A parent’s plea – Educate Louisiana

A parent’s plea. – Educate Louisiana

A Parent’s Plea

When I first decided to advocate for education policy, it was my hope that I could educate the public (parents, teachers, students, etc.) about education policy, and how it affects them. There has been instances when my writings drilled down to specific school districts, but I have always tried to address issues by providing specific statutes and/or policies that, if followed, would eliminate the issue. In recent years, I have been pulled away from advocacy by the needs of my own family, a pandemic, two hurricanes, an ice age, and now, a 100 year flood. When this parent reached out to me, I realized that there are so many things wrong about this incident that the only way I could help is to make sure that as many people as possible hear about it.

Below you will find the letter written to me by a parent that I am publishing with their permission. It is long. It is hard to read. And it is heart-breaking. Fair warning, it contains profanity, but it is relevant to the incident. My intent is not to generate racist comments, or for people to taking black or white positions. This is about the fine line between handling issues that occur out of school when they cross over into school, and how a failure to take into consideration the behaviors of others that drive a student into a corner and ultimately lashes out. But more importantly, the right for every child to receive an education in a safe and loving environment. Please share.

“This letter is in regards to our son, Sam McCarley, a 6th grade student at Sherwood Middle School. 

Our hell started on April 27th… Actually it had been growing up to that point, but, that was the day that it all exploded, and the CONTINUE READING: A parent’s plea. – Educate Louisiana

Teacher Tom: What I Tell Parents About Play-Based Education

Teacher Tom: What I Tell Parents About Play-Based Education

What I Tell Parents About Play-Based Education

Based on my informal and unscientific surveys of early childhood educators, one of the biggest hurdles to fully realizing play-based education is "the parents." Not all the parents, of course, but there are apparently a lot who might like the idea of their children playing, but who have bought into the "fall behind" snake oil. This leads them to apply pressure to us to become "more academic" in defiance of the science behind how young children learn.

I've found that one of the best things one can do for your play-based program is to consciously manage those expectations, right from the start. For us, the process of getting parents on our bandwagon starts with our spring orientation.

I use this opportunity to tell the assembled parents that I will not be teaching their children literacy, although they will be laying the foundations for literacy through their play, their dramatic play in particular; every time we read to them or tell them stories, or when they tell stories to us; each time they get excited and say, "Hey that's my letter!" or "That's your CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: What I Tell Parents About Play-Based Education

Russ on Reading: Defeating the Science of Reading Narrative, Part 2: Talking to a Parent

Russ on Reading: Defeating the Science of Reading Narrative, Part 2: Talking to a Parent

Defeating the Science of Reading Narrative, Part 2: Talking to a Parent

In my first post in this series on how teachers and literacy specialists can push back at the Science of Reading (SOR) narrative currently dominating reading instruction conversation and legislation, I leaned on the work of Peter Johnston and Deborah Scanlon in their report An Examination of Dyslexia Research and Instruction to argue that dyslexia is not a useful term, and that the SOR narrative, with its focus on word level instruction, casts literacy learning in too narrow a light. In the second post, I posited that a focus on getting to know the individual child as a learner immediately makes clear that each reader is unique, and that each reader's needs must be viewed from a broader lens than is suggested by SOR. In this post I would like to suggest a way of communicating with a concerned parent, who has read and bought into the SOR narrative, about CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: Defeating the Science of Reading Narrative, Part 2: Talking to a Parent

NANCY BAILEY: The Loss That Matters This Mother’s Day

The Loss That Matters This Mother’s Day

The Loss That Matters This Mother’s Day

The loss important to understand this year, the most critical loss, is not learning loss. It involves the loss many children are facing after losing a mom or dad to Covid-19. Or it could be a grandma or grandpa, a beloved aunt or uncle, or sister or brother, even a friend.

On this Mother’s Day, how many children are grieving the loss of their mother? On Father’s Day, how many will be missing their dad?

We’re told that between 37,000 and 43,000 children in the United States have lost at least one parent to COVID-19. According to the University of Southern California, this is a 20% increase in parental loss over a typical year.

A loss will affect how students look at school, how they take tests, and how they recapture a sense of normalcy as school buildings reopen and they gather once again in person if they are not already in the school building. School and life for them will never be the same.

Parental loss due to Covid-19 has been found more in the black community. Children are called Covid Orphans.

Children may be troubled simply due to the fear and anguish caused by the strangeness CONTINUE READING: The Loss That Matters This Mother’s Day

During Pandemic, More Parents Come To Appreciate Teachers and Understand Teaching | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

During Pandemic, More Parents Come To Appreciate Teachers and Understand Teaching | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

During Pandemic, More Parents Come To Appreciate Teachers and Understand Teaching

Teacher Appreciation Week begins May 3rd. With school closures over a year ago and the onslaught of remote instruction, many parents have come to appreciate not only what teachers do in classrooms (and now on screens) than ever before (see here) but also how complex the act of teaching is.

Celebrities sport T-shirts asking that teacher should have higher salaries. Actor Ron Farrell who has three children being home schooled was seen in his neighborhood picking up garbage.

Celebrity parents calling for higher salaries only mirrors now more than ever that Moms and Dads sitting in kitchens and bedrooms hovering over their children have a deeper understanding (and appreciation) about teaching being not only a complex activity but also a relationship built on trust and respect.

That appreciation and understanding were too often unconsidered by many CONTINUE READING: During Pandemic, More Parents Come To Appreciate Teachers and Understand Teaching | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

NYC Public School Parents: Parents & community members protest closure of PS 88 in the Bronx; will they be forced to take DOE to court to stop this irrational proposal?

NYC Public School Parents: Parents & community members protest closure of PS 88 in the Bronx; will they be forced to take DOE to court to stop this irrational proposal?

Parents & community members protest closure of PS 88 in the Bronx; will they be forced to take DOE to court to stop this irrational proposal?

Stories on the proposed closure of PS 88 have appeared in the Daily News and on Bronx News-12 TV.

DOE officials are trying to close a small, beloved K-3 zoned school in District 9 in the Bronx, PS 88, also called CES 88 or the Silverstein Little Sparrow School.  They want to leave the entire building empty and send the current students to PS 53, a 4th-5th grade school blocks away.  Why?

They claim that the school has lost enrollment this year, but so have 60% of all NYC public schools.  They claim the school is under-enrolled, but this ignores that the school utilization formula is aligned with class sizes larger than the state's highest court in the CFE lawsuit said were necessary for a sound basic education.  The DOE refused to revise the school utilization formula to allow for smaller classes, despite the fact that their own advisory Blue Book Working group urged them to do so.

Instead, PS 88's relatively low enrollment and available classroom space has meant that their students have been able to attend school in person five days a week during the pandemic, complete with small classes and social distancing,  in nearly ideal learning conditions especially for a high-poverty school.  If these kids are shunted off to PS 53, their class sizes will likely double and fewer kids will be able to attend in person, that is if the safety protocols require any social distancing in the fall.

Moreover, if DOE officials are really so concerned about the school's under-enrollment, all they have to do is add a 3K and/or a preK class to the school, neither of which it currently has  though strangely, they did insert preK classes into PS 53, sharing that building with 4th and 5th graders. 

Alternatively, they could also rezone the neighborhood, so that more children now attending the Walton Avenue School (09X294) and Lucero Elementary School (09X311) just a CONTINUE READING: NYC Public School Parents: Parents & community members protest closure of PS 88 in the Bronx; will they be forced to take DOE to court to stop this irrational proposal?

Parents, Stop Talking About the ‘Lost Year’ - The New York Times

Parents, Stop Talking About the ‘Lost Year’ - The New York Times

Parents, Stop Talking About the ‘Lost Year’

Teenagers and tweens will be fine, experts say — if adults model resilience.

They’re calling it a “lost year.”

On and offline, parents are trading stories — poignant and painful — about all of the ways that they fear their middle schoolers are losing ground.

“It’s really hard to put my finger on what happened exactly,” said Jorge Gallegos, whose son, Eyan, is in the seventh grade in Washington, D.C.

When Eyan was in fifth grade, he had a lot of friends, Mr. Gallegos said. He was home schooled for sixth grade, and he seemed to thrive.

But spending this year at home because of the pandemic has just been too much.

Eyan transferred to a new middle school for seventh grade, where nearly all of the other students had started in the sixth grade, prepandemic. He hasn’t met any of his classmates in person, and he hasn’t made a single friend.

Eyan has told his parents that he’s lonely. So lonely, in fact, that he has started posting on Discord and Reddit. Sometimes, when he’s bored, he even starts chatting with those strangers during class time.

His dad is sympathetic. “He wants to talk to people, and he doesn’t have anybody,” Mr. Gallegos said in a recent phone interview. But he’s also worried.

As a teenager, Mr. Gallegos went off the rails for a time. He was kicked out of high school, withdrew from community college twice and spent years fighting his way back, ultimately graduating from college and building a successful career with the federal government. There’s no way he’ll let the pandemic similarly spin his son’s life out of control.

“I’m going to make sure that we’re on top of this stuff,” he said. “I think as a parent, I have to do more.”

Virtually everyone has waded through hardships this past year — job losses, relationship struggles, chronic stress and, in the worst of all cases, the loss of loved ones to Covid-19. And parents with school-age children have battled the demands of combining their usual work and family responsibilities with at least some degree of CONTINUE READING: Parents, Stop Talking About the ‘Lost Year’ - The New York Times

Upper West Side Mommies Sue to Reopen Schools - south bronx school com

http://www.southbronxschool.com

Upper West Side Mommies Sue to Reopen Schools

Those "open the schools" folks are starting to bore me. 

According to today's New York Post, three Upper West Side mommies (Allison Weinger, Natalya Murakhver, and Stephanie Kokinos ) put word through Go Fund me to raise $20k for a
lawyer to take the DOE to court to force schools to go 100% in person. As of yesterday, April 9, the mommies have raised the money and hired a lawyer. They go to court on Monday, April 12. 

Sadly, these mommies haven't a clue. 

It seems they have become frustrated at the fact that they have become frustrated "after striking out with rallies and other measures to return kids to school full time."

That is simple. Because no one cares what they think. They think there is some kind of movement out there to reopen schools. Yes, it would be great for schools to reopen, but many don't trust the NYC DOE and many parents are still fearful of a complete return to in person learning. They've been led astray by a small, but vocal cabal on social media that believes it has the wind at its back. Let's not CONTINUE READING: http://www.southbronxschool.com

CURMUDGUCATION: Vouchers Are About Abandoning Public Education, Not Freeing Parents

CURMUDGUCATION: Vouchers Are About Abandoning Public Education, Not Freeing Parents

Vouchers Are About Abandoning Public Education, Not Freeing Parents

As the GOP mounts a multi-state initiative to implement vouchers or super-voucher education savings accounts in many states across the country, it's becoming increasingly clear that we've been looking at the voucher movement through the wrong lens (which is to day, the lens that voucheristas have promoted). 

Vouchers are not about freeing or empowering parents. They are about empowering private interests to chomp away at the giant mountain of education money in this country. They are about dismantling any sort of oversight and accountability; it's striking how many of these voucher bills/laws very specifically forbid the state to interfere with the vendors in any way, shape or form. 

Think of voucher programs this way.

The state announces, "We are dismantling the public education system. You are on your own. You will have to shop for your child's education, piece by piece, in a marketplace bound by very little oversight and very few guardrails. In this new education ecosystem, you will have to pay your own way. To take some of the sting out of this, we'll give you a small pocketful of money to help defray expenses. Good luck."

It's not a voucher system. It's a pay your own way system. It's a you're on your own system. The voucher is not the point of the system; it's simply a small payment to keep you from noticing that you've just been cut loose.

Freedom and empowerment will come, as always, in direct proportion to the amount of money you CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Vouchers Are About Abandoning Public Education, Not Freeing Parents

My Kids’ School Closed Again. So I Started Calling Experts. — ProPublica

My Kids’ School Closed Again. So I Started Calling Experts. — ProPublica

My Kids’ School Closed Again. So I Started Calling Experts.

Many New York City public schools have been repeatedly closed because of two positive COVID-19 tests, even without evidence of in-school spread. Experts call it “crazy.” And it’s driving me nuts.

Here is the minute I finally lost it: Sunday, March 21, at 9:34 p.m.

That’s when my wife and I got an email saying our kids’ New York City public elementary school would be closed yet again. Testing had found two positive COVID-19 cases among nearly 700 students and staff.

It was the fifth time the school had closed since New York reopened schools in the fall. Each time has been the same: First, we get an email that testing has turned up one case. A few days later, we get a second email saying testing has found a second case and the whole school will be closed for a day while health officials investigate.

And then, every time, comes the coup de grâce form letter: “Subject: 10 Day Bldg Closure.” Per New York City policy, two unlinked cases result in the building being shuttered for 10 consecutive days.

The first time it happened, I didn’t wonder about the rationale. Everything has been crazy during COVID-19. And despite more than 25,000 deaths, New York City, with the country’s largest public school system by far, was way ahead of most other cities in opening up schools.

Then it happened again in January, again in February and twice in March. Let me be honest here: Something in me snapped with the last one. Our kids, a second grader and a fourth grader, had done five in-person school days since the previous 10-day shutdown and 19 total since the New Year. Everyone in our apartment was struggling.

I’m lucky enough to be able to work from home. But I couldn’t concentrate. Our kids needed help. And I just could not get my mind off the rule, which mandates closure for two cases regardless of the school’s size or if, as has happened in my school, the two cases are kids grades apart who never cross paths. What, I CONTINUE READING: My Kids’ School Closed Again. So I Started Calling Experts. — ProPublica

Teacher Tom: Partnering With Parents

Teacher Tom: Partnering With Parents

Partnering With Parents

By nature, I consider myself an introvert, so when our daughter was born, I happily stepped into the role of stay-at-home parent. Of course, I looked forward to the "parenting" part, but I equally, and a bit secretly, embraced the "stay-at-home" aspect of the job title. As I held my newborn, I imagined our cozy life, snuggling, puttering around the house, eating snacks, reading storybooks, and playing in the garden. My homebody self imagined a kind of utopia effectively walled-off from the rest of the world where my wife, the extravert, would go off into the world to slay the dragons, while the two of us nested, unmolested, at least for a time, by the stresses of being out in the world.

And it was something like that at first, but among her first sentences were, "Let's go somewhere" and "Let's do something," a clear indication that she was her mother's daughter. I took this to mean that she was asking me for preschool, but when I ran the idea by my wife, she said, "No. She has a stay-at-home parent. Why would we send her off to be raised by strangers if we don't have to?" She had a point, but just in case, I ran the idea of preschool by my mother, who said, "Why would you do that? She has you. Besides, once their gone they're gone. Keep her at home as long as you can." Another compelling argument, but I there CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Partnering With Parents

Parents want to be more involved in SCUSD decisions | abc10 com

Parents want to be more involved in SCUSD decisions | abc10.com

Sacramento Unified School District parents say they want to be more involved in district decisions

SCUSD Parents came together today to voice their frustrations with the school district’s lack of support when it comes disadvantage students

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Elvia Vasquez has three children that attended Sacramento City Unified School district schools and says she feels the district is not doing enough to include parents in the daily decisions made about their students.

“I wanted to be involved at McClatchy and they didn’t know what to do with me they said they didn’t have anything to do for me. I know there are many things to do there, but I guess it’s a culture where parents are not involved,” Vasquez said.

This is why Vasquez says she joined Parents Advocating for Student Success also known as The PASS Program

“I’m hoping a lot of parents, especially in low-income communities, get involved because we assume the school is doing everything, we trust the administrators are doing what they are supposed to, and a lot of times they are not,” Vasquez said.

Chett Hewit is the President of the Sierra Health Foundation which developed The Pass Program. Hewit says students from low-income families were not given the resources needed from the district to help their students succeed during the pandemic. Hewit blames the district's inability to come to a distance learning plan with the teacher's union.

“Those agreements are what stands up the rules of engagement for teachers as it relates to how they engage students those things are important," Hewit said.

According to a report by Capital of School Suspensions. Black boys are five times more likely to be suspended from SCUSD. That is the highest suspension rate in California.

Hewit says parents are also demanding more be done to help Black children who have fallen victim to suspensions.

“Making sure kids have the tools that they need to fully participate, to better understand the rules of engagement, and to make sure as we think about reentering school that the behavioral health issues that we know are going to present themselves aren’t going to make the disaster around expulsions even worse,” Hewit said.

In response to The PASS Programs concern, Sacramento City Unified says in a statement: 

 “We are grateful for the work of these community leaders and community-based organizations for helping to empower and engage our families through the PASS Project. We welcome this advocacy effort on behalf of our families, especially those who may not have an understanding of how to navigate our K-12 system. These families deserve a strong voice when it comes to the future of their students and our district."

Parents want to be more involved in SCUSD decisions | abc10.com

From Sec. Cardona: A Letter to Parents & Students - ED.gov Blog

From Sec. Cardona: A Letter to Parents & Students - ED.gov Blog

From Sec. Cardona: A Letter to Parents & Students

Click here for a copy of this letter in Spanish

To our Nation’s Parents and Students:  

I write first, as your new Secretary of Education, to acknowledge the extraordinarily challenging year you’ve endured. Between the health crisis, economic hardship, staunch national division, and the struggle to make progress in learning while apart from teachers and peers, the impact of the pandemic is still very real and will be felt for years to come.   

And yet, you’ve kept going. As a parent of two who experienced these same concerns and uncertainties, and an educator who has been moved by the resilience of the students and families I’ve met, let me say: you deserve recognition and you have my deepest thanks.   

Brighter days are ahead. We are making progress. More schools across the country are reopening for in-person learning, and they’re doing so with the help of clear, science-based guidance from experts in the field. The Department has released part one of a COVID-19 Handbook to help schools implement guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and we’re working on the second volume. Together, these guides will provide more evidence-based strategies for schools to minimize disruptions caused by school closures, especially for our most vulnerable students and communities and address the impact of COVID-19 on educational opportunity across communities. 

The most pressing challenges we face aren’t new. Since I began teaching more than 20 years ago, opportunity gaps remain. There are still unacceptable disparities in high school graduation rates and higher education is still out of reach for too many students, including learners of color, those from low-income families, and those, as I was, who would be the first in their families to attend.   

These inequities aren’t just holding our children back from achieving their full potential – they’re holding our nation back, too. We all benefit when our children have high-quality opportunities to develop their skills and build their knowledge – and then, share their gifts and talents with the world.  

Our first priority is to return students to the classroom for in-person learning, but we know there’s more work to be done once we’ve achieved that goal. We’re also working toward building better career pathways, making college more affordable, ensuring all students have access to high quality schools with a balance of quality coursework that include the arts and sciences, supporting teacher quality and improving teacher diversity, ensure teachers receive the support and respect they need and deserve, expanding access to high-quality preschool, and supporting high-quality career and technical education.   

President Biden’s plans are bold, but they match the urgency that the challenges before us demand. And as Secretary, I will always keep students and their success at the heart of the Department’s work.  

We know that, given the right support, resources and opportunities, our potential is boundless. Despite our worries as parents, this year we’ve seen new proofs of our children’s ingenuity, optimism, and ability to overcome the toughest of circumstances.   

If we all commit to approaching the remainder of this school year – and the years to come – with this same mindset of possibility, dedication, and innovation, we can and will make good on our promise to America’s students. As an educator and as a parent, I commit to safeguarding and advancing the dreams of your children, as I commit to the dreams of my own son and daughter.  

Our nation’s students deserve – and they will get – our very best efforts, our most collaborative thinking, and our deepest belief in their abilities. Together, we can build a future of promise and opportunity that makes no exceptions.  

Sincerely,   

Secretary Miguel Cardona 

Posts you may also like

• Finding Teachable Moments on the Field and in the Classroom
• Announcing the RISE Award for Classified School Employees
• Learning About Whole Child, Whole School Sustainability on the 2019 Green Strides Tour

From Sec. Cardona: A Letter to Parents & Students - ED.gov Blog

California: Nearly 50,000 Teachers and Parents Say NO to Biden Testing Demand | Diane Ravitch's blog

California: Nearly 50,000 Teachers and Parents Say NO to Biden Testing Demand | Diane Ravitch's blog

California: Nearly 50,000 Teachers and Parents Say NO to Biden Testing Demand

UPDATE TO NEWS RELEASE: 50,000 signatures submitted to SBE-parents, educators urge waiving standardized testing

 NEWS RELEASE                      

California Teachers Association                                                                    1705 Murchison Drive Burlingame, CA 94010

www.cta.org   Contact: Claudia Briggs cbriggs@cta.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Educators Call on State Board of Education to Seek Waiver from U.S. Department of Education Suspending Standardized Testing for Current School Year

More than 40,000 concerned parents and educators sign petition echoing concerns over undue pressure on students, technology inequities, and data reliability; call for focus on other supports in response to pandemic

BURLINGAME — The California Teachers Association (CTA) has submitted a letter to the State Board of Education (SBE) urging the California Department of Education (CDE) to submit a waiver requesting the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) to suspend standardized testing for the 2020-21 school year. In the February 22, 2021, letter to the SBE, CTA cites problems with both feasibility of administration, useability and reliability of resulting data, and the cruelty of putting students, families, and educators through high stakes assessments in the middle of a pandemic. If submitted and approved, the waiver would suspend summative assessments required under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), normally conducted in the spring.

Most California students are still engaged in distance learning, and many students still lack reliable internet bandwidth and access or inconsistent learning and testing environments. Educators have also expressed concerns about the validity and comparability of a statewide test administered under widely varying and largely uncontrolled circumstances. CTA is advocating for the suspension of high stakes tests that will take away precious instructional time and put unnecessary additional stress on students and their families.

CTA has also sent a letter to Acting U.S. Secretary of Education, Phil Rosenfelt, urging the USDOE to issue assessment waivers to states as soon as possible, reiterating educator concerns about the harm that standardized testing in the middle of a pandemic would cause.

“Given widespread inequities in student access to technology and the internet, as well as the concerns both educators and parents have about the value of any data gathered from traditional annual testing in the midst of a global pandemic, we firmly believe testing would be detrimental to students, and of little use to teachers and school districts,” said CTA President E. Toby Boyd. “These factors lead us to urge policy makers to instead focus on providing support to students in distance learning and their safe return to physical classrooms instead of on assessments of little value.”

A petition by the California Teachers Association calling for the suspension of state standardized testing has so far gathered 40,000 signatures from parents and educators who are deeply concerned about the continuation of normal testing during this most challenging school year. That petition is being shared with the SBE and the USDOE.

More background on these letters, standardized testing, and CTA’s position on suspending testing this year can be found here. 

###

The 310,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3-million-member National Education Association.

Claudia Briggs, Communications Assistant Manager, California Teachers Association (EST 1863)

916.325.1550 (office) | 916.296.4087 (cell) | cbriggs@cta.orgThe California Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society.

California: Nearly 50,000 Teachers and Parents Say NO to Biden Testing Demand | Diane Ravitch's blog