Monday, March 25, 2019

AV #191 - Denver charter schools where graduation rates equal or exceed state average




A different headline, a different narrative:
Denver charter schools where graduation rates equal or exceed state average

If you think there are persistent myths and fabrications in Colorado about charter schools, just attend a national conference with educators and you will be stunned to hear the nonsense spouted about those “for-profit, private schools that take money away from our school districts.” After 28 years, people still say this? With a straight face, one member at the conference blamed the money spent on those charter schools for why her district cannot address the mental health needs of its students. Wow.

After that, a front-page headline in last month’s Education Week, the nation’s newspaper of record on K-12 education, that states: “In Many Charters, Graduation Odds Are Slim,”[i] is only mildly disturbing. Still, when the article continues on page 12, you have to shake your head to find this harder-hitting headline: “Charters Lag Regular High Schools in Graduation Rates.”

Which schools? In which states? The article does not mention Colorado, but click on the Education Week study and you can find a dramatically different story, state by state, of the “percentage of charter schools with low graduation rates.”[ii] Arizona, Minnesota, and Ohio, we read, have “the largest share of charter schools that consistently fail to graduate half of their students year after year.”


% of charter schools that fail to graduate half of their students
Highest percentage

Lowest percentage
Ohio – 66%

Wisconsin – 6%
Arizona – 36%

New York – 7%
Minnesota – 35%

Massachusetts – 9%


Colorado’s percentage, 13%, is not awful. Is the data accurate?[iii] I hope somebody here follows up with a more careful look at what is truly the case for Colorado’s K-12, 6-12, and 9-12 charter schools.

Education Week is well-regarded for its objective reporting, but page one was anything but.

“Charter schools … make up an outsized share of the number of public schools persistently graduating less than half of their students.
“These numbers aren't just a one time-time blip. Many charter schools have suffered from chronically low graduation rates of below 50% since 2010-11.
“‘The data undercuts the idea that charters are a better option,’ said Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University researcher who is a national authority on graduation-rate patterns.”

I am compelled to object, here, with a short reply: What about Denver? We all know the charter story differs state by state: different legislation, different reasons behind the new law, different groups of educators and parents enthusiastic to make the most of this new option … But let’s at least be aware that, in Denver Public Schools, the one Colorado school district with the largest number of charters (60), another narrative can—and should—be told. Perhaps beginning with a different headline:

Six Denver charters where graduation rates equal or exceed state average

From Colorado Department of Education – Graduation Statistics – 2017-18[iv]
% and # graduating out of number in 2018 class
Black or African American
Hispanic or Latino*
White
STATE
80.7%

74.4%
73.4%
85.3%






DPS
70.2%
4,066/
5,796
67%
(568/848)
67.8%
(2,267/3,343)
77.7%
(897/1,154)












DSST- Cole
86.2%
75/87
85/7%
84%
100% (8/8)
DSST – Green Valley
93.8%
105/112
100% (18/18)
94%
75%
DSST- Stapleton
91.6%
120/131
85.7%
88.9%
100% (42/42)












KIPP Denver Collegiate
89%
81/91
50% (1/2)
89.8%
N.A.












STRIVE - Excel
78.3%
54/69
100% (1/1)
77.6%
N.A.
STRIVE - Smart
89.2%
91/102
N.A.
89.9%
100% (1/1)

(For readers of AV #162, “High grad rates in Colorado – fake news,” and AV #183, “Remediation rates … grad rates,” see[v].)


Of course this is not the whole story. Many charter high schools in Denver and in Colorado do have low graduation rates. But context matters. As Education Week acknowledged, “the federal data collection does not take into account that some charter schools were set up to serve specific kinds of students who have greater needs and are harder to educate.”A sidebar to the main article, by the same authors, “Figuring Out Graduation Rates for Charter Schools: It’s Complicated,”[vi] offers more nuance.  Such as this detail: “students from charter schools are roughly three times more likely to be attending an alternative school than students from all other public schools.” 

Many of the Denver charters with poor graduation rates are classified by the state as Alternative Education Campuses (AEC’s) – and for good reason. Gov. Jared Polis knows the issue well from his time creating the New America Schools Network (note their low graduation rates for 2018: NAM-Thornton – 21.8%; NAM: Lakewood - 17.1%; NAM: Lowry – 13.3%[vii]). Judging these schools fairly must take into account who walks in the door. Not to make excuses, but what an enormous challenge to help a 16-year old, who enters your school two years after dropping out, graduate on time. A reach beyond our grasp.

Denver charter schools that are Alternative Education Campuses: graduation rates & SPF rating by DPS

Alternative Education Campuses
% and # graduating out of number in 2018 class
Denver’s School Performance Rating[viii]
Academy Urban Learning
42.1%
16/38
Accredited on Probation
Denver Justice High School
39.5%
14/36
Accredited on Watch
Colorado High School - Osage
30.3%
11/38
Accredited on Watch
Colorado High School- GES
28.9%
36/119
Accredited on Probation
Rise Up Community School
26.2%
11/42
Accredited on Probation
Ridge View Academy Charter School
2%
3/152
Accredited on Watch
Ace Community Challenge
0%
0/23
CLOSED 2018-19


No generalizations here. Just a few facts to push back and say: here in Colorado, and especially in Denver, there is another story that deserves to be told. I trust others will dig more deeply – and tell it.

PH#191






*The high graduation rate of Hispanic and Latinx students at these six charter high schools deserves more attention.  In the cover story for Education Next, “A Decade of Reform in Denver” (Spring 2019), authors Paul Teske, Parker Baxter, and Todd Ely of the University of Colorado at Denver, stated: “DPS experienced substantial improvement in the four-year graduation rate since the 2009-10 school year … Latino students registered the greatest gains.” And where, I would ask? In which schools? The DSST, KIPP, and STRIVE charter networks have clearly been a key source of the improved graduation rates for Denver’s Latinx students this past decade. https://www.educationnext.org/redesigning-denver-schools-rise-fall-superintendent-tom-boasberg/


Endnotes

[i] https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/02/27/in-many-charter-high-schools-graduation-odds.html
[iii] In its sidebar to this article (page 13 of the print edition), “Figuring Out Graduation Rates For Charter Schools: It’s Complicated,” the authors acknowledge “inconsistent definitions” of alternative schools “makes cross-state comparisons difficult.” Their final paragraph might even be an admission that the front-page article’s bold claims should be taken with a grain of salt: “Taken together it’s difficult to compare states to one another and to gauge whether charter schools are educating a disproportionately larger share of at-risk or high-needs student.” https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/02/27/calculating-grad-rates-for-charter-schools-its.html
[v] Compare and contrast. In AV #183 I listed Denver schools (“Remediation rates suggest our graduation rates will soon fall”), where “respectable” graduation rates (over 74%) appeared dubious given high remediation rates for their 2016 graduates entering college (Abraham Lincoln - 65.9%; DCIS at Montbello – 65.6%; John F. Kennedy - 60%). Note the 2016 remediation rates for these Denver charter high schools, below. That year, most graduates from these schools received a degree that actually meant they were ready for college.


Remediation rate at 4 charter high schools
Class of 2016
DSST - Green Valley
13.3%
DSST- Stapleton
9.4%
KIPP Denver Collegiate
20.8%
STRIVE - Smart
39.6%


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Friday, February 22, 2019

AV #190 - Why our school needs The Imagine Project – as told by 5th graders



Inviting students to tell their story, safely, in a way that builds trust and offers hope.  


“Our mission is to ensure that all young people (K-12) are provided an opportunity to heal from stress and trauma through high-quality, therapeutic journaling. We give all kids an opportunity to talk about their feelings, process difficult life experiences, and Imagine a new story in their lives…. [We aim] to give kids a voice to bring positive change into their lives, and those of future generations.”  The Imagine Project (https://theimagineproject.org)

What if you attended a faculty meeting after school and the main speakers were fifth graders? What if they made a compelling case for the whole elementary school to take part in a program they had experienced? What if these 10- and 11-year-old boys and girls shared with all of us present that afternoon personal and sometimes painful “Imagine stories”—one outcome of this project? And what if their teachers left both moved and excited, so much so that soon after every one of them, in grades 1-5, asked to bring the project’s 7-step writing tool to their classrooms?

I want you to hear from those fifth graders (page 2), and hope their words, more persuasive than anything I can offer, will make you curious enough to learn more about The Imagine Project.

My introduction came from hearing its founder, Dianne Maroney, RN, MSN—a neighbor here in Parker—speak of her work. And then from reading her book: The Imagine Project - Empowering Kids to Rise Above Drama, Trauma, and Stress, Yampa Valley Publisher, 2018. (Addendum A includes several excerpts.) The more I have learned, the more it strikes me that, if the strategy and the tools in The Imagine Project are fairly simple, the idea behind it is profound. As an educator, it is aligned with what I believe about good schools and the importance of knowing our students well; as a writing teacher, I see it as a great tool to help students find their voice (see Addendum B from previous newsletters). Like those fifth graders, I am now an advocate for this work.

The Imagine Project (founded in 2015) is much more than a school-based program, but schools are my focus—so here are the basics for a classroom.  A teacher might spend 60-90 minutes going through the 7-steps with her class—perhaps best done over several days, or even longer. There are four age-appropriate journal forms: for K-2, 3-5, 6-12, and for adults. It begins as “free writing”—i.e., not to be judged nor graded for spelling or grammar.   

Steps 1 and 2 serve as a warm-up, a kind of brainstorming. The writing begins with Step 3.

Step 3: Imagine
Choose one challenging experience in your life. Tell the story of that experience by beginning each sentence in your story with the word Imagine. Start with your first memory—what do your heart and mind think of first, when you consider that experience?

Step 3 can begin to explore a painful past event, as in these two examples (from The Imagine Project):

By Kate, 5th grader:
Imagine … being friends with a girl one moment and being bullied the next.
Imagine … not knowing what you did.
Imagine … feeling sad and upset.
Imagine … not telling your mom, feeling afraid she might be angry.

By Joseph, 4th grader:
Imagine … you left your country for a better life.
Imagine … you need to travel by train so others don’t see you.
Imagine … you need to walk in the desert for days and days.
Imagine … you need water but you don’t have any for days.

The next step invites the writer into a more hopeful space. What might be. What could be.

Step 4: Possibilities - Now it’s time to imagine new possibilities in your life. What is the ending you would like to have to your Imagine story? Dream big—imagine what you want to do in your life!

Steps 4 -7 takes the writer forward. Maroney believes such expressive writing encourages the student “to process and find meaning from a difficult life circumstance, to let it go, and to create a new story for their lives.  This kind of writing also allows the writer to feel seen, heard, and validated” (The Imagine Project, p. 78).

Those fifth graders at Walnut Hill Elementary School in Cherry Creek must have felt that way, based on their enthusiasm in asking their teachers to bring The Imagine Project to every classroom. The words of the boys and girls—quoted here—seemed natural and honest, and proved effective in leading the faculty to agree.

During the sessions, kids are able to reflect on themselves. They can talk about their struggles, triumphs, and tragedies. Writing about their stories can lead to healing.

It can help kids at Walnut Hills get through their problems that they might be having at school or home or anywhere. For example, a divorce. Some kids have parents who are divorced or getting divorced. The Imagine Project would help those kids see over the arc [of their story] and help them get to the other side of the sadness.

One of our big goals is to show kids that it's ok to be open about what they are going through.

The Imagine Project also helps kids reflect. When kids think about good and bad things in life it can help them see that they can rise above sadness and any other bad feelings they might be having. They can also see that they have been able to get through bad things which can help them see that there is always a way to get through something bad no matter how bad it may feel.

By having kids teach the school about The Imagine Project we want to make them feel like this is a privilege and not an assignment.

… we will be sharing our own Imagine Projects so that they can see everyone goes through this.

There are many good outcomes of thinking about and writing imagine stories. … From kindergarten to 5th grade we think this project will help kids of all ages. …  

My goal: merely to provide an introduction to The Imagine Project, and to ask you to take a look. Education policy and school reform (and no doubt Another View) can feel cold—too much “data-driven analysis,” too little heart. All of us need to be wary of becoming so PARCC, SPF, and PDU-obsessed that we lose our way. The young kids and teenagers walking into our classrooms hope for and need adults who will pay attention to them as individuals. And many are hurting. They need to find a way to share their stories with a trusted adult. When they are allowed to do so, the classroom can become a safe haven, a place where they are known, and an even better place to grow and learn.




Addendum A

The Imagine Project – Empowering Kids to Rise Above Drama, Trauma, and Stress (excerpts)

From Foreword, by Dr. Jerry Yager, Denver Children’s Advocacy Center
Maroney “effectively communicates her understanding of how hard it is to hear young people’s stories, and encourages us to trust that the very act of sharing and having someone present to hear them, see them and know them is healing in and of itself.”
“We cannot get overwhelmed by the challenges we face. We must learn to imagine ourselves collectively, finding innovative, creative solutions. This book offers the reader many resources that can help our children transform their suffering and maximize their resiliency and well-being.”

**
From Introduction
Her own painful experiences led her to wonder: “What if there was a way to help kids who’ve suffered from stress and trauma? Could telling their stories in the Imagine format steer them away from despair and toward hope and healing?”

From Chapter 1 – What is Emotional Wellness?
“… many of us find it extremely difficult to deal with our children’s expressions of painful emotions like sadness, disappointment, and frustration. Because of this, some children—especially teens—go inward and don’t like talking about their feelings to adults. And yet expressing emotion is extremely important. So how can we help children express their emotions?”

From Chapter 4 – The Value of Expressive Writing
“Kids and teens hold so much in their minds and hearts. When troubles are kept under cover, they remain unprocessed, take up too much space, and prevent kids from moving forward. Being ‘stuck’ only perpetuates cycles of dysfunction, such as abuse, addiction, and poverty, generation after generation. Fortunately, expressive writing is an effective tool that can help kids process and let go of their stories so they aren’t defined or limited by them. Expressive writing inspires them to imagine new possibilities ….”

From Chapter 5 – Writing with The Imagine Project
“At first glance teachers and administrators often worry that doing the journaling process will be heavy and hard for students (and teachers), but in most cases, it’s not as difficult as you might think. Instead, it’s profound and inspiring. Will there be tears? Probably, and that’s okay—what a wonderful way to show kids that expressing emotion is permitted and appropriate.”


Addendum B 
Another View (2010, 2013, 2018) and Chalkbeat Colorado (2016)

1.       From AV #65 – A Guiding Principle – Know Your Students Well (July 2010)

…  What is most important? What makes the biggest difference for students?  In facing difficult choices—we can’t be all things to all people—what essential principles should guide our thinking? 

Many of us agree on two guiding principles: we want 1) caring, committed, and capable teachers, and 2) a strong curriculum reflecting high standards and expectations. Here is a third principle that might guide us: we need structures that enable the faculty to know their students well. 

I believe the principle of knowing students well should be among our top priorities for several reasons.  The first reason is because it is such a human principle—it is about relationships—and therefore speaks to all parties concerned—parents, educators, and students.  Schools are communities where adults need to show respect for the young people in their trust, where adults need to build connections with and understanding of their students so that they believe: the men and women here do care about me and will treat me as an individual.  Second, in an era of data-driven accountability, it speaks to a factor that may not be measurable—and therefore can easily be discounted—even though our best school leaders constantly remind us that a school’s culture, its ethos, and its values—all related to personalization—are critical to its success. 


2.       From AV #105 – Teaching our students to write: Why I believe we’re headed in the wrong direction -               Writing standards & high school expectations frown on students finding their voice (Dec. 2013)
Welcome the young person – not just the student
  “The children who came into my classrooms were also perceptive—they caught on quickly whether school was going to be a place where they should bring their whole selves, or leave most of themselves at the schoolhouse door.”  Deborah Meier, Nov. 21, 2013, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences.



3.       From Chalkbeat Colorado – “On week one after a tense summer, don’t be afraid to tell students: ‘We want to know you’” (Aug. 2016) https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/co/2016/08/23/on-week-one-after-a-tense-summer-dont-be-afraid-to-tell-students-we-want-to-know-you/

   [Those freshmen entering this high school of 2,000 students] will wonder: Are the men and women in this building on their side? Is any adult there happy to see them?
    In those first days, English teachers will have their own questions about their students’ writing skills and their students’ lives. As a longtime English teacher in Parker, my solution was to embrace the simple journal entry.
    In my final years as a teacher, that first week of school, I asked my students to produce three journal entries. No magic there. But perhaps the big high school becomes less scary when one adult says, I care. I’d like to know who you are and what’s on your mind. Tell me.



4.       From AV #182 – Schools & the English classroom; depression & suicide (Aug. 2018)

If I were teaching again this year, I would find it impossible not to be thinking, more than ever, about the mental health of my students….  it feels especially important to acknowledge the emotional struggles of so many of our students, and to ask: what is our responsibility? …

[The Addenda included this quote from LeeAndra Khan, CEO of Civitas Partners, Education Post, June 6, 2018}
“Listening Is an Act of Kindness - It’s hard for all of us to do, especially educators [,] but listen with an empathetic heart. Our students are trying to tell us what they need, but the constructs of schooling sometimes prevent us from truly hearing them. When we listen, we open up opportunities to build relationships. When we build relationships, students can feel connected. If they feel connected, they may ask for your help.”

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Monday, February 4, 2019

AV#189 - Choosing a school for our kids – what a burden!


“… choice policies can also create a tremendous burden for families …”
From Commentary in Education Week, by Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, Sept. 19, 2017

“It can be hard to make good choices when there’s an abundance of options. In Washington, D.C., where I live, there are about 200 possibilities, including both charter schools and traditional public schools …. While the lottery makes the application process easier, families still need to shoulder the burden of visiting schools, comparing their offerings, and making an informed decision about which are best.”
From “Six Reasons Why School Choice Won't Save Us” in Forbes, by Natalie Wexler, April 29, 2018

“Can freedom become a burden, too heavy for man to bear, something he tries to escape from?”
Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom

“And they will be glad to believe our answer, for it will save them from the great anxiety and terrible agony they endure at present in making a free decision for themselves.”
Spoken by the Grand Inquisitor, from The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky


A satire

It is “choice” season for parents in Denver Public Schools. They tell us: “Apply: Create your [SchoolChoice] account here. Then, fill out … submit ….”

“Incoming preschool and kindergarten students must participate ….”

Some choice.

Such a bummer—to have to choose a school for our kids.

Sure I like choosing which supermarket to go to. Glad to know that King Soopers and Safeway aren’t far away, that we can go to Natural Grocers, Sam’s Club, Sprouts, Target, Wild Oats … Can’t tell you exactly why we prefer one—the produce, the cleanliness, the courtesy, knowing we might see friends there ….

But when it comes to schools, the district suggests: “1. First” [First—right away you know they’re going to make it hard!], “First, research DPS schools by reviewing …  2. Prioritize your student’s top preferences and rank them … up to a limit of 12 schools.” 

So much homework! Should I feel guilty if I don’t fulfill all these requirements? 

And who came up with this shopping metaphor for public schools—parents and students as customers? Give me a break.

Of course I like having choices when it comes to the next car. I can laugh at granddad, who called himself a “Chevy man.” He would never buy anything else. His generation was OK back in the old days with the USA's big three. I get why Americans, shopping for a car in, say, 1952, would have resisted the choices we now have from Japan, Germany, and Korea. Not how we see the world, I’m glad to say. Happy we have models from Italy and Sweden as well—and before long, China? And heck, it is fun to look around. Not long after the latest purchase I begin scouting for the next car, even if that’s four or five years down the road ….

But searching through 200 schools to find "the best fit" for our children? Who decided this was supposed to be such a burden? 

I go to the DPS website on choice. It lists 25 Frequently Asked Questions. Half of them confuse me further: “If one of my children ‘choices’ into a school that is not our guaranteed boundary school ….” Good grief. And why all this bragging? Enrollment guides available in 10 languages; “… DPS implemented a unified one-application, one-deadline system to simplify enrollment for families …”; “our online, mobile-friendly application tool.” Friendly? Ha!  

I take a look. Mission, beliefs, goals: “student-centered,” “self-advocacy,” “experiential.” Mumbo jumbo. It gets worse: “empowering students,” “building inclusive relationships,” “hands-on, brains-on curriculum.” I see “traditional” is an option, but who knows what that means these days? Heck, if I could have traditional I’d go back to what works for me: find your neighborhood school and (hit) send.

We changed our cable service again last month. A headache. We investigated so many packages—DISH and Direct TV, Sling and Spectrum, etc.—but well worth it. Funny now to think of The Boss, back in the early 90’s, singing about “Fifty-Seven Channels (and Nothin’ On).” In our research we learned we can now have 500 channels, but geez, who needs that many choices? – 250 will do. Something worth watching is always on. We got a good deal. Just committed to two years, though, since all this stuff keeps changing. Maybe in 2021 we’ll find better options.

But back to DPS. Being told to apply is not enough; it is also my duty, apparently, to visit several schools. Like that will happen! Some fool, I see, gives me 15 questions I’m supposed to carry around during a school tour. I must be too dumb to know what I want.

All so irritating, really, as if I’m being told: This Is What Good Parents Will Do. 

I wish the know-it-alls who came up with this convoluted process understood.

You’re demanding too much.

You’re putting the responsibility on us, just to find the right school for our kids.

Such a bummer.


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