This blog entry is a learning out loud effort, sparked by two finance-related state education posts on rifuture.org yesterday.
"Creating our own problems" is about reduced (and reallocated) statewide education spending. I caught it just now when I went there to grab this one, "Will our lack of a education funding formula hurt our chances for stimulus dollars?" Anything to raise the stakes on this issue is useful, and the observation in the post that yes, the lack of a statewide funding formula clearly makes us less accountable and therefore possibly less likely to get those federal stimulus dollars resonates with me.
RI is the only state without such a formula. Hence, there are 49 models out there. Question to explore here: which state have an equitable education funding formula that resembles and exemplifies what would work best here? Quite a different question from: which state has a formula that is likely to be the most mutually acceptable, the least unpalatable, and therefore likely to pass here?
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
MLK Elementary Open House Tomorrow, 1/13/09
Tomorrow night, Tuesday, 1/13/09, at 6:00pm, please join us for an Open House and school tour at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. MLK is a public neighborhood school serving most of the East Side, grades preK-6.
If you can't make this one, additional Open Houses at King are scheduled for Wed., 1/28, 10:00am and Thurs., 2/12, 6:00pm. Also, tours are given most Friday mornings. Please call the school at 456-9398 to reserve a spot.
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Families of incoming kindergarteners and others considering the Providence Public Schools are visiting schools now ahead of school registration. More information about kindergarten registration is here on the Providence Public Schools web site. This is a great time to get to know your neighborhood schools, and any others you may be considering. Click here for a list of schools, many with websites; if you don't see information about tours and open houses, call the schools and ask when you visit. Whatever you do, make time to visit, both during the school day and during evening info sessions! Make informed decisions about what options are available to your kids.
If you can't make this one, additional Open Houses at King are scheduled for Wed., 1/28, 10:00am and Thurs., 2/12, 6:00pm. Also, tours are given most Friday mornings. Please call the school at 456-9398 to reserve a spot.
--
Families of incoming kindergarteners and others considering the Providence Public Schools are visiting schools now ahead of school registration. More information about kindergarten registration is here on the Providence Public Schools web site. This is a great time to get to know your neighborhood schools, and any others you may be considering. Click here for a list of schools, many with websites; if you don't see information about tours and open houses, call the schools and ask when you visit. Whatever you do, make time to visit, both during the school day and during evening info sessions! Make informed decisions about what options are available to your kids.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
This ProJo story shares what sounds like great communication and student support work that's being done at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence (formerly Adelaide High School, 375 Adelaide Avenue, 401-456-0676).
Read the story for more about what Torchon and Alvarez teachers are doing to create a culture at the school that provides support for all students to meet high expectations and succeed academically. By focusing on those high expectations, structuring ways to check in with student and their teachers, and relying on family members as allies, the school is doing what has been proven to work in similar settings, and is pointing the way to practices that make sense for all of Providence's high schools.
I was quite struck by Torchon's comments at the end of the story:
What will it take to establish that tradition of excellence? Providence has a wealth of educational assets, including school leaders like Torchon. By shaping a system that creates the best conditions for achievement not only within a particular school but within all of them, we will be able to contextualize and best take advantage of those assets.
When Principal Robbie Torchon was told that one-fourth of his students at Alvarez High School failed at least three classes during the first quarter of this academic year, he didn’t blame the usual suspects: Truancy, tardiness and parental disengagement.
Instead, Torchon saw the dismal performance as a challenge. How, he asked, can the 600-student Alvarez — formerly Adelaide High School — get students to not only turn around their grades but set higher goals?
Torchon didn’t waste any time. He put each of the 146 failing students on academic probation, and then invited their parents to attend a conference in the principal’s office.
Read the story for more about what Torchon and Alvarez teachers are doing to create a culture at the school that provides support for all students to meet high expectations and succeed academically. By focusing on those high expectations, structuring ways to check in with student and their teachers, and relying on family members as allies, the school is doing what has been proven to work in similar settings, and is pointing the way to practices that make sense for all of Providence's high schools.
I was quite struck by Torchon's comments at the end of the story:
Although measurable results take time, Torchon said he already sees a shift in attitude. Teachers are taking a closer look at what they do in the classroom, students are beginning to take their work more seriously and parents recognize that the school cares about their children.
Still, Providence, he said, must reach a stage where school quality is no longer dependent on a charismatic leader: “It’s hard to become a principal in a city without a tradition of excellence.”
What will it take to establish that tradition of excellence? Providence has a wealth of educational assets, including school leaders like Torchon. By shaping a system that creates the best conditions for achievement not only within a particular school but within all of them, we will be able to contextualize and best take advantage of those assets.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Nathan Bishop info session moved to 1/8/09!
Change is the only constant! And to make sure we don't forget that, the meeting date for this week's Nathan Bishop information session, mentioned in my last post, has been moved to Thursday, January 8, 7:00pm, in the library at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, 35 Camp Street in Providence. (It had originally been scheduled for Wednesday, January 7).
Superintendent Brady and incoming Bishop principal Michael Lazzareschi will be on hand as before, and this meeting remains a great opportunity to get clear answers about what teaching, learning, school culture, and other qualities of Nathan Bishop Middle School are likely to be.
Bishop will be a neighborhood middle school serving the greater East Side of Providence. It will open with 6th grade, adding a grade a year through 8th grade. Under the city's school choice policy, seats are set aside for non-neighborhood students.
The deadline for middle school registration has been extended until next week, so if you have not yet chosen your child's middle school, or if you are reconsidering your choice, please take advantage of the extra time and do so through your child's school or though the Providence Public Schools Student Assignment and Registration Center (401-456-1702).
Superintendent Brady and incoming Bishop principal Michael Lazzareschi will be on hand as before, and this meeting remains a great opportunity to get clear answers about what teaching, learning, school culture, and other qualities of Nathan Bishop Middle School are likely to be.
Bishop will be a neighborhood middle school serving the greater East Side of Providence. It will open with 6th grade, adding a grade a year through 8th grade. Under the city's school choice policy, seats are set aside for non-neighborhood students.
The deadline for middle school registration has been extended until next week, so if you have not yet chosen your child's middle school, or if you are reconsidering your choice, please take advantage of the extra time and do so through your child's school or though the Providence Public Schools Student Assignment and Registration Center (401-456-1702).
Friday, January 2, 2009
New Year, New Start, New Nathan Bishop
Yes, the Parents Talk about Providence Schools blogs still lives! As a busy parent myself, I didn't allocate much time for blogging in 2008, but it's a new year, and time for a new start.
And it's time to let you know that on Wednesday, January 7, at 7:00pm in the library at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, 35 Camp Street in Providence, the Providence Public Schools will be holding another information session for families interested in the possibility of attending Nathan Bishop Middle School, which will be reopening for 6th graders for the 2008-9 school year. This information session will be hosted by Mr. Lazzareschi, who will be moving to Bishop as principal, and Providence Public Schools Superintendent Tom Brady.
If you have any interest in Bishop for the fall for your 6th grader or for your younger children in later years, please attend to find out more. And please know that the deadline for middle school registration has been extended to give families an opportunity to enroll in Bishop if they have not done so already. The deadline will be at some point in January 2009 and we will share specifics when we know them.
This is a great time to find out more about what teaching and learning will be like at Bishop. We hope to see you there!
Want more recent news about Bishop's reopening? Click here for a recent ProJo article on Michael Lazzareschi's selection as principal. And here's a nice piece from the Brown Daily Herald on Bishop's fall 2008 groundbreaking.
And it's time to let you know that on Wednesday, January 7, at 7:00pm in the library at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, 35 Camp Street in Providence, the Providence Public Schools will be holding another information session for families interested in the possibility of attending Nathan Bishop Middle School, which will be reopening for 6th graders for the 2008-9 school year. This information session will be hosted by Mr. Lazzareschi, who will be moving to Bishop as principal, and Providence Public Schools Superintendent Tom Brady.
If you have any interest in Bishop for the fall for your 6th grader or for your younger children in later years, please attend to find out more. And please know that the deadline for middle school registration has been extended to give families an opportunity to enroll in Bishop if they have not done so already. The deadline will be at some point in January 2009 and we will share specifics when we know them.
This is a great time to find out more about what teaching and learning will be like at Bishop. We hope to see you there!
Want more recent news about Bishop's reopening? Click here for a recent ProJo article on Michael Lazzareschi's selection as principal. And here's a nice piece from the Brown Daily Herald on Bishop's fall 2008 groundbreaking.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Providence Public Schools News, a Terrific Teacher, and more!
Providence Public Schools' weekly update in the ProJo is here. 8th graders, take note of the first item, with Classicial High School testing info.
Don't miss today's groundbreaking ceremony for the new Nathan Bishop Middle School, 3:30pm at 101 Sessions Street on the East Side (corner of Elmgrove Avenue). The school will be opening as an option for all Providence public school 6th graders in the fall of 2009. More info on recent Nathan Bishop developments are on the East Side Public Education Coalition blog. I'll be there, as will my kids: see you there! And if you're thinking about Bishop as an option for your middle schools kids in the coming years, look for a sign up sheet for more info, and buy a t-shirt!
And great news for Providence Public Schools this week: Harry Kizirian Elementary teacher Tina Pelit won a prestigious national teaching award earlier this week. Congratulations, and thank you! Here's the start of the ProJo coverage (full article here):
Don't miss today's groundbreaking ceremony for the new Nathan Bishop Middle School, 3:30pm at 101 Sessions Street on the East Side (corner of Elmgrove Avenue). The school will be opening as an option for all Providence public school 6th graders in the fall of 2009. More info on recent Nathan Bishop developments are on the East Side Public Education Coalition blog. I'll be there, as will my kids: see you there! And if you're thinking about Bishop as an option for your middle schools kids in the coming years, look for a sign up sheet for more info, and buy a t-shirt!
And great news for Providence Public Schools this week: Harry Kizirian Elementary teacher Tina Pelit won a prestigious national teaching award earlier this week. Congratulations, and thank you! Here's the start of the ProJo coverage (full article here):
Tina Pelit, a second-grade teacher who isn’t above dancing the Hokey Pokey
to liven up her classroom, received a national award yesterday for her passion,
creativity and dedication to her students.
Pelit is that rarity in an urban school system — the teacher who has
spent virtually her entire career at the same school, in this case the Harry
Kizirian Elementary School on Smith Hill.
Nominated by her principal, Debbie Ruggieri, Pelit was one of 51
teachers to receive the American Star of Teaching award from the U.S. Department
of Education, and she was the only Rhode Island teacher to be honored.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Nathan Bishop renovation outside (and inside?)
Nathan Bishop Middle School in the midst of transformation was in the news today! Here's the article detailing Bishop's extensive renovation.
We're going to have a tremendous facility serving our students, and soon, I hope we can start discussing how we're going to make the plan for the school's academics and culture a reality. That plan, as outlined by a vision statement written by the Superintendent's Nathan Bishop Steering Committee, is online here (see pages 3-5), and more extensive documentation of the program design for Bishop as approved by former PPSD Superintendent Donnie Evans and the PPSD school board are here.
That program design calls for a site-based managed school with advisories, access to advanced academic offerings for all students, strong community partners, committed teachers and principal, and other features that will make it an exemplary middle school. Providence has the opportunity to implement what's working well in its other middle schools at Bishop when it reopens, and has the opportunity to share what's working with Bishop throughout the district. This is why all school children and their families have a stake in the school's success--it's a tremendous opportunity to assess the state of our city's middle schools, to capitalize on and share successful practices and to implement proven strategies (such as advisories) that have not gained traction in Providence. Doing so in a school that's new and site-based (with school-based control over schedule and roles for school staff) will help the entire district know more about what it takes to implement advisories successfully, and PPSD can develop systems and strategies for sharing that information.
(What's an advisory? It's a school based group of students and usually one staff member that meets regularly to ensure personalization, follow through, a space in school for interpersonal connection and relationship development, and the like. It's a home base that creates time and space to think about the "big picture" of academic and social issues and is an essential practice in schools that are student-centered and committed to engagement and student success. Here's a good description and links to research from the National Middle Schools Association.)
We're going to have a tremendous facility serving our students, and soon, I hope we can start discussing how we're going to make the plan for the school's academics and culture a reality. That plan, as outlined by a vision statement written by the Superintendent's Nathan Bishop Steering Committee, is online here (see pages 3-5), and more extensive documentation of the program design for Bishop as approved by former PPSD Superintendent Donnie Evans and the PPSD school board are here.
That program design calls for a site-based managed school with advisories, access to advanced academic offerings for all students, strong community partners, committed teachers and principal, and other features that will make it an exemplary middle school. Providence has the opportunity to implement what's working well in its other middle schools at Bishop when it reopens, and has the opportunity to share what's working with Bishop throughout the district. This is why all school children and their families have a stake in the school's success--it's a tremendous opportunity to assess the state of our city's middle schools, to capitalize on and share successful practices and to implement proven strategies (such as advisories) that have not gained traction in Providence. Doing so in a school that's new and site-based (with school-based control over schedule and roles for school staff) will help the entire district know more about what it takes to implement advisories successfully, and PPSD can develop systems and strategies for sharing that information.
(What's an advisory? It's a school based group of students and usually one staff member that meets regularly to ensure personalization, follow through, a space in school for interpersonal connection and relationship development, and the like. It's a home base that creates time and space to think about the "big picture" of academic and social issues and is an essential practice in schools that are student-centered and committed to engagement and student success. Here's a good description and links to research from the National Middle Schools Association.)
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