From the editor

As my mid-week dispatch last week would suggest, the most significant story in recent days has been Bruce Randolph School's (DPS) request to be freed from much of the union contract and school district red tape.  But I've already prattled on about that, so I'll touch on it again only briefly at the end of this letter. And some of the blog posts below focus on the Randolph revolution as well.

Another event last week that should have been significant, but didn't seem so, was Gov. Bill Ritter's roll-out of his legislative agenda. There wasn't anything in it that was objectionable, but little of it broke substantially new ground, either. Again, for details, see the blog post below. Also, David Harsanyi's column in today's Denver Post (read it here) drew an interesting contrast between Bruce Randolph's proposal and the governor's agenda.

But when you combine Ritter's proposals about expansion of full-day kindergarten and the Colorado Preschool Program with Denver Public School's move (unremarked upon in the mainstream media last week) to greatly increase its full-day preschool slots over the next two years, there's cause for optimism.

DPS hopes to expand its full-day preschool slots from the current 500 to between 3,000 and 4,000, in a "fiscally responsible manner" (details to be announced in January). Meanwhile, Ritter wants the state legislature to use some of the money garnered from his property tax freeze to add 22,000 full-day kindergarten slots over the next six years.  And he wants to accommodate all 3,000 preschool-aged children currently on the Colorado Preschool Program waiting list.

Ensuring that these programs are of sterling quality is essential. But the expansions, if they take place, are great news. There's a great deal of credible research that shows high quality preschool and kindergarten experiences do more to offset the disadvantages low-income students bring to school with them than any other intervention. DPS' move to make most preschool classes full-day is laudable.

The Rocky Mountain News ran this guest commentary Saturday, arguing that the benefits of early childhood education are illusory. My suspicion is that the writer also believes the Earth is flat (and not in the Tom Friedman sense) and that fossils are actually evidence of the biblical great flood.  

Now, back to Randolph, briefly. Missing from the school's bold proposal are any specifics about how DPS should hold Bruce Randolph accountable for its future performance. It is in the best interests of the school, the district, and other schools that may choose the autonomy path, to nail down some specifics around accountability and performance.

DPS and Bruce Randolph School need to agree upon some consistent and fair accountability measures. Steady longitudinal growth in student achievement should be the minimum standard applied. I'm confident those details will be forthcoming.

What follows is the latest dispatch from West Denver Preparatory Charter School. Enjoy.

--Alan Gottlieb

To the three R's, West Denver Prep adds Resiliency

Vision, mission clarity, dedicated professionals, and a culture of excellence; these components are the essence of West Denver Preparatory Charter School.  They are at the core of every staff member and board member who embrace a philosophy of a neighborhood school open to all.  As a governing board member, I am as proud of my involvement with West Denver Prep as anything I accomplished in my career of 27 years in public education.

My career primarily consisted of 20 years as an intermediate classroom teacher.  I have been a district-level diversity trainer, and gifted and talented resource consultant.  My passion has been to advocate for educational equity, access, and inclusion of diverse learners in gifted and talented programming.  My involvement with West Denver Prep began in November of 2004 as a member of the Planning Board.

When I first heard the school's vision described, something became crystal clear to me.  I realized that for most of my career there were so many and varied demands placed on educators that the primary mission had become very muddled.  Forgive the ancient reference, but during my career I saw many a classroom reminiscent of an I Love Lucy episode in which Lucy and Ethel were working in a candy factory.  They were trying desperately to keep up with the chocolate candy coming down a conveyor belt at ever-increasing speed. 

Overwhelmed, they began stuffing chocolates everywhere they could think of: in their hats, their blouses, in their mouths, as the candy kept coming faster and faster.  Many pieces fell by the wayside. 

Like that conveyor belt, everything in education was made to seem a priority, with more and more responsibilities added, yet nothing was ever taken off of educators' very full plates.  I observed teachers working as hard as they could, like Lucy and Ethel, but their effectiveness depended not upon any prioritization by educational leadership, but upon their own ability to prioritize and stay focused on the mission. 

Like so many pieces of candy, students were getting lost in the chaos and were being labeled and stuffed into categories in a desperate effort to keep up with all of the demands while trying to meet individual needs.  Sadly, many students fell by the wayside.

As Lucy's husband, Ricky Ricardo, used to say, "Lucy, you got some ‘splainin' to do."  In education as well, there is some ‘splainin' to do.  Achievement gaps persist and there is no secret as to which populations are represented in those gaps.  School districts have been making excuses, blaming, and/or pitying those populations for perceived deficits, but where are the meaningful systemic changes that will close the gap and meet the needs of the diverse learners that continue to show up in their schools everyday? 

Gary Howard, author of We Can't Teach What We Don't Know (White Teachers, Multi-Racial Schools), says that teachers in districts where student populations have become increasingly diverse, are doing a great job of teaching the kids who USED TO attend those schools.  What used to work for those students in those schools isn't working for many of the students currently attending. 

Systemic change and the time for equitable accountability in education are long overdue.  So as I listened to the clear priorities and vision of West Denver Prep, it was very refreshing, intriguing, and to be perfectly honest, about time.

What struck a chord with me were West Denver Prep's STRIVE values and how they resonated with the promise of a great school culture.  It was also very clear just how essential a school culture is for a community of diverse learners.  I believe the promise is alive and well at West Denver Prep, and the values of Scholarship, Teamwork, Respect, Intelligence, Virtue, and Effort help create a culture of excellence.  It is a culture that permeates the building and provides motivation and hope for virtually every student and family. 

Visionary planning, securing quality people who care about kids, and responding to community needs have been instrumental to West Denver Prep.  Promising high expectations and achievement to a community that has heard empty promises before is one thing.  Gaining the community's trust and delivering on those promises is quite another.  I believe an environment has been established where parents, students and community members feel welcome and valued. 

For example, more than one Parent Advisory Council meeting has been conducted entirely in Spanish.  As the secretary and only non-Spanish speaker on the council, I felt what it was like to be in a room as you struggle to keep up --an experience many diverse learners deal with everyday in public education.  To give voice and access to a segment of the community too often left out of the educational loop is critical and an example of effective systemic change.

Current educational practices acknowledge relationships as a prerequisite to learning.  People regularly mention the 3Rs -- rigor, relevance, and relationships.  However, too often students from diverse populations are not challenged to do their best and are not held to the same expectations as other, higher-achieving students.  Too often teachers seem willing to accept excuses and less than a student's best work, for whatever reason, including pity for perceived deficits and situations that students may be dealing with at home. 

Adding a fourth R to the equation addresses the issue and is essential to providing educational equity.  Resilience gives the important message to students that regardless of situations they may be dealing with, they are capable of succeeding.  Rigor, relevance, relationships, and resilience are embedded in West Denver Prep's educational practices to the benefit of all students.               

On a personal note, it is so meaningful to see a school with classrooms and parent meetings filled with faces as brown as my own.  At West Denver Prep I see faces, regardless of color, full of hope, and full of the confidence and the pride that comes from high expectations, challenge, and achievement. 

These faces are proud of West Denver Prep and what it represents to the entire community.  These faces reflect a community that knows it has a neighborhood school in its own backyard with vision, a clear mission, dedicated professionals, and a culture of excellence. 

After previous experiences, many in the community, including me, can relate how we feel about West Denver Prep to what Ricky Ricardo felt when he used to say, "Lucy, I'm home."

Blog highlights

Ritter (partly) unveils education agenda

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Written by: Todd Engdahl

Not surprisingly, increased spending on the state's preschool program and on full-day kindergarten were on top of the 2008 education agenda announced by Gov. Bill Ritter Wednesday.

The governor used the opening of the Colorado Statewide Dropout summit at Mountain Vista High School to announce some of his priorities - and hint that there might be more to come. "This is not an exhaustive list of the things that will happen on education in the legislature," Ritter told reporters. (Click here for Ritter statement.)

In addition to preschool and kindergarten, the governor's other priorities are:

- Creation of a data and accountability system that will contain data on individual students from the time they enter school until they leave. No details on this baby yet - "We haven't costed that out," the governor said.

- Starting up a Colorado Counselor Corps of 70 new counselors to work in middle and high schools. If funded, districts or schools would apply to the Department of Education for money to add counselors. Price tag? $5 million.

- Asking the State Board of Education to approve a policy declaring that "post-secondary preparation" is the main purpose of the K-12 system. (Declarations don't generally cost money.)

- Asking the board also to study the effectiveness of current dropout rules and regulations and to study best practices for K-3 curriculum, assessment and instruction. (Studies-r-Us: Ritter-appointed panels on high school graduation requirements, online education and teacher training are just now starting their work, and CDE is launching into a redo of state standards.)

Oh yeah, the price tags for the preschool and kindergarten initiatives are $10.5 million and $25 million respectively, with the kindergarten budget growing to $100 million in six years. Those and the counselors program would be funded out the property-tax "freeze" money the legislature set aside last session.

Ritter's recommendations come pretty much out of the ideas approved by his P-20 council on Nov. 27. Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien, formerly of the Colorado Children's Campaign, a P-20 co-chair and part of the P-20 committee that made the preschool and kindergarten recommendations, was at Ritter's side as he pitched to reporters. (Click here for P-20 recommendations.)

Ritter's show came the same day that CDE announced the latest School Accountability Reports, a favorite project of Republican former Gov. Bill Owens. (Click here for details on the SAR.)

In remarks both to conference attendees and reporters, Ritter said he wasn't happy with the results. "They are not satisfactory at all … even remotely satisfactory."  He also made a point of saying "there are a lot of valid complaints" about how the SARs are currently done but deftly declined to be drawn out further by reporters.

Randolph plan puts pressure on DCTA

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Written by: Uncle Charley

Taking a bold, creative step forward in the name of educational freedom, the leaders of the Bruce Randolph School deserve some genuine praise for "demanding emancipation from the union contract and Denver Public Schools red tape," as Alan puts it. A public school without the central administration and union work rules? Sounds almost like a voluntary charter school conversion, doesn't it?

Randolph is to be wished all the best of success in overcoming the odds. The proposed change signals hope for another innovative step in our own educational backyard. But details like the following section appear to make supporting the change a difficult task for union leaders:

Unless otherwise agreed between the principal and the employee, assignments at Bruce Randolph School will be for one year. The performance of each employee is of critical importance for the decisions regarding each annual appointment. Year-to-year decisions regarding returning staff will be made in a timely fashion, and the recruitment and selection process for new staff will be rigorous and focused on best meeting student needs.

In order for the school to retain staff members with demonstrated success and commitment to fulfilling the school's educational mission, the principal may commit to multi-year assignments with certain staff.

Under extraordinary circumstances, and with just cause, the principal may discharge an employee during the school year.

In defending the "need" for teacher tenure, union officials cite the fear of petty, tyrannical principals and administrators imposing their subjective whims. But in a school like Randolph, where the principal and leadership team are willing to step up boldly to the plate for serious freedom and accountability, defending tenure would just be an excuse. Speaking of this issue, why doesn't the union work more actively to promote high-quality, accountable school leadership? Because maybe their justifications for defending rigid tenure laws would vanish.

Alan's more moderate voice issues the plea to the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and its mother affiliates, the Colorado Education Association and National Education Association:

How the DCTA responds will be extremely revealing. After all, what the school is asking for is reasonable by almost anyone's definition: control over its budget; work day, work week and work year; and the ability to hire and fire teachers in a more streamlined and sensible fashion.

Should the DCTA resist, then those who believe that the organization is more about protecting adults than serving students will have additional ammunition. Here's hoping the union's leadership sees the wisdom in this proposal.

My guess is the union can't afford the bad publicity of being a rock of stubborn opposition against the proposal. After all, dues will still be automatically deducted from union member paychecks, union representatives can come to campus on request to help resolve grievances, and teachers will only be eligible to earn more money.

Still, if Randolph successfully secedes from the contract and generates real student improvement, the results will poke a major hole in union clout. Union leaders may find themselves between a rock and a hard place here.

"DCTA provides my insurance, not my voice"

Friday, December 7, 2007
Written by: Celeste Archer

In 1990 I decided to shift from a fairly successful and better-paying career in the entertainment industry to the grit of what others perceive to be a less important career, at least in terms of compensation — teaching in urban schools.  

Repeated questions about my sanity were followed by bleak warnings about the many liabilities I would face and what my peers knew would be a deal breaker for me -- having to join a union.  My canned reply was the day I joined a union was the day I quit teaching.

Full disclosure: I joined a union.  Even with the exorbitant dues and forced membership in the National Education Association and Colorado Education Association, my Denver Classroom Teachers Association membership saves my family around $1000 a year thanks to the discounted auto and home insurance offered to union members.  That's my sole motivation.

Years in graduate school, multiple degrees, specialized training and 24/7 devotion should translate to membership in a professional organization akin to the AMA (doctors), my grandfather's Bar Association (lawyers), AIA (architects), AICPA (accountants) or other truly professional organizations.

Instead, DCTA has affiliations with trade unions, and has become one of the two loud, shrill voices creating a we/they relationship between teachers and their districts (districts being the other shrill voice.)  

Shouldn't the unions be clamoring to be certain there are meaningful educator voices on all boards, commissions and think-tanks involved in reform, rather than the "ad hoc" positions (crumbs) we're being thrown?  Aren't we members of the same team? My non-union southern roots, to which I will soon be returning, remind me that you "catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

DCTA data claims a 66% membership rate among Denver teachers.  Not wanting to be an uneducated critic, I tried to be more active with my membership.  I joined a DCTA committee.  I attended day-long meetings away from my classroom. What I found there were colleagues whom I would be more likely to bump into in craft aisles at discount stores than at professional seminars, lectures and symposiums where we should be seeing one another.  And, these professional learning opportunities should be predominantly offered by DCTA on a regular basis.  They're not.

The repeated communiqués from DCTA to its membership should be outlines of successful strategies from great educators. Instead, what I recently received was fairly typical: a jubilant e-mail from the building union representative, crowing about a 15-minute early release negotiated on one particular day to compensate for the 15 extra minutes our principal had requested we stay another day to receive information he felt was important for our professional duties and development.

I was humiliated. How much time was taken negotiating for those 15 minutes that could have been kid-centered?  How long will it be before DCTA negotiates us right into punching a time clock?

I couldn't find the exact quote, but a wise blogger recently suggested that unions turn to more professional strategies supporting the profession as a whole rather than defending the individual teacher, often to the detriment of the profession.  Bravo!  And how about starting with shedding the moniker and behavior of "union?"

During the recent round of school board elections, I was very public in my support for candidates different than those endorsed by DCTA.  One 900 Granter drunk on the "expert Kool- Aid" sent a message acknowledging the wisdom of my choices.  With lightning speed, I made sure he knew my political support was purely personal and that I wasn't sure who was driving me out of public education faster -- the unions or the central administration he represents.  

I'm still not sure which it is.  But make no bones about it: DCTA provides my insurance.  It does not provide my voice. Now that I'm leaving, I feel safe speaking this truth, which, by the way is also a sentiment shared by many other serious educators.

So, what's the necessary reform to break this cycle of bad representation?  Stay tuned.  Just like school reform, it isn't rocket science.

One Response to ""DCTA provides my insurance, not my voice""

1. Van Schoales Says:
   December 7th, 2007 at 5:36 pm

You go girl! I guess my question is not what to do with bad representation by DCTA but why "professionals" need the power of a union to negotiate wages and working conditions. I think one of the fundamental reasons why teachers are not treated with the same kind of respect as some other professions has to do with the union framework that NEA has designed over the last century. Why should a highly effective physics teacher get paid less than a more experienced PE teacher? Teachers are not all equal in their value. Standardized work rules and wages are more descriptive of low-skill factory workers than a true professional. I wonder when the union and/or districts are going to add time clocks next to the teacher office mailboxes.

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