To Teach, or Not to Teach?

"Our kids deserve more, deserve better and I’ve lived here long enough to know that I want and can be part of the change necessary to help them achieve everything they’re capable of.”

- Teach for America Corps Member, Puget Sound ‘11

In living rooms and coffee shops across the Seattle Metro Area 35 highly qualified teaching candidates are constantly checking their email, updating their resumes and practicing their talking points for the most controversial job interviews they may ever face.  They have beat out 15,000 other applicants from Washington State for acceptance to the selective Teach For America program and now they’re applying alongside hundreds of other teachers for positions in Seattle and Federal Way.

Last year, the Seattle and Federal Way committed to accepting TFA teachers into the hiring process for the 2011 school year. With incredible support from groups like the Seattle Foundation (see video below) the community rallied to bring the new Corps members to the Puget Sound.

Over more than 20 years, school districts have partnered with Teach For America, because they offer an additional pipeline of diverse, effective teachers and leaders for their communities. Of the 35 Seattle Corps members, 40% are people of color, 30% received Federal Pell Grants to attend college and 55% are from or attended school in Washington State.

In an independent survey by Policy Studies Associates of principals who employed Teach For
America corps members, 94% report that the corps members made a positive impact on their
schools.  The most recent study from Tennessee, which looked at 42 different teacher preparation programs, found that, Teach For America corps members outperformed the average new teacher across all subject areas and grade levels. Teach For America was the top new teacher preparation program in the state.

Yet, this Seattle Corps faces some of the strongest opposition and misinformation campaigns the organization has ever seen.  Blogs such as Save Seattle Schools, Walking to School, and Seattle Education are preparing to tar and feather every school board member, superintendent, administrator, principal, teacher, UW graduate or student who ever breathed a word of support for TFA.

In the next few weeks I hope to bring you the stories of people who participated in the discussion about bringing Teach For America to the Puget Sound and give a human voice to the other side of the issue.  

Meanwhile, please take a few seconds to this online poll.

To Teach, or Not to Teach?

"Our kids deserve more, deserve better and I’ve lived here long enough to know that I want and can be part of the change necessary to help them achieve everything they’re capable of.”

- Teach for America Corps Member, Puget Sound ‘11

In living rooms and coffee shops across the Seattle Metro Area 35 highly qualified teaching candidates are constantly checking their email, updating their resumes and practicing their talking points for the most controversial job interviews they may ever face.  They have beat out 15,000 other applicants from Washington State for acceptance to the selective Teach For America program and now they’re applying alongside hundreds of other teachers for positions in Seattle and Federal Way.

Last year, the Seattle and Federal Way committed to accepting TFA teachers into the hiring process for the 2011 school year. With incredible support from groups like the Seattle Foundation (see video below) the community rallied to bring the new Corps members to the Puget Sound.

Over more than 20 years, school districts have partnered with Teach For America, because they offer an additional pipeline of diverse, effective teachers and leaders for their communities. Of the 35 Seattle Corps members, 40% are people of color, 30% received Federal Pell Grants to attend college and 55% are from or attended school in Washington State.

In an independent survey by Policy Studies Associates of principals who employed Teach For
America corps members, 94% report that the corps members made a positive impact on their
schools.  The most recent study from Tennessee, which looked at 42 different teacher preparation programs, found that, Teach For America corps members outperformed the average new teacher across all subject areas and grade levels. Teach For America was the top new teacher preparation program in the state.

Yet, this Seattle Corps faces some of the strongest opposition and misinformation campaigns the organization has ever seen.  Blogs such as Save Seattle Schools, Walking to School, and Seattle Education are preparing to tar and feather every school board member, superintendent, administrator, principal, teacher, UW graduate or student who ever breathed a word of support for TFA.

In the next few weeks I hope to bring you the stories of people who participated in the discussion about bringing Teach For America to the Puget Sound and give a human voice to the other side of the issue.  

Meanwhile, please take a few seconds to this online poll.

Real Talk.

The only way to accurately describe the achievement and opportunity gap in Washington State is…striking. Having attended college in the Seattle area, surrounded by some of the brightest and progressive minds I have ever had the pleasure of learning with, I would have never imagined that our public schools told a much different narrative of utterly evident disparities between white students who come from middle-high income families and students of color who are from lower income backgrounds. Indeed, such injustices can, and have historically, hidden behind a city beaming with plenty of caffeine, culture, progression, and water-proof sneakers. The truth of the matter is, however, that Washington is one of only a handful of states where the achievement gap is actually widening with time, and the reality of what opportunity and choice looks like for too many of our kids demands our most urgent and courageous steps forward.

And what might this look like, from a more concrete standpoint, you may ask? Let’s start at the beginning, when students first enter the public school system. 50% of incoming kindergartners are not prepared to succeed in the classroom, and are in need of severe remediation from day one. At the elementary level, the contrast of race and income becomes more defined. As showcased in a case study between Bryant Elementary, where students are primarily white and middle/higher income, and Northgate Elementary, where the student population is primarily lower income and students of color- Bryant’s third graders scored 40% higher in math and 60% higher in reading than Northgate’s third graders. These trends, mind you, can be found in many of Washington’s elementary schools, and often can be seen as factions within the same classrooms.

At the secondary level, the chasm between race and income persists and is expansive across the board. To take a local case study, at Garfield High School, students of color and from low-income backgrounds are as far as 70% behind their white peers in math, and 25% in reading. Data can also support that these extremes are representative of the extremes between other schools in the district. Moreover, Washington is 46^th in the nation for odds of students going to college by age 19; while the fact remains that 67% of Washington jobs will require post-secondary degrees by 2018.

So. Many have been asking and wrestling with these questions of “why Seattle?”, “why now?”, as education reformers propose changes that threaten the current state of opportunity in Washington. And the truth is that the current state of opportunity is, and has historically been, bleak and inequitable at best. In an ever-globalizing and technological world, every minute spent not strategically addressing these disparities is pulling our state, our city, our communities, our families, and most significantly, our students further into a hole that is getting deeper everyday. All of Washington’s students are tomorrow’s thinkers, leaders, teachers, builders, and workers; and we are doing a poor job at preparing them with the necessary skills and mindsets. To settle for the persisting status quo, to let these numbers stand and expand as they will almost certainly continue if stark changes are not made, is unacceptable. We can and must do better.

Real Talk.

The only way to accurately describe the achievement and opportunity gap in Washington State is…striking. Having attended college in the Seattle area, surrounded by some of the brightest and progressive minds I have ever had the pleasure of learning with, I would have never imagined that our public schools told a much different narrative of utterly evident disparities between white students who come from middle-high income families and students of color who are from lower income backgrounds. Indeed, such injustices can, and have historically, hidden behind a city beaming with plenty of caffeine, culture, progression, and water-proof sneakers. The truth of the matter is, however, that Washington is one of only a handful of states where the achievement gap is actually widening with time, and the reality of what opportunity and choice looks like for too many of our kids demands our most urgent and courageous steps forward.

And what might this look like, from a more concrete standpoint, you may ask? Let’s start at the beginning, when students first enter the public school system. 50% of incoming kindergartners are not prepared to succeed in the classroom, and are in need of severe remediation from day one. At the elementary level, the contrast of race and income becomes more defined. As showcased in a case study between Bryant Elementary, where students are primarily white and middle/higher income, and Northgate Elementary, where the student population is primarily lower income and students of color- Bryant’s third graders scored 40% higher in math and 60% higher in reading than Northgate’s third graders. These trends, mind you, can be found in many of Washington’s elementary schools, and often can be seen as factions within the same classrooms.

At the secondary level, the chasm between race and income persists and is expansive across the board. To take a local case study, at Garfield High School, students of color and from low-income backgrounds are as far as 70% behind their white peers in math, and 25% in reading. Data can also support that these extremes are representative of the extremes between other schools in the district. Moreover, Washington is 46^th in the nation for odds of students going to college by age 19; while the fact remains that 67% of Washington jobs will require post-secondary degrees by 2018.

So. Many have been asking and wrestling with these questions of “why Seattle?”, “why now?”, as education reformers propose changes that threaten the current state of opportunity in Washington. And the truth is that the current state of opportunity is, and has historically been, bleak and inequitable at best. In an ever-globalizing and technological world, every minute spent not strategically addressing these disparities is pulling our state, our city, our communities, our families, and most significantly, our students further into a hole that is getting deeper everyday. All of Washington’s students are tomorrow’s thinkers, leaders, teachers, builders, and workers; and we are doing a poor job at preparing them with the necessary skills and mindsets. To settle for the persisting status quo, to let these numbers stand and expand as they will almost certainly continue if stark changes are not made, is unacceptable. We can and must do better.

I'm Coming Out. . . .

. . . as an education "reformer." gasp!   I'm not really sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure I am one.  I hear it tossed around in the news when Wendy Kopp says that all children deserve an excellent education, when President Obama declares a need for high quality early learning, or when Arne Duncan drives the Aviation High robot around.

Until now, my only exposure in the Seattle "blogosphere" was an offhand inclusion as a "reformer" in the The Stepford Wives of Race to the Top.  While I prefer to be flattered by the association with Nicole Kidman and Bette Midler,  I assume the intended parallel was to the brainwashed robot.

Maybe that's what's missing, proof that we're not all robots. Proof that "education reformers," a loose group of individuals who share a range of ideas geared towards improving kids lives, are people, not corporations, not foundations, not machines. Proof that we can be Teach For America corps members and alumni, Gates Foundation grant recipients, union members, Stand for Children members, League of Education Voters Supporters, racers to the top, Democrats, Republicans  or whatever and still be critical advocates for children.

This blog should be venue to share the stories of the individuals who believe that all children deserve an excellent education, the achievement gap can be closed, and education is a social justice issue.  I hope that this becomes a place for you to share big thoughts and connect with others who want to make that happen.

I'm Coming Out. . . .

. . . as an education "reformer." gasp!   I'm not really sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure I am one.  I hear it tossed around in the news when Wendy Kopp says that all children deserve an excellent education, when President Obama declares a need for high quality early learning, or when Arne Duncan drives the Aviation High robot around.

Until now, my only exposure in the Seattle "blogosphere" was an offhand inclusion as a "reformer" in the The Stepford Wives of Race to the Top.  While I prefer to be flattered by the association with Nicole Kidman and Bette Midler,  I assume the intended parallel was to the brainwashed robot.

Maybe that's what's missing, proof that we're not all robots. Proof that "education reformers," a loose group of individuals who share a range of ideas geared towards improving kids lives, are people, not corporations, not foundations, not machines. Proof that we can be Teach For America corps members and alumni, Gates Foundation grant recipients, union members, Stand for Children members, League of Education Voters Supporters, racers to the top, Democrats, Republicans  or whatever and still be critical advocates for children.

This blog should be venue to share the stories of the individuals who believe that all children deserve an excellent education, the achievement gap can be closed, and education is a social justice issue.  I hope that this becomes a place for you to share big thoughts and connect with others who want to make that happen.