For John, Micheal, Timmy, Jennifer, Shawn, Lucy, and All the Others

For John, Micheal, Timmy, Jennifer, Shawn, Lucy and All the Others

 

                                                                                                                          

 

 

 

     Recently, I read the book, Rosemary, The Hidden Kennedy Daughter. written by Kate Clifford Larson. The author explores Rosemary's life before and after her lobotomy. I include this reference in this post to remind us all how powerful attitudes can be in affecting people's lives, for better or worse.  These attitudes affect how we view people in society. These attitudes affect how we build the social fabric of our lives....our homes, our educational system, our medical care systems, our judicial system, etc.  It seems that we are at a turning point in our history. Let's move forward, not backward.

     During the early 1900's when Rosemary was born, people with disabilities were locked away in institutions which essentially warehoused them in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Today, there are none of these institutions left in America (hopefully, that we are aware of!). Rosemary's parents, Joseph and Rose Kennedy, realized early in her life that she was not developing normally. We all know that the Kennedy family was, and is, an influential family with political ambitions. Rosemary's early schooling presented many challenges for both her and her parents. For her, school was a place where she experienced academic and social failure and was frustrated when teachers continued to try to teach her academics. And likewise, teachers were frustrated with both her lack of academic progress and her increasingly difficult behavior. For her parents, her lack of progress was an embarrassment and presented possible roadblocks to their own aspirations and reputation. She was relegated to a series of residential schools, with little progress made. As she grew older, her immature behavior was a concern for her father, who decided to submit her to doctors who were experimenting with a form of neurosurgery that they claimed 'cured' unwanted behaviors that some people displayed and didn't respond to 'normal' interventions to change their behaviors. The lobotomy rendered her physically and mentally worse than she was before. She required extensive speech and physical therapy and around the clock care for basic everyday activities for the rest of her life. No matter......... the Kennedys could afford to buy her the best residential care. She was sent away again to live out her life where she wouldn't disrupt their social and political lives. The Kennedys went about their privileged life separate from Rosemary.

 

     Negative attitudes have shaped this country's treatment of people with disabilities. From shunning, to warehousing, to forced medical treatments such as lobotomies and sterilization, to segregation. We continue to hear myths about people with disabilities. We continue to struggle today. However, we have made much progress, progress that was championed by the Kennedys themselves. Following Rosemary's lobotomy, some of her siblings realized that Rosemary was no longer really connected to the family.  They saw her less and less. Thus began their many years of speaking out on behalf of all children with disabilities. The Kennedys championed The Special Olympics and landmark legislation that provided appropriate living and educational opportunities for children with disabilities. The heartache, the irreversible effects of a forced lobotomy, the difficult life that was Rosemary's could not be undone for her, but changing social attitudes and promoting legislation that would open doors of opportunity for all the future Rosemarys became a lifelong mission for some of the Kennedys.

 

     Let's examine progress made regarding the education of individuals with disabilities. We have gone from hiding them away to segregated opportunities to the legal right to attend public school and be provided a 'free appropriate PUBLIC education' (FAPE).  During her confirmation hearings, Betsy DeVos reportedly lacked an understanding of The Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA) which provides one of the legal bases for special education today.  She has a steep learning curve as she takes on the federal leadership position for America's public education which includes FAPE for students with disabilities in the 'least restrictive setting'. We can't go back to institutionalization. We can't go back to hiding students in 'private schools'. We can't go back segregated spaces and/or classrooms in public schools, ie. spaces that are 'left over' after all other 'regular' education needs are met.   We just can't go back. Jeff Sessions, Trump's new Attorney General, has an obligation to enforce all of the 'settled laws' related to special education, as well as all other 'settled laws'.  He has an obligation to lend a guiding hand to those who are unfamiliar with these 'settled laws'. It seems like he will be mentoring many newly elected and appointed cabinet members and advisors.

 

   Several of the following posts are just my personal career experiences with special education. Every teacher has his/her stories they could share.  

 

 

Will History Repeat Itself?

 

    

Our Constitution

Plessey vs. Ferguson (1896)

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Equal Educational Opportunity Act (1974)

Education For All Handicapped Children (1975)

Timothy W. vs Rochester, New Hampshire School District

Individuals With Disabilities Act (1990)

Endrew F. vs. Douglas County School District (2017)

 

 

     Just a few of many documents, landmark cases and legislation that fundamentally define public education. They show the evolution of attitudes toward the ideals we hold for public schools. Equal educational opportunity for all. Let us all hold our local school boards, state and federal education officials accountable to maintain this belief, this value, these laws.

 

     We live in a country whose government was established with the very intention of equalizing the power bases of the executive branch (the president), the legislative branch (Congress), and the judicial branch (the courts). We are pretty fortunate to (hopefully) have enduring institutions that will help us weather the political storms brewing.

 

    



 

     

 

Too Much of This....Not Enough of That

 

 

 

 

 

     For those of us who follow trends in public education, I read with interest that the interim superintendent of the Cape Elizabeth, Maine schools has begun their annual budget process a bit differently this year. Different, but it appears to be based on courage and wisdom. He reported to his school board that he began the process by asking teaching staff for ideas and was overwhelmed with both the number of ideas and the potential cost of implementing these ideas. It takes courage to ask a group of teachers what their requirements for an annual budget are and wisdom to know how to make the list manageable and feasible. It takes wisdom to begin the process with some principled decision making criteria. The principle which he brought forward was 'student need'.

 

     "We have to really stress literacy and the support for that as early as we can." Many experts agree that pre-K programming effectively reduces the achievement gaps most schools see as soon as kindergarten students walk through their doors day one. In addition, a cohesive preK-12 student support services system that responds as soon as (and as long as) students begin to experience academic and/or social problems has been cited as effective bridges to achievement and social success. Focus on reading proficiency and a strong math curriculum, his guiding words to his school board.

 

     This superintendent also spoke 'truth to power', in as much as the local school board is the beginning of a long chain of state and federal sources of power. This superintendent should lead the charge not only in Cape Elizabeth, Maine but in all Maine communities and every state across the US.  His words?

 

                "Cape Elizabeth places too much emphasis on testing. Although Cape is a high achieving school district, relying too much on getting good test results can be damaging. Rather, the district needs to experiment more in how success is measured. There is a risk of being reluctant to take risks."  He further acknowledged understanding how "some school board members or faculty may be afraid of what risk taking will do to test scores, or how it will affect parents' opinions of the district. He said that can't be the main concern. I wouldn't be too concerned with preserving a reputation. I 'd be more inclined to create a new reputation." 

 

     Additional words of wisdom? He spoke of the unhealthy levels of student stress and the importance of helping students manage 'unnecessary stress, too much stress'. He further recommended that "we need to help our school community realize that enough's enough".

 

     Wisdom and courage, universal ideals and challenges, principled leadership to guide decision making in public schools. Students are in good hands at the Cape Elizabeth schools with this school leader. He shared more pearls of wisdom with his school board. Read the Forecaster article written by Kate Gardner in its entirety here:  http://www.theforecaster.net/cape-elizabeth-school-chief-delivers-lesson-on-obvious-needs/

 



 

 

 

 



     I Know That 'Alternative Facts' is Just Another Name for a Lie

 

 

     History is repeating itself. Do we want the same unregulated business environment that caused the Great Depression and the most recent Great Recession, both of which left many people losing jobs, homes, economic security?  Are we OK with a business environment that dramatically redistributes the wealth in this country to a very few? The dismantling of the middle class and the emergence of large groups of people who are losing economic security even while working a full time job?

     First up....repeal The Affordable Care Act. One of the primary reasons many people are forced into bankruptcy today is unpredictable medical emergencies and the resulting cost of their healthcare to address their medical issue. Next....nomination of Betsy DeVos to lead the dismantling of public education. Education provides access to learning skills and attitudes that will provide opportunity for all to succeed in life. Further......nominations of Cabinet members who are mostly white male billionaires. Whose interests will these individuals look out for when many of them have publicly stated opposition to the posts they will lead? At least one nominee has withdrawn his nomination stating that it was difficult for him to separate himself from his business interests. A little glimmer of ethical action compared to the questionable ethics of the President himself who has not separated himself from his tangled web of national and international business interests. I don't understand how he can claim to be working on behalf of ALL Americans as he still benefits personally from so many 'business deals', oops...'government actions'.  His recent private fundraiser at his Mar a Lago 'home' in Florida reveals to me that he will provide access to himself (and others in the top 1%) if you have enough money to 'donate' to his 'cause(s)'.  Favors anyone? Step right up, no need to worry about the public finding out, the press was barred from attending.

     Consumer protections? Access to information upon which we can make informed decisions? The Federal Communications Commission is now led by a man who very quickly began the process of doing away with net neutrality. Net neutrality was designed to provide equal access to the internet, which has very quickly become one of the main ways people get their information and communicate. With most of the nation's newspapers controlled by a very few wealthy individuals who have been controlling and reshaping the public dissemination of news, it becomes more and more difficult to find the facts in our world today. It will require persistent dedication to find reliable information upon which to make important decisions. Education and persistence to prevent the use of 'alternative information' from pervasively being used to try to reshape reality. A lawyer uses distortions, omissions, and other techniques in their arguments. 'Alternative information' is pretty much lying. Let's just commit ourselves to telling the truth, whatever the truth is.

     The truth is, based on the facts that I know at this moment, we need a strong public education system that provides an equal educational opportunity to EVERYONE in this country so the dark periods of our history don't repeat themselves. And let's not go back to where we are OK with separate, but equal.  Separate has never led to equality in this country. Separate has never led to security in this country. Separate has led to dark times in our country, times where political and economic power in the hands of a few led to many being left behind suffering many indignities that none of us should see again.



Eyes Wide Open

 

Eyes Wide Open

 

 

     Public education in Maine, and the nation, has slowly been chipped away at by politicians. It is time for all of us to consider our next steps in supporting it. Retired public school teachers...it is time to give back. Stand up and make your voices heard. You and I can tell the stories of children and the positive benefits of public education done right. Let the erosion of our schools stop. Many of us taught in schools much different than the schools today. It is hard to say when the turning point was, but  'public education has been in increasingly hot water' long enough. (Do you remember the boiling frog syndrome? If you drop a frog directly into boiling water, it will try desperately to jump out to survive... if the frog is swimming in water that is slowly increased in temperature, it won't notice until the water has reached too high a temperature and will perish unknowingly?) The slow imperceptible danger to public education has been increasingly revealing itself.  School employees have been treading 'water of higher and higher temperatures' trying to stay afloat buffeted by shifting budgets, political mandates, and big business creeping in, aided by politicians who care not a whit about student achievement, but care immensely about supporting private business and lining their pockets with public money. It is time for all who believe in public education to see the true motives of those who are claiming public education has failed. It has not failed. Public education is a cornerstone of our democracy. Public education is not too costly.

     We can start right here in Maine and reveal the true motives of LePage's proposed budget. He has not been an advocate for public education since the day he took the oath of office as Governor of Maine. He attempts to destabilize public education. He imports foes of public education into the executive and legislative branches of state government. He pursues funding reductions and shifting. He abhors employee/teachers rights. He undermines effective leadership locally and at the state level. He has refused to nominate a Commissioner of Education, and thus the Department of Education has for several years lacked true effective leadership. His first Commissioner of Education brought the same tactics used in Southern states to create legislation, policies and procedures for Maine that mimic those in Southern states. This Commissioner hightailed it for greener pastures out of Maine as soon as a lucrative offer presented itself. Then an interim Commissioner was appointed, then made Commissioner, then fell ill and left the post. Another interim. Then a proclamation that he (LePage) himself would be the Commissioner of Education AND be the Governor at the same time. Now another interim.

     When Maine student achievement rates are compared to student achievement rates in Southern states, Maine students rank higher. Maine high school graduation rates are among the top 15 in the country. Why would Mainers want to emulate schools in the southern part of the US? Public schools in Maine have been making positive changes with regard to closing the achievement gaps that exist. The persistent geographical, racial, and income disparity that exists in parts of Maine is brought to school with the children who live within these areas and is reflected in their achievement rates. Yes, let's work to address this. Let's do it in a way that doesn't penalize every public school in Maine. We can start by letting schools keep their Federal Title 1 money that is intended to be supplementary money to address the learning needs of students who live in poverty. The state of Maine actually DEDUCTS this amount of money from their school subsidy.

 

     I would also echo support for state funding priorities made in the PICUS report that legislators commissioned several years ago and the most recent Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding and Student Achievement seemed to be coalescing around:

 

1. Supporting programs for children who live in poverty, including afterschool and summer programs;

2. Supporting full day publicly supported programs within our schools for 3 and 4 year olds, thus creating public pre K - 12th grade educational opportunities;

3. Supporting additional embedded professional development opportunities for teachers.

  

     Let's not allow LePage to derail these recommendations. Let's tell our legislators to recall the PICUS report they commissioned and fund public education appropriately.

 

     Governor LePage has said he will call for an end to the use of the school funding formula, the Essential programs and Services or EPS formula, in his proposed 2017 budget.  I haven't heard about any alternative way to determine future state education subsidy to towns and cities across Maine. Whimsical budgeting. The PICUS report found the EPS to be equitable, even though it found Maine underfunds education statewide by $350 million. To do away with the funding formula will likely further exacerbate the financial difficulties of some Maine communities to fund education in their areas. LePage doesn't like the way the formula defines the amount of money schools need to offer basic services. I don't know many people who only want a basic education for their children. Federal and state politicians have for years been yelling for excellent education for all students. Why should we only acknowledge funding for just a basic education?  In a previous budget, LePage unilaterally altered the EPS and included the costs of teacher retirement within the formula which didn't exist before, essentially reducing school budgets across the state by this amount.  (See my Oct. 19, 2016 'Experience Counts -School Funding' post; Oct. 29, 2016 ' Question 2 and ESP Funding Formula' post for more details on EPS)  I was a member of my town's local school board in the early years of his first term. He started by angrily calling for local school boards to work with him. Translation: I don't like local school boards.  He boisterously demanded that school superintendents 'get out of his way'. Translation: I don't like school superintendents. He has attacked the school teachers unions. Translation: I don't like unions. His goal is to weaken local control and employee protections by any and all means so that he can further erode the institution of public education. His call for one statewide teacher contract to address funding disparities - just smoke and mirrors. One state (politically controlled) contract will weaken employee protections, opening the door to further destabilization and destruction. He threatens to withhold money if he doesn't get his way. He, like many Republicans across the country, wants to eliminate having to pay for public education and transfer money spent supporting public education to the private sector, ie. businesses. (Diane Ravitch exposes this in her book, "Reign of Error" - I highly recommend this book for understanding the insidious historical attack on the institution of public education.)  

This year LePage has proposed to eliminate the funding formula that is used to determine state school subsidies. Specifically, he wants to eliminate funding for 'System Administration'. This pays for school superintendents and school boards. Wouldn't you say this very conveniently fits into his plan? Without these leadership entities, public schools will not only lose local leadership, but protection from political harm. The next step will be to weaken the teacher union, as has been done in other parts of the country. These actions so very conveniently follow the same paths as in other parts of the country where the attack on public education is further along in its path of destruction.

 

     Let's acknowledge that education is expensive and costs have increased over the years. What has not increased in cost? Food - increased.  Shelter - increased.  Utilities - increased. Etc. The cost of living has increased so it is reasonable that the cost of education will also increase along with all other costs. To attack education because it is costly, is disingenuous. The attack is meant to destroy public education. That would truly be a major blow to our society.

     Next up....president and federal education appointees who use money and political power to support politicians who are not friends of public education. Politicians who support big business.

 

    

 

     

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

 

Town Action Needed

 

 

     The January 10, 2017 Times Record contained articles describing issues that bear careful attention. First, "Town (Brunswick) Faces Tough Choices Over Fate of Aging Schools". Next, "Democrats Skeptical, Republicans Supportive of Gov. LePage's Budget".

  

     The town of Brunswick has a history of procrastinating when having to make difficult choices. By procrastination, I don't mean the time to carefully research and consider all options, in a  reasonable number of public meetings for all citizens to hear the facts, research, options considered and recommendations from town staff and Town Council, School Board, and other advisory groups. It is just plain hard for this town to make a decision and then implement it. There are many divergent viewpoints, people now forming groups, all wanting their way, with little room for compromise. Washington is not the only place where things drag out, resulting in unnecessary cost inflation to the taxpayers. Our 'beautifully balanced' town of Brunswick is home to projects that cost more than they should due to delay, masked as citizen participation and transparency. At some point, decisions have to be made and forward movement is necessary.

    The headline, "Town Faces Tough Choices Over Fate of Aging Schools" implies that work still needs to be done to arrive at a course of action to address two of our aging public schools. In fact, the School Board has spent considerable dedicated time in public meetings discussing the research, data collected, many options. After many starts and re-starts, the School Board came to a consensus recommendation and presented it to the Town Council. The recommendation to the Town Council  included a repair and renovation bond project to address major facilities deficiencies in two schools. Additionally, the School Department applied for, and received, Revolving Renovation monies from the state to address the most serious deficiencies in these two schools. Here's the link to the Brunswick School Department's facilities planning activities dating back to 2011: http://www.brunswick.k.12.me.us/facilities-study/  The Town Council rejected the School Board's first repair/renovate recommendation, indicating the School Board should re-evaluate and return with a recommendation that included building a new school. Some councilors' statements, "Go big or go home", "if we are going to spend that much just to repair, we should build new to get the best use of our money invested" were made. Another year passed where the School Board engaged in more architectural studies, with a careful eye kept on managing the cost of a new school. Again, the School Board met in public, discussed and debated the merits of additional options and arrived at a recommendation for a new elementary school to be built and repair/renovations to be made at the Junior High School. Town Councilors followed School Board deliberations, some even attending the meetings. The School Superintendent and the Town Manager stayed in close contact, meeting regularly and sharing information. When this second recommendation was presented to the Town Council, the brakes screeched loudly. The very same 9 Councilors are now saying more time is needed to study the financial implications of the recommendation and implying, perhaps, the School Board need to go back to the 'drawing board'.  The town's Finance Department has also studied the proposals and cost. The town's Finance Director and the school department's Finance Manager shared information and numerous models of tax impact were developed and publicly discussed. Yes, this will be expensive. It is a given. What more is needed?  We can argue about the pros and cons of the proposals. To what end? For how long?

 

This is the point at which a decision needs to be made. The schools need action. We need to send this to the citizens for either an approval or denial. Either we invest to build a new elementary school/ repair the Junior High or we invest to make major repairs/renovations to these two schools. Waiting will only increase the cost of whatever course of action taken to address the facilities deficiencies in these two buildings. Waiting to see if Brunswick schools will climb to the top of a statewide application for construction of a new school is a long shot, at best. Waiting will only increase the chance that a facilities mishap occurs and shuts down one or both of these schools and an emergency plan will have to be enacted. Think....double sessions of school; moving 5th graders into the junior high school where there is room even though the building is in need of repair; moving some of the junior high classes to the "new" high school (which is 20 years old!); leasing other space to hold classes; buying enough modular classrooms to accommodate however many classes might be displaced if a facilities mishap occurs. All of these less expensive, but still costly, options were considered but rejected.

 

My next upcoming post will be dedicated to the state's budget proposal, particularly education, health, and welfare.  Local agreements, local control should be pretty easy compared to coming to statewide agreement on proposals that will substantively change public education. Let's start by quickly finding common ground to move forward on our local schools issues and then coalesce around protecting public education.

 

 



Why Do We Hire Professional Educators?

 

Why Do We Hire Professional Educators?

 

 

I often ask myself this question, "Why does the town of Brunswick hire any professional to work in our schools?"  My personal view is that it takes skillful, dedicated professionals who persevere in their jobs, under often difficult situations. Gone are the days when we can say people who work in education do so because they can have summers off. Today those who work in education put in long hours throughout the year. School calendars may have markers that say school ends sometime in June, but effective educators work throughout the entire year. Collaborating with their colleagues on curriculum development, lesson planning, school initiatives, analyzing the never-ending data collected on student achievement, communicating with parents and other community members (it does take a village to raise a child), creating schedules that eke out every possible learning moment for students, financial planning/budgeting, and more. Please notice that most of these activities do not include any direct contact time with students. When you consider that educators spend most of their day in a classroom with students, you might curiously ask when they do all the things I just listed in the previous sentence. The answer: before and after school, the weekends, and during the summer months. So, yes, here are some adjectives that describe educators: professional, persevering, dedicated, motivated to make a difference in a child's life. Multiple children's lives. Education matters in people's lives. It opens doors to a lifetime of opportunities.

 

So why would Brunswick want to hire professional educators? Answer: to use their skills and passion to create stimulating learning opportunities for both kids and themselves; to be creative thinkers and make learning meaningful and interesting; to be critical thinkers to solve problems and issues that arise in our schools.

These are highly professional, dedicated, skillful resourceful people working in the Brunswick School Department - teachers, administrators, and a wide array of support personnel (from classroom assistants to nutrition staff to bus drivers to secretaries to nurses to mechanics to....on and on). Every one of them are teachers in their own way. They all contribute to the development of students who become skillful, creative, critical thinkers.

 

There is one more task that all these professional school employees do that can take even more perseverance. That is to deal with the political bodies and individual activists who use political organizing to influence the operations of our schools. I am not talking about shaping the vision for our community schools. I am not talking about the individual parent-teacher relationships that are formed in order to better serve individual children's learning and social needs. I am not talking about legitimate volunteers who selflessly give their time and/or resources to the schools and seek NOTHING in return. No fame. No recognition. No 'resume building' accolades. No social ladder climbing. No political points.

 

Every day school staff enter their schools trying to keep the 'political buzz' at bay in order to bring the day's learning opportunities alive.  They must reduce the clamoring noise of those who believe the school budget is excessive. They must soften the sounds of the citizen voices at the public podium who have a specific disagreement about something happening at one of the schools. They must cushion the many 'I have an idea that would be good for our schools' and artfully integrate it.

 

Every day school staff open the doors of our schools and classrooms ready to spend the day with children smiling, laughing, talking, singing, dancing, moving.....And then do the same the next day and the day after. Year after year.

 

Let's not let the political buzz get too loud.  Let's let the professional educators we hire do what they do best and celebrate with them all the good things happening in our schools.