July 18, 2008

Are community schools too good for children?

Filed under: Education by Maisie @ 4:52 pm

Would community schools obliterate standards in U.S. education?

Well, no, but to hear Checker Finn, president of the Fordham Institute tell it, Randi Weingarten’s presidential address at the AFT convention amounts to just that. In an entry to this week’s Education Gadfly he writes that she “promises to obliterate NCLB and the culture of testing (all the while professing allegiance to “standards” that have no meaning or traction if performance in relation to them isn’t measured). Instead, she seeks a massive new program of federal aid to “community schools…”

Finn works himself into a frenzy pitting the standards and accountability that NCLB engendered (sort of) against what he calls the ” ‘broader, bolder’ crowd”– evidently the latest incarnation of communism–with its calls for (and here he quotes Weingarten) “high-quality early childhood and pre-school programs, after-school and summer programs, and programs that develop parents’ capacity to support their children’s education…[as well as] working relationships between schools and surrounding community institutions…[and] development of the whole person, including physical health, character, social development, and non-academic skills.”

Even Congress is starting to get behind such education reforms, he complains, as the spectre of Joe McCarthy rises slowly from his inkwell.

Now, exactly why would efforts to teach the whole child compromise academic excellence? Finn cannot explain. He asserts it.

And what do those with years of experience in community schools initiatives have to say about it?

The Children’s Aid Society’s community schools program in New York has for years assisted public schools in linking them–the students and their families–with health, mental health, legal and linguistic and other social services at school sites. One I visited years ago was a joy to walk into. The dentist was there, with a line of giggling children waiting to see him. Moms who feared to go into most schools were coming in for English classes or to see their child’s teacher. There were fundraising projects going on involving whole families and an atmosphere of health and well-being that was rare for schools in this Dominican community in Washington Heights in the 1990s.

The vision that Weingarten was tapping into looks squarely at the fact that many children in inner city schools need glasses but don’t have them and can’t see the board; are absent over and over because they have to go to the hospital to get their asthma treated; or are home taking care of even younger siblings so their single mom can go clean someone’s house. It’s hard to meet standards under those conditions.

In England, land of Joel Klein education guru Michael Barber–heck, in Chicago, land of Mayor Daly–community schools are more and more the norm–an explicit goal of education experts. It is true that linking schools with health and social services resources is not easy. It requires a strong community partner, the space to put the services and funding–Medicaid, state afterschool money, city-funded mental health programs and such. A principal alone is not likely to have time to institute it.

But there are models of successful implementation. Are they giant child-coddling, illegal immigrant-hiding operations? Do they put self-esteem above academics? Do they abandon standards? Please.

Here is the top “key ingredient” for community schools according to the Children’s Aid Society:

“1) Education First–While the communtiy school concept offers a revolutionary vision of the role a school can play within the community, its primary goal should be the education of children. The school’s core instructional program needs to be strong and effective if the extended services of the community are to achieve maximum results. Extended learning opportunities should serve to enrich and support the learning that takes place during the school day. Furthermore, the enriched health and social services of the school are all designed to ensure that children are emotionally, socially and physically supported so that they can focus on learning and developing to their full potential.”

In effect, such services are a key to closing the achievement gap. If you have 23 minutes, listen to Weingarten’s speech. It’s where the future of U.S. public education lies.

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  • Re. Are community schools too good for children?Filed under: Education by Maisie

    ” Here is the top key ingredient for community schools according to the Children’s Aid Society: Education First–While the community school concept offers a revolutionary vision of the role a school can play within the community, its primary goal should be the education of children. The school’s core instructional program needs to be strong and effective if the extended services of the community are to achieve maximum results. Extended learning opportunities should serve to enrich and support the learning that takes place during the school day. Furthermore, the enriched health and social services of the school are all designed to ensure that children are emotionally, socially and physically supported so that they can focus on learning and developing to their full potential.”

    As educators we know that the “key ingredient” for community schools is adequate funding for instructional programs, extended learning opportunities, and enriched health and social services. Effective teachers also know that often they must use their own personal resources to create classroom environments which are viable; write proposals to fund extended learning opportunities; and lobby in Albany to secure better health and safety conditions. Then teachers must lobby for additional psychologists, social workers, and guidance counselors.

    The failure of local and state governments to provide funding to economically poor citizens and their schools would otherwise compromise the teachers’ efforts and the future of this great nation. The truly dedicated educators have seen miracles happen daily for years as their students’ dreams were realized. Fortunately, this is not a new phenomenon throughout the nation. Good teachers have always made a difference in the lives of their students. Case in point:

    Directly after the Emancipation Proclamation “the exceptionally gifted rose above the staggering obstacle of quasi-freedom,” said Martin Luther King at the UFT Spring Conference in 1964. “It is precisely because education is a road to equality and citizenship that it has been made more elusive for Negroes than many other rights. The warding off of Negroes from equal education is part of the historical design to submerge him in second class status.” And today we can see this happening as the rich-poor gap is allowed to widen in NYC, New Orleans, Alabama, Mississippi, and even Washington, DC, the nation’s capital.

    King reminded UFTers in 1964 that: “education for all Americans, white and black, has always been inadequate. The richest nation on earth has never allocated enough of its abundant resources to build sufficient schools, to compensate adequately its teachers, and to surround them with the prestige their work justifies.” Therefore, when we read the “Rich-Poor Gap Widens” not only for individuals but for schools in general,” we cannot be surprised.”More economists are drawing the conclusions that a good education is one of the gateways to wealth creation for individuals as well as for nations.” (Education Trust) Yet, benign neglect seems to be the mantra of many in political office who turn their backs on the ones who need quality education the most as the budget cuts cut-away at the dollars earmarked for public education.

    The Campaign for Fiscal Equity has become a prime example of how the state was not providing adequate funding to NYC Public Schools. And as educators, we know that the resources needed to implement new programs designed by the city are inadequate. Thus, we were not surprised to learn that “New York also stands out for neglecting to fairly fund poor and minority school districts. New York spends $2,280 less per student in its poorest districts than its does on students educated in its wealthiest school districts. Even after New York was ordered to deal with these funding gaps, policy makers have failed to take action.” (Education Trust Report 2005)

    John Hendrik Clarke said, “History is a clock. It tells us where we are, but more importantly, what we must be.’ If we are the union, we must continue to fight for equity for all. And as members of The Keep the Promises Coalition, we must continue to keep the pressure on legislators from Albany, NY to Washington, DC. Our quest must be to secure public schools that reflect democracy in action because… the children are waiting.
    Phyllis C. Murray
    UFT Chapter Leader

    Comment by phyllis c. murray — July 20, 2008 @ 7:24 pm

  • [...] the schools included child care and dental, medical and other services the community needs.”   A modest proposal, that was immediately attacked by the guys on the right.   Of course we require standards, but [...]

    Pingback by A Naive Proposal: National Standards and National Exams for All Kids. « Ed In The Apple — July 20, 2008 @ 7:53 pm

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