- Nida: College and Careers Come to Anacostia [Friendship PCS is mentioned]
- DC CAS Test is Coming to Second Grade
- Survey: Parents, Students Happier With D.C. Schools
-
Bullying Add-Ons Make No Child Reform Less Certain
Nida: College and Careers Come to Anacostia [Friendship PCS is mentioned]
The Washington Times
By Tom Nida
October 25, 2011
Recently, I returned to my alma mater, Anacostia High School in Southeast Washington. As a graduate of the class of 1966, who had not stepped inside the building since, I was invited back by the principal, Ian Roberts, who gave me a personal tour of the facility. As the former chairman of D.C.'s Public Charter School Board, which regulates the city’s public charter schools, I knew about Anacostia’s educational woes. I was familiar with the difficulties in getting the vast majority of Anacostia’s students to grade level in reading and math, or even to guarantee their safety on campus. Mere survival was a sign of success.
But things are changing. Old assumptions that have defined Anacostia’s reputation throughout the city no longer apply.
Located at the heart of a community blighted by poverty and violence, the school faces many challenges. About 95 percent of Anacostia’s students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches owing to their families’ low income. One in five girls are teen moms. Nearly one in 10 students are homeless. And almost one-third of students are classified as having special education needs.
After decades of decline, former D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee invited Friendship Public Charter School to partner with DCPS and turn around the school - now renamed the Academies at Anacostia. Friendship runs six public charter schools in the District and four traditional public schools in Baltimore, in partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools. Previously, they had assumed management of a failing charter school, Southeast Academy in D.C. Friendship serves nearly 8,000 students from pre-K to 12th grade. Since September 2009, Friendship has been responsible for the school’s curriculum and culture.
Change was evident, as I observed the classrooms and walked the hallways with the charismatic new principal. He seemed to know the name of every student he encountered, and he kept in constant contact with staff through two-way radios.
Friendship’s chief academic officer, Michael Cordell, described the state of the school upon their arrival two years ago. The schoolhouse, with its caged windows reminiscent of a prison, had been allowed to steadily deteriorate. For many years, more students could be found in hallways than classrooms, demonstrating neglect of another kind. Students spoke of teachers asleep at their desks; of teachers telling them they got paid whether or not the children learned; and of the constant fear of violence.
Two years on, there is much work still to do, but there are important signs of hope. The city is finally investing in bringing the school campus up to modern, acceptable standards. A completely refurbished gymnasium and three-story building is gleaming with classrooms complete with state-of-the-art computers and Promethean whiteboards. Data walls, which track the academic progress of each student, adorn every classroom. The original schoolhouse, constructed in 1935, is being renovated and refurbished for the start of the next school year. A new message is being sent to students: Adults care about you and your education.
What’s taking place at Anacostia goes beyond modernizing the building. Students must wear school uniforms, with financial assistance for families who require it. In many classrooms, there are two teachers. When the partnership with Friendship began, staff were asked to reapply for their positions. About 85 percent were let go. New teachers, many from the highly praised Teach for America program, brought a new, heightened level of commitment and enthusiasm, while Friendship provided them a meaningful level of support.
Under Friendship’s direction, many statistics are now moving in the right direction. Attendance was 72 percent last year, up from 56 percent prior to the partnership. Arrests are down, from 135 in the year before the new management, to 30 in the past school year. That year, 79 percent of students graduated, compared with only 56 percent before the partnership. And 90 percent of the graduates were accepted to college - a big change.
Friendship has begun to offer academically rigorous Advanced Placement courses; 150 more students took these this year than in the partnership’s first year. So far, 40 students have earned Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded D.C. Achievers Scholarships, paying a full-ride through college. One student has been awarded a Gates Millennium Scholarship, which fully funds an undergraduate and postgraduate degree.
As I left the building, filled with memories of my own schooldays, I reflected on how many challenges these students and their families face. Changing the expectations of the children and the community about what can be achieved through education will take time and hard work. But replacing cynicism and chaos with college and careers is worth the effort. If the expectations of the staff, students, their families and the community at large are raised, the Academies at Anacostia can become a catalyst for change for the entire community.
Tom Nida is regional president for United Bank in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, and former chairman of the D.C. Public Charter School Board.
DC CAS Test is Coming to Second Grade
The Washington Post
By Bill Turque
October 25, 2011
D.C. public school second-graders will take the DC CAS for the first time this spring, part of an effort to expand the pool of teachers eligible to be evaluated on the “value-added” they bring to student test scores. Until recently, only grades 3 through 8 and high school sophomores took the exams.
Extending the CAS to second grade means that third-grade reading and math teachers will enter IMPACT’s “Group 1,” where half of their evaluation will be determined by their students’ ability to exceed projected levels of annual growth. DCPS needs second-grade test data to assemble a predictive model for the third-graders.
Third-grade teachers won’t actually be accountable for “value-added” until the 2012-13 school year. This spring’s test scores will be used only to establish a baseline, according to an FAQ sheet from the Office of Data and Accountability that went to schools last week. Nor will second grade scores be employed to calculate a school’s AYP.
As it stands, relatively few classroom teachers--less than 500 of the approximately 4,000--are evaluated using value-added. The methodology has been criticized by teachers unions and some scholars as not sufficiently reliable for high-stakes personnel evaluations.
But DCPS wants to increase the size of Group 1. Last spring, it introduced a CAS for ninth grade reading. IMPACT czar Jason Kamras said in an interview earlier this year that the District hoped to have 75 percent of classroom teachers accountable for value-added within five years.
Of the 476 teachers in Group 1 for the 2009-10 school year, 37 (about 8 percent) received “highly effective” IMPACT ratings, according to DCPS data provided to D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown (D). There were 124 (26 percent) judged “minimally effective” and ten (about 5 percent) deemed “ineffective.” The majority of 305 (about 64 percent) were “effective.”
Survey: Parents, Students Happier With D.C. Schools
The Washington Examiner
By Aubrey Whelan
October 25, 2011
Students and parents are becoming happier with the District's public schools, from school facilities to inspiring teachers to safety, according to a survey released Tuesday.
Eighty-two percent of students said their school was "on the right track" for student achievement, up a big 10 points from the last time the survey was given in 2009. Meanwhile, 85 percent of parents were pleased, up from 84 percent, according to the results of the D.C. Public Schools' Stakeholder Survey.
Parents say their favorable responses are a mark of just how far DCPS has come in the past several years under Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and now Kaya Henderson -- with noticeable improvement in school facilities, increased test scores and, tellingly, hundreds of suburban parents choosing to send their children to school in the District.
"The district as a whole has been much more responsive," said Diana Rojas, the co-president of the PTA at Alice Deal Middle School. "For years we felt we were mired in nothing, and when Michelle Rhee came in and said, 'We're going to start making changes,' parents responded to that."
These days, Rojas is so pleased with her three children's experience with D.C. schools that she says she would pay to send them there.
Students' opinions of their school have improved as well. Eighty percent said they feel "strongly supported" at their school -- an eight-point jump from 2009's survey. Eighty-seven percent said their teachers inspire them to learn -- up five points from 2009. Seventy-one percent said they would recommend their school to other students, up from 66 percent in 2009.
Improved school facilities and better maintenance also have made a difference, said Terry Lynch, the vice president of the parents' association at School Without Walls.
"The facilities have changed dramatically, almost night and day. Parents see that and that's a big factor," he said. Fifty-four percent of students in the survey said they felt their school was clean and well-maintained. Just 46 percent said the same two years ago.
But not all those surveyed are entirely content. Students' satisfaction with their schools varies by race and ward -- with white and Asian students holding slightly more favorable opinions than their black and Hispanic counterparts. Just 63 percent said they feel safe in the area around their school -- compared with 89 percent who feel safe in class.
"We need to work towards equity and parity in all of the schools and consistent quality in what they offer," said D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown.
And while teachers expressed high satisfaction with some district services, only 58 percent are satisfied with services overall, according to the survey. Less than half say they feel supported by the central office, but 74 percent expressed satisfaction with their own school.
DCPS officials said they are hosting community meetings to gain more feedback from parents and will use the survey information in their strategic plan.
"Everyone at our schools take it seriously," said DCPS spokesman Fred Lewis. "We want an inclusive school district where everyone feels welcome and feels like they're having quality education, not just lip service."
Bullying Add-Ons Make No Child Reform Less Certain
The Washington Times
By Ben Wolfgang
October 25, 2011
Democrats plan to introduce two anti-bullying amendments when a major education reform proposal hits the Senate floor later this year - but the measures could put bipartisan support for the bill in serious jeopardy.
Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota is expected to offer the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), which would make it a federal crime to bully lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students. Under the law, school districts could lose federal funding or face lawsuits if they ignore harassment.
Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania plans to propose the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA), mandating that schools adopt broad anti-bullying policies and issue regular reports to Congress and the Department of Education on the number and types of harassment cases each year.
Republicans have concerns with both bills and fear heavy-handed federal interference over school policy and potential lawsuits brought by students and their families or the federal government, draining district budgets at a time when they’re already stretched to the breaking point. Many in the GOP have expressed support for the goals of both measures, but have taken issue with the details.
Mr. Franken and Mr. Casey withdrew their amendments during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee markup of the education reform package last week amid belief that they would erode Republican support, which is already in short supply, for the plan.
Mr. Casey “made the difficult decision to withdraw his amendment before it came up for a vote. He felt he could not jeopardize the bipartisan committee vote to reform No Child Left Behind,” Casey spokeswoman April Mellody said Tuesday.
Mr. Casey’s fears are well-founded, and both measures could represent a poison pill for Republicans skeptical of the legislation, drafted by HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, and Sen. Michael B. Enzi, Wyoming Republican.
Sen. Mark Kirk, Illinois Republican and one of only three HELP Committee Republicans currently backing the bill, supports the Safe Schools Act but has reservations about the SNDA, which boasts more than 20 Democratic co-sponsors.
Kirk spokeswoman Kate Dickens said Tuesday the Illinois senator will emphasize “the need to keep federal education dollars in the schools and out of legal battles,” and cannot support the bill unless it includes safeguards to ensure schools aren’t bombarded with lawsuits.
But Mr. Franken and other Democrats believe the party must stick to its guns, even if it ends up costing Republican votes on the Senate floor.
“My understanding is that some members think that if we considered [the SNDA] … the whole No Child Left Behind reform would lose bipartisan support,” Mr. Franken said during last week’s markup. “But I want to be crystal clear. We need to pass it. We need to vote on it. Kids who are scared and have nowhere else to turn need our help.”
Despite the rift, many in the LGBT community support tethering Mr. Franken’s measure to the broader proposal and believe it is a necessary component to any school reform plan.
“The idea has always been that [education reform] provided the best vehicle for it. It’s when everybody is paying attention to education issues,” Shawn Gaylord, director of public policy for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, said Tuesday. “But there are a lot of ways this could go.”
One possible outcome is that the Democrat-controlled Senate pushes through the NCLB overhaul with both amendments, only to face stiff opposition in the Republican-led House, which is pushing its own education reform package. Rep. John Kline, Minnesota Republican, who is chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and architect of the House plan, strongly supports increased protection for the most vulnerable students, but remains skeptical of the Democratic approach.
“Forty-seven states already have laws on the books that address bullying and harassment in schools. Chairman Kline is concerned that imposing additional federal solutions could undermine those important local efforts,” a Kline spokeswoman told The Washington Times on Tuesday.
Without Mr. Kline’s support, any education bill containing either amendment is likely dead on arrival in the House.