How to build better schools

Randal Jelks pointed to an interesting article from the New York Times on New York’s elite schools, highlighting the terribly small admission of African Americans. 14. The number is shocking. As he notes, the problem is not simply there on Manhattan, but also here on the banks of the Grand. Do our magnet schools, specifically City, suffer from the same disease? Or more accurately, do they function as a distraction from the point. As he notes:

(The magnet schools have) never been about the intellectual development of Black and Brown children who now make over 69% of the school district. Now mind you need middle class parents of all stripes in the GRPS, but not at the expense of majority the population. Too much excuse making in my opinion and reinforcement of race and class segregation with white folk being the power brokers

Perhaps. This does seem to  to pit the middle class against the needs by race. This may miss the issues of class. As Jelks alludes to, numerous studies not that it is poverty, not race which correlates with achievement. Moreover, achievement for low income students rises when they have the chance to be economically integrated; middle class engagement by parents and stakeholders is critical for the overall health of the schools.

Add to these observations the conditions at hand in our city. Of the total school age population in the city, Grand Rapids Public Schools gets slightly more than half. The rest are found in charters, schools of choice transfers, and to a limited extent the parochial. Of the share of the students 72% qualify for student lunch. Note GRPS is ~ 31% white, the census school age population is roughly 35% white. So the question of uplift is less racial than economic in nature; a broader economic base gives more possibility for lifting up more students. Again, integration

And finally, there are graduation statistics released yesterday. GRPS has made decided gains in the past five years, particularly among its black and latino populations, and especially with the men. Further, the graduation rates for  Innovation Central High School and Grand Rapids University Prep are both in the 90+% range, and both have more than 80% minority enrollment. These schools succeed because of stakeholder engagement, and there is simply no question that we need more of that. In short, this is not the district of 10 years ago, or even five.

More (Charter) School Politics

Justin Swan calls out the Wall Street Journal’s editorial about the feckless Democrats and their lockstep opposition and hysterical hollering to Betsy DeVos. Is it a case of biting the hand that feeds you? Perhaps. But turn to Dan Henninger to get the better  sense of the politics of the DeVos nomination. This is about the nature of the urban (and largely minority) school districts, where the teachers play such an important role. In Michigan, it’s more than that, too.

Ever since the days of John Engler there’s been this blood feud between the MEA and the GOP — if anything it’s been a liability to our state, promoting overreaction on both sides. BDV has been part of that in many ways, particularly in her role as an activist, a very active activist. There are other dimensions, too. Her engagement with GRPS is not something to pass by, and that accounts for much of the relative silence of leadership. It’s less bought silence than known collaboration.

 The DeVos Apocalypse

Half a loaf

 There’s no question that GRPS Superintendent Teresa Wetherall Neal has earned the respect of parents and teachers. So the news from WOOD-TV that DeVos money would fund an all expense-paid trip to support Betsy DeVos came as a shock. Perhaps even asa betrayal. But really, it was no surprise.

The involvement of DeVos money and GRPS is rather well established, including providing a management coach to help her master the first days of her job. If anything, the very personal, connectional qualities that we like in Superintendent Neal are the same that allow her to consider supporting some one who has supported her schools. This same personal connection is also what drives so much pain among teachers and parents — it seems to be something of a betrayal, the personal transfigured to the political. As a practical matter, the success of GRPS depends on its ability to negotiate with the various Republican power brokers, elected or not. And of these, none come bigger than DeVos herself.

Expanding the base

MLive reports on the plans by Grand Rapids Public Schools to establish a Museum school. At first blush this looks a tad precious, a frou-frou sort of program while the district faces intense challenges on the educational performance front. However, looking more closely, one may see the outline of a two pronged approach. What makes the educational needle so difficult to thread in Grand Rapids is the relative diversity of the community as a whole, coupled with the concentration of minority and poverty-impacted families within GRPS proper. The strategic challenge for the district is how to avoid being known only as a provider for the poor, a school of last (and worst) resort. So two broad directions need to be taken.

First, GRPS needs to address the performance impact of poverty on the students. The correlation between poverty and lagging achievement has been long recognized. While schools can compensate for this impact to some extent, tht path is not only costly, but still subject to the external factors. Success here can be achieved, but it is of a slow variety.  In the meantime, hopeful parents look to charters as an alternative.  GRPS therefore needs to address the issues arising from poverty: safety, some fundamental achievement, better retention (which is to say, better hope).

But that is one side of the coin. Grand Rapids is more than minorities and poverty. Much more. If the district is to thrive, it needs to find ways  to make room for more middle class families. And just to be clear, the Census has been recording a vanishing of families with teens for decades. Retention, too may be subject to significant external factors (e.g.  size in the City versus house size in  the new suburbs). What makes an Initiative such as the Museum school so hopeful is that it appears to recognize another truth in educational reform, that students from poverty background do better in a more economically diverse classroom. Thus if one is to meet the challenge of the concentration of poverty, one ought to be looking at ways of adding more middle  class families to the mix.

The innovation programs far from being something of a frou-frou, are strategically working to broaden the base, and so diminish the impact of concentrated poverty. Moreover, one needs more programs that are not test-in.  Further, such programs along with neighborhood schools also need more expenditure of social capital by those “outside.” 

In a complex educational environment that includes varieties of schools, programs, and opportunities, GRPS needs to think about what it has that can contribute to the health of the entire community. it is not at all clear that schools and parents will easily match up by neighborhood. Within the urban area we are far more likely to see a number of programs that parents choose from or participate in. More options within the district are an essential for GRPS if it is to remain competitive and not simply fall into the school of last (and failed) resort. That would be a tragedy for the region.

The cruel answer

The Grand Rapids Press jumps ahead of a bill in Lansing, and recommends a package of bills that would dissolve insolvent school districts such as the notorious case of Buena Vista, outside Flint. These districts had it coming because they have been “irresponsible.”

It’s irresponsible for school districts to decide to close their doors early because they’ve run out of cash.

In fact, it’s irresponsible to run out of cash, even in a time of continued enrollment declines, which reduces state aid. Good leaders know how much money they have to spend and plan accordingly, even if that means painful cuts or finding innovative ways to do things.

Well, maybe.

Consolidation and charges of irresponsibility are something of  a cruel response, given Lansing’s own actions.

The record of stress on the school districts is rather well documented. With few exceptions (GRPS being one) most districts have actually seen their level of financial stress increase in the past four years, sometimes dramatically. This is available on the Citizens Research Council dataset. The notion that school districts have suddenly been afflicted with inability to make decisions is at best half a story. A more complete discussion would also include the questions as to the source of this stress, and here the Republican party must bear the blame with its policies of tax cuts and compensating revenue shifts away from education generally, and the local schools in particular. Second, the other determining factor has been that of declining enrollment, driven by both economics (Recession) and school choice.

What is true, is that with small districts the combination of declining enrollment and shorted funds can be especially dangerous. This was noted earlier this year by State Superintendent Tom Flanagan.

 At one point, talking about relatively small districts with declining enrollment, Flanagan said “you’re smoking something” if possible consolidation isn’t part of the discussion.  “I just think if you’re (at) 400 (enrollment) and sinking and you don’t try to find a dance partner next door,

But if the small school district can’t do it by itself, what’s the solution? The proposed county-wide consolidation is hardly the magic bullet The Press thinks it to be. Rather it is the classic kick the can down the road: a vote for the status quo in the guise of actually doing something —  no one imagines Kent County consolidating.  It’s a polite washing of one’s hands. A bolder press would be taking the Republican policies to task for deliberately jeopardizing the future of Michigan’s children with its lamentable combination of revenue shifts and half-baked reforms on the cheap.

 

Charter School Edge

Dave Murray calls attention to an interesting comparison of charter schools and general schools. On MEAP scores African-American students in Grand Rapids charter schools performed roughly ten percent better than peers in GRPS. In other districts such as Saginaw and Detroit, the numbers were larger.In the spirit of seizing any advantage, Dan Quisenberry, president of MAPSA, offers the charter school interpretation:

“These findings are very significant, but not surprising. One of the primary missions of a charter school is to give parents a quality educational option in places where the local public schools are failing. This data shows that the mission is succeeding.”

Well, maybe.

Broadly, the results seem more likely to confirm a selection bias. That is, the performance does not seem to be so outstanding as to claim their is a programming difference. Are they teaching that much better? That 18% passing rate is nothing to sing about. That sounds like most of the problems remain more structural — tied to underlying community factors like poverty — than any sort of “special educational sauce.”

Thus, the best answer may be that we’re looking at a combination of parental engagement coupled with a school culture. What such an edge does do, is to confirm the parental decision to send the student to the charter and that likely provides a modest self-reinforcing element to the mix. Here, the scores of the Montessori program might be a better comparison, since it provides roughly the same dynamic of parental choice.

Christians in Education

[A significant discussion opened up on Voices over a very interesting article in Christianity Today, The New School Choice Agenda]

Dan Hendriksen wrote

They have a variation on that at our local public schools.  Instead of a separate school, they have advanced placement classes.  These classes are filled, disproportionately, with the children of well educated white liberals and well educated Asians.  The whites can say they are “supporting” their local public schools and sending their children to racially diverse classrooms in racially diverse schools, while at the same time their kids are somewhat protected from the gangs and violence that exist in the school.

The two-tier relationship Dan describes is pretty common in urban settings generally. But that hides what these “opt-ins” bring to the table — and so, why evangelical and reformed Christians might want to take another look at the local school.

the best answer is that Christians can bring a more whole-orbed, more Kuyperian view to the city schools — a view that is difficult for school administrations to act on. After all, the difficulties in the urban setting are not simply those of “bad” schools, but of lack of social capital, lack of social support for providers, lack of housing (so students often keep moving), lack clothing, lack of healthcare. A Christian community tucked in alongside a school can have a big impact in all these areas.

The gift that Christians first  give the local school is not their children, but their presence as neighbors. In the city school many of the students will have difficulty visualizing just what lies outside the school walls — it is a sense of possibilities for one’s own life, one’s possible family, and for oneself. The presence f other adults in the neighborhood who care about the school, its students; who share their social capital with the school community: this alone can be a life changer. For the staff, having a community that supports likewise helps them to be more focused, too. Teaching can be an isolating, even alienating activity. The outside adult can be a source of encouragement, and just as important, a witness. We all want to know our work matters; the volunteer can affirm that.

A second obvious gift, is that of the social network that is needed. The missional Christian community — these move-ins — also bring with them networks for housing, clothing, basic supply. In GR that has meant a lot of work with Habitat, and ICCF. The basic work of stabilizing neighborhoods can be transformative for the schools as well.

Third, the social gifts of the community can take concrete shape in helping with extracurricular activities. Low resourced schools, or socio-economically challenged schools have little access to after school activities. This engagement runs the gamut from the basic tutoring, to enrichment activities such as a school drama club, or science club, or even leading something like Odyssey of the Mind. Of course, some of this takes time — and sacrifice.

Fourth, there are the children. Yours. From the outside, city schools are often seen through a sort of dystopic view of all gangs and dysfunction, etc. (or alien worldviews — I suffered from some of this early on; later at City, there was one parent who pulled their child out of the Greek mythology section of English because they were talking about alien gods). Schools in the city are more diverse; quality varies by building, even by classroom. thus one can find teachers, classrooms and buildings that are educationally healthy. Nonetheless, parents often end up in other opt-in programs such as Charters or specialty schools. In Grand Rapids, the specialty school of choice for many is the Montessori.

Faced with the challenge of some city schools, evangelical-Reformed Christian have often responded with a separate Christian school. the difficulty with this response, is that it is not scalable, nor do its lessons readily transfer. Even success in a very urban environment will be small. For instance, we have a school like Potters House or Living Stones, but both are really quite small compared to the roughly 10,000 elementary students in GRPS. The better approach then for faith and educational reform is to opt for some sort of charter school arrangement that allows for healthier schools to grow in the community. Charters may be outside the district structure or on occasion within it. The charter begins to solve some of the need for a better educational environment in the midst of a very urban setting. N.b. that roughly half of all of the school age children in Detroit are in charter schools.

With the original article, I think that any faith community that takes seriously the city will also have to wrestle withe the questions of education and of the duty we owe our neighbors.