Category Archives: Education Policy

Reconsidering College as “The Goal”

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Education, Education Policy, Social Issues | , , , ,

Let’s say a prototypical U.S. graduating class has one hundred students.

Of that hundred, sixty-seven enroll directly into a two- or four-year college. (Source: National Center for Education Statistics)

Of the sixty-seven who do enroll, only forty-eight will make it into their second year of college (whether at the same institution or a different one)… the rest drop out. (Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center via NPR; computation mine)

Of those forty-eight who make it into year two, only twenty-eight will have earned a degree even six years after enrolling in college. (Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Persistence and Retention; computation mine)

That’s worth repeating:

Of the one hundred graduating seniors in that prototypical class, only twenty-eight will statistically have earned a college degree within six years of leaving high school.

There are a multiple ways to interpret this.

On one hand, we could indict the K-12 school system for not preparing kids to persevere in the post-secondary education system.

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Equity in School Discipline

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Education, Education Policy

On July 30, 2018, House Bill 1541 allowed OSPI to address equity in student discipline and close opportunity gaps in learning across Washington state.  

As educators, we differentiate instruction for students who struggle academically or learn in a different manner.  It makes sense that educators use the same process for regulating behavior, as discipline is not a one-size-fits-all model.  The new format is a prevention-based approach, schools must attempt to correct behavior before requiring disciplinary action. Following this format ensures fair and equitable practices across the state for all students.

The changes to federal and state laws are this: 1) Limit the use of exclusionary discipline in schools. 2) Minimize the impact of exclusionary discipline on students who are excluded. 3) Reduce disparities in the administration of student discipline.

Many educators have a false perception of the new discipline laws simply because they aren’t well informed.  I have heard many educators assume that the new rules mean two things. One, students perceived as “bad” can not be suspended for their behavior. And two, that those same “bad” students will be rewarded in hopes the rewards will change their behavior.  This simply isn’t true.  

OSPI’s Equity and Civil Rights Office officially advises schools to review the effectiveness of discipline and/or intervention strategies using a four-part model based on their school’s discipline data.

  • Plan: Analyze the data and identify root causes
  • Do: Decide on a plan and implement
  • Study: Evaluate and monitor progress
  • Act: Adjust your plan, if necessary

In reviewing discipline policies schools should adjust their discipline rules if data shows little or no progress in student behavior.

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(In)adequate yearly progress: Being basic and how to grow from it

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Education, Education Policy, Elementary, Life in the Classroom

Whether you are one year or ten years into your teaching career, you will be observed and evaluated on your teaching practices. These observations and evaluations are one way we as educators know how we are impacting student learning and receive feedback on our practice. 

My first year of teaching, I was rated “Basic” in every domain I was evaluated on, including my student growth. I accepted this evaluation despite my disappointment because it was, after all, my first year. As I entered year two, I remember thinking, “I know it’s still going to be so hard, but at least I won’t be completely blindsided.”

October rolled around and I was feeling good about how things were going. Nothing was perfect, but I was leaps and bounds ahead in my practice compared to this time last year. For example, my first observation and evaluation of this school year came in mid-October, and I was excited for my administrator to come into my classroom and see how much I had improved.

Fast forward to my post-observation meeting and a score of “Basic” in every domain. 

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An Example of Privilege

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Social Issues | ,

When I teach about privilege in my classroom, I’m careful to frame it not as an “easier life,” but rather, a life that more closely matches the life of the deciders.

We talk about it in terms of “proximity to power.” As we discuss issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, ability, wealth (the list persists), we identify how society unconsciously arranges each of these on an axis. At the convergence of these axes is the “position of power.” Furthest from the convergence are marginalized identities. We talk about this as “social location.”

I am careful to clarify that when we place identities on these axes, we are not making value judgments. Rather, we are making observations based on data. For example, on the race axis we consider which race in our country occupies governmental policymaking seats, CEO positions, media mogul platforms, and socially powerful positions. That race is predominantly white, and disproportionate to that race’s representation in our society. Take gender identity, sexual orientation, sex assigned at birth, (and on down the list) and we get a map of social locations with proximity to power.

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WARNS of Trouble…

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Assessment, Education, Education Policy

Peace and quiet. Ahhh…I looked out at my students as they were silently reading and took a mental survey of what I know about this group of 6th-8thgraders. Who are these young people?

In my room, at least 60% are in homes where I know drugs and alcohol are playing a role in the family environment and nearly 80% are coming from homes where poverty has a firm hold. One in four are being raised by widows. Quietly they all read, lost in worlds of adventures far from the starkness of their real lives. 

It is not hard to see where almost every single one of my students faces a daily challenge in which they must use some kind of coping mechanism just to show up at school. I am actually quite surprised that truancy is a rarity in my classroom. However, I have had to become familiar with the new laws surrounding truancy this year. 

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No Pathway to Graduation

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Assessment, Education Policy | , , , ,

11/6/2019 EDIT: See the comments for some updated information since the post originally published. –mg

Last spring, the state legislature made a policy move that, in the Tweet-length-version, seemed like a win for kids often marginalized in our system. The oft repeated phrase? “Legislators delink state tests from high school graduation.”

The essential premise as I understand it: The current assessment system (SBA) didn’t deserve greater weight than the rest of a student’s academic performance when it came time to determine if the student had earned their diploma.

Ultimately, this premise prevailed, and the resulting policy established eight separate pathways toward earning a high school diploma. So far, so good. I’m on board.

Unfortunately though, as I’ve tried to sort out what this means for my current students, I can’t help but be concerned. Unless I’m missing something big, there still will be a handful of kids… particularly in the graduating class of 2020… for whom no pathway to graduation exists.

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Baby/Bathwater

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy | ,

The recommendation from the New York City School District’s “School Diversity Advisory Group” has sparked a national conversation, one that’s erupted right here in the Seattle Public School District. The NYC advisory group claimed that the best way to desegregate NYC schools was to eliminate most gifted programs. In their reply, the National Association for Gifted Children pointed out that NYC’s history of using a single test “actually exacerbated under-identification.”

Denise Juneau, the new superintendent at the Seattle Public Schools, is also pushing to phase out selective programs for advanced kids although she’s currently being blocked by two school board directors.

Juneau called the HC classes “educational redlining.”

Let’s all agree that the demographics of most gifted or Highly Capable programs in the nation—or in Washington state—don’t closely match the demographics of the districts at large. For example, in Seattle, the stats look like this:

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“I Believe in You”: The Teacher’s Role of High Expectations

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Education, Education Policy, Elementary, Life in the Classroom

High expectations. The phrase has been bouncing around the education ether with increasing regularity over the years. As practicing educators, we know the “why” behind high expectations, but it is often easier said than done. Take my story. It is probably not unique, and other teachers may have buried away similar stories in their proverbial shoebox of “not-so-proud” teacher moments.

I share this story not as an omission of guilt or a way to vent, but as a window into the challenges that a multitude of novice (or not so novice) teachers encounter when trying to navigate the new territory of cultural competency in our practice. 

In my first year of teaching 1st grade I did not hold all of my students to high expectations and one of my English Learner students suffered the most.

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Prep for Success?

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Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom

I was a few years into my teaching career when found myself in a line outside of thick conference doors waiting to get into a session entitled, On the Verge of Burnout? I was curious, who were all these people, burning out? Teaching was great!

Finally, after waiting a few minutes, I touched the shoulder of the young woman in front of me and asked if she knew what the hold-up was, why weren’t they opening the doors? She replied that indeed they had opened the doors and this line was the overflow for standing room.  Overflow? I should have seen the writing on the wall then—things were not looking good for teachers’ mental health. That was over a decade ago and it seems things have only gotten worse.

Fast forward fifteen years in my teaching career. Honestly, we are barely a month in and I feel the weight of an entire school year upon my shoulders. There is just too much; too much to teach, too much to manage, to juggle, to collect data on, to make fit. I am feeling the burn of being a candle lit at both ends.

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The Care and Feeding of the Twice Exceptional Child, Part One

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Assessment, Education, Education Policy

“Twice-Exceptional” (2E) is a term used to describe a student who is both gifted and disabled. These students may also be referred to as having dual exceptionalities or as being gifted with learning disabilities (GT/LD). This designation also applies to students who are gifted with ADHD or gifted with autism.

Last year, at the end of the school year, I overheard one of my mothers talking to other parents, telling them how hard it had been to get her child admitted into the Highly Capable (HC) program at our district because “no one in the district understands twice exceptional children.”

I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t the time or place. But her child was not the first 2E child I’ve had in my class. He certainly won’t be the last.

Yet I am sure every parent of a 2E child feels the same frustration she felt.

First of all, it can be hard to identify 2E children for any of their needs. They are intellectually advanced enough to devise coping mechanisms to help overcome some of their disabilities. At the same time, those disabilities are like anchors that weigh them down, not letting their intellectual giftedness shine. They can look bright but unmotivated, advanced but lazy. They can look too high to qualify for special ed services but too low to qualify for HC services.

In truth, they may need both.

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