Forum for Educational Change in New Hampshire

A gathering of youth and adults came together on Saturday June 1, 2013 in Hampton, New Hampshire to create educational change. The gathering was supported by AERO (Alternative Education Resource Organization) and the Hampton Community Coalition.   Youth and adults most of whom had never met, and representing a variety of educational genres from public school to homeschooling theorized, formulated and created concrete action steps designed to implement their ideas for educational change in the state of New Hampshire.  

The morning was spent getting to know each other, viewing videos including a chapter from A Year at Mission Hill, collaborating and setting a framework for the day. One of the goals for the day was for youth and adults to collaborate in small groups focused on a particular area of educational change. The tone was set by the youth in attendance who suggested the focus areas of each group. 

One group focused on creating community outreach and community learning opportunities in which young people would learn from craftsmen and artisans in the surrounding community.  This would create space for students to pursue interest areas, and gave rise to the idea that this could be an alternative path to graduation where students would have many options for pursuing the knowledge most important to them and have that recognized.

Another group concentrated their efforts on setting up an optional school program in a local public school which would expose students to career opportunities.  The program would happen in eight - week blocks getting more specific and focused as students progressed through the program. For instance in the firs eight - week block students would be able to explore a variety of career opportunities such as Engineering, Health & Medical, Government, Law and the Arts.  In the second eight - week block students would be able to choose an area of focus and learn about resources for pursuing the chosen career path, visit venues where the vocation is being practiced and gain hands-on experience.  In the third eight - week block and thereafter students would pursue internships and apprenticeships in their chosen area.  In this model students would be able to explore different career paths before deciding on a focus area. 

Still another group directed their energies towards creating multiple and varied learning options within all public schools.  Working at the policy level this group took the concept of the day and scaled it up to create a statewide conference and conversation with broad themes.  The goal would be to bring together diverse ideas and perspectives representing a variety of different roles in the education field.  As youth and adults worked through the idea of creating a statewide conference, the intention of creating space for self - organizing conversations and group work around topics and interest areas was proposed.

Throughout the day there was an even exchange of ideas between youth, and adults and as the focus areas were laid down by the youth participants the focus, and action steps were meaningful and rich.  Part of the beauty of this day was that as one youth participant stated “the adults were really interested in our ideas and what we had to say”.  What came out of each group was mostly youth created with guidance and input from the adult participants. 

Equally impressive was the fact that it was rather easy for the participants to get beyond sides, and political and philosophical dogma as they moved ideas forward to create concrete action steps in order to implement educational change.  Before departing for the day we made commitments to keep moving forward on the action plans creating a support group where that could happen, and making plans to meet in person over the next few months to discover and support the progress of each group.

Reflecting on this gathering made me realize how fortunate I am to be a part of this group youth and adults that collaborated for meaningful educational change.  While youth and adults coming together to create change isn’t a new concept, and is becoming more widespread it is not happening often enough quite yet. 

This gathering was truly collaborative in that there were many individuals and organizations who contributed to making it happen. Thank to every one of you who made this happen and will continue to see this through.  A special shout out to the organizations and the individuals who make up those organizations listed below for providing inspiration, resources, and talking points for a successful gathering. 

AERO - Alternative Education Resource Organization 

IDEA - Institute for Democratic Education in America 

Imagine Learning 

The Free Child Project 

Fertile Grounds Project 

A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling 

New York Collective of Radical Educators 

Center for Education Reform

Collaborative Service Initiative - Antioch University 

Not all Charter Schools are The Same

Check out my Guest Blog Post on Cooperative Catalyst on Charter Schools.

            Are charter schools part of equitable educational choice? Do they and should they have a role in the educational landscape? There is a need for an honest, balanced discussion of charter schools. Charter Schools are tuition-free public schools, started by a variety of stakeholders for a variety of reasons.  Charter schools have come under fire for reasons ranging from selective admission processes and diversion of funds from public schools to the privatization of some charter schools. The concerns are valid, though sometimes they are derived from incomplete evidence and generalization.  

Public schools find themselves in a similar position, being lumped together and judged in the same way.  This continues to be an issue in the education reform movement, as some still seek to find one path for everyone and resist the need for varied educational options.  I am a tenacious advocate of equitable, quality public school education and work to make this option as strong as possible; however, I do not subscribe to the notion that this is the best option for everyone. 

Recent articles in the New York Times (Opinion Piece: NYC Charter Schools) and The Huffington Post (Charter School Quality) raise questions about equity, quality and sustainability of Charter Schools and also point to gains for students. While these are two respected publications and publications I enjoy reading, I find the reporting incomplete, biased and disappointing.  I find the continued focus on test scores as the sole method of measure troubling, as if testing and test scores have not come under scrutiny with serious questions about their legitimacy and relevancy.The New York Times opinion piece suggests that corporatized management of charter schools has been the reason for charter school success and advocates replication and using test scores as validation, while failing to mention that the focus of these management companies is on getting students into college Our Approach.

 Part of the concern regarding charter school growth has been the movement towards privatization. We have to ask how replication has somehow become synonymous with good, equitable and necessary. McDonalds has a replication model, and depending on your point of view, it’s either been very successful or highly destructive.

Replication without considering the unique needs of the context or individual sounds very familiar:  ‘Teach everyone the same way, using the same replicated techniques so we can assess them in the same way, because we know what’s best for is for all of them to be ready in the same way for the same future’.  It’s a good idea for us to be vigilant about this type of privatization and replication, which is contradictory to the original premise of charter schools.  Any form of public education should not be viewed by various entities as opportunities to profit off of our youth.

Not all charter schools are privately owned or operated.  While states differ in their regulation, most of the nation’s charter schools have to at least take a standardized test to satisfy accountability measures. Some charter schools have more rigorous accountability measures than the surrounding public schools, and this is often a tradeoff for more flexibility (NH Charter School Improvement).  What is lacking in these studies is the consideration of alternative forms of assessment, such as portfolios (interestingly, many employers are asking for applicants to provide them with a portfolio, electronic or otherwise).  Some charter schools have alternative forms of assessment in addition to required standardized testing. Charter schools I have been affiliated with had Portfolio Assessments along with taking two standardized tests, as compared to the surrounding public schools, which only took one standardized test.  I agree that this is not a great measure of public schools either.

Many charter schools have a theme or a focus they operate under.  For instance, one might have an arts and music focus, another may have an environmental science focus or social justice focus and so on. I do know from experience that students and parents don't always choose the charter option because of the theme; many chose it because they were not having success in other schools.  It is my belief that we need to be asking why charter schools are being founded in the first place?  Who is founding them? What’s the overall mission?  And ultimately, what’s its purpose?  I don’t think this can be done in a way that paints them all with the same broad brush.  Since many charter schools are founded by parents, students and community members, we have to at least consider the ones that do not operate under the replication ideology individually.

Admissions processes for charter schools are varied. I have worked in charter schools as a teacher and administrator in four different states. None of the charters in which I worked were privately run or owned. There were no admission criteria, and from what I recall, most charter schools throughout these states did not have admission criteria.  It was a lottery system. However, they did give preference to siblings. For example, if a student was already part of the charter school, the sibling of that student was given preference for an open spot.

I can remember only one time where we could not admit a student and that was because the services required were far and above what we could provide. This was in large part due to the disparity in funding, as states vary in their funding of charter schools (Charter School Funding). In some states, charter schools receive the same amount of money per student as the surrounding public school district, in other states, the funding is less.  

In New Hampshire, charter schools receive 40% funding for students. So if a public school gets $12,000 per student, charters get $5,500 per student, and they are expected to provide the same services. Charter schools in New Hampshire get start-up money for three years, so in general, new charters are in decent shape for at least two years. It's usually after that that they struggle. Some of them are on the brink of closing and have had to cut staff and services.  While more money does not necessarily equate to better quality, it’s hard to ask one person to do the job of five, especially when specialized skills and services are needed.  

The concern has been raised that charter schools take away money from public schools. The thinking goes that even if 20 students leave the public school and go to the charter school, the costs for maintaining the building, grounds, etc., remain the same for the public school.  What if the same amount of students left to go to a private school or moved from the area? Here is the perspective on this issue from the California Charter School Association (Myths About Charter Schools).

Charter schools offer a viable, equitable option for many students and families. I have watched the complete transformation of students and families who, for whatever reason(s), the public school option wasn't working. I witnessed students who were disenchanted and disheartened no only with school but with learning, and some who were shut down and downtrodden, become confident and curious agents of change.  Charter schools can offer a smaller, more intimate environment. The ones I have been affiliated with were smaller than the surrounding public schools, some of which had thousands of students on campus, as compared to the charter school that had between 150 to 300 students.  The smaller environment, I believe, allowed for adults and youth to know each other well. To borrow a phrase from Mission Hill School in Boston (Mission Hill Facebook Page), “You have to know them well to teach them well.”   

Charter schools also tend to have more flexibility in how they approach meeting standards and educating children.  In essence, they can implement what works for individual students.  Charter schools tend to have more parental and community involvement, which are added support structures for students and school staff.

In no way am I stating that charter schools are a panacea for every ailment, nor is this an indictment of all public schools.  Some charters schools are not very different than the public schools in the district in which they operate, and this trend may increase due to financial pressures. Some charter schools have had to admit more students than originally planned for to remain financially sustainable.  For instance, if they originally planned to cap enrollment at 200, they have now admitted 300 students, often with no additional staff members.  This is something that needs to be closely monitored and learned from.  We needn’t repeat what hasn’t worked.

While there are legitimate concerns about the direction of some charter schools, they can provide a viable, innovative, realistic option for students and families.  There are many models of cooperation between local public school districts and charter schools. Some share resources, such as building space, special education services, curriculum resources, maintenance of facilities, and in some cases, collaborative professional development.  This is an example of the type of collaboration that can happen when all but providing real choice and workable options for students are put aside.

We need all forms of educational choice and must work to make all those options equitable, sustainable and viable if we are to commit to a world where everyone is free to pursue the full measure of their humanity.

The Abandon of Reason - The Role of The Educator & Education Reform

It seems we are living with a “new normal” in which reason has been abandoned in many aspects of our society.  When we engage in reason, it’s essentially a process of understanding phenomena based on verifiable facts (in fact, part of the process is verifying facts) then changing our beliefs, patterns and practices in light of new information.  When we abandon reason, we stick to old practices, patterns and beliefs even in the light of new information without considering what the new information may mean. The implications for educators and education as a whole need to be considered before any kind of transformation can truly take hold.  

            Today this abandon seems pervasive and has somehow become intimately woven into our political process. Take for instance the issue of climate change.  Let’s put aside whether you believe that climate change is connected with the warming of the earth. We can go a step further and put aside the term climate change and just explore the issue of the number of increasing damaging storms.  For whatever reason(s), on the East Coast of the United States we have had an increasing number of intense and unprecedented storms over the last five years, two of which happened within four months of each other, and one which caused major damage and disruption for coastal communities along the Eastern seaboard, including major metropolitan areas.

             There are those who still argue that storms of this nature cannot happen, even though they witnessed it, even some who experienced it firsthand. I overheard a conversation after another major storm, the basis that went like this:  Person 1, “I think something is going to have been done about protecting people along the coast.” Person 2, “ It’s not that bad.  The storms aren’t as bad as the media hypes it up.  I saw on the news there was not much flooding.  It’s these liberals who want everyone to think the world is going to end because of global warming.”  Person 1, “The hurricane in October was pretty bad; lots of people lost their homes, and there is flooding from this storm too.  I don’t remember so much flooding, and I have lived here a long time.” Person 2, “What they say will happen won’t happen. They always say it will, but then it doesn’t.”  Person 1, “ I thought that too until the last storm, and then there was even that one that went inland two years ago and caused a lot of damage.”  Person 2, “I still say it’s all hype and we don’t have to spend money on protecting the coast.  People can just move.  Nothing is going to happen anyway.” Person 1, “I’m not so sure, but I hope you’re right.”

            Certainly this conversation is rife with opinion, and to some degree controversy. There is also denial and the connecting of weather phenomena to a political party or belief system.  Of course, there are real reasons why Person 2 said what they did.  It could be that the coverage of storms they viewed differed in some way, or perhaps Person 2 didn’t tune in for long or pay close attention. So maybe Person 2 didn’t really know.

There is nothing wrong with not knowing.  There is nothing wrong with having an opinion. The challenge becomes when reason is abandoned and when opinions, and more importantly actions, stay the same when one does know or when one doesn’t know and insists they do. We all experience things differently and take away something different from each experience, which accounts in part for different perceptions. Maybe for Person 2 a bad storm would have to entail most of the East Coast being under water.  That being said, 10 feet of water is 10 feet of water, displacement of water is displacement of water. If a surge starts with 10 feet of water as the base, it will cause more flooding and be more likely to rise above a sea wall than if it started with 9 feet of water as the base.

            It’s difficult to say New England will never get 3 feet of snow when it has already happened and has been documented, and it’s difficult to say New York City cannot be flooded when much of lower Manhattan was flooded in October.  It’s even more difficult to suggest that no action needs to be taken to protect life and property in the future without abandoning reason.  This reminds me of the quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson, “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”

            This has nothing to do with the political party you favor, what you believe or how you live. If you fill your bathtub right up to the rim with water and then get in it, that water is going to rise over the rim and flow onto the floor whether you believe our current elected officials are doing a good job or not. When there isn’t acceptance or agreement of these fundamental issues, we abandon reason at our own peril. When this type of denial and dismissal of facts becomes the norm, reason is abandoned and things become stuck with little dialog over the best course of action.

             As educators, we are often faced with the challenge of navigating through the abandon of reason. This presents a real dilemma, since we strive to be guides and facilitators supporting people in their own discoveries. We dance on the edge of the knife, not wanting to impart our beliefs or ideals onto another human being and wanting to ensure the people we work with have as much information as possible.  It is difficult to take ourselves out of the equation, especially when what we do requires pouring so much of ourselves into it.  

            We are educators, and we are human beings with responsibilities. As human beings we have a responsibility to accept the fundamental underpinnings of our world (if we throw a lit match onto a patch of dry grass, it’s more likely to catch fire than if we threw the same lit match onto a patch of wet grass). As educators we have a responsibility to give the time, space and tools needed for the people we work with to discover these fundamental underpinnings or experience them in new ways.

We can ask for participants to design experiments or demonstrations that illustrate these principles (what would participants have come up with if we asked them to illustrate what happened during the storm surge in New York City’s East River?).   We also need to find the time for reflection on these principles. While we tread lightly on moving anyone towards a conclusion, we can ask, now that we know this, what does it mean? Does it mean anything? Are there applications? Are there any current issues where these principles might apply? Do we have responsibilities now that we know this?  And so on.

            Just as important and a bit trickier is the responsibility we have as educators to ask those with whom we work to fulfill their responsibility as human beings. We can ask that when encountered with the “issues” of the day, they uncover them by beginning with the fundamental underpinnings of our world, the understandings that most people agree on (if you jump into the ocean with clothes, on they are going to get wet). Some might ask what right we have to ask anyone to fulfill these responsibilities, and this may be a fair point. On the other hand, as human beings we often ask each other to fulfill certain responsibilities on a daily basis. For instance, when driving our cars, we ask people to fulfill their responsibility for safe operation by knowing what the gas pedal and brake pedal do and when to use them.

            As we work towards transformation, we tend to uncover the abandon of reason a bit more quickly.  For example, if we are working towards transforming education from a system of a rote, passive experience to one that is more experiential and discovery-based, we will likely undercover the abandon of reason as it relates to how one will actually become skilled in using a hammer.  We all have a responsibility to engage in reason and use our fundamental understandings of the world as we work to transform our society so that the rights of all its inhabitants are met.

5 Tips for Setting Goals With Students

            It’s the beginning of the New Year, and for many this signals a return to the classroom after a holiday break.  This can be a perfect time to set or re-set goals with students for the rest of the year.  Now that everyone has had a few months to get to know each other and the mutual trust is built, the opportunity exists for specific goal setting that utilizes this knowledge and trust. Whether you spend all day with your students or 45 minutes a few times a week, whether you have known them for a long time or for a short time, whether you have 30 students or only ten, you can utilize these tips to set goals with your students. Keep in mind that goals do not only have to be academic in nature; you can set social goals with students as well.  It really is about what the student needs most and what they are interested in working on. Teacher and students working together can usually find goals that both can agree on.  If a strong disagreement does arise, work with the student on meeting somewhere in the middle. 

Why Set Goals With Students?  

• ·      Goal-setting is a powerful way to engage and re-engage students in their learning; 
• ·      Specific goals can help you and your students to focus on individual student needs;
• ·      Goal setting helps students feel empowered, especially when they are part of the process;
• ·      Specific goals encourage students to take part in their own growth and development;
• ·      Goals offer another measure of progress that can be linked with state and common core standards, if needed.

Tips For Goal Setting:

1.     Involve Students in Setting Goals.  Goals that are arbitrarily imposed  

without student input are less likely to be successful. Setting goals together with students is a powerful process that can reveal further insights that will help you know your students on a deeper level.  The first time I tried this with students I was a bit nervous, not knowing how it would go. By the end of the process, I found that I actually had to cut down on the number of goals we came up with. Through my experience and that of others, I have found that most often students are eager to participate in setting goals and generally have a good sense of what they would like to work on, especially when it comes to social goals.  When it comes time to meeting with each student individually, it does not have to take a long time. If you ask students to think about their goals beforehand, this will shorten the time you have to spend discussing them.

2.     Set Aside Time.  Set aside the time you will need for discussing goals, giving students time to think about goals beforehand and the time needed to actually meet with students to set goals; of course, you will have to take into account the number of students you have and the amount of time you have them with you.  Set aside approximately 20 minutes to explain goal setting, why you are doing it, that the students will have a say in the goal-setting and provide an example of a specific goal. If you are choosing to do both academic and social goals (though these can be one in the same), give an example of a specific goal for each. Next, give students time to think about the goals they would like to set.  I would introduce goals one day, then give students until the next class period to think about their goals and come back with at least one goal they would like to work on.  You can find what you think will work best in your classroom.  The final step is to meet with students to set goals.  These conversations can be pretty short or can take as long as you feel is necessary. I have had one-minute conversations with students where goals and action plans were set; some lasted a bit longer.

3.     Set Specific Goals & Create An Action Plan.  Goals that are specific hold much more weight and are easier to measure than broad goals.  “I want to get better at math” is a fine a goal, but is pretty broad.  A more specific goal might go something like, “I want to be able to solve 90% of multiplication problems without having to use a calculator,” or,  “I want to use a real-life application of the Pythagorean theorem in my next project.”  Social goals are similar in that the more specific they can be, the more they can be reflected upon. “ I want to be a nicer person” is another fine goal, but not as specific as, “I want to recognize one person every day for something nice they did.”  To be specific, goals do not necessarily to have a number associated with them, but specificity can be helpful when it comes time for evaluation. Some argue that having a number associated with a goal is limiting or fear that it resembles too closely our obsession with quantifying everything.  I tended to set goals without numbers attached to them or at least downplayed the number. In most cases it was a non-issue, and unfortunately having the number did help to justify the need to the powers that be.  Creating an action plan with specific steps is critical. Along with the student, you want to come up with the how’s.  How will the student go about reaching their goal(s)?  It is also necessary to come up with a time frame (i.e., I want to solve two problems using the Pythagorean theorem by February 10th).  

4.     Set Realistic & Attainable Goals.  This may be perhaps the most important yet trickiest aspect of goal setting. We all want students to push forward and achieve beyond their preconceived notions. We don’t want to limit them, and at the same time we have to be realistic in setting goals, otherwise it is an exercise in frustration.  Most likely you wouldn’t ask the least physically-gifted student to play basketball at the Michael Jordan level.  More likely you would ask him or her to learn how to make a proper pass or use the proper form for delivering a foul shot.  In the same fashion, you would most likely ask the student who struggles with all aspects of grammar to focus on perhaps one or two areas to improve upon. Of course, you must consider the amount of time you and your students will have to dedicate to these goals. Some goals, while attainable, may be unrealistic within a given time frame. It’s been my experience that students often underestimate the time needed to achieve a goal, especially if it’s their first time setting goals.

5.     Evaluate & Check In.  This step is and important part of the process.  Evaluating and checking in gives you and the student a chance to reflect on the progress that was made and create a plan for future success. You will need to set aside time for evaluations and check-ins. This, again, will depend on the number of students you have and how much time you spend with them. It is best to schedule this time rather than waiting for an opportunity. Check-ins can be brief and can take the form of feedback from both you and the student along with some suggestions. Evaluation can be as formal and as quantitative as a rubric, as informal as a collection of work, or as qualitative as observations and feedback. There are many great goal-setting rubrics available online. I recommend creating your own.  You can use the same basic format for each student, and of course it will be specific with regard to the goal, action plan and how it will be measured.  If your school uses a portfolio process as a method of assessment, goal setting and evaluation could fit nicely into the process if it isn’t part of it already.

Hopefully, you can find some time within the next couple of weeks to engage in goal setting with your students.  While there is an investment of time (and as we know, time is short for many teachers), the time invested is worth it. If you are really stressed about time or worried about how administrators may view this, then be sure and connect the goals to state or common core standards. You will find that the goals you and your students come up with are easily connected with these standards.  Besides engaging and re-engaging students in their learning, it can help students become personally invested their growth.  Imagine how powerful it can be to a student when they are asked what are their goals for the year, and what do they want to get out of being there, especially if they have never been asked that before. In my experience, it makes students think about their time at a school in a different way, and at the very least, it introduces to them the idea of personal goal setting, something they will most likely engage in throughout the rest of their lives.