Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Lyceum for all

I want to address the spurious charges against Lowell High’s Latin Lyceum that were printed in Monday’s Lowell Sun (“Left out of the Lyceum,” 9/26). The main point of the article seemed to be that minority students are not represented in the Lyceum to the same degree that they are in the overall population of Lowell High. This is true, but it is part of the much wider problem of Hispanic students dropping out or not achieving at the same level as their white or Asian counterparts (the Lyceum had 25% Asian students compared to 33% in the rest of the high school). The reporter might have pointed out that educators nationwide are struggling with the issue of why Hispanic students are falling behind, but instead she uses the issue to skewer a program that gives all of our children a chance (simply by taking the test) to participate in hugely successful, rigorous academic program without having to pay tuition or travel out of town. The Lyceum boosts the reputation of the high school and, yes, gives the parents of high-achieving students of any color or race a reason to stay in this city.


Thursday, September 22, 2005

Bullying & Victim's Rights

Everyone seems to agree that something must be done about bullies in school, but no one is talking about the rights of the victims of bullies. Efforts to reduce or eradicate bullying in general certainly would benefit everyone, past and future bully-victims included, but other than that, the system doesn’t pay much attention to the victim. Often the bully is placed right back in the classroom in close proximity to the victim, creating at best a threatening environment and at worst an invitation to the bully to re-offend. A major problem is that the parents of the victim receive no feedback regarding the punishment imposed by the school on the bully. The reason for this is that the law – in this case, Massachusetts state law that is controlled by Federal statutes – protects the privacy rights of the student being punished. The law completely prohibits school officials from saying anything about punishment of a student. The absence of this type of information predictably causes the parents of the victim to doubt that the school system is doing anything, or at least anything effective, to deal with the threat to their child. This undercuts public confidence in the system, particularly in cases where the matter is being effectively dealt with, but it also protects ineffective schools from the pressure that public scrutiny can bring. As I said, this is all dictated by Federal law. Last spring, I found myself speaking with Congressman Marty Meehan while on the air on local radio station WCAP. I reminded the Congressman, the former First Assistant District Attorney of Middlesex County, that the law grants considerable rights to the victims of crimes (to be present at sentencing, to speak at sentencing, to be informed of the punishment imposed) while victims of school bullying have no such rights. He agreed that the present situation seemed unfair, and put me in contact with one of his staff who could investigate the matter. A few weeks later, the Congressman’s staffer reported that there was no Federal law that gave any rights to the victims of bullying and that no bill currently pending before Congress would establish such a right. I got the distinct impression that Congressman Meehan wasn’t about to file such a bill, so if you bump into him sometime, you might ask if he would consider doing so.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Bullying in the Spotlight

The shapers of public opinion in Massachusetts finally seem to have realized that bullying is a real problem in our schools (With an entire meeting on the topic of bullying last Spring, the Citywide Parent Council again demonstrated that it's on top of important issues in education). Just this past Saturday, the Lowell Sun weighed in with an editorial titled "Get tough with bullies." While acknowledging that this is a real problem, the Sun stayed true to its guiding philosophy of knocking everything related to public schools and offered no real solutions. A much more thoughtful and realistic approach was outlined in an OpEd piece in today's Globe authored by state senators Jarrett Barrios and Robert Antonioni. Both senators support pending legislation that will require schools to develop antibullying programs. But with their minds anchored firmly in the realities of 21st Century American society and all of its problems and challenges (as opposed to the Ozzie and Harriet fantasy land favored by the Sun's editorialists) Barrios and Antonioni explicitly state that schools cannot be expected to solve this problem on their own. "We must provide them with tools - like trainings, peer counseling, and expert advice - to reduce bullying before it happens." "Schools must also be encouraged to join in collaborations with community leaders, law enforcement, and district attorneys." "Bullying affects whole communities and requires a communitywide response." Well said - kids don't magically transform into bullies when they walk through the doors of the school building. Their behavior is baggage they bring with them to school, a situation that truly is a reflection of society more than it is a consequence of our educational system. The educational system is part of the solution, but only part. Everyone else has to get involved.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Welcome Back Meeting

Tonight is the first CPC meeting of the year and we urge parents, guardians and all those who are interested in the public schools to come out to the Bartlett School (77 Wannalancit St) at 7 p.m. to meet us, hear our concerns, ask questions and get involved. We will be hearing from Principal Grace Wai about the "new" Bartlett, as well as the Dean of the School of Education at UMASS Lowell, Don Pierson. We also have an "exciting" powerpoint (no, that's not an oxymoron) presentation about the "State of the Public School Buildings."

Coffee and desserts will be served. Join us!

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Speaking up for the public schools



Just when I thought I didn’t have anything to write about the Lowell Sun comes out with another series of anti-public school/anti-teacher articles. I’m talking about the front page article in Wednesday’s paper entitled “Region’s teachers above pay average.” The accompanying article “Do School Boards Give Up Too Much,” was equally infuriating and I think I’ll tackle that one first.

This is another thinly veiled attempt by the Sun to move Lowell toward an appointed school board by criticizing the ability of school committee members to negotiate with the Union. Well, first of all the school committees are not fixed entities as the article implies; they are accountable to the voters every two years!  It is this very accountability that will be lost if the school board is appointed by city hall.

In this article too, the reporter talks about Massachusetts’ average teacher salary “soaring far above the national average” without mentioning the fact that our state has a higher cost of living than most of the rest of the country and that our schools rank among the best in the country.

Our Mayor, Armand Mercier, who was a part of the most recent series of negotiations with the teachers’ union, says that these negotiations “should not be in the hands of people who go to elections every two years.”  In the same breath, he adds that the recent deal with the Union resulted in a “fair salary competitive enough to woo new teachers to the city.”  So, which is it, Mr. Mayor? It sounds like the negotiations went pretty well.  

But what really irritates me, is the quote from the Mayor saying that “Some of (the committee members) are there because they have kids in the system. That’s all well-intended, but is that the best way to run the School Department?” That’s like saying that many city councilors are only qualified to be on the council because they live in the city. I resent the implication that concerned and involved parents are not equal to the task of holding public office. The system works because our school committee gets advice from the superintendent and from their lawyer; they do not have to be labor experts or attorneys, they just have to want what is best for the school system.    

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

What about the twelve-month school year?

I suppose this issue will continue to come up, but I don't see how it could ever work. We don't have the resources to run the schools for 10 months, we've cut back on summer school and after-school programs that would benefit struggling students. Why not restore worthy programs that have been cut instead of trying to revamp the whole system?

On a related topic, I met a parent the other day who asked why we have to start school before Labor Day. I've gotten used to this after 10 years, but it was a shock to me when my son was in Kindergarten. It does cut the summer vacation short and that bothers parents (most likely the same parents who would be against the 12-month school year). She also made the point that since Lowell goes back to school earlier, the students often get out of school way too early, leaving them at loose ends for half the month of June before summer camps start up.

Monday, September 12, 2005

What's up with the Stoklosa?

I went by the site of the new Stoklosa last week and it still looks like a construction site. There was work going on, but just on one side of the school. I have a suspicion that since they missed the deadline, the pressure is off. I heard that there was no one there over Labor Day Weekend and that the crew stops work at 3:00 pm every day. Sure enough, I drove by today at 3:30 and there was no one around. I think I'll swing by again in the morning to see what time they start work. It sounds like the blame is being passed around, but no one is pushing to get the work done.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Business After a Hurricane

Today’s paper has a story contrasting the experience of a couple of New Orleans-based small businesses in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One self-employed individual who grossed $500,000 per year working out of his apartment and SUV to ship local Louisiana crafts and music CDs to worldwide customers who ordered through his website, lost everything. By the time he was able to return to his home, he found that his laptop, his records, his vehicle – everything he owned – was submerged in water and ruined. His business is wiped out and he must start from scratch. His sad story stood in contrast with that of a mid-sized law firm that had planned ahead. Its staff members had laptop computers with them with their essential files, so they were able to get back in operation from satellite locations almost immediately. According to experts, the crucial factor of continuing your business is to have a contingency plan in place before disaster strikes. While some still see computerized documents and images as volatile, they create enormous flexibility at very low cost. This past weekend, I saw a 250GB external hard drive advertised at Best Buy for $134. Ten years ago, having that amount of storage in any form was completely unaffordable. Having it in a device the smaller than a hard cover book was unimaginable. With a copy of all your data on such a drive and a laptop computer with a wireless Internet connection, you could be back in business almost anywhere at any time. When it comes to a contingency plan, by the time you need it, it’s too late to get one, so don’t wait for bad things to happen to start thinking about what to do when disaster strikes.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Bus stop

Some parents, as expected, are upset that their children have to walk further to get to their bus stops. This is a direct consequence of cutting seven buses. While I'm not arguing that there wasn't waste in the transportation department, I can see the push to save money on buses starting to go too far, especially since this is an election year.

I'm still concerned about the students who are walking to school, some on very busy roads, as a consequence of the 2003 budget cuts, when the distance from home to school to be eligible for busing was increased. I'm also concerned about the lack of preschool busing, another casualty of the 2003 cuts. And for those who think that "going back to neighborhood schools" will solve all of our transportation problems, think again. Some neighborhoods don't have schools or the school is on a busy road; a great many parents choose a school because their child will be bused.

In the meantime, if your child's bus stop is too far away, I know a city councillor you can call!

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

New Orleans blues

The weekend was spent trying to absorb the sheer volume of misery and hardship being visited on residents of the city of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. One bright spot was that many colleges around the country are opening up their rosters to displaced college students. Another is that Massachusetts was one of the first states to offer refuge to people who have lost everything. A group of about 2500 newly homeless people will be arriving this week on Cape Cod; area schools and civic leaders are rallying to welcome these survivors. While classrooms in Bourne and Falmouth may suddenly become more crowded, surely the example of compassion and unselfishness that those children will witness and participate in will be worth any temporary inconvenience.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Stoklosa School is open in spirit

Despite the fact that the Stoklosa School did NOT open on time, it seems that opening day went well for the former Bartlett School students who are being bused to two different schools while waiting for the construction job to be finished. A lot of the credit has to go the superintendent and school committee for coming up with a workable contingency plan and for the staff of the Stoklosa (formerly at the Bartlett School) for making the best of the situation. Acting principal Bob Murphy is meeting the challenge with his energy and good will. His inspiring quote in yesterday's Lowell Sun, "two campuses, one school and a quality education for all," gave me a good feeling about the future of the Stoklosa School, building or no building.