Thoughts on Bullying

Probably everyone knows that an anti-bullying bill is currently pending in the Massachusetts legislature, and I'm sure they will probably pass some version of it this session. Obviously, I am against bullying!! The bill, though, seems to assume that schools -- teachers and administrators -- simply are not bothering to do anything about bullying, as its primary mechanism seems to be to require schools to keep data and write reports about bullying incidents. If one assumes that schools are working to prevent bullying, the requirement to collect data and write reports doesn't change the tools available to schools but simply takes time away from time actually working with students (which is what I fear the main effect of the law will be); thus, the assumption of the law must be that schools need to be forced into addressing bullying. In my experience, this is not accurate. My observation, at least in our district and in the districts in which my friends work, is that teachers and administrators are working very hard with students to help them improve how they treat each other.

Writing, the Internet, Reading Development. . .

I had an interesting but strange event occur last week -- I learned that a superintendent in New York has been plagiarizing my writing, copying from my newsletters at Trottier and, a couple of weeks ago, from a posting on this blog, and passing it off as his writing in the newsletter that he sends to parents. I have a copy of one of his recent newsletters, the one that uses part of my previous blog entry, and it feels strange to see my writing in that context. I guess it's a compliment, in a way, but certainly a backhanded one. It's also a reminder that I think is a good one for everyone -- possibly particularly for young adults -- that the kind of Internet presence you establish is important, and that hiding and subterfuge are becoming less possible with the increasing "publicness" of life in the age of the Internet. For an insightful comment on the way in which posted material spreads rather than disappears, see last Sunday's Doonesbury cartoon (Sunday, November 8th) -- http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html. A very interesting book that I would recommend on this topic is Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody, about the ways in which the social media are changing our lives; Shirky points out that the costs of group organization have in some contexts simply collapsed, and continues with a fascinating discussion of the results. Meanwhile, to the New York superintendent, if you are reading this -- thank you for the compliment, but please stop plagiarizing my work!

On a related topic, I have been thinking about reading a lot this fall. One thing that has been fascinating for me in my new role at Neary is to see the process of literacy development in children at an earlier stage, prior to middle school, and I have loved what I've been seeing in the classrooms that I've been in during the past couple of months. In the reading classrooms, students are learning and practicing reading strategies, instruction is tailored to the needs of particular students, and students are choosing their own books, spending time reading, and excitedly talking about the books they are reading. Teachers are using a variety of strategies to help students learn, including modeling strategies during read-aloud time, work with groups of students who are working on the same strategies, individual work with students, and providing time for students to practice. I'm talking every day with kids who are excited about reading, and having great conversations with them about the books they are reading!

To support what our teachers are doing in the classroom, I have a couple of suggestions for parents on the reading front, although you're probably already doing both of them. First of all, do read aloud to your children, as much as possible, and while you're reading discuss the story and occasionally talk through and model what you do as a reader to understand what you're reading (maybe you don't remember a character, so you go back and reread part of the previous chapter; maybe you don't know a word so you look at the context and think about what would make sense). The other suggestion, also emphasized by Dr. Ilda King, a reading consultant who gave a presentation on reading development last month (sponsored by the Northborough-Southborough Parent Advisory Council), is that kids develop into better readers by reading many easy books, so do encourage your children to read books that they understand and love to read. And your modeling is excellent -- if you are reading, and kids see that you enjoy it, they will, too. Obviously, I love reading -- and I hope that all our kids will come to love it and find it a source of lifelong pleasure!

Some Thoughts about MCAS and NCLB

This past week, there was an interesting discussion at the Southborough School Committee meeting about the MCAS scores from this past spring, including the fact that we are no longer able to use these scores effectively to analyze our students’ performance because the state is no longer releasing most of the test questions, thus making the tests much less useful for school improvement efforts. There are many other things about these scores as well, though, that I’m not sure everyone realizes, and I want to mention some of the things that I see, for others to think about and respond to. For the most part, educators’ voices have not often been heard in the conversation about standardized testing – the groups discussing, initiating, and designing the testing systems have included very few K-12 educators, and comments from educators are sometimes dismissed by the media as defensive and self-serving, so some of the questions and criticisms of the tests are not well known. To me, there are many aspects of both MCAS and NCLB (the federal law, titled “No Child Left Behind”) that are a bit like the story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” and I have kept waiting for the media to dig behind the press releases and official statements to understand the real effects of these programs. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet, so I thought that I would share some things that I wonder about as I look at education policy these days.

Music, Art & MCAS

It's been an interesting week! This week, waiting for the buses at the end of the day, I have loved watching the fourth graders with their new instruments! Having just had their first lesson, they can't resist opening the case, looking at the shiny, beautiful instrument, and showing it to their friends. It's an exciting time for them, an opportunity to begin something that can give them a lifetime of joy. Meanwhile, inside the school, appearing on the bulletin boards and walls, are more and more wonderful contour drawings of backpacks and jackets, part of an art project related to Andrew Clements' book The Jacket, which we are all reading as part of this fall's "One School, One Read" project. Our students are studying the illustrations in the book, thinking about how they relate to the story, and learning to produce beautiful drawings themselves -- another beginning of something that can give them a lifetime of joy. Whether our students become proficient musicians or artists, or simply learn to appreciate it and enjoy it, the arts I believe are a fundamental part of a good education for a good life, and I love watching our students exploring, learning, and enjoying music and art.

Also this week we received our students' MCAS scores from last spring, which focus primarily on two areas of learning -- math and English language arts. (Fifth graders are also tested on science knowledge.) As always, our students did well on the tests, but there have been some changes this year which make it more difficult to use the tests as a diagnostic tool. The most significant change is that the state is no longer releasing all the test items. This is understandable in these days of budget difficulties, but it makes it difficult to use the tests to help students or our school improve. An example from this past week was a question I received from a parent asking why her child received a "needs improvement" on the 3rd grade ELA test despite answering all items other than one correctly. After investigation, I found that most of the child's incorrect answers had been on items that were not being released. To make it even more confusing, the parent report includes only the 13 released items, and does not indicate the 29 unreleased items. Unfortunately, we cannot look at the questions that this child answered incorrectly and analyze what help, if any is needed. It's also worth noting that changes in the "cut scores" this year have also changed the percentage of students in the "needs improvement" category, particularly on the 4th grade math test. Please do call if you have particular questions, and please also be aware that these tests are difficult and are intended primarily as benchmarks or diagnostic tools in the years prior to high school.

Looking back on the week, and thinking about the opportunities we provide for our students, I would say, as always, that we need to pay attention to the results of the testing, but make sure that we maintain a balance, and continue to provide those elements of an excellent education, such as the arts, that may not be tested, but that nevertheless are important parts of a well-rounded education.

A Good Beginning

As you know, we've now been in school for about two weeks, and last week was the Neary School Curriculum Night. We had an excellent turnout for that, as we did for the Welcome Back Ice Cream Social during the first week of school -- thank you to all of you who attended, and a huge thank you to the Neary SOS for their work on making both events go so well! It seems to me that we've had a good beginning of school, both in terms of the work that our teachers are doing with our students and in terms of the home-school partnership between parents and teachers. I truly do think, as I said on Curriculum Night, that there is no problem that we can't solve if we work together. Whatever the issue, if we talk to each other, and listen with the intent of understanding, we can find a solution.

Along these lines, one of our goals this year is to work on helping students treat each other well, and we have a variety of approaches that we are using to help them learn good communication skills, treat each other well, and stand up for what they know is right. One new project this year that I'm sure you have heard about is our "One School, One Read" project in which all students and teachers are reading Andrew Clement's book The Jacket. We began this project last Thursday (September 10th) with a "reader's theatre" presentation of the first chapter for the whole school, which I think the students enjoyed. Every student received a copy of the book, and teachers are continuing to read the book in their classes. On September 30th, we have another special event, Community Read Day, during which readers from the community come into classrooms and read to our students -- this year, they will be reading a portion of The Jacket. If you haven't yet talked to your child about the book and asked his/her opinion, I would encourage you to do so. One important theme in the book is standing up for what one believes is right, and students will be discussing this theme in their classes. Finally, on October 14th, Andrew Clements is going to be visiting both our school and Woodward (Woodward students are reading Frindle this fall), and our students will have a chance to hear his thoughts about the book. This is an exciting project, and one which I think will further our students' growth in many different ways. As an aside, I have been reading many of Andrew Clements' books recently, and two others that I have particularly enjoyed and would recommend are No Talking and Extra Credit.

Finally, speaking of our students, I have to note that this past Friday (Sept. 18th) I did congratulate them on their before-school behavior on the playground. I have seen our students playing and having fun, but in an appropriate manner, including others and playing in a way that's safe. That has certainly contributed to our good beginning, and I hope it continues.

Looking Forward to the First Day of School

As the new principal of the Neary School, I'm very much looking forward to the beginning of school this fall, and to meeting all of our new 4th graders and returning 5th graders. For me, the new year always begins in the fall, and September is always when I set my own goals for the year. Several years ago, standing in the lobby on the first day of school, I watched a father come in with his son. He checked to make sure his son had everything he needed, and then said, "Give me a high five for a great year!" Every year, on the first day, I remember that scene. The beginning of the school year is an exciting time, full of hopes and dreams and possibilities. In a book titled The First Days of School, authors Harry and Rosemary Wong recommend celebrating that new beginning and we are planning to do that at Neary this year with a day that includes a whole-school welcoming assembly, as well as orientation and community-building activities and time for our students to reflect on the coming year and how we can work together to make our school the best possible place for everyone. I'm looking forward to it and I hope you are, too!