Recently, I submitted a list of questions to the Brattleboro Town School Board with regard to standardized testing, federal education programs, teachers’ concerns, and a range of other topics. I received a response from Town School Board Chair Margaret Atkinson today, with answers to most of them.
Margaret Atkinson explained that she “worked with [WSESU Superintendent of Schools] Ron Stahley and District Curriculum Coordinator Lyle Holiday” in preparing the answers.
She stressed that the answers were not intended to represent the views of the Town School Board, who, she said, have not voted on it and have no declared position on most of these issues.
As many in town grapple with the sense of cognitive dissonance that comes from hearing multiple conflicting views about our schools, it’s helpful to have concrete statements of position to evaluate. The questions and answers below shed light on the administration’s view of the issues, and provide important background into how our school administrators see education today.
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Answers to Questions on Public Education In Brattleboro
From Margaret Atkinson, with participation from WSESU Superintendent of Schools Ron Stahley and Curriculum & Assessment Coordinator Lyle Holiday
Numbered questions in bold are mine; the answers below them were provided by people listed above.
1. In what ways do federal education programs such as No Child Left Behind drive how our children are taught in Brattleboro schools?
“Very few demands in “how” students are taught. The demands that are made are that teachers are highly qualified, and that researched-based programs are used for the curriculum. This means that all teachers are qualified to teach the subject area they are teaching. There are many researched-based programs. When a school is looking to replace or begin a new program, we go through a process of putting together a representative group from the schools to look at the research, pilot different programs, and then make a decision. The principal and either Curriculum Coordinators Paul Smith or Lyle Holiday are a part of this group. The “art” of teaching is left to the teacher. The teachers will have curriculum materials – it is the teacher’s craft to make it accessible, integrated with other subjects, make it fun and engaging for students.”
2. To what extent do federal education mandates drive spending decisions such as the purchase of curriculum materials, textbooks, and devices such as computers and tablets?
“If federal funds are spent on materials, they must be researched-based. In the past years our federal budget has been cut extensively and the majority of our funds go to the salaries, professional development, summer school and the New Teacher Mentor program.”
3. How much of federally-mandated costs are reimbursed or otherwise funded by the federal government, and for how long?
“Special Education is reimbursed at a rate of 57% from state and federal monies. We received in excess of $4 million this past year. Budgets for Federal programs: Title 1 for direct instruction at $1,092,791.00 and Title IIA for professional development at $349,830.00, representing a 10% reduction in funding for Title programs. It’s important to note, the $1.3 million we receive each year would be very difficult to replace with local dollars.”
Common Core Curriculum Standards
1. Are you aware of criticisms of the new Common Core Curriculum Standards nationwide and are you listening to the debate?
“There are two opinions to the CCSS both pro and con!”
2. Will a full implementation of Common Core leave room for teaching things not covered by Common Core?
“The common core opens up what teachers can do as it does not specify topics but rather skills. For instance, one common core standard states: a 4th grade student must: make connections using concrete details, quotations, or other information from the text being compared.
There is nothing in the common core that says what a teacher must use to teach that. In our SU it would be a good place to integrate science, social studies or other themes, compare texts of student interest with short clips from a video, compare two texts, etc.”
3. Are all children able to do the same things and perform at a “proficient” level on standardized tests?
“No. Nor has this ever been considered as a possibility. This is one reason why we do not use standardized tests as part of our grading system. We take into consideration the strengths and weakness as well as the growth each student has made over a period of time.”
4. In the past, it was accepted that some perfectly smart, capable people do not perform well on standardized tests. Are any allowances made for such people today?
“Assessment is one part of a complete picture of a child. Not the only part and not the most important part. Teachers do not use NECAP assessment when grading students or measuring day-to-day progress. This type of assessment can be used to show trends. Multiple forms of assessment are used, progress monitoring, classroom assessments, daily work, etc. See above for more information.”
5. What careers does Common Core prepare students for?
“The Common Core does not prepare students for specific careers rather Common Core assists with life skills that would be needed for all careers. See below for examples:
- Students demonstrate independence.
- Students build strong content knowledge.
- Students respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.
- Students comprehend as well as critique.
- Students value evidence.
- Students use technology and digital media strategically and capably.
- Students come to understand other perspectives and cultures.”
Computers and Data
1. The new adaptive tests require Internet-connected computers to run. How will this requirement impact computer purchases in the run-up to test implementation in 2015?
“Our Technology and Curriculum Coordinators Gary Parzych and Paul Smith have been on top of this, taking part in webinars to ensure that we have equipment and software upgraded for use. Also, we have had teachers go through an assessment pilot and they have given us good feedback.”
2. What concerns do you have, if any, about the way data collected on students will be used?
“See number 4 above: assessments are used as screening to indicate that students are making progress, need more challenging material or need more or different interventions.”
3. Testing companies are creating tests to be used throughout the year in addition to the “big” tests with which we’re all familiar. Will Brattleboro be using the new interim tests as well?
“We will move from the NECAP to the SmarterBalance (SBAC) Assessment. Teachers are aware, and will continue to be made aware, of the availability of interim assessments to be used if desired. There is no plan to do interim assessment on a wide-scale basis. It is the understanding of the Office of Curriculum & Assessment that these assessments can be used as teaching tools and not only as assessment. We still need to have a better idea of what this looks like before we decide whether or not to use theses tools.”
Students
1. How are Brattleboro school students managing in the new test-driven environment? Are some students doing better than others? What prevents all students from doing well?
“We would not call our school environment test driven- We would call it student-centered. The goal is to meet students where they are and to help them to make progress every day. That fact that assessments are used to measure progress is not something that is new to schools. You may have had a math quiz or a spelling test in your school life too. Assessments are tools that help teachers target and modify their instruction. Students rate the climate of their schools quite highly- they know that teachers care about them and are helping them to learn. As one would expect, some students do perform academically better than others. There are many, many factors that play into this some are out of the control of the school system though we do a lot to try to mitigate them. Poverty, health and family issues play into student success and we can only do so much to ameliorate these factors”
2. It appears that Brattleboro’s students are having trouble making sufficient year over year gains in proficiency numbers to make “Adequate Yearly Progress” overall. When students are made aware of the importance of standardized test scores to the school system, how does it make them feel when they learn that they or their school did not measure up?
“Overall our schools have made progress and this is what we celebrate as schools. Additionally, we do not emphasis standardized testing. We have always known that not all students are going to meet the Average Yearly Progress standards set by the state of Vermont (with approval from the Federal government).”
3. What do you say to students whose aptitudes and interests are not math, reading comprehension, engineering, science and technology?
“This is why we offer a well-rounded education with music, art, foreign language, library classes, physical education, etc. This is also why we are looking forward to the Common Core so that we can work toward integrating those areas to increase this integration.”
4. The Board has posed the question: What do we want our children to know? Can you answer that question for us?
The community has a range of ideas about this. As a k-6 system, making sure students have a good grounding in literacy and math skills is very important for their success in middle and high school. Research shows that children who do not read well by 3rd grade have a very hard time catching up in later years. The district has made investments in pre-k and primary programs to lay that strong foundation of reading. Math is the language of science and so that is another strong focus. We also want students to explore new things that might become a life long passions- from learning to ski, to going to or making theater, to learning to sing or paint or play the trombone. In addition to arts and academics, we want students to learn how to work together, how to respect each other and how to be members of their community.
Parents
1. What percentage of parents are involved in the schools and in what ways?
“Open House generally has from 50% – 90% participation. Parent Conferences has from 89% – 100% participation. Additionally, every school has their own parent activities with a range of % of parents in attendance. Our Brattleboro Town Schools have poverty levels from 55% to 63 % making over 55% of elementary students eligible for Free or Reduced lunch town-wide.”
2. What does the school system expect of parents?
“All schools receiving Title I funds have Parent Compacts that outline expectations for parents such as:
- Get my child to school on time every day
- Discuss school with my child daily.
- Check backpack everyday and complete necessary paperwork
- Provide homework support
- Talk to teachers often and keep school informed of changes in the family.
- Attend school functions and conferences”
Teachers
1. What drove the decision to buy out the contracts of higher-paid teachers?
“Not necessarily the higher-paid teachers, it is those who are near to retirement who might want to retire a little early. Initially for BTSD, the retirement incentives were offered after the 2008 economic crisis when approximately 38 positions needed to be cut from throughout the supervisory district. This is a voluntarily incentive program. Teachers decide whether they want to accept the incentive. “
2. Does the loss of experienced teachers help or harm our schools?
“We have a limited number of our experienced teachers who take the incentive. Our mentoring teachers, year after year, report that while working with new teachers they gain as much as they feel they give. Our new teachers come in with fresh perspectives having been through programs to learn recent research around best practices in education. These new teachers compliment our current excellent, experienced teaching staff.”
3. Some teachers say they felt pushed out of the school system by being subjected to enhanced scrutiny increased criticism, and in some cases outright bullying (yelling, swearing). What do you say to a teacher or staff member who feels that they are being treated wrongly or unfairly by an administrative superior?
“On the example you use, a Vermont Labor Board Judge ruled that there was no credibility to the unfounded claim of an administrative superior yelling or swearing at an employee. There are policies and statutes in place that protect all employees from bullying or other inappropriate behavior. In addition there is the Windham Southeast Education Association and the Vermont National Education Association – Teacher Unions. These are union associations that protect individual teachers and para-educators which include a grievance and arbitration process.
Policies include; D11: Public Complaints About Personnel, C9: Board Commitment to Non-Discrimination, D12: Policy on Prevention of Harassment of Employees. All policies are on the WSESU Website. Also, State and Federal agencies are available for employee complaints – Vermont Attorney General’s Office, Civil Rights Unit and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “
Policy Implementation
1. How much leeway does the local school district have with state and federal education initiatives?
“Because our SU receives federal Title I funds we do have to:
- Ensure all our teachers and paras are highly qualified,
- Use researched-based programs,
- Use a % of funds for professional development,
- Provide a mentor program,
- Provide parents opportunities to participate in school-based activities”
Outcome
1. Is the concept of producing well-rounded people still part of the goal of public education?
“This is why we have not reduced music or art and have increased FLES and BEEP, after-school enrichment programs and summer enrichment.”
2. If so, how does Common Core contribute to the goal of educating well-rounded people?
“It ensures that all our students have had access to the same skills no matter what school they are in. As stated above, it does not limit or require specific content.”
3. If not, what is the goal of public education?
School board answers
Thank you to Lise for asking these questions and for the responses provided. Some clarification and followup questions are essential to a better understanding. All of these answers are clearly the official policy answers but they gloss over some of the conflicting experiences of people who are actually in the school system.
The question of integration of different subject areas is not being presented consistently. Some teachers are being told that they cannot teach thematic units – one of the most common ways of integrating different subject areas and creating opportunities for students to make connections. Common Core specifically requires this.
However, there is a pressure on some to teach pre-packaged curricula ‘with fidelity’ which seems to mean without deviating from the program itself. There is an inconsistent message being given to different teachers. Failure to ‘teach with fidelity’ to the program can be a basis for being ‘written up’. Yet we are also told to differentiate, extend and make connections in order to reach lower and higher performing students.
Although music and art staff have not been reduced in Brattleboro – it has happened in this school district. Actual contact teaching time in the arts has been reduced in Brattleboro and scheduling has been complicated by the introduction of ‘uninterrupted’ math and reading blocks. The arts have in the past been center stage in all-school thematic units of study that crossed over various subject areas. This has not been done recently, moving the arts more to the sidelines. Efforts have been made to schedule instrumental music classes after school.
There is more to say at another time. Caring about our schools is manifested by speaking about what is really happening. I encourage you to find out more than the official policy answers and dealve into the actual changes taking place in our schools.
Fidelity to whom?
“With fidelity” is a term of art developed by the publishers of teaching programs. They used to talk about “teacher-proof curriculum” but that, understandably, raised some hackles. I take this term to be a more innocuous sounding (and less honest) replacement. The point is the same. The teacher’s job is to implement the program faithfully. As a teacher I felt that my faith was due not to some program developer who had never met my students, but to the actual children I was teaching, none of whom ever fit neatly into a teaching scheme.
Why Doesn't Everyone Love The New Ed System?
As has been noted, both in the comments here and in answer to one of the questions answered by school officials above, there are multiple views on Common Core and current educational practices in general. While the view of local schools presented above seems fairly positive, not all teachers agree with them. The question is, why?
This editorial, pulbished in the Hartford Courant this week — 1/20/14 — gets at many teachers’ complaints about the new system:
“Unfortunately, government attempts to improve education are stripping the joy out of teaching and doing nothing to help children. The Common Core standards require teachers to march lockstep in arming students with ‘21st-century skills.’ In English, emphasis on technology and nonfiction reading makes it more important for students to prepare an electronic presentation on how to make a paper airplane than to learn about moral dilemmas from Natalie Babbitt’s beloved novel ‘Tuck Everlasting.’ “
Of the role of teachers in student learning, she concludes:
“Until this year, I was a highly regarded certified teacher. Now, I must prove myself with data that holds little meaning to me. I no longer have the luxury of teaching literature, with all of its life lessons, or teaching writing to students who long to be creative. My success is measured by my ability to bring 85 percent of struggling students to “mastery,” without regard for those with advanced skills. Instead of fostering love of reading and writing, I am killing children’s passions …”
Read the full piece here.
New state ed site
Department of Education for Vermont has a new web site that discusses Vermont’s Personalized Learning Plans, Common Core, and more:
http://education.vermont.gov