Saturday, February 02, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
The Democratic Process
On Tuesday, February 5th, 24 states will hold primaries, caucuses, and state conventions to determine the number of delegates that will be elected to the national conventions this summer. The two main political parties in this country, Republicans and Democrats, will then choose a nominee at their respective conventions who will in turn square off against each other in a national election in early November that will determine who will be the next President of the United States. After Super Tuesday, the Democrats will elect about 54% of its total delegates and the Republicans will select around 41%.
Okay, that’s Civics 101, but what do you tell your children about the elections and this seemingly endless process, if anything?
Well, please do engage with them in talking about “the process.” It’s a truly an amazing and wonderful way of electing one of the world’s most powerful leaders that often gets lost by talking about the individuals and the acrimony. I resist telling my own children who I intend to support, but I do spend a fair amount of time talking about the country as a whole and educational policies in particular.
I do this for two reasons. First, we as a nation must get away from the winners and losers mentality that makes politics just another sport. Will Hillary put Barack in his place? Has Bill overstepped his bounds? Will McCain and Romney win the ultra-right wing support of the Republican Party if Mike Huckabee drops out? All of these “ripped from the headlines” kinds of questions dilute the real issue of the marvel of this peaceful (and convoluted) process that is the envy and (sometimes) scourge of the world, especially when it is rammed down the throats of other nations and people. Second, we owe our children, many of them who have never experienced the kind of political upheaval that other children in the world have experienced, an explanation about what process truly means.
A few years ago, I was invited to a symposium at the Castanoa Retreat Center in Half Moon Bay by the Harwood Institute to discuss civic engagement. In off election years, particularly in underserved communities, people depend on certain organizations as beacons in the night to get them and their children through the storms that they encounter every day. A contingent of leaders from the Agassi School, including myself, along with other “Centers of Strength” in Las Vegas were invited to discuss issues relating to poverty, education, and social services. Our goal was to just talk about our process. How did we do what we were supposed to be good at? How did we build a school out of thin air and create a (then) $60 million endowment in less than ten years to keep the school running for forever? Finally, how did we get people to feel less silo-ed (i.e., isolated) from the process of civic engagement?
In short, the answer was what Jane Addams at Hull House did so fabulously well. It was to provide her community with highly process-oriented choices. Addams (1860 – 1935) collaborated with a great many people and made Hull House a Center of Strength in the City of Chicago at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Hull House provided young immigrant women in Addams’ “Settlement House” not just a community but a way to advance themselves beyond their present circumstances by engaging deeply in Democratic principles. Hull House had a library, gymnasium, swimming pool, Chautauqua’s (which is like the Berkeley Extension School—or adult education—today), and much, much more. Hull House is the model for Progressive Schools because it explicitly taught Democracy.
So, what does that have to do with you, your children, and the Democratic Process?
Understand that Presidio Hill School is our Hull House, of sorts, allowing children and parents the opportunity to engage in process driven work and ideas that will carry them far beyond their current circumstances. You can discuss the issues that are important to your family because even as early as kindergarten your children are discussing “big ideas” at school related to Democracy. Find ways to engage them in process-oriented work that underscores the democratic principles of vision, collaboration (rather than service), and sacrifice. Again, Progressive Education does teach a specific kind of engagement and is activist in its origins.
One small way that we at PHS give back and are in collaboration in our community is by being a polling place on Election Day. Truly, we are so limited and constrained by space that having one more box in our school is a hardship. However, having PHS as a Polling Place teaches a subtle yet powerful message, which is we at PHS care deeply about the Democratic Process. It also says that we care about our city, State, and country. Patriotism is not always about flag-waving and bumper stickers, but it is about making sure that we are a part of the process in a small but symbolic way.
Ghandi, King, and Mother Teresa were all activist in the Democratic tradition. Yet, their greatest strengths as leaders involved the processes that gave people hope, a sense of wonder, and the ability to transform the lives of others by bearing witness to the work they did in collaboration with others. In the end, that is what we do, that is what distinguishes us as a school, and as a community.
Okay, that’s Civics 101, but what do you tell your children about the elections and this seemingly endless process, if anything?
Well, please do engage with them in talking about “the process.” It’s a truly an amazing and wonderful way of electing one of the world’s most powerful leaders that often gets lost by talking about the individuals and the acrimony. I resist telling my own children who I intend to support, but I do spend a fair amount of time talking about the country as a whole and educational policies in particular.
I do this for two reasons. First, we as a nation must get away from the winners and losers mentality that makes politics just another sport. Will Hillary put Barack in his place? Has Bill overstepped his bounds? Will McCain and Romney win the ultra-right wing support of the Republican Party if Mike Huckabee drops out? All of these “ripped from the headlines” kinds of questions dilute the real issue of the marvel of this peaceful (and convoluted) process that is the envy and (sometimes) scourge of the world, especially when it is rammed down the throats of other nations and people. Second, we owe our children, many of them who have never experienced the kind of political upheaval that other children in the world have experienced, an explanation about what process truly means.
A few years ago, I was invited to a symposium at the Castanoa Retreat Center in Half Moon Bay by the Harwood Institute to discuss civic engagement. In off election years, particularly in underserved communities, people depend on certain organizations as beacons in the night to get them and their children through the storms that they encounter every day. A contingent of leaders from the Agassi School, including myself, along with other “Centers of Strength” in Las Vegas were invited to discuss issues relating to poverty, education, and social services. Our goal was to just talk about our process. How did we do what we were supposed to be good at? How did we build a school out of thin air and create a (then) $60 million endowment in less than ten years to keep the school running for forever? Finally, how did we get people to feel less silo-ed (i.e., isolated) from the process of civic engagement?
In short, the answer was what Jane Addams at Hull House did so fabulously well. It was to provide her community with highly process-oriented choices. Addams (1860 – 1935) collaborated with a great many people and made Hull House a Center of Strength in the City of Chicago at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Hull House provided young immigrant women in Addams’ “Settlement House” not just a community but a way to advance themselves beyond their present circumstances by engaging deeply in Democratic principles. Hull House had a library, gymnasium, swimming pool, Chautauqua’s (which is like the Berkeley Extension School—or adult education—today), and much, much more. Hull House is the model for Progressive Schools because it explicitly taught Democracy.
So, what does that have to do with you, your children, and the Democratic Process?
Understand that Presidio Hill School is our Hull House, of sorts, allowing children and parents the opportunity to engage in process driven work and ideas that will carry them far beyond their current circumstances. You can discuss the issues that are important to your family because even as early as kindergarten your children are discussing “big ideas” at school related to Democracy. Find ways to engage them in process-oriented work that underscores the democratic principles of vision, collaboration (rather than service), and sacrifice. Again, Progressive Education does teach a specific kind of engagement and is activist in its origins.
One small way that we at PHS give back and are in collaboration in our community is by being a polling place on Election Day. Truly, we are so limited and constrained by space that having one more box in our school is a hardship. However, having PHS as a Polling Place teaches a subtle yet powerful message, which is we at PHS care deeply about the Democratic Process. It also says that we care about our city, State, and country. Patriotism is not always about flag-waving and bumper stickers, but it is about making sure that we are a part of the process in a small but symbolic way.
Ghandi, King, and Mother Teresa were all activist in the Democratic tradition. Yet, their greatest strengths as leaders involved the processes that gave people hope, a sense of wonder, and the ability to transform the lives of others by bearing witness to the work they did in collaboration with others. In the end, that is what we do, that is what distinguishes us as a school, and as a community.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Millennials Part 1
What the hell is a millennial? Why should you care? Are we late boomers responsible for their creation?
The Millennial Generation (guest article by Wally Bock)
Last week, Joanna, the daughter of the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, took an afternoon of her time to help me do car shopping. After driving me around and functioning as my car buying advisor, she went off to babysitting, which is one of several jobs that she's got.
Now, if you're thinking, "Wow, what a good kid. She sure is different than most teenagers," you're right and you're wrong.
You're right if you think that Joanna is a good kid. She's also smart and pretty sure of herself. She's got some values, too. She is a good kid. But she's not that different from lots of others in her generation.
You're wrong if you think that "She sure is different than most teenagers." The generalization you're working with came from the last couple of generations. It includes things like lots of youth crime, teen pregnancies and plummeting test scores.
None of those are true for Joanna's generation. Instead teen pregnancies and crime have been falling for the last decade, the time they've been teens. Test scores are going the other way, steadily upward. It seems that this is a group that's very different from their older brothers and sisters or Baby Boomers like me.
Joanna is part of what we're calling the Millennial Generation. That's the group born from around 1977 to 1995 or so. I'm imprecise here because there's not much agreement on exact dates, but the oldest of those are just graduating from college and entering the workforce. Others are moving through the teen years.
There's very little agreement on how many there are either. The estimates range between 60 and 74 million, but whatever number you choose, there are a lot of them, more than any generation except the Baby Boom.
That means that they are and will be a huge economic and social force. They may already be the most studied generation in history. All the major polling and market research firms, including Gallup, Yankelovich and Harris have studied them, along with a bevy of "trendspotting" firms and a clutch of academics.
Like any other generation, their perceptions and attitudes grow out of their own experience. Experiences and events that matter to you may not even appear on their radar.
A few weeks back Joanna and I were talking with some other folks. I mentioned the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut. She said, "What's that?" She didn't know. Why should she? It happened before she was born. For Joanna and others born around the same time, the world has different reference points than it does for older folks.
The Kennedy Tragedy for them is the plane crash, not an assassination. Someone named George Bush has been on every national ticket but one since they were born. There have always been ATM machines and round the clock coverage of news and public affairs on cable. They've never used a bottle of White Out or heard a telephone actually "ring."
Here are the events that they remember based on a survey of high school seniors in the class of 2001.
Colombine Shootings
War in Kosovo
Oklahoma City Bombing
Princess Di's Death
Clinton Impeachment and Scandal
OJ Trial
Fall of Berlin Wall
Mark McGwire/Sammy Sousa homerun contest
They've been well cared for. Children seem to be valued and cared for most in alternating generations. These folks caught a generational wave where children are highly valued and they've benefited from the longest economic boom in history. When they were kids, they got four times the number of toys that their Boomer parents got just twenty years earlier.
Today, nearly six in ten Millenials aged 6-17 have a TV of their own. There are different estimates of the teenagers personal spendable income, but the lowest is $60 per week. Twenty-two percent of the older teens have their own checking account and forty-two percent have a credit card. So, they've got high expectations.
They've got confidence that they'll achieve those expectations, too. Some of that is the natural confidence of youth. Some of it comes from growing up in good economic times. According to the Harris Poll of the class of 2001, eighty-eight percent have established specific goals for themselves for the next five years and virtually all (ninety-eight percent) are sure they'll someday get to where they want to in life.
And where is that? The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA has surveyed college freshman for 35 years. They found the class entering in September 2000 to rank "status" the lowest that it's been in 23 years. The Harris poll of this year's graduates found ninety-seven percent saying that "doing work that allows me to have an impact on the world" is important.
All in all, they seem to be an interesting mix of ambition and practicality, with a solid underpinning of values. One of their biggest worries is reducing debt. Sixty-three percent of the college graduates believe they'll have to make some sacrifices to achieve those goals they have.
This is a connected generation. Joanna is online like virtually all the college grads, seventy-five percent of those aged 12-17, and half of those aged 9-11. If computers and net technology were bolted on to the lifestyle of their parents, and mastered by their older siblings, the Millennials have always had it in their world.
The net is their primary source of news. Eighty percent use the net frequently as an information source. The next closes sources are radio (fifty-seven percent) and television (fifty-five percent). Compare that with American adults in general who prefer TV (seventy-five percent) followed by radio, newspapers, magazines, and, last in line, the net.
For them, this technology is a natural part of life. Where my daughters, who are a little older than Joanna, used to chat on the phone with friends, Joanna has added instant messaging and email to the ways she stays in touch. My kids wanted their own phone line, Joanna has her own cell phone.
Here's an important distinction. My generation and the Millennials older siblings see the net as something they connect to. But Millennials see the net as a way to connect to the world and each other.
Being connected is important. If the Baby Boomer slogan is "Be all you can be," then the Millennial slogan might be "Be all we can be." And technology is just one of the ways to make it happen. Seventy-eight percent of those college graduates feel that the net has brought them closer to other people.
Other people, including family and friends and society as a whole are important to them. Seventy-one percent of those eligible voted in the 2000 presidential election. They've vocal about issues like civil rights and the environment.
So, what we've got is a bunch of bright, concerned, connected and technologically savvy kids that work and play well with others. And they're coming soon to a classroom or workplace near you.
This feature appeared on 2 July 2001
Copyright 2002 by Wally Bock
Now, if you're thinking, "Wow, what a good kid. She sure is different than most teenagers," you're right and you're wrong.
You're right if you think that Joanna is a good kid. She's also smart and pretty sure of herself. She's got some values, too. She is a good kid. But she's not that different from lots of others in her generation.
You're wrong if you think that "She sure is different than most teenagers." The generalization you're working with came from the last couple of generations. It includes things like lots of youth crime, teen pregnancies and plummeting test scores.
None of those are true for Joanna's generation. Instead teen pregnancies and crime have been falling for the last decade, the time they've been teens. Test scores are going the other way, steadily upward. It seems that this is a group that's very different from their older brothers and sisters or Baby Boomers like me.
Joanna is part of what we're calling the Millennial Generation. That's the group born from around 1977 to 1995 or so. I'm imprecise here because there's not much agreement on exact dates, but the oldest of those are just graduating from college and entering the workforce. Others are moving through the teen years.
There's very little agreement on how many there are either. The estimates range between 60 and 74 million, but whatever number you choose, there are a lot of them, more than any generation except the Baby Boom.
That means that they are and will be a huge economic and social force. They may already be the most studied generation in history. All the major polling and market research firms, including Gallup, Yankelovich and Harris have studied them, along with a bevy of "trendspotting" firms and a clutch of academics.
Like any other generation, their perceptions and attitudes grow out of their own experience. Experiences and events that matter to you may not even appear on their radar.
A few weeks back Joanna and I were talking with some other folks. I mentioned the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut. She said, "What's that?" She didn't know. Why should she? It happened before she was born. For Joanna and others born around the same time, the world has different reference points than it does for older folks.
The Kennedy Tragedy for them is the plane crash, not an assassination. Someone named George Bush has been on every national ticket but one since they were born. There have always been ATM machines and round the clock coverage of news and public affairs on cable. They've never used a bottle of White Out or heard a telephone actually "ring."
Here are the events that they remember based on a survey of high school seniors in the class of 2001.
Colombine Shootings
War in Kosovo
Oklahoma City Bombing
Princess Di's Death
Clinton Impeachment and Scandal
OJ Trial
Fall of Berlin Wall
Mark McGwire/Sammy Sousa homerun contest
They've been well cared for. Children seem to be valued and cared for most in alternating generations. These folks caught a generational wave where children are highly valued and they've benefited from the longest economic boom in history. When they were kids, they got four times the number of toys that their Boomer parents got just twenty years earlier.
Today, nearly six in ten Millenials aged 6-17 have a TV of their own. There are different estimates of the teenagers personal spendable income, but the lowest is $60 per week. Twenty-two percent of the older teens have their own checking account and forty-two percent have a credit card. So, they've got high expectations.
They've got confidence that they'll achieve those expectations, too. Some of that is the natural confidence of youth. Some of it comes from growing up in good economic times. According to the Harris Poll of the class of 2001, eighty-eight percent have established specific goals for themselves for the next five years and virtually all (ninety-eight percent) are sure they'll someday get to where they want to in life.
And where is that? The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA has surveyed college freshman for 35 years. They found the class entering in September 2000 to rank "status" the lowest that it's been in 23 years. The Harris poll of this year's graduates found ninety-seven percent saying that "doing work that allows me to have an impact on the world" is important.
All in all, they seem to be an interesting mix of ambition and practicality, with a solid underpinning of values. One of their biggest worries is reducing debt. Sixty-three percent of the college graduates believe they'll have to make some sacrifices to achieve those goals they have.
This is a connected generation. Joanna is online like virtually all the college grads, seventy-five percent of those aged 12-17, and half of those aged 9-11. If computers and net technology were bolted on to the lifestyle of their parents, and mastered by their older siblings, the Millennials have always had it in their world.
The net is their primary source of news. Eighty percent use the net frequently as an information source. The next closes sources are radio (fifty-seven percent) and television (fifty-five percent). Compare that with American adults in general who prefer TV (seventy-five percent) followed by radio, newspapers, magazines, and, last in line, the net.
For them, this technology is a natural part of life. Where my daughters, who are a little older than Joanna, used to chat on the phone with friends, Joanna has added instant messaging and email to the ways she stays in touch. My kids wanted their own phone line, Joanna has her own cell phone.
Here's an important distinction. My generation and the Millennials older siblings see the net as something they connect to. But Millennials see the net as a way to connect to the world and each other.
Being connected is important. If the Baby Boomer slogan is "Be all you can be," then the Millennial slogan might be "Be all we can be." And technology is just one of the ways to make it happen. Seventy-eight percent of those college graduates feel that the net has brought them closer to other people.
Other people, including family and friends and society as a whole are important to them. Seventy-one percent of those eligible voted in the 2000 presidential election. They've vocal about issues like civil rights and the environment.
So, what we've got is a bunch of bright, concerned, connected and technologically savvy kids that work and play well with others. And they're coming soon to a classroom or workplace near you.
This feature appeared on 2 July 2001
Copyright 2002 by Wally Bock
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Mwenye Baraka--Jemmimah Thiong'o
"Hey, Rock, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat."
"Agaiiin?"
"Roaaaar."
"...and now, for something that we hope you'll really like."
"Agaiiin?"
"Roaaaar."
"...and now, for something that we hope you'll really like."
Friday, January 25, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Pictures From Iraq: What We Learn From War
In all the debate about Iraq, we forget that human faces are attached. Living, dying, connecting. Iraqis, American troops, civilian personnel, they all have stories to tell about the lives they have led and friends they have lost.
Tim Clemente, former FBI agent, and a friend, has been a counter-terrorism expert, but he found some humanity in the work that he does. We probably wouldn't agree on politics, per se, but he has been a good friend and tremendous father to eight beautiful children. Good kids.
Make no mistake, the Iraqi War is a tremendously unpopular conflict complete with epic villains and Shakespearean deceivers, but the soldiers who went there to fight and show a human side of a nation in turmoil, won't face the scorn that their brethren from Vietnam went through nor will they have the heroes welcome that the "greatest generation" received after World War II.
What will be their legacy? These troops, former students, humans, all.
Tim Clemente, former FBI agent, and a friend, has been a counter-terrorism expert, but he found some humanity in the work that he does. We probably wouldn't agree on politics, per se, but he has been a good friend and tremendous father to eight beautiful children. Good kids.
Make no mistake, the Iraqi War is a tremendously unpopular conflict complete with epic villains and Shakespearean deceivers, but the soldiers who went there to fight and show a human side of a nation in turmoil, won't face the scorn that their brethren from Vietnam went through nor will they have the heroes welcome that the "greatest generation" received after World War II.
What will be their legacy? These troops, former students, humans, all.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Bill on Obama: Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Stay out of the race.
It seems that Bill Clinton is getting it from all sides. Bill the Clinton has been all over the country stumping for Hillary and setting the record straight. To the point where Barack Obama retorted at the CNN Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate on Monday evening (1.21.08), "Sometimes I don't know who I'm running against."
Senator Obama's query is certainly justified. Rarely does a former president take sides in the primary election, usually letting the events before the party's convention play themselves out. Today's Chicago Tribune's editorial (1.22.08), "President Heckler," makes the case that Bill should keep his mouth shut, indicating that the former President always did have a problem with restraint.
Can you blame, Bill? Before Hillary teared up in New Hampshire and "found" her voice, she needed help--a great deal of it. Out came the big guns. Enter Bill Clinton, stage right, in full Lady MacBeth regalia.
However, now that Hillary has regained her frontrunner status, do we need to hear Bill being oh so un-presidential and slinging the mud.
The Clinton's have been known for their fierce loyalty to each other, even in the face of infidelity and other acrimony. It's all about the power. Just win baby.
The Clinton's have also been known for their equally vociferous destruction of the opposition. For them, politics is a blood sport (think 2007 New England Patriots and Mike Tyson chomping Evander Holyfield's ear).
When Barack Obama talks about wanting a change in business as usual in Washington, DC, he is speaking directly to and about the Clintons.
So, where does this leave us, the voters? Well, we watch and we wait, looking for one of them--Bill or Hillary--to slip up on the slippery rocks of presidential politics, waiting for the O'Reilly's of the world to pounce. That's what David Axelrod, Obama's chief political strategist, is banking on.
As a result, Bill and Hillary Clinton have to play Barack's game. It's the audacity of hope, baby.
The Clintons have been baited into giving up their "win at all cost" and "destroy your opponent" game because, in the end, they will need Barack's support and supporters to have a snowball's chance in hell of beating the Republicans in November. If Barack doesn't win the Democratic nomination outright, he won't be anybody's number two. His ego is way too big to allow that. So, he'll be a power-broker of a different sort.
So, again, where does that leave us?
Unfortunately, as one reader of this blog observed, the Democrats are squandering their best chance of winning the most winnable election they have had in more than a generation.
Thanks, Bill.
It seems that Bill Clinton is getting it from all sides. Bill the Clinton has been all over the country stumping for Hillary and setting the record straight. To the point where Barack Obama retorted at the CNN Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate on Monday evening (1.21.08), "Sometimes I don't know who I'm running against."
Senator Obama's query is certainly justified. Rarely does a former president take sides in the primary election, usually letting the events before the party's convention play themselves out. Today's Chicago Tribune's editorial (1.22.08), "President Heckler," makes the case that Bill should keep his mouth shut, indicating that the former President always did have a problem with restraint.
Can you blame, Bill? Before Hillary teared up in New Hampshire and "found" her voice, she needed help--a great deal of it. Out came the big guns. Enter Bill Clinton, stage right, in full Lady MacBeth regalia.
However, now that Hillary has regained her frontrunner status, do we need to hear Bill being oh so un-presidential and slinging the mud.
The Clinton's have been known for their fierce loyalty to each other, even in the face of infidelity and other acrimony. It's all about the power. Just win baby.
The Clinton's have also been known for their equally vociferous destruction of the opposition. For them, politics is a blood sport (think 2007 New England Patriots and Mike Tyson chomping Evander Holyfield's ear).
When Barack Obama talks about wanting a change in business as usual in Washington, DC, he is speaking directly to and about the Clintons.
So, where does this leave us, the voters? Well, we watch and we wait, looking for one of them--Bill or Hillary--to slip up on the slippery rocks of presidential politics, waiting for the O'Reilly's of the world to pounce. That's what David Axelrod, Obama's chief political strategist, is banking on.
As a result, Bill and Hillary Clinton have to play Barack's game. It's the audacity of hope, baby.
The Clintons have been baited into giving up their "win at all cost" and "destroy your opponent" game because, in the end, they will need Barack's support and supporters to have a snowball's chance in hell of beating the Republicans in November. If Barack doesn't win the Democratic nomination outright, he won't be anybody's number two. His ego is way too big to allow that. So, he'll be a power-broker of a different sort.
So, again, where does that leave us?
Unfortunately, as one reader of this blog observed, the Democrats are squandering their best chance of winning the most winnable election they have had in more than a generation.
Thanks, Bill.
Presidio Hill School: What is a Progressive School?
A few months ago (October 5 – 6, 2007), the teachers at Presidio Hill School joined other progressive educators from around the country for the first national Progressive Schools Conference in more than a decade. You’ll be happy to note that we helped to host the event by sponsoring 15 progressive educators at the school for a lunch and tour. Many of the other area progressive schools were involved with the conference planning, including San Francisco School, Park Day School in Oakland, Blue Oak School in Napa, and several others. Two of our own teachers presented at the conference, talking about progressive practices and what they are up to in their classrooms.
As I have often said, progressive education is less about regurgitating rigid content standards (although content is very important as students mature) and more about creating habits of mind that make life-long learners successful. Progressive Education is also democracy in action.
Thinking about Presidio Hill School as not only the oldest progressive school in California, but also as one of the exemplars of progressive practices, I put together some questions that people ask me about our school. The questions serve as a starting point for this discussion.
What are the hallmarks of a truly progressive school?
Progressive schools value the social-emotional growth of students. Progressive Schools also value collaboration over competition, which is part of both democracy in action and our social activist heritage. Also, progressive schools promote depth over breadth in all content areas, which spurs student interests and helps students pave their own way into a particular subject or discipline. Additionally, many Progressive Schools either de-emphasize or just don’t give grades as a way to tell that a student is progressing. Written comments take the place of just having grades only.
Don’t many other schools do this?
Absolutely, comments and commenting is a hallmark of not just progressive schools but most independent schools in general. What’s unique about our school is that parents, teachers, and even students are in on the conversation. It’s not just a one-way monologue, but the whole community is engaged in the discussion. Comments serve as a way for teachers, parents, and students to understand what can be done to improve and how we all can work together to usher that improvement along.
Who decides what gets taught at PHS?
At many independent schools, the school decides. It is the school’s curriculum. It is what the school values.
At PHS, teachers have great autonomy on what is taught, what is added, and what is taken out. The school (in teams of educators) does “scope and sequence work” to determine what should be taught where and when in the curriculum. The school audits what we teach by having conversations around what students know and should know, and what skills they have or should have from teacher to teacher and year to year. Nearly all our teachers belong to national and local organizations where best practices (and even standards) are shared. Our teachers present what they know at conferences, workshops and staff meetings and learn from each other and from conferences, workshops and other means all the time. We don’t rely on textbook companies or the state to tell us what gets taught when.
In what other ways do teachers collaborate?
Teachers discuss students constantly. This is a very important point: teachers know more about students and their world—socially, emotionally, and academically—than at any other school that I have worked. I have worked in traditional schools, progressive schools, and alternative schools. Teachers also tend to know other students that aren’t in their classroom, too. The great thing about being the size that we are is that we get to know one another well.
Last question, my child really loves PHS, can I go to school here?
Absolutely. Many parents and adults involved with PHS report they get so much satisfaction from engaging the students they love with what they are learning. By attending the Corporation Meetings, Follies, driving on field trips, going to Dialogue Circles, volunteering at the auction, and many other kinds of endeavors gives parents and the adults in the community a progressive school education too.
REPRINTED FROM MY BIMONTHLY
FRIDAY LETTER 10-19-2007
(http://www.presidiohill.org/news/archives/from_the_director/ )
As I have often said, progressive education is less about regurgitating rigid content standards (although content is very important as students mature) and more about creating habits of mind that make life-long learners successful. Progressive Education is also democracy in action.
Thinking about Presidio Hill School as not only the oldest progressive school in California, but also as one of the exemplars of progressive practices, I put together some questions that people ask me about our school. The questions serve as a starting point for this discussion.
What are the hallmarks of a truly progressive school?
Progressive schools value the social-emotional growth of students. Progressive Schools also value collaboration over competition, which is part of both democracy in action and our social activist heritage. Also, progressive schools promote depth over breadth in all content areas, which spurs student interests and helps students pave their own way into a particular subject or discipline. Additionally, many Progressive Schools either de-emphasize or just don’t give grades as a way to tell that a student is progressing. Written comments take the place of just having grades only.
Don’t many other schools do this?
Absolutely, comments and commenting is a hallmark of not just progressive schools but most independent schools in general. What’s unique about our school is that parents, teachers, and even students are in on the conversation. It’s not just a one-way monologue, but the whole community is engaged in the discussion. Comments serve as a way for teachers, parents, and students to understand what can be done to improve and how we all can work together to usher that improvement along.
Who decides what gets taught at PHS?
At many independent schools, the school decides. It is the school’s curriculum. It is what the school values.
At PHS, teachers have great autonomy on what is taught, what is added, and what is taken out. The school (in teams of educators) does “scope and sequence work” to determine what should be taught where and when in the curriculum. The school audits what we teach by having conversations around what students know and should know, and what skills they have or should have from teacher to teacher and year to year. Nearly all our teachers belong to national and local organizations where best practices (and even standards) are shared. Our teachers present what they know at conferences, workshops and staff meetings and learn from each other and from conferences, workshops and other means all the time. We don’t rely on textbook companies or the state to tell us what gets taught when.
In what other ways do teachers collaborate?
Teachers discuss students constantly. This is a very important point: teachers know more about students and their world—socially, emotionally, and academically—than at any other school that I have worked. I have worked in traditional schools, progressive schools, and alternative schools. Teachers also tend to know other students that aren’t in their classroom, too. The great thing about being the size that we are is that we get to know one another well.
Last question, my child really loves PHS, can I go to school here?
Absolutely. Many parents and adults involved with PHS report they get so much satisfaction from engaging the students they love with what they are learning. By attending the Corporation Meetings, Follies, driving on field trips, going to Dialogue Circles, volunteering at the auction, and many other kinds of endeavors gives parents and the adults in the community a progressive school education too.
REPRINTED FROM MY BIMONTHLY
FRIDAY LETTER 10-19-2007
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Monday, January 21, 2008
Barack Obama at Ebenezer Baptist Church on January 20, 2008
The cadence is not exactly King-like, but Barack Obama, on Dr. King's birthday, captures the essence of King in talking about the substance of hope in a speech that he gave in the pulpit of the Ebenezer Baptist Church: Martin Luther King's Church (both senior and junior). Ebenezer was Dr. King's church for most of his career as a Civil Rights leader.
In the end, Obama's speech is more Lincoln-esque than King-like in the theme that it tackles: Unity.
The biggest complaint against Barack Obama is not that he's inexperienced, per se, but that he's short on ideas. I'm not sure if the speech at Ebenezer changes that perception. What he does do for the very first time in the campaign is light a small fire under the core of the national African American electorate, perhaps save the remaining lions of the Civil Rights Movement.
Why such a small fire for people who want to trust and follow him? Why such a small fire for a people who want to be excited and ignited?
Some people would say that Obama has kept Black people at arms length. However, exhorting Black people to take responsibility for themselves, more of a Bill Cosby theme rather than a King one, gives Barack Obama a different dimension than other African American presidential candidates and leaders in the recent past. He tells Black people what they must do rather than what others must do for them.
It's why most African American Civil Rights leaders have been luke-warm to Obama's candidacy. He refuses to strike the same refrains that Civil Rights leaders have struck since King's death. King's "promissory note" and "insufficient funds" are the stuff that Barack avoids on the stump and in the pulpit at Ebenezer. Obama's "fierce urgency of now" is to join him and elect him because there will not be a him without a broader us.
At the very end of his Ebenezer Baptist Church sermon, Obama tells a story of a young white worker in his campaign, Ashley, which explains all you need to know about Barack Obama.
For most of Senator Obama's speech he has had the flights of oratory that hearkens the Kennedy (both JFK and RFK) rather than King, yet when he mentions Ashley, people seem a bit more skeptical about where Barack intends to take them next.
Would King have advanced a trope like Ashley into one of his speeches? Probably not. You could hear a pin drop in Ebenezer because Barack is leading them home to where he wants to go.
Ashley's story is about self-sacrifice. She has gotten Black people mobilized in South Carolina since the start of Obama's campaign. It's not just him, as Barack states, that people want to follow. It's the hope that an Ashley feels from his candidacy, which elevates her out of the degradation of poverty, eating mustard and relish sandwiches while her mother struggled with cancer when she was nine years old.
It's not exactly what Black people want to hear at the end of the speech where Barack has had them in the palm of his hands, but it is, I suspect, why so many white liberals embrace Barack's candidacy. He speaks to them. He certainly speaks to a number of Black folk, too. But has he convinced them yet. Has he convinced all of us.
In this house divided, only time will tell.
---
In the end, Obama's speech is more Lincoln-esque than King-like in the theme that it tackles: Unity.
The biggest complaint against Barack Obama is not that he's inexperienced, per se, but that he's short on ideas. I'm not sure if the speech at Ebenezer changes that perception. What he does do for the very first time in the campaign is light a small fire under the core of the national African American electorate, perhaps save the remaining lions of the Civil Rights Movement.
Why such a small fire for people who want to trust and follow him? Why such a small fire for a people who want to be excited and ignited?
Some people would say that Obama has kept Black people at arms length. However, exhorting Black people to take responsibility for themselves, more of a Bill Cosby theme rather than a King one, gives Barack Obama a different dimension than other African American presidential candidates and leaders in the recent past. He tells Black people what they must do rather than what others must do for them.
It's why most African American Civil Rights leaders have been luke-warm to Obama's candidacy. He refuses to strike the same refrains that Civil Rights leaders have struck since King's death. King's "promissory note" and "insufficient funds" are the stuff that Barack avoids on the stump and in the pulpit at Ebenezer. Obama's "fierce urgency of now" is to join him and elect him because there will not be a him without a broader us.
At the very end of his Ebenezer Baptist Church sermon, Obama tells a story of a young white worker in his campaign, Ashley, which explains all you need to know about Barack Obama.
For most of Senator Obama's speech he has had the flights of oratory that hearkens the Kennedy (both JFK and RFK) rather than King, yet when he mentions Ashley, people seem a bit more skeptical about where Barack intends to take them next.
Would King have advanced a trope like Ashley into one of his speeches? Probably not. You could hear a pin drop in Ebenezer because Barack is leading them home to where he wants to go.
Ashley's story is about self-sacrifice. She has gotten Black people mobilized in South Carolina since the start of Obama's campaign. It's not just him, as Barack states, that people want to follow. It's the hope that an Ashley feels from his candidacy, which elevates her out of the degradation of poverty, eating mustard and relish sandwiches while her mother struggled with cancer when she was nine years old.
It's not exactly what Black people want to hear at the end of the speech where Barack has had them in the palm of his hands, but it is, I suspect, why so many white liberals embrace Barack's candidacy. He speaks to them. He certainly speaks to a number of Black folk, too. But has he convinced them yet. Has he convinced all of us.
In this house divided, only time will tell.
---
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A Dream Deferred: Dr. King's Mountaintop Speech
The greatest speech that Dr. King delivered happened just two days before his death. King was a pretty defeated man by April 1968, understanding that his time in this world was nigh. He was the prophet predicting his own demise.
The Memphis Sanitation Worker's strike gave King a bit of a bounce in his step, while he was preparing for the Poor People's March on Washington, the site of King's greatest triumph up until that time. Yet, King took a moment in the Memphis march during what would be his last campaign to fire up his peaceful warriors.
Dark days were ahead, and King was beyond worrying. He had given all he could to advance a movement in the South to finally rip the chains from the sharecroppers and children of sharecroppers where he grew up and cut his teeth as a young preacher. Although the North gave King the money he needed, he saw intense opposition to his own opposition to the War in Vietnam. King's fiery furnace phrase, "I don't fear any man" was less a taunt to his would-be killer(s) and more a challenge to the people who would pick up his historical mantle of direct yet radical non-violent movements four decades later: Us.
In my estimation, politicians are not these peaceful warriors--sorry Barack Obama. High-flying and churchy oratory aside, the next people's leader will come from the fields, jungles, or forests of the developing nations rather than the halls of our current version of the House of Lords, also known as the US Senate.
The new Kings are leading their people in second and third world nations where the grassroots movements can halt the scythe of dictators, industrialized nations, multinational corporations, and time.
There will never be another King in our nation, I fear, because we are all too much in and of this world.
The Memphis Sanitation Worker's strike gave King a bit of a bounce in his step, while he was preparing for the Poor People's March on Washington, the site of King's greatest triumph up until that time. Yet, King took a moment in the Memphis march during what would be his last campaign to fire up his peaceful warriors.
Dark days were ahead, and King was beyond worrying. He had given all he could to advance a movement in the South to finally rip the chains from the sharecroppers and children of sharecroppers where he grew up and cut his teeth as a young preacher. Although the North gave King the money he needed, he saw intense opposition to his own opposition to the War in Vietnam. King's fiery furnace phrase, "I don't fear any man" was less a taunt to his would-be killer(s) and more a challenge to the people who would pick up his historical mantle of direct yet radical non-violent movements four decades later: Us.
In my estimation, politicians are not these peaceful warriors--sorry Barack Obama. High-flying and churchy oratory aside, the next people's leader will come from the fields, jungles, or forests of the developing nations rather than the halls of our current version of the House of Lords, also known as the US Senate.
The new Kings are leading their people in second and third world nations where the grassroots movements can halt the scythe of dictators, industrialized nations, multinational corporations, and time.
There will never be another King in our nation, I fear, because we are all too much in and of this world.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Juno: A Movie and a Cautionary Tale
Juno. Have you seen it? A movie, directed by Jason Reitman, about a sixteen year old who gets pregnant by her high school boyfriend, the nice kid, and puts the baby up for adoption but falls in love with the adoptive dad (Jason Bateman??!!) is the stuff that the old ABC After School Specials used to be made of. It goes to show you, it's not the what that makes a great movie, it's the how.
Juno should be seen by every junior high and high school student as a kind of cautionary tale about how to be authentic. It's less John Hughs's Breakfast Club and more in the vibrant dialogue flavor of Michael Lehman's Heathers because it will spawn other pretenders that won't be nearly as good. Yet, Juno is different than Lehman's movie because it goes against type. It's a wise-talking and rather normal character-driven movie that seems to be popular during this epoch, kind of like Dan in Real Life and other recent flicks where the central characters are borderline depressed people who find it hard finding love or even loving themselves, while all the while the audience is rabbit-eyes over them.
A clip from Jason Reitman's Juno
Juno should be seen by every junior high and high school student as a kind of cautionary tale about how to be authentic. It's less John Hughs's Breakfast Club and more in the vibrant dialogue flavor of Michael Lehman's Heathers because it will spawn other pretenders that won't be nearly as good. Yet, Juno is different than Lehman's movie because it goes against type. It's a wise-talking and rather normal character-driven movie that seems to be popular during this epoch, kind of like Dan in Real Life and other recent flicks where the central characters are borderline depressed people who find it hard finding love or even loving themselves, while all the while the audience is rabbit-eyes over them.
A clip from Jason Reitman's Juno
Harrowing: Are We Headed for a Recession?
After some harrowing weather in Virginia on Thursday, I returned home late last night to a whole bunch of new ideas. Mostly what I have been thinking about is how to keep my little school in San Francisco growing and striving without killing the people who are having a tough time just making ends meet. Raising tuition six to eight percent on families as we enter what could be the beginning of a recession (or worse) is not a good plan for longevity.
More on the plan in future posts.
More on the plan in future posts.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
On Yale: Is Financial Aid to the Rich Fair?
Did Yale get it right?
For over forty years, the Ivy League colleges have been trend-setters in providing financial assistance and other forms of aid to people that some newspapers are calling the new middle class in America--or a family of four earning between $150-200,000. That's $150K!!!
Believe it or not, the so-called elite universities have priced themselves out of the market for what some people would call the moderately rich. If Yale and Harvard (plus some of the other wealthier Ivies) are sitting on their billion dollar nest eggs, also known as endowments, then is this really good for education?
Probably. But Probably not.
According to the article below from the New York Times, Congress is doing some arm-twisting, making these schools spend money from their endowments. Yale's endowment is over $22 Billion dollars. That's billion with a "B." At four percent interest on $22 Billion dollars, Yale would reap $880 million in interest to spend from its nest egg with another $220 million that can go back into the endowment. That's a great deal of money, even when you think about the size of the an institution like Yale. To put this in perspective, the cost of educating all 4,000 of its undergrads is a mere $192 million. Of course, the price of a Yale education is priceless, but should a university earn more money in its endowment than it cost to educate its students? Hmmmm....
What does this mean? Since the Ivies set the trends for the other colleges and universities in the US, small and large, particularly when tuitions began to mirror buying a foreign luxury sedan (between $30 - 48,000 a year), Congress is banking that the universities must begin to make college more affordable. Who wants to see a coed go to debtor's prison (see Countrywide Home Loans). Universities that have been literarily printing money since the mid- to late-Eighties will see some of that come back to the people (who can probably afford the high tuition), although it may be a stretch for most. Perhaps that remodel of the kitchen will have to wait four more years.
Indeed, some families are opting out of the rat race by "disowning" their children, emancipating them early on or even making them go and and get a "real" job so that they will appear to be penniless in the eyes of the universities. Do many kids do this? Probably not, but the desperation of getting those poor little rich kids into Yale has its price.
$22 Billion!! With a "B."
January 15, 2008
Yale Plans Sharp Increase in Student Aid
By KAREN W. ARENSON
Yale said Monday that it would sharply increase financial aid for undergraduates, including those from families with annual incomes up to $200,000, in a bid to ease costs for a broad swath of students.
Yale and other universities with large endowments have been under pressure from Congress to spend more and reduce charges for students. Harvard announced a similar aid expansion in December, saying the policy would cut the cost of attending college to 10 percent of income for a typical family making $120,000 to $180,000 a year.
Last week, Yale said that it would increase its annual spending from its $22.5 billion endowment, freeing up money for more aid.
The president of Yale, Richard C. Levin, said Monday in an interview, “I hope this will send a strong message to people with incomes between $45,000 and $200,000, some of whom at the high end perceive our sticker price as very daunting, that Yale does offer help at that range.”
On average, students who receive financial aid will see their charges drop in half, Mr. Levin said. A family with two children in college, $180,000 in income and $200,000 in assets will sees its Yale bill drop, to $11,650 from $22,300. Full tuition, room and board this year costs $45,000.
Students will still be expected to contribute in addition to parental payment — but the bill will drop to $2,500 next year, down from their $4,400 share of the $45,000 total. Despite other efforts to increase the aid and outreach to low- and middle-income students, Dr. Levin said, “we are still believed in many parts of the country to be inaccessible and too expensive.”
Yale said its changes, to take effect in the fall and apply to all undergraduates, would raise spending on undergraduate aid by $24 million, to more than $80 million. Yale also said it would limit the increase in tuition, room and board next year to 2.2 percent, raising total costs to $46,000. In the last five years, the increases have ranged from 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.
Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who has been pressing colleges and universities to spend more of their endowments, applauded Yale, saying, “Students and parents are the winners.”
But Mr. Grassley questioned why other colleges with endowments of more than $1 billion had not followed suit.
Other well-heeled colleges have also taken steps to assist low- and middle-income students by replacing loans with grants in aid packages.
Not everybody welcomes the trend. Critics say it could lead less-well-off colleges to reduce aid for lower-income students as they tried to compete for upper-income students.
“We encourage colleges to fully fund the neediest students before extending financial aid pledges up the income scale,” said Robert Shireman, executive director of the Project on Student Debt, a group that focuses on financial aid.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
For over forty years, the Ivy League colleges have been trend-setters in providing financial assistance and other forms of aid to people that some newspapers are calling the new middle class in America--or a family of four earning between $150-200,000. That's $150K!!!
Believe it or not, the so-called elite universities have priced themselves out of the market for what some people would call the moderately rich. If Yale and Harvard (plus some of the other wealthier Ivies) are sitting on their billion dollar nest eggs, also known as endowments, then is this really good for education?
Probably. But Probably not.
According to the article below from the New York Times, Congress is doing some arm-twisting, making these schools spend money from their endowments. Yale's endowment is over $22 Billion dollars. That's billion with a "B." At four percent interest on $22 Billion dollars, Yale would reap $880 million in interest to spend from its nest egg with another $220 million that can go back into the endowment. That's a great deal of money, even when you think about the size of the an institution like Yale. To put this in perspective, the cost of educating all 4,000 of its undergrads is a mere $192 million. Of course, the price of a Yale education is priceless, but should a university earn more money in its endowment than it cost to educate its students? Hmmmm....
What does this mean? Since the Ivies set the trends for the other colleges and universities in the US, small and large, particularly when tuitions began to mirror buying a foreign luxury sedan (between $30 - 48,000 a year), Congress is banking that the universities must begin to make college more affordable. Who wants to see a coed go to debtor's prison (see Countrywide Home Loans). Universities that have been literarily printing money since the mid- to late-Eighties will see some of that come back to the people (who can probably afford the high tuition), although it may be a stretch for most. Perhaps that remodel of the kitchen will have to wait four more years.
Indeed, some families are opting out of the rat race by "disowning" their children, emancipating them early on or even making them go and and get a "real" job so that they will appear to be penniless in the eyes of the universities. Do many kids do this? Probably not, but the desperation of getting those poor little rich kids into Yale has its price.
$22 Billion!! With a "B."
January 15, 2008
Yale Plans Sharp Increase in Student Aid
By KAREN W. ARENSON
Yale said Monday that it would sharply increase financial aid for undergraduates, including those from families with annual incomes up to $200,000, in a bid to ease costs for a broad swath of students.
Yale and other universities with large endowments have been under pressure from Congress to spend more and reduce charges for students. Harvard announced a similar aid expansion in December, saying the policy would cut the cost of attending college to 10 percent of income for a typical family making $120,000 to $180,000 a year.
Last week, Yale said that it would increase its annual spending from its $22.5 billion endowment, freeing up money for more aid.
The president of Yale, Richard C. Levin, said Monday in an interview, “I hope this will send a strong message to people with incomes between $45,000 and $200,000, some of whom at the high end perceive our sticker price as very daunting, that Yale does offer help at that range.”
On average, students who receive financial aid will see their charges drop in half, Mr. Levin said. A family with two children in college, $180,000 in income and $200,000 in assets will sees its Yale bill drop, to $11,650 from $22,300. Full tuition, room and board this year costs $45,000.
Students will still be expected to contribute in addition to parental payment — but the bill will drop to $2,500 next year, down from their $4,400 share of the $45,000 total. Despite other efforts to increase the aid and outreach to low- and middle-income students, Dr. Levin said, “we are still believed in many parts of the country to be inaccessible and too expensive.”
Yale said its changes, to take effect in the fall and apply to all undergraduates, would raise spending on undergraduate aid by $24 million, to more than $80 million. Yale also said it would limit the increase in tuition, room and board next year to 2.2 percent, raising total costs to $46,000. In the last five years, the increases have ranged from 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.
Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who has been pressing colleges and universities to spend more of their endowments, applauded Yale, saying, “Students and parents are the winners.”
But Mr. Grassley questioned why other colleges with endowments of more than $1 billion had not followed suit.
Other well-heeled colleges have also taken steps to assist low- and middle-income students by replacing loans with grants in aid packages.
Not everybody welcomes the trend. Critics say it could lead less-well-off colleges to reduce aid for lower-income students as they tried to compete for upper-income students.
“We encourage colleges to fully fund the neediest students before extending financial aid pledges up the income scale,” said Robert Shireman, executive director of the Project on Student Debt, a group that focuses on financial aid.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Monday, January 14, 2008
Students Cheat the System To Get Educated: Public School Officials Catch On, Throw The Crumb-Snatchers Out
I love stories like the one below from yesterday's New York Times about students sneaking into richer districts to get educated. I'd actually like to thank the NYT for providing us with another coined phrase: domicile investigator. Hey, man. Pimp my house, and then come on over to peep it.. That's not what they were thinking here, me thinks.
Funny, I thought public education was supposed to be "free." What's the deal with that economic disparity-thing anyway? What I know for sure is that if all things were equal in this country, families and their students would not feel compelled to sneak to wealthier districts in order to get educated.
Perhaps these parents should be rewarded for actually sending their kids to school, snd congratulate them further for not having their children get into trouble. Now there's a thought...
What do you think?
-------
January 13, 2008
SCHOOLS
On the Lookout for Out-of-District Students
By DEBRA NUSSBAUM
AT 8 o’clock one morning, Juanita Ludwig and Vincent Constantino, employees of Clifton Public Schools, are knocking on the door at a house to check a tip. Someone had said a Clifton elementary school student did not really live there and was sneaking in from another district.
Ms. Ludwig, the supervisor of counseling and student services, explains to the parent who answers the door that the district must check to see that the child lives there most of the time. “We made sure there were age-appropriate toys for an 8-year-old child,” she said. “We explain to the parents that the child must stay at the house at least four nights a week.”
“They weren’t upset,” Ms. Ludwig said. “A majority of people understand.”
This time, Ms. Ludwig and Mr. Constantino, the district’s domicile investigator, concluded that the student lived there full time. But that is often not the case.
In the 2006-7 school year, the Clifton district, which has 10,500 students, investigated 625 reports of students illegally attending its schools; it caught 62 last year and 59 the year before. Those students cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Clifton is hardly the only district searching for students sneaking into its schools. While the State Department of Education does not keep statistics, administrators in suburban districts report that hundreds of tips are received and checked every year.
And there are many ways to find students who don’t belong. Bounties, detectives, stakeouts with cameras, and hot lines that receive tips from anonymous callers are tools that some school districts use to combat the perennial problem of illegally enrolled students.
Those who are caught can suffer consequences: For example, in Ewing, 13 families were asked to remove their children from its schools last year when attendance officers investigated and found the families did not live in the Mercer County community.
There is strong anecdotal evidence that families, including some from Pennsylvania and New York, try to sneak into some of the state’s top suburban districts, said Richard Vespucci, a Department of Education spokesman.
“It’s been an issue on again and off again,” he said. “It’s a bigger issue when the economic climate is weaker. It’s climates like this where property taxes are a real issue and anyone spending public funds wants to show where they are spending the money.”
Districts combat the problems in various ways. Clifton, for example, offers a $300 bounty to anyone reporting a student who turns out to be attending a district school illegally; it has paid once so far this school year, once last year and twice the year before. Students are required to reregister in certain grades in some districts, and attendance officers go to students’ homes to verify they live there.
School administrators say taxpayers demand the accountability. With the average per-pupil cost at about $12,000, taxpayers want to be assured that a student’s “permanent home is located within the school district,” Mr. Vespucci said.
In Cherry Hill, where about 400 such cases are investigated each year, the district got a tip a few years ago from a woman who lived in another South Jersey town. The woman said a fellow employee was bragging about sneaking her child into the Cherry Hill school district, said Don Bart, director of support operations for the district, which has almost 12,000 students.
The district’s full-time attendance officer checked it out, and the student was asked to leave the district. “We are just enforcing the law,” Mr. Bart said.
Under state law, a student a student may legally attend the school in the district where he or she resides the majority of the time. Out-of-district students are required to pay tuition.
Three years ago, the Clark Public School District hired a retired police officer to investigate cases of illegal students. The investigator has parked outside students’ homes to see if they come out in the morning and checked documents like licenses and car registrations.
“The key word here is domicile,” Superintendent Vito Gagliardi said. “The child must live in the house as a primary residence.”
Dr. Gagliardi said the concern is not only for taxpayers, but also for a student who has to lie to teachers and classmates. “In addition to protecting the tax dollar, this is unfair to the child,” he said. Students whose parents take them to districts outside the one they live in have to be careful what they say, and it can be uncomfortable when someone wants to go to their house, he said.
In some cases in Clifton, investigators have followed buses or sat outside homes at 6:30 a.m. in an effort to see if students really live in the district, said Ms. Ludwig. The district also requires three proofs of residency. “We are very vigilant,” said Ira E. Oustatcher, assistant superintendent.
With pressure on districts to reduce class size and stretch dollars, many taxpayers do not have patience for families sneaking into a district, be it for better schools, safety or convenience.
“The school districts are not being coldhearted,” said Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. “There is a financial burden on them, and they have limited resources. This is painful for schools, but it’s what the law says. It’s been a nagging problem and fairly consistent over the years.”
Ewing has one full-time attendance officer and four part-time officers, said Raymond Broach, the school superintendent. “It’s a pretty steady issue,” he said. Students have been caught coming in from Bristol and Morrisville, Pa., across the Delaware River.
In Teaneck, Al Schulz, a retired police detective, is attendance officer. Sometimes, he watches to see if students are coming over the George Washington Bridge from New York, said David Bicofsky, the district spokesman.
“You are talking $10,000 to $11,000 a year to educate a student,” he said. “You have to be vigilant for your taxpayers.”
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Funny, I thought public education was supposed to be "free." What's the deal with that economic disparity-thing anyway? What I know for sure is that if all things were equal in this country, families and their students would not feel compelled to sneak to wealthier districts in order to get educated.
Perhaps these parents should be rewarded for actually sending their kids to school, snd congratulate them further for not having their children get into trouble. Now there's a thought...
What do you think?
January 13, 2008
SCHOOLS
On the Lookout for Out-of-District Students
By DEBRA NUSSBAUM
AT 8 o’clock one morning, Juanita Ludwig and Vincent Constantino, employees of Clifton Public Schools, are knocking on the door at a house to check a tip. Someone had said a Clifton elementary school student did not really live there and was sneaking in from another district.
Ms. Ludwig, the supervisor of counseling and student services, explains to the parent who answers the door that the district must check to see that the child lives there most of the time. “We made sure there were age-appropriate toys for an 8-year-old child,” she said. “We explain to the parents that the child must stay at the house at least four nights a week.”
“They weren’t upset,” Ms. Ludwig said. “A majority of people understand.”
This time, Ms. Ludwig and Mr. Constantino, the district’s domicile investigator, concluded that the student lived there full time. But that is often not the case.
In the 2006-7 school year, the Clifton district, which has 10,500 students, investigated 625 reports of students illegally attending its schools; it caught 62 last year and 59 the year before. Those students cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Clifton is hardly the only district searching for students sneaking into its schools. While the State Department of Education does not keep statistics, administrators in suburban districts report that hundreds of tips are received and checked every year.
And there are many ways to find students who don’t belong. Bounties, detectives, stakeouts with cameras, and hot lines that receive tips from anonymous callers are tools that some school districts use to combat the perennial problem of illegally enrolled students.
Those who are caught can suffer consequences: For example, in Ewing, 13 families were asked to remove their children from its schools last year when attendance officers investigated and found the families did not live in the Mercer County community.
There is strong anecdotal evidence that families, including some from Pennsylvania and New York, try to sneak into some of the state’s top suburban districts, said Richard Vespucci, a Department of Education spokesman.
“It’s been an issue on again and off again,” he said. “It’s a bigger issue when the economic climate is weaker. It’s climates like this where property taxes are a real issue and anyone spending public funds wants to show where they are spending the money.”
Districts combat the problems in various ways. Clifton, for example, offers a $300 bounty to anyone reporting a student who turns out to be attending a district school illegally; it has paid once so far this school year, once last year and twice the year before. Students are required to reregister in certain grades in some districts, and attendance officers go to students’ homes to verify they live there.
School administrators say taxpayers demand the accountability. With the average per-pupil cost at about $12,000, taxpayers want to be assured that a student’s “permanent home is located within the school district,” Mr. Vespucci said.
In Cherry Hill, where about 400 such cases are investigated each year, the district got a tip a few years ago from a woman who lived in another South Jersey town. The woman said a fellow employee was bragging about sneaking her child into the Cherry Hill school district, said Don Bart, director of support operations for the district, which has almost 12,000 students.
The district’s full-time attendance officer checked it out, and the student was asked to leave the district. “We are just enforcing the law,” Mr. Bart said.
Under state law, a student a student may legally attend the school in the district where he or she resides the majority of the time. Out-of-district students are required to pay tuition.
Three years ago, the Clark Public School District hired a retired police officer to investigate cases of illegal students. The investigator has parked outside students’ homes to see if they come out in the morning and checked documents like licenses and car registrations.
“The key word here is domicile,” Superintendent Vito Gagliardi said. “The child must live in the house as a primary residence.”
Dr. Gagliardi said the concern is not only for taxpayers, but also for a student who has to lie to teachers and classmates. “In addition to protecting the tax dollar, this is unfair to the child,” he said. Students whose parents take them to districts outside the one they live in have to be careful what they say, and it can be uncomfortable when someone wants to go to their house, he said.
In some cases in Clifton, investigators have followed buses or sat outside homes at 6:30 a.m. in an effort to see if students really live in the district, said Ms. Ludwig. The district also requires three proofs of residency. “We are very vigilant,” said Ira E. Oustatcher, assistant superintendent.
With pressure on districts to reduce class size and stretch dollars, many taxpayers do not have patience for families sneaking into a district, be it for better schools, safety or convenience.
“The school districts are not being coldhearted,” said Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. “There is a financial burden on them, and they have limited resources. This is painful for schools, but it’s what the law says. It’s been a nagging problem and fairly consistent over the years.”
Ewing has one full-time attendance officer and four part-time officers, said Raymond Broach, the school superintendent. “It’s a pretty steady issue,” he said. Students have been caught coming in from Bristol and Morrisville, Pa., across the Delaware River.
In Teaneck, Al Schulz, a retired police detective, is attendance officer. Sometimes, he watches to see if students are coming over the George Washington Bridge from New York, said David Bicofsky, the district spokesman.
“You are talking $10,000 to $11,000 a year to educate a student,” he said. “You have to be vigilant for your taxpayers.”
Sunday, January 13, 2008
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