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).

Providence Public Schools weather make-up days: 1/11 and 3/15

Message from PPSD that I am repeating here as I know people often end up on this site when searching for Providence Public Schools calendar info: the two instructional days missed on October 29 and 30 because of Superstorm Sandy will be made up on Friday, January 11 and Friday, March 15. These dates were originally designated as professional development/weather make up days.

Here's the updated PPSD calendar for 2012-2013, with these dates now marked as regular school days.

The Persuasive Essay

Hot enough for you out there? It was hot enough for my 9 year old today, hot enough to want to wear shorts to school. This is a topic that comes up every year, of course, usually in May or June and then again in the fall. We have a clear, well-understood policy on shorts to school: if it's above 70 degrees before we leave for school, shorts are fine. Otherwise, shorts are not fine. End of subject.

It's worth noting that I am not known among my children for my desire to negotiate with them about anything. If I err, it tends to be on the rigid side. So I was not at all prepared to entertain conversation about the shorts issue. However, somehow, the 9 year old got to me. Not that I wanted to debate this issue with him. But there was a part of me, the part that had looked at online weather reports and knew that is was going to be above 80 degrees (!!!!!) before the day was out, that was willing to consider letting the kid wear shorts.

At dinner last night, when Leo attempted yet another one of his countless verbal assaults on the shorts policy, the solution came to me. He had to write his way toward a policy change - specifically, a several-paragraph persuasive essay. I let him know that when he produced a credible essay, I would consider his arguments. Here's what was waiting for me this morning:

Why I Should Wear Shorts: It Is Getting Hotter

Mom, in the morning here this time, it's in the 60s. And it gets hotter near recess time and wearing pants is uncomfortable. And it gets you even hotter than normal. And when I have gym, you get even hotter then when you're outside.

Because of this reason that I told, how it will get hotter and then I will be too hot, you should let me wear shorts. Today, it's 61 degrees outside, same as yesterday, and it got hotter then, and the weather report says it's going to be 77 degrees today, so I really want to wear shorts.

His writing fell short of what I thought the standard should be, but not too bad for a first draft, and yes, I was persuaded and he was delighted. Perhaps we can use the time we had spent dealing with the shorts issue in better ways, such as fun mom-son bonding over clarifying first-perosn vs third-person pronoun usage. Good times! Or maybe we'll just put on shorts, pretend that writing skills, parental consistency, and global warming don't really matter, and go play in the sunshine.

First Day of School - Wednesday, August 31 (hurricane delay!)

So, turns out my kids might have been a little bit right when they predicted that the first day of school wouldn't happen due to Hurricane Irene. Just got a call from PPSD saying that the first day of school is not Tuesday, August 30. It's now Wednesday, August 31, with a make up day scheduled for Friday, January 20, 2012, a day already set aside for make up.

Stay safe, everyone.

Providence Public Schools first day: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 (but will be we UNDERWATER and BLOWN AWAY???)

Leo making the academic magic happen on the first day of school.

Sometimes I peek at the stats to find out what brought people to this blog. #1 on the search terms for the past few days: variations on "first day of school Providence."

The first day of school for the Providence Public Schools is Tuesday, August 30. You can go to the Providence Public Schools website at http://www.providenceschools.org and download a 2011-2012 school year calendar, a PDF in English and Spanish versions.

We're shifting into back to school mode this weekend: shopping for new sneakers, getting haircuts, washing backpacks, getting those last pages of summer reading done, procuring school supplies. I'm in an "all systems go" mindset, though my kids are starting to suggest that Hurricane Irene's impending arrival will cancel the first day of school. This is, apparently, a topic of wild speculation among the elementary and middle school set as they face down the first day of school from the feral camaraderie of the last week of summer camp. "But mom, EVERYONE says that there will be no school on Tuesday because we will be UNDERWATER and the schools are all going to BLOW AWAY!!!" Okay, kids.

As previously noted, PPSD has brought in extra logistical and planning support to ensure the easiest possible first day for all, an idea that seems especially fortuitous now that the first day of school may indeed coincide with the aftermath of Irene which is getting many in addition to my kids and their goofy friends all wound up--or, rather, keeping us all wound up after this week's seismic shakeup. The earthquake that rattled many schools in and around Virginia and Colorado on their first day of the new academic year triggered thousands of communities in the mid-Atlantic states up through New England to inspect buildings and review disaster planning, so perhaps this can been seem as lucky timing.

Here's hoping that despite the shakes and storms that nature is throwing at us, Providence and other communities are prepared and ready, with a focus on safety for everyone.

Providence Public Schools - one hour delay today, June 9, 2011

PPSD has a one hour delay today, June 9, 2011.

I missed the Parent Link cal that came in at 6:13 (must remember to return the cordless phone to its charger in my bedroom - it always wanders off) that conveyed the news that PPSD has a one hour delay due to damage from last night's storm, which until I learned it caused damage that had this sort of impact I thought was awesomely mesmerizing. Found out when I went to PPSD's website to check a fact for another blog post (yay Central High School girl's softball!) and saw the one hour delay news on the home page.

Update: Fortes Elementary, Lima Elementary, Fortes/Lima Annex and Webster Elementary School are all closed today due to last night's storm damage.

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!

PPSD evening activities cancelled tonight

Just got a Parent Link call reporting that tonight's Providence Public Schools evening activities, including the school board meeting, athletic events, and a financial aid workshop to be held at PCTA are canceled due to the slippery, icy mess out there. Stay home if you can, and stay safe!

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.

summer unschool

Three more days left for kids in this school year, make-up snow days at this point. If any teachers are still planning lessons and working on content and creating powerful teaching and learning at this point in the year, wow, my hat is off to you.

Elias, my third grader and Leo, my kindergartener, both students at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, are looking forward to summer (and, with this terrible weather we've been having, aren't we all) and sad that school is ending. Elias is captivated by science, for which we have his teacher, Kathy Sullivan, and Brown University's K-12 science program to thank. Science has replaced gym as the highlight of his week. Leo mostly talks about missing his friends, but is also reluctant to part with gym, and centers, and the routines of his classroom. I am sad that his wonderful teacher, Joan Abrames, is retiring even as I am gratified that she, and teaching assistant Ms. Eileen, and everyone at King has given Leo such a great first year of school.

Next week, I'll talk with them about what they want to learn and explore this summer. Elias wants to experiment with bridge building, and he has two research projects inspired by music, to investigate the names and places cited in "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "Harvey Haddix. I think that Leo wants to work on math and numbers, and also explore beaches and learn how they work and what's there. I think we may get down to DC, so need to get more immersed in space so we can have a great experience at the Air and Space Museums. I'll post about what they're learning this summer, and how we find ways to support that while also having fun and allowing their minds to run free. And - how we find time to support them as fulltime working parents of three young kids. I want to find a way to give them ways to explore a subject in some depth, in a project-based way, so they know how to do that and what that feels like.

And I'll get back to post about what's happening at PPSD and Providence students, including looking at summer programs and learning--both intentional programmed learning, and the great, mundane, terrible, life-shaping learning that happens no matter what. What are Providence kids learning this summer? I hope to have better citywide insight into that question by September.

(I don't want to overlook three year old Henry--he's starting camp fulltime at the JCC and will be learning what it's like to spend the day out of the house, learning a new routine, bringing his own lunch. Exciting stuff! He is fired up. I think he'll be learning a lot more; we'll be working on the alphabet and numbers through sensory stimulation now and then.)

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.