By Dr. Elizabeth Primas (Program Manager, NNPA/ESSA Public Awareness Campaign)
Standards have always been a part of society. From standards of measurement and time to driver’s licenses, food preparation in restaurants and language, standards keep us healthy and safe and help us communicate with each other.
In the 1980s, the United States began to expand and formalize public education standards. This process was the driving force behind the education reform movement. Standards in education were supposed to set clear guidelines for what all students were expected to learn and be able to do. The curriculum and assessments were supposed to be aligned with established standards.
In 2001, with the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) by President W. Bush, a significant emphasis on standards took on a life of its own. Under NCLB, all states were required to develop standards and assessments to measure student achievement. Problems occurred when states developed individual standards that measured knowledge and skill levels. There was no way to determine if a student passing one state’s standards was equivalent to a student’s level of accomplishment in another state. Test that were national, like the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and the National Educational Assessment of Progress (NAEP), all indicated that students with passing grades in high school, that met state standards, were not necessarily prepared to be successful in college and career.
In 2009, there was a state-led effort to develop the Common Core State Standards (CCSS); the effort was launched by state leaders, including governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia; CCSS was supposed to remedy the differentiation in state standards under NCLB. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) worked with educational agencies to create one set of standards that would be uniform for the country. That same year, the Obama Administration developed the Race to the Top Fund, a $4.35 billion dollar competitive grant program designed to ensure that all students graduated high school prepared for college, career, and life. Race to the Top used financial incentives to encourage states to adopt CCSS.
Along with common standards, came high-stakes testing. Most states adopted one of two assessments: the Smarter Balance Assessment or the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Many stakeholders saw high-stakes assessments as unrealistic, because all children were required to perform at world-class levels, merely by raising expectations and imposing punishments and sanctions on schools and children who fell short of the standards. The standard implementation did not consider students with persistent challenges that could have impeded them from reaching high-levels of achievement. There was no flexibility in meeting these standards, regardless of socioeconomic status, age, race, gender, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities or family circumstances.
The discussions around the implementation of standards did acknowledge that student learning abilities were not homogeneous. Yet, schools seldom provided the range of training, personnel, and strategy needed to meet all students. Subsequently, when students didn’t meet the goals, they were retained and schools faced sanctions.
Research has indicated that minority students, including English Language Learners (ELL), students living in poverty, and students with disabilities are disproportionately represented in the group of students that do not make sufficient and significant growth to meet the standards and objectives promoted.
Under the “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA), states have been given the leeway to: continue using the Common Core State Standards and/or create and adopt their own rigorous standards. Along with the freedom to select standards best suited for specific state demographics, states can also select what assessments they administer. As states submit their ESSA plans, many states have steered away from the CCSS. Several states have indicated that they will not continue using Smarter Balance or PARCC to measure standard mastery.
The only way to be sure what standards your child must meet is for you, the parent, to get involved, and stay engaged at every level. Your child is our future, and we ask all parents to remain focused in the pursuit of their education.
Every meeting that involves your child’s education is important. Be there, be vigilante, stay persistent, have your voice heard.
Dr. Elizabeth Primas is an educator, who spent more than 40 years working towards improving education for children of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. Dr. Primas is the program manager for the NNPA’s Every Student Succeeds Act Public Awareness Campaign. Follow Dr. Primas on Twitter @elizabethprimas.
Nikolai Vitti’s voice trembles a bit when he talks about his maternal grandfather, Richard J. Past.
The man toiled tirelessly at Ford Motor Company’s Rouge Plant and passed away three years ago at age 84.
“After he retired,” Vitti recalls. “He had a lot of time with me. He was instrumental in taking me to my sports practices. I wouldn’t be the person that I am without him.”
Vitti, superintendent of the Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida, was appointed to lead Michigan’s largest school district in April. He began work as a consultant earlier this month and takes the reigns officially on July 1. His starting salary is $295,000; his contract is five years.
Dr. Nikolai Vitti and family
The Dearborn Heights native comes to a school district that had 300,000 enrolled students in 1967 but now has fewer than 50,000 children. What’s more, Detroit Public Schools Community District has struggled with financial challenges and has been under state control for 15 of the 18 years.
But Vitti maintains that he’s up the job. At 40, he is among the youngest Detroit district superintendents ever. Only Arthur Jefferson, the district’s first black schools chief, was younger. Jefferson was 37 when he was appointed to the post in 1975.
GROWING UP IN DEARBORN HEIGHTS
Vitti grew up during the 1980’s and early ‘90s. His father left the home when he was young so high school athletics, basketball and football at Dearborn Divine Child, provided roles models as coaches. Sports gave him the opportunity to fire up jump shots in Calihan Hall and go after the pigskin in the 80,000-seat Pontiac Silverdome. Equally important, he learned discipline as a team captain and it helped to prepare him for college and a public schools administration career.
“I think that I’m a strong leader because of those experiences,” he declares.
Although he struggled with dyslexia, Vitti studied at Wake Forest University in North Carolina and later earned the prestigious Presidential Scholarship graduate degrees in education at Harvard University.
Metro Detroit is one of the nation’s most racially segregated areas in the nation and Dearborn Heights, a white and tony working-class and middle class town, is 90 percent white. Racial segregation and hostile policies toward black and browns come to mind when one thinks about western Wayne County communities like his hometown. However, Vitti, a son of immigrants who grew up a stone’s throw from ethnically diverse Inkster, points out that his experiences in his uncle’s pizzeria and in sports was enlightening.
“My view of the world was very different than the average Anglo-Saxon American growing in metro Detroit,” he points out. “I was exposed to (ethic and racial) diversity at a young age.”
Moreover, Vitti is candid and philosophical when discussing race. He doesn’t mind questions about his marriage to Rachel, who happens to be black and hails from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
“We should be proud of our identity,” Vitti states. “Far too often, whites try to erase race, which is linked to an identity. Idealistically, I look forward to a world where we recognize each other based on race because that’s linked to a history and a culture, experiences and values.”
The Vittis have been married for 16 years and have four children.
“I’M ABOUT THE WORK”
After college, Vitti worked in New York City, North Carolina, Miami and Jacksonville but not in metro Detroit. So what’s on his list of immediate to dos?
“When you talk about entry,” he says. “It’s about engaging internal and external stakeholders.”
Further, Vitti wants to “have an authentic dialogue” with area elected officials, which includes school board members, city, county and Detroit legislative leaders; as well as the foundation and clergy communities and school union leadership.
“At the heart and core of this is engaging teachers,” he states. “If you ask me, ‘Who do you really want to get to?’ it is teachers, principals, district staff, parents and students.”
What’s intriguing about Vitti’s approach to K-12 education?
“I’m adamant about focusing on what I call The Whole Child,” he states. “At the core, schools should be about reading, math, science, writing and social studies but we just can’t do academic work in our schools. It has to be broader than that.”
Vitti suggests a greater need for arts, music, foreign language and athletics. Several years ago, for example, he freed up about $20 million so that all Duval County elementary schools had music and art teachers.
In his public interview with the Detroit Board of Education several weeks ago, Vitti declared that wanted to put charters schools out of business. He believes that when traditional schools are doing their job well, there are better equipped than charter schools, which are also public schools.
“I believe that when traditional public schools and traditional education gets it right, they get it right better than any other form of education,” he says.
“I believe that when you look at traditional public schools, we have a better pool of teachers and principals,” he states further. “And we have a better bench than charters do. I also believe that, at its truest form, traditional public schools are closer to the community because there is a higher level of accountability. You have an elected local board.”
Vitti started work as a consultant this month and is prepared to enter contract talks with DPSCD unions, if necessary. “It’s part of the job,” he points out. The Detroit Federation of Teachers executive board earlier this month rejected a tentative agreement with school district administrators.
He believes that through partnerships, internships and playing an active role in helping to move favorable public policy in Lansing and Washington, D.C. small business play a greater role in urban public school education in general and DPSCD in particular.
“Without a strong traditional public school education system and I mean traditional public education system,” Vitti states. “we’re not going to develop students who are employable with the right skills for the future and the now.”
So what’s the best thing about coming home to metro Detroit?
Vitti states:
“The peace and opportunity that comes with serving the city I love and people who share many of my life experiences at one of the most important and defining moments in the city’s history.”
If you live anywhere near the Durfee Elementary School building and Central High School on the city’s west side, then you already see it happening. Because you really can’t miss it. It’s kinda big.
Beginning on July 31, 12,000 volunteers descended upon Durfee and the surrounding neighborhood for a six-day whirlwind transformation/overhaul/cleanup designed to remove blight on 300 city blocks, board up 300 vacant houses, and perform essential home repairs for 50 homeowners in the area.
Just one example of what Life Remodeled has done for Detroit neighborhoods
“We invite students from school, we invite community residents, churches, mosques, synagogues, businesses, people from every walk of life that you can imagine,” said Chris Lambert, CEO of Life Remodeled which is spearheading the project.
Lambert said he and his team typically spend at least a year working with the community figuring out what the community wants. Then they work together with that community to plan the blight removal project.
And that’s just for starters.
The initial whirlwind is really the kickoff of what will be at least a two-year effort spearheaded by Life Remodeled to transform the Durfee building into what will be known as a Community Innovation Center, and thereby transform an entire neighborhood in the process. And in case you’re wondering, this isn’t the first time Lambert has managed to pull this off. Life Remodeled, founded in 2011, is already developing a respectable track record of transforming neighborhood schools in troubled areas as a means of upgrading the entire neighborhood.
The organization’s first school-based project, costing roughly $5.5 million, was in 2014 at Cody High School. In 2015, Life Remodeled stepped it up a bit and took on Osborne High School. That project cost approximately $5.7 million. Both of these projects were a long way from the initial project in 2011, which involved pulling together 500 volunteers to build a home for a single mother and her four children in Westland. In six days.
“The process evolved from a vision that was big at the time but miniscule compared to what we’re doing right now. …It’s evolved from focusing on building a house that benefited one family at a time, to now benefiting a community asset that benefits the entire community,” said Lambert.
“This one is very different from what we’ve done in the past. In the past we’ve worked in existing schools that are still operating today. …This one’s very different because we’re working in a vacant school now. The former Durfee Elementary Middle School.”
In addition to other benefits, Lambert said that there has been a noticeable positive impact on crime in the neighborhoods surrounding their earlier school-based projects.
According to Lambert, the Detroit Police Department measured crime stats on the blocks where they worked, both before and after the project, “And it actually dropped in 10 out of 11 categories, “including 47 percent reduction in homicides.”
From the website:
“The Community Innovation Center will operate in collaboration with Central High School and the Detroit Public Schools Community District to provide hands-on education to students. Entrepreneurs will guest lecture in classrooms and students will have the opportunity to learn subjects, like math and finance, with real examples from case studies of business ventures taking place within the center. Community members of all ages will have access to resources and space in order to learn about entrepreneurship and how to start or grow their own businesses. The center will also serve as valuable community and recreational space for families and their kids.”
“As 2017 marks the 50th year anniversary of the 1967 Detroit uprising, Life Remodeled and our partners will invest in the neighborhood surrounding Central High School, the city’s first public high school, in the community where Detroit’s civil unrest began. This year’s project will serve not only as a powerful commemoration of the progress that has been made, but also the progress we continue to strive toward.
We are proud to announce Life Remodeled’s first two-year commitment to Central High School and the surrounding neighborhood as we take on our largest project to date.”
So why did Lambert and crew decide on Durfee for this year’s project?
“We really chose Durfee the same way we chose every other neighborhood. There’s really two things that we look for; significant need, and radical hope. And when we say ‘significant need, what we’re looking for is neighborhoods that have high levels of crime and high levels of blight. And we’re looking for schools that have academic challenges that can be addressed with a construction/renovation project. When it comes to radical hope, we’re looking for a neighborhood that already has a foundation of sustainability in place or in process,” said Lambert.
What the community surrounding Central High does have “is a very rich history of resilience. And it is geographically located in close proximity to downtown and Midtown. And a tremendous amount of development is coming this way. And so what we want to do is help create more equity and inclusivity in the community so the community will have more power to shape the development that’s coming.”
Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, this is the kind of impact that will result in all future developments as well. Using schools as anchors to rescue communities.
“We haven’t decided what neighborhood we’re going to next, but what we’d like to do is to prove that this model of repurposing vacant schools can be of great benefit to the city and continue to do it in other Detroit neighborhoods.”
It’s an idea that definitely beats shutting them all down.
As summer comes to an end and back-to-school season begins, it can be hard to get back into a regular schedule — both for kids and adults. To make the best of the summer-to-school transition, the Defender has compiled some tips on how parents can avoid being overwhelmed in the coming weeks.
Get in ‘school mode.’ Kids have gotten used to later bedtimes and sleeping in. The adjustment to a school schedule can be difficult. To adjust to the change, set your kids’ sleep schedules back to “School Time” two weeks before the first day. The National Sleep Foundation recommends children 6-13 years old sleep between 9 to 11 hours and teenagers, between 14 to 17 years old, should get about 8 to 10 hours. If you start adjusting their schedule now, by the time the first school bell rings, kids will already be on the right sleeping schedule and it will be one less worry for your family.
Shift the mindset. Visit cultural attractions like museums to shift their brains into “Scholar” mode. Encourage your kids to read at least one book before the school year begins. But while it is important to support learning throughout the summer, don’t spend the last weeks of summer vacation reviewing last year’s curriculum. All kids need some down time before the rigors of school begin. For some kids, last-minute drills can heighten anxiety, reminding them of what they’ve forgotten instead of what they remember.
Set schedules. Establish regular routines for elementary school kids and preschoolers. Not only does this include bedtime and wake-up time, but homework schedules, play time and computer/video game time. The Children at Risk Foundation recommends only allowing children four hours of video games during the school week. Schedule study blocks on the weekends before big tests, mid-terms and finals. Use positive phrasing, such as “You can go outside after your homework is done,” rather than “You’re not going outside until this is finished.”
Get to know new teachers. There will be open houses, orientations, and other meet-and-greet options at the beginning of the school year, but none will give you the chance to spend some quality time getting to know your kids’ teachers. Try to find a few minutes before or after school to connect one-on-one with the teachers. If your school hosts an open house, be sure to go. Familiarizing your child with her environment will help her avoid a nervous stomach on the first day. Together you can meet her teacher, find her desk, or explore the playground. With an older child, you might ask him to give you a tour of the school. This will help refresh his memory and yours.
Plan healthy lunches and snacks. The better you plan out the meals in your home, the healthier choices you will make for your kids. When you pack protein-rich snacks and lunches, balanced with fruits, vegetables, and other wholesome items, you ensure that your children will have the energy and brainpower to make it through their school days.
Organize clothing. Donate or dispose of the clothing that your kids have outgrown, but you should also take the time to carefully organize what is left. From there, decide what items you may need more of before school begins. The last thing a parent wants is to spend time each day trying to find a pair of pants that fits.
Set up a homework area. Find a central spot to store everything related to school, including backpacks, school supplies and a dry erase calendar with family schedules. Try to keep this area free of clutter and other non-school items so that you can find what you need, when you need it. Go through your kids’ schoolwork once a month to toss the things you don’t want. Create an inbox for kids to leave things that need your attention, like permission slips. Repurpose and relabel plastic tubs to organize all school supplies.
If your child needs a physical, consider going to an urgent care. Most schools require a physical examination before the sport season starts and signed consent forms from parents. The form is online and available at most pediatrician’s office. If a parent isn’t able to squeeze in an appointment with his or her child’s pediatrician (or the doctor is booked), consider stopping by an urgent care or walk-in clinic.
Prepare the night before. Encourage your kids to lay out their school clothes and pack their lunch the night before. Nothing leads to a stressful morning like children running around looking for something to wear or stressing because you’re out of peanut butter.
Ready, set, learn. Set up weekly meetings to review your kids’ schedules for the week(s) ahead. Set your clocks forward 10 minutes. This makes it easier to be on time. Create a family calendar that tracks everyone’s activities and commitments. Set a regular alarm each day that signals the start of homework time.
On a budget
While many parents know to use Tax-Free Weekend (Aug 11-13) to take advantage of annual back-to-school specials on supplies, here are a few other tips to keep your money on track as you head back to school.
Take inventory. There’s always that endless supply of makers, crayons and notebooks around the house. Reusing these items can save hundreds of dollars over the years. Consider repackaging, sharpening, and cleaning out older, gently used items before purchasing new ones.
Look for the deals. Some retailers’ back-to-school specials are available for online and in-store purchase. Many retailers provide online only offers and ship to store services. Oftentimes, retailers advertise special buy-one-get-one-free or gift with purchase deals.
Set a budget. Decide how much you are willing to spend per child, and include your children for a “teachable moment” by creating a budget. After taking inventory, create a shopping list and stick to it. This will help you avoid costly impulse purchases as well as ensure nothing is forgotten.
Know what your child’s school allows. Schools will often provide parents with a list of required items for the school year which can help determine what needs to be purchased. These lists are also available at many retail stores and on school websites. Additionally, many schools have specific dress codes, so keep these restrictions in mind before spending money on clothes the school may not allow.
Buy in bulk. While it may be tempting to buy that pre-packaged pack of apples or grapes, buying snacks in bunches like bags of grapes can be easily added to lunches. Also consider buying reusable sports bottles to increase your child’s water consumption during the day.
The Houston Independent School District could find itself with new managers – the State of Texas – if it doesn’t improve some of its failing schools.
The Texas Education Agency has given district officials until Sept. 11 to turn the low performing schools around or risk going into conservatorship. Thirteen schools are under the gun and if they aren’t improved, they could cause the district to be placed under the jurisdiction of state-appointed managers as early as next year
A 22-page letter dated July 13 specifically targeted Kashmere High School, which has received failing ratings since 2002 (with the exception of 2007 and 2008 when it improved under the threat of closure). HISD submitted a turnaround plan to get the school out of Improvement Required (IR) status. TEA officials did not approve that plan.
“The letter basically said that the plan that was submitted was deficient,” said HISD attorney Elneita Hutchins-Taylor. “And that a turnaround plan has to be reasonably calculated to make students perform at a high level. The commissioner, after reviewing the district’s plan didn’t feel like it was enough for the school to reasonably say if implemented, the school could come out of IR status. So they’ve given us another opportunity to come back, revise the plan, and submit it by Sept. 11.”
TEA officials told lawmakers that if even one of the district’s 13 schools that has struggled for at least the past three years receives failing accountability marks in 2017 and again in 2018, it could trigger state oversight of the entire district.
TEA would then do one of three things: Appoint a board manager who replaces the trustees; Plan alternative management of the school (i.e., hire an outside company); or close individual campuses.
HISD Trustee Jolanda Jones, who recently held an urgent community meeting to discuss the issue, said a TEA takeover would be disastrous for district schools.
“I look at history,” Jones said. “No school that TEA has ever taken over has survived. The conservator for Kashmere helped write the turnaround plan and TEA did not approve that plan.”
TEA could take over the district thanks to a law passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2015 that targets schools that have been in “improvement required” status for five or more years, as of the 2018-2019 school year.
While the state has taken over individual schools and smaller districts in the past, the law could overhaul how public education is provided in Texas. HISD is the seventh-largest district in the country, serving more than 210,000 students at over 280 schools and operating with a $2 billion annual budget.
HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza, board President Wanda Adams and other district leaders planned to travel to Austin to meet with TEA and key state officials.
“Houston ISD is aware of major concerns the Texas Education Agency has expressed regarding several of our schools considered ‘chronically underperforming,” the district said in a statement. “HISD shares the agency’s concerns and is working closely with TEA on the transformative work we must do at the local level to ensure every HISD student receives an excellent education.”
State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., a Houston Democrat, said he could support a state takeover because he doesn’t have enough confidence in HISD to turn around schools that have been continuously identified as failing.
“We have almost 15,000 kids in failing schools in Texas. I’m tired of that. Most of them are in my district. Most of them are Black and Brown schools,” Dutton said.
Senator James Lankford (R-OK) discusses the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bill that repeals provisions of No Child Left Behind and expands the state’s role in education (December 8, 2015).
Every student deserves an education that prepares them for lifelong learning and success, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, family background, or income level. Ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities is why the Department of Public Instruction and key partners have joined together in their commitment to close opportunity gaps and improve student outcomes across the state.
The Innovations in Equity Conference will provide educators the tools and connections they need to act as educational equity leaders in their field. Attend the conference to connect with like-minded peers and learn from one another on various topics around educational equity.
Who Should Attend
Individuals responsible for systemic change resulting in improved achievement
Individuals focused on improved achievement particularly for students of color, students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), economically disadvantaged students, and English learners
Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) faculty and students
Presentation Topics
Leading for equity
Using data to make decisions
Focusing on inclusive teaching and learning
Improving literacy and math practices
Accessing supports under ESEA and IDEA to strengthen practices
*Note – Fees are waived and supported by grant funds for the following groups: Title I Focus & Priority Schools, SPDG, pre-service teachers, and IHE faculty
By Ken Coleman, Special to the Michigan Chronicle
As summer comes to an end and back-to-school season begins, it can be hard to get back into a regular schedule — both for kids and adults. To make the best of the summer-to-school transition, the Defender has compiled some tips on how parents can avoid being overwhelmed in the coming weeks.
“The letter basically said that the plan that was submitted was deficient,” said HISD attorney Elneita Hutchins-Taylor. “And that a turnaround plan has to be reasonably calculated to make students perform at a high level. The commissioner, after reviewing the district’s plan didn’t feel like it was enough for the school to reasonably say if implemented, the school could come out of IR status. So they’ve given us another opportunity to come back, revise the plan, and submit it by Sept. 11.”
