This school year, kids who ride the school bus in Providence are experiencing an unprecedented level of problems: late to school, late getting home, missing school bus monitors, clueless drivers, and more. There's been a fair amount of press about this, so I won't go into the gory details here. At the most basic level, kids aren't reliably getting to or from school because the district has underfunded transportation, and the district's contract is with First Student, a company with a reputation of poor service both within and beyond Providence. There is a vast amount of detail and nuance contained with those basic facts, and if you're interested in delving into it, read on to connect with others who are doing just that.
If your children have been experiencing these problems, or if you are are generally concerned about Providence school transportation practices and polices, please join a Facebook group that an awesomely can-do parent, Michele Meek, has started to gather those concerned to share information and address the issue with the district and the district's bus provided, First Students. Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/503295836430396/ and join the Providence Parents Concerned about School Busses group. Read through the posts and comments; some of the issues and challenges that families are facing as a result of unreliable school bus transportation are frightening and sad.
You can also visit http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/home/?u=46bef54b3dc49dc8140b7915a&id=c364889d75 to subscribe to an email list that Michele has created to keep people informed about the issues and the city's response (via that link, you can also access the three email updates that she has sent out thus far).
So far, Michele and other parents have organized a meeting of concerned parents earlier this month, and followed up by bringing the issue to the most recent PPSD school board meeting, which took place on Monday, 9/23. You can read detailed coverage of the meeting here: http://www.golocalprov.com/news/providence-parents-blast-busing-problems-at-school-board-meeting/.
Please join and please spread the word.
Showing posts with label transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transportation. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Friday, September 7, 2012
Getting to School: The Challenging Connections between Absenteeism and Transportation - October 2012 East Side Monthly column
This is a slightly expanded version of the column that I wrote for October 2012's East Side Monthly, which will be out later this month. Because I cannot ramble on forever on my ESM page about absenteeism, achievement, transportation, and related issues, the thoughts below don't nearly tell a whole story--lots more to say, and I hope we (you as commenters and me as blogger) can do that in the coming weeks and months.
--
Ever since the fall of 2005, our family has had a child in kindergarten, first grade, or second grade at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. By the time we’re done with our three kids’ passages through the early elementary school years, we will have experienced nine consecutive years of little kids going to King, from which we live 0.9 miles. According to the Providence Public Schools’ transportation policy, my kids are not eligible for transportation by school bus. We’d need to live a mile or more from school in order to qualify for bus transportation to and from school, and that tenth of a mile has made a gigantic difference in our lives.
Because (nearly) a mile is a fair stretch for little kids to walk, and especially because Hope Street runs between our house and King, my kids don’t walk to school on their own. It is just too dangerous, especially in the winter. So, with help from babysitters, flexible work schedules, friends, and support from PPSD for our request for bus passes to the JCC, where our kids participate in afterschool programming (see this post from earlier this week for more on that), we make it work.
In so doing, we have much in common with thousands families citywide who live inside their kids’ schools’ neighborhood zones. For the full picture, it’s useful to know that middle school neighborhood zones are a mile and a half radius from school. High school zones are three miles. If kids live within those zones, no matter the barriers—and some neighborhoods feature obstacles considerably more intimidating than Hope Street—they don’t get a bus ride to school.
Many families lack the resources needed to get their kids to school. Such resources may include a car, money for a RIPTA pass, or time. Work demands or the poor health of a parent or other family member may pose problems. As a result, Providence’s schools show evidence of damaging chronic absenteeism. “The Importance of Being in School: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools,” a Johns Hopkins University report released in May 2012, describes “chronic absenteeism” as what happens when a student misses at least 10 percent of school days for any reason; it reports Providence’s chronic absenteeism rate as 34 percent of all K-12 students in 2010-2011. Data released by the Providence Public Schools, as reported in July 2012 in GoLocalProv.com, demonstrate a slight improvement in 2011-2012, with 20.7 percent of students chronically absent, and 11.7 percent of students categorized as “excessively absent,” with over 36 days missed per student (that’s 20 percent of school days missed). Because chronically and excessively absent students aren’t attending school regularly, their academic performance suffers significantly at all grade levels. Student academic success depends on many factors, but perhaps none so critical as their actual presence on a regular basis.
Transportation challenges are at the top of the list of reasons why students don’t attend school regularly. Fixing this one problem would have a powerful positive impact on student performance. It’s the classic example of low-hanging fruit. The Providence Public Schools have identified it as such and are putting into place a range of supports that will help more kids to get to school.
The signal example of this effort is a pilot program that provides free RIPTA bus passes to ninth grade students who live more than two miles from their school. Providence’s Youth 4 Change Alliance (Y4C), a group of young people that has gathered data and stories about the financial and physical challenges students face on their way to school, provided the motivation for the ninth grade RIPTA pilot. Y4C’s evidence galvanized the Providence School Board to change the walk zone for ninth graders from three miles to two, and brought stakeholders from the school district and RIPTA together to hammer out the details of the program, which will distribute bus passes to a projected 847 students, a huge increase from the projected 253 ninth graders who would have otherwise been the only recipients of free passes by dint of living more than three miles from their schools.
The program is currently in place only for this year and is being closely monitored to determine if it has a positive impact on attendance. I surely hope that it does--it’s hard to imagine that it would not--and that funding is identified to expand the program to all students citywide as soon as reasonably possible. It’s a limited but definite step in the right direction. What we need next is increased commitment from the state level to fund RIPTA passes for all high school student on an ongoing basis.
At the elementary level, the Family Service of Rhode Island’s Providence Children’s Initiative worked with Fogarty Elementary School families last year to determine the causes of chronic absenteeism. They discovered that many of the students who were missing school most frequently lived within a mile of the South Providence school. In response and in collaboration with the school district, the Providence Children’s Initiative has debuted the “walking school bus,” which uses trained volunteers to meet kids at a designated place and time to escort them safely to school. While the walking school bus idea is less expensive than busing, it does have associated costs for logistical coordination, communication, training volunteers, and more. In order to spread the walking school bus concept to more neighborhoods, we need to identify consistent sources of funding and infrastructure.
Still, it's is a splendid idea, a powerful example of how we can pull together to ensure kids are in school, reduce isolation, provide meaningful support to families, get some exercise and fresh air, reduce dependence on energy resources, increase pedestrian safety, and demonstrate that we are willing to be creative and committed as we improve our city’s schools.
For more, here are data stories on the effects of absenteeism in Providence from the Mayor's Children and Youth Cabinet:
Elementary school: http://www.ridatahub.org/datastories/children-and-youth-cabinet-es/1/
Middle school: http://www.ridatahub.org/datastories/children-and-youth-cabinet-ms/1/
High school and beyond: http://www.ridatahub.org/datastories/high-school-absenteeism-college-persistence/1/
--
Ever since the fall of 2005, our family has had a child in kindergarten, first grade, or second grade at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. By the time we’re done with our three kids’ passages through the early elementary school years, we will have experienced nine consecutive years of little kids going to King, from which we live 0.9 miles. According to the Providence Public Schools’ transportation policy, my kids are not eligible for transportation by school bus. We’d need to live a mile or more from school in order to qualify for bus transportation to and from school, and that tenth of a mile has made a gigantic difference in our lives.
Because (nearly) a mile is a fair stretch for little kids to walk, and especially because Hope Street runs between our house and King, my kids don’t walk to school on their own. It is just too dangerous, especially in the winter. So, with help from babysitters, flexible work schedules, friends, and support from PPSD for our request for bus passes to the JCC, where our kids participate in afterschool programming (see this post from earlier this week for more on that), we make it work.
In so doing, we have much in common with thousands families citywide who live inside their kids’ schools’ neighborhood zones. For the full picture, it’s useful to know that middle school neighborhood zones are a mile and a half radius from school. High school zones are three miles. If kids live within those zones, no matter the barriers—and some neighborhoods feature obstacles considerably more intimidating than Hope Street—they don’t get a bus ride to school.
Many families lack the resources needed to get their kids to school. Such resources may include a car, money for a RIPTA pass, or time. Work demands or the poor health of a parent or other family member may pose problems. As a result, Providence’s schools show evidence of damaging chronic absenteeism. “The Importance of Being in School: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools,” a Johns Hopkins University report released in May 2012, describes “chronic absenteeism” as what happens when a student misses at least 10 percent of school days for any reason; it reports Providence’s chronic absenteeism rate as 34 percent of all K-12 students in 2010-2011. Data released by the Providence Public Schools, as reported in July 2012 in GoLocalProv.com, demonstrate a slight improvement in 2011-2012, with 20.7 percent of students chronically absent, and 11.7 percent of students categorized as “excessively absent,” with over 36 days missed per student (that’s 20 percent of school days missed). Because chronically and excessively absent students aren’t attending school regularly, their academic performance suffers significantly at all grade levels. Student academic success depends on many factors, but perhaps none so critical as their actual presence on a regular basis.
Transportation challenges are at the top of the list of reasons why students don’t attend school regularly. Fixing this one problem would have a powerful positive impact on student performance. It’s the classic example of low-hanging fruit. The Providence Public Schools have identified it as such and are putting into place a range of supports that will help more kids to get to school.
The signal example of this effort is a pilot program that provides free RIPTA bus passes to ninth grade students who live more than two miles from their school. Providence’s Youth 4 Change Alliance (Y4C), a group of young people that has gathered data and stories about the financial and physical challenges students face on their way to school, provided the motivation for the ninth grade RIPTA pilot. Y4C’s evidence galvanized the Providence School Board to change the walk zone for ninth graders from three miles to two, and brought stakeholders from the school district and RIPTA together to hammer out the details of the program, which will distribute bus passes to a projected 847 students, a huge increase from the projected 253 ninth graders who would have otherwise been the only recipients of free passes by dint of living more than three miles from their schools.
The program is currently in place only for this year and is being closely monitored to determine if it has a positive impact on attendance. I surely hope that it does--it’s hard to imagine that it would not--and that funding is identified to expand the program to all students citywide as soon as reasonably possible. It’s a limited but definite step in the right direction. What we need next is increased commitment from the state level to fund RIPTA passes for all high school student on an ongoing basis.
At the elementary level, the Family Service of Rhode Island’s Providence Children’s Initiative worked with Fogarty Elementary School families last year to determine the causes of chronic absenteeism. They discovered that many of the students who were missing school most frequently lived within a mile of the South Providence school. In response and in collaboration with the school district, the Providence Children’s Initiative has debuted the “walking school bus,” which uses trained volunteers to meet kids at a designated place and time to escort them safely to school. While the walking school bus idea is less expensive than busing, it does have associated costs for logistical coordination, communication, training volunteers, and more. In order to spread the walking school bus concept to more neighborhoods, we need to identify consistent sources of funding and infrastructure.
Still, it's is a splendid idea, a powerful example of how we can pull together to ensure kids are in school, reduce isolation, provide meaningful support to families, get some exercise and fresh air, reduce dependence on energy resources, increase pedestrian safety, and demonstrate that we are willing to be creative and committed as we improve our city’s schools.
For more, here are data stories on the effects of absenteeism in Providence from the Mayor's Children and Youth Cabinet:
Elementary school: http://www.ridatahub.org/datastories/children-and-youth-cabinet-es/1/
Middle school: http://www.ridatahub.org/datastories/children-and-youth-cabinet-ms/1/
High school and beyond: http://www.ridatahub.org/datastories/high-school-absenteeism-college-persistence/1/
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Good news re PPSD Transportation - by Kim Rohm
I am endlessly lucky to have Kim Rohm as a friend and fellow Providence Public Schools parent. Kim is an opportunity finder and problem solver. To know her, and especially to have your kids go to school with her kids, is to have a better, happier life. She sees the good in people and situations and thoughtfully, efficiently, and diplomatically solves problems and busts through barriers. I LOVE HER.
You may recall that in my scattered impressions of last week, I groused a bit about bus passes. I am happy to say: problem solved! In fact, my kids are taking the bus to the JCC today, and that is completely thanks to the teamwork of Kim and the truly responsive PPSD central office staff.
I asked Kim to tell the story, as it's really her story to tell. Here it is, in her words:
There are reasons to be encouraged that the Providence Public School District is working to fix the bus transportation challenges that many families face throughout the City of Providence. Eligibility for a bus pass is a student transportation issue that has caused a great deal of stress for both parents and students. In the 2011-2012 school year, to be eligible for student transportation, a student in elementary school must live 1 mile or more from school, in middle school, 1 ½ miles or more and in high school, 3 miles or more.
As you (Jill) wrote in this blog on December 31, 2010, Youth4Change Alliance chose as its most important issue accessibility to transportation. This year, in a pilot program, PPSD provided 600 RIPTA bus passes free of charge for freshman students who live two miles or more from the school. This is a reduction in the mileage of the previous policy and the result of negotiations between PPSD and RIPTA. According to a letter from Superintendent Lusi to Freshman Parents posted on the PPSD website, “The program is offered on a trial basis to see if there is an improvement in school attendance among ninth graders and is not guaranteed in future school years.” I hope that attendance does in fact improve markedly enough to ensure that passes are given to ninth grade students again next year, and that the program can be expanded to include upper grades.
For the past seven years, at the beginning of each school year, I personally become anxious about getting a bus pass for my children who are enrolled at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary to attend the after school program at the Jewish Community Center. In the past, while the bus would drive right by the JCC, numerous phone calls to the transportation office, Superintendent’s office, my Councilman’s office, even the Mayor’s office were necessary to secure a pass for my transportation eligible children to receive a pass to get off the bus at the JCC instead of their assigned bus stop. This year, after making only one request, my son came home with a bus pass the first week of school.
I am very grateful to the PPSD Administration and the Transportation Office for working hard to accommodate my request and that of others at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. I am encouraged by the pilot program for the City’s ninth grade students and encourage others to continue to advocate for the transportation that they need for their students.
As you (Jill) wrote in this blog on December 31, 2010, Youth4Change Alliance chose as its most important issue accessibility to transportation. This year, in a pilot program, PPSD provided 600 RIPTA bus passes free of charge for freshman students who live two miles or more from the school. This is a reduction in the mileage of the previous policy and the result of negotiations between PPSD and RIPTA. According to a letter from Superintendent Lusi to Freshman Parents posted on the PPSD website, “The program is offered on a trial basis to see if there is an improvement in school attendance among ninth graders and is not guaranteed in future school years.” I hope that attendance does in fact improve markedly enough to ensure that passes are given to ninth grade students again next year, and that the program can be expanded to include upper grades.
For the past seven years, at the beginning of each school year, I personally become anxious about getting a bus pass for my children who are enrolled at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary to attend the after school program at the Jewish Community Center. In the past, while the bus would drive right by the JCC, numerous phone calls to the transportation office, Superintendent’s office, my Councilman’s office, even the Mayor’s office were necessary to secure a pass for my transportation eligible children to receive a pass to get off the bus at the JCC instead of their assigned bus stop. This year, after making only one request, my son came home with a bus pass the first week of school.
I am very grateful to the PPSD Administration and the Transportation Office for working hard to accommodate my request and that of others at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. I am encouraged by the pilot program for the City’s ninth grade students and encourage others to continue to advocate for the transportation that they need for their students.
--
Note from Jill:
As Kim says, you need to advocate for the transportation that your kids need. Please speak up! If you're not sure who to talk with, post a comment below or email me at jill.davidson@gmail.com. I'll do everything I can to connect you to help. And even if the challenges aren't simple, we still need to speak up for and with Providence's young people so that they can get to and from school safely. Let's work together to get this done.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
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!
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.
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. |
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thinking about back to school...
School starts for my kids and their 23,000+ peers in the Providence Public Schools in a month, on August 28. Right now, we're deep into our summer routine, such as it is. Bedtime is a moving target. The guys are reading according to their own initiative (see this for the prickly relationship that our family has with required summer reading). Leo is obsessing about fantasy baseball and Henry about Legos. So their minds are at work. I am cool with them and they seem pretty cool with themselves. As Anne Lamott might put it, right now, most of the time, their minds are hospitable neighborhoods in which they are safe alone. I credit the laid back pace of summer for that.
Elias is at camp for nearly a month, totally out of my clutches. From his letters, we're getting little glimpses here and there but I don't need those to know he's learning big--about other people, life outside his family, how to take care or himself, self-reliance, coping without tv and other comforts of home, probably about archery and kayaking and I can't wait to find out what else.
The other guys are having fun at their camp (this week it's soccer, hence last night's late night scramble for shin guards). We're watching a whole lot of Olympics and pursuing the learning that comes from that, which includes frequent reference to an atlas and lots of conversation about the rules of various sports, competition, setting and achieving goals, world records, and more speculation than I ever thought possible on whether body hair really does slow someone down in the pool THAT much (if this topic fascinates you as much as it fascinates Leo, you are welcome to take it up with him and spare me another explanation of friction and milliseconds).
However, I've been in the game for long enough to know that now is the time to get our heads (mine, for starters) into getting ready for school. Because in one way or another this is an annual rite of passage for all of us with kids at school, during the coming days and weeks, I'll to share bits and pieces of our family's transition back to school during the coming weeks. What's on my mind now:
Elias is at camp for nearly a month, totally out of my clutches. From his letters, we're getting little glimpses here and there but I don't need those to know he's learning big--about other people, life outside his family, how to take care or himself, self-reliance, coping without tv and other comforts of home, probably about archery and kayaking and I can't wait to find out what else.
The other guys are having fun at their camp (this week it's soccer, hence last night's late night scramble for shin guards). We're watching a whole lot of Olympics and pursuing the learning that comes from that, which includes frequent reference to an atlas and lots of conversation about the rules of various sports, competition, setting and achieving goals, world records, and more speculation than I ever thought possible on whether body hair really does slow someone down in the pool THAT much (if this topic fascinates you as much as it fascinates Leo, you are welcome to take it up with him and spare me another explanation of friction and milliseconds).
However, I've been in the game for long enough to know that now is the time to get our heads (mine, for starters) into getting ready for school. Because in one way or another this is an annual rite of passage for all of us with kids at school, during the coming days and weeks, I'll to share bits and pieces of our family's transition back to school during the coming weeks. What's on my mind now:
- establishing routines and rituals
- setting up the house to encourage and invite learning
- figuring out the best way to deal with the sometimes glorious distractions of tv and computers
- getting our parental heads around their upcoming curriculum and learning expectations
- school supplies, clothes, etc.
- afterschool activities
- figuring out schedules, buses, transportation, and babysitting/afterschool care
Thursday, January 19, 2012
PPSD High School Registration and Open High Schools + transportation issues
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.
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.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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:
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?
- is there school in providence tomorrow
- mlkpto@gmail.com
- there's school tomorrow in providence
- are providence public school open on january 13
- are providence public schools open jan 13?
- is there school for providence tomorrow?
- is there school in providence tommorow
- is there school tomorrow for providence public schools
- lists of providence ri school closing tomorrow
Friday, December 31, 2010
let's fix this now: transportation for education in Providence
Please take a moment right now, today, this minute, to read Youth4Change Alliance's recent blog post, "Why Winter is a Nightmare for Providence Youth and How You Can Help." The deal is this: because high school students don't qualify for the school bus unless they live more than 3 miles from their high school, most high school students need to use RIPTA to get to school, and there's no reduced fare for youth. Without it, it's prohibitively expensive for many kids to take the bus, so at this time of year, kids need to face real freezing misery as they walk. That's an obstacle that's clearly keeping many young people from getting to school on time or at all. Unacceptable. This has got to change. We can fix it.
Now take another moment to vote here for Youth4Change's proposal to launch an advocacy campaign for accessible transportation for young people to get to school. Voting ends tomorrow, 1/1! You can also text your vote. Text 104586 to 73774. Do it now.
For those of us who were not clued into this challenge because we don't have high school age kids and/or were otherwise not focused on this issue, Youth4Change's transportation for education initiative is a jolting wake-up call. As we work toward improving schools, we face many ugly, thorny problems. This is not one of them, so do your part now, by voting in the Pepsi Challenge to fund the campaign to raise public awareness. Spread the word--get everyone you know to vote. And keep this issue on your radar as we move through awareness of the issue toward discussion and implementation of a solution so that all Providence students have access to their schools.
Should for some reason need more convincing, this video should do the trick.
And a final final note: I am not taking the time right now to drill down into the public transportation systems of a good-sized sample of cities in the United States to validate my hunch that most offer youth fares. However, I'll share that the first 5 cities I thought of and checked on do indeed offer discounted fares in one form or another for youth (the first 5 cities my brain lit on: San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New York City, Miami). If you take a couple of cities and find out what the situation is there, post what you find in the comments. Not that we should need examples of how most other places have figured out how to deal with this most basic need to know that fixing it ASAP is the only option.
Now take another moment to vote here for Youth4Change's proposal to launch an advocacy campaign for accessible transportation for young people to get to school. Voting ends tomorrow, 1/1! You can also text your vote. Text 104586 to 73774. Do it now.
For those of us who were not clued into this challenge because we don't have high school age kids and/or were otherwise not focused on this issue, Youth4Change's transportation for education initiative is a jolting wake-up call. As we work toward improving schools, we face many ugly, thorny problems. This is not one of them, so do your part now, by voting in the Pepsi Challenge to fund the campaign to raise public awareness. Spread the word--get everyone you know to vote. And keep this issue on your radar as we move through awareness of the issue toward discussion and implementation of a solution so that all Providence students have access to their schools.
Should for some reason need more convincing, this video should do the trick.
And a final final note: I am not taking the time right now to drill down into the public transportation systems of a good-sized sample of cities in the United States to validate my hunch that most offer youth fares. However, I'll share that the first 5 cities I thought of and checked on do indeed offer discounted fares in one form or another for youth (the first 5 cities my brain lit on: San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New York City, Miami). If you take a couple of cities and find out what the situation is there, post what you find in the comments. Not that we should need examples of how most other places have figured out how to deal with this most basic need to know that fixing it ASAP is the only option.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
School's open in Foster-Glocester. . .
Today: widespread school cancellations (including Providence, but not Foster-Glocester!!!). For the record, it's wicked cold but no snow at this hour (8:00am). Perhaps a good day and time to ask a few questions :
1. What are the criteria for closing school in Providence?
2. What are the costs? I am seeking evidence for my belief that quite frequently, many Providence kids are safer at school. At home on a day like this, I believe (though do know have evidence that demonstrates) that may kids are more likely to be exposed to violence, may not eat well, and especially on a day like this, may be cold. I hope that every kid's home has heat, but I suspect not. I suspect that not every kid has a home to heat in the first place.
3. What are the benefits? Clearly, in a blizzard, kids are likely to be safer not on the roads. Kids who routinely walk to school are less likely to be exposed to the cold, and many of them may not have adequate coats/hats/mittens. Are there benefits to keeping them home otherwise? What are those? In cold like this, are buses less likely to run well? Will schools be too cold? What's happening that may not be evident (at least to me)?
I believe--I think many family members believe--that cancelling school today wasn't the right decision. And that makes sense: making the call to cancel school the night before is a guessing game, and sometimes the Superintendent is going to guess wrong. I'm not hammering on the wrongness of the decision. I am wondering what factors went into it, and how those factors can be communicated.
The decision to close school is out there, very public. Anyone with an opinion (and we've all got one) can praise, condemn, or express indifference. And it's one of many decisions made about and on behalf of schoolchildren every day. Many of those decisions, most of them, are invisible. The public only gets to see, and therefore can only discuss, these big public ones, so they become fodder for public opinion on how the Superintendent in particular is doing--and that carries the potential of making school opening/closing/delay calls into more of a PR exercise and less of a decision about safety and kids' welfare. There may well be additional forces (union, city) that are less apparent.
So what were the factors that went into today's decision? I'm supportive of the Superintendent thus far, and (want very much to ) believe that the call was based on safety factors and what's best for Providence's kids and their families. That said, I'd like to understand it better.
Decisions and their supporting evidence that affect the welfare and future of kids more significantly than whether or not they're in school today--about curriculum, and teacher hiring and professional development, and facilities, and all of the big factors that impact our city's young people in meaningful ways--need to be as public as this, and as likely to engender opinion, feeling, and perhaps, collective action. And I want us, family members and others, to feel entitled to ask for the evidence that support those decisions, for PPSD administration to be in the habit of providing that evidence.
--
UPDATE: Here's the ProJo's news blog reporting widespread "surprise" at the widespread closings, including an excerpt from a statement from Tom Brady last night with unsurprising reasons for the closure. Glad there was a statement; not glad it took me, a person who was looking for it, this long to see (part of) it.
Again, the focus for me is not so much on the decision, as much as I think it wasn't the best choice for many kids' welfare, as it is on using this as a way to talk about developing a culture of civilized, insistent inquiry among parents and family members about the decisions that are being made about and on behalf of our kids.
1. What are the criteria for closing school in Providence?
2. What are the costs? I am seeking evidence for my belief that quite frequently, many Providence kids are safer at school. At home on a day like this, I believe (though do know have evidence that demonstrates) that may kids are more likely to be exposed to violence, may not eat well, and especially on a day like this, may be cold. I hope that every kid's home has heat, but I suspect not. I suspect that not every kid has a home to heat in the first place.
3. What are the benefits? Clearly, in a blizzard, kids are likely to be safer not on the roads. Kids who routinely walk to school are less likely to be exposed to the cold, and many of them may not have adequate coats/hats/mittens. Are there benefits to keeping them home otherwise? What are those? In cold like this, are buses less likely to run well? Will schools be too cold? What's happening that may not be evident (at least to me)?
I believe--I think many family members believe--that cancelling school today wasn't the right decision. And that makes sense: making the call to cancel school the night before is a guessing game, and sometimes the Superintendent is going to guess wrong. I'm not hammering on the wrongness of the decision. I am wondering what factors went into it, and how those factors can be communicated.
The decision to close school is out there, very public. Anyone with an opinion (and we've all got one) can praise, condemn, or express indifference. And it's one of many decisions made about and on behalf of schoolchildren every day. Many of those decisions, most of them, are invisible. The public only gets to see, and therefore can only discuss, these big public ones, so they become fodder for public opinion on how the Superintendent in particular is doing--and that carries the potential of making school opening/closing/delay calls into more of a PR exercise and less of a decision about safety and kids' welfare. There may well be additional forces (union, city) that are less apparent.
So what were the factors that went into today's decision? I'm supportive of the Superintendent thus far, and (want very much to ) believe that the call was based on safety factors and what's best for Providence's kids and their families. That said, I'd like to understand it better.
Decisions and their supporting evidence that affect the welfare and future of kids more significantly than whether or not they're in school today--about curriculum, and teacher hiring and professional development, and facilities, and all of the big factors that impact our city's young people in meaningful ways--need to be as public as this, and as likely to engender opinion, feeling, and perhaps, collective action. And I want us, family members and others, to feel entitled to ask for the evidence that support those decisions, for PPSD administration to be in the habit of providing that evidence.
--
UPDATE: Here's the ProJo's news blog reporting widespread "surprise" at the widespread closings, including an excerpt from a statement from Tom Brady last night with unsurprising reasons for the closure. Glad there was a statement; not glad it took me, a person who was looking for it, this long to see (part of) it.
Again, the focus for me is not so much on the decision, as much as I think it wasn't the best choice for many kids' welfare, as it is on using this as a way to talk about developing a culture of civilized, insistent inquiry among parents and family members about the decisions that are being made about and on behalf of our kids.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Bus Monitors and more
Most of us following education news know that Governor Carcieri's proposals last week include eliminating bus monitors statewide. Not silent on this issue is the Rhode Island's Twelfth blog (hat tip to rifuture.org for this). RI's 12th's latest post advocating keeping bus monitors is here. Scroll down the main page for a few more. The takeaway is: school bus monitors save kids' lives.
Or are they a "costly mandate?" That's how Providence Superintendent Tom Brady is quoted in this ProJo piece on the effect of the governor's cost-cutting proposals on Providence's schools. School bus monitors cost $4,000,000 annually in Providence, says the article.
Of course, in the category of costly mandate is the ongoing commitment to bus students from private schools, not to mention buying their textbooks. Good news, then: if costly mandates are what we're going for, it's nice to know more are there to cut before we resume cutting the heart of our schools' essential programs and services. (I'll save you some Googling if this is new info: citations of RI state law on these points are here.)
There's a flip side argument, of course: pupils' attendance in their home districts is ostensibly costlier than their transportation and books. I don't have time to gather data to test this now, but it strikes me as wrong: with additional pupils comes additional state funding (inequitably distributed as it may be), and, of course, additional public support and advocacy for school funding which could be an eventual gamechanger.
I'll be back with more on how these cuts may affect Providence and what we can do to raise our voices to advocate for the funds our schools need to keep our kids not only well-educated but safe.
Or are they a "costly mandate?" That's how Providence Superintendent Tom Brady is quoted in this ProJo piece on the effect of the governor's cost-cutting proposals on Providence's schools. School bus monitors cost $4,000,000 annually in Providence, says the article.
Of course, in the category of costly mandate is the ongoing commitment to bus students from private schools, not to mention buying their textbooks. Good news, then: if costly mandates are what we're going for, it's nice to know more are there to cut before we resume cutting the heart of our schools' essential programs and services. (I'll save you some Googling if this is new info: citations of RI state law on these points are here.)
There's a flip side argument, of course: pupils' attendance in their home districts is ostensibly costlier than their transportation and books. I don't have time to gather data to test this now, but it strikes me as wrong: with additional pupils comes additional state funding (inequitably distributed as it may be), and, of course, additional public support and advocacy for school funding which could be an eventual gamechanger.
I'll be back with more on how these cuts may affect Providence and what we can do to raise our voices to advocate for the funds our schools need to keep our kids not only well-educated but safe.
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