It's a Different World...Community Forums part 2

So I went to my second forum last night on DCPS school reconstruction (for backstory, see here). Talk about a different world. The stark constrast between the two meetings represent the economic and racial segregation of this city (monday night's meeting in SE was 100% African American and mostly middle to low SES and last night's meeting in NW was 99.9% White and mostly middle to high SES). And while similar concerns were raised about the reconstruction, the reasons behind the concerns were very different:

*Why certain schools were first on the list: Parents and community members were concerned about how schools were prioritized. They had issues with DCPS using the educational adequacy score (how well the building meets the standards of the Master Education Plan) and test scores to make their list of the order in which schools were to receive construction. In other words, if a school has middle to low educational adequacy scores but higher test scores, they could be moved down on the list of priorities than other schools who had similar educational adequacy scores but low test scores. Parents were upset about this because they felt that their schools were being "punished for doing things right". In other words, if they are following NCLB and their children are successful, that shouldn't hinder the timeframe for reconstruction. On DCPS's side, they were saying, well, if your school is doing academically well, then obviously the building isn't explicitly causing an immediate problem, so it can maybe wait a couple of years.

*Demographics: this was an interesting issue because apparently, NW is considered a "stable" neighborhood according to the demographers because there is no new construction, housing, etc in the works. The parents however, had an issue with that because while the neighborhood is "stable" (no new construction going on), the neighborhoods are turning from old retired couples to young families, which is creating a population swell in these schools.

*Swing schools were also brought up in this meeting, but only as a logistical issue for parents. No mention of youth violence, gangs, or mixing rival neighborhoods.

*Interim facilities support: same concerns were raised. Parents were mostly concerned about air conditioning and plumming in schools.

**What was interesting in this meeting was the difference in empowerment, trust, and emotion of the participants. On Monday, emotions ran high. There was a lot frustration from parents for a system that keeps failing their kids; anger because they keep hearing the same things over and over and don't see any change in the status quo; and a sense of helplessness for being a change agent in this process.

Last night's meeting was much more calm. While some parents were tenacious in bringing up their points and concerns, there wasn't the level of anger or sense of powerlessness. While the lack of trust was still there, people were much more optimistic and hopeful that change will come.

The differences between these community forums demonstrate the institutionalized system of privileges and societal structures that have created this economic and racial segregation in our country. This was just another example of why we need to make sure, above everything, that poor children are in good schools. Or else,we are never going to get out of this state of inequity and disempowerment.

....stay tuned for next week b/c there are a few more forums!

Come See the Edu-Action...DC style

Forget scheduling happy hours with your fellow edupeeps for the next two weeks and instead, attend the DCPS community forums on school reconstruction....because it's edu-action drama...and it's awesome!

Backstory: The forums are for community members to provide feedback to the draft master facilities plan for reconstructing DC schools. Since DC City Council allocated approx $3 billion for reconstruction, DCPS will be able to begin reconstruction shortly. In a nutshell, the plan will modernize buildings that do not need to be completely reconstructed and also create several organizational school models including; a Hilltop Campus (combining Phelps and Springarn, Young and Browne), Comprehensive Theme High Schools (specializing in law and public safety, business admin, engineering, and arts & media), and creating several prek-8 demonstration schools.

The Meeting: The kick-off meeting occurred last night at Kramer MS. Members from DCPS and the architecture firm who designed the plan were present to answer questions. You could definitely say that there were a lot of tension in the room. Some of the main issues addressed:

*Why certain schools were first on the list as opposed to other schools. Anacostia High School was a big contention point. Apparently, construction for Anacostia was put on hold about a year or two ago due to funding issues and now it is back, but not slated as one of the first schools to be reconstructed. There was actually two seniors from Anacostia High School there who argued that since Superintedent Janey has high school's as a priority, Anacostia should be one of the first to be reconstructed...not middle or elementary schools.

*"Swing Schools" (schools that will house kids while their original school will be under construction). In addition to logistical questions about this process, there was a lot of concern about safety. Parents and community youth workers brought up that combining two groups of kids from rival neighborhoods together in one school, or bringing kids to a school near a rival housing project, could lead to an increase in youth violence.

*Interim facilities support for schools. Principals were concerned that there are currently items that need to be fixed now and can't wait for their scheduled slot. To the credit of the DCPS, the deputy director of facilities was there and personally gave his email and phone number out to people so that they can contact him if work is not getting done.

*Lack of trust from community for the DCPS staff. This was the most interesting part of the meeting to me. It was fascinating hearing the dialogue between the DCPS and community members because of the history of DCPS. You are talking about a school system who has had 5 superintendents in 10 years. That's a lot of turnover. So when community members vent their frustrations about things that have happened, the response from DCPS is, "I wasn't here a year ago, I just got here." Which then spurred the reply, "We hear this from everyone...the 'I just got here yesterday' excuse. How long are you going to be here? Everyone for the past 20 years has said that they just got here. "

Superintendent Janey and his crew have to fight an uphill battle in order to regain back the trust and support of a majority of the District. And even though the issues run deep...at least the dialogue is beginning. But seriously, it's edupolicy in action, and I highly recommend your attendence.
full disc: I am a volunteer recorder for a couple of the forums

Here's this week's schedule:
Tuesday: Savoy ES
Thursday: W. Wilson HS
Friday: Clark ES
meetings run from 6pm-8pm

***Just as an afterthought, I realized that I didn't see or hear about anyone from the charter community. Since DCPS is discussing consolidating schools, there will be space available for charters....so it would maybe be a good idea for them to be in on this, no?

A Shift in Accountability

Really good NY Times article came out today about the ridiculously low college graduation rates of 2 and 4-year public universities (i.e. under 20% of students graduate in 6 years). One question asked was, "If you're accepting a child into your institution, don't you have the responsibility to make sure they graduate?"

Interesting question... Traditionally, college students have been taught that they are "on their own" and have to take responsibility for their actions, i.e going to class, passing, and even graduating. While colleges provide advising and freshman orientation, they certainly treat persistence as something that is up to the individual. In addition, the fiscal responsibilites of higher education make discussing rates of persistence complex and murky.

What I find most interesting about this article, is how it sounds eerily familiar. This same conversation about "shifting" responsibility from the student to the institution is what drove the accountability movement and ultimately, No Child Left Behind in the K-12 arena. Before NCLB, the responsibilty for success was up to the student, not the school. Now, it is the institutions job to make sure all their children all successful, regardless of the socio-economic and external conditions of the student.

Could this be a sign of NCLB accountability shifting the status quo in higher ed?

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