"Urgency is Needed to Improve our Schools"

Boston Herald Editorial:

It may sound simple, but it helps illustrate the urgent need to change the state’s approach to improving failing schools.

As it stands, the state can deem a school underperforming if students fail to meet minimum standards for two or more years.

Then it’s six months to come up with an improvement plan, another two years to make changes and only then does the state even consider intervening. Meanwhile, another generation spends its most important years in schools that aren’t getting the job done.

West Moves Ahead With English 10 Restructuring

West High School has decided to move ahead with their curriculum reduction plan. The school has posted a document explaining the changes on their website. The one concession that the school has made to parents is their decision not to require students to give up time at lunch in order to earn an honors designation. Instead, there will be an embedded honors component where students will be expected to complete more complex assignments and take more challenging exams. Support for struggling students will now occur in the classroom as well.

From the document:

The staff training necessary for full implementation of the tenth grade English program will include:
• The basics of how to differentiate in the classroom. What is really meant by differentiated instruction? How is it successfully implemented at the high school level?
• Best practice strategies for supporting struggling learners in the heterogeneous classroom.

Vouchers, Charters and Public School Accountability

Eduwonk rounds up a number of interesting comments on Milwaukee's voucher program, including this:

Update: Concerning public accountability, one reader writes:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m not defending these voucher schools, or any schools that hide from legitimate public oversight. But I’ve spent years now working on projects that required interviews with school personnel, site visits, documentation from the central office, etc., etc. And if you think that refusing to submit to outside evaluation is specifically or even primarily a problem of private/voucher schools, you’re nuts. There’s no stonewaller like the public school stonewaller. Administrative assistants are the worst. And don’t give me all that FERPA xxxx, either; they just don’t want people snooping around.

That's a fair enough point, it's not just a voucher school problem (though not every public school stonewalls either).

AP Class Quality Control

Georgina Gustin:

Starting in the 2007-08 school year, any high school that offers an AP class will have to prove it meets certain College Board requirements. Teachers and administrators will have to perform annual self-audits and submit materials, including syllabi, to the College Board.

Via Education Gadfly:

Prestigious universities value the letters AP (i.e., Advanced Placement) on an applicant's transcript, maintaining that success in AP courses is the best indicator of success in college. But students looking to score points with admissions officers have begun gaming the system. Many enroll in AP courses but never sit for the accompanying AP exam. And high schools—bowing to student pressure for more AP courses—are lowering expectations so that more students can have the coveted letters on their transcripts (see here for more on AP's expansion).

Stay out of YOUR business!

Public education is public business, that is, your business. However, the administration thinks otherwise, and I was raked over the coals a few days back for saying, "The MMSD's line certainly tells students, parents, teachers, and taxpayers that we don't know bleep about education, so we should sit down, shut up, and get out of the way while the administration does what it pleases."

I further commented, "The issue is MMSD's 'corporate culture,' and how it values the opinions of administrators vs. the rest of us."

In the draft of the minutes of Performance and Achievement Committee on November 14, 2005, we get a clear restatement of the MMSD's organizational culture:

The reason that the board and public will not be able begin thinking through the curriculum redesign is that the superintendent invoked a new form of 'executive privilege' at last Monday’s meeting. When I asked for information as soon as the committee makes its recommendations, the superintendent successfully argued that no one outside of administration should have access to the recommendations until he decides which recommendations he supports. According to Rainwater, public discussion of the recommendations before he makes his choices would interfere with his discussion with the experts on his staff. Apparently protecting administrative discussion is more important than opening the curriculum-choosing process to public scrutiny and input.

I'll now have to amend my earlier comment: "The MMSD's line certainly tells the BOARD OF EDUCATION, students, parents, teachers, and taxpayers that we don't know bleep about education, so we should sit down, shut up, and get out of the way while the administration does what it pleases."

I respectfully encourage the board to assert its appropriate role as the ultimate authority over the MMSD.

School-funding update from Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES)

The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is a statewide network of educators, school board members, parents, community leaders, and researchers. Its Wisconsin Adequacy Plan -- a proposal for school-finance reform -- is the result of research into the cost of educating children to meet state proficiency standards.

Washburn joins list of districts in budget distress
Wisconsin schools serve too few breakfasts
Advocates tie education to brighter economic future
More evidence behind pre-school for disadvantaged kids
Arkansas next in line to change school-funding system
School-funding reform calendar

Washburn joins list of districts in budget distress

The Washburn School District Board took a look into its crystal ball, earlier this week, and saw "the future wasn't bright (http://www.ashlandwi.com/dailypress/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=208100)."

District Business Manager Ron Hollstadt said the district will likely have to slice between $225,000 and $257,000 from the 2006-07 budget to comply with state spending limits. He also said that, with a projected decline in enrollment, Washburn is looking at potentially having to cut $1 million by the 2009-10 school year.

"It's going to take a lot of head scratching and belt tightening to come up with creative solutions for next year," Hollstadt said.

*************

Wisconsin schools serve too few breakfasts

Despite what we know about the health and education benefits of breakfast, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that some think Wisconsin schools serve too few morning meals (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/dec05/379346.asp).

Ruth Jonen, national president of the School Nutrition Association -- announcing the start of a new program called "Got breakfast?" -- said "Wisconsin is America's Dairyland. You need to do a better job. Former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole and former Democratic candidate George McGovern took part in the event in Washington.

Wisconsin ranked next to last in the percentage of eligible schools taking part. State schools superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster said scheduling, long bus routes, and budget concerns are reasons for the poor but improving participation.

************

Advocates tie education to brighter economic future

Ohio is much like Wisconsin, so state government in Madison should pay attention to 3,000 interviews that say, once again, that the best way to build a prosperous future economy is to improve the state's schools (http://www.accessednetwork.org/news/advocacy/12-04-05ohioeconomy.php3).

The interviews were conducted in northeast Ohio by "Voices and Choices (http://www.voiceschoices.org/default.asp)," a public engagement initiative of a collaboration of 70 regional philanthropies. The response from the interviews reflects the research on the links between schools and economic success. For example, one report says there are "strong indications that quality public schools increase national economic growth and competitiveness, state and local business attraction, and residential real estate values."

Additionally, studies show that home buyers are willing to pay more for a home close to high achieving schools. In rural contexts, small, community-oriented schools can narrow the achievement gap and create a more economically advanced work-force.

*****************

More evidence behind pre-school for disadvantaged kids

In the best of times ... when state budgets aren't quite as tight ... universal pre-school is at the top of everyone's list. With tight budgets, however, it is important that those who most need early childhood education get it.

An article in The Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2002691690_preschool19m.html) quotes one Head Start worker in Portland as saying, "We've got to get to 100 percent for low-income kids first. Those kids are most at risk -- they don't have computers at home, they don't go on trips to the zoo or on vacation. By being in Head Start, they get those experiences."

Annette Dieker, of Mount Hood Community College, says universal pre-school would be open to low-income children, but she worries that a broader program ... despite its track record of success ... might lack the extra support offered by programs like Head Start, which in Oregon relies on state and federal funding to operate.

**********

Arkansas next in line to change school-funding system

Earlier this month, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that "the state must comply with its own education funding laws," reform the way the state funds its schools (http://www.schoolfunding.info/news/litigation/12-16-05arsupct.php3).

The court held that "the General Assembly failed to comply with (these laws) and, by doing so, retreated from its prior actions." The General Assembly could not have adequately funded schools for the 2005-07 biennium, the court found, because it had made no effort "to determine what adequate funding should be," as required by its own laws.

The court set a December 1, 2006 deadline "too allow the necessary time to correct the constitutional deficiencies."

************

School-funding reform calendar

Jan. 16, 2006 -- School-funding reform presentation in Platteville for the Southwestern Wisconsin Education Association, 7 p.m. at Platteville High School
Jan. 23, 2006 -- School-funding reform presentation, 6:30 p.m., in the St. Francis School District (http://www.stfrancissd.org/)
Jan. 25, 2006 -- School-funding reform presentation, 7 p.m., at the Markesan Middle School (http://www.markesan.k12.wi.us/default.htm), 100 East Vista Boulevard
Feb. 22, 2006 -- School-funding reform presentation at Marinette School District High School (http://www.marinette.k12.wi.us/)

March 10, 2006 -- School-funding reform presentation, 3:30 p.m., School Finance Class (Ed 810) in the Edgewood College Doctoral Program
March 13, 2006 -- School-funding reform presentation, noon, for the Fond du Lac Retired Educators Association., Knights of Columbus building, 795 Fond du Lac Avenue.

Please feel free to share your copy of the WAES school-funding update with anyone interested in school-finance reform. Contact Tom Beebe (tbeebe@wisconsinsfuture.org) at 414-384-9094 for details.

Report of Committee to Redesign Middle School Curriculum: Top Secret for Now

An administrative report recommending changes the middle school curriculum district-wide that was due in late December is now expected some time in January. Shwaw Vang, chair of the Performance and Achievement Committee of the MMSD school board, held a second meeting on the expected report on December 19. According to minutes of the November meeting on this topic, the December meeting would be an opportunity for Board members to provide feedback or input.

Unfortunately, the Board received no new information about the likely proposal of the committee, although the recommendations will affect most areas of the middle school curriculum, including Fine Arts, Life Skills, Mathematics, Wellness, and World Languages as well as Student Support Services. Among other things, the recommendations will result in equal minutes of instruction across subject areas.

At a November 14 meeting, the Performance and Achievement committee heard the following overview of the work of the Middle Grades Design Team to Develop a Consistent Curriculum for 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Students.

"Pam Nash noted the design team was formed at the request of the Superintendent and charged to design a consistent sixth through eighth grade educational experience across the middle grades that address the areas of learning, engagement, and relationships. The goal is that all middle grade students will have an equal opportunity to gain the academic and interpersonal skills necessary to be prepared for the rigor of the ninth grade. She presented an overview of the work of the team to date. Recommendations will be provided to the Superintendent by the end of December and then to the Board of Education.

DISCUSSION:
• Considerations/affect on a magnet school program (Spring Harbor).
• Board opportunity to review recommendations. Board needs a real role before decisions come about budget and curriculum change.
• Focus of “learning” is that all students are prepared in the same way for the rigor of high school curriculum. Parents (not just low income) are concerned about rigor.
• Focus should be on priorities and a way to measure progress.
• Question is how to guarantee equal challenge as well as the opportunity to explore.
• Focus has been on emotional and social aspects and not enough academic challenge. Part of the issue will be bringing the staff along.
• Real goal is a consistent, rigorous academic program that does not look different from school to school, or teacher to teacher. Upgrade academic program and make it as consistent as possible.
• With continuing budget cuts, different schools made different choices about curriculum; widened from each other. Issue has been visited. At a point to do this now because it is the right thing to do for students.
• Ask for input from students as well. Need to know any budgetary impacts.

Follow-Up: Shwaw Vang asked for another presentation in early December. This would also be an opportunity for Board members to provide feedback or input."

From draft of Minutes of Performance and Achievement Committee on November 14, 2005.

Like the public, the Board of Education remains in the dark as to the scope and content of the committee’s likely recommendations to Superintendent Art Rainwater, let alone his thoughts. We will all get our first chance to review potentially sweeping curriculum changes in the New Year---at the same time that the board will be resolving school boundary and construction issues, monitoring the “$100 budget process”, developing the budget for the 2006-07 school year, and receiving the recommendations of the new task force on the district’s “equity policy”. A similar secrecy and delay last year kept the board from knowing about recommendations affecting high school sports until budget decisions were imminent.

The reason that the board and public will not be able begin thinking through the curriculum redesign is that the superintendent invoked a new form of “executive privilege” at last Monday’s meeting. When I asked for information as soon as the committee makes its recommendations, the superintendent successfully argued that no one outside of administration should have access to the recommendations until he decides which recommendations he supports. According to Rainwater, public discussion of the recommendations before he makes his choices would interfere with his discussion with the experts on his staff. Apparently protecting administrative discussion is more important than opening the curriculum-choosing process to public scrutiny and input.

The longer the curriculum design recommendations remain secret, the stronger will be the argument against implementing the recommendations at all middle schools in 2006-07. Parents, teachers and the public deserve sufficient time to review the recommendations and the basis for all proposed changes.

Community Invited to Suggest Budget Reductions

Residents of the Madison Metropolitan School District will be given the opportunity in 11 January sessions to make suggestions and set priorities for budget reductions necessary for the 2006-07 school year. The budget reduction exercise uses a $100 budget that reflects the proportionate share for 47 major program areas of the actual MMSD budget.

MMSD Press release, 12/22/05

Participants are asked to individually and in a small group determine which program areas should be cut and by how much to reach the projected maximum of $10 million that the school district will have to cut for next year to comply with state-imposed revenue limits. In the $100 budget model, $10 million equals $3.85.

“We’re interested in meaningful community participation in setting priorities for budget reductions,” said Superintendent Art Rainwater. “The major priorities that result from all the exercise participants will inform us as we develop the budget for the Board of Education.”

The $100 budget exercise will also show the difficulty of making up to $10 million in budget cuts for next year, and improve understanding of the impact of budget reductions.

The 11 sessions are scheduled at each of the Madison middle schools on the evenings of January 24, 25 and 26 (complete schedule is below.) One will be held at each of the Madison middle schools. All MMSD residents are invited to participate one time, and the sessions should run between 1 hour 20 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes.

There will be four parts to the sessions: an overview of the MMSD budget and the exercise process; individuals making their own budget cuts using the $100 budget; reaching consensus with a group of four persons on the cuts; and individuals setting priorities by goals and programs.

Residents can get more information about the $100 budget exercise and can work on their own budget reductions after January 9, when the document will be at www.mmsd.org/budget/100dollar/

For more information, contact:
Ken Syke, 663-1903 or 575-6682, or
Joe Quick, 663-1902

Community Sessions of the Budget Reduction Exercise Using the $100 Budget Model

Every MMSD resident is invited to participate, but each is limited to participating one time. Length of the sessions will be between 1:20 and 1:45.

Tuesday, January 24
Cherokee Middle School 6:00 p.m. 4301 Cherokee Dr Cafeteria
Sennett Middle School 6:00 p.m. 502 Pflaum Rd. Cafeteria
Hamilton Middle School 7:00 p.m. 4801 Waukesha St. Cafeteria
Sherman Middle School 7:00 p.m. 1610 Ruskin St. Cafeteria

Wednesday, January 25
Jefferson Middle School 6:00 p.m. 101 S. Gammon Rd. Cafeteria
O'Keeffe Middle School 6:00 p.m. 510 S. Thornton Ave. Cafeteria
Spring Harbor Middle School 7:00 p.m. 1110 Spring Harbor Dr.Gym
Whitehorse/Schenk Schools 7:00 p.m. 218 Schenk St. Cafeteria

Thursday, January 26
Wright Middle School 6:00 p.m. 1717 Fish Hatchery Rd. LMC
Toki Middle School 6:30 p.m. 5606 Russett Rd. Cafeteria
Black Hawk/Gompers Schools 7:00 p.m. 1402 Wyoming Way Cafeteria

"Mysteries of Testing Solved"

Jay Matthews:

Bracey has been exposing statistics abuse for years. But I have never seen him put together all that he knows as well as he has in this book. It has some of the best explanations of educational numbers manipulation I have ever read, particularly issues like SAT scores, year-to-year school comparisons and argument by graph that are most likely to deceive us innocents. The book has Bracey's deft prose and sure touch with clarifying examples. I also appreciate the fact he trimmed much of his sharp ideological edge, loved by many of his fans, but not by me. He acknowledges several times that no combatant in the bitter education policy wars has an unquestionable grasp on the truth.

One Room Schools Holding Up in Rural America

Neenah Ellis:

One-room schools still exist in America. They are a legacy of a less mobile, more rural time in American history. Mostly serving isolated communities, the remaining schools require one teacher to educate children of varying ages at the same time in a single classroom.

Lopez to Seek 5th Term

Sandy Cullen:

Two slots on the Madison School Board will be up for grabs in spring elections in which one incumbent will face a challenger while other candidates vie for an open seat.

Board member Juan Jose Lopez announced Tuesday that he will seek a fifth three-year term. He is facing a challenge by Lucy Mathiak, a parent and organizer of the advocacy group East High United.

Parents Arlene Silvera and Maya Cole, both active PTO members at different West Side schools, have declared their candidacy for the seat being vacated by Bill Keys.

Websites: Maya Cole | Juan Jose Lopez | Lucy Mathiak | Arlene Silveira (Arlene told me her site would be up soon).

Tim Olsen on Generating Cash from the Doyle Administration Land/Building

Tim Olsen's email to Madison Board of Education Member Ruth Robarts:

And below are the specifics you requested re calculating an estimated value for the Doyle site. You are welcome to share this email with anyone interested. And thanks for the opportunity to speak to the Board, for your comments, and for including Lucy Mathiak's blog-article. Someone told me about her article and I'm happy to receive a copy.

My estimate of the value of the Doyle Building is straightforward and based on current City assessments of the Doyle property and of Howard Johnsons just across the street. This public information is freely available via the City of Madison Assessor's site. Similar calculations can be made by anyone. The Excel spreadsheet I used (complete with embedded formulas) is attached as an example. Here's how anyone can make their own calculations:

1. Go to the Assessor's site.
2. Since the phone book etc. will show that the Doyle property is at 545 W. Dayton, you can "Query by Address"
3. Fill in 545, then W, then Dayton in the form and submit.
4. Click on the parcel number and you will then be shown the Assessor's records for the District's parcel.
5. You can do the same for the Howard Johnson property and compare the two. The Howard Johnson Motor Lodge street address is 525 W. Johnson and the back of the hotel is across the street from the front of the Doyle property (originally called Washington School when it was built).
6. The key calculation (per the attached spreadsheet [.xls file]) is figuring out the assessed value of Howard Johnson LAND (not including the "Improvements" i.e. building and parking lot etc) PER SQUARE FOOT. For HoJo's the calculation is $4,237,000 divided by 70,611 sq. feet in the parcel = $60 per square foot.
7. Then, to calculate an estimate for the Doyle property land value (ignoring the building value), simply multiply $60/sq.ft. * 115, 927 sq. ft. = $6,955,620.
8. Since the Doyle property is adjacent to the Kohl Center, and generally parcels in Madison sell for substantially more than assessed value, I'm guessing it's actually worth a lot more than $7 million.To sell, lease or develop the Doyle property, the zoning classification would have to be changed, which is not a trivial matter. But just as Ms. Mathiak points out with regard to City Landmarks, such obstacles have been overcome for good reasons many times in City history. The Hilton Hotel that was developed on Catholic Church property is a related example. It is quite unlikely that the Doyle property would ever qualify as a National Register of Historic Places landmark in my opinion but I'd suggest checking with the State Historical Society for a professional assessment.

   I think it would be great to get selling/leasing/developing the Doyle property formally on the table.

   My personal hunch is that the wisest option would be to develop the site, maintain ownership and lease space so that MMSD could continue to make money on it and maintain options for moving programs or administration in or out as enrollment changes over the decades. (Modeling needs for only the next 5 or 10 years is tremendously short-sighted. Extrapolating trends for such a short time is realistic in that projecting beyond that is highly speculative, but we need to recognize how just how limited our predictive powers are. That's the way it is.

   But the fact is, that the property will maintain, and likely greatly increase in value for a long time, given its incredibly valuable location. Why sell the cow that will produce for generations?

   But I'm sure that by putting it on the table, and giving it a thorough analysis with expert help would come out with very good, and well-prioritized solutions, that might even disagree my hunch.

   Meanwhile, I understand that the State Cap really puts MMSD in a box. And that 7 million would not pay off $10 million of shortfall each year. Referendums will need to be passed to maintain the same quality of education over the long term. And we can't wait for a huge change in the attitudes, or representation of legislators required for overturning or modifying the cap(s).

   Nonetheless, taking some initiative with the Doyle site could contribute positively to the district's inbalance in funding more significantly that reshuffling students among schools or building a new building. So, in sum I agree with you in that "we must take some steps of this kind to improve public confidence and build support for referendums that we will need in the near future."

   So -- keep up the good work Ms. Robarts.

   
   Cheers,

   
   Tim Olsen

   
   P.S. I would love to see MMSD Admin LEAD FROM THE FRONT by moving their offices to schools with space and low enrollments. That would be educational for all parties don't you think?

   P.P.S. A calculation of the value of the Wingra School property on Monroe St. can be made similarly to above. To be more accurate, average the value (land and improvements) per square foot value of all adjacent property around the three sides of the parcel, then multiply the ($ average value/sqft) * (the total square footage of the Wingra School) parcel. My guess is that $750,000 is still way, way less than its market value -- beneficial as maintaning its current use/zoning may be to adjacent property owners. A $750,000 sale price to the school subsidizes private education with public property value, while the green space etc. enhances adjacent and nearby property values. I'd vote for leasing the property to Wingra at a realistic rate for a shorter term (not $1 per year). Think that's a tough approach? Ask Edgewood how much it would cost to lease a similar amount of land and/or facilities from them. That would be the 'market rate' for a private school.

   Ms. Robarts, ..just some quick context for my 'specifics'.. Of course the City Assessor's Office, any good developer, or certainly a professional appraisor would point out that many more factors merit consideration in making an accurate appraisal. Factors as diverse as proximity to a freeway ramp, brown fields, street congestion, view, whether or not its on a lakeshore and non-linear relationships with parcel size are just a tiny tip of the iceberg. Nonetheless, a quick and fair calculation of the value of the LAND (excluding improvements which is more complicated; e.g. how would maintaining the exterior of a city landmark factor into developing the site) can be reasonably approximated the way I did it.

   And for more context -- How do I know?.. some further qualifications:

   dozen years on Tenney-Lapham Neigh. Assoc. Board with 2 as President inc. work on development,
   • building code and parcel assessment issues; most recently on the 800 E. Washington property (Don Miller autos) proposed for development by Gary Gorman (an excellent plan that deserves City support with TIF, in my opinion) -
   • PhD minor in Environmental Monitoring (remote sensing and Geospatial information systems science (as mentioned Monday eve. my PhD major is Curriculum & Instruction from Madison) GIS etc provides sophisticated means to estimate real estate value (along with many other applications).
   I'd be happy to help contact some developers to encourage them to look at the Doyle property. Have a great day

Terry Pristin discusses the University of Washington's rental income generated by 11 acres of downtown Seattle real estate. A great example of thinking different.

Equity Task Force Members

School Board President Carol Carstensen provided the following list of recommended Task Force Members (and the elementary attendance area of their residence):

EAST
David Cohen - Gompers
Wendy Sauve - Emerson
Lisa/Luis Cuevas - Lakeview (child at Lowell)

LAFOLLETTE:
Christa Bruhn - Schenk
Paul Kusuda - Glendale
Tamaria/Glenn Parks - Glendale

MEMORIAL
Toya Robinson - Falk
Matt Silvern - Orchard Ridge
Jackie Woodruff - Falk

WEST
Rafael Gomez - Thoreau
Thomas Mertz - Franklin/Randall
Beth Swedeen - Midvale/Lincoln

Her recommendations must still be approved by the full Board, and the names will be on the Board’s agenda for the board's next meeting, January 4, 2006.

Wisconsin Taxes Rose 10% in 2005

• Wisconsin Taxes Set a Record: Residents and Business give 10% more:

  Wisconsin residents and businesses paid a record $56.5 billion in state, local and federal taxes and fees this year, a 10% increase from last year and the biggest jump in more than two decades, according to a study by a non-partisan taxpayers group. = WISTAX

  • Wisconsin’s total taxes rose 1.4 percentage points in 2005 to 32.0% of personal income
  • Net local property tax levies rose 6.3% in 2005. At 4.3% of personal income, 2005 net levies were at their highest level in 10 years.

Task Forces Present Early Options

Sandy Cullen:

Those options would move between 316 and 620 students. Some students at Leopold, Chavez, Falk, Thoreau, Stephens and Huegel would go to existing schools, while some students from Crestwood, Huegel, Stephens and Chavez would attend a new school.

School Board member Lawrie Kobza questioned why an option moving fewer students, which had been presented at recent public forums, was off the table. "I had felt we were moving in the right direction when moving the least number of kids," she said.

Facilitator Jane Belmore said bus rides for some of those students would have exceeded 45 minutes each way.

....parent Tim Olsen called on administrators to "lead from the front" instead by selling the Doyle Administration Building.

Olsen said that selling the property adjacent to the Kohl Center could bring nearly $7 million to the district, which anticipates eliminating up to $10 million from its current budget next year to comply with state revenue limits.

• Preliminary School Boundary Options Long Range Planning Committee Site

"Beat the Achievement Gap" Student Conference

Students, mark your calendars!

The Simpson Street Free Press will be holding a city-wide "Beat the Achievement Gap" conference on February 25 at 2:00 p.m. At this conference, students will take the following pledge: "I will be an active role model for younger students. I will work to spread a positive message of engagement at my school and in my community. I will encourage academic success among my peers."

For more information, see "The Gap According to Black: A Feature Column by Cydny Black" and the inspiring two-page spread entitled "Education: Bridging the Achievement Gap" in the January, 2006, issue of The Simpson Street Free Press. Additional information will soon be posted at www.simpsonstreetfreepress.org

Memorial Black Student Union

A new student group at Memorial:

The Black Student Union (MBSU) was designed to encourage and develop the Black students of James Madison Memorial High School and beyond. Our purpose is to serve as a liaison between students and the administration, link students to the community, and provide a positive social and cultural atmosphere. Our goal is to build better relationship among one another and to break the typical presentations of the Black community while maintaining respect, unity, and love.

Read more on the blog of the Madison Area Family Advisory/Advocacy Coaliton (MAFAAC).

"School Contests Promise to Be Hot"

Lee Sensenbrenner:

With this spring's elections to the Madison School Board, the balance of power on the seven-member body hinges on the outcome of what surely will be two hotly competitive races.

Much more on the candidates and the election here.

MMSD Budget Mystery #5: Mumbo Gumbo in the Kitchen

Let me first say, daring detectives, we dismissed Sam Spade that language larruping lout. So uncouth!

So let’s get back to real sleuthing on the case of Mumbo Gumbo in the Kitchen, the MMSD kitchen to be exact.

The puzzling budget portfolio presented to the Board of Education says, “The Division [Food Service] is reviewing staffing levels for the 2005-2006 school year and expects to reduce the staffing level by approximately 2%.” (page 150)

Now here’s the first of the mysteries in this mumbo gumbo. The budget figures on page 149 (the page right before page 150!) show the Food Service budget RISING from $7,152,021 to $7,398,620, an increase of $246,599 or 3.5%! Mysterious!

Don’t go away. We’re just getting started on these numbing numbers.

“Fringe FTE” increased from $1,004,621 to $1,922,782, or $918,637 or 91.5%, according to the same budget figures. Do the Food Service employees have such a bold bargaining brigade as to wring such a wonderful increase from the MMSD contract negotiators?

The same table shows that “Other Salary and Benefits” leaped from $1,219,053 to $2,180,790, an increase of 78.9%.

What would cause such a dramatic increase in salaries and fringes in light of the professed reduction in staffing level “by approximately 2%?” (The simple solution won’t stump those who paid attention to Mystery #4: Body Count or 1-2-3 FTE.)

“Other expenses” in Food Services (still on page 149) yo-yo around from $2.1 million in 2003-2004, $3.9 million in 2004-2005, and settle at $2,395,600 in 2005-2006.

This is a most curious concoction!

Can anyone tell the okra from the rice in this gurgling mumbo jumbo?

Highland's Distance Learning Grant

Amanda Kraemer:

The Highland School District, which has about 300 kindergarten through high school students, learned early this month they are one of 79 nationwide recipients of a $300,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture rural development grant.

School Board president Brad Laufenberg said one of the disadvantages of being a smaller school district is the inability to provide a large and varied number of courses to their students.

"The distance learning lab will enable us to provide many more of those courses to both our students and the rest of the community," he said.

Internationalizing Our Schools

Elizabeth Burmaster:

We live in a world instantly connected via satellites, computers, and other electronic technology. Our children embrace the technology that makes those connections possible, but need the educational background through cultural and linguistic experiences that will prepare them for the global world of today and their international future.

Burmaster raises some useful points. Clearly, it is no longer sufficient to compare Madison's curriculum and achievement with Racine, Green Bay or Kenosha. Rather, the question should include Bangalore, Helsinki, Shanghai, Taipei and Osaka, among others.

MMSD opposes charter school

An article by Joe Quick on MMSD's Web site lists the MMSD as one of the organizations opposed to legislation that would allow the UW-Madison to support a charter school in Dane County. Quick wrote:

Two Milwaukee-area legislators have proposed allowing the UW System to operate or contract for the operation of a charter school with the approval of the Board of Regents. According to the Legislative Reference Bureau analysis, "the school must be located in Dane County and may accept any pupil who resides in Dane County. The school may accommodate up to 700 pupils in its first school year (which may be no sooner than 2007-08), and up to 1,400 pupils thereafter."

. . . The bills are opposed by the: School Administrators Alliance, Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Wisconsin Education Association Council, Milwaukee Public Schools, Janesville and Madison Schools. As of December 15, no lobbying group or individual registered with the State Ethics Board has indicated support for the measure.

An individual does not have to register with the State Ethics Board unless they are a paid lobbyist working for a group like those listed above.

When Learning Counts: Rethinking Licenses for School Leaders

Jacob E. Adams, Jr. & Michael A. Copland [PDF]:

This report asks two fundamental questions: do the licenses that states require of school principals encompass the knowledge and skills those principals need to promote student learning? If not, what kind of policy framework would help decisionmakers, educators, and others rethink principal licenses and the school leadership they support? To find the answers, we examined licensure content for principals in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Based on that in-depth investigation, we reached the following conclusions.

Licenses don’t reflect a learning focus. No state has crafted licensing policies that reflect a coherent learning-focused school leadership agenda. On the contrary, licenses run between two extremes: a reliance on individual characteristics, such as background checks or academic degrees, that signal nothing about the purposes or practice of the principalship, and lists of knowledge and skill requirements whose scope and depth don’t clearly sum to a meaningful definition of the job. Neither approach represents a set of qualifications on which the public may rely or the profession may depend. In an era of standards and accountability, this omission stands out.

Licensing requirements are unbalanced across states and misaligned with today’s ambitions for school leaders.

Public Education Goes to School

Harvard Business School:

We asked our nine districts what their biggest barriers were in achieving excellence at scale, and they described five categories of management challenges:

1. Implementing a district-wide strategy
2. Achieving organizational coherence in support of the strategy
3. Developing and managing human capital
4. Allocating resources in alignment with the strategy
5. Using performance data for decision making and accountability

If "homogeneous" is bad, is "heterogeneous" better?

An article from American Educator, a magazine of the American Federation of Teachers:

. . . detracking accomplished many transformations in a few short years. It transformed teaching from difficult to impossible. It transformed the ideal of equal instruction for all into practices offering less instruction for all. It transformed faster students from motivated allies to disengaged threats . And it transformed teachers from detracking enthusiasts into advocates for a return to tracking. These results pose challenges for researchers and practitioners. While tracking often has bad outcomes, detracking
is not necessarily better.

Researchers who have played a role in criticizing tracking must also consider the potential problems of detracking. Until such studies are done, high school practitioners should be cautious about proceeding to detracking reforms just because they sound appealing. There is too much at stake, and there is great risk of unanticipated negative outcomes. These teachers’ experiences indicate that good intentions and hard work are not enough to make detracking successful.

Substitue "homogeneous" for "tracked" and "heterogeneous" for "detracked," and see whether the article has any application to West's Curriculum Reduction Plan.

Friedman on Vouchers

Nick Gillespie:

In 1955 future Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman kick-started modern education reform with an article titled “The Role of Government in Education.” Bucking the “general trend in our times toward increasing intervention by the state” in virtually all economic and social activities, Friedman argued that universal vouchers for elementary and secondary schools would usher in an age of educational innovation and experimentation, not only widening the range of options for students and parents but increasing all sorts of positive outcomes.

“Government,” wrote Friedman, “preferably local governmental units, would give each child, through his parents, a specified sum to be used solely in paying for his general education; the parents would be free to spend this sum at a school of their own choice, provided it met certain minimum standards laid down by the appropriate governmental unit. Such schools would be conducted under a variety of auspices: by private enterprises operated for profit, nonprofit institutions established by private endowment, religious bodies, and some even by governmental units.”

Elite French Schools Block the Poor's Path to Power

Craig Smith:

Nothing represents the stratification of French society more than the country's rigid educational system, which has reinforced the segregation of disadvantaged second-generation immigrant youths by effectively locking them out of the corridors of power.

While French universities are open to all high school graduates, the grandes écoles - great schools - from which many of the country's leaders emerge, weed out anyone who does not fit a finely honed mold. Of the 350,000 students graduating annually from French high schools, the top few grandes écoles accept only about 1,000, virtually all of whom come from a handful of elite preparatory schools.

Madison School Board – SPAMMED!!!

Since Thursday, “thousands and thousands” (and I mean - thousands) of e-mails have filled the e-mailboxes of Madison School Board members (and probably other members of school boards in Wisconsin). The message reads:

Dear Governor Doyle and Public Instruction Superintendent's office,

I am very much disappointed that Wisconsin, a state which preaches tolerance and diversity, has public schools which now teach intolerance and anti-diversity. Celebrating a Christmas witch and secularizing "Silent Night" while changing the words to the Christmas carol displays a very narrow-minded approach to education. You have a double standard which allows some religious symbols while banning others. This double standard is not in keeping with this country's religious freedom. Why not be inclusive and allow both Hanukkah and Christian Christmas songs?

Christmas is recognized as a federal and state holiday. That being the case, it appears illegal for the school board to ban Christian Christmas songs since our federal and state governments recognize Christmas as a holiday. It certainly isn't a good reflection on your state.

I hope you will act to change this religious bigotry on the part of some schools in Wisconsin.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXX (The name of sender)

The person responsible for doing this is very technologically savvy. Each name is different and the comments are for the most part different as well. I don’t know about other board members, but I figured out how to “filter” the messages so their not clogging up my “In-box”, however if Governor Doyle tries to get a hold of me, his message will probably end up in the “trash.” If anyone sees the Governor and he asks about me, tell him to give me a phone call or write me a letter via U.S. mail.

In the spirit of the season and being "politically correct", have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays and Happy (fill in your holiday) to all!

East High Principal Allen Harris Profile

Sandy Cullen:

You can tell something's different at East High School this year without even going inside.

Gone is the "smoking wall," where for generations, students gathered to hang out and smoke cigarettes before and during the school day.

"It was intimidating," said parent Lucy Mathiak, who admits she was uncomfortable walking past the large group of students who would gather along the wall on Fourth Street. "It smelled terrible and it was really annoying," added Mathiak's son Andrew Stabler, 16, a junior at East.

It was also one of the first things to change this fall after Alan Harris stepped in as the school's new principal.

Background on East High's recent principal position turnover. More on Allen Harris, including his appearance at the recent Gangs and School Violence Forum

Illiteracy remains a problem in the U.S.

Larry Winkler called attention to the figures in the recent assessment of literacy among adult Americans, as reported in the New York Times. An article in the Capital Times brings the issue closer to home:

. . .Wisconsin has the second highest high school graduation in the country for whites, it has the worst (50th out of 50 states) for African-Americans, the Center on Wisconsin Strategy reports.

Community-based literacy councils attempt to help those with the lowest literacy skills, said Erickson, whose nonprofit statewide organization provides support, training and advocacy to its 45 member literacy councils.

"They are on the frontlines serving the adults in the very lowest levels of literacy skills without access to most of the federal and state funding," she said.

Most, in fact, rely on volunteers to tutor adults with limited literacy skills.

In 2004, more than 1,000 adult learners were served by the Madison Area Literacy Council, 264 of whom got the skills needed to get a job, while 280 learners were able to become active in the education of their children, said Executive Director Greg Markle.

To volunteer or sign up for services, contact the council at 244-3911 or see www.madisonarealiteracy.org.

An End to the Blame Game

This is an article by Martha McCoy and Amy Malick which was published in the December 2003 journal of the National Assocation of Secondary School Principals. The Madison Partners in Special Education are very interested in using this as a tool to engage the MMSD school board, staff and various parent groups in productive dialogue. The link follows below and the entire article is an extended entry.

An end to the blame game

A healthy school needs an active, informed community, but talking about problems can degenerate into fingerpointing and blame. Study circles can help communities create the schools they need.

Imagine walking into a room and seeing parents, teachers, students, and neighbors from different backgrounds and ethnic groups sitting in a circle talking about parent involvement, expectations, and testing. Parents you've rarely seen at school are speaking up. Some are talking through an interpreter. Teachers are listening and contributing their ideas. Everyone pays close attention to the students. The conversation is lively and respectful. The trust is obvious.

Sound far-fetched? It's not. Schools across the country are creating productive conversations that routinely and meaningfully involve the community in all its diversity. They are using a process called "study circles" to bring together educators, students, and average citizens from different backgrounds to talk in small groups about what matters to them in education, what challenges face the educational system, and what the community can do to address those challenges in productive ways.

Study circles are part of a larger program that has easy-to-use, fair-minded discussion materials and trained facilitators who reflect the community's diversity. Each circle comprises a small, diverse group of 8-12 people who meet for four 2-hour sessions. A facilitator leads the sessions and helps manage the discussion but does not teach the group about the issue or take sides. To help group members respect one another and get results, the circle sets its own ground rules. Starting with their personal stories, members of the circle consider an issue from many points of view. Next, group members talk about how they want things to be. Finally, they make plans for action and change. The purpose of the program is to move a community to action when the study circles conclude.

Why Study Circles?

People have different ideas and views about education problems, and they disagree about the causes. Finding solutions to these complex problems is hard and takes many different groups working together, which can be a challenge. Communication and trust frequently break down between people and groups from different backgrounds and sectors. Solutions that make sense for one person or group may not meet the needs of others. And there are usually lots of people on the sidelines who are not invited into problem solving or who don't know how to join in. By using study circles, school communities can talk about difficult or divisive issues, find common ground, and take action.

That's what happened in New Hampshire, where the Violence Prevention Committee at Portsmouth Middle School was worried about an increase in "subtle nastiness" between students. The committee decided to focus on preventing the escalation of the bullying behavior and organized study circles. Once a week for a month, 200 sixth-grade students met in small groups with 75 community leaders, parents, and business people to discuss student behavior issues. "Adults in the community, especially seniors, expressed surprise about how so many youth had meaningful things to say," said Jim Noucas, an attorney who participated in the circles. "The sixth-graders also were surprised that adults would even listen to what they had to say. People left with a positive perception, not only of the kids, but of the schools."

Karen Kleinz, associate director of the National School Public Relations Association, said that the accountability movement requires a different kind of involvement than traditional programs have delivered: "The public is no longer willing to just take our word on things. People want to know about all sides of an issue, and they will seek out their own facts to support what they believe to be true." But with endless demands on their time and creativity, most principals need help establishing and strengthening community connections. Kathy Morledge, associate director of the Arkansas School Board Association