Welcome Back
Welcome back. For many of you it seems that the summer went too quickly. I understand that having been in the classroom. Hopefully, you had a chance to rest and recharge your batteries.
While you were gone, lots of things have happened in the field of education. One of the most productive is that the Congress passed and President Obama signed legislation which would stop 300,000 educators from being laid off.
As for me, my latest book, 162 Keys to School Success, was published. One book dealing with high performing classrooms is at the publisher and I am working on two new books which, hopefully will be published at the end of this year or early 2011. You will find excerpts from 162 Keys at the Resources Section of my copyright-free website.
Again, my best wishes for a smooth and productive school year.
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Status & Trends in Education of Racial & Ethnic Groups
The Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups report examines educational progress and challenges in the United States by race and ethnicity. This report shows that over time, the numbers in each race/ethnicity who have completed high school and continued their education in college have increased. Despite these gains, the rate of progress has varied. Differences on key indicators of educational background, performance, and attainment persist among the various races and ethnicities studied.
· In 2008, a higher percentage of children who identified as Asian (51 percent) had a mother with at least a bachelor’s degree than did children who identified as White (36 percent), as two or more races (31 percent), as Black (17 percent), as American Indian/Alaska Native (16 percent), and as Hispanic (11 percent).
· Forty-eight percent of public school 4th-graders were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches in 2009, including 77 percent of Hispanics, 74 percent of Blacks, 68 percent of American Indian/Alaska Natives, 34 percent of Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 29 percent of White 4th-graders.
· From 1999 to 2008, the total number of Black and Hispanic students taking an Advanced Placement (AP) exam more than tripled, from 94,000 to 318,000 students. In 2008, Asians had the highest mean AP exam score (3.08) across all exams, while Blacks had the lowest (1.91).
· Among 8th-graders in 2009, 63 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders had no absences in the past month, compared to 35 percent of American Indians/Alaska Natives.
· In 2008, 44 percent of White 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in colleges and universities (a 16 percentage point increase from 1980); approximately 32 percent of Black 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in colleges or universities (an increase of 12 percentage points from 1980); and 26 percent of Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled (an increase of 10 percentage points from 1980).
The report additionally notes that more than 11 million elementary and secondary school students speak a language other than English at home.
To view the full report please visit http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010015
Is Head Start Worth the Money?
President Obama has requested an additional $989 million in funding for
Head Start in the next fiscal year, which would ratchet up Head Start’s budget to about $8.2 billion. (Head Start also got an extra $2.1 billion as part of
last year’s economic stimulus.)
The latest indication: a study of 5,000 students earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which found virtually no difference in academic achievement by the end of first grade between those
who attended Head Start and those who were eligible to attend but didn’t. The HHS study followed the students from 2002 through 2006, showed that before entering kindergarten, the children in the Head Start group did score higher academically in some areas than the non-Head Start group. But that gap virtually disappeared in less than two years.
Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director of the National Head Start Association offers a counter argument.
“Right now, because of tight budgets, Head Start serves only 41% of at-risk
preschool students, and Head Start for infants and toddlers serves a minuscule 3.5%.
People who experience the outcomes have affirmed Head Start’s value. Just ask police chiefs who know that people who began in Head Start commit
fewer crimes and go to jail less often. Just ask school administrators. For example, Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland recently found
that kindergarteners with special needs who had been in Head Start needed 3.7 hours of special education per week on average, versus 9.8 hours for non-Head Start children — a huge financial saving.”
The problems seem to be more with Head Start than with the concept of early education generally. Low-income children often begin school academically
behind their more affluent peers, and early education offers these children a chance to start at less of a disadvantage.
What can states do instead? One option is state-funded preschool programs. Three states — Oklahoma, Georgia and Florida — have universal preschool for 4-year-olds, while 35 other states help fund preschool programs. A 2009 Georgetown University study of free-lunch eligible students in Tulsa-area Head Start and Oklahoma Pre-K programs found that students in the state program showed more progress, in both cognitive development and social-emotional skills, than their Head Start peers.
How Do School Dropouts Affect Your Community?
There are new results of an ongoing study from the Alliance for Excellent Education that demonstrate the economic benefits of reducing the dropout rates for students of color in the nation’s forty-five largest metropolitan areas.
Earlier this year, the Alliance broke new ground by releasing metropolitan area-level data underscoring the powerful connection between decreasing the dropout rate and strengthening local economies. They released a new report that looks at the economic benefits that would come from improving the dropout rate of students of color in particular, who we know are among the most at risk of not graduating from high school. The findings estimate the contributions that additional high school graduates would likely make to a number of key economic factors, including job and economic growth, annual earnings, and home and automobile sales. They demonstrate the significant stake that community members—even those without children in the school system—have in the effectiveness of their local high schools. These findings also bring to light the return on investment that local areas would likely see if community members were to address the dropout crisis that exists among students of color in their local high schools, underscoring the notion that the best economic stimulus package is, indeed, a high school diploma.
Information about these reports areavailable at http://www.all4ed.org/files. or by visiting the Alliance’s website.
Check to see if your community is listed and then show the findings to your federal and state representatives and to members of your business community. Maybe this will stimulate a discussion on the implementation of cutting funding for education.
Teachers Tamper With Tests
An article appeared in the New York Times, (6/11/2010) identifying a growing problem. The growing pressure of schools to succeed with student’s testing has led to cheating among teachers and school administrators. In a number of schools, this has been caused by teachers receiving extra pay for increased school test scores. Some inflated scores have been reported by principals and superintendents in order for them to hold on to their positions.
In the Galena Park Independent School District, outside of Houston, Texas, the principal, assistant principal and three teachers resigned May 24 in a scandal over test tampering. The district said the educators had distributed a detailed study guide after stealing a look at the state science test. The district invalidated students’ scores.
Investigations in Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, Virginia and elsewhere this year have pointed to cheating by educators. Experts say the phenomenon is increasing as the stakes over standardized testing ratchet higher — including, most recently, taking student progress on tests into consideration in teachers’ performance reviews.
Colorado passed a sweeping law last month making teachers’ tenure dependent on test results, and nearly a dozen other states have introduced plans to evaluate teachers partly on scores. Many school districts already link teachers’ bonuses to student improvement on state assessments. Houston decided this year to use the data to identify experienced teachers for dismissal, and New York City will use it to make tenure decisions on novice teachers.
The federal No Child Left Behind law is a further source of pressure. Like a high jump bar set intentionally low in the beginning, the law — which mandates that public schools bring all students up to grade level in reading and math by 2014 — was easy to satisfy early on. But the bar is notched higher annually, and the penalties for schools that fail to get over it also rise: teachers and administrators can lose jobs and see their school taken over.
While there isn’t any national data is collected on educator cheating. Experts who consult with school systems estimated that 1 percent to 3 percent of teachers — thousands annually — cross the line between accepted ways of boosting scores, like using old tests to prep students, and actual cheating.
I am not going to excuse teacher or administrator cheating on test results. Obviously as educators, we do not excuse it when it is done by students. But high stakes testing is not the only way, and in my opinion, the best way of measuring student performance. When you add in performance pay, promotions, tenure and rehiring and AYP to the list, there is enormous pressure.
Changing Makeup of Schools
The Dallas Morning News reported that Black flight out of Dallas is changing the racial makeup of the Dallas public schools. Hispanics are replacing black students, a trend that is taking place nationally. The 41,000 black students in the Dallas Independent School District make up 26% of the student population. That is a drop of over 33% in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, the district’s Hispanic population now comprises 68% of the students in the district.
Hispanic children present a different set of challenges than other minority groups familiar to American educators. In addition to learning subject material, many of them must learn a new language. In a time of national recession, deep educational cut by hard-pressed states and decreased spending for education, schools have to provide additional services for these students. They need to hire more multi-lingual instructors, new textbooks, and set up more ESL classes.
Inform Parents
Ask parents what is the most expensive investment they have made. Many will answer their house or car.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the total cost of raising a child from birth to age 17 is $222,360 for middle -income parents . That is 22 percent higher than the 1960 costs.
We need to remind parents that the investment they are making with their children is not only the most expensive investment but also the most important one.
My New Book, 162 Keys to School Success
I am delighted to post an excerpt from my latest book, 162 Keys to School Success: Be The Best, Hire The Best, Train, Inspire and Retain the Best. More material can be found on my publisher’s website, www.eyeoneducation.com
With permission from Schargel, 162 Keys to School Success: Be the Best, Hire the Best, Train, Inspire, and Retain the Best. Copyright 2010 Eye On Education, Inc. Larchmont, NY. All rights reserved. www.eyeoneducation.com
1 Shared Leadership.
Organizations based on shared leadership thrive while organizations based on dictatorial or despotic leadership at best, perish; at worst, survive. One need not look far to find examples of this in the business world, where the most admired chief executive officers share leadership. In education, the schools we identified in our leadership and culture books (From
At-Risk to Academic Excellence: What Successful Leaders Do; Schargel, Thacker, & Bell, 2008, and Creating School Cultures That Embrace Learning: What Successful Leaders Do; Thacker,
Bell, & Schargel, 2009) were able to thrive because, as participants stated, “We treat everyone as family and family doesn’t allow family to fail.” When site visits were paid to many of the schools that responded to our surveys and we asked who is responsible for the success of the school, the
staff replied, “the principal.” When we asked the principals the same question, they replied, “the staff.” What makes shared leadership work?
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Openness to suggestions
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Open lines of communication
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Building trust
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Having respect, giving respect
The job of principal is overwhelming and few people expect you to have all the answers. You can’t do it all by yourself or all at once. You might look for a place to start and then look upstream in order to prevent problems for occurring in the first place. You should gather data on your current situation and continue to gather data as you move forward. Envision the ideal situation as you go.
2 Placing Blame.
People tend to blame people when in reality it is the system that is failing. How do you produce better results while not changing the process that produces those results? Fixing a piece of the system (i.e., teachers) without fixing the rest of the system tends to sub- optimize what we wish to accomplish. On the other hand, systemic reform will make everything better, not just that piece that we have focused on.
3 Establish a Mentoring Network.
The best principals make the best mentors. Speak to your colleagues in your district or in the surrounding districts and establish a network where you can collaborate with your professional peers. Collaboration will afford each of you opportunities to experiment and to receive feedback on new approaches you are using and on specific initiatives you are undertaking. Professional development should not be for classroom teachers only. Hold monthly meetings and rotate the schools where the meetings are held. Ask to visit classrooms in schools you do not supervise. See what you can replicate in your school.
4 Reconsider Retention.
Despite a half-century of data and research showing that retention does not result in long-term gains in achievement, schools continue to retain students. Retention is popular among politicians who criticize “social promotion” and believe that the threat of retention motivates students. The discussion about social promotion became part of our nation’s dialogue about education when President Bill Clinton asked for its end in three consecutive State of the Union Addresses (1997–1999). Data indicate that retained students are more likely to drop out of school than those students who have not been retained. Retention increases the risk of dropping out between 20 to 50 percent. Up to 78 percent of students who drop out before graduation have been retained at least once. Racial minority students and students living in poverty constitute the majority of those who are retained. Gains in achievement for retained students were either nonexistent or were not maintained in subsequent years after retention, according to The Effects of Retention on Drop-out and Graduation Rates, A Research Brief of The Principals’ Partnership: A Program of Union Pacific Foundation (Blayaert, 2009; see http://www.principalspartnership.com).
Retention doesn’t work and has a devastating effect on students, the educational system, and the parents of those retained, so why do we use it? It would appear to me that we need to build safety nets early into the system. We can- not wait until the end of a school term or a school year to
reprogram failing students during a summer where many of the same teachers are teaching the same material in the same way using the same curriculum and same textbooks. The minute a teacher identifies a failing student we need to establish tutoring classes that take place after school, before school, or on Saturdays. The incentive to parents would be that any student who is failing and does not avail himself or herself of the increased time might face the prospect of being held back.
5 What We Can Learn from the Best Sports Managers.
Great managers of baseball, football, soccer, and basketball know that if they hired the best players, they will have a great team. Similarly, great principals know that if they hire the best teachers that are available, they will have a great school. We need to trust the people who we hire to do the jobs they are assigned. We also need to empower people to make decisions. When candidates are being interviewed, get them to talk specifically about how they would handle different challenges. How would they deal with a crisis like a fight in their classroom? How have they reacted in the past when something went badly? What were the most significant mistakes they have made along the way and what have they done to correct them? What have they learned from their mistakes? How would they deal with the situation differently today?
6 Make It Happen.
I used to coach soccer. I love soccer for several reasons. First of all and most important, it is a team sport—everyone plays and there aren’t any real stars. If the team wins, it is a team victory, not a quarter- back’s or pitcher’s victory. When I coached, I informed the players that if they wanted to win, they needed to make it happen. No one would put a victory in their hands. Education currently is based on individual achievement, not on team involvement. Achievement or lack thereof is credited to “good” teachers or “bad” teachers. I would
rather have a team composed of no bad people, rather than a team with a few stars. For example, in soccer, everyone has different skills. Some people are playmakers and can create great visions and make great plays. Some people do not want to screw up and so they pass the ball to more established players. The team leader needs to keep everyone on the team going in a productive direction. A team focused on objectives will not burn out. How do your people react when something goes wrong? Do they freeze up? Do they bemoan their fate? Or, do they get back into the game, looking at their errors and making corrections to avoid them in the future?
One of the things that I learned by reading and by experience is called the “Deming Cycle,” which is P.D.S.A., Plan, Do, Study and Act. I think it has great applicability in education. As educators, we spend a great deal of time developing strategic plans. We spend far less time developing and measuring strategic deployment. We do not think about what happens when we deploy our plans, but it is critical that we determine what worked and what needs to be improved. We need to study the results of our actions. And having studied and measured the results, we need to complete the cycle and act again. Each time we go through the cycle, we need to always make improvements, revising and updating, slowly and deliberately.
7 My First Day on the Job.
I remember the first day that I worked as a teacher. It was hard to forget because on that first day was a teachers’ strike. It was a bone-chilling cold day in September and I had met very few of the faculty. It was also the first day for the principal,
Irving Anker. As we walked around the school in a picket line, one of the school dieticians came out with a tray of hot coffee and a tray of doughnuts. When we asked how much they were, she said, “Oh, don’t worry about it. The new principal paid for them.” In that one gesture, the principal made more friends on the faculty than anything else he could have done on that cold fall day.
8 Imbed the Improvement Process.
I call this “widening the circle”—bringing more people into the process rather than leaving them outside. It is very difficult institutionalizing a process rather than having its success dependent on a single individual or group of individuals— individuals who may leave, retire or become unavailable. The belief that organizational improvement needs to cascade down from the top upper echelons of school managers no longer works in today’s schools where frequently the staff has more seniority and experience than the principal. Good ideas are constantly being percolated up from the teaching ranks. Until school leaders at all levels take advantage of this percolator philosophy, schools will continue to mire in the mud.
9 “If You Were in My Shoes. . . .
” Ask your faculty, “If you were in my shoes, what three things would you do to improve the performance of the school?” Have them write their answers on sticky notes. Then have them place the sticky notes on a white board and look for ideas that seem to be related. Place these in a vertical a list. At the top of each list, post a title sticky such as “More parent involvement,” “Student apathy,” and so on. By having a visual, people can see where the problems lie. At the same time, the staff needs to realize that there are inhibiting factors such as:
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limited resources
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the number of staff with the knowledge and capacity
to lead the work
key staff turnover
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too many organizations with conflicting agendas
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reform overload.
Do not allow the inhibiting factors to deter the faculty from addressing the issues of improvement. Remind them that white water rapids are still waters that have learned how to go around obstacles.
10 Take Time to Recharge Your Batteries.
Have you ever thought, “What would happen if I wasn’t around?” Everyone needs time for himself or herself—time to get away from work, time to ingest and absorb all that takes place in your life. Build a balanced life around your personal life and school and make sure that the boundaries are as firm as you can make them. Find the time during the day to take a walk outside your building. Leave your cell phone and walkie-talkie behind and just mellow out.
11 Take Time for Your Family.
It is paradoxical that when improving the lives of other people’s children, educators fail to take the time to improve the lives of their own children. Balance your life by spending some time with your family.
12 Be a Boss, Without Being Bossy.
Robert M. Gates,Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, tells this story: During the Revolutionary War, a man in civilian clothes rode past a wall being repaired.
The Teacher “Dropout Rate”
Are you aware that the teacher “dropout rate” is higher (46% over 5 years) than the student dropout rate (33% over 4 years)? America’s next big crisis will be, where do we find enough teachers to fill our classrooms? Schools of Education are not producing enough people to replace the teachers who leave. Surveys indicate that most of the teachers who are leaving are quitting because of the lack of administrative support. My new book, published today, 162 Keys for School Success: Be The Best, Hire the Best, Train, Inspire and Retain The Best, addresses this issue. You will find more information about the book on the home page.
Model Schools Conference Feedback
Franklin spoke before over 1350 people at the Model Schools Conference in Orlando, Florida. Here are some of the comments:
“Franklin’s workshop was direct, informative and inspiring. Finally, someone who tells it like it is.” D. Ekdahl, Hammond, IN
“Finally, a speaker that gave me ideas and tools to implement how to’s for success in my classroom for today’s learners.’ L Gautier, EC Teacher
“Fabulous, dynamic and so exciting. C. Overton, Social Worker
“Very engaging, Franklin gives you a lot to think about, and if we really think about what he says, we can honestly begin to deal with the graduation rate.” J. Mayberry, Lead Teacher
“The program was very real-world and very informative. You can leave knowing that you can use what you learn today you can use in your school tomorrow to make a difference.” K. Couch, CTEA Director
“Great fun, but more importantly very practical!” S. Langford, Teacher
“The useable ideas I can implement immediately will jump start our road to improvement.” G. Starling, Assistant Principal
“Franklin hasn’t forgotten what the classroom looks like and feels like for kids and teachers.” K, Reilley, Instructional Special Ed. Coach
“I took more notes from this presentation and more ideas that I really want to remember and apply than in any other session.” J. Taylor, Principal
“Franklin is definitely not in a box – never has been, obviously. Doubt there are any type of barriers that would keep in his enthusiasm and compassion for his topic -saving lives.” T. Jochems, Montana
“Very realistic techniques that all of us can use.” J. Gleason, Counselor
“Most exciting, informative, active, energetic seminar I’ve attended in 2 years. I would highly recommend Franklin to any educator.”, A. McCain, School Board Member
“Franklin helps make me think it’s possible to do something about dropout prevention rather than just talk about it for the fifteenth time.” J. Oberlin, Teacher
“He has not lost touch with reality. Has practical, doable suggestions.” G. Ineichen, Principal
Franklin’s program provides great insight into the causes of school dropouts and provides practical solutions.” L. Wagner, HS teacher
“Very practical and right on target for all educators and school systems.” G. Mealer, Education Career Partnership Coordinator
“Engaging presentation that presents specific, realistic ways for all schools to improve the success level of at-risk students and all students.” G. Kirkton, Literacy Coach
“This was extremely informative and inspiring!” J. Ballard, Lead Teacher
“Lively and informative, often laced with humor, and very relevant to many schools.” P. Mitchell, Tech Coordinator
“Super presentation. It energized me.” P. Kruger, HS Principal
“Franklin’s ideas apply to ALL students and ALL schools and districts. His passion to improve schools is contagious! K. Jackson, Sp. Ed. Instructional Coach
“Franklin is ‘real’ about students and his message about dropout prevention is urgent!” L. McCullough, Curriculum Supervisor
“He is an excellent speaker giving great information and relates to real life experiences.” R. Flores, HS Teacher
“Enthusiastic and engaging presentation that encourages me to go back and look at improving our practices in the District.” B. McCormack, Program Manager
“Finally the dropout issue is narrowed down to the ideas needed to get to our preferred future.” D. Newell, Assistant Superintendent
“The session gave me great information to improve my school and push us into the direction we need to go.” J. Collier, HS Asst. Principal
“Franklin’s presentation demonstrates the integrated approach necessary to interrupt the dropout process many student are on.” R. Hearn, Curriculum Coordinator
“Program is fast-paced, requires involvement and offers solid information that can be utilized in classrooms.” S. Tyler, Sp. Ed. Teacher
“Very energetic and informative. Great information for improving our schools and children.” R. StClair, Teacher
“Franklin is obviously passionate and informed.” J. Gheen, Director
“An enlightened way to save the educational life and future of a child.” L. Freeman, Assistant Principal
“Fun, informative and most importantly practical.” A. Orgeron, Teacher
“Straight forward and to the point.” T. Gay, RTI Specialist
