Assigned Reading

Gregory Kane, columnist for the Washington Examiner, ends his most recent column this way:

When will critics of charter schools just be honest and admit that they just don’t want them to work?

Exactly. No one expects every charter to work. Some will fail, while many, like Chicago’s Urban Prep, will be wildly successful. The failure of many, but not all, of our urban public schools suggests we need to find alternative ways to educate children. Charter schools provide those alternatives.

Most who oppose charters do so not out of any concern for the children, but for the employees. For the most part, they are union supporters. Otherwise, charter opponents would be just as critical of the failing public schools.

The implication is that because charter schools don’t work, then we shouldn’t have them. What the charter school bashers don’t realize is that if this logic applies to charter schools, then it applies to failing public schools that aren’t charter schools as well. They clearly aren’t working; that’s why proponents of charter schools support charter schools in the first place.

Protecting the status quo means hoping charters will fail.

The Growing Readers Initiative is an excellent example of the positive impact charters can have on public schools. This program is a collaborative effort between The Learning Community and Central Falls Public Schools.

The Growing Readers Initiative is a professional development partnership between an urban school district and a charter school – one of the few examples nationally of such collaboration. The Learning Community, a K–8 charter school founded in 2004, has developed a coordinated program to build strong readers in the early grades. Through the Growing Readers Initiative, teachers, coaches, specialists, and administrators from the charter school are working alongside their 
colleagues in the neighboring Central Falls School District to share best 
practices teacher-to-teacher, share 
systems of support and data analysis, and encourage a team approach to 
student achievement.

The collaborative approach, and its initial results, are shared in the current issue of Voices in Urban Education, published by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown.

Mark Patinkin is right. His column in today’s Providence Journal praises CF Superintendent Fran Gallo. Despite all the attacks (read the comments following Patinkin’s column), Dr. Gallo stood her ground, and in the end got what she wanted for the students at the high school.

Supt. Gallo herself was the target of profane hate mail. She was ridiculed in school hallways and at public rallies. It’s a disgrace what they put that woman through. For Gallo, it was a horrific period of attacks and derision. And yet she did not back down.

Dr. Gallo remained steadfast, even when under personal assault. Like it or not, the way administrators and unions deal with failing schools has forever changed.

Rick Hess, on his blog and at National Review Online, shares similar sentiments about Dr. Gallo.

The Rhode Island story is a truly encouraging development. As with Michelle Rhee’s new contract in D.C. or Commissioner David Steiner’s ability to win new language on teacher tenure in New York, this story shows how leaders with backbone can eventually force union leadership to accept a new reality. Yes, Gallo walked back the bold action that won her many education reformers’ approval, but good management is about discipline, not bloodlust. The point of school turnarounds is not to count scalps, but to win necessary changes, force out lousy teachers, and reset the board.

The union losses in Central Falls and East Providence have shaken the pedestal upon which the union leadership has stood for so long. Expect it to get nastier as the union position becomes more perilous.

Hopefully there will be more like Dr. Gallo, who will firmly stand for what is best for students. We, as teachers, should do the same.

Congratulations to Dr. Fran Gallo.

Despite attempts to demonize the superintendent by unions and their friends in the media, Dr. Gallo stood strong for reform at Central Falls High School. Back in February, her proposals were all but ignored by the union, which insisted on more money for any additional time with students. This was money the city simply couldn’t afford.

So Dr. Gallo terminated them all. Teachers were most likely assured by the union leaders that their jobs were not in danger. But as hundreds of applications poured into Dr. Gallo’s office, and current teachers were forced to reapply for their jobs, it must have become clear that this was no bluff.

Tonight, the Providence Journal is reporting the two sides have reached an agreement that will allow all teachers to keep their jobs.

In return, teachers will have to “recommit to their jobs” and interview with the school’s new principal. They will also be expected to work a longer school day, provide more after-school tutoring, accept a new evaluation system and participate in “targeted and embedded” professional development sessions, according to a joint news release issued Sunday.

These conditions just happen to be the very same reform proposals put forth by Dr. Gallo at the beginning of the year. Whether teachers will be paid any additional salary is not yet clear.

Dr. Gallo has won this battle. And so have the students.

In a post Friday, Brian Hull at the RIFuture blog worries how changes will affect education at Central Falls High School. Writing from a union viewpoint, Hull’s worries are reserved mostly for the teachers, and he claims those who seek to put students first are taking the debate to “new lows”. In truth, the situation in Central Falls is about kids more than teachers. Questionable are the motives of those who claim otherwise.

I was more than a little surprised to hear that over 800 applications have been received to fill the 93 positions that are available at the high school.

To be surprised is to misunderstand the employment opportunities for teachers. There are so many who want to make education a career, but cannot find jobs. More importantly, there are many professionals who believe that all students, regardless of their home environment or socioeconomic status, can learn, graduate, and be successful. I suspect many of those applications received from outside the state are from teachers up for the challenge.

There seems to be an assumption that “operational flexibility” will force teachers to be better instructors because their job depends on their performance. In this scenario, teachers are the problem. Teachers are lazy, teachers are spoiled, and teachers never care about the students, only about their huge salaries and benefit packages that come without fear of losing their jobs, no matter how poorly they perform. I don’t agree with this vision.

Dr. Gallo believes change is necessary at Central Falls High School. With the low student achievement and graduation rate, who can argue against the need for change? But Hull’s assumptions are faulty. The reason for the mass firing is because current teachers were unwilling to make the changes necessary to better meet the needs of the students. Proposals by Dr. Gallo were rejected or ignored. Backed by the union, teachers demanded the status quo be maintained. Student performance simply could not allow this. While the change of faculty will mostly likely have an impact, it will be the change in the way instruction is delivered that will bring about the most change.

On the other side of the coin is job security, high wages, and decent benefits as incentives for attracting the best and brightest to be teachers, and a commitment to support teachers with additional training and development so that they can be the best instructors possible. Stripping away the safeguards and protections will make the teaching profession less attractive (especially for math and science teachers), and in the long run students will suffer by not having the most qualified and effective teachers in the classroom.

This has been the long-term position of the unionists. Only if teachers are given more will the best become teachers. The 800 applicants for the positions at CFHS, many willing to relocate, should end this argument. Dr. Gallo and the hiring committee will have a giant pool from which to choose the strongest teachers. Undoubtedly applicants will be asked if they are willing to work longer school days, use some Saturday mornings for professional development, and eat lunch with students. Those who agree will be hired, or rehired, and the community at the school will begin to change almost immediately. Because all of the teachers will be non-tenured, it will not be difficult to send packing those that don’t meet the higher expectations.

My fear is that because the assumption from the reform movement seems to be predicated on “bad teachers are the problem and all teachers are bad,” there is no movement toward fixing the actual problems that exist in the state’s education system which lay outside of the classroom: poverty, stable education funding, language barriers, teen pregnancy, special needs students, family instability, lack of professional support, lack of stability in curriculum, lack of stability in school leadership, etc. etc.

The real fear of unionists and union supporters is that education at CFHS will improve. But it’s sophomoric to suggest those who seek reform simply believe “bad teachers” are the cause of all problems in education. In fact, most praise the work of individual teachers. I understand that school funding, language barriers, special education laws, and educrats are all factors that negatively impact public education. And while social conditions are a significant, if not the most significant, factor that causes our public schools to fail, I realize this is the most difficult factor to change. Decades of time, effort, and money have not made families more stable, have not decreased poverty or teen pregnancy, and have not helped to maintain the nuclear family that can provide the best foundation for children. Such social conditions will not change overnight, but we must do what is best to educate the kids in our schools right now.

I do not solely blame teachers for the failings at Central Falls High in particular, or in public education in general. Those who regularly read my opinions should know I believe many are to blame, including administrators, bureaucrats, unions, and the society at large.

The situation in CF has not been about blaming teachers. Dr. Gallo pointed to the failings at CFHS and explained to teachers that the kids needed more from them. The teachers, on the advice of their union, refused. The city’s leadership is now looking for teachers who are willing to provide more. The kids in Central Falls, more than more, deserve it.

When teachers at Central Falls High School were laid off earlier this year, some of their supporters asked who would apply for these jobs. With such insecurity and the challenging population, certainly those seeking teaching positions would go elsewhere. Right?

Dr. Gallo answered that question today. More than 700 people have applied for the 87 positions that could become vacant at CFHS. Apparently there will be plenty of competition.

Those applying, or reapplying, can expect more than a traditional interview process.

Gallo said Tuesday she hopes to hire a new principal next week. Once in place, the principal will play a major role in screening and selecting teachers for the 2010-2011 school year. Teachers will be required to submit written work, conduct a five-minute “mini-lesson” and interview with the school’s leadership team.

CF leadership is looking to provide its students with the very teachers. We shouldn’t expect anything less.

“It’s like someone opened a door, and behind that door is a future.”

These words were spoken by Milan Birdwell, a student at Urban Prep charter, an all-boys school in Chicago. Made up entirely of young African-American men from some of the cities most difficult neighborhoods, the school announced this week that all 107, ALL 107, of its first graduating class has been accepted to four-year colleges in September.

This is an incredible accomplishment. But in a city where only 40 percent of African-American boys even graduate, the results at Urban Prep are amazing.

Some elements are easy to quantify: an extended school day that means students have an additional 72,000 minutes in school each year, a double period of English, and required extracurriculars and public service.

But many more elements seem embedded into a culture based on four R’s, as the school’s founder and chief executive officer, Tim King, describes it: ritual, respect, responsibility, and relationships.

“I say we give [the students] shields and swords,” Mr. King said. “The swords are hopefully this great education. They know how to read and write and add. … Equally important, and perhaps more important, are these shields: resiliency, self-confidence, self-awareness. … Hopefully, we have instilled these things, really woven them throughout the curriculum.”

This amazing story should perk the ears of all urban educators and administrators. Instead of complaining about the population of students in their schools, teachers need to learn new ways to reach them.

Dr. Gallo should share this article with each of the Central Falls High School teachers reapplying for his or her job and ask, “How committed are you to making sure our kids succeed?”

I understand the gravity of Rhode Island’s financial woes. And I realize that dramatic change in the way we do business is necessary to restore our financial well-being. So much of our tax dollars now go directly to salaries and benefits of state and municipal employees. I think about this often as I drive over roads in miserable condition or pass by decaying school buildings. In the 20th century we invested in the infrastructure of our cities and our country, and in the 21st century we cannot even afford to maintain them, never mind modernize or expand.

It is difficult, however, not to think of my own financial future. I did not become a school teacher for the pay, or the benefits, or even the summer vacations. I became a teacher because I love working with kids, and the satisfaction that comes with seeing and helping kids grow. I’ve been teaching long enough to now know former students as adults. It is amazing to see their successes, and who they have become: professionals, parents, soldiers, citizens. Each provides further evidence that, professionally, I chose the right path.

I cannot, and will not, teach forever. Like everyone else, there will come a time when retirement will be the best option. I have contributed nine percent of my income each year towards a state pension that will enable me to retire when the time was right.

And so, as we discuss pension reform in Rhode Island, I have, literally, a vested interest. I understand that our current pension system is unsustainable. Changes must be made to protect the financial condition of the state and its taxpayers. For too long the pension system was abused, with people retiring too early and buying years in the system they did not earn. Unfortunately I will have to pay for these abuses. I wonder if my fellow teachers, and state employees, realize the union brethren that came before us were the abusers, and that we will suffer because of it.

It is crucial everyone understand one thing: I do not pay into the Social Security system.

Teachers in my community, and several others, contribute to the pension system instead of Social Security. We protect these pensions like it is all we got, because it is.

We need to discuss pension reform. But we should be cautious and deliberate, and understand people’s lives depend on it. I hear some of my fellow conservatives talk about pension reform as union punishment. The unions deserve to be taken to the woodshed. However, the teachers who have invested a significant portion of their income over the years also deserve a fair and reasonable retirement.

I had great hopes for General Treasurer Frank Caprio. He seems a reasonable man, both politically and financially. I thought Caprio would develop a compromise that protects the financial condition of the state while fairly treating teachers and state employees. Today’s opinion piece by the treasurer suggests otherwise. In it he touts what he has done, but not much of what he will do as governor. Despite the columns’s title, “Time for public pension reform in R.I.,” Caprio offers only this as to reform:

As a member of the House Pension Commission, I also advanced a proposal that Rhode Island move to a hybrid plan modeled after the federal government’s retirement plan. This plan would reduce future pension benefits by half, add a cost-effective 401(k)-style plan, and save the state billions of dollars over the next 20 years. This solution is a pivotal part of my platform for governor.

More words are spent defending himself against criticisms from the state Republican chairman than addressing pension reform. I found nothing about pension reform on his campaign website. A two-page plan on the General Treasurer site is more confusing than informative, and lacks any significant detail.

Mr. Caprio and all the candidates for governor must outline in detail their plans for state pension reform. And they must do so in language that all Rhode Islanders can understand. Union leaders must be open-minded and considerate when discussing these reforms. And taxpayers must understand, whether they like it or not, they have committed to these employees a fair and reasonable retirement pension.

I fear the worst, but hope for compromise. My future certainly depends upon it.

The failure of the Stanford New Schools‘ charter is significant to the school reform debate. Expected to establish a model for educating low-income minorities, the East Palo Alto Academy instead ranked in the bottom five percent of schools in the state. The school board denied a charter renewal, and the elementary school will close at the end of this school year. The high school must find a sponsor other than Stanford if it hopes to remain open.

The most well-known name associated with the school is Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford professor and one of the most progressive of reformers. Darling-Hammond had been considered a short-list choice for Secretary of Education before President Obama named Arne Duncan.

Joanne Jacobs, in her Pajamas Media column, outlines the school’s focus on social, rather than academic, development. Stanford’s original partner, Aspire, now runs its own school, East Palo Alto Charter. This school serves kids from the same community and with the same demographics, yet has been successful and ranks above the state average. The difference? Aspire claims to focus on academics above all else.

The need to address students’ social concerns should not be dismissed outright because of this one school’s failure. But the differences between the results of these two schools is revealing, and deserves further study.

One thing appears to be true. Theories promoted by the smartest thinkers at the most important universities don’t always translate into best practice. Even if it’s Stanford.

Arlene Violet, in her latest Valley Breeze opinion piece, bemoans Rhode Island’s loss of federal RTTT funds. And while there may be several reasons our state came up short, Violet heaps the most significant blame on the teachers unions. It is true that the winning states had the support of all, or nearly all, the teachers unions. Delaware boasted 100% approval, and Tennessee 97%. Rhode Island, in comparison, had support from just 5% of the union affiliations.

Judging by past performance, one can conclude that it remains an open question if the local unions will reload their rifles again and shoot themselves in the metatarsus. If they do all their protestations of how much they care about the children it will be greeted by a chorus of well-deserved boos.

Will unions be more cooperative for the next round of fund allocation? I doubt it. And the “well-deserve boos” will get louder.

Rhode Island’s unions show no signs of any progressive thinking. They remain mired in a collective bargaining model that has quickly become antiquated. Union leaders tried the old give-and-take with an East Providence that literally had nothing to give. When the union walked away and allowed the contract to expire, the city unilaterally cut salaries and increased health insurance contributions. And the courts, which traditionally have been sympathetic to labor, gave the city a first round victory.

In Central Falls, union leaders balked at extra work to improve a seriously failing high school. Using federal law as its authority, the city fired every teacher at the high school. As the end of the school year approaches, teachers will have to grovel to keep their jobs, extra work and all.

It should be clear to everyone that the days of high spending, labor-centric policy are over. The limits have been reached, even surpassed, and the unions will need to prioritize if they hope to have any influence at all. Unions should compromise on minor issues, like a seven hour work day or a few extra days during the summer months, and focus on the major ones. The call for pension reform is real, and undoubtedly on the horizon. For the many teachers who pay nearly a tenth of their income into the system, and have no social security to rely on, pension changes are frightening.

Unions must reserve some influence, and reputation, to advocate for teachers when it matters most.