Tue, 2 September 2008  I attended a conference on parent and family involvement in Oconomowoc back in May which was sponsored by the WI Department of Public Instruction. There is much work to be done in MMSD regarding parental involvement. I recorded some audio, and this podcast includes comments by author Anne Henderson of Beyond the Bakesale.Over the summer, I had the opportunity to greet community members with new superintendent, Dan Nerad in places like Warner Park Community Center, the Mallards ballfield on a beautiful game day, and one of our farmer's markets. Thanks to CircleReader who recently wrote, "I enjoyed chatting with you at the Eastside Farmers Market a couple weeks ago, and I looked up your podcast. You have some great stuff there--thanks for making it available!" Thank you for the comment! I checked out CircleReader's site as and suggest you do so as well. Here is a link to his blog, Reading Circle Books and his post regarding Parents in Education and a mention of Henderson's research. CircleReader posted recently that, "And that, as it happens, is how I found out about Anne Henderson and the parental-involvement research of Beyond the Bakesale. I pulled off the bike path into one of Madison’s popular farmer's markets, and found a table that wasn’t selling produce. Instead, there was information for parents from the Madison Metropolitan School District,
and a chance to talk face-to-face, without a prescribed agenda and
outside school walls, with the new Superintendent of Schools Dan Nerad and MMSD School Board member, Maya Cole.
I met one of Maya’s sons, who was helping staff the table, and we
chatted about parenthood and our respective visions for education..."
"Here’s hoping that we can share and participate long enough, and deeply enough, to truly change the system." I can't agree more.So, my question is, "How will you get involved with education this year as our community begins its first days of school?" Comments[0] |
Mon, 28 April 2008 Wisconsin as a state has been somewhat immune to the economic downturn experienced in the rest of the country over the past several years. Dane County in particular has seen growth in certain business sectors and rapid growth in housing upstarts until now. But now the state faces a budget deficit of $650 million. The landscape is looking grim. Let’s not kid ourselves, times have been tough for many. The proverbial financial belt has been tightening. Today, housing starts have dropped, energy and gas prices have increased, and the economy is definitely at a slowdown. Not understanding today’s financial situation in the MMSD, along with the national economic downturn, could prove to be disastrous. This is especially true for an institution that depends on a great amount of planning, support and stability. I see a need to revisit our fiscal forecast and strategy, especially in this year of relative “ease� due to the one time release of TIF money from the city. Next year, we are pretty much guaranteed a $9 budget shortfall if every service stays the same. Part of the proud tradition in Wisconsin governance is local control. And today, school districts practice this age-old tradition with pride. We’ve slid back at times. I would posit that in some ways we are entering a new era, like the transition from “one room school house� to schools preparing students to work in factories. We must balance rising costs and increasing societal demands on the schools with access to new ideas, web-based learning and alternative learning programs. Right or wrong, the city and county depend upon us to do more, but not more of the same. No single action will solve this predicament. Our growing fiscal crisis is compounded by the shift in workforce demand for high tech, bio-medical and “green� industries. At no time in this decade have we experienced this kind of rapid socioeconomic and demographic change in our communities. These factors suggest it is time for change and for greater, focused collaboration. In this budget, under a one-year reprieve from TIF, some things should not be left unsaid. The 2009-10 budget starts off with a $9 million deficit. No longer can we afford our budget to be a year-to-year financial plan. This budget, every budget, is a living document. Though we pass a working budget in May, we should be approaching this as the first step in a five-year plan. We have an obligation to ask where we are going. Our obligations rest with our children and the community. Right or wrong, they demand more, they deserve more. No longer can we be satisfied with how things used to be. Instead, we should be looking for what can be. Stay tuned… Category: MMSD Budget -- posted at: 12:00 PM Comments[0] |
Fri, 25 April 2008 Governance School Board membership entails more than taking the oath of office and attending meetings. One aspect of the office is understanding and participating in effective school governance. On this stormy day in April with my eye on the budget, I was thinking of the 100 inches of snow our community endured and the spring showers that now follow. I find myself daydreaming of exotic locales with somewhat similar conditions. I found such a place situated on Northwest Coast of British Columbia. It is an area known as Prince Rupert or "The City of Rainbows" and it is Canada's wettest city, with an average annual precipitation of approximately, you guessed it - 100 inches. For an image of Prince Rupert, go here. The town of Prince Rupert “began as a dream when founder Charles Melville Hays, president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Company, saw the island…� Today it serves as a hub for commerce on British Columbia's north coast. Unfortunately for Hays, the “perfect terminus for marine trade, and rail and sea travel� was not realized in his life as he “met an untimely and tragic death aboard the RMS Titanic.� Today the city, situated on traditional Tsimshian territory, remains at the edge of wilderness in Canada. It consists of a somewhat secure, sheltered inner harbor along the famed Inside Passage. It is both a mix of diversity and rich cosmopolitan culture. The Tsimshian people have lived on this remote location for over 10,000 years. School District 52 There is something appealing in the simplicity of a school district of about a dozen schools, situated far away and serving a diverse multi-cultural student population of whom over half are First Nations Ancestry. Interestingly, they go by the name of School District 52. What got me to thinking about School District 52 (besides their 100 inches of precipitation) is their board policy and approach to board governance. Their policy states, “The Board shall govern in a manner characterized by outward vision, diversity in viewpoints, strategic leadership, distinction of Board and staff roles and proactivity.� Talk about knowing your role and having a handle on policy governance! They continue, “Consequently, the Board shall: Focus chiefly on intended long-term impacts on the world outside the organization [results], not on the administrative or programmatic means of attaining those effects. Inspire, direct and control the organization through the careful establishment and systematic monitoring of policies dealing with values and broad perspectives. Communicate with and be accountable to its ownership for accomplishment of its obligations. Involve students, parents, staff and community in monitoring current performance and setting future direction. Enforce upon itself and its members the discipline needed to govern with excellence. Monitor and regularly discuss the Board's own process and performance. Ensure the continuity of its governance capability by training and developing its members. Continuous development will include orientation of new members in the Board's governance process and discussion of process improvement. Be responsible for its performance and development and for identifying the information and resources it needs to formulate and monitor policies.� Inspiring words on a rainy day in April in a city surrounded by reality; Madison, Wisconsin. Category: Board Life -- posted at: 9:00 PM Comments[0] |
Tue, 22 April 2008 Update on Equity Policy The Board of Education has directed the administration to begin drafting a new Policy on Equity (as of 04/21) that will reflect the work of the Equity Task Force and the ongoing equity discussions by the Board. Here is a copy of my memo to other Board members in light of our discussion on equity that some have requested to read. Memo from M.P. Cole 04/21/08 "I have found it helpful to reflect on where the latest equity draft fits into the original intent of the Board from 2006 so that I don’t lose sight of their concerns. The minutes from the Equity Task Force (ETF) meeting for 02/01/06 include the reasoning to convene such a task force. Ms. Carstensen explained that the intent of Board was “to recommend to Legal Counsel the principals to be included in a policy.� [Emphasis added] The Equity Task Force Report reiterated this point in its Final Report: The Task Force was charged with making recommendations for an equity policy including: (1) a definition of equity, (2) a statement of the District's commitment to equity, and (3) guidelines for implementation. While I believe that this latest draft is a solid start and may or may not be helpful as a planning document similar to the Educational Options planning document, I would like to encourage further discussion on the viability of change to Board policy and procedures. In light of the work the Board has done this past year on issues significantly affected by equity issues, I believe a change is what is needed. Second, I would ask to make the intent of our purpose statement stronger to express the urgency of our district mission of educational excellence and equity. As stated in the Wisconsin DPI Characteristics of Successful Schools, Wisconsin Equity Framework (2/22/08), “Educational equity knowledge and practice in public schools have evolved over time and require a comprehensive approach.� It would be of great benefit to our community and to future Boards to express the deliberative nature of our work toward closing the achievement gap and to provide a more coherent strategy, reviewed on a regular basis by the Board. Upon reading most of the documentation given to the board over the past few years regarding Equity, I would point to a document used by the ETF that does an excellent job of articulating a statement of the District’s commitment to equity. You can find this example from the Hopkins School District 270 (MN), Equity Strategy Framework. I would respectfully submit the following changes/additions to make the document clear: Add – Our Equity Mission (see Hopkins example here:) 'As a school district committed to equity and excellence for all learners, we will eliminate racial [socioeconomic] and other demographic differences in achievement, while we improve achievement for all students, by examining individual and organizational beliefs and changing practices to counteract the contemporary and historical impact of racism and discrimination.' Definition – Further clarification is needed for the phrase “allocation of resources.� I am concerned that this phrase is tied to edu-speak such that it may be interpreted as “resource allocations,� “FTEs� or other “wonky� terms used by the administration but not necessarily the meaning the Board is trying to convey to the community. I would think that the phrase “distribution of resources� would be better. We could then later define “resources� as we have done with “Equity� in the document. Furthermore, we might consider creating a process for Board review on how we allocate (ERF, ENI, base, supplemental and other assumptions.) Change – Assumptions, to Core Beliefs that Guide Our Work Change – Goals, to Our Equity Objectives Change – Considerations for Determining Whether Equity Is or Will Be Provided, to Considerations in Addressing Equity Third, the Superintendent’s analysis of Board Policy 9001 and current practice (memo 9/25/06) raises concerns, specifically in the amount of edu-speak and time it would take the general public to understand this policy and the questions left unanswered as to how the Board would oversee such a policy. In fact, the superintendent, notes in his memo analyzing current practice that sections in the Policy 9001 such as Review, Reporting and Application are dated at best: In the Review section, the language is outdated and does not reflect current demographics (total of approximately 40% free/reduced lunch) in the district. This is an area of concern as our discussions have shown that Equity is more than economics. I would suggest we look as a Board, at the Monitoring Equity and Access from the DPI Characteristics of Successful Schools, Wisconsin Equity Framework. In the Reporting section, it should be noted that the Board continues to approve staffing for each school as part of the budget process without a separate discussion or evaluation of each school’s “educational goals and diversity profile.� In the Application and Review section, it was noted by the superintendent that this is the first review of this policy since it was written in 1994. The recent focus to address policy is a step in the right direction. MMSD Equity Policy 9001 Category: Policy -- posted at: 12:00 AM Comments[1] |
Mon, 10 March 2008 A reading program that embodies the ethos of our educational building blocks in Madison Metropolitan School District is on President Bush's chopping block for fiscal year (FY)2009 and they need your help. This action will take less than five minutes of your time. Please let your members of Congress know you care about providing literacy for all children and ask them to sign the RIF Dear Colleague letter. The program is a national gem - Reading is Fundamental or RIF - provides 4.5 million children with 16 million new, free books each year all the while supporting parents and guardians to read to their kids as well as provide on-line support for literacy activites. Here's a few FACTS: RIF is the oldest (40 years) and largest children's and family nonprofit literacy organization in the United States. RIF is one of the few internet sites for children and families that supports literacy and is easily accessible in Spanish. RIF has been a part of own schools in Madison in the past few years. Schools that have benefited from RIF include Hawthorne Elementary, Leopold Elementary, Lindbergh Elementary and Lowell Elementary. They are part of the 360+ sites which have distributed over 300,000 books to close to 80,000 kids in Wisconsin alone! RIF programs combine three essential elements to foster children's literacy, especially for those underserved children from birth to age 8: reading motivation, family and community involvement, and the excitement of choosing free books to keep. You can help save RIF by contacting your congressional representative and your Senators. All three representatives for the 2nd Congressional District (Madison) have yet to sign on to save RIF. Education Policy blogger and author, Stuart Nachbar wrote a wonderful, brief post on the reasons to keep RIF funded. He says, "...in 2006, the last year that federal data is available, RIF distributed books to nearly 4.5 million children—using less federal money than the year before. That’s hardly an example of a failing program; in fact, one would have to wonder what RIF could have accomplished with an extra million or two." The International Reading Association, a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to promoting high levels of literacy for all since 1954 has a post about the history of RIF and its cut from the proposed Federal Budget.Please ask your representatives in Congress to appropriate $26 million to fund RIF’s book distribution program for some 4.6 million underserved children and families in fiscal year 2009. The funding is critical to support our reading motivational programs at nearly 20,000 locations nationwide. Don't forget to spread the word! Category: Take Action! -- posted at: 12:43 PM Comments[0] |
Thu, 6 March 2008 Mindful musings This past week, my twin boys and I were playing a mnemonic game we devised when they were in kindergarten to remember days of the week. The verbal jousting started as a whim when I had to come up with ideas for activities for three boys under 8-years old. One thing we could always count on was to go get waffles on Wednesdays. Over spring break we celebrated our fictional event titled, Waffle Tour 2004, in which we traveled to a different destination in search of waffles for the day. This led to the creation of a zine to share with friends, teachers and family in the weeks long after break had ended. By the end of the tour, we had gone all over Madison and declared Indie Coffee on Regent Street the winner of Waffle Tour 2004. Indie Coffee has since produced even more types of waffles than the original three of buttermilk, chocolate and multigrain. For the boys and I, Wednesday will always be known as Waffle Wednesday. Musing on the process my boys used to learn the days of the week made me think of how important it is to share our memories and stories. In fact, mnemonic defined as, "relating to the power of memory," originated from the 18th century Latin mnÄ“mÅ?n, or "mindful." Storytelling, podcasting and the world wide web are different attempts by all of us to share stories and participate in the conversation. As the world gets more complicated and inundated with information, it seems logical to take a break. I will be posting these musings once a month. Enjoy the first installment: Begin the story in six words: Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Then the internet came along and a group of independent media purveyors created SMITH magazine, an online production that specializes in story projects instead of the home&garden or lifestyle sections. SMITH announced a contest for submissions to answer the call of the six-word memoir and thousands answered. National Public Radio covered the Six-Word Memoirs and I would highly suggest viewing the slide show. You can also take a listen to the Talk of the Nation from NPR on the new book Not Quite What I Was Planning, a collection of six-word memoirs by famous and not-so-famous writers. Smith magazine. This web magazine has been celebrating the joy of storytelling since 2006. The editors at Smith state it best, "SMITH is a home for storytelling of all forms and kinds, with a focus on personal narrative. We believe everyone has a story, and everyone should have a place to tell it." I hope these six-word memoirs give you the needed break you need today. Category: Mindful Musings -- posted at: 2:26 PM Comments[0] |
Sun, 24 February 2008  We would do well to take notice of the potential report card changes coming our way for the Madison Metropolitan School District Middle Schools. Word on the street is that the district will bring these changes to the middle schools in the Fall of 2009 - just as the new superintendent takes over the helm of the district.While testing and all of its pitfalls and promises is part of our intellectual history, I am a strong proponent of including the community from the ground up and sharing information in an accessible and concise manner. Report Card Reform in simplistic terms is a matter of moving from the A-B-Cs to the 1-2-3s. Although reform has been a national trend for over ten years, changing report cards is not as simple as do, re, mi... This change to one of the key components of a child's education has thus earned both cautious critics (parents) and supporters (educators) and must proceed with caution. Rumblings of report card changes have surfaced over the past month in the district and I thought it would serve us well to find out more about the history of this movement. Here's a great piece from the American Association of School Administrators on the history, pitfalls and lessons on report card reform. Planning to revamp your school district's report card? Here are few suggestions from Grant Wiggins, president of the Center on Learning, Assessment and School Structure: No. 1: Letter grades aren’t the problem. The central issue is that a single letter grade stands for too many different things. Instead, give separate grades for different aspects of performance (e.g. for achievement, progress, effort for an overall profile; or writing, reading, speaking and listening for language arts) When using a single summative grade or phrase, clearly identify the math formula by which the separate elements are weighted and combined. Differentiate the level of performance from the quality of the work. Little is gained by giving an A to someone who is very bright but careless and a C to someone who is behind but methodical and accurate. Give two different grades or comments to show this. No. 2: Avoid euphemisms. They hide more than they reveal. Calling a student’s work "in progress" or "moving toward mastery" tells the parent nothing about where the student stands vis-à -vis grade-level expectations or exit standards. No. 3: Offer more information, not less. Grading systems that assign A, B or "incomplete" give the parent far too little sense of the school’s standards and where students stand with respect to them. New grading systems are meant to give greater insights to parents. Yet too many new reporting systems seem designed to conceal, not reveal, how students are really doing. No. 4: Grading on a deliberate curve is indefensible morally and technically. Often, giving out final grades for a semester or year on a curve is an easy way to avoid setting clear performance standards. You can deal with grade inflation by clarifying standards and criteria for grading. No. 5: Validate local grades. You can accomplish this by linking the grades with a wider-world or next-level standard. Some high schools, for instance, use college-level entrance exam standards to anchor their exit standards. Give the parents confidence that grades stand for something more than one teacher’s taste and values. No. 6: Link grades to work samples. For this purpose, use samples of work that have been collaboratively scored on site by faculty across classes and grade levels. Give the parents confidence that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. No. 7: A portfolio is not a substitute for a grade. A portfolio still needs to be evaluated and given a summary judgment, which is all a grade is meant to be. No. 8: Consider alternatives to letter grades. It doesn’t matter whether you use letters, numbers, phrases or smiling and sad faces. The important thing is that grades stand for something credible, clear, fair and honest. No. 9: The client is always right. The report is not designed to satisfy teachers but to inform the clients. Parents should have a say at all stages of the process, and focus groups should be used to give parents the opportunity to react to current, proposed and other systems’ reporting methods. No. 10: Reduce the reporting burden At the same time, you can improve the quality of reports by staggering them over a month. (Students whose names end with A-G during the first week of November, H-M the second week of November, etc.) No. 11: Use your website. Placing explanatory information on the school or district web site can illuminate the meaning of grades. Consider posting samples of graded work with teacher comments for those parents who want even more detail. No. 12: Educate parents ongoingly. Parents need to understand what the problem is with existing report cards and how the change you are proposing is an improvement. Publishing a newsletter is one tact. To avoid sharing our problems with parents is to avoid making essential changes that will help our parents become our partners. What do you think? Category: Report Cards -- posted at: 5:00 AM Comments[0] |
Sat, 23 February 2008  Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind; a six-year anniversary.A good place to learn about the process of reauthorization and keep up with current news on what is happening on a national level is to go to Public Education Network's webpage. This is an excellent site to get information and you can also sign up your organization in favor of PEN's proposed changes to the bill by going here. I found this opinion piece back in 2007 to describe in two typed-pages the cost and benefit to NCLB. This could be the start to a conversation our community could have on NCLB reauthorization. Recent court rulings and commentary on NCLB from the National School Board Association can be found here. John Merrow's reporting on PBS NewsHour has a great deal of information and audio on NCLB. Comments[0] |
Sat, 23 February 2008 A short primer on No Child Left Behind in 5 minutes or less. If you've never heard of this federal mandate, please listen.For more on NCLB and how it has affected the Madison Metropolitan School District over the past six years, go to:
Schoolcast 7 will address current reauthorization of NCLB.
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Wed, 20 February 2008 A wonderful update for this podcast! Maya talks about the beginning of the school year; transitions for elementary and alternative schools; some upcoming events; safe routes to school; and, a short interview with alders from the north and east sides of Madison. Comments[0] |
Sat, 2 February 2008 The WASB Delegate Assembly approved 10 resolutions at its annual meeting on Jan. 23, 2008. The proposed resolutions were drafted by the WASB Policy and Resolutions Committee from proposals submitted by member school boards. To read about the resolutions adopted or a report from the convention you can click on these links. To get more information about the superintendent search for the Madison Metropolitan School District, please click here. Category: Blog Post -- posted at: 10:33 PM Comments[0] |
Fri, 1 February 2008 Maya discusses community dialogue, the selection of a new superintendent, and the Wisconsin
Association of School Boards.
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