I’ve been pretty mum about my feelings in regards to the recent proposal by D.C. Public Schools to close and consolidate 20 schools. I did managed to tweet some of my thoughts during the city council hearings as I watched Chancellor Kaya Henderson explain her reasons for the proposed decisions. Sans the jargon and overly done verbiage, Henderson is citing low enrollment at each of the schools she is proposing to close. From what I gather, she thinks it’s useless to pump money into schools where there aren’t enough children. Never mind some key elements that the chancellor and her team seemed to have over looked such as improved test scores, recent major renovations, special education programs offered, continued economic development that is taking place around some of these schools and other factors of the like. No one wants to see a school close. Closing down a school should be a VERY last resort and it just seemed like a lazy decision on DCPS’ part. It’s as if no one in the system, not even the chancellor, is creative enough to figure out how to get the kids into the schools, make some adjustments where the academic setting is concerned and even re-evaluate the system’s curriculum. It should offer something to the parents and their children; something for the parents to ponder and reconsider enrolling their kid(s) in out of boundary schools or taking them out of DCPS altogether and placing them in charter or private schools. Actually, in a way DCPS has admitted they aren’t creative enough to figure it out, so they have asked for help or invited others to share their “creative innovative ideas for improving our school consolidation and reorganization proposal” via their website EngageDCPS.org.
Thank God for strong parent-teacher associations, concerned parents and community activism as displayed by passionate people in the last couple of weeks. I attended the DCPS community forum in my ward, Ward 7, a couple of weeks ago. There are five schools in my ward that are proposed to close, one of which is Davis Elementary; a school that is literally steps away from my home. My five year old does not attend this school. I am one of the parents that sent my child out of boundary because at the time she started school I didn’t feel any schools in my neighborhood had the adequate resources or test scores that would assure me that my child would receive a quality education. That’s my right. However, I would love to send my kid to our neighborhood school as I see things have have improved. It warrants a consideration for it to stay open.
I have to say bravo to Eboni Rose-Thompson, a parent and Ward 7 resident that has served as a voice for Ward 7 parents. Collecting the concerns and ideas from Ward 7 residents, Rose-Thompson put together an excellent proposal presented at the Ward 7 forum and submitted it to DCPS. It highlighted some key points if the schools in our ward closed; over crowded classrooms, the fact that the DCPS is closing schools with improved test scores and moving the kids to low performing schools and safety risks as the kids travel outside of their closed neighborhood school to another school while crossing dangerous territory and major freeways/roads. She also presented ideas on what DCPS can do boost enrollment in the schools and gain partnerships all while calling for a moratorium on school closings in our ward. If I can get a copy of her presentation, I will share.
Of course in the midst of all this talk is the topic of teachers. Parents with kids in Ward 7 and 8 school want the same attention and quality education that say a Ward 6 school on Capitol Hill receives and that includes teachers that are seasoned, know what they are doing and who view their work in education as not just a JOB but a service that you are called and love to do! It’s no secret that the issue of quality teaching is under a microscope, but the messiness comes in when you talk about firing “bad” teachers and it’s the well seasoned ones that take the hit, the union gets involved, the pro and anti union folks are calling foul and the whole time there is one group of people in the classroom that aren’t saying a damn thing as they are eased in through a revolving door; the teachers recruited by non-profits such as Teach for America.
Last night I came across a VERY good and interesting read. It’s a bit long and from two years ago, but it’s WORTH it, especially with all the talks of the proposed DCPS consolidation plans. This article is still relevant.
I’ve always wondered if anyone has done an in depth look into Teach for America, especially here in the District. How effective are its members? How effective is the organization as a whole? Via the independent publisher Rethinking Schools, Liberator Magazine published an investigative piece entitled “Investigating Teach for America” by Barbara Miner. She basically proves what most of us have been saying or thinking; TFA is a contributor to the problems in America’s education system with its ideology (or lack of) and revolving door teachers. It’s also proving that their public relations department is hella bomb; protecting the organization’s image with clad iron communications gatekeepers. One of the main things Miner notices that is missing from her dialogue with TFA members and officials; the mention of children. They give Miner rehearsed or hashed out Stepford Wife-like answers or if they spew just a drop of their own opinion, it’s followed with a but and back to Stepford wive mode.
Based on Miner’s article, the organization isn’t on a mission to “save” or help at all. Other than promoting their own goals, TFA seems to promote the goals of its members, even as far as helping them into positions of political power, even though TFA officials express to Miner there is no political agenda nor does its organization or sub-org take policy position. Miner doesn’t buy it and neither do I. In talking with Jen Bluestein Lamb, vice president of TFA’s Political Leadership Initiative, Miner asked about their policy position, especially in regards to TFA’s Leadership for Education Equity (LEE) program.
“LEE may not lobby or advocate a political agenda but, I asked, has it ever taken a policy position of any sort?
‘No, and we never would,’ she responded.‘But even the Boy Scouts take policy positions,’ I countered.
Bluestein Lamb laughed and then repeated, ‘We have never, and never will, take a policy position ourselves. ‘” – Investigating Teach for America by Barbara Miner
“To my knowledge, there has been no in-depth analysis of who funds TFA and why. Clearly, one of the unanswered questions is how TFA has been able to garner such amazing corporate support—especially since some of these same companies, in their business practices, have preyed on low-income people or have exacerbated this country’s growing inequality of wealth,” says Miner
The article doesn’t reference DCPS specifically except for brief mentions of Michelle Rhee, who was serving as DCPS chancellor at the time. However, it’s a good overall look of the organization with some snapshots of their progress in other districts. Minor’s report includes findings from a study that compare the effectiveness of a TFA teacher verses a non-TFA teacher who is formally trained. The study showed that students with TFA instructors were “still reading more poorly than 85 percent of their peers nationwide.”
As I said, Miner’s article is a bit long and is from two years ago, but it’s the first in depth look I’ve seen into this organization that seems to be (in my opinion) something of a vehicle to push an agenda, but disguised as a noble public service. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe there are some that go into TFA and may discover that they are called to teach and do go on to pursue it further and actually do make a difference. Yet, for the most part I think their ideology is flawed when you talk about education. Minor goes into the history of TFA, it’s founder Wendy Kopp and how she launched TFA. What started out as idea translated onto paper for a thesis during her senior year at Princeton, it seems that Kopp set out to challenge the idea that say most of journalists feel about our field; that the world is our classroom and that it seems appalling to suggest that we sit in a classroom for x-amount of time to learn when we need to be learning while in action. While this may be ok to apply in certain fields or after a certain point in receiving an education, I do believe education is the foundation in any field. You do need to learn the basics, the 101 of what you desire to do.
With education, you have to go further, because while being in front of the classroom is the real lesson and test, you still need proper theorems (if you will) to apply when you talk about educating children. Being an educator or part of an education system is more than just lecturing or having great management skills. You are dealing with the public, a multitude of individuals and their situations. There’s so much to being in education, that I don’t think anyone outside of education would really know unless they took the time to receive formal training, like doctors or lawyers. As i told many educations in my life, including my mother, education is a calling. It’s not something (just) anyone can do or handle. It’s a public service job. It takes special people to guide our children and abandon thoughts of self gain.
Please click the link below, print or just start reading Miner’s investigative piece.
Mahoganie: Musings East of the Anacostia River 
Demian
December 10, 2012
Great insights on TFA. You might be interested in https://reconsideringtfa.wordpress.com/, a little resource website I set up that features critical commentary on TFA.
CB
March 29, 2013
While I am open to school options (public/charter/private) I am very leery of TFA and how they operate. In my day, teachers were around for the long haul and built relationships with their students, parents and even grandparents. This created a sense of accountability for the students and helped them succeed because there were too many people around to let a child “drop the ball” on their education. I’m definitely reading the article because education is the foundation for success and I have to make sure my kid is able to compete. Thanks for this post.