Recently, DC VOICE had a long conversation with a DCPS elementary school teacher, who by all indicators is a high quality teacher. It was a very interesting conversation, and it got us thinking. We started by asking our usual questions concerning how reform has affected schools’ operations and quality of instruction. This time here’s how the answers came back:
Did you get your books and supplies on time? Check.
Class size manageable? Check.
Building repaired? Check.
Administrative and instructional support? Yes.
Sooo…what do you need to improve the quality of your instruction?
Answer: Teachers need a range of supports for the non-academic needs of children: health care, mental health counseling, family supports. High teacher quality will not result in highly effective learning in the classroom, if these other needs are not met.
The solution to the problems that can’t be fixed with more books, spackle, and infinite professional development: community schools. How do community schools improve the quality of teaching? These are schools that have extended their hours and offer multiple services, not just to their students but to families as well. A well implemented community school model directly supports the learning process and helps make classrooms a high quality environment for both students and teachers. By partnering with one or more organizations and agencies that provide medical or social services, the community school can nurture a student’s development holistically. That can mean scheduling an eye exam for a student having trouble seeing the blackboard or a dental appointment for the student whose toothache keeps him or her from concentrating; and, providing counseling for the student who has been traumatized by neighborhood violence and is distracted in the classroom. While tutoring services are provided to help students who are behind in their academic achievement, community schools offer this, in addition to, various kinds of family support services that help families and community members participate more fully in the education of their children. Serving as a neighborhood hub, community schools can offer access to recreational facilities such as basketball courts and pools for neighborhood residents. Also, it is a free meeting space for residents to discuss community issues and for local organizations. Beyond the obvious benefits for children, the result of utilizing community partners to assist students with academic and personal challenges is the freedom for teachers to focus solely on instruction.
DC VOICE has drafted community schools legislation, which we expect to be introduced by the City Council in the next few weeks. It proposes setting up an Investment Fund to award multi-year grants to local schools on a competitive basis. By consolidating public resources in schools, the city can save money, preserve jobs, and make social services more accessible. This work needs to begin now. Contact your ward representative and encourage them to introduce this legislation at their next meeting. Our teachers and students deserve more. And, our community depends on it.
Demand Reform. Demand Equity.
DC VOICE
Community Schools Lead to Better Quality Teaching in the Classroom
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DC VOICE City-Wide Reform Campaign Action Briefing
|On Thursday, January 28th at 12:30 pm DC VOICE is hosting a city-wide conference call and webinar to update the community about the status of the Demand Reform Demand Equality Campaign focused on Community Schools, Parent/Community Resource Coordinators, and Professional Development. Community members have demanded that community schools be a priority for education reform in the District, and DC VOICE intends to make sure we keep it a priority for policymakers during budget season.
Call toll free: 1-866-415-4341
Conference code: 634019443
Webinar: DC VOICE City-Wide Reform Campaign Action Briefing
Please join us in this movement to coordinate community partnerships within schools so we can offer our children and families the best education and comprehensive services possible. This city-wide action call and webinar will also give you a chance to ask questions and learn how you can get involved.
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S SECRETARY OF EDUCATION TO CO-HOST DC VOICE’S WARD 5 TOWN HALL MEETING
Labels: Arne Duncan, Press Release, Ready Schools Project |FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 16, 2009
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s Listening Tour makes a stop at DC VOICE’s final meeting as part of the Ready Schools Project District-Wide
Town Hall Series
Washington, DC— In Ward 5, Luke C. Moore Academy Senior High School will be the setting for DC VOICE’s final town hall meeting of the November Ready Schools Project Town Hall Series, with the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joining the conversation. The Secretary has been touring the nation on a Listening and Learning tour to meet with members of various communities, and has chosen DC VOICE’s Ward 5 town hall as a way to engage D.C. community members’ thoughts and concerns regarding public education in the District.
The Ready Schools Project Town Hall Series kicked off in Ward 4 on November 9th with Councilmember Bowser and State Board member Sekou Biddle. The Ward 6 town hall on November 10th included Councilmember Tommy Wells and State Board President Lisa Raymond. And this past Saturday, November 14th, Councilmember Yvette Alexander and State Board member Dorothy Douglas joined us for our Ward 7 and 8 town hall.
During her remarks at the Ward 7 and 8 town hall, Councilmember Alexander proclaimed, “I take the information DC VOICE provides seriously…[w]hen I hear from DC VOICE, it truly is the voice of the residents in D.C.”
These town hall meetings allow community members to learn current school data collected through DC VOICE’s 6th Annual Ready Schools Project where over 100 school principals were interviewed by almost 200 trained community members. Secretary Duncan will be on hand to discuss federal education initiatives, and will join the smaller breakout table discussions during the town hall meeting. He will also be joined by Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., the Ward 5 Council on Education, as well as other education groups in the District as co-hosts for this meeting.
The fourth town hall meeting in the five part series will be for Ward 1 and 2 held this Friday, November 20th at 9:00am at All Souls Church, 1500 Harvard St., NW, followed by the final town hall of the series with Secretary Duncan in Ward 5 at Luke C. Moore Academy SHS, 1001 Monroe St., NE at 6:30pm.
To RSVP for an upcoming town hall meeting, please send an email to skashim@dcvoice.org.
Our mission is to inform and mobilize the public to hold both the schools and the community accountable for providing high quality teaching and learning for all.
Jeff Smith
Executive Director
202-986-8535
smith@dcvoice.org
Moving the Discussion to Teacher Quality
Labels: Chancellor Rhee, DC Council |Teacher quality and effectiveness have long been topics of debate among DC VOICE members and constituents. One positive aspect of the recent RIF (Reduction In Force), school equalization, and DCPS budget discrepancies is that teacher quality has once again been positioned at the forefront of discussion. Chancellor Rhee has stated that this RIF was necessitated by school budget cuts at the City Council level, while many others believed that it was an internal strategy aimed at improving teacher quality beyond the strict confines of the existing, yet outdated, Washington Teacher’s Union Contract. While the RIF will long be argued, DC VOICE believes this is an opportunity to refocus the conversation on overall teacher quality. Budget shortfalls and tenure aside, DCPS students deserve quality, experienced teachers who are continually offered enhanced development and instruction techniques.
Similar to DC VOICE practices during past important hearings and policy debates concerning DCPS, the Washington Post Editors recently posed 15 questions they hoped Chancellor Michelle Rhee would answer (Washington Post Article). On October 29th, the DC Council has the opportunity to pose these questions to Chancellor Rhee when she attends a Round Table session. In addition to Washington Post’s questions, DC VOICE urges the Council to make certain that the following questions, focused on teacher quality, are answered as well as various follow up questions arising from the October 19th City Council hearing. Aside from merely criticizing the process of this recent RIF and doing their due diligence in addressing constituent concerns at tomorrow’s hearing, we hope the City Council will also utilize this process to become more informed about the strategies and obstacles in place for ensuring high quality teaching within every classroom in the District of Columbia.
Teacher Quality:
1. During this administrations last three years, has the WTU and DCPS collaborated on any strategies/initiative to improve teacher quality?
2. What prompted DCPS to hire 936 new teachers this year, 3 times the usual number of new teacher hires?
3. Given the current focus on teacher quality as measured by student performance on standardized tests, were Principals instructed to use classroom performance data as a leading factor in their RIF decisions?
4. Nationwide, 75,000 teachers have won National Board Certification, while only 39 DC teachers have received National Board Certification. Does DCPS intend to increase its number of Nationally Board Certified teachers and why was an experienced, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certified instructor fired during the RIF process?
(For the teacher perspective on teacher quality and classroom readiness, please view the DC VOICE 2009 RCP Report)
RIF Specific Questions:
5. Is DCPS continuing to hire more new teachers after firing 229, as reported by the City Paper & Washington Post on October 20th?
6. During the October 16th hearing, witnesses claimed that DCPS does not recruit and no longer hires from HBSU’s, is this true? If so, why?
7. Were parents and LSRT’s left out of the RIF/decision making process until after the decisions were made, if so why?
8. Why was a request made to send armed police officers into a non-violent student protest, resulting in the arrest of a DCPS student and parent, and who made that decision?
9. Has emotional counseling been offered to students who watched their teachers escorted from classrooms and school building during the school day?
10. With many counselors fired, who is assisting students with college applications at the affected schools?
