Educators for Change

Action: Alternatives to Military Recruitment at AISD

2005-08-13T12:31:00.000-05:00

Action Overview:

We want to gather information about military recruitment in the AISD, comparing military recruitment with college recruitment in area schools and brainstorming non-military options for mentoring and community involvement. This information will then be used in a future meeting with the AISD school board.

Rather than focus our presentation around a "pro-war vs. anti-war" stance, we want to explore the effect of military recruitment, and of the privileging of military recruitment over other options, on students' educations. Part of this project will involve contacting students who would be effective spokespeople at board meetings and brainstorming lists of groups who might currently be denied mentoring/leadership access to students.

We also want to remain in contact with Austin Youth Activists about their march/rally scheduled for October 1st.

Research for Next Meeting:

What is the policy of NCLB regarding access to military recruiters? How much access is required under the law?
How many AISD students have been recruited by the military? How do these numbers break down by race and class?
How does military recruitment compare to college recruitment on area campuses? How many AISD students are admitted into colleges/universities? How do these numbers break down by race and class?
Does the military recruit at all area schools equally, or are some schools more likely to have recruiters?
What is the accreditation or training status of people teaching the Leadership Class at Webb Middle School?
What is the racial breakdown of casualties from the war in Iraq?

Action: Creating Flier for Parents around NCLB/Testing

2005-08-12T18:58:00.000-05:00

Please post comments if you would like to get involved with this action or if you have suggestions about process, content, or resources for this action.

At our August 10th gathering we decided to take up immediately two of the four action items outlined at the July 14th gathering: Military Recruitment in AISD and Making Information about and Action around NCLB available to parents.

Here’s what the action group on NCLB/standardized testing came up with:

Action Overview:
We plan to research and develop a flier for parents that provides them with accessible information about standardized testing under NCLB and that explains some actions they can take as parents in the District. The point of the flier will be to provide information and to empower parents as advocates for students’ best education.

Process:
We will begin research now, looking into the data Austin Interfaith has already collected, examining online and offline information provided by AISD, and exploring recent books and articles on Texas schools and NCLB.

When we complete a draft of the flier, we will hold an open forum with parents and community to review the draft and to explore distribution options.

We will distribute the flier through parent organizations and tabling, and we will seek possible approval at individual schools to have fliers sent home in backpacks.

We will start with Alliance schools from the sub-district (currently on hold).

Flier Content:
Possibilities include…
suggesting questions parents might ask teachers,
making information about testing as well as opting out available to parents, and
offering action-oriented responses for parents

Examples of actions include…
school board meeting times and description of the meeting process,
school board member contact information,
description of how to contact schools with questions

Research Areas:
Is standardized testing a problem? If so, how, and who is it a problem for? (tests as gatekeepers)
What language does AISD use around these tests?
What are these tests and how do students take them?
What does each school consider the best kind of teaching?
Does a good test score mean a student will do well on the SAT or get into college?

Research Resources:
Austin Interfaith data share?
Recent books and articles on Texas education and NCLB
AISD websites and documents

New AISD teacher orientation-e4C presence?

2005-07-31T15:09:00.000-05:00

Hello all,

If anyone thinks it worthwhile to have a presence at the new teacher orientation, let me know--soon! The elementary teachers will be at Bowie on Thursday from 7am-12pm. I'm not sure where the new high school teacher orientation will be. We could possibly set up a table outside where teachers' unions usually set up to give out information.

Anyway, e-mail me or comment soon, so we can get together and discuss this.

Also, I commented about the Youth Activists for Austin meeting...Check it out, there are details about their efforts and what they need help with.

Thanks,
Stacey

Return of the academic witch hunts

2005-07-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

Meet the New McCarthyites
Return of the Academic Witch Hunts

By DAVE LINDORFF

Here for entire Counterpunch article

McCarthy-style witch hunts are coming back, and the first place we'll be seeing them is at Pennsylvania's public colleges and universities.

Under the innocent-sounding name "Academic Bill of Rights," a gaggle of right-wing "culture warriors" in the Republican-led Pennsylvania House recently passed HR 177, a resolution authorizing them to invade public colleges and universities armed with subpoenas to grill faculty on curricula, reading lists, exams, homework assignments, grading and teaching styles, and to take testimony from students, allegedly to determine whether their professors are fair or "biased."

The underlying assumption of the resolution--part of a nationwide campaign spearheaded by one-time SDS lefty and now rabid right-wing activist David Horowitz--is that America's colleges and universities have been overrun by leftist fanatics intent on banishing conservative ideas and punishing conservative or Christian students who dare to speak out.

The notion that leftists are in charge in academia, is as bogus as the notion that the media are dominated by liberals. The political mix on most campus faculties across the country is not much different from what you'd find in the broader community. Moreover, leftist teachers are no more likely to impose their ideas on students or to punish those who disagree than are rightists (maybe less), and in either case such behavior should and would likely be roundly condemned. (Any decent school has a mechanism for students to challenge political bias by a professor, and indeed Horowitz and his minions have been hard-pressed to show any hard evidence of such abuses.) Add to this the reality that at the higher you look in university administrations, through chairs to deans and provosts on up to presidents, the more conservative officials tend to be politically. At Pennsylvania's Temple University, for example, the University Senate voted resoundingly to oppose HR177 as a threat to academic freedom and free speech, yet the university president, David Adamany-technically an ex-officio member of the Senate--was quoted publicly as not seeing anything troubling about the legislative intrusion into academic affairs.

Anti-Militarizationin Schools Meeting on Friday 7/29

2005-07-28T00:15:00.000-05:00

Friday, July, 29, 6:30 pm
Youth Activists of Austin is opening up their
July 29 meeting to the community to help plan a march calling for the
demilitarization of high schools (can extend to colleges as well) on
Sept. 17 (date open for discussion). Come help plan and/or lend your
organizational name in endorsement. Contact Will at 731-4293 or
ramblinboy@gmail.com.
LOCATION: Maplewood School - outside near the side entrance steps (on
E. 38 ½ St., 5 blocks east of I-35, at the railroad tracks)

Youth Activists of Austin, focusing on anti-war and anti-recruitment
efforts, meets on Fridays. This group is exclusively run by and for
high school activists to organize.

Discussion and Action Items from July 14 Gathering

2005-07-16T16:27:00.000-05:00

Our next meeting will be Thursday, August 4 (Carver Library, 6-8), just before the AISD school year begins. We will have break-out groups for the action items we developed at the July 14th gathering… read on for details.

At the meeting on Thursday, July 14, Bastille Day, we had a lovely French-food potluck and discussed the research compiled (and collected in previous blog posts here) over the past month in relation to the research objectives articulated at the June meeting (see the June 14 blog post, “Research Areas from June 9 Meeting,” for a list of these objectives). We also decided that each meeting we’ll choose a different facilitator for the discussion; the facilitator’s role will be to ensure everyone has a chance to speak, to move us to the next topic or to a decision after a discussion when appropriate, and to use the white board to compile ideas and points raised by the group.

The goal of this meeting was to choose a path of action for the group, and we reached a series of four short-term objectives that Educators for Change will take up this school year. Each of the four action points appear in a separate blog post below.

Please review the following action points and post a comment to the action you are interested in indicating that you want to be involved. (We will also have break-out groups for these action points at the August 4 meeting, so you can get involved then as well.) Please list your contact information in your comment. We will send out an email list for each action item so that those groups can get in touch and get started. (At that point we will remove your contact information from your comments for your privacy.)

1. Issue: Military Recruitment in AISD

2005-07-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

A central research area from the June 9 meeting was related to military recruiting in schools, and representatives from Non-Military Options for Youth attended the July 15 meeting to share information about their work.

Because “opt-out” choices for parents (that is, choosing to keep your children’s contact information private from everyone, including the military) can be easy for the military to circumvent, the group discussed the need for a more thorough representation of non-military options in schools and for restrictions on military recruiters’ access to students.

Response:
Alberto volunteered to help develop a comprehensive response to the presence of the military in schools; this comprehensive response could be presented to AISD and to principals as a method for treating military recruitment similar to college recruitment. The comprehensive response would include two approaches:
a. limiting recruiters’ access to students both in time and space, and

b. replacing currently military-run school programs (like mentoring at Webb Middle School) with community resources (like Big Brothers Big Sisters and partnerships with university classes, students, and professors). (We assume that such partnerships will improve students’ learning environments in a range of ways.)

Action:
This action would begin in three ways:
a. attending AISD Board Meetings (on select Monday nights) to speak out and educate the public about current unlimited military access and about the comprehensive response we envision, then following up with phone calls and meetings with AISD administrators, and

b. connecting with teachers at Webb Middle School to develop information-dispersal there (Stacey has a few ideas here)

c. possibly developing an example community collaboration with one of Stacey’s 5th-grade classes at Pickle Elementary and by holding information groups for parents at Pickle Elementary.

Please click on “comment” below if you would like to comment on this action item or if to write that you’d like to get involved with this action item. Please include your contact information.

2. Issue: Getting Beyond Standardized Testing

2005-07-16T16:23:00.000-05:00

Stacey explains that AISD models itself after two school systems. While the testing is the means, the goal is what the University of Pittsburgh has defined as the “Principles of Learning” (see http://www.austinisd.org/teachers/principlesoflearning/pol.phtml). The Principles of Learning indicate a need for independent thinking and creative teaching, while the testing model proves an obstacle to the ultimate development of students as “accountable” and “intelligent” “apprentices.”

Austin Interfaith has developed an alliance of schools applying to exempt themselves from the repercussions of testing for three years while they develop an independent system of teacher training and student evaluation.

Response:
Educators for Change wants to educate ourselves about the “Principles of Learning” and to connect with the developing alliance of schools to help advocate for their project and provide resources as appropriate.

Action:
Action for this item will take place in two ways:
a. researching and educating ourselves as a group about the “Principles of Learning” and AISD’s relationship to them, and

b. attending Austin Interfaith meetings to make connections and go from there.

Please click on “comment” below if you would like to comment on this action item or if to write that you’d like to get involved with this action item. Please include your contact information.

3. Issue: Making Information on and Action against NCLB Accessible to Parents

2005-07-16T16:22:00.000-05:00

While doing research over the past month, Educators for Change repeatedly realized that the information available about our research areas is either physically inaccessible (cannot be downloaded or the link is missing) or is written in an inaccessible fashion (too long, too complicated, etc.).

Response:
We are particularly concerned that parents (and possibly the teachers and the students themselves) have information on how to advocate for their students around NCLB.

Action:
Action for this item will take place in two ways:
a. researching, digesting, and translating (both into accessible language and, possibly, into Spanish as well as English) available information about NCLB

b. making a flier (or a series of fliers) that offers a short version of this information and produces a couple of action items for parents that would be easy and effective (so that parents are able to act on instead of feeling overwhelmed by information)

c. a longer-term action item here might include developing a website that makes this translated information and these action items available in a central location.

Please click on “comment” below if you would like to comment on this action item or if to write that you’d like to get involved with this action item. Please include your contact information.

4. Issue: Developing E4C Community Base & Holding the Media Accountable

2005-07-16T16:20:00.000-05:00

4. Issue: Developing E4C Community Base & Holding the Media Accountable
Since the information about NCLB, testing, and military recruitment strategies and alternatives are not readily available, and since we are a new group without an established (and, therefore, possibly objectionable or dissmissable) mission, we have the opportunity to get information and action items into the media.

Response:
Educators for Change can synthesize available information and even connect with ongoing groups to produce articles and press releases to get our name out there and thus to inform the public and put pressure on administrators about progressive education options and initiatives.

Action:
Action for this item will take place in two ways:
a. serving as a media-watch center, we will produce information points and even articles to send to appropriate area newspapers, and we will send letters to the editor to area newspapers to keep the voice of progressive educators and information about the above issues in the public eye

b. getting the word out about Educators for Change by attending and making contacts with a range of meetings of groups who are dealing with educational issues connected to our action items

c. a longer-term action item here might include developing our own publication focused on an audience of parents and students and providing digested information, useful action items, and examples of ongoing activism.

Please click on “comment” below if you would like to comment on this action item or if to write that you’d like to get involved with this action item. Please include your contact information.

Teaching Peace in Texas Conference

2005-07-15T18:46:00.000-05:00

Representatives from Non-Military Options for Youth brought this conference up at the last gathering. The conference is Friday, August 5th, at the Wyndham Hotel in Arlington, from 9:00am-4:30pm. You can register or find out more at www.texansforpeace.org/Conference2005.htm. This link also appears on the sidebar of this blog.

NCLB lawsuit

2005-07-14T14:47:00.000-05:00

Summary and full text of Pontiac v. Spellings lawsuit, filed by the National Education Association and school districts in Pontiac, Michigan; Laredo, Texas; and Rutland, Vermont against the U.S. Department of Education (likely the first of many). The lawsuit seeks to prohibit the federal government from withholding funds from schools that don’t comply with NCLB, claiming that the legislation is inadequately funded.

NEA has collected video clips of teachers talking about NCLB’s “impact on teaching and learning”; what it means to “label children, teachers and schools”; how “one size does not fit all”; and other topics related to standardized testing. These are quite short, but I like the personal testimonials--seeing faces and hearing voices. Perhaps clips of more detailed discussions with teachers and students would, ultimately, be a helpful resource for us to offer.

This site purports to be by and for students who want to boycott standardized tests in their schools. Unfortunately, it has no content about its creators/organizers, so I don’t know if it’s legit. It offers tips for student protestors on what to do leading up to and on test day.

More on military in schools

2005-07-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

As we all know, on June 23, the Pentagon and Department of Defense announced a huge initiative to begin soliciting allegedly private information on high school students across the nation. Since then, 7 senators have called on Rumsfeld to abandon this practice. I posted additional stories as comments on the original post from The Washington Post below. However, here are three additional angles on the matter:

1) This is a website devoted to empowering individuals and schools to opt-out of the recruitment tactics. Lots of other stuff on this interesting site:
http://www.leavemychildalone.org/

2) Further stories/analysis about the situation along with two lists of targeted schools (47 by Airforce immediately; 206 by Navy in near future) for intensive recruitment, including JRTOC chapters, here:
ttp://rncwatch.typepad.com/counterrecruiter/recruiting_at_high_schools/index.html
You'll see that Texas is well represented in both lists.

3) An essay from counterpunch.org on the limitations of focusing only on opt-out, counter-recruitment tactics. I found some of this provocative and worth considering before we brainstorm about what we might want to do locally on this very disturbing and immediate trend.
http://www.counterpunch.org/jahnkow07082005.html

Sorry this is all a little late, but look forward to seeing y'all tomorrow-- Shannon (posted through Jenny's address, because I still need to be added to the blog officially)

Sources on Testing & Performace Gaps/Best Practices

2005-07-10T16:47:00.000-05:00

In a bit of internet searching, I've come across the site of a non-profit group called the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, which includes numerous links to reports by various groups and institutions on testing gaps both in Texas & in other parts of the nation, as well as the reports on some studies of what methods work & don't in addressing those gaps. I've only just begun to sift thorugh some of the reports & info. (including what looks like a potentially interesting one by ETS on the '14 conditions' that create & perpetuate such gaps) but it seems like a good source for large amounts of data that I thought others might be interested in taking a look at.

You can go directly to http://www.sedl.org/scimast/gap/extent/extent_socio.html for the reports specifically on Texas and from there to other parts of their general site.

best,
Michael

Texas Testing Info Related to Research Questions

2005-07-10T13:12:00.000-05:00

I wasn’t able to make it to the last meeting, but I’m excited about the ideas generated and the information collected on the blog. So, here are some things I found that seem relevant to the research issues raised at the last meeting. (For those of you interested in or in need of information about legislation and even public response relating in particular to Texas, I think the Austin Chronicle is a pretty good resource, you can search their archives for education and testing information.)

NCLB Legal Action in Texas:
Some parts of Texas have taken action against No Child Left Behind and its testing initiatives. Kavan Peterson reports in “No Letup in Unrest over Bush School Law” (July 7), that Texas is among the 15 states that “have considered legislation to ‘opt-out’ of NCLB and forgo federal education funds.” Laredo Independent School District is one of three school districts that has joined with the National Education Association to sue the US Department of Education for failing to “fund NCLB adequately”; the suit was filed on April 20.

“No Letup in Unrest over Bush School Law” by Kavan Peterson, July 7
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070705O.shtml

Testing Protests in Austin:
200 Austin Interfaith members protested in at an AISD Board of Trustees meeting in March. Rachel Proctor May (Chronicle, March 11) explains that Austin Interfaith “attended the meeting to urge the district to revamp the way it prepares students for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests, used to rate schools under state and federal accountability systems. The group also urged AISD to support their efforts to develop a ‘subdistrict’ that would use more than just the TAKS to assess student learning.”

Parents may be developing a proposal for a pilot program that with demonstrate the benefits of a no-testing alternative. From Rachel Proctor May’s article: “‘We want to see the district get behind us on a pilot program that would lead the district and the state in showing that it doesn't have to be this way,’ said Trina Robertson, a parent at Maplewood. However, because the TAKS are mandated by the state, making such a program a reality will involve more than simple district approval. As such, their appearance on Monday was intended as a display of support for continued meetings with trustees and district representatives to help develop a final proposal. Other efforts in the legislature may help pave their way, however. Last week, Rep. Dora Olivo filed two ‘multiple assessment’ bills, which would allow schools to augment the TAKS with factors such as grades and teacher assessments.”

And all this action is pretty urgent because of HB2, which Rachel Proctor May reports “calls for more tests that would help the state rate schools as low-performing and move them into a pipeline for takeover by outside institutions, which could be private corporations.” (The bill passed the Texas House in March. To read about how it barely made it out the House and what that means, check out Amy Smith’s article.)

“More to Education Than Test Preparation” by Rachel Proctor May, March 11
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-03-11/pols_feature4.html

“Public Ed Bill Escapes the House – Barely: First battle in Lege's schools package is contentious, narrow, and roughly partisan” by Amy Smith, March 18
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-03-18/pols_lege.html

Lack of link between TAKS and SAT:
And a useful resource that speaks to the gap between TAKS scores and SAT scores, among other issues. UT Education Professor Angela Valenzuela (her blog is linked at the right-hand bar of this page) has edited a collection of essays called Leaving Children Behind: How ‘Texas-style’ Accountability Fails Latino Youth. Wayne Au reviews the book for the spring issue of Rethinking Schools, and his review focuses in part on a discussion of the lack of connection between TAKS and SAT: “‘improved’ scores don't seem to correlate to increased scores on other tests. Magically, even though students in Texas have shown dramatic increases on the TAAS, their scores have consistently declined on national tests like the SAT I, the ACT, and the NAEP. McNeil appropriately compares this calculation of test scores to Enron, where slick and questionable accounting kept stock prices up while hiding the miserable failings of the company.”

And an idea in support of our ongoing project(s):
Au also makes an interesting suggestion about the need for accessible information about the legislation and problems with testing that we’re taking up here: “If we want to make cogent, ‘data-driven’ arguments against high-stakes tests and the No Child Left Behind legislation, then we absolutely need research like this in our toolbox. It just would be nice if similar research were accessible to a wider public.” This sounds like something our group is gearing up to take on? Something after the Rainer Beach High School public-service spots?

BOOK REVIEWS: “Messing With Texas: Leaving Children Behind kicks up dust in the lone star state” by Wayne Au, Spring 2005
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/19_03/revi193.shtml

Communities/parents and schools

2005-06-29T11:13:00.000-05:00

This article describes the community/parents views of public schools and interestingly points out the widening gap between teacher's beliefs about education and the public's view.

The short excert from Survey: Public Schools are not Making the Grade by Jeff Tobin can be found at the following Web address: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2005/June/23/local/stories/04local.htm

"A new national poll shows that most American parents have waning faith in public high schools’ ability to challenge their children.

Only 9 percent of Americans believe high school students are being academically challenged by their course work, according to results from a poll commissioned by New Jersey-based Educational Testing Service.

Poll results show 76 percent of adults surveyed believe the country will be less competitive in 25 years if reforms aren’t made.

'Parents gave our schools a C grade,' said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the survey with his Republican counterpart David Winston. 'You can’t have an A-class society with C-class schools.'"

Boycotting high-stakes testing

2005-06-28T10:57:00.000-05:00

This article serves as a good example of what students can do to voice their concerns about high-stakes testing.

The entire article can be found at the following address: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2002322081_waslads09m.html

Students at Rainier Beach High School in Washington protested the requirement that students must pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) in order to graduate high shcool. The Rainer Beach Project was created by Faiza Baker-Yeboah, a member of a local nonprofit organization called Central House, after hearing student's concerns about the test. As a media-literacy project, students created public-service spots to provide a space for their voices to heard about high-stakes testing in their schools. Radio, Television, and newspaper reporters attended the press event, showing success of their project.

Military in schools

2005-06-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

For full article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062202305_pf.html
Pentagon Creating Student Database
Recruiting Tool For Military Raises Privacy Concerns
By Jonathan Krim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 23, 2005; A01
The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches.
The program is provoking a furor among privacy advocates. The new database will include personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade-point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying.
The data will be managed by BeNow Inc. of Wakefield, Mass., one of many marketing firms that use computers to analyze large amounts of data to target potential customers based on their personal profiles and habits.

"The purpose of the system . . . is to provide a single central facility within the Department of Defense to compile, process and distribute files of individuals who meet age and minimum school requirements for military service," according to the official noticeof the program.
Privacy advocates said the plan appeared to be an effort to circumvent laws that restrict the government's right to collect or hold citizen information by turning to private firms to do the work.

Some information on high school students already is given to military recruiters in a separate program under provisions of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act. Recruiters have been using the information to contact students at home, angering some parents and school districts around the country.
- Melissa

Best Practices

2005-06-27T17:40:00.000-05:00

This summary and excerpt is from Nancy Kober's (2002) "Teaching to the test: The good, the bad, and who’s responsible." This national research dicusses the discrepency between best practices and "teaching to the test" that is occuring in classrooms and in staff development. You can read the entire article on www.ctredpol.org under testing. - Amy

Teaching to the test is not only the fault of teachers, but also state and national policy makers. These leaders have created accountability systems centered on higher test scores, with little regard for how these scores are attained.

Examples of teaching to the test:

1. Drilling students in basic knowledge and skills, such as discrete facts, math computation skills, and routine problems, while giving relatively less attention to more advanced skills
2. Teaching topics or aspects of a subject that have been covered on past exam sor are most readily assessed by multiple-choice or other common test formats
3. Teaching students phrases to use in their answers to open-ended or essay test questions
4. Spending significantly more class time on subjects that are tested and less time on subjects that are not, whether social studies, science, civics, or art

Examples of best practices for teachers:

1. Covering the most important knowledge, skills, and concepts contained in the standards for a particular subject
2. Addressing standards for both basic and higher-order skills
3. Using test data to diagnose areas where students are weak, and focusing instruction on those areas
4. Giving students diverse opportunities to apply and connect what they are learning and demonstrating true mastery of standards.

Testing and performance gaps

2005-06-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

Here is a short excerpt from "It take more than testing: Closing the achievement gap" by Nancy Kober (2001). The information is based on national research by the Center of Education Policy and gives a nice summary of what research says about existing gaps and what educators can do about these gaps in their schools. If you would like to read the entire article you can find it on www.ctredpol.org under testing.

What research says about existing gaps.
1. A wide racial/ethnic gap exists in achievement test scores: African American and Hispanic students score significantly lower, on average, than White and Asian students.
2. The achievement gap is present before children start school.
3. It is wrong to assert that the quality of public schools is declining because of the achieve-ment gap. Over the past 25 to 30 years, every subgroup of students, including Black and His-panic, has improved its average achievement.
4. When achievement rises for all subgroups, African American and Hispanic students must improve ata faster rate than others for the gap to close.
5. The achievement gap is not due to differences in innate ability, nor is it simply the result of biased test questions.
6. Racial-ethnic differences in family income contribute to the achievement gap but do not entirely explain it.
7. There is no simple explanation for the achievement gap. A variety of school, community, and home factors seems to underlie or contribute to the gap.
8. We shrunk the gap once, during the 1970s and1980s, and we can do it again

What can educators do about performance gaps?
1. On the plus side, policymakers are moving swiftly and boldly to raise academic standards and hold schools accountable for improving the achievement of all subgroups. On the minus side, policymakers have been timid about providing the supports and resources needed to close the gap.
2. Policymakers are being irresponsible if they lead the public into thinking that testing and accountability alone will close the gap.
3. Policymakers must be cautious in attaching consequential penalties to test results, and should closely monitor and quickly address any negative effects of high-stakes testing on minority students
4. Closing the gap will require bold, comprehensive, and long-term strategies.
5. Policymakers can start to narrow the gap by acting on what can be done today, based on what we already know. Promising strategies include the following:
o increasing participation of minority students in challenging academic courses
o investing in teacher professional development
o implementing comprehensive, research-based models for school improvement
o lowering class size in high-minority schools
o expanding access to high-quality preschool programs
o providing extended learning time and intensive supports for students who are having difficulty
o strengthening parent and community sup-port for learning.
6. Policymakers must act to correct the obvious inequities between high-minority and low-minority schools, through such actions as
o ensuring an adequate supply of well-qualified teachers in high-minority schools
o expanding access to advanced courses and rigorous instruction in high-minority schools
o equalizing resources among poor and affluent schools and providing additional resources to high-minority and high-poverty schools
o addressing other disparities in curriculum, instruction, and facilities between high-minority and low-minority schools.
7.Everyone has a stake in closing the gap — by 2010, Black and Hispanic children will makeup 34% of the school-age population.

Helpful resources

2005-06-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

Here are some educational organizations that have helpful Websites that offer research and newspaper articles about the priorities we discussed in our last meeting. Please add others. - Amy

NCTE (National Councils of Teachers of English)
IRA (International Reading Association)
NRC (National Reading Conference)
NCES (National Council for Education Statistics), NEA (National Education Association)
CEP (Center for Education Policy)
AERA (American Educational Research Association)
Locally - APIE (Austin Partners in Education) - about best practices.

Notes from the Re-design Schools Community Meeting

2005-06-17T16:46:00.000-05:00

Redesigning Schools – Public Forum on June 14, 2005

Alberto and Jenny were in the break-out group that discussed “Results.” We talked about the disparities between groups of children and their success in school (i.e., test scores) as well as their rate of graduation. As a group, we had to list the top three barriers to greater equity in results. In general, these related to teachers, pedagogy, and school design. (1) We had two strong student participants in our group who articulated their concerns about teachers who do not implement different strategies of teaching for different types of learners. There was some recognition that the test-taking mania pushes teachers away from creating their own pedagogy, but the students were also clear that teachers do not instill a love of learning in their students. On a related note, we also talked about how classroom materials were dry and not relevant to student’s lives and experiences. So, for example, in a math class, students got endless worksheets but never got math problems that related to the current world. Or, another example is the lack of diversity in the curriculum (beyond tokenism). We agreed that students would perform better if the teachers were able and capable to respond to particular student learning needs and implement a variety of course materials. (2) The pedagogy concept deals more with the overall view of what an education should provide. We talked about how there was pressure to perform well on tests, but that even high scores do not necessarily correlate with what we want to define as a good education in our society. One student participant was very clear on this. She said that she was trying to find her passions by taking a range of classes in high school. She did not feel that the tests were preparing her for the real world, but that her explorations were. The group talked about the push toward viewing education on a “business model” where we measure success only by the rates of employment (i.e., Dell) rather than also looking at enrichment and empowerment. We thought that any improvements to the system should balance the practical needs of students and the personal needs of students (a job and intellectual/personal growth). We thought that if students were encouraged to pursue interests and were given multiple options in high school, they would then be more invested in their education and therefore perform at their best. (3) Finally, we also talked about how schools are pretty rigid in how they understand their role in accommodating students and difference. We didn’t agree on why AISD is so rigid, but this rigidity impedes its ability to respond to student needs. There was a unanimous voice stating that the drive to uniformity is lowering the quality of education in Austin. Some issues that came up were: students with children who are in need of extra support and after-school programs that don’t include transportation.

To be honest, while we both saw the potential value of the evenning, we did not leave with a strong sense thatour work would have any impact on the decisions being made on re-design. The event was so well planned (no original questions were allowed – we were prompted by pre-set questions that directed our discussion, for example) that many of us had the impression that the event was more about PR than substantive change. There is no organized avenue for accountability, etc. It was helpful to hear others talk and for that, the event was meaningful. The concerns raised were are pretty much the same ones we have discussed. But, what to do with all of this? ……

Research Areas from June 9 Meeting

2005-06-14T13:17:00.000-05:00

At the June 9 Educators for Change meeting, the group decided that standardized testing in Texas schools—both because of its national relevance as a model program for the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and because of its immediate relevance to our classrooms, colleagues and neighbors—is an important place to begin our work.

We plan to spend the upcoming month researching what’s been published in academic sources and popular media about these tests; we’ll post articles/reports of interest, or quick summaries, to the group Web site, then bring this research to bear on our upcoming plans. We imagine that part of our future work may be to fill in what’s absent from this pre-existing documentation by devising our own case studies/conducting interviews with local teachers, parents and students—in short, we may help tell a more complete story about the effects of these tests on our schools.

We plan to research:

- Performance gaps in Austin Independent School District’s Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores
(AG, MB, AV)
- The impact of an emphasis on testing on schools’ relationships with parents and communities
(JS, AV)
- The relationship between test performance and military recruitment strategies
(SW, AG)
- Sliding definitions and inconsistent implementation of what AISD identifies as “best practices” for its teachers
(SS, MB, SW, AV)
- The relationship between TAKS scores and SAT scores
(EG, JS)
- What high school students themselves have emphasized as important preparation for their future success and current wellbeing as part of an ongoing discussion of AISD’s High School Redesign initiative
(TE)
How other communities nationally have boycotted/challenged standardized testing
(CH, LR)

The group also wants to find out to what degree AISD parents know about opt-out provisions in No Child Left Behind Act: do they know they can exempt their students from testing? that they can keep their private information away from military recruiters?

Tim Eubanks, representing Austin Voices for Education and Youth (http://www.austinvoices.org), invited the group to attend one of two upcoming AISD community forums on the High School Redesign initiative, which is considering ways local high schools can better prepare students for college and careers after graduation. (For example, these schools may allow student to select “majors” to get a head start on developing specialized skills.) Group members expressed interest in helping ensure student voices are heard both at these forums and through attention to the results of their participation in focus groups and surveys.

The forums will be:
June 14 at the Goodwill Community Center
(East of IH-35 at HWY 183)

June 16 at Mendez Middle School
(East of IH-35 and south of Stassney)
6-8:30 p.m.

Gathering on June 9

2005-05-13T21:24:00.000-05:00

Here is the general announcement of the next meeting - please forward this to Austin educators you think might be interested, or refer them to this blog. And please post comments if you have suggestions or comments for the next gathering.

Educators for Change is a new monthly gathering open to all Austin-area educators interested in discussion, resource-sharing, and activism around working for progressive education in the classroom and beyond. We envision this group as a collaboration between all educators at all levels of our school system.

We recently held a meeting at the Carver Library, and you can see a report of that meeting, post comments, and find other resources on the Educators for Change blog: http://educatorsforchange.blogspot.com

Our next gathering is June 9, Thursday, 6-8, at the Carver Library. This is a potluck gathering, so if you’d like to bring food to share, please do, but it is not necessary to bring food to attend. There are no alcoholic beverages allowed at the library. The Carver Library is at 1161 Angelina off Rosewood Ave. between 11th and 12th streets east of I-35. For a map, see http://www.wiredforyouth.com/apllocations.cfm?acronym=acb.

Those interested in coming to the meeting are invited to take the month before our next meeting to consider any issues or projects they'd like to bring to the full group's attention: we'll hear from everyone who'd like to suggest action items and report on resources in order to develop a longer-term agenda.

At the next meeting we will welcome new faces to the work group, invite another round of introductions, share food, and combine our collected research/experience and our suggested prioritization of issues in order to begin to take action on a specific issue.

Bridging College and Grade-School Practices and Resources: notes from the May 5 meeting

2005-05-13T21:21:00.000-05:00

The Educators for Change meeting on May 5 developed a community and public school focus for the group drawing on a collaboration between university, public, and other educators.

During the introductory remarks from each participant, the following central focuses for action were raised:

Examining/changing the treatment of Title 1 schools
Documenting/taking policy action against “No Child Left Behind” and its effects
Working for social justice in urban education
Generating connections between educators and community concerns
Supporting teachers to want to stay in schools that need them
Documenting/working to offset the effects of testing on students’ learning lives and continuing (or discontinued) education
Building connections between universities and communities
Working on changing school policy
Sharing resources and information
Coping with aggressive military recruitment strategies
Developing students’ critical literacy skills
Involving parents with any projects we take on

Ultimately, the group decided to spend the next month gathering information in the communities to focus our initial action on one project. Ideas for specific action so far include:

Generating critical reading projects around Banned Books Week
Reviewing discipline policies and issues at AISD
Providing some kind of support for teachers and professionals on AISD campuses

The group remains open and eager for participation from educators at all levels from all over Austin. We are in the process of developing a mindful coalition of public school teachers, policy activists, private school teachers, administrators, university professors, and graduate students from all fields. This is a space for all educators interested in fostering progressive change in an educational environment damaged by conservative policies.

The next Educators for Change meeting will be held on Thursday, June 9, 6-8pm, at the Carver Library.

How to Post on this Blog (for members)

2005-05-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

Once you are registered as a ‘member’ of the Educators for Change blog, you can post information or opinions on the blog. (You do not need to be registered to comment on existing posts.)

In order to post your own entry:

1. Go to www.blogger.com, and sign in at the top right where it says “Already have an account? Sign in:”

2. Click on “Educators for Change” under your blog list.

3. Under the “Posting” tab, select “Create” or “Create new post.”

4. You will be prompted to enter a title for your post and then you can write your extended comments or information to share in the larger space below the title.

If you would like to refer readers to a website, create a link like this:
<a href = “http://www.teachingforchange.org/"> http://www.teachingforchange.org/</a> - Practical lessons and conversations about what can be done in the classroom.

Where the <a href =“the website you want to link to, including http://”> the text the link will appear as on the post</a> - the text that will appear after the link.

(If you have a website you think should go up on the permanent links space on the blog, send it to Kristen or Lee.)

5. When you are ready for everyone to be able to read your post, select “Publish Post” at the bottom of the page.

Gathering on May 5

2005-04-15T22:16:00.000-05:00

Here is the general announcement of the next meeting - please forward this to Austin educators you think might be interested, or refer them to this blog. And please post comments if you have suggestions or comments for the next gathering.

Educators for Change is a new monthly gathering open to all Austin-area educators interested in discussion, resource-sharing, and activism around working for progressive education in the classroom and beyond. We envision this group as a collaboration between all educators at all levels of our school system.

We have held our first public meeting, and you can see a report of that meeting, post comments, and find other resources on the Educators for Change blog: http://educatorsforchange.blogspot.com

Our next gathering is May 5, Thursday, 5:30-7:30, at the Carver Library, conference rooms 2&3. This is a potluck gathering, so if you’d like to bring food to share, please do, but it is not necessary to bring food to attend. There are no alcoholic beverages allowed at the library. The Carver Library is at 1161 Angelina off Rosewood Ave. between 11th and 12th streets east of I-35. For a map, see http://www.wiredforyouth.com/apllocations.cfm?acronym=acb.

Those interested in coming to the meeting are invited to take the month before our next meeting to consider any issues or projects they'd like to bring to the full group's attention: we'll hear from everyone who'd like to suggest action items and report on resources in order to develop a longer-term agenda.

At the next meeting we will welcome new faces to the work group, invite another round of introductions, share food, and combine our collected research/experience and our suggested prioritization of issues. We will either take on an action together or, if it makes sense based on interests, develop into smaller work groups that will pool back into the larger body.

Helpful Resources

2005-04-14T12:25:00.000-05:00

Here are some resources that I thought might be helpful in thinking about "priorities" for the next meeting.

http://www.teachingforchange.org/ - Practical lessons and connversations about what can be done in the classroom.
http://www.mrsvaughnsweb.com/educatorsindex.html - An Educators For Change group with helpful resources.
http://www.casagordita.com/tools.htm - Tools for organizers, activists, educators, and other hell-rasiers.
http://members.tripod.com/~Simon_Hole/ - Educators writing for change.
http://www.cpe.uts.edu.au/publications/toolbox.html - A popular educator's toolbox for social change.

Corporate College

2005-04-12T23:01:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting post on the increasing intrusion of corporations into academia. It's written by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, the folks who have a corp focus e-news list and who wrote On the Rampage: Corporate Predators and the Destruction of Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press).

In the essay, they discuss Jennifer Washburn's new book, University Inc.: The Corporate Corruption of Higher Education (Basic Books, 2005).

Worth checking out at:

http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/corp-focus/2005/000203.html

Defining E4C: notes from the first gathering & ideas for the May 5 gathering

2005-04-09T21:47:00.000-05:00

On April 7, Educators for Change held its first full public gathering. The collected group of educators shared what we each hope for and need from this group, then we discussed our ideas for the next meeting.

Our focus before the next meeting will be to broaden our constituency to include a full range of Austin educators, to locate and publicize the meeting at a large and community-based space, and to conduct independent research to develop a prioritized list of action or discussion items.

For Next Time
At the next meeting we will welcome new faces to the work group, invite another round of introductions, share food, and combine our collected research/experience and our suggested prioritization of issues. We will either take on an action together or, if it makes sense based on interests, develop into smaller work groups that will pool back into the larger body.

In other words, people are invited to take the month before our next meeting to consider any issues or projects they'd like to bring to the full group's attention: we'll hear from everyone who'd like to suggest action items and report on resources in order to develop a longer-term agenda.

What Is Educators for Change? Notes from the First Gathering:
Collected hopes for the work group, from educators present, organized loosely into themed categories of what Educators for Change will provide:

* Space for Discussion
recognizing teaching as a political act
balancing being an activist and an academic
incorporating this balance into research, overcoming alienation
since activism and teaching have seemed separate, exploring how they speak to each other
since students are energized by classes, brainstorming about where we can help them focus that energy
brainstorming about managing the distrust between activists and academics when we are both
discussing cases like the Columbia University censure

* Resource Share
exchanging resources for ourselves and for students in need
since ACC is starting a service learning program, sharing strategies for integrating community with teaching
sharing classroom approaches for discussing tough ideas, changing students’ views of the world

* Action
staying connected with the public schools system
getting involved in policy change
generating collaborations between educators across the city
connecting students with the city
connecting with Austin Free Net, getting them involved with this group
producing written content like letters to editor or articles for The Texas Observer, The Nation, The Chronicle, Slate.com, Salon.com, Rethinking Schools

* Progressive Political Involvement
talking about politics
changing the world for the next election cycle
developing effective rhetoric
talking about political ramifications of activist educating
sharing ideas about getting students thinking about taking part in a democracy
developing strategies to face the attack on academia by right wing legislators and legislation

* Group Community
making connections with the community, the state, the world
avoiding existential crisis of being a student (or isolated activist)
plugging into an activist community
generating a work group
being networked

Alice in Academialand

2005-03-30T22:10:00.000-06:00

What am I doing here, how do things work and how do I get out? Ok, to be fair, since I’m now writing my dissertation, I’m not looking for the exit anymore. But, as a longtime activist who came back to the academy after many years of community work, I’m still looking to make sense of this place and my experiences in order to think about what I hope to do when I finish.

Since returning to school, it seems sometimes that folks in both spaces are screaming “off with her head”! For me, the merger of the two—academia and academy—has never quite happened. And I’m not hopeful that there’s a magic pill that’s going to fix things up.

As academics in activist circles, we’re questioned about our commitment—it’s assumed that as soon as we finish and get a position that we’ll give up. We’re often told that our work has nothing to do with the “real world,” or is of no use beyond the academy.

As activists in academia, we’re not taken seriously. Our engagement makes our scholarship questionable, yet it is often this community work that makes our academic interests compelling. At times, our activism is applauded. But without institutional support for our activities, we end up being tokenized.

So, as a person passionate about both my politics and my research/teaching, I’m left feeling isolated and pressured, trying to juggle everything at once. How do I set my priorities and balance the work? How do I explain to a group that I can’t do something because I have a deadline? And how do I explain to an advisor that I have to miss a deadline because of a community project?

Although I feel at times that no one else shares these concerns, I know that I’m not alone. I became part of Educators for Change because I want to share strategies of balancing or even integrating these various “selves.” And I want to create a space where we can support and mentor each other as colleagues & compañer@s, so that being in Academialand seems less like walking a surreal trapeze and seems more like home.

--MMF

Making Room for Changing Policy

2005-03-30T20:20:00.000-06:00

During my last semester of course work, I have started to think more seriously about what I will be doing when I complete my doctoral program. At this moment, I am driven towards becoming a professor in Language and Literacy, meaning that I hope to teach teachers strategies that will enable them to become successful English teachers in secondary schools. I also hope to conduct research that will be useful and practical to literacy teachers and their students.

One of the reasons I wanted to be involved in the Educators For Change groups is because I wanted to begin building strategies that would permit me to not only be a part of the academic community, but also the community in public schools (teachers, students, parents, and administrators). To stay connected and promote change in both communities, I can teach future teachers about useful strategies that reach a diversity of learners, such as, critical literacy, the integration of literature by and about a diverse population, and the relevance of media and out-of-school literacy (television, pop music, or comic books). I can also conduct research that illustrates the positive aspects of these strategies that is directed towards teachers and administrators. Policy change is another way to maintain involvement, but it is a strategy that I am not as familiar with. As a professor, I would like to be involved in changing and creating policies for education, and I hope that this group will offer support and advice on how to begin this process. Since most of us are going to be professors in various universities, it would be helpful to begin talking and taking action in this area, so that it will become a part of our agenda when we leave the University of Texas.

To begin this dialogue, our group thought that it would be interesting to choose a professor in their department who is involved in policy change and ask them to speak to us about their experiences at our one of our monthly meetings. Dr. Angela Valenzuela, in the College of Education, is known for her work in policy change. She has written Subtractive Schooling: U.S. Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring and Leaving Children Behind: How "Texas-style" Accountability Fails Latino Youth. The latter book challenges current federal policy in education and offers a more democratic approach to accountability. She has a blog about current policy in education if you are interested: http://texasedequiity.blogspot.com/

Another interesting resource for all teachers is Rethinking Schools Online, created by a group of Milwaukee teachers who sought not only to improve education, but also shape reform in public schools. The website provides interesting resources, articles, and lessons for teachers. http://www.rethinkingschools.org/about/history.shtml

Amy Vetter

Critical readers, critical citizens

2005-03-30T09:56:00.000-06:00

As a teacher I feel that I have a particular responsibility not to push my own politics but to broaden students’ perspectives in a respectful and intellectual way. I try not to bring my own politics into the classroom in order to create a learning environment in which all of my students feel secure and respected;
as educators, however, we are in a unique position to help students learn to be critical consumers not just of literature or formal rhetorical texts, but of all the texts they encounter on a day-to-day basis. If we challenge students to approach their surroundings, their opinions and the opinions of others with an educated and critical eye, we can help to raise the level of public discourse as that discourse becomes increasingly polarized.

My own scholarly work focuses on postcolonial and gender studies, so I try to incorporate my research interests into my courses in order to propose classes that will require students to reconsider their world as well as the literary canon. Although the ideas of colonialism, imperialism, nation-building, national identity, revolution and insurrection seem removed from our classrooms, the rhetoric surrounding current global situations, from the elections in the Ukraine to the war in Iraq allow students to directly apply their knowledge of the aforementioned topics to a contemporary situation much closer to home. Even though not all of my students leave my courses drawing direct parallels between what they learn and contemporary world politics, I hope that they all leave the course with a heightened consciousness of the world beyond our classroom and the tools with which to question the rhetorical discourse of their everyday lives.

Educators For Change is a way for me to interact with teachers who have similar goals for themselves and their students. I look forward to exchanging ideas with other educators as a way to strike a symbiotic balance between the political and the intellectual.

CH

Teaching Critical Literacy, Educating for Change

2005-03-30T02:29:00.000-06:00

I’m an instructor of English and rhetoric.
I’m a politically progressive person.

I must admit to imagining and maintaining a certain separation between these “parts” of myself—on-the-job me teaches critical reading and persuasive writing. I never indicate how I vote to my students; I rarely take a side during classroom debate, unless it’s to provoke more sophisticated commentary, or to return students to the text, or to play devil’s advocate.

Helping students develop as young writers and thinkers—and find voices that are strong, smart, and true to them—seems to me such a weighty responsibility that I don’t want give them any excuse to disengage, or feel like they can’t say what’s on their minds, or need to identify against our course goals. I teach George W. Bush’s speeches and Madame Bovary with the same equanimity.

“Citizen” me made my first campaign contributions, attended my first voter precinct meeting, and made my first campaign trip to a “swing” state in support of John Kerry’s 2004 presidential bid. I cried when he lost, and for many days after. Then I committed myself to doing more and trying harder in the next election.

But I hope there are places where my teaching and my politics meet: it may be a hackneyed phrase, but I think that good readers and writers do make good citizens. And, as Americans face an administration that has paid columnists to hawk its policies, spends an unprecedented amount of cash producing “video news releases” that run unattributed on local news stations, and uses words like “freedom,” and "values” to end conversation, being a good reader, writer is a lifeline and a powerful force for change.

I’m excited to talk to other educators about how they teach critical literacy, and to share some of the ways I try to. And I’d like to know how other “educators for change” integrate their activism and their teaching and scholarly work.
-LR

Activist Learning as a Political Response

2005-03-29T23:10:00.000-06:00

After the presidential election I felt depressed, angry, and bewildered; my election activist friends suggested creating and educators for change group, and I desperately wanted to be part of a collective work group for generating change. One month of pre-election work, however tireless, would not stem the Republican tide.

In February, 2005, the University of Texas hosted a conference called Abriendo Brecha/Haciendo Camino: Activist Scholarship on Race, Identity, and Mestizaje in the Americas. At one panel, gathered into a large room of the Texas Union on a Friday afternoon, faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and community members circulated petitions, talked with new friends, and listened to the stories of public historian Yolanda Chavez-Leyva and pedagogical writer Nancy A. Naples. This was education for change in process, and I wanted more.

I bring to a discussion of education for change my experience teaching a service learning course. Both Yolanda Chavez-Leyva and Nancy A. Naples spoke to the significance of such course design as a necessary interaction between the academy and surrounding communities. Yolanda Chavez-Leyva, professor at UT El Paso, talked about the imperative to teach with awareness of and connection to where students live. Nancy A. Naples, professor at U of Connecticut, talked about recognizing service learning as activist pedagogy and recognizing community analyses of our lives. Nancy A. Naples mentioned her series of books on feminist activism and described even this publication effort (in collaboration with other women) as a means of generating a body of literature to validate students’ feminist research.

I am drawn by this connection of academic work, even publishing, with activism. Activist pedagogy in the classroom has been one way to help students discover how literature is activist alongside community organizations’ publications, how activist learning is not ‘volunteering’ but an exchange, and how what’s happening in the surrounding communities impacts and is impacted by what happens at the university.

Educators for Change, for me, is the prospect of gathering with other teachers from around the city to generate skills, support each other, and challenge each other in altering the relationship between academia and activism and in working for social justice.

- Kristen Hogan