Author's note: Although I am grateful for the recently signed peace treaty with BCS, I still have concerns about how charter law is structured. Just as I assume BCS will continue to advocate for what they believe in, I will continue to highlight issues that I believe are important to the education community. This article shouldn't be interpreted as a specific concern with BCS, but more a concern with the way state and federal laws are structured.
The NY Times presented a piece of Eva Moskowitz, head of the NYC charter chain Success Academy. You can read the article here.
Diane Ratvich, a former charter advocate and now charter critic, was quoted in the article. The quotes in the article seemed somewhat benign. However, Diane has recently posted a follow-up of her own, indicating that the NYT author watered down her comments. Here's a link to her article.
Whatever the truth is, I believe that the charter model can only be successful if it proves itself on a representative sample of students. The only way for that to happen is really through conversion charters. In a conversion charter, an entire school is converted in place. That school must admit all students in the area, and must meet all of their needs. This approach would avoid the question of whether the student body is representative of the wider population. Then we can gauge the results. I look forward to seeing peer reviewed articles that look at this type of data.
Showing posts with label education reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education reform. Show all posts
Monday, September 8, 2014
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Differentiated Instruction - For Real!
Even as a Trustee, I've been wondering how "differentiated" we can really get in a classroom. it's one thing if you're working with a student 1:1, but what do you really do in a classroom full of kids? Fortunately, I had a chance to answer this question this week- I was invited to come observe Christina Shilling's 5th grade math class over at Springer. Poor Ms. Shilling didn't get much warning, since Principal Spenader invited me over the weekend, and I showed up first thing Monday morning, but she was glad to have me, and I really enjoyed the time.
So, what does it mean when we talk about differentiated instruction? Really, what we're trying to do is customize the learning to the needs of each child. Some examples:
During "warm-ups", each child was asked to do 5 problems that Ms. Shilling had written on the board. Some kids pulled out a notebook with paper. Others worked on small whiteboards on their desks. Others stood and worked at whiteboards on the walls around the room. Little things like this let the child be most comfortable and still focus on the work.
After warm-ups, the kids dove into some problems. Some children preferred to work mostly alone. Others talked quietly with neighbors about how to do the problems. Some dove into Khan Academy on ChromeBooks (Thanks, Google!) Ms Shilling also worked with a small group in one corner. I have to admit, I was surprised to see kids sitting on beanbag chairs and laying on carpet, but all across the room, they were engaged in the math. She even had a great poster up to remind kids of how to work together
"Differentiation" doesn't end at the physical, though. It's actually much more relevant in the material itself. To solve the problems, the class was encouraged to try 4 different ways to do long division. Some kids like the classic form, and others opted for the alternate methods. The kids used at least 2 techniques, and then cross-checked the answers. Then, they wrote up a word problem to fit around the math they'd just done. Finally, they wrote an explanation of the techniques they used, and why they liked it.
Throughout the hour I was there, I heard the quiet cheers of excitement "Yes! I got it!", and "Thanks" to a teammate who helped out. Kids who pushed through the original material were quickly challenged with newer, deeper material. Kids who hadn't yet mastered the content had many "teachers" from whom they could draw help. What struck me was the way the kids all found different ways to interact with the material. But at the end of the class, they'd all mastered some new skills in math. That's what it's really all about.
Well done, Ms. Shilling! And congrats to all of the LASD teachers who make sure to reach our kids, and push them to achieve their personal best.
So, what does it mean when we talk about differentiated instruction? Really, what we're trying to do is customize the learning to the needs of each child. Some examples:
During "warm-ups", each child was asked to do 5 problems that Ms. Shilling had written on the board. Some kids pulled out a notebook with paper. Others worked on small whiteboards on their desks. Others stood and worked at whiteboards on the walls around the room. Little things like this let the child be most comfortable and still focus on the work.
After warm-ups, the kids dove into some problems. Some children preferred to work mostly alone. Others talked quietly with neighbors about how to do the problems. Some dove into Khan Academy on ChromeBooks (Thanks, Google!) Ms Shilling also worked with a small group in one corner. I have to admit, I was surprised to see kids sitting on beanbag chairs and laying on carpet, but all across the room, they were engaged in the math. She even had a great poster up to remind kids of how to work together
"Differentiation" doesn't end at the physical, though. It's actually much more relevant in the material itself. To solve the problems, the class was encouraged to try 4 different ways to do long division. Some kids like the classic form, and others opted for the alternate methods. The kids used at least 2 techniques, and then cross-checked the answers. Then, they wrote up a word problem to fit around the math they'd just done. Finally, they wrote an explanation of the techniques they used, and why they liked it.
Throughout the hour I was there, I heard the quiet cheers of excitement "Yes! I got it!", and "Thanks" to a teammate who helped out. Kids who pushed through the original material were quickly challenged with newer, deeper material. Kids who hadn't yet mastered the content had many "teachers" from whom they could draw help. What struck me was the way the kids all found different ways to interact with the material. But at the end of the class, they'd all mastered some new skills in math. That's what it's really all about.
Well done, Ms. Shilling! And congrats to all of the LASD teachers who make sure to reach our kids, and push them to achieve their personal best.
Legislative Updates
A quick update on a couple of laws that crossed Jerry Brown's Desk recently.
AB484 was signed, which allows the State to suspend API (STAR Testing) for this year. With the broader move to Common Core, using an outdated test didn't make much sense. Indeed, LASD has already seen that our own teaching is more in line with the future (Common Core) and so the older assessments are not as relevant.
AB375 was vetoed, which is also a good thing. This bill was touted as a reform to the teacher dismissal policy, but the final version really weakened the ability of school districts to address performance issues. I'm pleased to say that our relationship with our staff has meant that this isn't typically an issue in our District, but it's good to see public education headed in the right direction overall.
Neither of these is earth-shaking, but they are relevant, and we do occasionally get asked about what's going on at the state level. These are two bills we'd been tracking, so I thought I'd share with everyone.
AB484 was signed, which allows the State to suspend API (STAR Testing) for this year. With the broader move to Common Core, using an outdated test didn't make much sense. Indeed, LASD has already seen that our own teaching is more in line with the future (Common Core) and so the older assessments are not as relevant.
AB375 was vetoed, which is also a good thing. This bill was touted as a reform to the teacher dismissal policy, but the final version really weakened the ability of school districts to address performance issues. I'm pleased to say that our relationship with our staff has meant that this isn't typically an issue in our District, but it's good to see public education headed in the right direction overall.
Neither of these is earth-shaking, but they are relevant, and we do occasionally get asked about what's going on at the state level. These are two bills we'd been tracking, so I thought I'd share with everyone.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Welcome, education innovators!
The Poway School District is building a new PK-8 school known as the "Design 39 Campus". The school itself is focused on revolutionizing learning, so we take it as a great compliment that the principal and staff are coming to LASD to talk with us about how we do staff development. Staff from Milpitas are also planning to attend the meetings.
This isn't a "big" thing, but it's important for folks to understand that LASD is out there on the leading edge. I've spoken previously about how other schools seek to learn more about our practices and roll them into their own programs. That's part of what we do as a public entity- we share best practices. Welcome, Poway, and Milpitas! We hope to learn from you also, and to exchange exciting ideas.
This isn't a "big" thing, but it's important for folks to understand that LASD is out there on the leading edge. I've spoken previously about how other schools seek to learn more about our practices and roll them into their own programs. That's part of what we do as a public entity- we share best practices. Welcome, Poway, and Milpitas! We hope to learn from you also, and to exchange exciting ideas.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
MacGyver vs. Bond (Thoughts from Blach)
One of the interesting things about being on the Board is that I get to see the weekly newsletters from all of our schools. Sandra McGonagle over at Blach always has an inspring story to lead off her newsletter. I've asked her permission and may occasionally share some of her thoughts, because she's really tuned in to what's going on in kids. I loved this one because I think it speaks to the change in how we need to prepare our students for the real world..
Sandra
Blach Banner News
09.26.13
Dear Blach Families,
Not sure if you know this, but I am a pop culture junkie. I love clever references and was recently thrilled to watch a TED talk about the problem solving skills
our kids need today that had a great link to two of my favorite pop
culture icons, 007 and MacGyver. Marc Chun, an Education Program Officer
at the Hewlett Foundation, gave a convincing talk about the need for
our kids to be able to transfer their learned skills and knowledge
throughout life to solve problems.
When we look at the problem solving skills of James Bond, they are fairly predictable. At the beginning of each film, Q gives Bond a few nifty new tools.
It might be an exploding pen, decoding device, or a tape recorder
hidden in a camera. At some point throughout the movie, each of these
tools is used just in the nick of time. From my experience, this is how
much of the problem solving experience at school works. Students might
be taught a new strategy or skill and then be given a problem to solve.
It’s effective and necessary, but it’s not that exciting.
Cut to MacGyver now. Mac always had a Swiss Army knife and some basic supplies on him, but his genius was in the area of creative thinking. When a problem arose, he was quick on his feet to scan his surroundings and jerry rig some random supplies
into something that saved the day. Our kids need to know how to solve
problems in this way as well. They should have an entire tool kit of
skills and knowledge to choose from and use what works best to solve the
problem at hand. In my opinion, this is much more real world than the
world of Bond.
Here’s to having both 007 and MacGyver skills!
Sandra
Sunday, April 14, 2013
NYT Editorial on ImprovingTeaching
Today's New York Times has a great editorial about what is needed to improve education in America. With the new common core standards, we are asking our teachers to take on the responsibility of teaching even more skills to our children- collaboration, use of technology, critical thinking, research, etc.. Yet we still train teachers the same way we always have. The editorial makes the case for changing the way we train and certify teachers to improve our likelihood of reaching those goals.
This shouldn't be interpreted as criticism of our teaching cadre. Just this weekend I was bragging to my sister (who holds a Masters in Education) about how devoted our teachers are to improving their skills. Nearly 40% of our teachers participated in the iLearn Academy, which is a voluntary after school training program. Most of them took multiple units. LAEF provided funding for an additional day of professional development training, despite the fact that PD days are a serious inconvenience for working parents. Our community (parents, teachers, and administration) all understand the value of continuous training for our teachers. Indeed, in our ongoing salary negotiations, one interest that has been raised by both administration and board members has been ensuring that we continue to emphasize training for our staff.
So I post this article not to condemn or criticize our district, but simply to say that ther is always more to do. We can do more locally, and at a national level, we have MUCH more to do. In order to restore America to our former position as the preeminent hub of R&D, we need to improve teaching on a national level. These comments from the NYT should be a wake up call to policy makers across the nation that we need to change what we do to improve the results.
NYT Editorial:Teachers: Will We Ever Learn?
This shouldn't be interpreted as criticism of our teaching cadre. Just this weekend I was bragging to my sister (who holds a Masters in Education) about how devoted our teachers are to improving their skills. Nearly 40% of our teachers participated in the iLearn Academy, which is a voluntary after school training program. Most of them took multiple units. LAEF provided funding for an additional day of professional development training, despite the fact that PD days are a serious inconvenience for working parents. Our community (parents, teachers, and administration) all understand the value of continuous training for our teachers. Indeed, in our ongoing salary negotiations, one interest that has been raised by both administration and board members has been ensuring that we continue to emphasize training for our staff.
So I post this article not to condemn or criticize our district, but simply to say that ther is always more to do. We can do more locally, and at a national level, we have MUCH more to do. In order to restore America to our former position as the preeminent hub of R&D, we need to improve teaching on a national level. These comments from the NYT should be a wake up call to policy makers across the nation that we need to change what we do to improve the results.
NYT Editorial:Teachers: Will We Ever Learn?
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Breakthrough in teacher evaluations
The Mercury News reported this morning that San Jose Unified is working on a contract that revolutionizes the way teachers are evaluated. It creates a "teacher quality panel", and puts some real teeth in the teacher evaluation process. The new evals include things like peer and student feedback, as well as standardized test scores as a component. The agreement also provides for increased compensation at the top end of the scale, as well as various other "carrots" for successful evaluations.
The agreement is a huge deal because teachers unions general have a reputation as obstructing progress in this area. I'm excited to see a local school district taking bold steps to re-examine how they work together.
I've made it no secret that I'd like to revamp the way we evaluate teachers. Mostly, when I look at this framework, I see a possibility of developing greater trust between administration and staff. The entire profession is helped when we can effectively coach and correct those who under perform, and it is also helped when we recognize those who are really making a difference.
At Monday's Board meeting, we had a free-ranging discussion about teacher compensation. Frankly, it has been a long time since we gave any sort of across-the-board raise to teachers and staff. I think that our staff was excited to hear us discuss the possibility, and I think that those in attendance understood that we want to ensure we have a win:win goal in mind. We've given some ideas to those working in the negotiation, and we're still collecting competitive data. For myself, I'd like to see us stretch the salary schedule out a bit, and create some sort of flexible pay scenario. It could take a lot of forms, but I'm really excited that we're talking about something other than a simple "win/ loss" negotiation.
The agreement is a huge deal because teachers unions general have a reputation as obstructing progress in this area. I'm excited to see a local school district taking bold steps to re-examine how they work together.
I've made it no secret that I'd like to revamp the way we evaluate teachers. Mostly, when I look at this framework, I see a possibility of developing greater trust between administration and staff. The entire profession is helped when we can effectively coach and correct those who under perform, and it is also helped when we recognize those who are really making a difference.
At Monday's Board meeting, we had a free-ranging discussion about teacher compensation. Frankly, it has been a long time since we gave any sort of across-the-board raise to teachers and staff. I think that our staff was excited to hear us discuss the possibility, and I think that those in attendance understood that we want to ensure we have a win:win goal in mind. We've given some ideas to those working in the negotiation, and we're still collecting competitive data. For myself, I'd like to see us stretch the salary schedule out a bit, and create some sort of flexible pay scenario. It could take a lot of forms, but I'm really excited that we're talking about something other than a simple "win/ loss" negotiation.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Other Interesting Blogs
For obvious reasons, I read a fair bit of what is written in the education community. I would like to share two interesting posts for you all:
Given my most recent post about BCS and the Brown Act, this post by San Carlos Trustee Seth Rosenblatt might be interesting. It starts with a good explanation of the Brown Act, and what it means in practical terms. He then goes into some discussion about what needs to change to bring the Brown Act into the 21st century. I stand by my original post about BCS, but this is an interesting read nonetheless. (link to EdSource)
Closer to home (as if San Carlos were far away), one of LASD's own has started her own blog. Beth Leach is a 6th grade teacher at Almond, and has been at the forefront of many initatives within LASD. She is a fearless experimenter, willing to try new techniques and update old ones. I've been fortunate to have both of my girls in her classes. In her first blog post, she builds on an article from Stanford, relating her experience both inside the classroom and on a recent trip to visit schools in China, to do a bit of analysis on the state of public education in the US. Given all of the rhetoric, the detailed Stanford article is worthwhile, and Beth's personal experience and analysis is a valuable read.
Beth's Leach's blog
Given my most recent post about BCS and the Brown Act, this post by San Carlos Trustee Seth Rosenblatt might be interesting. It starts with a good explanation of the Brown Act, and what it means in practical terms. He then goes into some discussion about what needs to change to bring the Brown Act into the 21st century. I stand by my original post about BCS, but this is an interesting read nonetheless. (link to EdSource)
Closer to home (as if San Carlos were far away), one of LASD's own has started her own blog. Beth Leach is a 6th grade teacher at Almond, and has been at the forefront of many initatives within LASD. She is a fearless experimenter, willing to try new techniques and update old ones. I've been fortunate to have both of my girls in her classes. In her first blog post, she builds on an article from Stanford, relating her experience both inside the classroom and on a recent trip to visit schools in China, to do a bit of analysis on the state of public education in the US. Given all of the rhetoric, the detailed Stanford article is worthwhile, and Beth's personal experience and analysis is a valuable read.
Beth's Leach's blog
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Project Based Learning
Those who follow our discussions about curriculum and instruction may have heard the phrase "Project Based Learning". When we were kids, this mean building a diorama in a shoebox, or making a paper machee pinata. Today it is much more involved, and much more sophisticated.
Wny is this important? Because the workforce of my parents' generation was more "solo". Each person worked on their piece of the puzzle, and it was moved on to someone else. Our generation works differently. We work on projects and in groups for our entire careers. We know that the "superstar" is the person who can bring together diverse views and personalities, and work effectively as a group to do more than the individual could do on their own.
Here's a good article laying out the key concepts. It explains nicely all of the same things that our staff has seen with Project Based Learning, and why this has been a key part of our curriculum for many years.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/21st-century-skills-changing-subjects-larry-rosenstock-rob-riordan
Wny is this important? Because the workforce of my parents' generation was more "solo". Each person worked on their piece of the puzzle, and it was moved on to someone else. Our generation works differently. We work on projects and in groups for our entire careers. We know that the "superstar" is the person who can bring together diverse views and personalities, and work effectively as a group to do more than the individual could do on their own.
Here's a good article laying out the key concepts. It explains nicely all of the same things that our staff has seen with Project Based Learning, and why this has been a key part of our curriculum for many years.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/21st-century-skills-changing-subjects-larry-rosenstock-rob-riordan
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Congratulations to Oak School
Around here, we know Los Altos Schools are pretty special. It was that much sweeter, then, to attend a celebration at Oak School yesterday. Principal Amy Romem hosted two sessions to share with the students and parents her trip to Washington, DC to accept the President's Blue Ribbon School Award.
The Blue Ribbon program recognizes excellence in education. There are over 133,000 public schools in America. Only 219 public schools received this award, recognizing their academic achievement, the culuture of the school and exemplary work by the staff. The team at Oak - the teachers, staff, parents, students, and principal- should be congratulated for their outstanding work. Well done, Oak!
The Blue Ribbon program recognizes excellence in education. There are over 133,000 public schools in America. Only 219 public schools received this award, recognizing their academic achievement, the culuture of the school and exemplary work by the staff. The team at Oak - the teachers, staff, parents, students, and principal- should be congratulated for their outstanding work. Well done, Oak!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Congratulations to Oak: A Blue Ribbon School
Most folks will have seen the press release that Oak School was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School. This prestigious award recognizes schools for exemplary achievement in educating students. One unique aspect of the NBRS program is that schools have to serve the needs of all students. The program specifically looks to see that under-privileged students are doing well also. It is not permissible to skim students, or to serve some students well, but shun others. Here are the guidelines:
Congratulations to Amy Romen, Principal at Oak, and to her entire staff. They represent the District's values in how they deliver for our students and in everything they do. Well done.
For Public Schools, "high performing" is defined by the CSSO of each state, but at a minimum means (a) that the achievement of the school's students in the most recent year tested places the school in the top 15 percent in the state on state assessments of reading (or English language arts) and mathematics, and (b) disaggregated results for student subgroups, including students from disadvantaged backgrounds, must be similar to the results for all students tested.This isn't about "teaching to a test", or focusing on one group but ignoring others. Blue Ribbon Schools are recognized for educating the whole child, and serving every child well. For more information on the program and criteria, please see the US Department of Education Guidelines
Congratulations to Amy Romen, Principal at Oak, and to her entire staff. They represent the District's values in how they deliver for our students and in everything they do. Well done.
Friday, October 12, 2012
How "equal" delivers better results
A parent sent me this interesting article on the education reform movement in Finland. It talks at length about how they approached building the world's leading educational program. One of the most important tennants of their effort was to strive for equlity in all of their schools.
LASD has also followed this same principal. We strive to ensure that the program is equitable across all campuses. We may pilot a program someplace before rolling it out widely, but we aim to ensure that your child has a geat educational experience no matter which campus they attend. Why do we do this? We owe every child a first-class education. This is true regardless of their background, or what special needs they may have. Besides the moral aspects of this approach, it also has the benefit of building wide community support for our schools. No matter which campus, no matter what the child's interests, we support the child's learning. In doing so, we achieve consistently high results for all of our students. Isn't that whay public education is all about?
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
A shift at SCCBOE?
Once again, there are two new posts together. Don't miss the second post on the BCS view of the court process
It's amazing how a little perspective can shift things around.
Parents in our community have spent considerable explaining to the SCCBOE that our community is host to a highly successful school district, and that there is no need for a charter school in our community. These pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
Imagine my surprise, then, upon learning that SCCBOE President Joe Di Salvo apparently thinks that "need" is an important factor to consider when evaluating charter schools. In his recent blog post, President DiSalvo discusses the recent efforts to locate a Rocketship charter school near Washington School in the San Jose Unified School District. In reflecting on the Rocketship request, PResident Di Salvo states:
He is referring to a school with an API score of 798, that is making excellent progress in closing the achievement gap. I believe the same thing could be said of our 9 district schools, which boast API scores in the 960+ range, and also are also showing how to excel in serving the needs of all students.
So here's the next step folks: Write to President Di Salvo. Let him know that you agree that we need to consider the possible negative impacts of a charter school before blindly moving forward with their approval.
But wait! I'd like to suggest a different tack than in the past. Beating him up with "I told you so" is not likely to achieve anything beneficial. Rather, consider that President Di Salvo may be seeing that it's not as clear-cut as he once thought. There is an opportunity to influence him, but if we mock him, it won't be helpful. Maybe President Di Salvo, upon review of additional facts, is coming to an adjusted conclusion. We actually WANT that in our public officials. Reach out to him, but please keep the tone civil.
Welcome to the dialogue, Joe.
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PS: Interesting to note that SJ Inside tweeted this after the post was published:
#Charterschools all the rage, but Joe DiSalvo voices concern after hearing of a successful public school being bullied.
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Update 5 Sept 2012 @ 9:30am: Here's an interesting editorial from a Stanford MD who lives in the affected neighborhood. It ran in this morning's SJ Mercury News. I didn't find a link on their site, but I've scanned it from my morning paper.
It's amazing how a little perspective can shift things around.
Parents in our community have spent considerable explaining to the SCCBOE that our community is host to a highly successful school district, and that there is no need for a charter school in our community. These pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
Imagine my surprise, then, upon learning that SCCBOE President Joe Di Salvo apparently thinks that "need" is an important factor to consider when evaluating charter schools. In his recent blog post, President DiSalvo discusses the recent efforts to locate a Rocketship charter school near Washington School in the San Jose Unified School District. In reflecting on the Rocketship request, PResident Di Salvo states:
Parent choice is an important part of the equation for me as long as the choice is about school quality. Competition in America has always been a beneficial attribute of our society. However, competition that weakens an excellent traditional public school working on all cylinders, in all the right ways, is not what I think the SCCOE Board intended when it cast its 5-2 vote [to approve the Rocketship charters] last December.
He is referring to a school with an API score of 798, that is making excellent progress in closing the achievement gap. I believe the same thing could be said of our 9 district schools, which boast API scores in the 960+ range, and also are also showing how to excel in serving the needs of all students.
So here's the next step folks: Write to President Di Salvo. Let him know that you agree that we need to consider the possible negative impacts of a charter school before blindly moving forward with their approval.
But wait! I'd like to suggest a different tack than in the past. Beating him up with "I told you so" is not likely to achieve anything beneficial. Rather, consider that President Di Salvo may be seeing that it's not as clear-cut as he once thought. There is an opportunity to influence him, but if we mock him, it won't be helpful. Maybe President Di Salvo, upon review of additional facts, is coming to an adjusted conclusion. We actually WANT that in our public officials. Reach out to him, but please keep the tone civil.
Welcome to the dialogue, Joe.
----------
PS: Interesting to note that SJ Inside tweeted this after the post was published:
---------
Update 5 Sept 2012 @ 9:30am: Here's an interesting editorial from a Stanford MD who lives in the affected neighborhood. It ran in this morning's SJ Mercury News. I didn't find a link on their site, but I've scanned it from my morning paper.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
LA Times: Charter Schools Drawing from Private Schools
There's an interesting piece in the LA Times today, explaining that charter schools are drawing a significant chunk of their pupils from private schools, not from public schools.
(Article link)
The article mentions that there may be some positives- for example, if the private school crowd puts pressure on Districts to innovate, that's not a bad thing.
However, the article also notes that this change has placed a $1.8B additional burden on public education. Yes, people who send their kids to private schools also pay taxes. However, I don't think that is what the voters had in mind when they supported the charter school movement.
And in case you don't think this is happening here, read the last quote in the Bloomberg article from last year:
Interesting reading...
(Article link)
The article mentions that there may be some positives- for example, if the private school crowd puts pressure on Districts to innovate, that's not a bad thing.
However, the article also notes that this change has placed a $1.8B additional burden on public education. Yes, people who send their kids to private schools also pay taxes. However, I don't think that is what the voters had in mind when they supported the charter school movement.
And in case you don't think this is happening here, read the last quote in the Bloomberg article from last year:
During a break, Arash Baratloo, a Google Inc. software engineer and Bullis parent, said he considered the $5,000 donation requested every year by Bullis to be “money well spent.” He previously sent his child to a private school where tuition was about $25,000 a year.
Interesting reading...
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Teacher Evaluations
I'm a very data-driven person, though, and I like using data to help improve outcomes. In my professional life at a subscription billing company, we process over $2B/ year in credit card transactions. One of the things my team does is deeply analyze that data to increase revenues for our clients. I believe we should bring that same discipline to how we deliver education for students.
Let me start by saying that I think we have some incredibly talented and hardworking teachers. I start there, because any time you talk about evaluations in public education, people think that the discussion is only about chasing out "bad teachers". In our case, I'm most interested in recognizing what works. Different teachers have different techniques. Our district already analyzes test data to help improve instruction in this way. To me, the next logical step is to use that same data as part of the evaluation process. The primary function of a teacher is to help a student learn. If we have data that shows they are doing this well, it seems only natural to me to use that data in the teacher's evaluatoin.
There is a bill in Sacramento right now, though, that is trying to make this whole process harder. AB5 seeks to unwind the use of test data in teacher evaluations. This flies against the national trend, and in my mind, flies against common sense. There is a good editorial in the LA Times that discusses the issue. Have a read, and if you are so inclined, reach out to Sacramento (Senator Joe Simitian, Assemblyman Rich Gordon) and let them know that this is a step backwards for our kids.
Let me start by saying that I think we have some incredibly talented and hardworking teachers. I start there, because any time you talk about evaluations in public education, people think that the discussion is only about chasing out "bad teachers". In our case, I'm most interested in recognizing what works. Different teachers have different techniques. Our district already analyzes test data to help improve instruction in this way. To me, the next logical step is to use that same data as part of the evaluation process. The primary function of a teacher is to help a student learn. If we have data that shows they are doing this well, it seems only natural to me to use that data in the teacher's evaluatoin.
There is a bill in Sacramento right now, though, that is trying to make this whole process harder. AB5 seeks to unwind the use of test data in teacher evaluations. This flies against the national trend, and in my mind, flies against common sense. There is a good editorial in the LA Times that discusses the issue. Have a read, and if you are so inclined, reach out to Sacramento (Senator Joe Simitian, Assemblyman Rich Gordon) and let them know that this is a step backwards for our kids.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Instructional Development: Doing it right!
Yes, I know the court hearing is tomorrow. We had a great presentation last night, though, and I wanted to share some of it with you all.
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I once famously told an LASD Board member that LASD didn't offer a "world class education". So she challenged me to do something about it, and here I am. Serving on a school board isn't supposed to be all about litigation- it is supposed to be about finding ways to improve the program we offer to our students. I'm very pleased to say that we are fulfilling that mission.
For students, summers are spent at camps, hanging out with friends, and visiting family. Frankly, I'm pretty sure that if you asked 20 people in the street what teachers do over the summer, you'd get the same answer- hanging out, resting, etc. This summer, our teachers have engaged in a tremendous amount of training. Some of them never really took a break at all, but they are all looking forward to putting that training to use in teaching our children.
Last night at the Board meeting, Asst. Superintendent Gallagher detailed the extensive set of workshops and courses our teachers attended this summer. Members of our staff were selected to attend workshops hosted by the Stanford d. School, the Nueva Design Institute, and the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. We also then hosted numerous workshops, where teachers shared what they'd learned at these conferences, as well as developed plans for the coming year, including the adoption of the Common Core Standards, Transitional Kindergarten, and iLearn, our in-house technology integration workshop.
I'm also excited about some of the new positions we've filled, including an Innovation Coach, our STEM Coach, and our Technology Coach. I do not know of another district that is our size that is investing this heavily in professional development.
A special nod to our friends over at Google. Not only did they host a Google Apps workshop that drew quite a number of our teachers (on their own time), but a member of their Education Team also helped facilitate our iLearn workshops. Perhaps most generously, they also donated hundreds of ChromeBooks to the District. Given the extremely high cost of Apple notebooks, this is a great way to help us deliver technology-based instruction to our students in a very different way.
I point all of this out, because I'm immensely proud of the work we are doing. As the #1 school district in the State of California, it would be easy to leave things as they are. Ms. Gallagher, though, has been leading the charge and challenging us to innovate. They're hard at work setting up the metrics we need to measure the impact of these programs, and rolling them out to the students.
So this year, as you guide your young ones back into the classroom, take a moment to thank our staff for all the work they've been doing while our kids enjoyed their summer break. The results this year promise to be very exciting!
----------
I once famously told an LASD Board member that LASD didn't offer a "world class education". So she challenged me to do something about it, and here I am. Serving on a school board isn't supposed to be all about litigation- it is supposed to be about finding ways to improve the program we offer to our students. I'm very pleased to say that we are fulfilling that mission.
For students, summers are spent at camps, hanging out with friends, and visiting family. Frankly, I'm pretty sure that if you asked 20 people in the street what teachers do over the summer, you'd get the same answer- hanging out, resting, etc. This summer, our teachers have engaged in a tremendous amount of training. Some of them never really took a break at all, but they are all looking forward to putting that training to use in teaching our children.
Last night at the Board meeting, Asst. Superintendent Gallagher detailed the extensive set of workshops and courses our teachers attended this summer. Members of our staff were selected to attend workshops hosted by the Stanford d. School, the Nueva Design Institute, and the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. We also then hosted numerous workshops, where teachers shared what they'd learned at these conferences, as well as developed plans for the coming year, including the adoption of the Common Core Standards, Transitional Kindergarten, and iLearn, our in-house technology integration workshop.
I'm also excited about some of the new positions we've filled, including an Innovation Coach, our STEM Coach, and our Technology Coach. I do not know of another district that is our size that is investing this heavily in professional development.
A special nod to our friends over at Google. Not only did they host a Google Apps workshop that drew quite a number of our teachers (on their own time), but a member of their Education Team also helped facilitate our iLearn workshops. Perhaps most generously, they also donated hundreds of ChromeBooks to the District. Given the extremely high cost of Apple notebooks, this is a great way to help us deliver technology-based instruction to our students in a very different way.
I point all of this out, because I'm immensely proud of the work we are doing. As the #1 school district in the State of California, it would be easy to leave things as they are. Ms. Gallagher, though, has been leading the charge and challenging us to innovate. They're hard at work setting up the metrics we need to measure the impact of these programs, and rolling them out to the students.
So this year, as you guide your young ones back into the classroom, take a moment to thank our staff for all the work they've been doing while our kids enjoyed their summer break. The results this year promise to be very exciting!
---------
Updated @1:45pm, 8/14/2012: I forgot to mention that the District held 4 Innovation in Education events last year, and we are planning on 4 more this year. During these events, we host educators from districts near and far (including attendees from as far away as Brazil and the UK). These folks come to see what LASD is doing, and what makes our model so successful. It is always nice to be recognized, but I'm especially proud of the way our staff is "walking the walk"- making it a core part of our mission not only to revolutionize learning for our students, but to share that knowledge with the rest of the education community. Well done!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Doing it right
Occasionally I get to step back from exciting things like budgets and facilities offers and staffing ratios, and actually get to look at education. Today I wanted to share a little of that with you.
One of the concepts getting a lot of airplay in education circles is that of integrated learning. Some call it "cross-curriculum"", and others call it "project based learning", and others call it other things. The idea is pretty simple though- students learn best when the topics tie together. After all, that's life in the real world. Rarely in my day job does someone throw an equation on a white board and ask me to solve it. For some reason, I'm seldom asked to diagram a sentence from a mail message. Often, though, we use skills we learned in English class to extract the key ideas from a discussion, and then we may reduce those thoughts into a mathematical formula to determine a business outcome. The educational theory is that kids are more successful in the real world if they've already learned those skills when they are in school.
Recently I was working with a 5th grader on a tech project. She was building a web site about the radioactive element Radium. At one point, she came across a "fun fact": it takes 10 tonnes of Uranium to yield 1 gram of Radium. She wanted to understand what that really meant, and find a way to explain it so that others could grasp it too. She started by calculating the volume of 10 tonnes of Uranium and 1 gram of Radium, Then she did some calculations to convert that into volume. Realizing that her volume was in a metric unit, she then went back and looked up the conversion rates and finally explained it in terms that made sense to her: It takes about large three trash cans full of Uranium to yield a ball of Radium the size of a pencil eraser.
I was fascinated as I watched this young lady shift effortlessly between scientific concepts, research, and mathematics. No one "taught" her how to do this- she just connected the dots of the many things she's learned in class and produced a useful result.
I've seen this in other places too. On a recent tour of Egan, Brenda Dyckman showed us how an English teacher had worked with her colleagues in other departments to develop consistent standards for writing analysis papers. Each department had a consistent rubric so that the papers were evaluated both on subject matter content (science, history, etc.) and on their adherence to the rubric. it's a simple concept, but it ensures that students are able to effectively articulate the ideas they've learned.
There are a lot of things that make our program special. We don't do a lot of shameless self promotion, but maybe it's time we change that. "Teaching to the test" wouldn't get even close to what we do. Measures that are considered "best in the State" are just a starting point of what we want for our kids. While we can always improve, we should also recognize what we do well.
One of the concepts getting a lot of airplay in education circles is that of integrated learning. Some call it "cross-curriculum"", and others call it "project based learning", and others call it other things. The idea is pretty simple though- students learn best when the topics tie together. After all, that's life in the real world. Rarely in my day job does someone throw an equation on a white board and ask me to solve it. For some reason, I'm seldom asked to diagram a sentence from a mail message. Often, though, we use skills we learned in English class to extract the key ideas from a discussion, and then we may reduce those thoughts into a mathematical formula to determine a business outcome. The educational theory is that kids are more successful in the real world if they've already learned those skills when they are in school.
Recently I was working with a 5th grader on a tech project. She was building a web site about the radioactive element Radium. At one point, she came across a "fun fact": it takes 10 tonnes of Uranium to yield 1 gram of Radium. She wanted to understand what that really meant, and find a way to explain it so that others could grasp it too. She started by calculating the volume of 10 tonnes of Uranium and 1 gram of Radium, Then she did some calculations to convert that into volume. Realizing that her volume was in a metric unit, she then went back and looked up the conversion rates and finally explained it in terms that made sense to her: It takes about large three trash cans full of Uranium to yield a ball of Radium the size of a pencil eraser.
I was fascinated as I watched this young lady shift effortlessly between scientific concepts, research, and mathematics. No one "taught" her how to do this- she just connected the dots of the many things she's learned in class and produced a useful result.
I've seen this in other places too. On a recent tour of Egan, Brenda Dyckman showed us how an English teacher had worked with her colleagues in other departments to develop consistent standards for writing analysis papers. Each department had a consistent rubric so that the papers were evaluated both on subject matter content (science, history, etc.) and on their adherence to the rubric. it's a simple concept, but it ensures that students are able to effectively articulate the ideas they've learned.
There are a lot of things that make our program special. We don't do a lot of shameless self promotion, but maybe it's time we change that. "Teaching to the test" wouldn't get even close to what we do. Measures that are considered "best in the State" are just a starting point of what we want for our kids. While we can always improve, we should also recognize what we do well.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Working on Sacramento from Los Altos
Assemblyman Rich Gordon, who represents our district in Sacramento, has created an Educational Advisory Council, made of of Board Members, Administrators, and other leaders in education. I'm honored to be asked to participate. WE met for the first time today and discussed a number of issues facing the education community.
First on our agenda was discussing the impact of the budget, particularly the "handcuffs" it places on local school boards. This year's budget contains a number of triggers that would automatically cut revenues mid-year if certain economic indicators don't continue at the rosy pace they were hitting in May and June. Mid-year cuts aren't new, but this year's budget specifically prohibits local school boards from cutting certificated personnel (teachers) in responser to the cuts. I politely expressed my frustration with this, and told Asm. Gordon that I felt this was an unprecedented (and probably illegal) intrusion of Sacramento into the business of local school districts. Rest assured that the other districts felt equally unhappy with the law. Hopefully if the Assembly is called back into session in December, they'll address this issue.
We also discussed a number of other items folks would like to see improved:
- Clean up Ed Code 35021. This law makes it illegal to have a volunteer do any job previously held by a district employee. We talked about the inability to have parents supplement in the libraries and in aide positions. This problem is felt across many districts. It isn't my intent to replace our valuable employees with all-volunteers. However, it's hard to explain to parents why it is better to not have a program than to have volunteers help make it more cost effective.
- One of the other districts also mentioned the entire idea of outsourcing- the fact that we can't subcontract any of the work we have done. Simple examples like lawn mowing came up as areas where we could hire a service to do the work, rather than maintain tractors ourselves.
- We talked about AB1034, which would require charter schools to make efforts to serve students in under-served groups (such as economically disadvantaged kids, and English Language Learners). See my previous post for more information on this topic.
- We talked about the impact of redistricting, and the elimination of the Department of Education at the State level.
Overall, I felt the meeting was very positive, but clearly there's a lot on the legislative agenda. I don't know how quickly any of this will pass into law, but it was a great discussion. I look forward to working with the Assemblyman on his initiatives.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
ACTION REQUIRED: Legislation to tilt the tables
There's a bill in front of the Assembly right now, and it's about as blatent a piece of lobbying as I've ever seen.
On the surface, SB 931 seems innocuous. The first two paragraphs are as follows:
Supports of the bill would claim that they're just trying to keep employers like LASD from interfering with the employee rights to organize and negotiate. However, as it is written, the law has two major flaws:
1) It prohibits the use of public funds for things that are already illegal (such as interfering with the right to unionize)
2) it is written so broadly that is could be construed to deter districts from doing basic things like discussing our negotiating position.
(See the full text of the bill here)
During our negotiations with the LATA, we are well represented by a Board member and several members of our administrative team. Our teachers union also brings in a representative of the California Teacher's Association. The CTA has zero interest in our community, except that they don't want Los Altos teachers negotiating a position that other districts might adopt. My anger here is not hypothetical. In our most recent negotiations with our bargaining units, we had reached a conceptual agreement on some key labor & wage concessions. Once the CTA arrived on the scene, those agreements went out the window. This is a case of an outside group with no stake in the discussion disrupting what we as a community value and have worked hard to build.
Under this new law, it would be possible for unions to file suit against districts for any perceived action that they thought discouraged a host of activities that are already legally protected.
I would ask constiuents to contact the legislative offices of State Senator Joe Simitian and Assemblyman Rich Gordon to vote down this ridiculous piece of legislation.
Email Joe Simitian's Office
Office of Senator Joe Simitian
Palo Alto District Office
160 Town & Country Village
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone: (650) 688-6384
Email Rich Gordon's office
Office of Assemblyman Rich Gordon
Twenty-First District
5050 El Camino Real, Suite 117
Los Altos, CA 94022
Tel: 650-691-2121
On the surface, SB 931 seems innocuous. The first two paragraphs are as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 3506 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
3506. (a) Public agencies and employee organizations shall
not interfere with, intimidate, restrain, coerce or discriminate
against public employees because of their exercise of their rights
under Section 3502.
(b) Public agencies shall not use public funds to pay outside
consultants or legal advisors for the purpose of counseling the
public employer about ways to minimize or deter the exercise of
rights guaranteed under this chapter.
Supports of the bill would claim that they're just trying to keep employers like LASD from interfering with the employee rights to organize and negotiate. However, as it is written, the law has two major flaws:
1) It prohibits the use of public funds for things that are already illegal (such as interfering with the right to unionize)
2) it is written so broadly that is could be construed to deter districts from doing basic things like discussing our negotiating position.
(See the full text of the bill here)
During our negotiations with the LATA, we are well represented by a Board member and several members of our administrative team. Our teachers union also brings in a representative of the California Teacher's Association. The CTA has zero interest in our community, except that they don't want Los Altos teachers negotiating a position that other districts might adopt. My anger here is not hypothetical. In our most recent negotiations with our bargaining units, we had reached a conceptual agreement on some key labor & wage concessions. Once the CTA arrived on the scene, those agreements went out the window. This is a case of an outside group with no stake in the discussion disrupting what we as a community value and have worked hard to build.
Under this new law, it would be possible for unions to file suit against districts for any perceived action that they thought discouraged a host of activities that are already legally protected.
I would ask constiuents to contact the legislative offices of State Senator Joe Simitian and Assemblyman Rich Gordon to vote down this ridiculous piece of legislation.
Email Joe Simitian's Office
Office of Senator Joe Simitian
Palo Alto District Office
160 Town & Country Village
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone: (650) 688-6384
Email Rich Gordon's office
Office of Assemblyman Rich Gordon
Twenty-First District
5050 El Camino Real, Suite 117
Los Altos, CA 94022
Tel: 650-691-2121
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Look overseas for better education
There was an interesting study done recently that looks at how to improve education in the US. They looked at all manner of reform over the past few decades and found that we simply aren't hitting the mark. Even charter schools, when controlled for student background, are faring no better than traditional US schools. (We have seen the same here, but that's for another day.). Not surprisingly, the conclusion was that other countries have better models and we could do well to follow their lead.
My kids started school in Singapore, and I have worked a fair bit in Japan and Ontario, Canada, two of the other places cited in the study. While the results of this study tend to focus more on the national level changes than local changes, it starts from the same place I've been talking about for a while. Los Altos has some great schools measured against the State of California, but we need to do better. Our kids will compete globally. We need to prepare them to do just that.
It seems strange to be talking about building a better school in the middle of the budget cutting season, but we need to stay focused on that goal. I'm pleased to see that the Khan Academy continues to get great press coverage. It is one way we are trying to "Think different" (with apologies to Mr Jobs' English teacher)
Read the Mercury News article here
My kids started school in Singapore, and I have worked a fair bit in Japan and Ontario, Canada, two of the other places cited in the study. While the results of this study tend to focus more on the national level changes than local changes, it starts from the same place I've been talking about for a while. Los Altos has some great schools measured against the State of California, but we need to do better. Our kids will compete globally. We need to prepare them to do just that.
It seems strange to be talking about building a better school in the middle of the budget cutting season, but we need to stay focused on that goal. I'm pleased to see that the Khan Academy continues to get great press coverage. It is one way we are trying to "Think different" (with apologies to Mr Jobs' English teacher)
Read the Mercury News article here
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