Friday, January 30, 2004

Standardized tests like MCAS are good. Without them, the local school district defines success for itself and it would only be human for principals, administrators, and committee members to paint their schools in the best light possible. MCAS, which sets a very high, state-wide standard, is the tool used in Massachusetts to measure progress as required by No Child Left Behind. One of the most controversial provisions of NCLB is the requirement that progress be measured not only for the school's student body as a whole, but for each subordinate group of students. Under NCLB, the MCAS scores of special education students, for example, must show adequate yearly progress. If they do not, the entire school is labeled as "underperforming" (even if the majority of students are passing the test) and the various sanctions of NCLB commence. Tomorrow's blog entry will discuss the requirement that the test scores of special education students (and of other groups within the school) determine whether the school is deemed underperforming.

Thursday, January 29, 2004

When a school fails to achieve "adequate yearly progress," No Child Left Behind (NCLB) allows students to obtain private tutoring at no charge to the student. Like much about NCLB, this sounds great, but the reality is quite different. For example, organizations that provide such tutoring must be licensed by the state. Of the few organizations that are now licensed in Massachusetts, most are private businesses such as Sylvan Learning Center. Such businesses charge top dollar for their services. Does the federal government pay for these services? Not really. The amount paid to these private companies for tutoring is deducted from the amount of federal aid going to that school. So the school that has already been identified as underperforming now has less money to spend on improving the quality of instruction. By taking money away from that school, NCLB makes it more likely that the school's performance will grow worse, not better, meaning that even more severe sanctions will be imposed the following year.

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

No Child Left Behind, the controversial federal law that is shaping much of the nation's education policy, sets annual performance goals for public schools, requiring each to show "adequate yearly progress" on standardized tests. Any school that fails to meet its goals is put on probation. Right now, 1 out of 4 schools throughout the United States is on probation. As time goes by, more and more schools will fall into this category. This law has a noble-sounding title and objectives - even Senator Ted Kennedy supported it at first. But the way the Bush administration has implemented this law provides ample evidence that their objective is to dismantle the public school system and replace it with a voucher system that would place the majority of American children in private schools (run primarily by religious groups and for-profit companies). In the coming days, the blog will make the case against No Child Left Behind. Stay tuned.
Some Lowell High students and a Lowell parent who teaches science at Haverhill High School spoke out at tonight's school committee meeting about the importance of improving the science labs at Lowell High. It seems that because of inadequate facilities, the students have few hands-on lab opportunities, something that is especially important when learning science. The students spoke of the need to reinforce concepts with actual lab experience, and the Haverhill High School teacher mentioned that he is planning 20 labs this year, in contrast to the 8 labs that his daughter, a Lowell High Sophomore, will receive. He also pointed out that many surrounding towns offer as many as 30 labs during the school year. With competition stiff among college applicants, it is important to give our high school graduates every advantage we can; in addition, Lowell High is facing the reaccreditation process next fall and inadequate science labs are sure to be a problem. Incidentally, Haverhill High school finished it's accreditation process last fall and is currently on probation for, among other things, outdated science labs.

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Here's a report on last night's Citywide Parent Council meeting, courtesy of Julie Walsh, who moderated the meeting:

"Tobacco, which is a legal drug (for adults), is usually the first step in substance abuse. If you asked ten random people, probably 2 out of the 10 would be smokers, but if you went to a rehab, AA or NA meeting and asked ten people, 9 out of the 10 would be smokers. It's the easiest step to take in the chain of substance abuse.

"Some of the popular drugs out now are heroin, marijuana, oxycontin, percocet and even cough medicines and aerosol cans like whipped cream. Kids take a pill like oxycontin, grind it up and snort it or sometimes shoot it up. It can make the student seem sleepy and groggy. The problem is that many kids (teenagers especially) can be sleepy naturally either from lack of sleep or perhaps not eating well. This makes it harder to notice substance abuse right away.

"That's why parents are the first line of defense. No one knows your child like you so every parent should speak to his/her child every single day. Ask what they did, who they saw, where are they going, etc. Make sure your child knows you are interested and want to be involved in their lives. Keeping the door of communication open is vital."

Monday, January 26, 2004

The Lowell Sun editors ran a disturbing and vitriolic piece on Sunday (Parking Rates: Part II). In this editorial, they viciously attack the Lowell School Committee, and committee-member Joe Mendonca in particular, for protesting the proposed parking increase. In typical fashion, they try to play off the private sector “working stiffs” against school department employees. Boy, is that getting old. As usual, the city manager and the Lowell Sun want the school committee to rollover and play dead instead of doing their job – which is to stand up for the Lowell School System. The Sun seems to think that the school department should accept the hike in fees just like any other private business in the city. However, after the budget battles of last spring when the school department cut programs and positions and squeezed every dime to arrive at a budget that the city then didn’t fund (cutting the final number by $1.2 million), this latest maneuver by city hall feels like an additional slap in the face. It is in effect a further cut of $150,000 from our children’s education.

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Please try to attend the Citywide Parent Council meeting tomorrow (Monday) night at the Daley School on Fleming Street. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm and will be over by 9:00 pm. Everyone is invited. The topic is "What Parents Need to Know About Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco." CPC Chair-Elect Julie Walsh has put together an outstanding panel of experts including Lowell Police Chief Ed Davis, Ken Powers, a substance abuse counselor from the Lowell House and Pierre Descoteaux of the Lowell Community Health Center. For parents, few topics are as important as this one. If you can't make the meeting, check back to the blog on Tuesday for a report on the meeting and a list of when it will be broadcast on Channel 22.

Friday, January 23, 2004

Increased parking fees for Lowell High teachers is in the news again according to tonight's Lowell Sun ("Curb in schools' parking hike urged" by Rebecca Piro). Members of the Lowell School Committee are asking the city to waive the increased parking fees, at least for the rest of this fiscal year. As it stands now, the increase will cost the school department $150,000 in this fiscal year alone. That's money that was budgeted for other items (when the school budget was set last June, no one anticipated an increase in parking fees). Predictably, the city manager and Councilor Caulfield reacted negatively to this attempt to avoid further cuts in the school department budget. (If the $150,000 must be paid, it will be a cut in the school department budget since that money will have to be taken from something else - there's no way to increase the budget by that amount). Hopefully, a majority of the council will have a more reasonable response to this situation.

Thursday, January 22, 2004

Last week's Lowell Sun reported that students and faculty in some class rooms at Lowell High were forced to wear coats during the school day because of heating problems at the school. Two city councilors filed motions requesting the city to address this issue (the city owns and maintains all school buildings - the school custodians do the cleaning). The city manager said that the first he was aware there was a problem was when he read about it in the paper last week. Later, he said that the city's DPW head - Ed Walsh - learned back in October that some of the heating units weren't working. (Apparently, Mr. Walsh didn't relay this information to the city manager during the intervening three months, otherwise the city manager would not have said that he had only just heard about it the week before). The city manager also said that on one of the coldest days of the year (Jan 9) the city health department tested the temperatures at the high school and that they were no lower than 67 degrees. Stories from parents about their children wearing coats during class because of extreme cold paint a much different picture. It's odd that no one from the school committee or the school department took the opportunity to speak on these motions. If someone had been present, many of the questions councilors had could have been answered on the spot and the process may have moved forward at a quicker pace. As it stands now, by the time the heating system is repaired, they'll be worrying about air conditioning.
Since Monday begins the week when parents can register their children for pre-school in Lowell, it seems like a good time to talk about the importance of early-childhood education. Perhaps there was a time when preschool was considered merely an optional social experience for a child, similar to a playgroup, but no longer. Studies have shown that age 5 is too late to begin an education and that children without the advantage of preschool often enter kindergarten a year to a year-and-a half behind their peers. For some children, especially those without a stable home life or the benefit of having been read aloud to from infancy, preschool is a chance to close the gap. Preschool is offered at 12 schools across the city and openings are available to children who will be 4 years old on or before September 1, 2004. To register, call 978-937-8986 or visit the Parent Information Center at 17 Kirk Street.

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

The next Citywide Parent Council meeting is Monday, January 26, 2004 at 7 p.m. at the Daley School. The topic is "What parents need to know about drugs, tobacco & alcohol." Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting. If you do, you will hear from health and law enforcement specialists, you will learn the warning signs of teen drug abuse, and you will find out how to talk to your child about substance abuse. Also, Lowell Educational TV, working with the School Department, has produced a 30 minute program called "Making Math Connections With Your Child." This show explains the new math program being used in Lowell's schools and gives you some suggestions on how you can help your child with math. The show will be broadcast on Channel 22 on Sundays at 10:30 am and 4 pm; Mondays at 9:30 pm; Tuesdays at 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm; Thursdays at 12:30 pm, 4:30 pm and 9:30 pm; and Saturdays at 10:30 am and 4 pm.

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

An opinion piece in today's New York Times ("The Blackboard Jungle: Tamer Than You Think" by John Beam) addressed the issue of safety in New York's public schools. Politicians who focus on crime in public schools often ignore deeper problems within the system. For example, schools with higher attendance rates tend to have lower rates of suspensions, crime, and police incidents. Schools with fully functioning libraries and modern computers tend to have higher attendance rates. Schools with inexperienced teachers or teachers who are frequently absent tend to have more suspensions. The point? With the right resources (libraries, computers, dependable and experienced teachers), schools have less crime. As the author says, "If politicians devoted more effort to making schools places where students want to be than to kicking them out, we would have both more peaceful and successful schools."

Monday, January 19, 2004

The New York Times also had an article about the thirty-year study on education ("Ninth Grade Key to Success," Jan. 18). One of the report's authors, Dr. Walter Haney of Boston College, sites the whole standards and reform movement as one that was "implemented in an ill-conceived manner". One of the goals of education reform was to increase high school graduation rates to 90% by the year 2000; instead, the article points out, the rate was 74.4% in 2001, down from 78.5% in 1992. In Lowell, State Education Reform has provided huge benefits. As parents, we've seen greater school and district accountability, improved test scores and a better curriculum. But at what cost? It would be interesting to compare Lowell's graduation rates for the past thirty years to see how the statistics apply at the local level.

Sunday, January 18, 2004

Today's Globe has a story on p. A21 titled "Rapid rise found in 10th-grade dropout rates." "Analyzing three decades of federal enrollment statistics for all 50 states, researchers found that the rate at which ninth-grade students do not reach 10th grade has tripled." One reason for this rise in dropout rates, according to this study, is the prevalence of high stakes tests which must be passed to graduate. The researchers said that poorly performing students will drop out or be pushed out by schools eager for good scores. The drop out rate in Lowell is high, especially among minority students. This is an area that deserves scrutiny because, as this study says, high dropout rates "have dire consequences not just for these young people but for society as a whole." Congratulations to the New England Patriots on a great win today.

Saturday, January 17, 2004

The History Channel (Channel 58 on Lowell cable TV) is showing a new documentary, Martin Luther King Jr Day: The Making of a Dream" on Monday at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. If you're off from work on Monday because of the holiday, you and your kids should check out this show. The History Channel's website (follow the link above) has a large amount of information suitable for students of all ages. If your child (or you) think that history is boring, check it out. No one is second guessing the decision to cancel school yesterday. The temperature of minus-14 degrees with a strong wind would certainly have resulted in cold weather injuries. And since the schools were going to be closed for three days anyway, the fourth day off might cut down on heating costs even more.

Friday, January 16, 2004

Today's Boston Globe editorial page has a column by Abigail Thernstrom titled "Martin Luther King's unfinished legacy." She describes the "huge racial gap" in K-12 schooling. "Students who have equal skills and knowledge - whatever their color - will have roughly equal earnings . . . Schooling has become the key to racial equality." She goes on: "The racial gap in academic achievement is an educational crisis. . . It's time to join a new crusade - one dedicated to changing American education in ways that will truly create a level playing field . . . We still need desperately the radical and imaginative leadership that Martin Luther King once so brilliantly provided." Like Thernstrom, the founders of this country saw education as the great equalizer. Unfortunately, many of our federal, state and city leaders seem to have forgotten that this is so. The best way to promote "economic development" in any community, particularly an urban one, is to create a first rate school system, one that is adequately funded and supported by everyone.

Thursday, January 15, 2004

Governor Romney just finished his State of the State speech. Education dominated his remarks. He spoke of a "Legacy of Learning" initiative that will appropriate millions of dollars for new construction and renovation of existing buildings. He will also target the bottom 10% of school districts (Lowell and most other city's are undoubtedly in this group). Schools in this group will receive $20 million for after school and summer school programs; there will be mandatory parent preparation days to teach parents how to support their kids in school; there will be $5 million in grants for disciplinary problems and $3 million to train math and science teachers. An interesting component would give principals the power to remove any teacher who wasn't performing. According to the governor, this will "put principals and parents back in charge of schools." Our reaction? This all sounds good, but it's really not a lot of money. Lowell's education budget is more than $120 million per year, so $5 million here, $2 million there won't make a big impact when it's distributed state wide. And it's the state legislature, in the end, the sets the budget. They can simply ignore everything the governor proposed tonight. The legislature won't finalize its budget until the spring. In the meantime, stay warm....
Last Thursday was the second anniversary of the signing into law of the "No Child Left Behind Act". President Bush has been trumpeting the legislation as one of his top accomplishments, while democratic candidates for president have found much to criticize. What is certain is that there is no money to back up the tough, even unrealistic, expectations of the law. After all, children are not widgets, turned out to exact factory expectations. In Massachusetts, where state educational reform has been a national model, such federal intervention is not only unwarranted, but unnecessary. And in an urban district like Lowell, struggling with less money and more students, it is counter-productive.

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Last night the city council authorized the construction of a new parking garage on Middlesex Street to help stimulate economic development in the Jackson-Appleton-Middlesex Street area. Unlike all of the other city garages that were built primarily with state or federal funds, the city will pay the entire $22 million dollar bill for this parking facility. That money will be raised through bond sales, but the money needed to repay the bonds - about $2 million per year - will be added to the city budget competing with public safety and education for your tax dollars (and increased parking fees).

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

State Representative Dave Nangle was on radio station WCAP this morning (980 AM). He expects that tax revenue this fiscal year will be $1.2 to $1.5 billion less than need to level fund this year's budget, so another round of tough cuts in state aid should be expected this spring. With the bulk of Lowell's education funding coming from the state, this is bad news. With all the normal increases in the school department budget (employee step-raises, increased costs of health insurance, heat, etc, the newly raised parking fees), the school budget must increase each year just to sustain the level of services that existed in the previous year. A "level funded budget" still means that big cuts will have to be made.

Monday, January 12, 2004

No school today. Most of the neighboring districts had delays. This winter, it's more likely that Lowell will cancel school rather than delay its opening. The reason? Last spring's budget cuts included a substantial reduction in bus transportation. Many children who used to be picked up near their homes and transported to and from school must now either walk or find their own rides. With so many more children on the road on dark, snowy mornings, safety concerns will result in more frequent cancellations.

Saturday, January 10, 2004

Welcome to the blog of the Lowell Citywide Parent Council. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, "blog" stands for weblog, an online journal about a particular topic. In this blog, we will try to post items of interest and commentary regarding Lowell schools, politics, and education issues in general. We will soon add the ability of readers to post comments.