0 Boston "School Quality Working Group" Members Announced

On Wednesday, May 1, 2013, the Boston Public Schools' (BPS) School Quality Working Group (SQWG) held their first meeting. This meeting was primarily to announce and introduce the members of the group. The SQWG was created out of the recommendations approved by the Boston School Committee (BSC) as part of the new student assignment plan (Home-Based A) in March 2013. The entire list of recommendations are available here.

According to the BPS bostonschoolquality.org website: 

Boston School Committee member Meg Campbell and Boston University School of Education Dean Dr. Hardin Coleman will co-chair the new School Quality Working Group, which is modeled on the External Advisory Committee on School Choice, which Dr. Coleman also co-chaired. The Working Group includes BPS parents, academic experts, and business and community leaders. It will continue to engage the community in the conversation on school quality that took place during our process to improve school choice. Their tasks include:

• Helping to develop a better way to measure school quality for the Home-Based school choice model, which takes effect for the fall of 2014. Currently the Home-Based model uses MCAS Tiers, which are based on a combination of overall performance and growth as measured by MCAS.

• Analyzing the implementation of the Home-Based school choice model, including measures of equity and school quality improvements

The members of the committee are:

Ron Ancrum- Executive Director, The Learning Center at Bromley Heath

Meg Campbell (co-chair) - BSC member, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Codman Academy *Charter Public School

Kathleen Colby -  BPS Ambassador, former BPS parent & EAC member

Hardin Coleman (co-chair) - see above

Michael Curry - President, NAACP Boston Chapter

Rahn Dorsey - Evaluation Director, the Barr Foundation & EAC member

Betty Francisco - EVP and General Counsel of Millenium Sports Club Management, wife of Paul Francisco (EAC member)

Denise Gonsalves - Director of Youth Leadership Development at Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) 

Dr. William (Bill) Henderson - Former BPS teacher, principal of O'Hearn (now the Henderson) inclusion school, author of The Blind Advantage

Carolyn Kain - Current Chair, BPS SpedPAC & EAC member

Craig Lankhorst - former BPS principal & EAC member

Daniel Linsky - no confirmable information found

Meredith Liu - Chief Financial Officer of Match Charter School

Elaine Ng - Executive Director, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center & BPS Parent

Myriam Ortiz - Executive Director, Boston Parent Organizing Network (BPON) & BPS parent

Marchelle Raynor - former Boston School Committee member and Program Director, Gertrude E. Townsend Learning Program

Marinell Rousmaniere -  Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at EdVestors & BPS Parent

Mariah Smith - no confirmable information found

Anh Vu - no confirmable information found

Rev. David Wright - Executive Director of the Black Ministerial Alliance of greater Boston

Josh Weiss - BPS parent who submitted a school assignment proposal to the EAC, took part in many of the EAC meetings as a community member, as well as blogging throughout the school assignment process at bpsworkshop.com

The above information regarding the members are not the official "bios" which BPS has requested from each of the members, but information obtained via prior BPS, EAC, BSC bios, through personal knowledge and relationships and with the help of others who know some of the members and was verified prior to writing this article. Once the official bios are available I will add a link to this post! 

In addition to the above tasks outlined on the new website, the group will most likely have some say in how to address quality issues in our Boston schools. The SQWG group, along with the BSC, holds the future of our students, the individual schools and the district as a whole, in their hands as they are charged with monitoring and assessing the new plan and the recommendations which may become district policies. 

As the families and advocates for our students and schools, we have an even more important role in this process: to monitor and assess the work of both the BSC and SQWG to ensure that all of our schools become quality schools and that access to those schools is equitable. I urge everyone, whether a current or potential BPS family, to follow this group and the work they do. When possible, attend the meetings (still TBA), ask questions, make suggestions and if concerned, let them know that too. 

"Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." —Abigail Adams

I can be contacted at bpsnightmare@gmail.com and please consider following me on Twitter: @bpsnightmare.

0 Increasing the Number of Quality Schools in Boston: School Climate

Whether we realize it or not, when selecting a school to send our child to, we all assess the climate of each school we examine prior to making our choices regarding the school we would like our child to attend. We have all gone into schools which feel friendly, inviting, and supportive, and others which feel exclusionary, unwelcoming, and even unsafe. These feelings, attitudes, and the reputations which evolve from a school’s environment are referred to as school climate. This is true whether we live in Boston or a suburb.

School climate has been recognized by educators and researchers as one of the key ingredients to whether a school succeeds or fails. Boston Public Schools recognizes the importance of school climate and in fact attempts to measure it through their annual "School Climate Survey" which is sent to every BPS family as well as teachers and students who each receive their own version of the survey. Unfortunately, the rate of response is extremely low as you can see in BPS' school climate reports from 2010 (seems to be the most recent one online):

• Out of 56,486 surveys sent to families, only 7,598 were returned which equals 13.5%. 
• Out of 4,401 surveys sent to teachers, 2,258 were returned which equals 53.3% which is better, but still makes me wonder why didn't all the teachers return these? 
• Out of 41,491 (survey is only given to grades 3-12) surveys given to students, only 23,840 were returned which equals 57.5%. My problem with this one is: this was given in school, via pencil and paper, so how come all of them were not returned? Check out pages 3 and 4 for individual school numbers, quite interesting!

As we are now in the midst of trying to create a new assignment system for Boston schools, there has been quite a bit of conversation regarding "quality" schools. For the purpose of producing the required models requested by the External Advisory Committee on School Assignment (EAC), the measurement regarding which "tier" a school falls into regarding their level of "quality" are being based solely on two years of MCAS scores: achievement (2/3) and the Student Growth Percentile (SGP) (1/3). According to Patricia Kinsella, a QUEST member who attended the January 23, 2013 EAC meeting, the people who came up with SGP as a measure said that it should never be used to evaluate schools because there is no way to know what part of growth came from school and what came from non-school factors. Many of us who attended the EAC meetings have additional concerns about the chosen measurement tools as there are issues regarding whether they should be used, how often review of a school's "tier" should occur and more.  

Right now parents can review each school's "Report Card" (BPS Report on Teaching and Learning) on the BPS website, which gives a profile of the school inclusive of racial and socio-economic status, types of students (regular ed - ELL), MCAS and NAEP scores and a brief written description submitted by school personnel. 

The issue with the use of the above tools for measuring a school is that though we arm ourselves with the information, many parents, myself included, have chosen schools for our children despite what the BPS information tells us about a school. I toured schools, asked questions, spoke with teachers and parents and then ranked my choices with the highest weight given to my own feelings about each school and honestly, the test scores really were not as relevant to me. Of course, we should also recognize that what feels perfect to one parent may feel horrible to another parent because we are each individuals. Because of the low response rate regarding school climate, even with the BPS surveys which I do believe ask the right questions, we can not really utilize the climate reports when assessing a school's climate which seems to be one of the top factors parents consider when choosing a school, according to years of conversation on choosing schools with others.

In November I submitted my application to the Citizen Nominating Panel (CNP) for the open Boston School Committee (BSC) seat. The application was made up of twelve questions regarding everything from experience to specific school district priorities. One of the questions specifically asked how I would address school climate. Considering the importance of the ongoing discussions district-wide on how to assess schools and what factors contribute to parents' choice of schools, I am sharing my answer to the climate question with all of you below as I feel it is an important piece that has been left out of how we rank each school for their quality standing. I will also share my suggestions with Dr. Johnson and the BSC at their next meeting. 

Question: Given the diversity of the students in the Boston Public Schools, how would you address the school climate?

My answer:

School climate is influenced by several factors inclusive of:

• Norms, values and expectations that support people feeling socially, emotionally and physically safe.
• All members of each school community being engaged and respected.
• Students, families and staff working together to develop, live and contribute to a shared school vision.
• All staff’s modeling and nurturing attitudes that emphasize the benefits and satisfaction gained from learning.
• Each person’s contribution to the operations of the school and the care of the physical environment.

Each School’s climate is also influenced by unique factors:

• The physical environment of the school,
• The characteristics and mix of students, teachers and parents who are members of the school community, 
• Connections between the school and its surrounding neighborhood, 
• Social interactions within the school, 
• The leadership role played by the school principal, 
• The morale of the teaching staff, 
• Teaching practices in classrooms, and 
• The formal school policies.

I believe that addressing school climate begins with ensuring collaboration among the principal, personnel, students and their families. The key to creating effective team-work leading to school success is the principal as she or he generally sets the tone for the entire school. An effective principal is a strong leader who is able to motivate the school staff regarding the importance of performance and focuses on results as well as fostering a safe, supportive, and rigorous climate for everyone. The most successful principals will create an environment where teachers, staff, students and families feel that they are respected and share in the fundamental operations of the school thus providing multiple opportunities for each to develop new ideas and methods, assume leadership roles and contribute to the success of not only these individual groups, but also the school as a whole. In addition, these principals are able to galvanize everyone to work toward higher expectations and achievement for every student by utilizing effective instructional practices that nurture and challenge, take into account the diversity of the school population and are culturally relevant. A sustainable, positive school climate fosters youth development and the learning necessary for a productive, contributing and satisfying life in society. This positive climate will generally lead to higher success rates for all of the students within the school. 

To address the climate of the schools in Boston, I suggest that we assess all of our schools to find out if they already have a principal like the one described above as well as assessing whether we have highly qualified staff at the school, whether there are facility or safety issues which need to be addressed, the level of family and community engagement taking place, and students', parents' and school personnel's experience of school life. I realize we have school climate surveys annually which may help in any assessment, but historically the response rates to those surveys is extremely low, so we should seek other ways to accurately assess each of our schools going forward. 

One way we should consider evaluating our schools’ climates is by creating deliberate sets of focus groups for each school as I have found that staff and families become much more open and solution-focused when in a group discussing the issues that need to be addressed rather than just taking an individual survey. These focus groups, in addition to the SPC and SSC, could then become another tool to increase the engagement of students, staff and families toward the goal of whole school improvement and fostering a more inclusive school climate. 

At both the Mozart, under Al Taylor, and at the Irving with Arthur Unobskey, I have seen exactly the type of principal I described above and I have worked closely with both of them to help turn what were once under-selected schools into schools which are now highly-selected, or on the way to becoming such a school as I truly believe the Irving will become the best middle school in Boston within the next few years. I have also had the honor of working closely with the staff of both schools by forming partnerships that have led to greater family and community involvement and pride in each school as well as allowing us to work as a cohesive team to move the schools forward by improving content-area and elective curricula, methods and practices, obtaining the funding necessary for each school to improve the academic, arts, physical education and extra-curricular offerings and to purchase much needed supplies, computers and other items necessary for the schools to provide every student with a rigorous and relevant educational experience. I also continue to advocate for my children and all of the students of each school by encouraging, and sometimes pushing, the principals and staff toward higher goals for themselves and each student as well as thinking “outside the box” to improve each school. 

If a school does not have a principal like the one described above, we should encourage the Superintendent to either create professional development which can assist the current principal to develop these traits and abilities, or hire principals with these traits and abilities. We should start with the schools which are under-performing first and then move on to the other schools as necessary. As we increase the number of schools within the district which have a positive school climate, the climate of the district as a whole should become more positive which is a goal I believe all of us would like to achieve.

In addition to the answer I gave on my application above, please consider the following when thinking about how school climate affects each school and families' choice:

I picked the Mozart prior to most of the data we now have available being created and despite being told "Oh no! You do not want to send your daughter there, it is a horrible school!" (by a BPS central office administrator fyi!) because of the reputation that person had heard (which was a few years out of date). Unfortunately, poor reputations of our schools persist even years after positive change has occurred which I see all the time with the Irving despite the phenomenal progress we have made! 


I chose the Mozart as my first choice for kindergarten for my daughter because I toured the school, asked questions, spoke with teachers and parents and, lol, because the Principal, then Al Taylor, was the ONLY BPS principal who, upon learning that I was Chair of the BPS SpedPAC at that time, was thrilled by that information (instead of the usual gritted teeth and "polite" smile I usually encountered). The school felt wonderful and everything I learned during my tour and by speaking with families and staff made me sure it was the school I wanted my precious daughter in, so I was thankful when she got her assignment to the Mozart that March. 

Three years later I again chose the Mozart as my first choice for her sister, my other precious daughter, because my feelings about the school had proved correct as my older daughter was receiving a fabulous education and thriving there. My younger daughter also obtained a K1 seat at the Mozart and we were a proud Mozart family for the past ten years! 



As for the Irving school, when choosing it for my oldest daughter, if you read my piece regarding Advanced Work Class under the new proposals, you already know I took a leap of faith during the registration process. What I did not mention in the AWC article is that when looking at middle schools for my son in 1998-99, due to the unwelcoming attitude of the AWC teacher for a child with ADHD as well as my experience as an advocate who attended several meetings at the Irving over the years, I swore that my children would never attend the Irving. Seriously, the climate of the school was so horrendous that it gave off a depressing vibe due to the actions of the prior admistrators.

Thankfully, in June 2009 (prior to my daughter starting sixth grade in September), due to community pressure, Dr. Johnson removed the former principal and appointed Arthur Unobskey as the new Irving Principal. 

Because of the partnerships formed between Mr. Unobskey and members of the Roslindale Pathway Advisory Group (RPAG) as well as the larger community, we started to see improvements at the Irving within the first year as reported by the Roslindale Transcript in January 2010. The formation of the Roslindale K-8 Pathway in March 2010 added yet another sense of urgency to the staff of the Irving to improve outcomes for every student at the school and the whole school, and as a bonus I observed a complete turn-around to the climate within the Irving. The team-work and shared leadership which developed as a result of the improved climate at the school, as well as expanding our school day, have all contributed to the amazing progress we have seen our Irving students make in  a short amount of time, inclusive of our 6th grade students making a 29% increase in growth on the 2012 Math MCAS!

I would strongly urge Dr. Johnson, BPS, the BSC and EAC members to all consider the lessons we can learn from the Irving and the Roslindale Pathway when attempting to designate which schools are truly "quality schools". In addition to the recommendations I make in my answer, I suggest utilizing what we learned at the Irving and incorporating key elements, such as putting in place an advisory group of parents from each of the schools in the new pathways, as "best practices" for helping the schools which are still struggling. 

And for those of you wondering, I did get get asked to interview with the CNP for the open BSC seat and I am proud that, after the interview with the twelve-member panel, the CNP recommended me as one of the candidates for the Mayor to consider for the open seat, which I see as a great accomplishment. As expected though, Michael O'Neill was re-appointed to the BSC for another four year term and I congratulate him on his re-appointment. 

0 BPS Will Present In-Depth Analysis of New Assignment Models Wednesday

Tuesday afternoon BPS released three new proposals in advance of the External Advisory Committee on School Choice (EAC) meeting scheduled for Wednesday night:

The 10-zone Proposal

Home-Based Proposals A & B

Only elementary schools are highlighted on these maps, but elementary schools will feed into middle schools under BPS' proposed "middle school feeder pattern", much like the Roslindale K-8 pathway does already, if incorporated into whichever proposal is finally selected by the EAC for recommendation to Dr. Johnson.

Also, if incorporated into whichever proposal is finally selected by the EAC, there could be changes to how and possibly where Students with Disabilities (SWD) and English Language Learners (ELL) will attend school per the overlay maps.

Also, please check out the information on the "School Quality" page, specifically the second set of bullet points, as it is extremely important and leads to several questions (I will delve into those tomorrow)!

Many of you are probably wondering where these latest proposals came from and rightfully so because even for those of us who have been attending the meetings and asking questions daily of BPS, the above new proposals were unexpected. What we expected to see Wednesday night was the in-depth analysis of the models selected by the EAC members in October 2012, not completely new models by BPS.

A lot has taken place since BPS presented their original proposals in September, so for those who have not been consumed by this process as I have, or were unable to attend the meetings or maybe are just becoming more aware of what is going on, below is some background to catch you up to where we are now.

The External Advisory Committee on School Choice is a 27-member group of BPS parents, educators, community and business leaders that the Mayor appointed in January 2012 to help BPS develop a student assignment plan that puts a focus on equity, school quality and helps students attend school closer to home. It would be implemented for the 2014-15 school year if approved by the Boston School Committee. 

Please note that the original timeline to accomplish the above, inclusive of presenting a recommended assignment plan to BPS and the Boston School Committee (BSC) voting on it was December 19, 2012. This timeline was extended, yet the implementation timeline has not changed.

After the original March - June 2012 community meetings, the EAC went to work to assess all of the feedback from families and community members regarding what was important to them when it comes to education for their child(ren). Originally BPS and EAC members were focused on the "close to home" emphasis outlined by Mayor Tom Menino during his State of the City 2012 address. After months of reviewing and incorporating the data into draft proposals, finally on September 24, 2012, BPS released their five proposed assignment models along with three "overlay" maps which they hope will be incorporated into whichever model is finally chosen. 

Immediately after the release of the BPS proposals, community members, families and groups started speaking out due to concern regarding the lack of accessibility and equity to the few "quality schools" within BPS and how the proposed models would impact all students. Also, there were formal analyses of the proposed models by a team at Harvard Graduate School of Education and one by the Metropolitan Area Planning Committee as well as more informal analyses by other groups and individuals like myself via blogs, websites and testimony at community and BSC meetings.

As the above was taking place many individuals and groups submitted alternative assignment proposals to BPS for consideration by the EAC. Two of these alternative plans were very popular from their initial submission: the Quality Choice Plan presented by a group of Boston and state politicians and the Family-Centric School Choice Model with Meaningful Choices and Guaranteed Equal Access to Quality aka "Grouped Schools Model" by Peng Shi and Itai Ashlagi of the MIT Operations Research Center.

Since the original BPS and community proposals were made to the EAC in September 2012, at the October 27, 2012 EAC meeting, after a presentation of the revised "Grouped School Model" by Peng Shi which had garnered support with the members, the EAC stated that they needed more data on the impact of the proposed models on Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners and that analysis of these groups should be built into the model revisions, including capacity data. The EAC also asked for data on an AWC analysis, and how it would work with various models as well as more information regarding the Middle School Feeder proposal. As this was happening, we also noticed a shift from the "close to home" focus toward "quality schools", which was more in sync with what the community was saying was important to them.

Taking the above into account, the EAC requested the following models undergo an in-depth analysis by the BPS technical team working with MIT & Harvard personnel: 

• the 23 zone model with paired zones, factoring in socioeconomic diversity; 
• the 6 zone model with assignment interventions to maximize equitable access to quality seats; 
• the no zone model with school pairings; 
• and the grouped-school model. 

The EAC requested an analysis from BPS similar to the analysis that Mr. Shi presented to the Committee during the October 27, 2012 meeting, which should include: 

• Equitable access to quality
• Diversity - socio economic diversity and race/cultural diversity
• Proximity to home
• Choice and predictability
• Transportation savings
• Racial diversity impact - both with current models and in accountability reporting in future
• Backwards assessment of impact on current neighborhoods as well as race, culture, and socioeconomic impacts.
• Analysis on students with disabilities and English Language Learners 

At the November 13, 2012 meeting BPS made some preliminary presentations on the requests by the EAC, but due to questions from the EAC members which highlighted issues with it, the modified 6-zone model was removed until BPS could analyze it in an "apples to apples" sort of way. Also, because MIT has the ability to use their super-computer programs (I do not know the exact name lol), the EAC asked for the models to be run through the software with the requirements above, which was agreed to by the MIT personnel in attendance.

On November 29, 2012, Mayor Menino announced an extension to the original deadline for the EAC which states:

Mayor Thomas M. Menino's External Advisory Committee on School Choice will continue its work through January as it creates an improved student assignment system for the city's children and families. The Mayor's decision supports Superintendent Carol R. Johnson's recommendation that her technical team work with Professor Parag Pathak, director of the School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative (SEII) at MIT, and experts at Harvard's Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston.  Together, the team will conduct an in-depth analysis on zone-based and non-zone-based models to simulate how families would choose schools under a new system. The analysis is based on several years of assignment data and used to project choice patterns in the future.

The technical team will present analysis of models to the EAC in mid-January. After the models are presented, the EAC will continue its community process and make a final recommendation on a new school choice system to the Superintendent. 

With the extended timeline given to the EAC the implication was that due to the time it would take to produce the requested data and analysis, the EAC members and community at large would have more time to review the in-depth analysis of the proposals selected which continued to be modified by the EAC, as well as the "overlay" proposals by BPS for Middle School Pathways (MSP), Students with Disabilities (SWD) and English Language Learners (ELL). 

I was at the November 29th where the EAC requested further data and an in-depth analysis per above criteria of the assignment proposals utilizing previous enrollment data to predict how parents may choose schools under the selected models. I also attended subsequent meetings where discussion among the EAC members, with regard to a recommendation letter they are drafting, led to several of them agreeing that the in-depth analysis of the models may lead to them deciding NONE of the models they have narrowed the choices down to may work, so effectively they would need to reevaluate all of the proposals again. At least we knew that mid-January we would receive the models of the proposals generated through MIT and the in-depth analysis of same.


Over the past two months all of the models continued to be modified, so maybe these new models by BPS should not be as surprising as they are to us!  

On Monday, January 21, 2013, I received the weekly "BPS This Week" newsletter which included the following announcement:

External Advisory Committee on School Choice to receive 'best of the best' model options this week
After more than 50 community meetings, input from more than 4,000 voices, dozens of External Advisory Committee meetings and proposals from the community, the EAC is ready to examine the "best of the best" ideas for an improved school choice system. The BPS technical team will present updated model options at the EAC meeting Wednesday night.
The models were created in an attempt to emphasize equitable access to quality schools, increase predictability for families and offer great choices closer to home when compared to the current three-zone system, which has been in place for nearly 25 years. You can keep track of our progress and get involved by visitingbostonschoolchoice.org. Also, please join the EAC for a community meeting Monday, February 4 at 6:00pm at Orchard Gardens K-8 School, 906 Albany St., Roxbury.

I and other community members were glad to hear that there would not be another delay in finally seeing the anticipated in-depth analysis and seeing the projection maps of the selected proposals. 

Much to our surprise, many of us received the news Tuesday morning that BPS would "unveil three revised student-assignment proposals Tuesday that would allow more children to attend schools closer to their homes, as an advisory committee prepares to make a final recommendation in the coming weeks."  

Don't get me wrong, on some level we realized that the projection maps may be a bit different and lead to further tweaking of the selected proposals, but most of us truly did not foresee this amount of difference in what would be presented and what was expected. In effect, though I can see pieces of the proposals the EAC had selected within these latest models, they are really brand new to the general public.

Which leads to the following questions:

Was the EAC aware of this level of change by BPS to their selected proposals?
    I suspect the members were aware on some level.

Will we still receive true in-depth analysis at this Wednesday's meeting of these new proposals utilizing all of the criteria outlined by the EAC?

Will we still receive clear data regarding our most vulnerable populations (SWD and ELL students) and how the assignment changes will impact them?

Did BPS present these models to the EAC members prior to unveiling them for all of us?
   Historically this has not been the case, so I would guess not.

How do the EAC members feel about these new proposals?
    We will find out tomorrow evening for sure!

As the three proposals BPS unveiled Tuesday are basically new to everyone, will the EAC push for more meetings to truly assess the response of more voices in Boston? 
    I hope they do as it may help to quiet the rumblings of the community that they are being pressured to accept one of the proposals and present to the Superintendent within the next month!
    So far there is only one meeting scheduled for community feedback, questions and input - on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 6:00pm at Orchard Gardens K-8 school (back to where it all began!). I did ask one of the EAC members if they have considered also holding a meeting on a Saturday, in the early afternoon, to allow for more feedback and she let me know she had passed on my suggestion and would bring it up at Wednesday's meeting. 

Pursuant to the above, I have to ask: is the EAC being pressured to complete this within the next month or two? 

I admire the amount of time and dedication each of the EAC members have put into this entire process so I am hopeful that they are not being pressured by a political or assignment round deadline (2014-15 registration) in addition to the exhaustion they MUST feel! I also agree that BPS NEEDS a new assignment plan and want to help accomplish this goal. 

We absolutely need deadlines and without them would not be where we are currently, but I believe we may need to allow the EAC, community and the Boston School Committee until April or May to finalize this process.  

Mayor Menino, I have known you since I was 16 when you approached my youth group to help you create a teen center in Hyde Park, since then as a neighbor, working with you as Chair of the BPS SNPAC & as an advocate for public education, so I know that you have always had high standards for our students just as I and other Boston parents have. 

Now Mayor Menino, I am coming to you and my plea to you as my education Mayor is this: 

Even if it means delaying implementation of a new assignment plan by one year, please allow all of us the time to ensure that the proposal which is chosen will truly give our students equitable access to the highest quality education we can provide for them.   

The race for quality has no finish line!

0 Boston School Choice Meetings Leave Families Frustrated

Families and community members are feeling unheard by Boston Public Schools and City officials because the Boston School Choice meetings are not having open question and answer sessions. Unfortunately, per my review of every "invitation", BPS never promised question and answer sessions at any time when asking for feedback. 

Careful reading of the different invitations made by BPS asking for the community to provide feedback regarding the School Choice Proposals shows that BPS asked for "feedback" and "your thoughts", but never stated that question and answer sessions would take place.

From the Home page of Bostonschoolchoice.org:

Beginning Thursday, September 27 BPS will ask residents for feedback on each of the proposals during a month-long series of community meetings (the full list can be found online at www.bostonschoolchoice.org). The feedback gathered will help shape the final proposal that is put forward. In November the EAC will vote on a final recommendation to send to Superintendent Johnson. Dr. Johnson will then review the recommendation and submit a final proposal to the school committee, which will vote on a final plan in December. The new student assignment system would go into effect during the 2014-2015 school year. School selection for the 2013-2014 school year will occur using the current assignment system. Student assignment to high schools would not change under any of the new proposals.

Building Better Options Together community meetings BPS has share* several options for a new school choice system. You can explore them and take an on-line survey on this website throughout October. We also hope you will also* attend a community meeting to learn more and share your thoughts.

Based on your feedback and input from the External Advisory Committee, BPS will update the proposals in October and November and share them with the public. Then, the EAC will make a recommendation to the Superintendent, who will bring a proposal to the Boston School Committee in December. The School Committee will then hold additional public hearings before voting on a new plan this winter. http://bostonschoolchoice.org/

KK Note: **DO NOT even get my started on the fact that the above was written and is posted on a school district website with the noted spelling and grammatical errors! Spell check anyone?

From the "Get Involved" page on Bostonschoolchoice.org website:

We want to hear from you! More than 2,300 parents, students and community members have already shared their thoughts in meetings across the city and online. That’s nearly three times more people than in 2004, the last time we had a city-wide discussion about this issue.

Over the summer, BPS developed several options for school choice and we’d like to share them with you. Here are some ways for you to join the conversation:

• Visit a community meeting
• Visit an External Advisory Committee meeting
• Take our on-line survey
• Share your proposals and analysis with us
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Send us an email

Upcoming Meetings

The External Advisory Committee hosted community meetings to talk about their work so far, including presentations on data, community engagement, and school quality.

KK Note: The underlined above clearly shows the intent of the meetings to be for BPS to do most of the talking at any meeting.

From the "Explore the Proposals" page on Bostonschoolchoice.org:

Take the online survey Click here for an online survey you can use to let us know what you think. This survey covers the same topics we’ll be discussing in our community meetings. This survey will be available throughout the month of October. (also available in Español, Kreyól with other languages coming Wednesday and Thursday)

You can also send us feedback at choice@bostonpublicschools.org.

KK Note: I do give BPS credit for the above directed email address as often people are not sure to whom they should submit feedback.

On March 10th, the format of how the meetings would be conducted was explained, with the reasoning for it, by Mary Ann Crayton, BPS Director of Community Engagement, and Fernando Menéndez of the Cordoba Group (contracted by Boston Public Schools to help facilitate the process) prior to the end of the large group presentation. If you want to know exactly how it was explained, please be sure to watch the March 10th video starting at 51.03 (Mary Ann Crayton overview) or 54.18 (Fernando Menéndez explanation of reasoning and exact format). 

It is understandable that people are frustrated by this process, but the format of the meetings, starting with the first one on March 10th which I dragged myself to (getting up early on a Saturday, my one day to sleep in!) has consistently been pretty similar to what we are seeing now:

1. Presentation by BPS and/or EAC;
2. Break-out into medium sized groups;
3. Once in the medium sized groups, break-out into even smaller groups to discuss the presentations, share thoughts on questions asked by BPS and ask questions that the group had;
4. Choose main ideas, comments, questions to be shared with other groups; 
5. Come back together into the medium group setting; and,
6. Share your particular groups' feedback with the entire medium break-out group you are part of.
7. MAYBE a brief "thanks for coming and sharing" get together in the original room at the very end.

Video of March 10, 2012 Student Assignment meeting presentations and explanation of format of sessions available for your review. 

At the March 10th meeting, the medium-groups did come back together into the large group setting for a brief "last thoughts" and thank-yous only from BPS and that was the end of the day.

As you can clearly see in the video from March 10th, the School Assignment meetings were not nearly as well-attended as the current round of meetings now taking place to discuss the proposals that were unveiled. The low attendance rate for the initial meetings is unfortunate and may explain some of the frustration people are feeling now as they are not familiar with the format and it is not being clearly explained. Because the initial round of meetings did not have the packed cafeterias, auditoriums, etc that we are now seeing, the format was pretty much accepted by those who attended. 

The reasoning behind the break-out format: that this ensures the best chance for each individual person to be heard by the EAC and BPS, still, to me, seems reasonable. Of course, I have also been pushing BPS for 20 years to ensure EVERY voice is heard, so take my opinion for what it is worth to you. However, though I believe the arguments are valid for the format choice, I also understand the feeling that this is a way to keep people out of the loop. I do believe there should be much more transparency for these meetings. 

I offer the following suggestions to BPS and Mayor Menino for making this process more transparent:

• Post a detailed explanation on the Bostonschoolchoice.org website clearly outlining the format of the meetings and explaining that when BPS states "questions will be taken" and "we want to hear from you", for these meetings, that will be accomplished through the smaller group format.
• Every meeting, inclusive of the small-group breakout sessions, EAC and school committee meetings, should be videotaped and immediately posted to the website within 24 hours.  
• A transcript of all of the meetings should be provided on the website. 
• All data from the meetings: surveys, work-sheets and anything else utilized for feedback should also be made available on the website.
• If possible, all meetings should also be streamed live online.

In addition to potentially quelling some of the frustration families are feeling with this process, all of the above would also make this information accessible to the many families who cannot attend a meeting due to time-constraints, other commitments or even a disability related issue. 

Again, I realize the above suggestions mean a huge commitment on the part of BPS and the city to make happen. I can only imagine the logistical horror my suggestions (both here and regarding marketing) have inspired within Court Street and city hall (if they have read them). I believe that despite the logistical nightmare this inspires for personnel, this could help the process move forward more smoothly - though I still strongly urge that it be slowed down.

At the beginning of this article I stated that there seems to be a lot of anger regarding the format of the meetings. I responded to one such post on an email thread with the following and am providing it here also:

The format of these meetings is typical for BPS, especially with large crowds. BPS should specify that when they say "questions will be taken" they mean they can be asked and, potentially if the answer is available, answered in the small group break-outs. I understand the frustration of not being able to hear what everyone is asking/suggesting, I sometimes feel the same way, but with over 160+ people or more at each meeting it makes more sense to break into smaller groups and answer questions/ask for input. 

The frustration we are now seeing is because, unlike the initial community meetings which did NOT have the same number of attendees and therefor was more manageable, the smaller groups are not coming back into the main area and making public the questions, issues, suggestions the way they did at the earlier meetings. BPS needs to go back to this format.

I urge BPS, Mayor Menino and all of our elected officials to utilize my suggestions to make this school choice process more transparent and accessible to all concerned parties.