- Fight Poverty by Sending Dad and Daughter to School Together [Briya PCS mentioned]
- Should D.C. Ban The Suspension Of Pre-K Students In Publicly Funded Schools?
- The new chair of the DC Council's education committee promises a change in style and substance
- New federal guidelines highlight civil rights of English language learners
Fight Poverty by Sending Dad and Daughter to School Together [Briya PCS mentioned]
The National Journal
By Fawn Johnson
January 7, 2015
Shortly before the year-end holiday break at Briya Public Charter School in Washington, Paige Reuber started the work day by helping a student finalize her health insurance enrollment, which had been rejected on the first try. In the afternoon, Reuber headed to the class in which she teaches some 20 adults the basics of the English language. Her students had just completed their midterms, so they had time to focus on holiday-themed phrases. They then used those words in their next class—computer skills—to make holiday cards using a commercial publishing program.
English-language instruction, basic computer skills, parenting classes, and infant and toddler care during school hours are just the beginning of the services that Briya offers to adult students and their children for free. Would-be students—generally, people who have recently immigrated to the United States—simply have to put their names in a lottery to enroll for one or more of the 482 slots available at Briya under D.C.'s public school charter system.
Parents can enroll as a family—themselves in Briya's adult program and their 3- and 4-year-old children in preschool. The school can also provide care for up to 100 infants and toddlers for those students with younger children. Each of the school's three campuses is co-located with Mary's Center, a social service and health clinic for D.C. residents. Many of the school's students are referred through the clinic, where they might have initially shown up seeking dental or medical care or welfare assistance.
Briya prides itself on being a one-stop shop for education and public assistance for disadvantaged adults, wholly embracing the "two generation" approach to fighting poverty. Its founders believe that if you want to permanently pull families out of their low-income situations, you need to provide parents and children the same things: education, health care, and work skills.
Teachers and social workers across the country intuitively understand this concept, but government aid programs generally don't follow that pattern. State and federal assistance programs are typically targeted to the child or the parent, but not both at the same time. There are also more government programs for children than for adults, a reflection of public unwillingness to "reward" adults who some see as a drag on society.
And yet, most families living in poverty in the U.S. consist of young parents with young children. Simply helping young kids doesn't, by itself, change the poverty cycle they live in. Children might qualify for Early Head Start, but that doesn't mean their parents are employed or know how to approach getting a job. And it's difficult to expect those children to rise to academic expectations when their home lives may be chaotic and lacking in basic necessities such as clothing or food.
"For all the strides we've made in investing in early education, we can't put all of the weight on the back of the child," says Anne Mosle, the executive director of Ascend, an Aspen Institute program that advocates for a holistic approach to educating families.
This is what Briya has been doing all along, although under different names and funding streams. The school was founded as a family literacy center by a group of immigrants in 1989, in response to an influx of refugees from Central America and Vietnam. The student body is still mostly immigrants—about 80 percent from Central America and the rest from other, far-flung regions. Reuber's current class includes students whose native languages are Spanish, French, Vietnamese, and Amharic (from Ethiopia).
Briya became a charter school in 2005, and it is one of the first in the District to offer adult education as part of the city's public school system. It is also the only one that offers dual schooling for students' kids. In doing so, Briya addresses the most pressing needs of immigrants. "They're getting English classes, and someone's going to take care of [their] kid," says Briya Executive Director Christie McKay.
McKay conducts hour-long orientations for each entering group of students to tell them there is more to the school than free child care. Attendance in classes isn't compulsory, but the school asks them to commit to a full school year. They are expected to attend two and a half hours of classes every day. The adult curriculum consists of English-language training, computer courses, and parenting lessons—all designed to ready a parent for the workforce and for supporting her children when they enter kindergarten.
Many students tell Briya employees that they want to better engage with their children's teachers, and English classes are often focused on those topics. McKay is proud that a slew of principals at local elementary schools take the time each year to come to Briya's K-12 open house, because the adult students have learned to ask good questions. Even better, their kids show up to kindergarten without needing remedial training, which is a significant bonus for the public school system.
Some adult students at Briya stay longer than one year, particularly if they test in at a beginner's English level, which means they haven't yet learned to write the English alphabet or speak basic phrases. "It's basically a literacy class," says McKay of the English level-one class. Some drop out before they're finished, an occupational hazard of teaching grown-ups who have more to worry about than just their studies.
Rueber does double duty as a teacher and student-services coordinator, teaching English level two, which is the rough equivalent of a beginning Spanish or French class in an American high school. She begins her classes with basic phrases such as "My name is X" and "I am from Y," but they quickly move on to the topics the students are most eager to learn about—how to talk to a doctor, how to talk to their children's teachers, or how to use English to get a job or a better job.
"I love teaching adults, but they have way more responsibilities," says Reuber. She has gotten used to her adult students's absences because their children were sick. McKay says many of the school's students have jobs cleaning offices or working in restaurants. It's not uncommon for the restaurant workers to be absent on Fridays as they are gearing up for the weekend rush.
A typical adult at Briya will enter with six years or less of prior formal education. For these families, their continuing education is a multigenerational journey. Their goals are simple for themselves. "I want to get a driver's license and drive a truck," or "I clean houses now, but I want to start my own house-cleaning business."
For their kids, McKay says the goal is almost always the same. "They want them to do well in school, better than they did."
By instructing both parent and child, Briya helps make these goals attainable.
Should D.C. Ban The Suspension Of Pre-K Students In Publicly Funded Schools?
WAMU
By Kavitha Cardoza
January 7, 2015
The D.C. Council could soon make it illegal to suspend or expel students in publicly funded pre-Kindergarten programs.
During the 2012 school year, more than 10,000 of the District's 80,000 public school students were suspended at least once. Of those, 180 students were 3- and 4-year olds.
Councilman David Grosso (I-At Large), who was recently appointed head of the education committee for the D.C. Council, is introducing the legislation. He says he doesn't understand why children that young would ever be suspended from school, calling the problem part of the school-to-prison pipeline.
A recent report by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education found that in D.C., pre-K students have been punished for temper tantrums, disrupting class and bathroom mishaps, behaviors that maybe consider developmentally appropriate for children that age.
"Most of the time it was because of the action an adult did, not what the child did," Grosso says. "For example, the adult didn't do a good enough job potty training the child, the adult showed up late too often."
The report also found that black students in the District were almost six times more likely to be suspended or expelled as white students. Low-income students, those with disabilities and those who were homeless were more likely to be disciplined as well.
Research suggests that suspensions and expulsions actually increase the likelihood that students will misbehave in the future, become truant, fail to graduate, or get involved with the juvenile justice system.
Grosso says the measure includes a requirement for DC’s traditional and charter public schools to provide suspension and expulsion information, including how long students are outside the classroom and why.
Several other jurisdictions have implemented similar bans on pre-K suspensions. Lawmakers in Chicago recently voted to prohibit suspensions for students in Pre-K to 2nd grade, except for cases involving extreme safety concerns.
The new chair of the DC Council's education committee promises a change in style and substance
Greater Greater Washington
By Natalie Wexler
January 7, 2015
At-Large Councilmember David Grosso plans to adopt a less aggressive style than David Catania, his predecessor as education committee chair. Grosso says his main focus will be getting disadvantaged kids the services they need to do well in school.
Back in December of 2012, David Catania was chomping at the bit to become chair of the education committee. "I'm so excited," he told the Post, "I can't stand it."
What followed was a two-year whirlwind of activity, during which Catania introduced myriad pieces of legislation, visited some 150 schools, and grilled DC education officials about their perceived lapses.
When the Council reconvenes in January, Catania's successor, David Grosso, will take the reins. He's also eager to take on the challenge of addressing DC's seemingly intractable education problems—most fundamentally, the gap in achievement between affluent white students and other groups. But he says his style will be different.
"I'm not going to introduce eight bills during my first few months," Grosso said in a recent interview.
He says he'll have his own priorities, but will work collaboratively with others, engaging them in conversation before holding hearings or introducing legislation.
"When I put something forward," he says, "I'm not sure I have the answer. I'm going to want to work closely to make sure everyone buys in."
A shift in focus
Catania's legislative legacy includes an overhaul of the District's special education system, the end of social promotion, and additional funds for students who are most at-risk.
His hearings and roundtables also provided forums for parents, teachers, and the general public to air their views on subjects like DCPS's controversial teacher evaluation system.
Grosso says that under his chairmanship, the education committee will continue to address legitimate questions about teacher evaluations, testing, and "what goes on in the classroom." He also says the committee will remain "a place where the community has a voice" in education matters.
But his main focus, he says, will be on ways to ensure that kids—especially poor kids—have access to services that will put them in a position to learn. Education, he says, is an area that is connected to many others and can't be siloed.
As an example, he mentions a story he heard about a high school freshman who was "acting out." When a counselor sat down with the student to find out what was behind her behavior, the counselor discovered she hadn't had running water in her house for four months.
It's unrealistic, Grosso says, to expect students living in such circumstances to be fully engaged in schoolwork. And research backs him up: studies have shown that the stress of living in poverty causes physiological conditions that make it difficult for kids to focus and control their impulses.
"People might say, how is this relevant to the work of the education committee?" Grosso says. "But in reality, it's imperative to education that we give kids like that an opportunity to heal."
Seeing the bigger picture
Addressing problems related to poverty and race is beyond the capacity of any school system, he says, and requires a concerted effort. That's one reason he's glad he'll also be sitting on the Council's new committee on health and human services.
"I don't expect my staff or I to become experts in what should be taught or how," he says. That's the job of the DC Public Schools Chancellor and other school leaders, he explained. But, Grosso added, "we can see the bigger picture."
One area where he sees a need is mental health. Last summer he visited a number of mental health providers and was particularly impressed with a program called Resilient Scholars, which provides counseling in 21 DCPS and charter schools. Grosso would like to expand that kind of in-school program.
Grosso says he's learned a lot in his two years as a member of the education committee, and his sister is a Montessori educator. But other than that he has no particular expertise in education.
However, his deputy chief of staff, Christina Henderson, has a master's in public affairs from Princeton, with a particular emphasis on education. She's also held several education-related jobs, including one at DCPS and another at the New York City Department of Education. Henderson has been Grosso's main adviser on education and will continue to play that role.
Which style will produce results?
It's too soon to know if Grosso's more collaborative and focused approach will produce better results than Catania's aggressive, let's-do-it-all-at-once style. But it sounds promising. Although Catania certainly kept education issues in the spotlight, it's not clear his efforts will result in any meaningful reduction in the achievement gap.
A case in point is Grosso's chosen issue, in-school mental health services. Back in 2012, the DC Council passed legislation setting a goal of having a mental health program in 50% of all DC schools by this school year, and in every school by 2016-17. The prime mover behind that legislation was David Catania, who introduced it in response to a shooting that left four teenagers dead.
But according to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, only 36% of schools currently have such programs. The DCFPI estimates that it will cost $11 million to fully fund the legislation, and it's not clear that money will be forthcoming.
Would there be more mental health programs in schools by now if Catania had taken more pains to bring everyone on board before passing a bill, as Grosso promises to do? Perhaps. But even though the legislation is a fait accompli, maybe it's not too late for Grosso to use his influence to meet its goals.
New federal guidelines highlight civil rights of English language learners
The Washington Post
By Emma Brown
January 7, 2015
The Obama administration released guidelines Wednesday that highlight the civil rights of students learning English as a second language, who under federal law are guaranteed targeted help and a high-quality public education.
There are about 5 million English-language learners in the United States, or about 9 percent of all public school students, and the number is increasing. So, too, are the number of civil rights complaints concerning English learners, according to the Education Department, while national test scores and other data show a persistent achievement gap between native English speakers and those learning English as a second language.
“It is crucial to the future of our nation that these students, and all students, have equal access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to achieve their full academic potential,” administration officials wrote in an open letter to the nation’s educators. The letter was signed by Catherine E. Lhamon, the Education Department’s assistant secretary for civil rights, and Vanita Gupta, acting assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department.
The letter comes amid public debate about schools’ responsibility to serve the thousands of unaccompanied and undocumented minors who have streamed across the border in the past year. It also follows President Obama’s executive action to allow nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States. Some English learners are immigrants; many others are the children of immigrants.
The new guidance is the first in 24 years to address the rights of English learners and comes 40 years after the Supreme Court ruled that schools must provide targeted help for them. It does not establish new policy, but it intends to lay out in one place the many obligations schools have under federal law, particularly the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974.
Among the requirements: Provide English learners with language programs led by qualified teachers, integrate English learners as much as possible into mainstream classrooms and communicate with parents in a language they understand.
The administration published the guidelines in the face of “serious compliance concerns around the country,” Lhamon said. The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights has received more than 475 such complaints since 2009 and has 60 active investigations in 26 states.
Federal investigations that turn up evidence of civil rights violations can result in settlement agreements in which states or school districts commit to making changes necessary to comply with the law. Last month, for example, the department reached an agreement with an Oregon school district to improve special-education services for English learners.
But the law is loose enough that it’s tough for federal officials to intervene in all but the most egregious cases, said Conor P. Williams, a senior researcher at New America Foundation.
Williams said that the rising number of civil rights complaints is due more to the growing population of English language learners than to a sudden spike in concern about those students.
“There are a lot more English learners in American schools, and American schools don’t know what to do about it, so they are stumbling around,” Williams said.
Civil rights data shows that English-language learners account for 5 percent of high school students nationwide but make up only 2 percent of students in Advanced Placement classes and 11 percent of students who are held back a grade.
Federal law does not dictate the curriculum schools must use to teach English learners, saying only that the programs must be “educationally sound in theory and effective in practice” and may segregate English learners from mainstream classes only if there is a good reason.
Debate about whether English learners should be taught in bilingual or English-immersion classrooms has been a political lightning rod in several states with large immigrant populations, perhaps most notably in California. In 1998, California voters passed a proposition that curtailed the amount of time English-language learners could spend in special programs and required them to be instructed almost entirely in English.
But sentiment appears to be shifting, and the November 2016 ballot in California includes a measure that would repeal key provisions of that law.