As I look back through my posts and research I have done I believe that schools must spend money to keep schools strong.  They need to keep the buildings safe and modern, the technology relevant, the teachers well-trained and paid a respectful amount to ensure the best teachers, and they need to be a benefit to their community.

However, as explored in this blog, money alone will not create a better school or a better education for their students.  In districts that not only spend money effectively, but also are involved in their schools and active in the PTA/PTSO.  I think that this is also evident in Charter School which demand parent involvement and volunteers.

There is strong and well-documented research going back decades that show that parental involvement helps students more frequently pursue higher education, have better socialization, less absences and more. Sources:

http://www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Final_Parent_Involvement_Fact_Sheet_14732_7.pdf
http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/parent-involvement/

As a teacher my job is to step up and help bring parents into the school.  With help from great leaders like the teacher who sent out the email that I posted in my last update, I believe that at my current school a strong PTSO is under development and will become better.  If teachers team-up and work together we can inspire not only our students but the community we live and teach in.

This is what Leadership and Collaboration Look Like

As this blog progresses on what I feel to be a logical track, I received an email the other day from one of my fellow teachers.  It was insightful, stirring, and about building a strong school community/PTSO.

It appears as follows:

"A Proposal to Increase Parent Involvement at THS

                The Culture and Climate Survey readily indicates our frustration with parental involvement in the life of our school and the education of our students. The undesirable consequences of a detached parent body manifest themselves every day in our school.

                The PTSO has been a body trying to engage more parents, but I can tell you we are constantly failing. PTSO remains a small group of essentially IBDP parents, some of whom are clearly disappointed by the failure to change things. The International Festival was a great event but, feel PTSO parents, poorly supported by all members of our community.

Following our Poverty Simulation, I think I became more aware of the stresses and strains placed upon a number of our parents, especially those parents whom we have the hardest time reaching. For me, at least, the simulation was a useful exercise in problem definition.

As I have thought about the issues raised by the activity, I have become more convinced that we as THS faculty need to take a more active and aggressive role in engaging our parents and providing for them services that will at once both improve the quality of their lives and draw them into the sphere of our school. By opening the doors more widely, addressing their very real needs, and providing educational, logistical, financial, social, and other programs, we can argue perhaps more effectively to those parents most alienated from or indifferent to what we are trying to achieve with their children that we are a welcoming, engaged, and willing community that has all their best interests at heart.

The community fair held at the school last week provides the sort of model I would speak of though I would argue such a program should be a regular, on-going part of the landscape. I would argue that we could devise a series of classes that would meet regularly at school. We could provide childcare and food to mitigate the difficulties many parents might have attending such events. The adults would be attracted to our school because what we offer at these times provides for their own needs. We might wonder why the success of their students is not enough, but we know for a fact it is too often not.

So what might we do?

I am not going to argue that each of us should be teaching evening classes on top of what we already do. What I might argue is that we might bring our collective energy and experience to organizing services and instruction other would provide.

For example:

·         English classes. These things are offered in various places, but our school is an obvious location for such an activity. We could of course provide some of this on a rotating basis, but I believe there are resources out there who would do this.

·         IC classes. Clearly, parents do not access the information we know is readily available on our web sites.

·         Social networking information sessions. All of us are aware that parents often do not know of the dangers of this media age.

·         Financial information sessions. How does one bank, avoid pay-day lending, make a standing order, get a paycheck deposited from work? We experienced these problems in the simulation.

·         Immigration issues. What are your rights and responsibilities? What risks do you run given your status? How can you feel more secure here?

·         Parenting classes. What are the issues in raising a teenager? What do our parents need to know about this difficult age, and how do they cope and make things better?

·         Social services education. What resources out there does the state provide to smooth the problems of daily living?

·         Health education. How do struggling families best access health services for their families? 

·         College readiness education. One cannot but imagine most of our parents have no clue about the nature and cost of further and higher education.

·         Mental health education. How does one recognize problems and access the necessary services to address those sorts of issues?

·         Housing issues. What are my rights as a renter? How does one buy in this market? How does one deal with or avoid foreclosure?

This is my late-night list. I imagine some might think we do some of this already. I imagine others might want to redefine or add to this list.

However, what I propose is a comprehensive, coordinated pattern of instruction that directly addresses the issues in our community.

Can we do this?

I suspect that many of us might recognize the potential usefulness of such a program, and perhaps some of us have relationships with people in professions that might out of either self-interest or community spirit volunteer to help parents address their very personal needs. I see our role as reaching out into the community to encourage people we know or to encourage known professionals to get involved. I do believe some faculty might be interested in being involved directly. I see no reason why that has to be a given though the benefits to our school of more faculty involvement might be useful.

Will our parents do this?

Attendance at the community fair, as best as I can tell, was decent. If we did indeed make such a programmatic approach to outreach an integral part of the THS landscape, I believe we have a good chance at succeeding. If we provide the right ancillary incentives (childcare, food), we can mitigate the difficulty, augment the benefits, and provide real incentive to get to know our school. A regular program of help could be relied upon by our families, and they could trust our schedule to adjust theirs.

Can we guarantee positive benefits?

Obviously (it seems to me) no. Self-interest only goes so far, and it is possible there might be no carry-over into other spheres of our important work. It also seems to me, however, an avenue we have not explored. It seems to me that we might well encourage a more positive view of the school, its mission, and its value if parents themselves feel significantly impacted by educational programs that are geared to their needs. It seems a good bet to me that if parents feel there is a significant educational experience that improves their lives they will be more open to the argument that MYP can do exactly the same thing for their student. They will get it more than many apparently do now.

Can we afford it?

I am assuming most of the teaching will be done for free. We might need to raise money for food. Childcare can be done through CAS or NHS

Will it take too long?

Maybe. We will have to monitor how it goes, but I would think at least a two-year commitment would be a requirement to fully gauge the effectiveness of this proposal.

 Has anyone done this before so we can learn from others?

I don’t know outside of the community fair, but someone might take on that research to save us reinventing the wheel, to save us from pitfalls.

In conclusion, I would say that my document might at least spur a conversation over what steps we can take to change the culture of our school at least as it pertains to our relationships with our parents. Perhaps this is too far-reaching, too idealistic, too impractical

I offer this discussion only in the spirit of opening a conversation. "


This proposal is well thought out, non-confrontational, and something that teachers can follow and be inspired by.  Because this so closely aligns with the conclusions I was coming to thanks to writing this blog, I am pleased to know that I am not alone.  I look forward to contacting this teacher and helping him to move our school forward into becoming everything it can be.

Budgets will always be too little, but especially if parents and the community do not have faith in the strength of our institutions.

Creating Change: Baby Steps

This last weekend I had what became an invaluable experience.  I was able to reach out to students who I had had limited connection with, and reinforce the bonds I had with students already.  I didn't have to spend a dime, but I did have to commit some serious time, and not just my own also that of my boyfriend.

The Venue for Prom. (source).

This past weekend was Prom, and the week before that was Spirit Week.  While I was helping the head coordinator of student council drum up staff enthusiasm for assisting at Prom, which was moving slowly, I didn't think too much about it.  I decided that it wouldn't really matter one way or another if there were teachers there, we were just people to keep things safe and appropriate.

My boyfriend was awesome enough to volunteer to help out too, I appreciated this because of his willingness to help as well as having company on the drive home.  We arrived four hours early to help set-up, spoke with kids, stood on ladders, all the necessary things.  Prom went well, students greeted us and were pleased to meet my boyfriend.  They were polite and excited, and then prom was over.

When I arrived in school on Monday the dynamic in my classroom had changed.  The students were quieter, more relaxed, and happier.  They asked if we had had fun, they talked about how happy they were to have met my boyfriend.  They were happier, and are still happier, because now not only do they know I care about them and making certain that they have good fulfilling lives while in high school, they know that the people I care about care about them as well.  I had not expected such a positive response, but it is definitely present and appreciated.

Later on that Monday I helped hand out free hotdogs and hamburgers to any kid who wanted one with the Principal, one of the Asst. Principals, a councilor, and the Goodwill Outreach coordinator.  In spite of there being an invitation for all teachers to participate, I was the only one to volunteer my time.  Which made me wonder about how we as teachers ask for community involvement, or complain of our parents not being involved, how involved are we?

How many of us live in the same town we teach in?  How many of us step up and help out when that email goes out and calls on us to do so?  And how many of us are true leaders, not just in our classrooms but in the greater community?

(source).

My new goal, thanks to this awareness, is to volunteer for one school event every week.  If I believe that parent involvement is essential to build school community, increase awareness of school needs, and ultimately increase school funding, I need to step up and be present and there for my students and their parents during events and extracurriculars. 

We as teachers need to lead by example.  Not only in our classrooms but also in our school community.  The payoff in terms of classroom management and student happiness is worth it on its own.

Increasing Involvment, or Can PTA's "Save" Education?

I don't believe that there is a magical cure.  I don't think spending more money wisely or changing the core and state standards every few years will solve the problem on their own.  I do however know for certain that the more community involvement in a school, the better the school is perceived, and the students perform better.

This is a major component of Charter Schools as most require volunteer hours within the school by the parents of the students.  This active involvement helps students see parents as part of a team in their education and as invested in it, rather than outside of it.  Parent involvement also helps the parents have a better idea of the rigor and challenges placed both on their children as well as the teachers. 

Source and a great resource!

Which brings us back to the the matter at hand.  School funding.  When schools ask for more money to pay staff better or increase programs, often the response is, why?  How hard do teachers really work?  Why don't they just step up and cover more classes or sports?  Often parents don't realize that schools are already cut to the minimum and encouraging students to not take a full course load because classes are already too full (34+ students, which I'm sourcing personal experience for this information). 

By inviting parents into the classroom they firsthand can see how classes are run, where disciplinary issues occur, how a teacher teaches 7 classes a day and has one planning period to grade, plan, meet with students and help them catch up, and so forth.  They can see that teachers are working hard, and that there is a true need to volunteer more to improve the school, they may even see the benefit of increasing school funding.

When schools begin a PTA/PTO/PTSO they are inviting parents into the classrooms, the school, and more directly into Education.  The school isn't a mystery that parents have no in put on, but rather a place within their community to gather, make connections, and receive beneficial information.  Schools offer low-income services and education about these services, and many parents are not aware until they either join a PTA or are informed by the PTA.

To read more about the benefits of PTA's and parent involvement check out these awesome articles:
http://www.pta.org/about/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3291

http://www.wsd.k12.ca.us/websites/hp_images/903/D3618-188_Ways_to_increase_membership.pdf

http://www.greatschools.org/improvement/volunteering/359-bring-pta-to-life.gs

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=LeZXVVuhpAUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA21&dq=Does+parent+involvement+increases+student+proficiency&ots=sUm88-ZzrL&sig=AN9EMqRp0bVFnY4L3XGBwSSar4o#v=onepage&q=Does%20parent%20involvement%20increases%20student%20proficiency&f=false

How Can Schools Become Better Performing?

So far this blog has investigated more of the "problem" side of the discussion on school spending.  It has done little to suggest solutions.  I believe that the only way to address school reform and spending is within the community that the school exists. 

I attended what I often explain to my students as a public prep. school.  We had between 96-98% of each graduating class make it to graduation, of those 90% went to a four-year college afterwards, 6% to a two-year, and the rest into Peace Corps (or other year long volunteer position) or the Military.  I assumed that this was "normal."  The community itself was affluent and politically conservative.  In spite of their conservative leanings they were very pro-taxes for education, to the point that when they saw they may lose federal funding for not being able to improve their test scores, being in the 90-percentile, they sort of just shrugged it off.  

They had become pro-education taxes during the time my family and I lived there.  They had not completely seen the benefit of spending so much at first, but then they recalled that they got their prestigious jobs in the city and comfortable life in the 'burbs thanks to their education.  They became doctors, lawyers, and stock brokers thanks to public schools.  They also saw the immediate benefit having better schools in their county had on property values, and with all their sprawling and expensive homes they wanted to ensure that they were not selling at a loss.

They new all these things because teachers, administrators, and concerned parents in the two districts that occupied the town met, worked together, and expressed these truths to the rest of the town.  Better educational standing meant that even moderately performing students could get into a good college, exceptional students had little problem pursuing Ivy League schools.  The teachers were drawn to the district because of the respect they received as well as the higher and more competitive pay.  Most teachers had a masters or above, and I encountered at least two teachers with Doctorates while in middle school.  They had no problem believing in us or our abilities, so we all knew that we were going somewhere, drinking was rare, few students had sex and never unprotected sex, because our futures were too important.

The teachers, administrators and parents got non-parents on board with the tax increase for education by doing research and proving that there was a greater economic gain to be made by having outstanding schools that there was to save money on the taxes.  For example of the top 10 school districts in the country, rated in terms of testing, college preparedness, college acceptance, and ability of teachers, 9 of them place real estate value of more than $200 a square foot (source).



While my Alma Mater has slipped a bit, one of my former teachers from the district sited less parent involvement in the schools as a possible cause, it still ranks 289th in the nation (source). 

Source.  The dark blue is my Alma Mater, the light blue is the district, and the gray is the state.

Moving forward I will be investigating how certain school districts do better.  Is it the level of education of adults?  Is it the level of education of the teachers?  How much community involvment is there?  Is it, as it appears to be, essential to tie comminty involvement with more spending per a student in order to get outstanding results?  Finally, how can we as teachers, work to encourage our communities to see our schools as a center and not a burden?

Comparing Massachusetts to Florida

Two states, both alike in dignity,

In fair U.S.A, where we lay our scene,

From classic education break to new standards,

Where civil debate makes civil efforts confusing...

And so forth, but just as two star-crossed lovers came from very different backgrounds, as are the diverse approaches taken by the state of Massachusetts and Florida towards Education.

Massachusetts:

Source:  (Please note that this graph represents 2005 data, and is show in part to demonstrate the state's progress).  http://www.myonlinemaps.com/massachusetts.php

Massachusetts is not the highest spending state in the Union, ranking around 13th (source), but it is one of the best performing.  Eighth graders in Massachusetts out perform Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan in Mathematics making them 6th ranked in the world.  The US as a whole ranks 9th in Math. (source). Massachusetts over all is given a 'B' grade while the national average is a 'C.'

How did Massachusetts gain its success?  20 years ago they decided to focus on Math and Science, and they invested in making it a priority.  These investments were both financial as well as in training and research based.  Part of the reason some people believe that they were willing to take the steps necessary was that the state has a large number of well-paid and well-educated people, in comparison to other states (source). 

Florida:

Source:   (Please note that this graph represents 2005 data, and is show in part to demonstrate the state's progress).  http://www.myonlinemaps.com/florida.php

Now to Florida.  Florida is one of the lowest states in per a student spending, but one of the highest areas of growth in Mathematics and Reading.  Even more impressive are the gain in minority students (source).  Florida's growth has been from a 'C-' to a 'B-' overall (source). 

Florida went about it in a similar manner as Massachusetts, only with budget cuts as well.  They also expect student to pass reading tests in third grade before moving to fourth.  They expanded voucher programs and also increased pre-K programs.  While Florida celebrates being able to do all this with a minimal budget, they have had to increase per a student spending recently by $400 (source).  That combined with the addition of Social Studies Testing is believed to show a continued increase in student performance. 

Where next?

I would like to investigate next how a teacher's salary plays into the effectiveness of teachers, and how the breakdown of where the budget goes.  Is it towards technology?  School buildings?  Teachers?  Administrators?  New learning initiatives, and so forth.  I would like to invite anyone's opinions on how they feel school budgets should be allocated.

Shared response:

I invite my readers to share any thoughts they have from this reading,or prior information.  Can school reform happen with a lower budget?  Is Florida the exception or a growing rule?

Does More Money Equal Better Schools?

Does more money equate to better schools? 

Yes.
...and no.

First one must consider the dry lot that is statistics.  Looking at the numbers there can be some confusion.  There are a few states that are top performers, like Colorado which are also some of those that spend the least amount per a student on education.  Just as there are top spenders, like Alaska, who rank very poorly.  However, as one more closely examines the data it becomes apparent, those schools spending more are getting better results. (source).

This information is from 2009, and while I am writing this only 5 years later, the economic reality within our country is quite different.

Within the state of Colorado, for example, there has been a $1 billion "negative factor imposed upon Colorado K-12 public education since 2009."  (source).  The superintendents in 168 of 178 public school districts in the state of Colorado.  The reduction in funding has been sighted as causing increased class sizes, less individualized attention, and falling behind in technology in the classroom.

While complete info-graphs that include test scores in conjunction with graduation rates were challenging to find, I was able to find graduation rates per a state separately.

I also was able to find 2011 statistics for Math and Science scores:

http://blogs.agu.org/wildwildscience/2011/07/06/best-worst-states-for-math-education/

With these two maps combined, one can start to see how some of the higher performing school have slipped to average or a bit below where they were before.

School districts have better programs and have worked well within the cuts, but it seems that it is becoming more challenging to place new measures, also an idea mentioned by the Colorado Superintendents.  Schools successfully cut the fat, but they now need more finances to build what they have created.