Seattle union advances student learning, improves teaching, and makes schools better

Today’s education reform climate seems to focus on a misguided narrative of unions as obstructionists and educators as villains. It’s a one-sided perspective pushed by so-called reformers who tout legislation that divides, while handcuffing students and educators to poorly crafted policies that promote sanctions, rather than solutions.

This climate ignores how teachers, support staff, and their unions are leading successful reform efforts all across the country. These efforts have significantly raised student performance, increased attendance and graduation rates, and elevated the teaching profession.

Leading the way in school reform are 3 million men and women of the National Education Association (NEA) who work to unite all stakeholders—students, administrators, policymakers, parents, communities—in a collaborative mission to fulfill the promise of public education.

Take the Seattle Education Association (SEA). They’re a prime example of educators taking responsibility for what good teaching and the profession look like.

“I realized we were getting hammered by the message that ‘all we do is protect bad teachers and try to get more money for our members,’” said Jonathan Knapp, president of SEA. “I felt it was important to put a foot forward and show that we are interested in the profession and as being advocates for high quality public education.”

It was more than one foot forward. It was several steps of union-led, teacher-driven, and student-centered reform efforts that have positioned SEA as a key player in advancing student learning, improving teaching, and making schools better.

Here’s how they did it:

National Board Certified Teachers

Washington State has more than 5,000 educators who have earned National Board Certification, which is a rigorous teaching credential that compliments a state’s teacher license. Called National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs), these educators are recognized as being among the most highly effective in the profession.

The completion rate for educators who try to become NBCTs on their own is abysmally low, says Knapp. However, with the Evergreen State having the fourth largest group of NBCTs in the nation, SEA used this as an opportunity to provide group support to board certified candidates by teaming them with board certified facilitators, who are also NBCTs.

In Seattle, the union tapped members who were trained facilitators to offer candidates extra support.

Elizabeth Hensley, 2nd grade teacher at John Hay Elementary School, provides group support to NBCT candidates.

Elizabeth Hensley is a 2nd grade teacher at John Hay Elementary School who facilitates a group of 7 teachers. Hensley meets with candidates once a month to review portfolio direction and standards. She also evaluates videos of candidates teaching and reviews their writing. Hensley also engages with the group throughout the week, providing constant feedback.

“Sometimes candidates are so overwhelmed they put their work aside. I try to work with them to get them to finish the goal they set out for themselves,” said Hensley, who became a facilitator after receiving similar support from mentors she had worked with during her candidacy. Hensley said that going through the board certified process is challenging and emotionally exhausting. But it’s a process that pushes a candidate’s teaching practice to the next level, which has a positive impact on student learning.

Four groups of no more than nine candidates are being provided cohort support this year. This service comes to members at a lower price from what area universities charge, too.

“This is a union-run program. We have enough certified facilitators in our ranks that we can hire our own folk and provide this service to our members,” said Knapp, explaining that the completion rate is much better for people who work in groups and who are supported by trained facilitators experienced in the board certified process.

Contract bargaining with a twist

Unions do bargain on behalf of the employee. But they can negotiate for better learning environments for students, too. Such was the case with Seattle’s “Creative Schools Approach,” which was born out of contract bargaining in 2010.

The union and the Seattle Public Schools (SPS) agreed there were problems with student achievement gaps. How to close those gaps was where tensions rose. The district was pushing merit pay, ending teacher seniority, and evaluating teachers directly by student test scores. The union had other ideas.

“The previous superintendent had [certain] views about how to move student achievement,” said Knapp. “We said, ‘No, that’s not going to do it.’”

SEA urged the district to give more independence to school staff so they could shape their teaching environment and address the needs of their students. Ideas that were discussed included varied class period length, Saturday school, specialized curriculum models, intensive partnerships with community organizations, parent groups, and alternative assessment tools instead of the district-mandated tests.

The school district eventually agreed, and, together, they developed the “Creative Schools Approach” to closing student achievement gaps.

Schools with innovative new design proposals needed to show their ideas, metrics, and research justification. An early requirement for schools submitting applications was to show at least 80 percent buy-in from educators, as well as substantial parent participation and community engagement.

The school district and union received 14 applications this year; six were selected by a district-union oversight committee to start next fall. These schools will operate under the “Creative Schools Approach” model for three years, with the option to renew if performance goals are met.

Hawthorne Elementary School is one of the schools that received a Creative Schools Approach designation.

Kirby B. Green, a fourth grade teacher at Hawthorne, explained that the school was looking for more ways to be successful, but still teach to standards and to what students need to learn.

Fourth grade teacher Kirby B. Green is already working with the new STEAM curriculum. His students’ project: a hover board!

“This was an opportunity to do something different,” said Green. “I have kids whose talents don’t come through standardized tests. But they are talented kids and smart kids,” adding that educators now have an opportunity to teach a curriculum that is relevant and that matters.

A new curriculum based on math and science, but with a splash of art, will be introduced this fall. Called STEAM for science, technology, engineering, art, and math, this curriculum will infuse art into core subject areas.

Hawthorne’s performing arts specialist is excited about STEAM. Eve A. Hammond says, “It’s looking at things in a different way. It’s project-based learning and it’s integrated. It doesn’t feel so separate anymore [because] we’re going toward the whole child approach and we’re trying to educate students from all angles.”

Teacher evaluation

While SEA’s negotiating team was bargaining for the flexibility to create innovative schools it was also negotiating a new teacher evaluation system. A new state law had indicated that Seattle would move from a two-sided evaluation system of satisfactory and unsatisfactory to a four-level scale of unsatisfactory, basic, proficient, and innovative.

A taskforce of SEA leaders and school district staff had been previously working toward a more sophisticated evaluation system, using the Charlotte Danielson Framework for teaching.

The Danielson framework is a research-based evaluation system that is highly regarded in the education community. Despite this, the school superintendent at the time wanted to chain teacher evaluation and pay to student test scores.

It was another contentious moment between the union and school district, but in the end, they agreed to create a student growth rating that was would be informative for teaching and learning, not punitive.

Knapp explained that test scores could be linked to teacher evaluation, but it would not be an evaluative criterion. Scores would be used as a marker to identify students who need extra support or determine if additional conversation is needed between the teacher and the evaluator or additional observations by the evaluator to try to identify why the scores were low.

Standing on a foundation of research and collaboration helped SEA build a more effective evaluation system.

Teacher Residency

Jenny Dew (in stripes) and other teacher participants listen to Elham Kazemi (center), associate dean for Professional Learning, UW College of Education. The group is part of the Seattle Teacher Residency program. Photo by Dale Folkerts Copyright (c) Washington Education Association (c) WEA

It’s no secret that the NEA doesn’t agree with fast-track teacher certification programs, such as Teach for America, which provides five weeks of training to college graduates—typically to graduates who didn’t major in education. These recruits are placed in high-poverty schools and are required to commit to two years of teaching.

NEA has maintained that highly effective educators need to be in classrooms with students who are most in need. And they need to be committed to the profession for more than two years. SEA is of the same ilk.

The union worked with the school district, the University of Washington (UW) College of Education, and the Alliance for Education to create an apprentice program to recruit highly skilled teachers for high-poverty schools.

The Seattle Teacher Residency (STR) program provides more support for beginning educators than other flash-in-the-pan programs by combining classroom preparation with aligned, graduate level courses. This residency goes beyond creating a patchwork of existing programs that are then labeled with a “new” name, says one member of the residency design team.

“We decided from the very beginning [that] everything needs to be discussable, everything needs to be laid on the table, and we actually need to create something that’s new that takes advantage of what we all have to offer,” said Ken Zeichner, Boeing professor of Teacher Education, Director of Teacher Education for UW, College of Education.

Zeichner explained the residency program is a collaborative design that provides access to the expertise of schools, universities, and local communities in a way that traditional models don’t. He calls it a hybrid space, where knowledge from the entire school community comes together despite disagreements.

“It’s the quality of the program that’s important, and the quality in negotiation and discussion. People are listening to one another and really trying to transcend their own self-interest,” Zeichner said. Zeichner is clear: He does not support residencies that are connected to closing down schools, dumbing down the curriculum, disempowering local communities, and using entrepreneurial solutions to solve the problems of K-12 and teacher education. Neither does NEA.

Residents will get student-teaching experience in Seattle public schools and mentoring from master teachers for a full year. The program’s goals include closing student achievement gaps through the training, support and retention of effective teachers and contributing to helping the teaching force in SPS become more representative of the diversity in the student population in the district.

Twenty-five residents will be selected to begin graduate courses this summer. They will be matched with a mentor and start in a Seattle public school come fall 2013-2014.

Finland Education Conference

Jonathan Knapp, president of the Seattle Education Association. Photo by Dale Folkerts. Copyright (c) Washington Education Association (c) WEA.

Knapp covets the day when public education becomes more than just a utilitarian function of providing workers for America’s corporations. “I want to move the conversation back to the whole child of education, which has been lost to test scores and basic skills acquisition,” he said.

Seattle is one of the few cities across the country that is known for moving the dial forward. This is why SEA partnered with the Economic Opportunity Institute, UW College of Education, and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create the “Finland Education Conference.”

Conference organizers invited educators, activists, scholars, foundations, and reformers—specifically those who often seem to disagree on education reform policies—to learn about and discuss successes in the Finnish and Washington State educational systems.

There to start the conversation was Dr. Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish director in the Ministry of Education. He helped broaden the conversation from test-based accountability and basic skills acquisition to a conversation on equity.

“To me, that’s the lessons in Pasi’s work: You don’t get to education excellence by testing, testing, testing,” said Knapp. “He really is very adept to showing the pathway that Finland took to get to education excellence and it’s through an abiding concern for issues of equity first—that’s how you enhance student performance.”

SEA is one example of local unions leading major education reform efforts. “We really do have the expertise in our ranks,” said Knapp, referring to educators knowing best what their students need. “But no one asks teachers, ‘how should we do this?’ Educators have great ideas. Let’s have a pathway to have these ideas come to fruition.”

Workshops, Discussions to Spotlight Successful Reforms

WASHINGTON—More than 250 of the nation’s top educators, policymakers and experts are expected at the April 12-13 National Forum on School Improvement to explore and consolidate evidence of what works to ensure student success.

The conference, organized by the HOPE Foundation, will feature keynote remarks by the leaders of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. Discussions throughout the workshops and main sessions will spotlight reforms showing success in improving student achievement and public schools. The participants will be referring to a consensus statement titled “Imperatives for Improving U.S. Education” that stresses shared responsibility, continuous growth and professional development opportunities for teachers, successful teaching and learning conditions, and engaged communities.

Highlights include an April 13 panel featuring NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and AFT Executive Vice President Francine Lawrence. The Saturday panel will be held from 1:50 p.m. to 3 p.m.

WHAT: National Forum on School Improvement

Panel/workshop topics center on creating high-performing school cultures, ensuring excellent instruction systemwide and sustaining student successes.

WHEN: April 12-13, 2013

WHERE: Hilton Crystal City, Arlington, Va.

WHO: The NEA’s Van Roekel, the AFT’s Lawrence, HOPE’s Alan Blankstein, and more than 25 other presenters and panelists, including from the U.S. Department of Education, the Providence Teachers Union, the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and Boston College’s Lynch School of Education.

The conference’s agenda can be found at: http://www.hopefoundationevents.org/agenda/.

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Contact: Staci Maiers, smaiers@nea.org (202) 822-7823; Janet Bass, jbass@aft.org (202) 879-4554

In 2010, the NEA launched an effort to get America’s struggling schools closer to the Association’s vision of great public schools. Called Priority Schools, the initiative targets organizational resources to schools that need extra support and attention.

Simultaneously, the U.S. Department of Education began to fully fund the School Improvement Grant (SIG) to help schools meet high-academic standards. SIG delivered billions of dollars to 5 percent of the lowest-performing schools across the country.

NEA seized on this opportunity to leverage NEA resources as a complement to these grants.

The first round of SIG funding is now in its last year. Looking back, what’s been learned through this combined effort? More important, what will happen once the funding ends?

NEA Priority Schools

First a disclaimer: NEA shuns labels like “failing,” when referencing schools that serve large numbers of high-needs students. Instead, the schools are called priority schools.

Working with state and local affiliates to identify nearly 40 schools across 17 states, NEA partnered with a broad group to co-create support plans for priority schools.

Each plan was different, and the extra resources and attention offered by NEA included three goals. The first was to support and advocate for priority schools as they implemented SIG by including professional development, school visits, and local advocacy on behalf of schools. The next goal was to build organizational capacity by improving teachers’ and school leaders’ leadership skills, and increasing collaboration among the superintendent, the district, and the leadership of the local union. And the final goal was to make improvements in engagement and outreach to better involve the community and successfully communicate the successes of each school undergoing transformation.

Collaboration Makes a Difference

With this framework, NEA provided intense professional development trainings on teacher leadership, classroom management, and cultural competency. To continue building a legion of highly effective educators throughout local school districts, NEA trained cohorts of educators in the same areas of focus. But that was only the first step. Collaboration came next.

Training was extended to local association leaders, district superintendents, and school principals. For example, many of the sites received district and association strategic planning support around Response to Intervention (RTI), which starts with high-quality instruction and screening of all students in the classroom. The result: Struggling learners receive interventions at high levels of intensity to accelerate their rate of comprehension.

NEA also focused on creating Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and association representatives worked with educators and school leaders to create a structure of collaboration, especially around data teams and RTI. PLCs helped staff work together to identify problems, develop strategies, and adjust instruction. This type of collaboration targets instruction and helps increase student achievement.

The NEA PS initiative also leveraged relationships to connect schools with other organizations that could help increase community engagement. One such relationship was with the Parent-Teacher Home-Visit Project, which trains teachers and support staff to make home visits to families, building relationships along the way and fostering parent-teacher collaboration to improve academic achievement.

Ardent Watson, president of the Marysville Education Association in Washington. Photo: Ellen Banner

“We needed someone to push our thinking, and help us know what else is available because there really is a large amount of work to do in a short number of years,” says Arden

Watson, president of the Marysville Education Association (MEA) in Washington State. “It’s more than any principal can do on their own; it’s more than any district can really grasp. It was good to have that body to keep us going,” she says, referring to support from NEA.

School Improvement Grants

The U.S. Department of Education provided funds to qualifying states to take on major reform efforts that noticeably transform the school culture and increase student achievement. The first round of SIG funds brought more than $4 billion to priority schools across the country.

Schools that received SIG funds were required to choose one of four intervention models: 1) school closure, shut the school down and send students to another school; 2) restart, close the school and reopen it as a charter; 3) turnaround, fire 50 percent of current staff and the principal; and 4) transformation, which didn’t exist prior to intervention from NEA and the American Federation of Teachers.

The two unions effectively advocated for the inclusion of the fourth model, designed to replace the principal and take steps to increase teacher and school leadership effectiveness; institute comprehensive instructional reform; increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; and provide operational flexibility and sustained support.

Though this model may not be perfect, it does include research-based elements that NEA believes are critical to the success of public schools and lead to permanent systemic change.

During a National Conference hosted by NEA in 2009, the U.S. Department of Education reported that the transformation and turnaround models have been adopted most widely.

SIG + NEA Priority Schools = Results

Priority schools have served as a testing ground for what’s effective in education reform. Though it’s still too early to tell, strong indicators suggest reform policies that have produced the most success have been less prescriptive and more collaborative. Placing an emphasis on collaboration means that teachers, support staff, administrators, unions, elected leaders, businesses and parents work together to provide students with the right combination of educational programs and support needed to succeed in school and in life.

Priority schools also show that while there’s no silver bullet for transforming schools, educators and school leaders are relying more on strong, sustainable structures, such as collaboration, data, increased skills, increased expectations, changes in beliefs and disposition, development of meaningful partnerships and wraparound services, and increased parental engagement.

The overall education reform efforts within priority schools show that many high schools have increased the number of students graduating and earning scholarships. A great number of middle and high schools have increased the number of higher-level courses and have increased the number of students passing those courses. Many schools have increased grade-level performance in literacy and math. More schools are reporting large drops in behavior. And many schools have reported less teacher turnover and student attrition.

Although many of the schools share similar characteristics and have experienced similar gains, no two schools are alike.

For example, Totem Middle School, in Marysville, Wash., followed the transformation model and used its federal dollars to increase professional development, adding an extra 45 minutes per day to personal-planning time. Staff also extended student-learning time by 30 minutes. In three years, this winning combination boosted the number of 8th-grade students in Algebra I from 12 to nearly 100 percent!

Some education reform groups tend to push a one-sided agenda, often saying educators fear standardized tests because they don’t want to be held accountable. That’s not true. The key word is “standardized.” At Oak Hill, where the turnaround model was followed, staff regularly incorporated data to inform practice, instruction, and learning.

“I use data for absolutely everything. Our frequent use of common assessments allows us to have constant data, telling us our strengths and weaknesses as teachers and giving us insight as to where our students are on the learning spectrum,” says 3rd-grade teacher Stacy Brady.“It is amazing what a difference data has made in my life as a teacher.”

Ashton Clemmons, principal of Oak Hill Elementary School in High Point, N.C., credits much of the school’s success to its educators and community members.

School reform is more than just numbers. Community engagement is just as important. Support from community organizations, churches, local businesses, and especially parents has contributed to Oak Hill’s success, says Ashton Clemmons, the school’s principal, “We’ve seen a lot of non-academic gains, discipline has dramatically improved, homework is done on time, and tardies have decreased.”

Creating a safe environment for teaching and learning was another important factor, as illustrated at Dayton, Ohio’s Belmont High School, where the transformation model was followed. Functioning as a unit, staff worked to create stability in the school day, and the effort yielded dramatic results: In one year, fights decreased from 143 to 17. Assaults shrank 83 to ten; and arrests fell from 58 to one.

“There have been times I have walked through the hallways in the past two years and hear no sound. I actually have to stop and think, ‘Is this a school day? Where are the

Belmont High School in Dayton,Ohio was known for its unruliness. But Robin Thompson, data technician, now sees a different school after school leaders created a safe environment for teaching and learning.

students?’ Because they’re not in the halls,” said Robin Thompson, a data technician. “They’re in the classrooms where they are supposed to be. The teachers can teach now, and they can teach with their doors open.”

Growth is often measured by metrics. But other gains come in the form of “ah-ha” moments. Keith Gambill, president of Indiana’s Evansville Teachers Association, says that a change in thinking has been one of the gains in his city.

Years past, “the standard practice was: You were handed a class list, you were handed your district curriculum guide, the text book and told, ‘take the keys to your classroom; we’ll see you at Christmas,’” says Gambill, adding that it now takes some critical thinking and self-examination to really assess what educators are doing and why they’re doing it.

“The shift from ‘What did you teach?’ to ‘What did the children learn?’ changes the whole focus of how you approach your work,” Gambill says, explaining that the shift can be difficult when educators are already working under the extreme pressures of teaching to the test, budget cuts, state takeovers, school closures, or being fired.

Sustaining Progress

While NEA was on the ground supporting local efforts, it was also capturing the experiences of members who are striving to find new, better ways of improving public education through real, replicable, and modern education reform policies.

NEA made several observations along the way, but the two most salient points are these: The improvement that was made on different measures illustrates that every school is unique with a unique student population, and the strongest, most sustainable school change model must be locally developed and informed.

A growing chorus of educators and school leaders say education reform can’t happen in three years and it can’t be created by outside groups. It can happen by building strong partnerships locally to support sustainable reform efforts.

“When you’re talking about generations of under achievement, about overcoming a community whose great grandparents were forced into boarding schools, where language and culture are lost, it’s not as simple as following a formula; it’s more complicated than that,” said Watson, who represents nearly 700 educators in the Marysville School District, which sits within the Tulalip Indian Reservation.

“But three years is enough time to build a foundation to allow for sustainability,” she said.

Through a partnership with the Tulalip Tribe, the NEA PS effort will maintain its momentum in the Marysville School District, helping to maintain extended-learning time for students and collaboration time for educators. Educators who received professional development training in specific areas will now transfer their knowledge to other schools across the district.

Sustainability is being addressed in Indiana’s Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation through the creation of Transformation Zones. These zones will build off the SIG and NEA PS structure, and will provide differentiated support and resources to sustain priority schools.

Gambill explained that these zones are not just about acknowledging the struggles that exist within the school district. It’s about giving educators the power to do something about it, instead of stepping off to one side and letting an outside group fix their schools.

And in High Point, N.C., the conversation centers on prioritizing resources to sustain student success at Oak Hill, such as community engagement and collaboration time for educators. School leaders at Oak Hill are still working to identify support for some its sustainability efforts, but the school community remains encouraged.

The end of SIG doesn’t mean the work stops for priority schools. Rather, the work has just begun. The U.S. Department of Education is continuing to do its part, too. To date, 21 states will receive funding to turn their schools around. Four of these—Iowa, Ohio, Utah, and Oklahoma— house priority schools and may be eligible for another round of SIG funds. NEA will remain at the helm of change, tenaciously advocating for a world-class system of public education for every student.

Somerville Teachers Association President Jackie Lawrence visited the Winter Hill Innovation school, where she spent time in a classroom with Principal Chad Mazza. Photo by Laura Barrett

By Laura Barrett, Massachusetts Teachers Association

Amanda Bell, a teacher at the Winter Hill Innovation School in Somerville, said staff members had to decide quickly if they wanted to convert to a new educational model.

“Prior to Tony coming to us,” she said, referring to Superintendent Anthony Pierantozzi, “I don’t think any of us had heard of Innovation Schools. It was quite interesting at our first meeting hearing he wanted us to do it and if we agreed then we had to make a decision very quickly because there was a grant available.

“We all came together and realized we have a great school,” Bell continued. “We know what we’re doing. We have fantastic people here and we know what works. So it was sort of like, ‘Aha, here’s a chance to get to do what we want to do.’”

Add to the mix that a new principal, Chad Mazza, had just been hired as implementation was beginning.

“I jumped on a moving cart,” said Mazza. “This is a unique staff,” he added. “I could see right from the start that they work well together. I could tell this could work at this school.”

Mary McGivern, an inclusion specialist, said the school is filled with strong and open-minded educators. “There were a lot of innovative things happening here already, but some of them were in their infancy and had not been realized to their full potential,” she said.

“This was an opportunity to put innovation on steroids,” added Jackie Lawrence, president of the Somerville Teachers Association.

Teachers interviewed by MTA Today agreed that putting a plan together quickly is not ideal. To slow it down a little, they are implementing the changes in phases. As part of the planning, it was important for parents to be in the mix.

Bell explained, “We had a meeting with parents to ask, ‘If you could have anything at your school, what would you want to see?’”

The teachers also put up a “parking lot” chart on which staff members could post their ideas, questions and concerns. Several priorities emerged, and plans were put together by the governing board. Each component was voted on by the staff, with nearly unanimous approval for the final plan.

One change seeks to improve students’ “social competency” through adopting the Responsive Classroom approach, a program that involves the whole staff in promoting appropriate social interactions.

Bell allowed a visitor to spend time in her classroom of third- and fourth-graders during “morning meeting,” a daily feature of the Responsive Classroom. On that December day, students took turns being in the center of a circle and everyone was told to observe them. The chosen student then hid and made a change in his or her appearance. One boy put his shoes on the wrong feet. Nine-year-old Shellby Duval removed the hair tie that had been around her wrist and was pleased that no one could identify what had changed.

Shellby said she loves morning meetings. “We have fun and play little games and tell our friends what we did over the weekends and things like that,” she said.

In this particular exercise, the students were also honing their observation skills and modeling taking turns. Morning meeting is also a time the teacher can observe whether a student seems troubled and may need some extra attention.

“It’s important for students to build social skills so they can interact well with each other and the staff,” Bell said. “Self-regulation is so important.”

The innovation plan also calls for more common planning time — carved out of the existing schedule — and staff-driven professional development. The school is also introducing a therapy dog program for special needs students.

Winter Hill is typical of an urban school. Among its students, 84 percent are low-income, three quarters
are of color, 20 percent are English language learners and 27 percent have special needs. MCAS scores are below the state average.

The school also houses a large Sheltered English Immersion program that draws students from across the district. Although this program no doubt affects the school’s MCAS scores, Mazza urged the district to provide T passes to middle-schoolers who no longer qualify for busing so that they can remain at Winter Hill, where they have made significant progress.

In the end, the teachers agreed the Innovation School process is not just about raising test scores, though they hope that happens. Mostly, they want their school to be a welcoming community that addresses both the learning and social-emotional needs of their students. Lawrence, the local president, noted that Somerville has had a number of innovative programs for years. She believes this model is different.

“Somerville has always been innovative, but the innovation has not always been teacher-owned,” she said. “When this process is done right, it is teacher-owned. Teachers have a voice in every step of the process.”

NEA’s Priority Schools featured “Bringing Learning to Life: Service-learning for Educators at All Levels” during a webinar on March 4.

“Bringing Learning to Life” comes out of Columbus, Ohio and represents a unique partnership between the Columbus Education Association (CEA) and the Ohio State University’s (OSU) College of Education and Human Ecology. Together, and through the help of a $550,000 grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, they have implemented several successful service-learning projects.

This isn’t your typical service-learning design.

OSU offers graduate-level course work to K-12 educators on how to implement service-learning projects that help students see the relationship between their learning and real-world experiences. This blend has strengthened students’ engagement with school and their communities. CEA has played a key role in recruiting its members to participate in this project, as well as coordinate mini-grants for educators to buy needed supplies to make their projects possible.

To date, more than 70 educators have taken the OSU course, involving 2,700 students in service-learning projects, and partnering with more than 55 community organizations. In nearly three years, the work has touched 17,000 community residents.

The webinar provided insight from three Beechcroft High School students, their teacher, and the local education association on how service learning has affected their learning, teaching, and profession.

Beechcroft students Elijah Frazier, 9th grade; Mekiah Sharp, 9th grade; and Hailee Cannady, 12th grade, represented their school’s community garden project during the webinar. The garden features the first wheel chair accessible community flower and vegetable garden in the area.

Students expressed how they’ve increased their skillset in public speaking through their service-learning project. According to Frazier, service learning has allowed him to gain extra confidence in communicating with fellow classmates and adults.

“I’ve been able to gain experience in public speaking and getting through stage fright by building my communication skills,” said Frazier.

Service learning has changed attitudes, too.

“I used to see high school as a joke,” said Sharp, adding that her experience with service learning has changed her attitude toward high school because she’s now better able to communicate with peers and community members.

Students also shared recommendations with educators who are interested in starting their own service-learning projects. For example, Cannady expressed to participants to, “Think outside the box. Students want to help and be a part of service-learning projects.”

Tori Washington, Beechcroft High School English teacher, was one of 70 educators who took Ohio State University’s course on how to implement service-learning projects.

According to their English teacher, Tori Washington, students have inserted themselves in their service-learning projects in ways that make sense to them and what they might be interested in doing in the future. One of her students now wants to explore a career in public speaking.

“Trust your students. If you allow them to explore you’ll get the results you want,” said Washington, explaining that educators often don’t have the time to get to know their students because there are so many requirements and mandates. “This project gives me the opportunity to make decisions about the students in my classroom. To let them know they matter inside of this classroom.”

Washington went on to say that, “Current assessments don’t always give us the opportunity to see what students really know. The project and the ideas we have generated have provided a unique platform for assessment. I have the ability to see what students are learning in alternative ways.”

Rhonda Johnson, president of CEA, credits the success of “Bringing Service to Life” to multiple factors, such as the union partnering with higher learning institutions and collaborating with them on professional development. Other factors include, aligning community-service requirements with classroom learning; letting students analyze community needs and research which organization would be good partners; getting buy-in from the administration; and celebrating the work.

Celebrating the work and student success is important. Educators and their unions are often blamed for broken education systems when in reality they’re the solution.

Rhonda Johnson, president of CEA, credits the project’s success to educators.

“In Columbus we had a community event with students, teachers, parents, and the community organizations that partnered with

students,” said Johnson. “It was important for us to acknowledge each other and to show how public schools and our union can work for student success.”

Another critical factor to the project’s success: educators.

“This project represents the best of who we are as a union of accomplished professionals who truly make a difference in the lives of students – students who need to see their classroom learning is relevant to real life, who need to have a place of leadership to assume in this world, and whose horizons and sense of worth [are broadened by educators] so every student sees themselves as college or career bound.”

By Laura Barrett, Massachusetts Teachers Association

There is an ongoing debate in public education about the tension between choice and equity. Are Innovation Schools one way to strike a balance? MTA members and association leaders in some districts believe they are an exciting option, while others have their doubts.

As a way to foster school-based decision-making, innovation and choice within public school districts, Governor Deval Patrick included Innovation Schools in his Achievement Gap Act of 2010. Some argued that creating such schools would reduce pressure to lift the cap on Commonwealth Charter Schools.

Innovation Schools are similar to Horace Mann Charter Schools and to Boston’s Pilot Schools, though there are differences in implementation. Innovation Schools have more flexibility and autonomy than most district schools with regard to curriculum, staffing, budget, scheduling, professional development and district policies.

Staff members at these schools still belong to their local associations and are often very involved in the design and implementation of changes. Some plans require negotiating waivers to the union contract, while others do not.

Two Innovation Schools opened in the 2010-2011 school year and another 16 in 2011-2012. This year there are 44 Innovation Schools across the Commonwealth, and six more are under consideration for 2013-2014.

“Implementing these schools involves a lot of thought and discussion, and it has not always been easy,” said MTA President Paul Toner. “But after talking to members who work in Innovation Schools in several districts, I am convinced that if done in collaboration with teachers and their unions, this model gives our members more of a voice in school improvement and is leading to some exciting new education models.”

Bridget Rodriguez, a former teacher and principal in the Cambridge Public Schools, heads the Innovation Schools program for the state’s Executive Office of Education. She described why she is excited about the concept.

“As a former teacher, I remember when I used to drive home I would often think, ‘If only we could do things this other way,’” Rodriguez said. “Now teachers have a place they can go with their ideas. We think these schools can be an excellent demonstration of teacher professionalism and teacher-initiated reform. There’s no lack of good ideas. To me, teachers are the people who know the school population intimately and can custom-tailor solutions to the kids in front of them.”

Innovation School plans may be proposed by teachers, unions, district administrators, community residents or other interested parties. Applicants may seek a planning grant from the state. The local school committee must approve the plan before it can move forward, and the district oversees the school as it would any other district school. Innovation Schools are supposed to receive the same per-pupil allotment as other schools, although — like any school — they can apply for grant money.

Innovation Schools must develop Measurable Annual Goals, and local school committees are responsible for holding them accountable for meeting those goals. The state receives copies of their MAG progress reports and is in the process of analyzing results from the second full year that the schools were in operation.

There are two different models: conversion — that is, created by converting an existing school to a new program — and new. About one-third of the conversions take place in Level 3 schools — schools performing in the bottom 20 percent statewide — with the hope that the changes will improve performance and reduce the chance of the school falling into Level 4 status. Level 4 schools are selected from among low-performing Level 3 schools that show little or no improvement.

For new schools, the local association, the applicant and school committee must negotiate any waivers to the contract. Bargaining disputes are resolved through an expedited binding arbitration process. The arbitrator must consider the parties’ positions and the needs of the students in the district.

One concern has been the lack of a clear definition of the difference between the two models. New Bedford Education Association President Lou St. John objected to a plan for two Innovation Schools in his district in part because he believed they were really conversion schools that were being called new in order to get around the two-thirds-vote requirement. An MTA attorney wrote an opinion agreeing that the New Bedford models most closely resemble conversion schools, but state education officials disagreed. The issue has not yet been resolved.

St. John also questions whether it is really possible for Innovation Schools to offer substantially more services — such as art, music, physical education and smaller class sizes — for the district’s average per-pupil expenditure. If it is possible, he asked the school committee in testimony, “Why have you denied these same supports and services that we have been requesting all these years for all our kids and teachers?”

In Worcester, there were concerns about the voting process at Worcester Technical High School. Despite those concerns, Leonard Zalauskas, president of the Educational Association of Worcester, said that Innovation Schools can be “magic” when they work, giving teachers a chance to transform their own schools and generating excitement and creativity among the staff. Worcester has eight Innovation Schools, including a dual-language program, an accelerated magnet program and two that emphasize science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Rodriguez said the schools have adopted a variety of innovations. One uses a co-teaching model for special education inclusion, several focus on STEM subjects and a school in Salem has created a continuous-progress model in which students move up through the system when they have mastered the curriculum, not based on age or traditional grade levels.

Are they successful? Rodriguez said it is too early to say whether Innovation Schools outperform comparable schools on MCAS tests or other measures, but feedback from most teachers and administrators is positive. Few teachers or students typically transfer out when a school converts to the new model.

In Dennis-Yarmouth, three of the district’s seven schools are Innovation Schools, including the Marguerite E. Small School for fourth- and fifth-graders. There, teachers work on a staggered schedule to extend the school day by 50 minutes to provide students with an enrichment block. Students can choose from among 21 different semester-long opportunities, including programs in the arts, fitness, leadership, reading, math, writing, science and technology.

Erin Porter, president of the Dennis-Yarmouth Educators Association, said the program has worked well at that school because “the teachers were very involved in the planning and implementation from the start.”

The Marguerite E. Small School had already established a grant-funded after-school program before the Innovation model was available. The planning grant gave the staff time to figure out how to provide all students with enrichment during a longer school day without requiring teachers to work longer.

Porter said the model isn’t completely revenue-neutral since the district pays some of the teachers a stipend to stay longer for the enrichment block. “But they are getting a big bang for their buck,” she said. “The students and teachers are very happy with the new schedule.”

The experience in the district’s other two Innovation Schools that opened this year has been mixed, Porter said. Teachers are overwhelmed by so many other requirements — including the new evaluation system and Common Core curriculum alignment — that there is little time and energy left over for planning big changes. In addition, the district is in the process of reorganizing and closing one of its school buildings, which is likely to disrupt the implementation process.

“My advice to anyone considering this is not to rush in with major changes too quickly,” she said. “We tried to do too much too fast. If we’d had more planning and more teacher involvement from the beginning, it would have worked better.”

That said, Porter believes the new models are promising. Plans in her preK-3 school include a healthy-lunch program that incorporates local produce from a community garden and a farm-to-plate initiative, a beautification project for which students helped plant hundreds of daffodils and a community service program that involves students “harvesting” pennies on behalf of a charity they get to choose.

“Down here there are a lot of charter schools and school choice districts,” Porter said. “We know we have to do something that’s a little different to appeal to our customer base — the parents. The teachers are working very hard on this and are dedicated. It may be a little too quick, but I think we will succeed.”

Toner said he hopes that expansion of successful Innovation Schools will help convince legislators and the public that they do not have to lift the cap on charter schools to promote new ideas and choice in public education. Systems are already in place for Innovation Schools to share their ideas with other schools that want to replicate their practices. This is something charter schools were supposed to do but have rarely accomplished.

“I believe that MTA members can and should be the architects of reform and not the objects of it. We need to be the ones leading change with our students and communities,” Toner said. “When they are developed with educators, their unions and community members, Innovation Schools can be a very positive experience for teachers and students alike.”

Closing its achievement gaps between students by significant margins has earned Oak Hill North Carolina’s Title I School of the Year award by the state’s Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition program. This honor comes with a $32,500 award and national recognition at a conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Educators shared with conference goers the growth Oak Hill has experienced in the areas of data-based instruction, standards-based planning, school culture, and areas in need of continued growth. 

Over the past two years, Oak Hill has raised its composite score by nearly 25 percent. The composite number is determined by combining the results from third- fourth- and fifth-grade reading and math exams, plus fifth-grade science.

In math, Oak Hill increased its percentage points from 55 to 86; in reading that number jumped from 33 to nearly 50; and the science score escalated to 85 percentage points, surpassing the state average by ten points.

This accomplishment is no small feat for a school that was identified as one of the lowest-performing schools in the state just two years ago.

Student data was an important factor in improving the school’s academic performance. Using data in a more meaningful way allowed educators and staff to identify what was working for students and what wasn’t.

Stacy Brady, third-grade teacher at Oak Hill, was one of four presenters at this year’s conference. According to Brady, the use of data tells her everything she needs to know about her students. She says that having access to data on a regular basis lets her be reflective of her practice, allowing her to continually improve instruction and better serve students.

“I use data for absolutely everything. Our frequent use of common assessments allow us to have constant data, telling us our strengths and weaknesses as teachers and giving us insight as to where our students are on the learning spectrum,” said Brady. “It is amazing what a difference data has made in my life as a teacher.” 

But there’s more to school transformation than just statistical data. Community engagement was the impetus. The support from community clubs, churches, local businesses, and most of all, the increased support from the parents contributed to Oak Hill’s success.  

“Parents are in integral part of a child’s education.  I have no doubt in my mind that the increase in parent involvement has been one of the many reasons for the improvements at our school,” explained Brady. “I remember the first thing we did as a new staff was walk through the neighborhoods of our students, going door to door, welcoming families back to school.  This sparked the change that was needed.”

Specific programs were put in place to empower parents to take more of an active role in their child’s academic success. Brady said, “We have developed these relationships with parents because we all have the same goal in mind, which is to see children be academically successful.”

Brady concluded: “I have taught third grade in the same classroom the past four years and my parent conference attendance is at an all-time high.  We do not let transportation, language, or any other barriers stop us from communicating with our parents and that is what has made our parent involvement increase.”

Oak Hill has improved student performance, decreased disciplinary referrals, and strengthened community support – a winning combination that has transformed Oak Hill into a place of pride.

Meaningful partnerships are needed more than ever, as school funding across the country remains uncertain or is slashed to plug budget deficits. That’s why, the NEA Foundation and DonorsChoose.org teamed up to award several Priority Schools with hundreds of dollars in grant funding to create special learning-based projects. These projects range from math and reading centers to technology and art supplies.

Each school project was awarded with a matching grant of up to $500 worth in classroom materials and supplies.

The following schools and projects were awarded:

Kit Carson Elementary School (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Six projects funded, benefitting nearly 400 students

Reading Rocks – Cultivating a love of learning and reading requires engaging material, which is why funding for this project went toward the purchase of reading games, activities, and software. “With these reading games and activities, students will be enjoying friendly competition and learning at the same time,” said Honeylette Catapat.

Let’s Work Together! – To create more interaction between students during lessons and workshops, a tablet was needed to use with an interactive whiteboard. “Students can be at the board writing sentences or math problems while other students use the tablet to collaborate with them,” said Katherine Ferry.

Hey You! Get out of my Head! – Headphones were requested to help curve the noise level from dozens of hard working students. Flash drives were a part of this request, too! “Having headphones will allow students to focus on their own thoughts and creativity,” said Michelle Diaz, adding that the flash drives will help students become more responsible by letting them store their own work.

iPads, iPods, and Earbuds – Students needed ear-buds to use with iPods and iPads. “When [students] are engaged in math or reading activities, the noise level can be very distracting,” said Annette Allen. Now, “they will be able to better focus on their tasks at hand.”

All I want for Christmas is to Hear Myself Think – Busy thinkers make for noisy classrooms, which is why this class requested headphones and flash drives. “With these headphones my students will be able to maintain focus on their projects,” said Claudia Garcia, explaining that the flash drives will allow students to take work home or their local library.

Creating Lifelong Learners with the use of Learning Stations – Students needed math and reading materials to help meet the rigor and demand of core curriculum standards. Silvia Mendoza-Stout said, “We will be able to use math manipulatives to meet our math goals and we will be able to increase our library with books that can be used for independent practice and as a listening center.”

Oak Hill Elementary School (High Point, N.C.)
Three projects funded, benefitting nearly 500 students

Nonfiction Texts for Early Readers – Instilling the love of reading to early learners required having a variety of books to read, which is why this project focused on building its collection of nonfiction books. “My students will benefit from reading a variety of books,” said Wendy Haas. “We will learn facts about many topics and share with others what we learn.”

Puppet Theater for Learning – A large theatre was needed to help bring to life some of the best loved stories and songs of all time. Gwen Adamson said, “The puppet theatre is a unique and creative way to review all of my classroom guidance lessons, …[and] review all of our character education traits,” while supporting literacy.

Special Storage for Special Children – It’s not just learning how to put toys away; it’s learning how to categorize. This classroom needed a simple, clean, accessible way to display and store classroom toys. “The addition of this unique storage unit with individual cubbies and bins will allow toys to be stored and sorted by like items for easy access” said Anne Goodman, saying this helps students find toys quickly, reducing their frustration.

Totem Middle School (Marysville, Wash.)
One project funded, benefitting 60 students

Crispin: Engaging Historical Fiction – Having an engaging and well-crafted novel will give students the gift of finishing a great book, from cover to cover. “Crispin,” by Avi is that book for this group of students. “Many students lose interest when reading books independently, so I want to support their learning by reading a full-length book together,” said Kolleen Klann.

These high needs schools in Priority Schools communities were also part of this grant:

Hamilton Stem Academy (Columbus, Ohio)
One project funded, benefitting 20 students

Learning Letters Leads to Literacy – Students needed magnetic letters to practice letter identification and build upon word knowledge skills. “I work with words, letters and reading strategies to help unlock the mysteries of literacy, said Johari Mitchell. “Magnetic letters facilitate much of this work serving as models when students forget what a “b” is.”

Buckeye Middle School (Columbus, Ohio)
One project funded, benefitting 20 students

Learning Stations for the Middle School Spanish Classroom – A variety of classroom materials, from flip charts to DVD players, were needed to support an active, highly engaging classroom, where students are allowed to make choices and own their learning. “My choice of resources will be used to supplement the six learning stations that I am using to instruct my students,” said Dawn Rondot.

Beechcroft High School (Columbus, Ohio)
Two projects funded, benefitting more than 1,000 students

Good Seeds Community Garden: Learn, Connect, Grow – Connecting classroom instruction with real-world experiences required additional material, such as books, and lots of them! The purchase of books will replace photocopied handouts. “I want for my students to be able to hold the book in their hands, be able to turn the pages, and to be able to experience every dimension of reading a good book,” said Tori Washington.

Find Your Voice – Anti-bullying Project – Students at this high school needed art supplies for an anti-bullying campaign that will run at local middle and elementary schools. “This project was developed by students last year and is now expanding beyond our walls,” said Antonia Mulvilhill, explaining that this this project, called “Voice,” will teach other students to use their voices positively, to respect other voices, and to let every voice be heard.

This article was written by the Ohio Education Association.

In the third year of a collaborative project with Ohio State University and NEA, Columbus school students have become small-scale philanthropists, designating $8,500 in contributions to select non-profit organizations where the students also worked as volunteers.

It’s all part of a service-learning project called “Bringing Learning to Life,” supported by a $550,000 grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. More than 55 community-based organizations are actively involved with the grant beneficiaries – the Columbus City Schools, the Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology and the Columbus Education Association (CEA).

Service-learning is a multifaceted approach to integrating classroom instruction and academic research with meaningful community service. Such projects have the potential to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, shape educational policy, and strengthen partnerships within schools, universities, and communities.

In Columbus, the service-learning program emerged as the result of community conversations about the lack of connections between Linden-McKinley High School and its surrounding neighborhoods.

“Clearly, we needed a way to show students that they can get involved and make a difference in their community. We found that deeply committed teachers can help young people participate in worthwhile service projects directly related to their learning,” said Rhonda Johnson, President of CEA.

“I see this work as powerfully invigorating, exciting, and crucially important in ongoing conversations about the educational achievement and success of students,” said Dr. Valerie Kinloch, PhD, an associate professor in Literacy Studies in the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University. Kinloch also said that the service-learning projects benefit teachers, students, and community partners, as they are all able to work in a robust educational partnership that centers students and their learning.

CEA gave its 2012 Innovator in Education Award to Dr. Kinloch for her role as a vital partner with CEA in service-learning projects.

In an inventive combination of community service and professional development, the grant has enabled 76 teachers to earn three graduate credits and implement service-learning projects in their classrooms. More than 2,700 students have participated in the program, from pre-K through high school, and 70 Columbus K-12 teachers, all members of CEA, took the OSU course on service-learning. 

One service-learning project, “Water, Water Everywhere,” helped students learn how improper disposal of hazardous materials affect water quality. Using what they learned, Linden-McKinley students made proposals to improve nearby water supplies.

Other projects focused on preventing concussions and brain injuries in sports, housing, conservation, senior citizens and international human rights concerns.

On Capital Day, October 19, the in-service learning day for Columbus teachers, OSU and the CEA began a two-day Service-Learning & Community Engagement Conference at the Columbus Convention Center to review progress and explore more opportunities for student participation in community work.

“Columbus Education Association members and leaders have seized on the service-learning concept, building on a longstanding partnership with Ohio State and creating deeper relationships with the non-profit community,” said Roberta Hantgan, Senior Policy Analyst with NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign.

Teachers participating in the three-year program are eligible to apply for mini-grants that support hands-on community projects with students. But student volunteers themselves have a role now in channeling grant funding to non-profit organizations, too.

More information about service learning projects and grant opportunities is available at www.servicelearning.org, and on the OSU website.

Students as grant-givers honor Columbus-area non-profits: The students honored 15 local non-profit organizations with $8,500 in philanthropic gifts at a ceremony October 29 at Columbus Downtown High School. Below are the organizations that received the awards.

• National Church Residence Permanent Housing Services
• National Parkinson Foundation: Central and SE Ohio Chapter
• International Center for the Preservation of Wild Animals – (“The Wilds”)
• Capital Area Humane Society
• Eldon and Elsie Ward YMCA
• Montana de Luz
• United Negro College Fund
• St. Stephen’s Community House
• CCS Special Olympics
• Columbus Speech and Hearing Center
• Partners in Conservation @ The Columbus Zoo
• Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church
• Creative Living, Inc.
• Rwanda Women in Action
• The Sudan Clinic Project

If the United States is to hold a competitive edge in a rapidly changing global workforce, bolstering the nation’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce is essential. And building that workforce begins in America’s classrooms, which is why President Obama in July announced a plan to create a STEM master teacher corps of eventually 10,000 around the nation. Efforts to improve STEM education, Obama said, are “going to make more of a difference in determining how well we do as a country than just about anything else that we do here.”

This week, the National Education Association stepped up to the challenge with a $500,000 challenge grant that calls on leading business and technology companies and philanthropists to join in an effort to expand a successful New Jersey Education Association program that helps increase the number of certified science and math teachers.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the STEM workforce accounts for more than 50 percent of U.S. economic growth, yet very few U.S. workers are actually employed in STEM-related fields, which are expected to add 2.7 million new jobs by 2018. Furthermore, many of these workers are nearing retirement, potentially leaving behind a large void in fields critical to the economy.

The U.S. education system is not adequately preparing its students for careers that have become the engines behind U.S. global competitiveness. For example, according to a recent report by Microsoft, only 2,100 high schools (public and private) offered the Advanced Placement test in computer science in 2011 – down 25 percent over the past five years – and in most states, computer science does not satisfy core graduation requirements.

The nation needs to connect students to jobs of the future by reengaging them in these important fields, says NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, and we must have the teachers to help get them there.

“Our nation’s prosperity is tied to innovation and that innovation will be spurred on by our ability to engage our students in STEM subjects and programs,” NEA President Van Roekel explained. “That’s why we’re working together to get additional qualified, caring, and committed math and science teachers into classrooms. Right now, there’s a severe shortage, especially in low-income communities, and that needs to change. But we cannot do it alone.”

Read the rest of this story on neatoday.org.

Ask a parent. Ask an elected official. Ask an educator. Most will agree that today’s student is America’s next decision-maker, scientist, artist, and leader. However, for the last 10 years the emphasis of public education has shifted from developing well-rounded individuals, prepared to succeed in life, to testing low-level, basic skills in just two subjects: reading and math—thanks in large part to No Child Left Behind.

Educating the whole child goes beyond math and reading. It goes beyond exposing students to clubs that focus on dance, music, art, theater, and other creative disciplines. Educating the whole child is all of this—plus more. It’s putting the school at the heart of the community and surrounding every student with the support they need: nutrition, health care, counseling, and additional time for remediation and enrichment.

The educators at Glenwood Leadership Academy  (K-8) in Evansville, Indiana, part of the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC) district, are embracing this concept by demonstrating how collaborative efforts among groups with a vested interest in education can support the whole student and lift a community from despair.

The Glenwood Story                                         

During the 1980s, the Glenwood area experienced a severe economic downturn. It went from a vibrant community to decay. Families moved out in significant numbers. Abandoned houses multiplied; crime increased.

Many families who remained in the neighborhood developed a negative perception of the area and the school, choosing to send their children to schools farther away. Student enrollment at the Glenwood Leadership Academy began to shrink, and free and reduced-price lunch skyrocketed to cover 95.4 percent of the student population, more than twice the district and state averages of 47 percent and 39 percent, respectively.

“If you looked at the evidence during this period in Glenwood’s history, any outsider would have said, ‘Lock the doors and bus the kids to other facilities. The neighborhood is dying,’” said Keith Gambill, president of the Evansville Teachers Association. “But we didn’t give up. The mayor, city agencies, community and education leaders, and residents collectively decided to invest time, energy, and resources to revitalize Glenwood. And it was the right decision.”

In 2008, Habitat for Humanity of Evansville spearheaded an effort to bring everyone to the table. Lori Reed, executive director of Habitat, took a page from the 2005 tornado recovery efforts where the community collaborated to rebuild after an F-3 tornado ripped through Evansville, killing 25 people.

“If we can rebuild a neighborhood after a natural disaster with such enthusiasm, passion, and intensity, why can’t we take that same approach and focus it on our neighborhood?” asked Reed. “Could we come from a position of strength? Could we collaborate and advocate with others who invest in communities?”

Apparently, they could and did.

After numerous conversations, focus groups, informal and formal meetings with students, teachers, parents, businesses, and residents, each community partner worked toward bringing its vision to the Glenwood Community Development Initiative, with the aim of stabilizing the community.

According to Reed, the Glenwood initiative needed to be “more than just housing, because people are more than just their houses,” which is why the Glenwood Leadership Academy became the focal point.

In 2010, the school received a $2 million School Improvement Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. While the federal education funds went toward enhancing student quality, student achievement, and community engagement, Habitat was constructing new homes.

In 2011, Habitat built six homes across from the school—removing rundown, uninhabitable, and deserted structures. To date, more than 34 homes have been built between Habitat, Memorial Community Development Corp., and the City of Evansville.

“Instead of students walking home and looking at empty buildings, they walk out and see this beautiful neighborhood next to their school, they see people who care,” said Tamara Skinner, principal of the Glenwood Leadership Academy. “Everyone has come together on behalf of students, and everyone believes we can do this work.”

A local architecture firm and the Glenwood Neighborhood Association teamed up to turn an empty field outside of the school into a community garden. Volunteers tend to the garden, where fresh fruits and vegetables are available for residents. A local Boy Scout and member of Crossroads Christian Church also chipped in to build a pergola, as part of his effort to become an Eagle Scout. Partial funding for the pergola came from the church, which also supports the school throughout the year.

The 3,000-member church has committed both human and financial capital toward school outreach efforts. For the past three years, church members have organized luncheons for teachers and provided teachers and students with the school supplies. Starting this year, volunteers will mentor students, organize book drives, and support teachers in the classroom.

Experience Corp. is another partner helping educators focus on the whole child. It’s an intergenerational program connecting volunteers to students who struggle in core subject areas or who need one-on-one support.

After-school enrichment programs are available to students and families. The YMCA, for example, offers advocacy programs in education and leadership; social services and skills development; and sports and recreation.

A critical piece to fully maximizing whole child concept was health care. Residents expressed a strong need for health care during the initial community conversations.  EVSC heard this message and partnered with the University of Southern Indiana, St. Mary’s Medical Center, and Southwestern Indiana Mental Health Center to secure more than $1 million in federal funding to include a health clinic as part Glenwood Leadership Academy’s redesign.  In January 2012, the school opened the doors to its public health clinic.

The clinic offers members of the community, from children to Medicare patients, an array of services, including immunizations; child, women, and men’s health exams; behavioral health services; dental services; and eye care.

“Educators are normally the first to recognize the importance of educating the whole child,” said ETA President Gambill. “When you’re in need of medical attention or you have a family member who is addicted, a child carries that into the classroom and the ability to concentrate in school that day is greatly reduced. That’s why these wraparound services are so important.”

Together an entire community is rebuilding their lives. Test scores are improving. Homeownership is increasing. Revitalization efforts continue as Glenwood becomes a fully sustainable community and the locus of hope for its residents.

Dayton Education Association President David Romick received the honor of becoming a “Champion of Change” at a White House event today for his exceptional school reform initiatives.

Romick has been instrumental in implementing dramatic changes to help close the achievement gap in Dayton public schools, especially at Belmont High School, one of NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign target sites.

“It is quite an honor to be included in the School Turnaround Champions of Change event at the White House,” said Romick. “Credit goes to so many, but mostly to the instructional staff of the Dayton Public Schools for their daily work in our buildings.”

In his first term as local president, Romick worked closely with administrators and school staff to raise promotion rates, increase college-level test participation, and decrease student discipline and violence issues.

“His leadership in reform and union-management collaboration initiatives has enabled the transformation of lower-performing schools in his community,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel in a statement. “Romick and fellow education leaders in Dayton, Ohio, understand the importance of a steadfast principal, a strong union, and a dedication on both sides to the idea that persistent and honest collaboration is the only sure way to save struggling schools.”

Learn more about David Romick’s work by reading about Belmont High School’s transformation.

Here are 10 key strategies for creating effective family- school-community partnerships that are focused on advancing student learning, taken from NEA’s Family-School-Community Community Partnerships 2.0: Collaborative Strategies to Advance Student Learning report.

Strategy #1 – Agreeing on core values: Taking time at the beginning to think deeply and reflect about what participants believe, and why they think the efforts will work.

Strategy #2 – Listening to the community: Identifying priorities and developing an action plan in a collaborative way that creates community consensus around what needs to happen and in what sequence.

Strategy #3 – Using data to set priorities and focus strategies: Looking closely at current achievement trends and addressing areas of weakness in students’ knowledge and skills.

Strategy #4 – Providing relevant, on-site professional development: Basing professional development on data and conversations among stakeholders, in a way that builds both educator-educator and educator-parent collaborations.

Strategy #5 – Building collaborations with community partners: Pulling in strategic partners and developing community buy-in—with colleges, social service agencies, community groups, faith-based organizations, local leaders, public officials, and businesses—to improve student learning and other outcomes.

Strategy #6 – Using targeted outreach to focus on high- needs communities, schools, and students: Identifying groups that need special attention, learning about their concerns and needs, and responding in culturally appropriate ways.

Strategy #7 – Building one-to-one relationships between families and educators that are linked to learning: Taking time to have conversations and reach agreement on how best to collaborate in order to improve student achievement.

Strategy #8 – Setting, communicating, and supporting high and rigorous expectations: Making it clear that success is the norm by creating pathways to college, especially for students at risk and those at the margins, and providing students with support to succeed.

Strategy #9 – Addressing cultural differences: Providing support for teachers and education support professionals to bridge barriers of culture, class, and language.

Strategy #10 – Connecting students to the community: Making learning hands-on and relevant to students’ lives while also showing that students and schools serve the community.

For more information on establishing family-school-community partnerships, check out NEA’s training resource manual.

Dr. John H. Jackson became President of the Schott Foundation for Public Education in 2007, after holding several leadership positions at the NAACP. “Despite the polarized political environment we have today, we can all agree that the current low graduation rate among minority and low income students, and the fact that too many students who do graduate are not college or career ready, is a problem,” Jackson told EducationVotes. The key for us to move forward, he said, is to recognize and set aside the partisan politics that pollute our conversation so we can take on the issues that act as barriers to young people’s learning. Here’s what else he had to say:

You’ve spoken about how partisan politics in the U.S. prevents meaningful progress in education reform. Give us an example of that.

When you look at so many candidates’ education platforms, they aren’t based on solid research as much as they are chosen for what’s politically feasible. Take charter schools, for example. Only 4 percent of American children attend charters, and only 17 percent of those charters outperform traditional public schools, so it just doesn’t add up that so much of the discussion around public education should be about charter schools. Further, the conversations that are anti-union don’t recognize the fact that if unions really were standing in the way of progress, schools in the south where there are very few collective bargaining agreements would be much better, and that’s not the case.

You’ve spoken of the need for systemic change that is supports-based rather than standards-based. Tell us more.

Improving the situation is going to take what I call game-changing policies. While common core standards are a great goal, their implementation is not a game-changer. Look at it this way: For any student who is drowning at school, moving the life preserver further away isn’t going to make them a better swimmer.  Our challenge is to identify the supports that will allow that child to become a better swimmer. The problem is that we’re operating in a political environment in which it’s easier to talk about standards and devise systems that are punitive in nature than to put together a comprehensive plan of supports for teachers to teach and students to learn.

Dr. John H. Jackson

What would this comprehensive plan ideally include?

It would have to ensure that every child has access to high quality early childhood education and is reading at grade-level by third grade. And for those students who are not, we have to ask what will impact their learning today. The lack of an agenda in this space is what created an opening for others to say to parents, well, let’s try to get your child this charter school or a voucher, even if there’s no real data to suggest that child will do better there.  For those students who are behind, we’ve got to use a more student-centered approach and provide them with what I call a Personal Opportunity Plan, with additional academic, social, and health supports to ensure that they can catch up and achieve a higher standard.

How can educators help move the conversation in the direction of support-based reforms?

Too often in the U.S., you find elected officials and legislators shaping the profession rather than educators.  The educator community has to offer a portfolio of policy models that work so they are not limited to a defensive posture. It’s very important that we widen the lens on education and see the policies and practices that lead to outcomes we don’t like at the local level.  New Jersey has been moving in the right direction since the state Supreme Court decision that increased equity by requiring additional supports and funding for underfunded districts. They didn’t just plug in more money, they targeted resources for early education and professional development for teachers. As a result, New Jersey is the only state with a significant Black male population with a greater than 65 percent high school graduation rate.

Read the rest of this interview at EducationVotes.com.

A growing number of state teacher evaluation systems are focused exclusively on using tests to measure student growth or achievement. Even worse, administrators and education officials nationwide are employing evaluation systems with little input from educators or teacher organizations.

“As more states and districts seek to improve teacher evaluation, the risk is that reform is done to teachers rather than with them,” says National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel. “The momentum to reform teacher evaluation systems is growing, and educators need to be key players in these discussions and decisions.”

In 2011, delegates to the Representative Assembly of the National Education Association (NEA) developed the Policy Statement on Teacher Evaluation and Accountability.

“The NEA policy statement was written by and for teachers and takes into account the evidence-based research on teacher evaluation,” Van Roekel says. “It outlines a system to help teachers improve instruction and meet students’ needs. It offers sweeping changes to raise up the profession of teaching by focusing on high expectations.”

As part of NEA’s work to counter flawed, regressive evaluation systems and implement the policy statement, NEA developed the toolkit on Association-led evaluation and accountability reforms – which contains model contract language, guiding principles, and real-world examples that can be used by education organizations to develop evaluation and accountability systems. This resource document is particularly designed for use by NEA state and local affiliates to help members understand teacher evaluation, as well as peer assistance, peer assistance and review, and fair dismissal. The overall purpose of this electronic resource is to help members become better advocates for teacher evaluation and assessment systems that are transparent, fair, and comprehensive.

Within the last two years, more than 20 states have adopted legislation to revise their teacher evaluation systems, and school districts in every state have implemented evaluation reforms. In some states, policymakers have consulted NEA affiliates and worked with them to develop comprehensive evaluation systems based on multiple measures of student achievement and traditional classroom observations.

Massachusetts developed new evaluation regulations in 2011 based on recommendations by a 40-member Educator Evaluation Task Force. Recommendations made by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) in “Reinventing Educator Evaluation” guided the work of that task force. The standards contained in this evaluation system are adapted from the core propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and the Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium Standards (INTASC). Under this new system, evaluation procedures and weight given to student achievement measures are mandatory subjects of bargaining.

“If properly implemented, this new system will lead to better evaluations and improved teaching, learning and leadership in our schools,” said MTA President Paul Toner. “School committees and local Associations are going to have to work out the details of the new systems in bargaining to make sure they are workable, fair and effective. The MTA will provide local associations with guidance and support during this process.”

Read the full story and more examples at neatoday.org.

Although research has definitively proven that parents’ involvement in their children’s schools raises student achievement, most educators would agree that the process of getting parents fully engaged in school is no walk in the park. Unless they teach at Captain James E. Daly Elementary School in Germantown, Maryland, that is.

Twice a year, Daly’s teachers, staff, and administrators hold a “Walk in the Park” at nearby Middlebrook Mobile Home Park, where more than 60 percent of the school’s Hispanic students live. It’s a way to say hello to familiar faces, and to break the ice with new families and those who’ve been reluctant to visit the school, which is about a mile away.

“We’ve found that if you want parents to come to you, first, you have to come to them,” says Georgina Fountain, a music teacher at Daly and the school’s Maryland State Education Association representative, who joined her colleagues at the most recent Walk in the Park.

It’s a common sense approach to one of the most vexing problems in education today—how to build  and maintain strong parent-teacher partnerships that allow students to achieve their full academic potential.

So what’s an educator fed up with no-shows on back-to-school-night to do? Read on!

In a recent Parenting magazine and National Education Association (NEA) survey of public school parents and educators, both groups categorized their relationship with the other as “open,” but they also reported significant obstacles to forming true partnerships. But for each partnership challenge revealed by the Parenting/NEA survey, there is an innovative NEA affiliate- or member-led solution.

We’ve outlined six of the most common communication challenges reported by respondents, along with field-tested solutions to solving the challenges.

Challenge 1: More than a quarter of parents feel their biggest challenge is teachers’ lack of understanding of their concerns.

Solution: Listen up!

When parents report that teachers don’t understand their concerns, what they’re usually saying is that they don’t feel they’re being heard. Often parents are contacted only when their child is having a problem with academics or behavior. But parents have a whole calendar year full of questions and concerns about their child, and it’s part of the educator’s job to listen to those worries and help alleviate anxiety for students and their parents.

That was the idea behind Upper Merion Area Middle School’s “Successful Transitions” program in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The program was launched after parents expressed concern about their kids moving from the smaller, safer elementary school to the much larger middle school.

The staff listened.

“It’s easy to forget how daunting moving from elementary to middle school can be for families,” says Jerry Oleksiak, vice president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

To allay the fears of both students and parents, Successful Transitions’ year-long program gives rising middle-schoolers and their families the opportunity to get familiar with their new school through meetings, visits, tours, correspondence with pen pals (current students), and peer mentoring. Students and parents get to know the middle school campus, the school day routines and schedules, and the teachers and older students.

The program was developed by Action Team for Partnerships (ATP), a group of parents, teachers, students, and community partners who regularly meet to identify ways to build bridges between families and schools.

Challenge 2: One in three teachers says the biggest concern is parental misunderstanding of their children’s challenges.

Solution: Use Your Data

For most parents, monitoring their child’s grades, homework completion, and attendance is often the best way to gauge and guide progress and challenges. But if parents can’t access the data, they can be largely left in the dark.

When Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada, began posting attendance and achievement data online in 2008, it was popular with a lot of parents. But many families with limited English and a lack of home Internet access couldn’t get online to chart their student’s progress.  In fact, the district found that 72 percent of students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch did not have an active parent account for the online information. Among English language learners, 74 percent did not have an account.

Enter the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

With the support of the Washoe Education Association, the district’s family engagement staff developed the Infinite Campus Parent Portal program to train more parents on how to access and interpret their children’s data.

The program is managed by school staff as well as three members of the district’s Family School Partnership Office and the state’s Parent Information and Resource Center. Using the district’s “Risk Index” for students, ninth-graders deemed at risk were identified, and parent involvement volunteers reached out to those students’ parents and guardians to provide support and training in using the portal. Now there’s also a training toolkit, support videos, and kiosk materials available in Spanish and English.

Workshops for parents explain what information is available on the portal, such as absences or tardies, grades for tests and quizzes, and upcoming assignments. Workshops are kept small so parents can work with the facilitators to one-on-one to develop action plans using the portal.

During the 2010-2011 school year, the first the district could correlate parent portal use and student data, 582 parents of the 1,322 ninth graders “at risk” activated their account, and 397 have logged on more than once. By the middle of the year, 601 students on the Risk Index had earned three or more credits for graduation.

Ana Barajas is the mother of a ninth-grader in the district. “The parent portal helped me check his grades and open the communication between his teachers and me. It really helped me be a part of his education. I’m trying to show him that I care about his education.”

Challenge 3: A quarter of parents say they feel shut out of the collaborative process and are not given opportunities to offer input.

Solution: Community Conversations

Concerned about a widening achievement gap in Putnam City schools, the Oklahoma Education Association, with the support of the NEA, hosted a series of community conversations with parents and community members to determine people’s perspectives on the achievement gap.

Compadres program shows parents how to help their children academically.

They soon discovered why so many parents, mostly from the Latino community, weren’t involved—they said they didn’t feel welcome at the school. There were language and culture barriers, and they simply weren’t aware that the school even wanted them there.

As a result of these conversations, Putnam City West High School created “Compadres in Education,” a program of outreach to Hispanic families. The program provides information sheets about the high school in Spanish and English, and has added bilingual staff members, bringing the number up to 25 percent of the staff, including a receptionist, an ELL graduation coach, and instructional assistants in ELL, algebra, and English.

“Compadres in Education” also holds quarterly Noche de Padres Hispanos (Hispanic Family Nights), where different topics are covered, like the economic value of higher education,  the challenges of raising teens, and the legal rights of immigrants.

“To ensure that all families feel welcome at school, we’re expanding this program into the African-American and Native-American communities as well,” says Linda Hampton, president of the Oklahoma Education Association.  “Our goal is to provide the support to ensure every child can realize his or her potential.”

Challenge 4: Only 54 percent of teachers feel that parents do their part at home to ensure that kids get the most out of classroom learning.

Solution: Go Team!

The Creighton Elementary School District in Phoenix, Arizona, came up with the idea of Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APPT) to provide a structure for parents to meet with teachers, talk to other parents, and learn ways to support their child’s academic learning.

Rather than the traditional parent-teacher conferences, APPT holds three classroom team meetings with teachers and all the parents together, and one 30-minute individual parent-teacher conference (or more if needed). At the team meetings, the teacher models activities the parents can do at home with their children, and then the parents practice those activities with each other in small groups. Parents also share tips and tricks to overcome homework or subject challenges with their kids.

“Many parents wonder what the parents of kids at the top of the class are doing at home to make that happen,” says Maria Paredes, who started the APPT as the district director of community education. “Parents give other parents ideas of successful practices at home. It forms community.”

When the program began in 2009-2010, there were 12 teacher participants. A year later, there were 97. Now more than 90 percent of teachers are part of APPT, including Joshua Briese, a fourth-grade teacher at Excelencia Elementary School. “If I can get students doing anything at home related to what we do at school, it will have an impact,” he says.

Impact, indeed. Test data show remarkable gains—oral reading fluency, for example, rose nearly 25 points in APTT classrooms in 2009, while they rose by only 10 points in non-APTT classrooms. During the 2011-2012 school year, Reading scores rose by 11 percent more in APPT classrooms than in non-APPT classes, and grew by 17 percent in Math.

The participation rate of fathers is also higher in the team setting than it was in traditional parent conferences. And at APPT meetings, there is a 92 percent attendance rate, while traditional conference attendance rates hovered around 50 percent.

Challenge 5: Only 17 percent of teachers feel their opinions are taken seriously by parents.

Solution: The Common Core

Don’t worry, we don’t mean the Common Core standards. What we’re talking about here is parents and teachers agreeing on core values to find common ground.

When Sacramento ACT, a community organizing group, began asking families what would make the community a better place to raise their children, they discovered that parents had a deep mistrust of the schools.

Thus, a partnership was formed between the school district, the Sacramento Teachers Association, and Sacramento ACT to create the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project. The program was designed to address the cycle of blame between parents and educators at several Sacramento schools with a history of low student achievement, high levels of poverty, and a high percentage of English language learners.

Here’s how the PTHVP works: Educators are trained (and compensated) to make the home visits in teams of two. They meet with the families and students together, and the focus of the conversation is not on interventions, but on anything that comes up—they could talk about an upcoming algebra test, or they could discuss their favorite soccer team. It’s simply a way to open the lines of communication.

But for the project to be successful, it was agreed that some core values had to be established from the outset.

The first core value is that families and teachers are equally important co-educators; the family is the expert on the child, the teacher on the curriculum. Second, before teachers can effectively share information about academic status, teachers and parents must establish positive communication and address any communication barriers. And third, teachers must visit all students and families because only targeting challenging students will perpetuate the cycle of mistrust.

“In the home visit project training, we often rely on the quote that ‘people do not care about what you know until they know that you care,’” says PTHVP Executive Director Carrie Rose. “In communities where there may be cycles of blame between home and school, our home visit model provides a concrete, meaningful, and respectful opportunity to show that you care. Then families will start to care a whole lot more about what you know. “

Challenge 6: Less than half of parents feel teachers hold enough conferences or meetings with them.

Solution: Reach Out

Often a school will schedule a set amount of conferences during the course of the year, figuring that parents will ask for more if needed. The problem arises when parents don’t know that they can ask for more meetings.

Teachers and staff from Daly Elementary and Neelsville Middle School brought boxes of books to the Middlebrook Mobile Home Park in Germantown, MD.

Many of the parents living in the Middlebrook Mobile Home Park in Germantown, Maryland, for example, weren’t aware that they could go to the school as often as they’d like. And even when they were told they could, they still weren’t sure they’d be welcome.

It’s not the culture for families to be welcomed into the school system in many Latin American countries where they come from. And second, many parents have bad experiences at their schools when they were growing up.

The staff and administrators realized that even if they let parents know they were willing to hold more meetings, the parents would need a little more coaxing to come to the school.

To create trust with the parents at Middlebrook, educators learned that they needed to start by making warm, personal connections in a more casual environment, which is more in line with Central American culture.

At the most recent Walk in the Park, teachers and staff from Daly Elementary and nearby Neelsville Middle School brought boxes of books, which they arranged on card tables set up on the grass. Within minutes, the tables were surrounded, with little hands reaching in to grab everything from Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Harry Potter to Crispin and The Tale of Despereaux.

Soon, trailer doors opened and more parents walked over to the book fair, curious what the commotion was all about.

That’s when the relationships started to build. Bilingual instructors introduced parents to other staff and administrators, they answered questions, and also passed out homework information packets in Spanish. The parents learned the Hispanic Parents Council met each week in Daly’s media room. They learned about weekly study circles where parents can learn English or other topics of interest. And they learned that the school was working with the community to find safe places for the park children to play.

“It’s essential to reach out, on a bilingual level,” says Emilia Roberts, a bilingual special education teacher. “Parents are reluctant to come into the school setting, or they don’t know how. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s just not their culture. So they rely on us reaching out to them.”

Alma has lived in Middlebrook Park for three years. Her daughter Emily, a kindergartener at Daly, has special medical needs that must be attended throughout the day. The staff reached out to Alma to let her know they wanted to help.

“When I found out about the Hispanic Parents Council, I started coming to every single meeting,” Alma says, and she was able to communicate Emily’s health needs through an interpreter.

“We all need to learn how to help our kids in school and to build better relationships with their teachers. I want to tell all the parents at Middlebrook, don’t be afraid, the meetings are wonderful. The school has concern for us and our children. They’re here to help.”

For more strategies and information on creating effective family- school-community partnerships, check out the NEA report Family-School-Community Partnerships 2.0: Collaborative Strategies to Advance Student Learning.

What does a strong public school system look like? It’s hard to envision with today’s political and economic climate, but America can provide a great public education for every child. The National Education Association (NEA) and its members know where to start.

Last December, NEA laid out its Leading the Profession Action Agenda, incorporating proven best practices in education from thousands of teachers around the country and input from the independent Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching, created by NEA in 2010 to examine the teaching profession and make recommendations on maximizing teacher and teaching effectiveness. This year, NEA expanded that vision by introducing five domains of education quality: the quality of the professional, the profession, the schools, education policy and the union.

So what does all that look like in practice? In Marysville, Washington, educators in three schools supported by NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign (PSC) are planting the seeds for sustainable education reform in their district.

Solutions Unique to the School, Students and Community

The Marysville School District is located 35 miles north of Seattle, Washington and includes the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Two schools in the district, Totem Middle School and Tulalip Elementary School, received School Improvement Grants beginning in the 2010-2011 school year. In February 2011, Quil Ceda Elementary received a second round School Improvement Grant and merged campuses with Tulalip for the 2011-2012 school year. Both elementary schools are on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.

Sixty-three percent of students at Quil Ceda and Tulalip are American Indian, and a high majority of students receive free or reduced-price lunch.

A students drums during Quil Ceda and Tulalip's daily cultural assembly. Photo: Ellen Banner

“Our biggest challenges are not academic, but whole child issues,” said Chelsea Craig, a 2nd grade teacher at Quil Ceda and Tulalip, and certified Tulalip Tribal Member. “Many of our students are facing family challenges both from generational oppression and poverty that affect behavior in a way that a traditional classroom can not address alone.”

To help address those challenges and lead school-based change, staff at Quil Ceda and Tulalip are deeply invested in incorporating more of the students’ culture in their learning and build deeper ties to the school community. “We feel fortunate to have a tribal community that is very interested and invested in the success of their children,” said Quil Ceda Principal Kristin DeWitte.

Each morning, students start the day with a cultural assembly that includes singing and drumming. While helping connect the Tulalip culture to the school, the morning assembly also helped connect the school to the community this spring when they experienced a tragic loss of a former student. It is Tulalip custom for the whole community to come together and support loved ones who lost a family member. Tribal members walk the deceased to the cemetery with the older men leading the songs. On this day, they ran out of prepared songs on the walk when Craig called on one of the young students to “sing our morning song.” The student led two songs by himself, with the whole community following.

Manya McFarlane works with third grade students at Quil Ceda and Tulalip. Photo: Ellen Banner

“The community was so impressed that such a young man could lead a song, and I know this happened because we sing and honor the Tulalip people every morning at our school,” said Craig.

Including the students’ culture at school seems to be paying off in the classroom. Manya McFarlane teaches third grade at Quil Ceda and Tulalip. At the end of the school year, she asked each student to write a list of “things that were fun about this school year.” Several students listed more than 100 items, with most items centered on academics.

“We are very proud of the work they have done.” Said McFarlane. “I did not lower my expectations for my students, I helped make it possible for them to reach the expectations.”

Collaboration and Data Changing the Profession and Professionals

The three priority schools in Marysville have quite a bit in common. The teachers, support professionals, administrators, community and union are all focused on the same goal – providing a great public education for their students. The way they do that is maintaining deep and engaged collaboration, keeping high standards for their profession and offering strong support for their students.

Because the Marysville School District recognized that building the capacity of staff and establishing teacher leaders is critical to education reform sustainability, they used some of their School Improvement Grant on extensive professional development for educators.

“Teacher leaders change the climate of the school,” said DeWitte. “Teacher leaders focus on what we can do and keep the resource of hope alive.”

As a result, data teams were created at Totem and Quil Ceda and Tulalip. The data teams serve as natural, job-embedded professional development where educators can research instructional strategies together, problem solve and work with math and literacy coaches to develop pre-and post-unit assessments. The coaches also help teachers learn how to collect and analyze the data from the assessments.

Here’s an example of how a math data team works at Quil Ceda and Tulalip: Students are given a pre-test at the beginning of each new unit. The test is based on the core standards that will be covered in that unit. During data team meetings, the results of the test are used to determine student needs. In the classroom, small groups are formed based on where the students measured, and whole class instruction is also based on the data.

Math coach George Camper works with staff at Quil Ceda and Tulalip, including Chelsea Craig (left). Photo: Ellen Banner

At the end of the unit, students are given a post-test. The data from that assessment is shared with the students so they can see their progress. It is also used by the grade level data teams to determine if more intervention is needed and serves as a discussion tool for what worked and didn’t for teaching that unit.

“What we’re doing is centered around data,” said George Camper, a math coach at Quil Ceda and Tulalip. “Even when you have a nicely aligned curriculum and understanding of standards, there’s a mismatch of what students need and where they are. Using data to bridge that gap has been a tremendous change for us.”

At Quil Ceda and Tulalip, staff spend one hour, two days a week in collaboration time. One day is with a grade level team, the other is with a content team. Totem educators meet daily for 45 minutes.

“We have more assessments that are giving us a lot of very good feedback about student deficiencies and strengths,” said Thomas Sturm, a 7th grade language arts and social studies teacher at Totem. “We’re able to use our collaboration time together to really study what we should focus on and what our next step should be in our instruction.”

Teacher Leaders Increase Academic Rigor

POWER and PRIDE guide the school climate and culture at Totem. Administrators and staff first worked on building the POWER principles of pride, ownership, warmth, encouragement and respect. “We saw a dramatic change in the way students treated each other, teachers and the school,” said Totem principal Robert Kalahan.

Once the POWER principles were a natural part of the school culture, they developed the PRIDE principles of being productive, responsible, inquiring, dedicated and engaged – geared towards the academic behaviors Totem students were expected to demonstrate.

Barb Barclay, a 6th grade language arts and social studies teacher and teacher evaluation team member at Totem says, "I feel good about being part of a staff that has a lot of strong teacher leaders on it who are trying to make a difference in kids lives. It’s hard and can be frustrating, but I feel like we’re making a little bit of progress each year." Photo: Ellen Banner

After experiencing success in improving student behavior and attitudes about learning, staff at Totem turned their focus to increasing academic rigor.

During the 2009-2010 school year, 12 percent of Totem’s eighth-graders were taking algebra; 88 percent were in eighth-grade grade math focusing on pre-algebra concepts. The following school year, Dara Schmoe, an eight-grade algebra teacher new to Totem at the time, wanted to increase the number of eighth-graders taking algebra.

Working with her colleagues, Schmoe developed a plan to add another algebra class to the schedule mid-year, and how to accelerate the learning of the students transferred up from eighth-grade math. Using the 30 minutes of academic intervention time Totem has at the end of each day, the students new to algebra got a double dose of the subject every day. That year, 45 percent of Totem’s 8th graders were in algebra and 89 percent passed the end of course exam.

Now, 83 percent of 8th graders at Totem take algebra, with 100 percent projected for the 2012-2013 school year.

“It’s exciting to see that if you accelerate your students, they not only get caught up, they get ahead,” said Schmoe.

The success of the eighth-grade algebra students has also translated to other subjects. “I can say without a doubt there is a direct correlation between the students in algebra and their understanding of variables in science,” said Tim Hall, an 8th grade algebra and science teacher at Totem.

“The staff at these schools have found their voice as professionals,” said Arden Watson, President of the Marysville Education Association. “They have an avenue to be decision makers along with their principals about what needs to happen with students.

Union-led Change

It’s clear that the educators at Totem and Quil Ceda and Tulalip have been actively engaged in defining the standards for their profession, supporting peers, and leading decisions that affect student learning in Marysville. What’s also clear is the role of the Marysville Education Association (MEA) in leading its members through these new practices and reforms.

“We’re not always coming forward with problems,” said Watson. “We problem solve.”

Leveraging the resources of NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign, the local association has provided direct support with strategies around Response to Intervention implementation and Professional Learning Community development. At Totem, a $10,000 grant secured by MEA through NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign helped the school install a new laptop computer lab.

Educators in the Marysville priority schools have also participated in Washington Education Association and NEA-led professional development focused on cultural competency and effective data use, in addition to traveling to national forums organized by PSC to share and learn from other school districts engaged in school reform.

With the help of NEA’s Public Engagement Project, Quil Ceda and Tulalip held a community conversation in April with 60 community members. And using PSC’s connection to the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project (PTHVP), a national effort designed to improve communication between families and schools, staff at Totem are receiving training on parental engagement.

Arden Watson, president of the Marysville Education Association in Washington. Photo: Ellen Banner

Union-led change goes beyond just providing resources to members and schools. At Totem, the MEA building representatives played an important part in creating a schedule that protected personal planning time but also made room for collaboration time. “Without the support of the local association, we might not have been so willing to think outside the box in creating our school’s structures that have been so powerful,” said Kalahan.

“I feel proud because a lot of the interventions, strategies and ideas are coming directly from our members,” said Watson. “They are part of the process and not waiting for someone from the outside to come and tell them what they need to do. The change is coming from within the school.”

Like their counterparts nationwide, the Augusta, Ga., principals of Glenn Hills, T.W. Josey, and Lucy C. Laney high schools cite family and community involvement as one of their greatest challenges.

In dual roles as Laney principal and president of the Richmond County Association of Educators (RCAE), Dr. Tonia Mason knows that she and her union have the responsibility—and resources—to strengthen the schools’ improvement efforts.

NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign (PSC) kicked-off a long-term, multi-faceted family and community engagement effort in Augusta with assemblies at the three schools held over two days, featuring critically-acclaimed “edu-tainer” Dr. Adolf Brown, III.

“We wanted something uplifting the whole school community could take home for the summer,” says T.W. Josey principal Ronald Wiggins. “I hope the students will remember Adolf Brown’s messages, and that our teachers and the union will start bridging the gap between teachers, students and parents. I’d like for parents to have a better understanding of what their role should be in their child’s life.”

The research is clear and consistent—parent, family, and community involvement leads to higher academic performance and school improvement. Students with engaged parents tend to earn higher grades and have better attendance. They’re more motivated and less likely to drop out. And it reduces some of the societal problems the Augusta students grapple with, like gangs, teen pregnancy, and drug abuse.

Wiggins says that public apathy toward education has been a challenge for the Augusta school and Mason, agrees.

“My ongoing challenge is parental engagement and maintaining student involvement.”

That is why Mason lobbied to bring PSC to Augusta to provide technical assistance in  the area often overlooked as a key education improvement strategy, despite the proven connection to raising student achievement.

Edu-tainer Adolf Brown told the audience that “just because you mess up doesn’t mean you have to give up,” and that when you’re “an apple in the tree, it forces a man to reach up to your level.” He also hammered home the importance of reading: “The five ways to keep getting smarter: read, read, read, read and read!”

The audience of students and parents alike were inspired by Brown, with particular impact expressed by those who sometimes struggle, like student Shakeria Beale.

“I really enjoyed his talk.  He made me feel like I can do or be anything,” she says. “There’s a lot of girls around here who, you know, have the wrong attitude.  I hope everyone took something from his presentation.”

Most everyone did take something from the presentation. Even high-achievers, like Diondre Tindle, 18, senior class president of T.W. Josey, who has been a strong student leader since freshman year.

“What resonated the most was when he said that just being the smartest in the room doesn’t give you total access. It’s the choices that you make that get you to where you are going,” she says.

And where is Tindle going? First, she’ll go to college, and then to earn an MBA and perhaps even a doctorate, and then to start her own Fortune 500 company.

Chambria Stewart, a junior, has more immediate plans.

“I definitely liked the apple in the tree story,” she says. “I am going to be an apple in the tree.”

In the fall, PSC will bring together Augusta students, parents, educators, residents, community leaders and elected officials for a community conversation.

Normally big-ticket expenses, services like those PSC will provide in Augusta come at no charge—allowing the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) funding schools like Laney, Josey, and Glenn Hills receive, to go further.

Looking for ways to connect with fellow educators while school is out? Want to learn from and share with educators from across the country from the comfort of home? Join a virtual learning community (VLC)!

This spring, the National Education Association’s (NEA) Priority Schools Campaign launched three VLCs geared toward teachers and Education Support Professionals working in priority schools.

The three virtual learning communities address the issues of supporting students of poverty, technology in the classroom, and home-school connections.

“I have learned more about students in poverty from being a part of this virtual learning community than I did in a semester-long class about urban education,” said Karen Vogelsang, a second-grade teacher at Keystone Elementary in Memphis, Tennessee, and a virtual coach for the “Supporting Students in Poverty” VLC.

NEA partnered with the Center for Teaching Quality to train 41 accomplished teachers to serve as virtual coaches to their fellow educators PSC designated schools.

While it may seem overwhelming to add one more “to do” to the list, the benefits of VLCs make it worth the time.

“I think the online conversations will enrich an educator’s thinking and practice both generally and individually,” said Kathie Marshall, a retired teacher, literacy coach, and VLC participant serving as a mentor for the coaches. “Having those unseen friends at the other end of the computer is supportive, builds confidence, and exposes teachers to professional development gradually and meaningfully.”

A virtual learning community works in the following way: An educator signs up for an online community centered on an issue they want to explore with peers. The private platform is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for participants to respond to prompts and questions from the coaches, join webinars or share resources, and generate their own discussions.

“Sometimes a comment/share/reflection is only a few sentences and takes a couple of minutes. Other times, participants will want to probe their own thinking at length, so they figure out when they are able to dedicate enough time to do so,” explained Marshall. Ideally, participants login twice a week or more to keep a community robust.

Additional VLCs can be created on topics ranging from classroom management to family-school-community partnerships. However, 20 teachers are needed in each community for any particular themed VLC to be effective and generate meaningful discussion.

“During my first year of teaching in 1970, I ran around to anyone who would listen, asking, ‘what do you do?’” said Marshall. “How much more quickly I might have gained knowledge and confidence if I’d had a virtual community behind me.”

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