The clock is a source of frustration for Principal Garry Dudley.
Jackson Elementary School just does not have enough time in the day
to catch up to the standards set by No Child Left Behind.
The clock is a source of frustration for Principal Garry Dudley. Jackson Elementary School just does not have enough time in the day to catch up to the standards set by No Child Left Behind.
“It’s akin to building a boat in a lake,” Dudley said.
Jackson is in its fourth year of “Program Improvement,” or PI, a distinction based on state test scores and the number of “proficient” students in each school. Those scores are measured against 2002’s No Child Left Behind Act that requires 100 percent of children to be proficient in English and math by 2014.
Once a school enters year five of Program Improvement it must either reopen as a public charter school, use an outside source to help with effective management, replace the staff, turn operation of the school over to the state or do major restructuring that “institutes fundamental reform,” according to the Program Improvement guidelines. Testing occurs in April each year with the results released in the fall; Jackson will remain in year five unless it improves its Academic Performance Index, or API, scores for two consecutive years.
Jackson’s API scores have increased since 2008 by 17 points from 777 to 794 and all but one group of children, English learners, passed language arts and math in the adequate yearly progress report; Dudley said that was because of two students – a clear signal, he reports, of how greatly an effect of one day of testing can have on a school for years to come.
At Jackson, a plan is in the works on how to improve, but the specifics remain behind closed meetings with teachers as they hash out an ideal setting to help low-performing children. A mixture of restructuring curriculum, retraining teachers and lengthening the school day are integral parts of the conversation, with the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s support as they move toward a defined list of changes.
“When people are allowed to have a say on how they want to improve, given the opportunity, they’re more inclined to believe in it and support it,” said MHUSD Superintendent Dr. Wes Smith.
Improvement not enough
A complaint of No Child Left Behind has been that the bar is too high for some students and even called “impossible” by many educators. Just like in any other classroom in Morgan Hill, some students will consistently achieve better on tests and some simply won’t; but it’s the journey that’s important to teachers.
“It’s a single snapshot. The results are black and white,” said Dudley, who earlier in the interview pointed out a blue and gold button pinned to his shirt that reads “Jackson Jaguars 800+” in reference to Jackson’s API goal of 800 points or higher. “The test doesn’t show the competency or the mastery or the progress these children are making.” Dudley added that they no longer want to “teach to the test” and want to rethink strategies on how to prepare children for success.
In 2005 and year one of Jackson’s PI status, the school scored a 790, dropped one point to 789 in ’06, went up to 794 in ’07, down to 777 in ’08 and back up to 794 in 2009. Last year’s improvement isn’t enough to move out of Program Improvement, which forces Jackson and the district to make decisions that may not change the face of Jackson, per se – Dr. Smith said the charter school item on Tuesday’s school board agenda is not related to Jackson – but internally the school will be revamped.
“At this point … their staff is working on restructuring their school and being proactive,” Smith said. Since Jackson staff know the inner-workings of their school best, the district is allowing them to work on the structure of the their school day and curriculum changes that they think will best benefit the Jackson students. “Instead of the district coming in and saying we’re going to do this to you and for you,” Smith said.
Dudley said that despite the challenges, the staff is “excited” and looking at this as an opportunity, rather than a hindrance. He said that the Jackson staff is phenomenal and since winter break, teachers have been brainstorming as part of a packet of “dreams” for Jackson.
” ‘If you could change, what would you change?’ ” Dudley said about the question posed to teachers. The staff will continue to gather ideas and as time goes on meet with the school site council, bargaining units and school district. Phone calls to the Federation of Teachers were not returned by deadline.
Four parents at Jackson, who wish to remain anonymous because of their involvement at the school, have said that the atmosphere is increasingly becoming tense because the only information parents have received was a letter in July 2009. It was sent out by the district then to inform parents of Jackson’s year four in PI and giving them the option to transfer within the district if they choose. Dudley said no parent has requested a transfer this school year, and about three or four asked last year.
But morale is low at the school the parents contend, and it’s clearly because of the imminent changes at Jackson. They say they just want some answers on what’s next for their school and their children. They said nothing on PI is effectively communicated to the parents and there are only a small handful that realize what impact it could have on Jackson. Dudley said he has not publicized the changes, say in a newsletter, because there are no definite answers at this time, and he did not want to cause unnecessary panic or concern.
Another parent, who has been involved at Jackson for 10 years, wrote in an e-mail, “As I understand, Dudley is now pushing to make Jackson a charter,” with too much of a focus on test scores and less regard to learning. Dudley did not know if Jackson would become a dependent charter school, which, among other distinctions, would pose a lottery for students and teachers could be hired or fired without the protection of a union. But he did say his focus is on the children and bettering their education.
“There is so much angst because we just don’t know. I’d rather have someone say what is going on … Just tell us that much,” another parent said by phone. Instead, parents have been researching online to see what happens to year five schools; what’s found online may not be totally in line with what Jackson’s plans may be, furthering the confusion and worry.
“The fact that we are doing nothing, is the antithesis,” Dudley said. He said he plans to schedule a town-hall type meeting to address parents and that he’s been transparent, telling anyone who asks what he knows about the process. A site council meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Jackson library.
Obama’s blueprint for reform
No Child Left Behind has been a thorn in Jackson’s side as many students meet the requirements but three subgroups in particular have still fallen short of the standards – Hispanic, socio-economically disadvantaged and English learners. English learners were the only group that did not meet the adequate yearly progress in English, but passed in math – a sure sign of improvement, Dudley said.
“(Jackson has) a very high API but there are pockets of need where the school is trying different strategies to meet the targets,” said Esther Carlson, MHUSD’s director of curriculum.
The gap between three subgroups and white students is significant. Overall, the school scored 794; English learners were at 653, Hispanic 678, socio-economically disadvantaged 650 and white students 896. Jackson is comprised of about 50 percent nonwhite students. The median score in California for 2009 was 826. Based on the numbers alone, it’s obvious where Jackson needs the most help. Carlson added that special education students scores were not up to AYP snuff in last year’s testing.
No Child Left Behind could change just as Jackson is finalizing its plan for the 2010-11 school year. On Monday, President Barack Obama unveiled his wish list of changes to No Child Left Behind to Congress and has named it “A Blueprint for Reform.” No Child Left Behind Act came to pass in 2002 requiring that 100 percent of students test proficient by 2014; the Obama administration wants to eliminate that deadline and instead is proposing that all students be ready for a career or college by 2020.
The new blueprint shifts the spotlight from under-performing schools to instead encouraging a “race to the top” to reward improvement and overhaul the nation’s 5,000 lowest performing schools and improve teacher preparation, according to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Included is flexibility in how school districts use federal money and grants, support for public charter schools and using new measures to asses progress. Dudley had read about Obama’s plans and is encouraged by the new take on what he thinks is a poorly constructed evaluation system.
“Lost in the news of last week was a headline that ought to be a source of concern for every American. It said ‘Many nations passing U.S. in education,'” Obama said last week. There has been some public opposition to the plan, notably about creating a “winners and losers scenario” as described by the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association.
“The idea of 100 proficient, is great for politicians … we all know that statistically it’s impossible,” Smith said about No Child Left Behind’s expectations. Smith points to Jackson’s goal of adding more instructional minutes to the day, “It’s not rocket science, the more instructional minutes we have, the more we can do,” Smith said. Simply increasing the day, say beginning tomorrow, isn’t really feasible. Bus schedules, as just one example, would have to be reworked.
On May 25, every district’s principal must turn in the school plan for his or her school. The school board reviews those plans and they must be approved in order to move forward with it next school year.
Year Five requirements
School must complete at least one of the options listed below
-
Reopen as charter school
-
Hand operation over to state gov’t
-
Replace all or most of staff
-
Use/employ outside source to help
-
Do major restructuring for fundamental reform
