Feasibility of Pennsylvania's Flexibility Waivers Under NCLB

Governor Tom Corbett is said to have decimated public schools in Pennsylvania, particularly public schools in Philadelphia have suffered considerably because of huge budget cuts while stimulating employee layoffs, and leaving schools underfunded. Despite the educational crises in Pennsylvania, plans for improving education have emerged as policy makers have devised plans under the flexibility waivers of NCLB. Pennsylvania has proudly opted to take advantage of the flexibility and to rather spend time away from the “top down” prescription of the NCLB law and to rather focus on three areas for improving schools.

The three areas to improve schools include ensuring the preparedness of students for careers or college, the development of accountabilities and recognition standards for all schools, and improvements for supporting effective teaching and principals in all classrooms. Taxpayers, students and parents should be aware of the School Performance Profiles (SPPs) as Pennsylvania citizens can access the profile to view a comprehensive overview of their child’s school to determine the quality of the program and examine student performance. The waiver has also eliminated the adequate yearly progress (AYP) for each school.

An evaluation system was available for classroom teachers in 2013-14 and is in use for specialist and principals this 2014-15 schools year. The new system is for evaluating educators on measures of student achievement. Comprehensive resources are for providing professional development to assist teachers, superintendents and principals, and for classroom instruction. Title I schools with large numbers of low-income students receive priorities as to receive federal focus based on measurable objectives. The new educator evaluation system was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett.

The problem is that the waiver is not feasible as all of the plans for supporting and evaluating teachers and principals prove futile without providing the needed funding. The paradox is like that of a soldier engaged in the military who is commissioned to fight a war without weapons or a means for gaining an advantage, while the commanding officer maintains the same expectations of the soldier as if he were fully armed. Ridicule and contempt occur as when one displays for all to see their defeat. Encouraging others to make decisions and judgments about the soldiers who were injured, or who died from the war is to validate accusations of inadequacy or deficiencies. The waiver set forth by the state has a similar idea as the state’s waiver fails a feasibility study in areas of costs and technicalities. Teachers, principals, and superintendents are all preparing for the fall season but unfortunately, none can truly go with confidence as the state has disarmed its warriors.

We Must Eliminate Standardized Testing

American classrooms have teachers who are required to implement best practices so that all learners are accommodated. Differentiating instruction, utilizing team building approaches, and permitting students to learn through their interest as multiple intelligences are recognized and characteristics of a healthy learning environment. Absence of tension, pressure, and anxiety are the result of student-centered learning as in project-based- learning. When students work independently or collaborate to construct their own knowledge they retain the information. This kind of learning is certainly not standardized or uniform. When a principal evaluates a teacher, she is not looking for teachers teaching in a standardized approach for all students, as the students would not achieve their best potential under those circumstances. I believe that teaching in a uniform manner is outdated as is testing in a uniform or standardized manner.
Another school year is fast approaching and students will be expected to test in ways that are standardized. Urban, suburban, and rural students will take part in standardized testing. Standardized testing obviously does not measure a student’s knowledge or the educational quality. Unfortunately, schools are judged as credible if they have high standardized scores and are discredited for low test scores despite the composition of the student body. Norm-referenced tests for comparing the data results to other students across the state and country seems like a good approach as standardized tests are convenient tools for accomplishing that agenda. However, many studies have proven that standardized testing is not a reliable tool for measuring student knowledge. Unfortunately, the test only measure linguistics, math and science despite evidence as proposed by Howard Gardner that there are eight intelligences. Students who have other intelligences and who have expanded their knowledge but are not strong in math, science, or linguistics are led to believe that they are not smart. If the tests are for predicting then one is predicting the future educational success of students, as I believe that these tests do more harm than good.
All intelligence are necessary for creating a beautiful existence for all; naturalist, interpersonal, musical, kinesthetic/bodily, spatial/visual, logical/mathematic, intrapersonal, and linguistic/verbal. As students learn in non-uniform ways, I believe they should also be tested in non-standardized ways. Young people evolve and the idea of testing, and labeling creates life-long dilemmas as students who are creative or who possess a non-testing intelligence struggle to realize their potential. My approach is rather to stimulate, motivate, and facilitate learning and to allow the intelligences in an individual to surface without constraints, pressures, and tension as evidenced in a standardized classroom. Does non-standardized testing eliminate expectation? To the contrary, as the responsibility of the teacher to create a healthy learning environment, to direct, and instruct students for developing the needed skills for this global economy remain a high expectation. If the approaches for standardized testing will be eliminated, I believe efficacy will return to schools and fewer drop-outs would occur as those who lose hope will enjoy renewed opportunities for constructing their own knowledge in an environment where teachers accept them and believe in them. The rules must change as stifling the development of American students through testing must end. Therefore, my desire is to see restructuring in education to represent student-centered learning and student-centered testing.

Why is it So Easy to Forget the Least of Us?

A few years ago, I moved out of the city to reside in a suburb. After I moved, I seldom went into the city except for work; of which I had a direct route to my job, and to visit family. Although I grew up in the city, once I moved, I began to detest the feelings I felt upon entering the city each morning. The relief I felt each day I left the city was indicative of my new surroundings. The city reminded me of a grave yard with ruin all around. I began saying that the city was the "forgotten city" as the people represented the forgotten people. On rare occasion, I drove through parts of the city that I was familiar with and became in awe of the destruction as the forsaken buildings and communities that were once considered respectable had also come to ruin. While the people in the suburbs were comfortable in their safe havens, only a couple of blocks away, thousands suffered daily.

Interestingly, as the urban schools are obviously forsaken, urban children are also deprived of the need for equal education. Although children may not realize that they are not receiving equal education, the responsibility to ensure equality rests on parents and leaders. It seems that few people truly care enough about urban education to do something about it. School closures, underfunded programs, and the voices of leaders crying for help for the schools seems to be the norm. The deterioration has been gradual but steady. The forgotten children of the city represent the least of us. They depend on others to make their lives better. Many come from troubled backgrounds and need direction and help from those who will take the time to care. Policies and politics have not worked to improve the situations but have rather labeled and stolen innocent dreams from the hearts of thousands of children. Programs that would have helped to propel dreams to realities have been eliminated for lack of funding. While those who can, move to the suburbs to provide a more formal assurance of a solid and stable education for their children, others remain in hopes of change.

Amazingly, despite all, so many good things have come from the city. Great musicians, athletes, artists, actors, activist, and more, have their origins from the city. Great talent has come from the city. Somehow, in the midst of despair, some are still able to rise above their circumstances. Somehow the voice of the forgotten has been heard from the time of slavery to this very day. Remnants of their sufferings remain as songs of freedom continue to be sung. Poetry of the revolution, literature, rap music, and expressive arts are all vehicles used by many. These expressions have enriched our society and help to remind us of the injustices of our society as the least of us have somehow become the greatest among us.

My concern is that while some rise above circumstances, others are not able to expand beyond their immediate conditions. Education has often been that vehicle through which people could grasp and confidently know that their future would be different from their present state. However, change has come, and the least of us is become forgotten. Can we continue to pretend inequality is not occurring and live in our suburban homes as if everyone is being treated fairly? Efforts to end injustices infiltrated in American education through NCLB have not proven effective. Inequality continues to exists as is evident. therefore,the challenge is to continue to pursue equality for all, especially the for least of us.

Fleecing of Our Schools

Today, we were informed of the School District of Philadelphia's intent to lay off an additional 300 noontime aids and support staff. Jerry Jordan assured the teachers that he would fight to have those positions restored. If one can imagine running a school without the supports needed in the poorest of neighborhoods throughout the urban school district, where continual discipline and behavioral problems already exist when operating as a full staff, then one will see the failure that lies ahead. The question I ask is; Why? Inevitable failure and the inability to safely administrate and educate students from pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade is the predicament of our schools. The rug has been pulled from under the district leaving them with buildings half filled and inadequate operating staff.

I believe that the hidden goal is to force closure and restructure of education as we have known it. Relying on government funding has become uncertain and priorities of educating children has become a charade. Current leaders are not bold enough to blatantly say that education is no longer a priority. If one wants to know what is important, look at where the money is being spent. The fleecing of American education as we have known it has already begun. I believe that the agenda is already set as costs for higher-education continue to rise, fewer students, especially minority students will obtain to such accomplishments as college education. Although society holds education as a goal one should aspire for, the realization of American young people attaining high levels of scholastic achievement appears dim. An interesting phenomenon is that many foreign students continue to learn in American schools while American students find great difficulty affording education.

Standardized testing and accountabilities of NCLB have been used to discredit American schools, teachers and students. While urban school students seem to score poorly, unfortunately, teachers are often blamed for their failure. Sanctions and closure convey failure. Have our schools really failed and has our educational system lost the worthiness of financial funding from our government? Monies once designated for schools are no longer available to schools? Something is terribly wrong and I believe our leaders must also be accountable for what is occurring.

I challenge communities to rise up and realize that education is being stolen from the next generation. One's grand children will not even have the opportunities that were allotted us as the civil rights movement of the sixties helped to open many doors for minorities but the fight is not over. The fleecing has already begun!! Converting schools into other business venues like luxury apartment buildings is not acceptable for the next generation. This is failure! How will children gain the skills needed to flourish in this economy? Communities must take back what is being stolen or they will have to do an enormous amount of explaining to one's grand children. They will wonder why no one fought for their future. The fight is not only for educators but the communities must recognize that this is being done to them.