Parents

Riding NCLB Off Into the Sunset

Eduflack AYP, charter schools, High School, NCLB, NGA, Parents, vouchers

At high noon today, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings officially announced her “final regulations” to strengthen No Child Left Behind.  Speaking to a wide range of stakeholders in South Carolina, Spellings focused on issues like high school graduation rates, improved accountability, better parental notification of supplemental services, and greater school choice.

Of course, Eduflack has a lot of thoughts on a lot of this.  But I am most taken by the banner under which this announcement has been made.  These are the “final regulations to strengthen No Child Left Behind.”  If the future of NCLB was left to question in anyone’s mind, the EdSec answered that today.  Today is NCLB’s last gunfight in the ed reform corral.  After all of the talk of reauthorization and improvements to the law, these final regs make clear that, regardless of the political future at ED, NCLB is done.  A new law will rule the land, replacing, and not simply improving or supplementing what was one of the few positive domestic policy legacies of the Bush Administration.
But if we dig deeper here, where is the news?  In terms of high school graduation rates, Spellings is simply validating the process the National Governors Association began a few years ago.  NGA has already secured all 50 states’ agreement to common graduation rate based on the number of ninth graders who graduate high school four years later.  Sixteen states have this common formula in place already, and most of the others are in process.  These regs may “establish a uniform graduation rate” but we all need to realize such a rate has already been established and agreed to by all, and adopted by many.  
As for the rest, Eduflack completely agrees that all parents should have access to information on the supplemental education services and the school choice options available to them.  I was under the impression that was a core plank of NCLB from the start, and had been in place for more than six years now.  Has it really taken us six years to realize and require that parents get clear and timely notice of their options?  If so, where is all of the money that has been poured into SES since its establishment in 2002?
And finally, we have accountability.  Months ago, ED finally demonstrated some flexibility in the establishment of its growth model pilot project, allowing some states a little give when it comes to achieving AYP.  The pilot announcement had real value when announced, both in terms of policy and rhetoric.  So codifying the pilot in these new regs is a good thing.  In fact, it may be the strongest part of the EdSec’s announcement today.
It’s not all bad, though.  For a law that was originally criticized for focusing only on elementary education, these new regs codify the importance of high schools and the growing need to attend to dismal graduation rates.  With both presidential candidates embracing school choice, it is important to get credit for making vouchers and charters a foundation of NCLB.  With concerns about AYP and federal rigidity, it is important to remind all of the flexibility displayed by ED through its pilot effort.  And probably more important than any, today’s announcement reminds all those involved of the importance of parents in the educational process, ensuring we are getting them good information fast so they can make knowledge-based decisions on their kids’ educational paths.  But these new regulations are rhetorical devices, and have little to do with policy or real school improvement.
During my time in Texas, I often heard of the “all hat, no cattle” syndrome.  The New Yorker in me prefers “all sizzle, no steak.”  Regardless, these new regs — greatly hyped for the past week — provide little that is new, little that is innovative, and little that improves.  They are almost a set of defeatist treatises, a reminder to many of the original intent of NCLB (an intent that has, in part, gone unfulfilled) without seeking to make any new changes or new improvements as the law winds down.
Personally, I prefer the westerns where the protagonist fades to black in a blaze of glory, fighting until the bitter end to protect the town and defend its future.  I’ve never been one for the “Shane” ending, with the hero riding off into the sunset, slumped over in a sense of defeat and even death.  Today’s announcement was definitely a sunset ride.  
    

Putting Parents First

Eduflack AYP, charter schools, Parents

When we talk about education improvement initiatives, we often immediately focus on the role of the teacher.  Eduflack is quick to note that teaching, particularly in the 21st century, is one of the most challenging careers out there.  Some people are cut out to be excellent, effective teachers.  Others simply aren’t up to the challenges and rigors of our current classrooms.  One of our most important responsibilities in ed reform is making sure we are getting the right teachers in the right classrooms, and we are helping those teachers that just aren’t up to the challenge.

But what about the role of the parent?  When we talk about changing student learning behaviors, classroom instructional approaches, and school environments, what is the responsibility of the parent?  It is a question we ask far less than we should, but it is an issue that is becoming front and center.
At last week’s presidential debate, Barack Obama donned the Bill Cosby sweater (as he has before) and spoke of parental responsibility, the need to turn off the television, pick up a book, and focus on a child’s future.  In his education-focused campaign commercials, Obama says much of the same, placing responsibility for student achievement squarely on the shoulders of the parents, along with the new, effective teachers he is recruiting.
Over at Education Week, David Hoff has a piece on how the presidential candidates’ views on parental engagement differ.  www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/10/15/08parents.h28.html  But Hoff’s piece is really just the start of the story.
For years now, parents have almost been the third rail of education reform.  Teachers and school administrators expect a subset of parents to come in and “complain” about learning conditions each year.  These squeaky wheels are what keep our schools moving, as some parents demand more for their kids, require more slack for others.  For every other parent, we just hope they show up for the annual parent/teacher conference, sign the permission slips, and generally stay content and out of the way.
If we are to truly improve our schools, we need active, educated parents involved in the process. This means more than just complaining about the here and now.  It means getting invested in the future and what can be.  Yes, it means turning off the TV (or the computer or the Wii/XBox/360).  But it also means so much more.  Parents are a linchpin to improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap.  They are key to getting more rigorous programs in the schools, including more AP courses and more STEM courses.  They are central to improving school choice, including charters, magnets, and virtual learning opportunities.  And they are important to successful teacher recruitment efforts, getting the very best into our classrooms and ensuring that they stay in our communities.  In the collective sense, parents are the one constant in our ever-changing education universe. 
What does parental improvement really mean, in today’s era of accountability, school improvement, and student achievement?  Eduflack has seven simple tenets, based on the real needs of our real classrooms:
* Parents need to understand standards and what is expected of their students academically.  What does it mean to be proficient?  What is my student expected to learn during this particular grade?  Ideally, parents would demand a common national standard so they know how their child measures up to children across the nation.
* Parents need to know how their child is actually doing.  Am I getting regular progress reports?  Where are the gaps?  What are the available interventions?  What can I do to supplement instruction at home?  Parents need to obtain their own child’s data and know what it means.
* Parents need to understand the curriculum.  What textbooks and workbooks are my kids using?  What materials are coming home?  What instructional materials are my kids enjoying?  Parents need to ensure we are implementing what works.”
* Parents need to know their kids’ teachers.  Am I engaging with the teacher during more than just the traditional parent/teacher conferences?  Am I taking advantage of email addresses or phone numbers?  Am I taking an active interest in the process, and not just complaining about what is happening to my kid?  Parents need to be partners with their teachers, not adversaries.
* Parents need to know their choices.  Have I visited my child’s school?  Do I know about charter school opportunities?  What about virtual school opportunities?  Do I understand the supplemental services that may be available to my kid or my community?  Parents need to know their rights and know all the opportunities available to them.
* Parents need to get involved.  If we are requiring community service for students to graduate from high school, why can’t we require school service for families whose kids are moving from grade to grade?  Parents need to be a fixture in the classroom and the school.
* Parents need to know learning happens beyond the schoolhouse doors.  Education is not limited to classrooms and teachers only.  Parents have a responsibility to supplement education at home, providing learning opportunities, encouraging their kids, ensuring homework is complete, and moving education from obligation to opportunity for all kids.  They need to be the first and the constant teacher in their child’s life.
Too often, we think it is easier in public education if we can keep parents out of the mix.  Keep them content (or keep them uninvolved), and it is easier to get things done.  It is also easier to protect the status quo.  Parents are a key lever to truly improve education.  But that only comes with knowledgeable, motivated, involved parents.  Perhaps the time has come for a real parental education bill of rights, one focused on the parents’ roles and responsibilities in improving the school, boosting student achievement, and increasing opportunity for all students … particularly their own children.