What Can Union City Teach America?

/* The specialist after teaching his weekly class to elementary students in a government school in Tianjin, China. The 'plane' was put up by their regular English teacher, who made as much money in a month as I did in 10 hours as a foreign expert. */


I finished distilling Improbable Scholars, by D. Kirp. Its a fine book, and I would suggest it to someone who has not taught in an urban American school. Otherwise, educators, and others familiar with the literature, can read the first and last chapters to understand his thesis. In the last chapter 'What Union City Can Teach America' the author transmits what common principles that are found in the urban school districts that have transformed themselves by increasing student achievement above  average.

I will quote an excerpt:

What do these effective school systems have in common? Core principles.

They put the needs of the students, not the preferences of the staff, at the center of decision making.

They start early by investing in quality preschool.

They rely on a rigorous, consistent, and integrated curriculum.

They make extensive use of data to diagnose problems and pinpoint what's required to solve them.

They build a culture that combines high expectations with respect and a "we can do it" emphasis on the positive.

They value stability and avoid political drama.

They are continuously improving - planning, doing, reviewing -turning a system comprised of schools into a school system. 

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These are the core principles not because of random experiment, but because the research literature has proven that these are the strategies that are necessary to improve urban schools.


The author discusses one example of a districts commitment to early education that is reflective of how I would prioritize programs in times with economic restraints . Aldine, Texas "even when its budget was being cut it preserved full-day prekindergarten for four-year-olds because of its proven long-term benefits". This is exactly where Schenectady has been failing for the past few years. We have been cutting early education and preserving programs for older students that can already read. We can learn from the districts Kirp describes in this book, but the thing that they emphasized was early education.

Jerry Weast, Superintendent of the Montgomery County School District north of Washington DC followed a clear course to turn around that district. The first thing he did was expand prekindergarten "it's at the top of my list of priorities".

When I am on the Schenectady School Board I will also prioritize early education.

Investing in Preschool Programs

informational post; follow link for paper; no comment at this time

Investing in Preschool Programs
by: Greg J. Duncan and Katherine Magnuson
Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 27, Number 2—Spring 2013—Pages 109–132

"It appears that an effective strategy is to combine a proven curriculum that
offers well-designed lesson plans and activities, based on an understanding of children’s
trajectories of learning within specififi c content areas, with strong professional
development to target improvement in specififi c instructional practices. Several
random-assignment studies of curricular innovations in early childhood education
programs have shown substantial effects on children’s learning in math and literacy,
and these curricula are currently found in some effective preschool programs. The
What Works Clearinghouse provides up-to-date information on rigorous evaluations
of early childhood education curricula (at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/).

The Boston pre-kindergarten system provides a scaled-up model of how this
might work. System leaders developed a curriculum from proven literacy, math, and
social skills interventions. The academic components focused on concept development,
the use of multiple methods and materials to promote children’s learning,
and a variety of activities to encourage analysis, reasoning, and problem-solving
(Weiland and Yoshikawa forthcoming). Extensive professional development training
and on-going coaching ensured that teachers understood the curriculum and were
able to implement it effectively in their classrooms. A regression- discontinuity evaluation
showed relatively large impacts on vocabulary, math, and reading (effect sizes
ranging from .45 to .62 standard deviations) as well as smaller, but still noteworthy
effects on working memory and inhibitory control (effect sizes ranging from .21 to
.28 standard deviations; Weiland and Yoshikawa forthcoming).

.....

For the economically disadvantaged children in the sample—those with family
income below 180 percent of the poverty line in their fifi rst year of life—participation
in the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) produced large impacts
on cognitive development. Specifically, children in the treatment group outscored
their control-group counterparts by .82 standard deviations on the Stanford–Binet
IQ mental subscale by age three .5 For children in higher-income families, the
IHDP’s program impact was much smaller, only .18 standard deviations.

What Can Be Done To Improve Struggling High Schools?

Follow link to new article.

What Can Be Done To Improve Struggling High Schools? 

by: Julie Berry Cullen, Steven D. Levitt, Erin Robertson, and Sally Sadoff

Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 27, Number 2—Spring 2013—Pages 133–152

informational post; no comments at this time

rebirth

I started reading “Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools” by David L. Kirp, 2013, today on the bus on my way to work. He spent time at a school in Union City, New Jersey because this district has many of the attributes of districts that consistently fails its students. Poor urban schools typically fail because they can not properly address, the economic and cultural stresses tearing apart children’s homes. These forces of instability combined with limited access to rich home learning environments typically means that the kids growing up poor in cities do not have schools that allow them to develop into outstanding students.

Kirp lists 8 things that Union City does that allows it to be much more successful in allowing its children to blossom.

1.    High-quality full-day preschool for all children starts at age three.

2.     Word-soaked classrooms give youngsters a rich feel for language.

3.     Immigrant kids become fluent first in their native language and then in English.

4.     The curriculum is challenging, consistent from school to school, and tied together from one grade to the next.

5.     Close-grained analyses of students’ test scores are used to diagnose and address problems.

6.     Teachers and students get hands-on help to improve their performance.

7.     The schools reach out to parents, enlisting them as partners in their children’s education.

8.     The school system sets high expectations for all and maintains a culture of abrazos-caring-which generates trust.

This is a good list, but from what I have read in the economic literature, it is the first one- early education- that is the most significant determinant of long-term success, if the rest of the pieces are in place.

I did not get too much further when the woman behind me took a call from some one she described as “a sperm donor not a man”. This guy apparently had done nothing in 16 years for his child and the court had determined that he should not be with his daughter. She had worked for 16 years to support her child and only recently had shared the responsibility with another person who was a ‘man’ and took care of her daughter by doing laundry, dishes, buying sneakers and food. This guy on the phone was not going to have contact with his daughter, because he had done nothing.

The presentation of research last night by Kotz and Felderman on the lack of school readiness, by 5-year-old kids in Schenectady touched upon this issue, household instability. This strong woman’s child had to live without, thankfully it seems, her father while her mother worked and worked and worked. Taking the bus 45 minutes to Albany every morning, 8 hours on the job and another hour commute home. What did her child do for 10 hours? Are there high quality school programs that can support this single mother in her struggle to raise her child? How did the reoccurring attempts by his/her father to get involved impact this child’s ability to develop fluidly and rationally? Distracted, depressed, angry, tired, stressed?

We can not accept a school system that can not step up to support this child. Ethically, morally and financially we are bankrupt if we fail this woman and her child. This child’s mother is doing the very best she can with no support from the sperm donor. We need to ensure that this child has the best possible early education available so that the child can enter school prepared and motivated. This child should not suffer because we prioritize systems that we know to be inefficient and ineffective at creating the most benefit for the cost.

Early education is essential if this child is going to have a good chance at blossoming into the brilliant person they truly are.

Head Start Ineffective?

Getting our heads around Head Start

by Heckman Equation | 

May 02, 2013

• 3

There has been much talk about Head Start and its effectiveness after President Obama recently proposed a comprehensive national plan for early childhood development. Opponents of the plan claim the National Head Start Impact Study (NHSIS), released in December 2012, shows that government investment in early childhood development is ineffective—a generalized conclusion that is neither thoughtful nor accurate.

Head Start is by no means perfect, but that should not rule out efforts to improve the program’s quality and surround it with other high-quality birth-to-five programs that will deliver better outcomes for children, families and society.

There were flaws in the NHSIS study. For example, many in the control group were allowed to attend other Head Start and preschool programs, thereby diminishing the gains found among the treatment group. The evaluation of positive effects were limited to the early school years while many studies have consistently shown that benefits become more evident in later school persistence and adult economic, health and social outcomes. In addition, the research was conducted before current quality improvement initiatives were put into place. Regardless of these flaws, the NHSIS study does provide a picture of the past and some insight into how we can shape a better future, especially if it is placed within the context of other evaluations and programs.

Head Start is by no means perfect, but that should not rule out efforts to improve the program’s quality and surround it with other high-quality birth-to-five programs that will deliver better outcomes for children, families and society. Now is not the time to throw away Head Start and abandon efforts to build comprehensive early childhood development programs in the United States. It is time to take solid evaluations of many programs and use the knowledge to create more effective early childhood programs.

The President’s early childhood plan presents this opportunity. As proposed, it seeks to build upon efforts to improve quality in and consistency across Head Start as well as other public and private services. The plan incorporates important existing and new investments in effective child development from birth to three, such as home visitation, Early Head Start and quality childcare. These programs combined with an improved Head Start and higher quality private preschool programs are more likely to produce better education, health and economic outcomes for disadvantaged children and society than Head Start alone.

We can move forward with confidence, provided our public and private investments in early childhood development are guided by solid evidence, not uninformed advocacy. Certainly, the evidence is strong enough to act and act wisely. The time is now.

http://www.heckmanequation.org/content/getting-our-heads-around-head-start

smart to invest

Letter: N.Y. smart to invest in early education program

To the editor

Published 3:46 pm, Monday, May 6, 2013

The Times Union's front page story on the National Institute for Early Education Research's annual report shows how so many states have fallen behind in their commitment to early education ("Largest drop ever for pre-K spending," April 29).

We are happy to report New York took critical action this past year to assure high-quality pre-K is available to more children.

Unlike other states, New York kept its pre-K program largely on track, even through the Great Recession, and now has nearly 100,000 children enrolled.

This year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature added a $25 million investment with a priority for full-day pre-K. This is a notable accomplishment, given the challenges in the state budget and faced by school districts across the state.

There is no better investment in education than one in early learning. Children who attend high-quality pre-K are more likely to be reading on grade level by third grade and twice as likely to graduate high school and go on to college. Studies show a return on investment of $7 for every $1 invested, a fact touted by Nobel laureate and Federal Reserve economists.

The progress we are making in New York positions us to benefit from President Obama's new Pre-K for All plan.

Nancy Kolben

Center for Children's Initiatives executive director

Kate Breslin

Schuyler Center for Advocacy and Analysis executive director

Billy Easton

Alliance for Quality Education executive director

Karen Scharff

Citizen Action of New York executive director

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Letter-N-Y-smart-to-invest-in-early-education-4492358.php#ixzz2ScWwvSqb

Let’s Create Outstanding Schools!

Let’s Create Outstanding Schools!

Tom Hodgkins for Schenectady School Board

Vote Tuesday May 21^st     Noon to 9pm

Some polling places have changed; find your polling place: http://www.schenectady.k12.ny.us

I Will Prioritize Early Education

It has been proven that for every $1 invested in early education, society saves $11 in the future, because of the large and lasting gains made by students. If we are serious about creating outstanding schools and a prosperous city, our children must have a solid foundation. Early education is my first priority.

Who I Am

I am 37, and have been a Schenectady resident for 10 years. I am a proud father of 3 energetic children. I have a BA in history, a Masters of Arts in teaching, and a MA in economcs. I student taught at Schenectady High School while attending Union College. I taught in the South Bronx. I know what tough schools are. I also taught in China. I now work for the NYS Assembly specializing in tax policy. My knowledge of economics and education uniquely prepares me for the School Board. I am looking forward to working with Superintendent Spring to build an outstanding school system for our children.

T

Please contact me with your concerns:

hodgkins.t@gmail.com

http://schenectadyplaygrounds.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/ThomasHodgkins

Rate of Return for Education Investment

Schenectady School Readiness

http://lwvschenectady.org/files/schenectady_school_readiness_presentation_april_14_2013.pdf

This is a very good set of slides detailing the early education crisis in Schenectady. The authors, Rosalind Kotz, Ph.D. and Scot Felderman, will give a presentation on Monday May 6, 7:00 PM at the McChesney Room of the Schenectady Main Library.

Light for the Stockade

my mother and i

slanted towards material values

Dalai Lama

We need to understand the inadequacy of an educational system so slanted towards material values. The solution is not to give an occasional lecture, but to integrate ethics into the educational curriculum. To do this effectively requires a secular ethics, free of religious influence, based on common sense, a realistic view and scientific findings.

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Does Common Core test for secular ethics? How do we currently incorporate secular ethics into the curricula?