Are snow days for learning (to do nothing)?

As of yesterday, there have been three snow days so far in 2014 for the Providence Public Schools, On such days, my kids' needs are to find entertainment and food. Mine are to find time work from home (make no mistake, I'm grateful that I can do that and know that I'm lucky to be able to do so) and a semblance of sanity. Let's just say that some days have gone better than others.

Yesterday's snow day was mostly successful. No one yelled, no one cried, and we made Bunny the Snow Individual during my lunch hour.

It wasn't perfect. We forgot to feed one kid lunch, which resulted in a 5pm meltdown which was ameliorated by an emergency bowl of Cheerios. And I got enough work done.

What we didn't figure out, and what I'm trying to determine, is whether snow days should be a time for formal learning, which some districts are considering (I have no idea whether PPSD is one of them). The most feasible method is some kind of online learning that kids would need to walk themselves through when bad weather keeps them at home.

Good idea? I am not sure. I'm appreciating the range of opinions in this New York Times Room for Debate feature, in which a few people weigh in on the topic of virtual school on snowy days. Most seem mostly for it (Khan Academy representative, your support for online learning is not the biggest shocker). One, a charter school teacher, pointed out my biggest concern, which is the lack of online access that's a real factor for many families.

I do encourage my kids to use their brains when they're home from school due to weather. They read and write and draw. They also indulge in sleeping late, board games, lolling about, and some screen time. Coming from a place of privilege and with kids who are fairly successful in school, I'm not too worried about learning loss. I just want them to keep their heads in the game a bit.

Is that the motivation for teachers? That kids keep their head in the game? Or is it to try to keep classes on pace - a legitimate concern because for so many, there's so much to cover. I'm intrigued by the idea but suspect that unless there were a much more robust technology initiative, it wouldn't work well. And I am not sure that all parents - including me on a busy work day - would have the capacity to monitor their younger and/or ditzier kids properly to make sure the work actually got done. It seems that there would need to be some meaningful communication, training, and expectations-setting for this to have a chance at doing more than keeping some percentage of kids occupied in putatively studious pursuits.

This weather thing seems likely to continue to be a thing for those of us in snowy and cold regions, so at the very least, it makes sense for all of us to have a snow day plan in place that ideally leaves a time both for family fun, some learning, and the essential work of learning to entertain oneself when school and family aren't right there to make it happen. That, I think, is the biggest lesson of all, probably worth far more than whatever math problems might get done online.

Providence public school principals - four conversations for snow day reading

Hello, snow day! Before the dual demands of the day--productively occupying my kids while staying productive at work--commence, it's time for a much-overdue blog update.

During the fall and winter of 2013-4, I wrote about the East Side's public schools for East Side Monthly, focusing on the principals of each school. Here's the full line-up:

Kim Luca, Nathan Bishop Middle School (October, 2013)

Tamara Sterling, Hope High School (November 2013)

Kristen Mercurio Lussier, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School (January 2013)

Susan Stambler, Vartan Gregorian Elementary School (February 2013)

Here on the blog, I've already featured the interview with Ms. Sterling, and will do so with the other three in the coming days.

My intention for the ESM  pieces is to keep the opportunities and concerns of public education at the forefront of conversation in Providence, and the specific intention of these features was to remind ESM's readers that we have four vibrant public school options close at hand. On a practical basis, with the limited time I have to write these pieces, an interview with the principal allows a schoolwide perspective and insight into the schools' direction. 

These four principals have more than geography in common. All are women, which is consistent with a trend of increasing numbers of female school principals nationwide (though, according to this research from RAND, the rates of promotion to principal are still higher for men (and yes, these data are dated, but I couldn't find a more recent study, at least not at this moment while the snow day clock is ticking)). All are also fairly new on the job, with two or fewer years in their current position--though their experience levels vary widely, ranging from a first-time principal to a principal with many years of administrative experience. This was consistent with principal tenure at schools serving disadvantaged populations, which tend to have high principal turnover; on average, principals serve fewer than three years (Center for Public Education). I hope that all four principals break that trend and choose to/are able to stay on the job so that their school communities can feel the impact of their thoughtful, collaborative leadership.

It was a real pleasure to meet all of these school leaders, and I was grateful for their time. 

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).

There IS school in Providence on Monday, March 7

Quick post from vacationland. No school this week for the kids, went with the kids to NYC today to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, was fabulous and on top of much of interest--including the local angle that the Intrepid was decommisioned in Rhode Island at Quonset Point--it was Star Wars day and Henry was multo excited.

That's where my head is at. Hate for too many days to pass without posting here, and have been meaning to post since Thursday night that PPSD has decided that Monday, March 7 will be a school day for kids. It had originally been slated as a teachers-only professional development day but that's no more. Smart move to try to make up a bit of ground lost to all of those snow days. So un-mark your calendars accordingly.

More soon!

snow day--->snow week

I didn't post earlier because there was a snow day today, and I just learned there's a snow day tomorrow. I am not second guessing PPSD's decision to close schools either day. I don't have the info the decision makers there have nor do I know all the factors. Nevertheless, as I've described previously, I worry.

I worry about the learning loss that's happening. When I was fretting on Facebook earlier today about this, my friend Robyn, who teaches kindergarten, commented that January is usually a great month for learning and momentum for her kids, but not this January due to all of the interruptions.

I worry about kids being safe, warm, and fed. I don't know how many kids rely on breakfast and lunch at school, but I know there are such kids at every public school in Providence and many other towns. I don't know how many kids live in homes struggling to keep the heat on, but I know they're out there. I hope those families are getting what they need and that all of us are finding ways to help. One way is to make a donation to Keep the Heat On, a heating assistance fund that's a project of Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.

And I worry about families that must be scrambling for childcare as parents and other caregivers figure out how to get to work.

This is not to say that we should be asking teachers to hit the roads when conditions are awful, or put kids on buses, or ask them to walk what are often long distances, or to ask families to risk bad road conditions to drive kids to school. A parking ban, to allow plows to go through, is necessary, and that's enough to prevent teachers from parking at many schools. It is what it is, and what it is is a necessary evil and a frustrating situation for many.

Okay, enough winter whining. Onward.

Voices from Last Night's Regents' Diploma Hearing

As I mentioned yesterday, I wasn't able to be at the Rhode Island Board of Regents hearing on the proposed changes for Rhode Island's high school graduation system. I'm gratified to post a report on the evening from Aaron Regunberg. Aaron, a junior at Brown, is a force for good in politics and education. He recently worked as an organizer on Angel Taveras' campaign and is actively supporting Hope High School students as they fight to maintain the schedules and structures that allowed them favorable conditions for learning. Here's his report:

What I saw at the hearing tonight was at the same time one of the most beautiful and the most frustrating spectacles I've experienced in a long time. On the one hand, it was absolutely inspiring to see so many different Rhode Islanders come together to fight for the type of education system they believed in. The PCTA auditorium was completely packed--there were students, parents, teachers, administrators, concerned citizens, black and white and brown, all protesting with one voice. That in itself should be pretty powerful evidence; one speaker said that he had never seen such a consensus, that he was there fighting next to people he had never agreed with before. And of course, it was particularly powerful to hear so many students committed enough to their education to come out on a freezing night like tonight to speak truth to power.

But as beautiful as the protest was, it was also immensely frustrating, because I had seen it all before. This was the third such hearing, not counting the initial mass protest in Narragansett at the beginning of the month. And none of these outpourings of anger, none of the valid and rationally articulated criticism had seemed to have any effect on any of the decision-makers. I was at the Regents' work session last Thursday, and listened as the Commissioner told the Board that nothing any of these different stakeholders had been saying was valid because it was all based on a belief that minority students are not able to achieve.

This shockingly ignorant statement allows these people to dismiss all of the arguments that students, parents, and educators are making--that tying graduation to a single test is horrifying; that even if it weren't horrifying in general, the NECAP is a horrifyingly bad test to use as it was designed specifically to not be used to test individual achievement; and that creating a tiered diploma system is inequality incarnate.

That's what everyone was saying. I just don't think the Regents particularly heard.

Thanks, Aaron (and happy birthday!).

The other big news story from last night's hearing--the first, as Aaron reported, was the powerful presence of young people, parents, and concerned citizens speaking out--was Providence Public Schools Superintendent Tom Brady's statement opposing the imposition of NECAP partial proficiency as a graduation requirement. Click here for Brady's entire testimony (in PDF form); here's a part:

I would also like to address the proposed proficiency measures for high school graduation and the dire consequences for many Providence students who are currently in their junior year.  Our current graduation policy was written to comply with RIDE’s 2008 Regulations Guidance which clearly states “that districts will evaluate the results of the state assessments in those areas in conjunction with the other components of the proficiency...”  RIDE staff on more than one occasion made public comments confirming that the NECAP was only one component of this conjunctive system, and that failure to achieve partial proficiency would not result in a failure to graduate.
   
With this mid-stream change from what has been consistently communicated by RIDE, students in the class of 2012 are at-risk of not graduating and would be afforded limited opportunity to improve.  While we are already implementing intensive interventions and supports to continually improve student achievement, there is not sufficient time, resources and direction from RIDE to create a comprehensive, personalized support system to ensure the type of growth students will need to graduate.  Also of note, is that Rhode Island, unlike other states, can only administer its standardized assessment once per year, affording students only one “re-take.”  

The ProJo's story on the hearing, "Students say diploma plan is unfair," is here.

P.S.: So far, there's school in Providence tomorrow. No snow day (yet). As I just said to my kids as I sent them up to bed, "Sorry, kids."

P.P.S.: And now, in news just delivered in a Facebook post from Mayor Angel Taveras, no school tomorrow. Snow day. Sleep in, kids!

Snow Day Again. This time with worries.

In Providence and many other towns in Rhode Island, school is canceled for the second day in a row due to a whopper of a storm that hit us yesterday. I am not at all second guessing the decision, and with that, I note the obvious, that this is challenging for many families. Most adults, I will assume, need to go to work. I have an un-reschedulable obligation that takes me away all day, so am immensely grateful that husband is 1. here, 2. has a job that makes it possible for him to work from home at times like this, and 3. it's just my two older kids who have the day off. We caught a break: the Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island preschool, where my youngest son is a student, is open, which means both that he can go and that my older guys can still attend their regular afterschool program/afterschool classes, which they can walk to on their own. Elias, who is 10, has Dungeons and Dragons today. He has expressed zero regret about missing school, but when D & D seemed threatened, handwringing commenced. Happily, it's on, and he and his 7 year old brother Leo are old/able enough to take themselves outside for snowballs/sledding/whatever without direct hands-on from Kevin. Have fun, boys!

Enough about us. As I mentioned, I am aware that there are many families who are struggling today to figure out how their kids will spend the day while adults are at work, and many more families are likely feeling cooped up due to lack of safe run-around space and/or warm coats and other winter gear. Providence Community Libraries branches are open today, and I bet they'll be well-utilized. Mostly, families and relatives are probably making a lot of "you take them in the morning and I'll take them in the afternoon" deals, and probably, unfortunately, there are probably some kids who will be left alone who would have benefited from adult supervision and interaction. And I hope that every kid gets enough to eat: many kids rely on free breakfast and free/reduced price lunch. I do not know the ways in which which social service networks in Providence's neighborhoods and other towns fill this gap at times like this: something very worth investigating and understanding.

I also suspect that some families just have not gotten the word and that right now, there are some kids freezing their tootsies off waiting for the school bus, which will not come. Providence public school families find out about school closings through the local broadcast media, which likely not all were partaking of last night/early this morning, and through the district's Parent Link robocall system. We were called last night and wicked early this morning. But that system only works if it has families correct numbers, and many families either 1. haven't returned emergency contact forms or 2. haven't updated contact info when it's changed. I hope that everyone got the message. Again, as I mentioned on Tuesday, you can sign up for a school closing text message through the Rhode Island Broadcasters Association here and the info will go to your mobile phone, an easier prospect than home phones for many. 

Making the decision to close schools for another day was made in the name of safety; I hope that the result doesn't cause any kids to be in any danger.

Update:

I just glanced at the stats for this blog from the past 24 hours. Here's the list of the top 10 search keywords people used to get to the blog:

• is there school for providence public school tomorrow?
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• mlkpto@gmail.com
• there's school tomorrow in providence
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Clearly, people were on the hunt for good info. I really wish I'd posted a quick update last night when we found out that school was out. Will do from now on.

Snow day tomorrow! For real!

Yawgoo Bliss

Hey, it's going to snow a whole lot tonight and tomorrow. You will be running around getting your milk and bread, and every convenience helps, so many thanks to Kidoinfo for a tweet about the Rhode Island Broadcasters Association's school closing alerts, sent as a text when schools close for inclement weather. It's awesome. Click here to sign up.

If you'd rather get your school closing info the old-fashioned way, here's a list of media outlets through which the Providence Public Schools (and likely all other Rhode Island districts and schools) broadcast school delays and closings.

No matter how you find out about whether there's a snow day tomorrow, Update: there's a snow day tomorrow, which you probably already know, though if I broke news, I celebrate a tiny act of journalism. Have fun in the snow, and stay safe and warm.

Speaking of school closings: Providence Public Schools are closed next week on Monday, 1/17 and Tuesday, 1/18. Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King Day, and Tuesday is a district-wide professional development day. Plan accordingly!