeteria, 182 Thurbers Avenue. Their announcement says, "Everyone who has a stake in Providence schools (students, parents, teachers, community organizations, and school dept leaders) will gather for 2 Forums, out of which an actionable, 3-year plan will be created and implemented. In the 1st Forum (on Jan 27th), we will identify 3 Action Areas, and in the 2nd Forum (Feb 10th), we will identify Action Steps which make an impact in each of those areas. Then, a cross-sector Education Action Team will follow through on the Action Plan. Come partner with powerful, skilled, and passionate young people who have been working on systemic education reform for more than a year. The time is now, and your presence is critical. Please join us and more than 150 other adults and young people to move from discussion to action with real outcomes. We all need to work together, collaboratively, to bring about the change we desire. Please RSVP to Karen Feldman at kfeldman1@cox.net.

I (heart) Sandra Tsing Loh

I have been following Sandra Tsing Loh's work as an active public school parents in LA for a while, in blogs and in The Atlantic, and am delighted that she's captured her thoughts in Mother on Fire which I have ordered from Amazon and cannot wait to read because I need some solidarity, and I need it now. Loh makes the craziness of cutting through the fog of information, disinformation, rumor, speculation, and worry that comes with figuring out where to send your kids to school hilarious and totally real to those of in the middle of it.

Most of all, she is a tremendous advocate for public schools, and God knows we need as many as we can get. And she's a great model for how to let go of your angst and find what's best for your kid--what YOU think is best for your kid, not what you think you should do, even if it's what everyone else you know is doing.

Read "Who Will Save Public Schools?" in today's edition of Salon for some of what she's about. Love her. Love that she brings her superwit to this subject that is nearest and dearest to me. Hope others are reading her and getting the message.

blog purpose? and PPSD PDK report

In the next couple of posts, I am going to think out loud about what the purpose of this blog should be. I am inclined in two different directions: activism and recruitment. 

Activism: Parents Talk about Providence Schools is an online space to engage current public school family members around the challenges and opportunities facing PPSD with the explicit mission of organizing us to play an active part in improving our kids' schools and the district as a whole.

Information-Sharing: Parents Talk about Providence Schools is an online space focused  on providing and exchanging information among family members whose kids are not yet in school. This blog helps them understand and learn more about their options. It also helps family members whose kids may be in school and who seek more information about alternatives or the next phase of schooling.

Is it possible to pursue both of these missions here? I will contemplate that, too. I'd love input from anyone reading (and I know a few of you are - thank you!) about what would be useful to you.

In more current PPSD news, today's Pro-Jo covered the recent Phi Delta Kappa International PPSD curriculum management audit, reviewing the key points of the audit and Superintendent Tom Brady's reactions. "Report details racial inequity in school achievement" is in the Metro section, but it's not online (why not???); I'll link to it when it arrives when the ProJo gets around to putting it on the internets. In the meantime, find the paper edition and read it. And weep. 

Brady describes the report as a call to action; yes, though more like a scream for action. PDK's findings show that significant numbers of African-American, Hispanic, and Asian PPSD students will not demonstrate educational achievement as measured by our state's standardized test (the New England Common Assessment Program, not Placement, as the story quotes PDK's report) that is on part with their white peers unless the district dramatically interrupts its reading and math instruction.

Here's the entire report. I haven't reviewed it yet. And here's a letter from Brady that lists the overall report findings and current actions the district is taking to change practices and improve student performance. Again, I am posting this to share; I will come back with more on the report, letter, and further actions the district is taking.

And readers, if you've gotten this far, please know that when I got this far, I realized that this should be two individual posts but cannot convince by computer to cut and paste a chunk of this text to a new blog entry! Well, we're all learning as we go; I'll figure it out.