Let's call it the McDuffy Redux meeting, as the report of the superintendent, the Dickensian "A Tale of Two Cities" will involve Brockton. My understanding is that at least the superintendent, finance admin, and possibly some school committee from Brockton will be in attendance.
And no, I can't go and liveblog; I have a meeting myself that night!
The Governance subcommittee meeting is reporting out, including a clarification that, yes, students can use cell phones at after-school events.
There are appointments, resignations, and recognitions.
There is a brief report on the EPIC grant on a pipeline of teachers.
There is a request for a report on Earth Day participation; a request that the Future Teachers program be expanded; for a report on school libraries.
Administration wants the Committee members to get back to them on co-sponsorship of items earlier (by Thursday noon).
There is a request to accept an innovation pathway grant for Worcester Tech; to approve prior fiscal year payments of $6,366.84 for Seven Hills Groton, MA Pediatric Center and of $4,396 for Durridge Radon Implementation; to accept donations of $10,000, on behalf on the Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU), for scholarships to graduating seniors, $25,000, on behalf of the Hanover Insurance Group Foundation, for the Hanover Insurance Academy for the Arts at Burncoat Middle School, $350, on behalf of the Boston Museum of Science, to Woodland Academy for bus funding for the student’s field trip to the museum.
Oh, and Worcester F&O, as we mentioned, is being nationally recognized for being awesome again.
There is an executive session for a worker's comp case, and for bargaining with administrative secretaries.
Monday, March 12, 2018
Countering the Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
Dr. Monique Morris, co-founder of the National Black Women's Justice Institute, speaking on and around her book Pushout
"research to practice gap" that we are in the midst of
"our practice is not yet consistent with our language"
"anti-oppression work in real time"
gaps floating underneath the radar
"no one really wanted to invest in this population that was being criminalized"
"challenge ourselves to think differently about the option that are or are not there for our girls"
re: school to prison pipeline: narrative largely constructive by experiences of boys and men
consider instead the various ways in which populations are coming into contact with criminal justice system
narratives emerging in ethnic media; girls who were arrested or threatened with suspensions or told to leave or use of excessive force
"this was about more than an isolated incident"
still this narrative that this is a crisis only among men and boys, but actually racial disparity is greater among girls
examine what is happening among girls just as had been examining what happens among boys
"is not only happening in one place; the disparity is all over the place"
disparity around arrests of both black and Latina girls
"school to confinement pathways"
more than just if someone is arrested on campus
"education is a critical protective factor against contact with the criminal legal system"
far less likely to be poor, to be abused, to be in contact with criminal legal system
"prevailing consciousness" how behaviors are interpreted and how black girls are engaged as learners and as humans"
schools not recognizing the reasons behind not being there; not recognizing or helping trauma
black girls not having their trauma read as trauma
schools' response is not to engage the girls as in trauma and support them
majority of girls and women engaged with criminal legal system have sexual assault experiences
schools can either contribute to the trauma or stand against it
"it's about the prevailing consciousness"
historical trauma
"have to make mistakes in order to learn" but can't make one mistake due to how it would reflect on her
coping mechanism to act out in response to bullying and lowered expectations around capacity to learn
"truth-telling is one of those tricky things in school"
spend February celebrating black history of speaking up, March of women doing likewise
"when girls do it in real time, we punish them"
"for many of our girls, they're willing to be punished if they can stand in the truth"
schools need to have space for students to do so without punishment
kids being out of school makes them vulnerable to being engaged in the underground systems that make it more likely for them to be in contact with criminal legal system
dress codes and the policing of black girls' bodies
"age compression" : younger black girls being perceived as being more adultlike
"our reading of those bodies"
"prioritization of policing girls' bodies"
"for a certain population, they're allowed to be children; for a certain population, they are not"
"there are other ways of dealing with a six year old's tantrum than calling the police"
perspective: you were either going to fight or you were going to be harmed
power conflated with fear; "hurt people hurt people"
oppression thrives in isolation
Stopping School Pushout has recommendations for policy makers, as does The School Girls Deserve
and there is not training for resource officers around working with black girls
restorative approaches as one, but don't isolate to a single modality
but "are supposed to be voluntary, not mandatory"
circle may not be the place it needs to start; cultural competency in restorative practices
repair relationship with oneself before restoring relationships with others
"that harm might start centuries ago"
Advanced Childhood Experiences informed decision-making tools: not just that you have a high score that matters; what you do with that
to build out a much more robust system of discipline rather than exclusionary systems
increased counseling/ multi-systemic care
amendments to protocols with school resource officers
have to engage in root cause mitigation
"you cannot implement safety; safety is co-constructed"
empathic discipline: responsive to conditions to a child's life, not just the behaviors of the child at that time
not "why did you do this?" but "what's going on with you? are you okay?"
building relationships; leading with love not leading with fear
"we have expectations that we should be fearful"
how we're engaging with young people; what are our expectations of them
prioritizing respect for each other
"get to know how to pronounce someone's name before you regulate how they dress"
trauma-informed and healing-responsive interventions to create safe spaces for all children to learn
impacts on brain and body and capacity to learn
leadership opportunities for girls are critical to the learning landscape
engagement in sports, in club activities
law enforcement officers are not in schools to discipline students; they are there to enforce the law
it is not against the law to talk back, to arrive at school out of dress code,
schools need to stop leaving it to them to intervene in schools that are under schools' jursidiction
also, using grandmothers as hall monitors (no police, just grandmothers)
align our actions with our intentions
Q on the legacy of colonialism
historical trauma is collective unresolved grief; giving space to be reflective
cultural practices that emerged out of survival, and trying to move past that
"not feeling safety inhibits learning...not just physically safe"
until people feel safe in their learning space, they can't learn
"healing to teach"
"research to practice gap" that we are in the midst of
"our practice is not yet consistent with our language"
"anti-oppression work in real time"
gaps floating underneath the radar
"no one really wanted to invest in this population that was being criminalized"
"challenge ourselves to think differently about the option that are or are not there for our girls"
re: school to prison pipeline: narrative largely constructive by experiences of boys and men
consider instead the various ways in which populations are coming into contact with criminal justice system
narratives emerging in ethnic media; girls who were arrested or threatened with suspensions or told to leave or use of excessive force
"this was about more than an isolated incident"
still this narrative that this is a crisis only among men and boys, but actually racial disparity is greater among girls
examine what is happening among girls just as had been examining what happens among boys
"is not only happening in one place; the disparity is all over the place"
disparity around arrests of both black and Latina girls
"school to confinement pathways"
more than just if someone is arrested on campus
"education is a critical protective factor against contact with the criminal legal system"
far less likely to be poor, to be abused, to be in contact with criminal legal system
"prevailing consciousness" how behaviors are interpreted and how black girls are engaged as learners and as humans"
schools not recognizing the reasons behind not being there; not recognizing or helping trauma
black girls not having their trauma read as trauma
schools' response is not to engage the girls as in trauma and support them
majority of girls and women engaged with criminal legal system have sexual assault experiences
schools can either contribute to the trauma or stand against it
"it's about the prevailing consciousness"
historical trauma
"have to make mistakes in order to learn" but can't make one mistake due to how it would reflect on her
coping mechanism to act out in response to bullying and lowered expectations around capacity to learn
"truth-telling is one of those tricky things in school"
spend February celebrating black history of speaking up, March of women doing likewise
"when girls do it in real time, we punish them"
"for many of our girls, they're willing to be punished if they can stand in the truth"
schools need to have space for students to do so without punishment
kids being out of school makes them vulnerable to being engaged in the underground systems that make it more likely for them to be in contact with criminal legal system
dress codes and the policing of black girls' bodies
"age compression" : younger black girls being perceived as being more adultlike
"our reading of those bodies"
"prioritization of policing girls' bodies"
"for a certain population, they're allowed to be children; for a certain population, they are not"
"there are other ways of dealing with a six year old's tantrum than calling the police"
perspective: you were either going to fight or you were going to be harmed
power conflated with fear; "hurt people hurt people"
oppression thrives in isolation
Stopping School Pushout has recommendations for policy makers, as does The School Girls Deserve
and there is not training for resource officers around working with black girls
restorative approaches as one, but don't isolate to a single modality
but "are supposed to be voluntary, not mandatory"
circle may not be the place it needs to start; cultural competency in restorative practices
repair relationship with oneself before restoring relationships with others
"that harm might start centuries ago"
Advanced Childhood Experiences informed decision-making tools: not just that you have a high score that matters; what you do with that
to build out a much more robust system of discipline rather than exclusionary systems
increased counseling/ multi-systemic care
amendments to protocols with school resource officers
have to engage in root cause mitigation
"you cannot implement safety; safety is co-constructed"
empathic discipline: responsive to conditions to a child's life, not just the behaviors of the child at that time
not "why did you do this?" but "what's going on with you? are you okay?"
building relationships; leading with love not leading with fear
"we have expectations that we should be fearful"
how we're engaging with young people; what are our expectations of them
prioritizing respect for each other
"get to know how to pronounce someone's name before you regulate how they dress"
trauma-informed and healing-responsive interventions to create safe spaces for all children to learn
impacts on brain and body and capacity to learn
leadership opportunities for girls are critical to the learning landscape
engagement in sports, in club activities
law enforcement officers are not in schools to discipline students; they are there to enforce the law
it is not against the law to talk back, to arrive at school out of dress code,
schools need to stop leaving it to them to intervene in schools that are under schools' jursidiction
also, using grandmothers as hall monitors (no police, just grandmothers)
align our actions with our intentions
Q on the legacy of colonialism
historical trauma is collective unresolved grief; giving space to be reflective
cultural practices that emerged out of survival, and trying to move past that
"not feeling safety inhibits learning...not just physically safe"
until people feel safe in their learning space, they can't learn
"healing to teach"
I don't know what this is
...intimidation? a power trip?
But it certainly isn't making anyone in Worcester any safer.
But it certainly isn't making anyone in Worcester any safer.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
"And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles."
Maybe it should have been that April, when they told us to move the kids to the closet, to the floor, away from the windows, to be quiet, not to stir.
Maybe it should have been that December, when they told us to be ready to block the doors, the windows, build a wall, find your weapon, think of escapes, organize your class.
Maybe it finally be now, when they told us they need to fire guns in the building, so kids will know what it sounds like, will be trained, will be ready.
When did it become reasonable school policy to teach kindergartners to throw their sneakers at men firing weapons?
When did we as teachers, as administrators, as school committee members, but most of all as parents, decide that training our children to be front line troops was a part of what they were sent to school for?
The literary analogies stretch back as far as history; I think of Moloch in Leviticus. The post title is from Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" in which the "why" is never answered.
We have failed to address the real issue--yes, it's guns.
We have failed to realistically assess the threat--Massachusetts schools are more likely to be hit by a tornado (for example) and we don't require those drills.
We have responded with an "answer" that has no evidence of doing anything other than traumatizing kids, and even some evidence of increasing the problems.
We have spent lots of money on "school safety" and not nearly enough on things that make kids safer and healthier across the board.
I'm with the Parkland students all the way on gun control. But that isn't the only pushback that is needed.
We are also well overdue for a discussion of REAL school safety and security. We need a rebellion, a refusal to subject our children to unproven theories that make some people a lot of money, give a few people power, and make a whole lot of kids traumatized.
Maybe it should have been that December, when they told us to be ready to block the doors, the windows, build a wall, find your weapon, think of escapes, organize your class.
Maybe it finally be now, when they told us they need to fire guns in the building, so kids will know what it sounds like, will be trained, will be ready.
When did it become reasonable school policy to teach kindergartners to throw their sneakers at men firing weapons?
When did we as teachers, as administrators, as school committee members, but most of all as parents, decide that training our children to be front line troops was a part of what they were sent to school for?
The literary analogies stretch back as far as history; I think of Moloch in Leviticus. The post title is from Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" in which the "why" is never answered.
We have failed to address the real issue--yes, it's guns.
We have failed to realistically assess the threat--Massachusetts schools are more likely to be hit by a tornado (for example) and we don't require those drills.
We have responded with an "answer" that has no evidence of doing anything other than traumatizing kids, and even some evidence of increasing the problems.
We have spent lots of money on "school safety" and not nearly enough on things that make kids safer and healthier across the board.
I'm with the Parkland students all the way on gun control. But that isn't the only pushback that is needed.
We are also well overdue for a discussion of REAL school safety and security. We need a rebellion, a refusal to subject our children to unproven theories that make some people a lot of money, give a few people power, and make a whole lot of kids traumatized.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Two follow-ups on February's Board of Ed meeting
I tweeted these out this morning, but I thought they needed a more permanent place.
You'll remember that the Board voted in favor of the contract Chair Sagan had negotiated with Jeff Riley for Commissioner of Education. Part of the discussion was start date: while everyone was looking for sooner rather than later, there was recognition that Lawrence, too, needs a smooth transition as it moves from single receiver to a board receiver appointing a (still being searched for) superintendent. "By July 1" was the date set. Today's Eagle Tribune, however, has an article in today's paper which says he'll leave within weeks. The receiver board has just started meeting, and they've just posted the position of superintendent; they are not going to have a superintendent in place any time soon. The article speaks of Riley leaving his assistant superintendent in charge, but can he even do that under a receivership?
There was much fervor over the Boston Globe actually publishing--can it be?--a less-than-rosy charter school piece today. In the rundown of the recent setbacks, Jamie Vanzis most notably puts together last year's Mystic Valley's violation of their students' rights over hairstyles and the unquestioning and non-public renewal of their charter this year. I had mentioned this in passing at the time of the meeting, but I'll note this again here: under the Mass General Laws, charters are granted and renewed by the Board of Education, not by the Commissioner. That is not what has been happening, however, as the Board has voted their authority to the Commissioner. Note this memo from the February agenda:
Any Board member may call for the renewal to be discussed at a public meeting, but there is no allowance for the public to have input, to hear deliberation, or to otherwise be part of the process. And in this case, DESE has even refused the Globe documents about their decision. That isn't what was laid out by the Legislature as a process. Charter schools are much more complicated than a nice, neat little process with an office in Malden, and the public is owed more than that.
You'll remember that the Board voted in favor of the contract Chair Sagan had negotiated with Jeff Riley for Commissioner of Education. Part of the discussion was start date: while everyone was looking for sooner rather than later, there was recognition that Lawrence, too, needs a smooth transition as it moves from single receiver to a board receiver appointing a (still being searched for) superintendent. "By July 1" was the date set. Today's Eagle Tribune, however, has an article in today's paper which says he'll leave within weeks. The receiver board has just started meeting, and they've just posted the position of superintendent; they are not going to have a superintendent in place any time soon. The article speaks of Riley leaving his assistant superintendent in charge, but can he even do that under a receivership?
There was much fervor over the Boston Globe actually publishing--can it be?--a less-than-rosy charter school piece today. In the rundown of the recent setbacks, Jamie Vanzis most notably puts together last year's Mystic Valley's violation of their students' rights over hairstyles and the unquestioning and non-public renewal of their charter this year. I had mentioned this in passing at the time of the meeting, but I'll note this again here: under the Mass General Laws, charters are granted and renewed by the Board of Education, not by the Commissioner. That is not what has been happening, however, as the Board has voted their authority to the Commissioner. Note this memo from the February agenda:
Any Board member may call for the renewal to be discussed at a public meeting, but there is no allowance for the public to have input, to hear deliberation, or to otherwise be part of the process. And in this case, DESE has even refused the Globe documents about their decision. That isn't what was laid out by the Legislature as a process. Charter schools are much more complicated than a nice, neat little process with an office in Malden, and the public is owed more than that.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Called it
If you bet that Parkland was suddently going to mean advocacy for increases in "security" spending, you are correct!
"It clearly does raise the bar. Are we spending enough?" asked Rob Pezzella, director of school safety for Worcester Public Schools. "You have to reexamine what your priorities are."That's from this WBUR article, which otherwise has much more to do with guns around schools and notes this:
It's worth noting that some such security measures were in place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, and that alleged gunman Nikolas Cruz had been disciplined for bringing firearms and accessories onto campus. Like other shooters before him, he wasn't enrolled at the time of the killing.You're not going to police and gadget your way out of this one.
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