I know candidates from the last two school board races are going to scoff at me when I say this aloud, but two days into early voting and I’m already worn out. I know that this year’s race pales in comparison to previous races in both scope and commitment, but still, running a campaign is hard work.

You may think that since you’ve helped out people in the past, you have an understanding of just how all encompassing it is. I know I used to think that way, but trust me, it is so much more than you could ever imagine. Being a candidate has a way of overcoming everything in your life and pushing it to the background. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like in the past when the intensity started ratcheting up in early May. I don’t know that I could stand up to 3 months of what the last month has been like. So my hat is off to my predecessors.

I’ve come to realize how many really nice people there are out here. I’ve met some real decent people at doors and at polls. My favorite quote comes from a woman who leaving the polls stopped me and said, “I voted for you, though I don’t know anything about you. But you talked to me going in and standing in the hot sun has its rewards.”

I’ve also come to realize that we like to talk about fair elections and how everybody has a shot to win a position. That’s another nice myth, but the reality is that the game is rigged for those in the political class. Sure anybody can print fliers, place signs, knock doors. The reality is that all of those require a certain knowledge and understanding in order to execute them in an effective manner.

Access to donors is something that is contingent on who in the political class you have  relationships with. You quickly find out that people aren’t just standing out here handing out money.

Left to your own devices, the simple creating of a flier, getting it printed at a reasonable cost, and effectively distributed, can eat up the majority of your campaign time. And you still have to create walk lists to effectively knock on doors, design mailers, and coordinate volunteers. It’s all very daunting.

I’m not saying any of this to complain – ok, maybe a little bit – but merely to point out that 8 of the 11 candidates seeking a seat on the school board are participating in their first campaign as a candidate. That’s a big deal and I’d like to give a little shout out to my fellow rookies. I’d be willing to bet that few of us knew exactly what we were getting into.

NO, IT’S NOT SWEEPS WEEK

School starts in about three weeks and MNPS can’t stay off of the TV news again. Last week, Board Vice-Chair Jill Speering appeared in a story that Channel 4 News aired on MNPS Director of Schools Dr. Shawn Joseph’s evaluation by the MNPS school board. Speering and fellow board member Amy Frogge were quite critical of Joseph, and Speering was very frank in her responses to channel 4’s questions.

While some may have taken exception to Speering’s remarks, I think it’s worth nothing that for over a year she tried to deal with issues behind closed doors. Unfortunately, behind closed doors answers to questions were not quite forthcoming or even adequate. There was little correlation between what she was hearing from teachers and what was being told to her by the administration. it would behoove us to remember that Speering taught for 35 years and she might know a thing or two about best practices.

Some have tried to mute her criticism by claiming that she only began speaking out after Joseph refused to fund Speering favored reading program, Reading Recovery. That argument falls apart though when you look at the time line. Joseph in fact, cut Reading Recovery in an apparent response to Speering’s increased criticism. Speering was critical well before RR was cut.

It’s also worth noting that virtually all school board candidates have been critical of Joseph to some degree. Is the expectation that whomever wins a seat on the board will become muzzled once they are on the board or will the board start to outwardly address the growing criticism by the public? Time will tell.

It look’s like Phil Williams has a new series of stories ready to drop come Monday. I must admit that I’m not sure exactly what he plans on covering, but if the promo is any indication, it’ll be on the rampant sexual misconduct occuring throughout the district. The stories that I have personally heard over the last two years are simply appalling and the district’s response to some of these cases has been seriously lacking. Again, I don’t know what stories Williams is covering in this report, but you might want to tune in on Monday.

QUICK HITS

TNReady results came out this week. Their release was conveniently timed with Dr. Joseph’s vacation to Spain. After all the hoopla over MAP scores over the last several months, expectations were running high. Unfortunately the results did not meet the hype. Per an article in the Tennessean, MNPS students scored as follows:

• English —  26.7 percent of third through eighth students are on track or higher in the subject, up from 25.4 percent in the 2016-17 school year; 18.1 percent of high school students are on track or higher, down from 24.4 percent last year.
• Math — 26.1 percent of third through eighth students scored on track or higher, down from 27.2 last year; 9.5 percent of high school students are on track or higher, down from 12.1 percent last year.
• Science — 42.7 percent of third through eighth students were on track or higher, down from 46 percent last year ; 25.6 percent of high school students are on track or higher, down from 35.7 percent last year.
• U.S. History — And 10.3 percent of the district’s students scored on track or mastered the subject, down from 14.9 percent in the previous year.

I’ll look at scores a lot closer this weekend and offer some thoughts on Monday. My preliminary thoughts are that I don’t think these scores exceed anybody’s expectations.

I’m hearing this week that belated congratulations are due to recently departed Executive Director of Innovative Schools LeTrecia Gloster. Word is that she is expectant with child. I know ladies at central office are disappointed that she left before they had a chance to throw a baby shower. Everybody loves a shower.

Two weeks ago DGW ran a poll on who y’all thought would win the school board seat in District 6 and the result was a big win for the incumbent. This past weekend there was a forum held in District 6 and the results of the straw poll taken afterwards were a bit different. I’ve got to say, in Aaron McGee and  Fran Bush, District 6 has two really good candidates. Take time to talk with them, to get to know them, you’ll be impressed. I’m glad it’s not me having to choose between them.

Remember that time when we told everybody we were really broke, but then we went from 5 LTDS leads to 8. But one quit the day before training started and we asked current LTDS’s to apply for the job even though the LTDS pool was empty and a replacement would have to come from a classroom teacher, therefore leaving a classroom uncovered? Fun times.

Remember that other time when we told board members that we only had 186 teacher openings which was better than last year when we had 266 openings, but we didn’t remind board members that this year we had 500 students less then last year? Fun times.

Out in Denver, Superintendent Tom Boasberg is stepping down after nearly 10 years. Per ChalkbeatCO:

Boasberg, 52, and his wife have three children, ages 17, 15, and 14. He said his decision was personal and not driven by the politics of the district. His oldest daughter, Nola, graduated from high school this year – a milestone he said made him stop and think about his commitments to his family, as well as his commitments to the district and to Denver students.

I wonder if they’ve gotten Sito Narcisse’s resume yet?

This is the time of year when my social media feed is filled up with pictures of administrators and teachers engaged in data sharing activities. Not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but few things inspire me less. Just saying.

Wish i had more for ya this week, but that’s all I got. Tomorrow it’s back to the campaign trail.

Hope y’all have an awesome weekend. Don’t forget to answer the poll questions. And if you are eligible to vote in District 2, please get out and vote. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. I’m always looking for more opinions and will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

I’ve often said, “I’m not the smartest man in the room, I’m just fortunate enough to know a lot of really smart people.” To me the greatest benefit to the growth of the Dad Gone Wild blog is the access it provides to the ever-growing network of educators that are regular readers. I’ll write a story and then learn even more on the subject through reader feedback. Friday’s story on Advanced Academics is a prime example.

To get a handle on what’s going on with AA in our schools can be a difficult proposition. There are several different programs – International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Cambridge, AVID and Dual Enrollment – and even within the same programs, the look different is at whatever school your child attends. Policy has shifted, at all levels, over the last couple years further complicating things.

That said, AA is clearly an area that MNPS is making progress in and is deserving of accolades. I was discussing MNPS’s lack of promotion with a parent this weekend and they remarked, “They release the scores and they give accolades, what more do you want.”

That opened up the door to a much larger issue in my opinion. My answer to the question is, I need the narrative. You can’t just tell me the work is important. you have to tell me the why. You can’t just tell me we are making progress, you have to show me how. I need to see real world impact. Give me the narrative.

Dr. Ryan Jackson offers a prime example of what I’m talking about. Jackson was the Assistant Principal at Maplewood until two years ago when he went over to Maury County after his Maplewood Principal, Ron Woodard, took the number 2 job. He has a deep commitment to STEAM programming and believes in its merit.

Yet, he didn’t show up at Mt.Pleasant HS and say we are doing STEAM and you better get on board because I think it’s important. Instead he told the narrative. He demonstrated why he believed in the programming and why it was important. He doesn’t just supply theory and supposition, he uses real world applications and tells the stories of how individuals are impacted. He uses the narrative to build excitement and buy-in.

When Jackson shows up to ask for increased funding he has tangible reasons for why he needs that money and concrete ways it will benefit students and their families. It’s not just phrases like,”It increases equity” or “it is good for kids”. He tells you why “it is good for kids” and how “it increases equity”.

One of the most important line items in last years budget was the paying of fees for the individual students Advanced Academic tests. This was one of the largest moves towards equity in access that the district had made in years, yet it sat squarely on the chopping block.

Advocates fought to have it funded, and they were successful, but how much were they helped by MNPS? How many council members knew the individual cost of the tests and exactly how families are impacted? How many knew the benefits that other students had already reaped through the successful completion of these programs?How many understood the results from past years or knew the trajectory MNPS was on? Every one of them should have, but I suspect less than a quarter did.

You may argue that the district doesn’t have time for this kind of pr work. I’d argue the opposite, the district does not have the time not to do this work. You can throw all the key performance indicators in the world up on a projection screen at a board meeting and, sans a narrative, it won’t mean a thing. You got to tell the story and make it compelling.

You can be mad at council and the mayor for not fully funding schools all you want, but you if can’t tell them the why, than you can’t be surprised if they don’t find the how. School Board member Will Pinkston lectured at the last board meeting on the importance of 7 words, “We are a chronically underfunded school system.” I would argue that we only need to focus on one word, “Why?”

Here’s some more of the advanced academics story that I think you’ll find illuminating. There is an unspoken myth about the kind of student that enters the AA programs. The truth is, few students enter at the national norm of “readiness” for the course work, as the knowledge needed for TNReady does not necessarily translate to AP. Some have seldom done regular homework before or read an entire book or written a paper longer than a page and a half (though some have). Yet, many of them are successful at learning college material. Even for those who do not pass the AP Exam, surveys a year later show that they earned A’s in college their freshman year.

On Friday I talked about kid’s earning diplomas through the International Baccalaureate program. What that means can be a little confusing. Earning a diploma is a very daunting task and without understanding the process, it’s equally difficult to evaluate the success of the program. As one MNPS educator explained to me,

IB Diplomas are what the district often shines a light upon, but they are a poor measure of IB success. The IB Diploma just means that a student earned enough points across a range of courses from IB assignments/exams; however, IB students also earn certificates for each course. Each IB course is graded by the IBO on a scale of 1-7. A score of 4 typically earns college credit for the course. The IB diploma is earned when a student achieves 24 cumulative points across six courses, but it gives little extra benefit versus doing well in individual courses. As such, a student could do well in IB History and IB Math but struggle some in IB English and not get the IB Diploma. The student would still earn college certificates for History & Math but not earn the whole diploma. I would argue that this was still a successful student and that IB was a cumulative benefit.

It’s also important to remember that some students take individual classes, but not the whole IB program. Their goal is to earn 1-2 classes of college credit; diploma percentages would not capture any benefit to them.

I mentioned that kid’s who take the advanced classes risk taking a hit to their GPA. For clarification, the students keep their GPA-boost if they stay in the course, regardless of the exam. They do lose two perks: they lose their +5 point incentive points added to their third quarter and fourth quarter grade, and they lose their automatic exemption for the teacher’s final exam (for which the AP exam replaces). Important considerations.

The exams being paid for (IB students still pay a registration fee of $122 that MNPS does not cover) is one of the most transformative things that MNPS has done and has changed classroom’s in a positive manner. Again, in the words of an MNPS educator,

With AP exams paid for, my AP enrollment was the largest in years as fewer students tried to transfer out. I went from 22 in the class to 31 students, and I went from 12 test-takers in 2018 to 29 this year. The students had a greater sense of focus as well, despite the greater participation, our average score did not drop.

As other kids see kids that look like them and live like them, thrive in the advanced academic programs, it’s only a natural progression that they will want to join in. The program’s can only get bigger and more successful. But that can only happen if we do our part, if we tell the narrative. We have to stop focusing on the what – more resources – and begin focusing on the why – the impact on the classroom and the individual students.

DID I NOT MENTION THAT?

Here’s another tale about the power of the Dad Gone Wild network. On Friday I wrote about MNPS school board member Amy Frogge pulling the extension of the TNTP contract from the consent agenda at the last school board meeting. Her objection was more to the vendor than to the individual contract. In defending the extension, it was argued that this contract was for PD only, and that nobody was using it. The implication being that TNTP was not being utilized in the district. An implication that many readers found puzzling.

Several of you wrote to me that TNTP was in fact being utilized by Jere Baxter MS and Joelton MS. I was further informed that all priority schools were utilizing TNTP and that new priority school head Lisa Coons is a big proponent of TNTP. Here’s where the soup get’s a little thicker, TNTP is a proponent of Core Knowledge Language Arts(CKLA). CKLA is being pushed by district leadership despite a lack of buy-in from principals. There are those that believe, not without merit, that Reading Recovery was canceled in part to make room for CKLA.

To be fair there are those that believe in CKLA. I take no issue with the pushing of a curriculum as long as it’s research backed. My questions would be, why are we not having a more transparent conversation around its implementation? It would have taken but a minute to clarify that schools are utilizing the services of TNTP through other contracts. I would also wonder aloud why we are utilizing one curriculum for priority schools and not using the same curriculum in our not-as-high needs schools.

This whole exchange just drives home the point to me why reports from the teaching and learning committee need to be included in board meetings. If those reports were given regularly than all of us would have a better understanding of what is actually happening in the class room and the impact board decisions are having in the classroom. Which is supposed to be the reason why we are all here, right?

NEED A JOB?

According to the Tennessean, MNPS has 189 vacancies that need filling. Presenting at last week’s board meeting, Sharon Pertiller, Nashville schools human resources talent strategy director, updated the board on the district’s hiring status. Pertiller indicated that the hiring position this year was improved over last year, when the district needed to fill 266 vacancies.

Let’s keep a few things in mind though. Briefly mentioned at the bottom of the article,is the information that MNPS displaced 82 teachers. What nobody is talking about are the Glenn/Caldwell teachers that were displaced when the two schools were merged. So we created a pool of teachers in need of jobs and we used that pool to fill openings. Not exactly a result of improved recruiting.

In order to actually evaluate the success of recruiting efforts we’d have to know the actual number of certificated positions at this time last year and this year. The article says MNPS has about 6,400 teachers and administrators. If last year we had 6700 and this year we had 6400 than 189 versus 266 does not indicate progress. To be fair I doubt the swing is that much, but with 162 schools in the district, if each school lost 2 positions…it could be.

The question of the number of positions becomes more important in lieu of a recent email from central office to principals that would seem to indicate a hiring freeze. Though to be fair, despite repeated readings, I can’t decipher the intent of the email. Combine this email with a bullet point in Pertillers Power Point presentation to the board that stated, “Adjust staffing, e.g. combining classrooms and utilizing subs to support the teacher of record”, and you’ve got some red flags.

QUICK HITS

Man there ain’t no crazy like Prince George County crazy. In today’s episode the PGCS school board appointed Monica Goldson as acting CEO of schools. News that wasn’t exactly welcomed by the community.

The Metro Health and Educational Facilities board approved on Thursday $13.6 million in tax exempt bonds for KIPP Academy to build a new elementary school in Antioch. I certainly am not looking to restart the charter war, but this is a bit of a problem. KIPP runs 5 schools already and this one’s application was rejected by the district. They took advantage of a new law that allows for a school that’s been rejected by the local LEA to apply to the state. The state approved the application.

It’s my opinion that if the state approves the application, the state should foot the bill. To circumvent the local board and then present them with the tab, shouldn’t be an option.

Hard to believe, but freshmen orientations have already started for MNPS students. Here’s the schedule for the 2018-2019 school year. Some schools will offer transportation for students, so please check with your child’s school.

POLL RESULTS

Let’s take a quick look at last weeks poll questions.

The first question asked your opinion on the amount of questioning some board members have been doing as of late. 90% of you answered in a manner that indicated you appreciate the questions and would welcome more. Four of you thought the board needs to ease up and stay in their lane. Here are the write-in answers:

Question two asked those of you who’d been involved with MNPS’s advanced academic programs to give feedback on your experience. The majority indicated that it was a favorable experience but acknowledged that improvements could be made. Here are the write-in votes:

The last question asked if you had ever given a cash donation in a school board race. The majority of you had not, and those that had, only a handful of times. You can rectify that you know? All you have to do is go to tcforschools.com. Just saying. Here are the write-in votes:

And that’s a wrap. Hope y’all have an awesome week. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. Feedback is always welcome and I will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

I have started using Patreon as a funding source. If you think what I do has monetary value, you can go there and make a donation/pledge.Just because Andy Spears is also on Patreon doesn’t mean you can’t support us both. Trust me, I know I ain’t going to get rich, but at the end of the day I’m just a Dad trying to get by. Check out the Dad Gone Wild Facebook page as well. And if you are so inclined, check out my new campaign web page and sign up to help if you can. Early voting starts in just a couple of weeks.

There has been much talk, as of late, about the value of advanced academic coursework in public education. MNPS makes the International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge, and Advanced Placement (AP) programs available to kids across the district. This year there was increased access to those programs because MNPS agreed to pay for testing costs associated with them. Last week, results were released for students who participated in the IB program.

Some of you may not have known that IB, Cambridge, and AP classes all have fees attached to them, some for every test taken and some just for a student’s senior year. In the past, those fees have impacted access, and only the kids whose families could afford these fees enrolled in the courses. I know, some of you are jumping to the defense here to argue that no child has ever been turned away because of the fees and that schools have always found a way to ensure those kids who wanted to take the classes could take them. Fair enough, but I’ve always wondered about those kids who never made it to the gate because of the specter of cost.

To some kids, the fees meant they took the class, but they never took the test. This is a bit of an issue, because without taking the tests, students couldn’t potentially earn the college credits that came with passing the tests. It was argued though, that students’ exposure to the rigor of the coursework was highly beneficial to them even if they never took the tests and earned the credits.

Last year, a couple of things transpired on the national, state, and local levels to change the game. On the national level, as part of the newly passed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), districts and schools were given credit towards their evaluation for the number of students enrolled in advanced classes. Thus, an impetus was created to get more students enrolled in advanced classes.

On the state level, policy changed on how advanced classes impacted student GPA. Previously if a student enrolled in an advanced academic class, they received points towards their GPA. The state changed that policy to one that states if students don’t take the test, they don’t get points towards their GPA. So in essence, the benefit of just taking the class is now offset by the potential hit, due to engaging in more rigorous coursework, to a student’s GPA.

Locally, MNPS Director of Schools Dr. Joseph recognized the inequity created by forcing families to shoulder this financial burden. In response, he declared that for the first year ever, the district would pay for these tests. Make no mistake, this was a huge step towards granting access to all. That cannot be undervalued.

I understand that this recap is a very cursory overview of a subject that really needs a book to be fully covered. I spent a lot of time this past year studying our advanced academic programs. They are multi-tiered, complex, and, at times, confusing for stakeholders. It is an area that, for the most part, MNPS is doing really good work.

So back to those recently released scores. I noticed that upon release, there was a great celebration of the scores on social media. This made me excited, and I prepared to write a congratulatory story. Then the results were sent to me and I faced a quandary.

In what world is a 56% success rate considered celebratory? Surely the number should be much higher in order to indicate success.

To be fair, I expected advanced academic scores might be low this year because we were now granting access to extra rigorous coursework to students who have previously not had that experience. It was my theory that scores in these initial years might be low, but with increased exposure, increased success would follow. Now is the time to focus on access and allow results time to follow. Still, 56%…

I went in search of people whose opinions I trust and asked them, “Does this really count as a win?”

The answer was a resounding, “Hell yeah, this counts as a win!” As a friend told me,

“The thing most people don’t understand about IB is that the classes are at least as difficult as AP. I would argue math HL (higher level) and foreign language classes are much more demanding. So we are talking about a cohort of kids who decided at 16 that they would enroll in what amounts to 6 AP classes. Getting the diploma means they passed in all six classes. 56% of the kids who undertook this marathon won. And won big. Tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships.”

Individual stories paint an amazing picture. One kid won a full free ride to Belmont. Another received, based on their scores, $30k towards their education at UC Boulder. Still another was awarded $17k in assistance towards her education based on her IB coursework.

It was further explained to me that,

“In 2017, Hillsboro High School had 32 diplomas. These cohorts are not the magnet leftovers. They are from Antioch and West Meade and Crieve Hall and they choose to come for this challenge. The IB program at HHS averages a 26 on ACT. We’ve had national merit finalists each of the last four years. 56% is huge for recruitment. To tell kids, ‘Look, others who come from the same backgrounds and neighborhoods did this, and you can too.’ Yes, it’s demanding and challenging, but that’s what life is all about, doing hard things that we didn’t think we were capable of. I get fired up thinking about what we’ve accomplished.”

Let’s be clear as well, a 14% growth rate is nothing to shake a stick at.

The advanced academic programs are not perfect. I’ve heard from several parents that navigating the waters can be very treacherous, and I think communication needs to be tailored in a manner that recognizes that it is not just students embarking on this journey for the first time, but families as well.

It is disheartening that the only real celebration of these scores comes from individual schools and teachers. MNPS, as a district, has remained strangely quiet. Choosing instead to trumpet MAP scores that don’t hold up under scrutiny.

If you’d like to know more about advanced academics, I urge you to call the people over at the AA office. I promise you that you will not find a more transparent and helpful department in all of MNPS, and that’s not a backhanded compliment. They are just good people, doing good work. There are also quality people at each of the individual schools willing to help and inform as well. Take advantage of them.

Later in the year, the Cambridge programs results will be released, and I look forward to celebrating them as well. ‘Til then, way to rock it, IB kids!

QUESTIONS

At this week’s MNPS board meeting, a list of 30-something PD consultants was brought before the board on the consent menu to have their contracts extended. The contracts are part of a list of potential vendors for individual schools that have been subjected to the RFP process. I urge you to watch this conversation, as it contains quite a bit of information that may not be generally known. The conversation starts at around the 9-minute mark.

The fun starts when board member Amy Frogge asks to pull the contract for TNTP. TNTP was formerly known as the New Teacher Project and was founded in 1997 by Michelle Rhee. Frogge’s opinion was that research has shown that TNTP has not been as effective as it could be. Furthermore, since we have local resources like Peabody College at Vanderbilt University and Lipscomb University, it was her opinion that increased investment with those institutions would pay greater dividends. A reasonable argument.

It was then explained that due to state regulations, individual schools are permitted to choose their own vendors and that the district attempts to compile a list for schools to choose from in order to provide some uniformity. Frogge says, “Fine, but I don’t think TNTP should be on the list.”

Mary Clark from MNPS’s Federal Programs department reiterates that they are just one entrant on the menu from which schools can choose. They are just one vendor in a group who were selected to be on the menu in 2014 after being put through the RFP process. The contract expires at the end of this month and this was an attempt to keep the menu robust by extending their contract. Upon further prodding, it was revealed that nobody is actually using the program, but since it’s already been through the RFP process, so they want to leave it. Huh?

Here is my restaurant analogy. I might have a Spam sandwich on my menu because a couple of years ago I thought people might like it. But that assertion has proven false and nobody ever orders it. Am I just going to continue to leave that sandwich on the menu, or am I going to try to add one people might order?

I understand that the analogy isn’t perfect. Keeping an item on a food menu requires having inventory items on hand, and I don’t believe that’s the case with TNTP, but still. Shouldn’t we focus on quality over quantity? If nobody is using it, pull it, replace it. Seems simple.

Speering then proceeds to pull 11 individual contracts from the consent menu and ask that we put them on the agenda for a teacher and learning committee to review. Again, a reasonable request. Here’s where things get interesting.

When the floor is opened, board member Christiane Buggs is the first to speak. After discussing her research into the board adding a property tax referendum to the August ballot, she goes on to say,

“We may be to blame for why we are having these budgetary issues. Because we have caused Nashville, and the greater community, to lose faith in us. And when I say us, I don’t just mean the board, I mean MNPS.”

She goes on to describe how the board, through its raising of issues, has negatively impacted the school district. She concedes that robust conversations could have improved the byproduct, but it’s unclear exactly when she thinks those conversations should have taken place, though she alludes to several months ago. It’s clear that she feels that the open questioning of Dr. Joseph is the primary element in the lack of trust MNPS is currently infected with. She goes on to say that,

“To have council members approach me and say if we trusted you all more, we probably could have passed it (funding bill), if we just had more faith. And sometimes they would say Dr. Joseph, but realistically, they could have been saying the administration, or MNPS as a whole. If we just had more faith we could have given you more money.”

The rest of her speech is a lecture to other board members, I’m assuming the brunt being directed at Speering and Frogge, on how the board has done a disservice to the students of Nashville. In her opinion, the board should merely serve as a vehicle to promote the district and raise money.

Board member Will Pinkston picks up where Buggs leaves off, “You had me at hello.” He goes on to reiterate what she just said and states,

“You are correct. This board has failed for over a decade to make the case for adequate funding. We need to educate people on 7 words, we are a chronically underfunded school system.”

First of all, I don’t understand how a board member whose recent attendance rate at board meetings is of the level of Pinkston’s feels he has room to lecture anyone about failing students. If he were a student, his chronic attendance would qualify him for check and consent status, Secondly, both he, Buggs, and the majority of the board, have the equation flipped. It’s not the questions that cause the distrust of the system; it’s the answers. So instead of continually blindly publicly defending Dr. Joseph, they should start demanding better answers.

Are we really arrogant enough to think that if board members just remain quiet, and say nothing but positive stuff, the public won’t form their own questions? Without seeing anybody actually raise those questions, and devoid of satisfactory answers from the district, they’ll create their own answers. I can promise you that the majority will default to the negative if left to independently form their own opinions. Transparency doesn’t create distrust; the opposite does.

Buggs is right on one thing, though. This board has let the students of Nashville down. They’ve done so by placing the defending of a director above the defending of the quality of education the children of Nashville receive. They’ve chosen to place a higher value on symbolism, as opposed to achievement. They’ve refused to do their job of oversight, and furthermore, by not publicly reassuring the public that they are diligently watching their investment, and ensuring that it’s returning proper dividends, they’ve eroded that trust that would potentially afford greater resources devoted to the district.

This concept that people are just going to blindly fund public education devoid of any evidence of return is foolish. If your 14-year-old son walked through your living room wearing expensive sneakers with a comic book tucked into his back pocket slurping on a milkshake and told you that his allowance wasn’t allowing him to meet his needs, would you immediately raise it? Yet that’s the expectation when it comes to the funding of public education.

Yes, we should focus on the 7 words Pinkston mentioned. Public schools are chronically underfunded. But part of the problem is that they also chronically fail to convince people that they are being good stewards of current resources. The only way that I persuade anyone to give me more money is if I convince them that I truly need it.

Any good salesman will tell you that you can’t sell a product if you don’t 100 percent believe in it. We should be focused on convincing the board members and the community that MNPS and its leadership are good investments. You can’t do that without honesty and transparency. Lose either and you foster distrust.

Not all of this lack of trust should be laid at Dr. Joseph’s feet. But the lack of discernible progress in increasing trust the last two years belongs squarely on his shoulders. A year ago, then-STEAM executive director Kris Elliot stood up at a central office meeting and said, “I’m just going to go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room. MNPS suffers from a lack of trust. Nobody trusts anybody.” Within two months of making that statement, Elliot was gone. Failing to face truths does not solve problems.

If the MNPS school board is going to do nothing but hire a director and evaluate him once a year, what’s the point of their existence? Why even meet twice a month? Why not just write the evaluations from home and phone them in? They are already overly depending on the data that Dr. Joseph provides them without independent verification. We could save over $100k in salaries and spare us all the drama. That’s the question the state was asking in 2008. Do we want to open the door to that question again?

This campaign season, I’ve had people donate $25, $50, $100, $250 to my campaign. I’ve quite honestly been very humbled by these donations. It’s money from people who have many other things they could use it for. If I’m going to take their money, then I think I owe them something other than a “thank you” and a yard sign. At the very least, I owe it to them to do my best to protect their interests. I take that responsibility very seriously and believe others should as well.

A lengthy conversation ensues at the board meeting on the topic of approving contracts, one that hopefully I’ll get an opportunity to revisit in the future as MNPS executives David Williams and Tie Hodack raise several salient points and issues. Some of which I think are rather concerning, and I’m grateful that they are attempting to get a handle on these issues.

In closing, Dr. Gentry warns that the board is getting into the “sausage making.” I’d argue that not enough of the board members understand how the sausage is made and are voting on policy they have no idea on how it will impact classrooms. This is made evident by the face of surprise Dr. Gentry made upon being informed about the vendor vetting process – akin to the look that Queen Elizabeth likely made on being informed that Columbus had discovered America.

Like I said, I’ve got much more to say on this conversation, but if I continue… it’ll be another 3000 words. So I’ll leave it here for right now, but encourage you to watch the video and form your own opinions. As always, I am interested in hearing them.

QUICK HITS

Since I’ve already written too much, I’m going to leave you with just a couple quick hits. Long term MNPS educator Stephen Henry seems to be making great progress on his road to recovery after his arrest for meth. Addiction is a terrible master. Friends have started a GoFundMe account. If you can help, please do so.

I don’t know how many of you are paying attention to what’s been transpiring in Prince George’s County Public Schools as of late, but since I’m a firm believer in “you can tell where a man is going by looking at where he has been,” I’ve kept an eye on them. Quick update: Last week the Washington Post did an article on why CEO Kevin Maxwell said he’s leaving, yet he hasn’t left yet. Yesterday it was announced that the board had agreed to an $800k settlement with Maxwell. On top of that, apparently yesterday one of the board members was assaulted by the board chair. I wonder if Anna Shepherd knew this option was open to her?

Here’s a side note for you: the chair in PGCPS is a relative of County Executive Rushern Baker III. Joseph brought Baker to an MNPS principal meeting in February where he introduced him and solicited support for him. At last look, none of the MNPS principals voted in the PGC Democratic primary, which unfortunately for him, Baker lost. Is this MNPS’s future?

Dr. Monica Goldson will take the temporary role of CEO, the PGCPS Board of Education announced Thursday night. Goldson is the Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning at Prince George’s County Public Schools. County Executive Rushern Baker will appoint the interim CEO “in the very near future,” the school system said in a release.

That’s another blog post in the bag. Hope y’all have an awesome weekend. Don’t forget to answer the poll questions. And if you are eligible to vote in District 2, please get out and vote. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. I’m always looking for more opinions and will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

One of the most frequently asked questions as of late is, “When is the school board going to evaluate the director of schools?” I now finally have an answer. This week, the board completed their assignment, and the results are in.

Upon hearing that all evaluations were completed, I filed an open records request. Here are the evaluations for your evaluation.

Director’s evaluation – Individual Board Members

Directors Evaluation – Composite

I reviewed these evaluations yesterday and weighed my opinion. In the end, I decided that my opinion was no more important than anyone else’s, therefore I would just share the evaluations with minimal commentary in order to allow you to form your own opinions unencumbered. Hopefully, some of you will choose to share your observations with me.

That said, there are a few things that I would be remiss if I didn’t point out.

Many of you have already read board member Jill Speering’s evaluation, as she’s posted it on her Facebook page. To say that Ms. Speering is critical would be an understatement. To say that she lacks supporting evidence to support that position would also be an understatement.

At a time when leaders repeatedly refuse to lead, Speering should be applauded for her courage and her diligence. It is never easy to be the one who speaks out and calls attention to problems. It’s even harder to dedicate the personal time and resources to do the work and document why you are being critical. Speering does both.

Agree or disagree with Speering’s position, you can’t refute that she has done her homework and presented her arguments in a clear, concise manner. As a reward for her efforts, others have attempted to ostracize her, marginalize her, and outright dismiss her. Through it all, Speering has kept her feet on the path and continued to move forward.

I always find it ironic that we loudly proclaim that we want children to be “critical thinkers,” yet we castigate adults who actually display those traits. Doing the research, evaluating the research, forming an opinion based upon conducted research, and then defending that opinion is not always a pleasant task. In fact, as the kids say, often it sucks. Many leaders try to stick their toe in the water and then succumb to the pressure and back out of the pool. It’s nice to see one walk the talk.

Secondly, there seems to be an entrenched narrative that when Dr. Joseph took over, MNPS was in a state of utter disrepair. Much like Trump declaring that he had to save America, there is an attempt to paint Dr. Joseph as a savior striding into the wasteland to save the natives from themselves. That story is not rooted in reality, and is perpetrated by those who are attempting to drive an agenda or are ignorant of history.

In 2009, when Dr. Register arrived in MNPS, the district was under corrective action and on the cusp of being taken over by the state. Register’s arrival coincided with a time where the district had failed to meet state achievement goals 5 years running and a 6th failure could lead to the school board being disbanded and the state completely taking over the district. In short, the “old white dude” from Chattanooga had his work cut out for him.

In contrast, Joseph arrived at a time when the district was no longer in corrective action. The Academies had been established at our high schools and were receiving national recognition. MNPS’s EL department had begun consistently meeting state established goals. Enrollment in MNPS was growing and schools had begun making academic gains. Board member Will Pinkston himself even recognized that Register had made some positive gains:

“If you’re flying an airplane and you start spinning out of control, the first thing that they teach you is to get the wings level so you can keep flying,” says Will Pinkston, a school board member. “No one argues that Register got the wings level, and that’s a monumental feat.”

Now that doesn’t mean that the world was perfectly rosy under Register. There were definite improvements needed, and upon arrival, Joseph has faced some daunting challenges. Interestingly enough, upon arrival Joseph listed one of those challenges as follows: “When I walked in, I saw 22 principal vacancies; I think we had 10 or 15 central office vacancies.”

This year has seen 27 principal vacancies filled and at least 15 central office positions filled. It should be noted that most of those vacancies upon Joseph’s arrival were due to the board chair ordering a pause in hiring, in order that the new director could choose some of his own candidates. District leaders were on a pace at the time to have all positions filled by Memorial Day.

Three years after his departure, I’m not sure how relevant it is to continue to make comparisons with Dr. Register. Continually bashing Register is like blasting a man who just emerged from a hole for not building a house. Sometimes you need an excavator and sometimes you need a contractor. Both are difficult jobs and both have their unique challenges.

I encourage you to read the director evaluations and form your own opinions. Keep in mind after reading them that this year, the even-numbered seats on the school board are up for election. Early voting starts this Friday and election day is August 2nd. There is no better way to voice your evaluation than through the voting process.

WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE…

On Friday, I told you about the SEL training that was canceled due to a lack of funding. A move that many found troubling, as it’s hard to grasp why the district would have financial shortfalls one week into the new fiscal year.

In a true Marie Antoinette moment, district leaders headed off this week to Harvard to discuss the very subject that Nashville teachers were poised to receive training on. Reportedly at a cost of $30K for a team of 8 to participate in a week of training. Our team of 8 consisted of Dr. Joseph, Tony Majors, Shree Walker, Robin Wall (McGavock), Watrecia Lawless (Napier), Pippa Merriwether, Judge Calloway, and Melissa Jaggers (Alignment Nashville). It should be noted that Calloway and Jaggers paid their own airfare.

Sometimes in writing this blog, I’m put in a position where I have to criticize people I truly respect. This is one of those cases.

SEL implementation falls under the Department of Student Services, which is headed up by Tony Majors. It’s bad enough for district leadership to participate in this trip after failing teachers, but it is particularly galling for Majors to be a participant. SEL training should be a priority and as such, to not recognize that training for MNPS teachers was not adequately funded in a timely manner is a major fail on many different levels. One that shouldn’t earn a trip to Harvard. Think about the difference in perception if Majors had owned the failing and recused himself from the trip as a result. That’s called modeling and it’s a form of instruction that is continually lacking from a district that continually touts the importance of SEL while not backing up those words through its actions.

The funding of teacher training stipends was an issue that arose last year and therefore should have been on people’s radars; that it wasn’t is inexcusable. I write this down as another example of the price we are paying for having a culture where leadership is not held accountable, and personal gain is placed as a priority. It is hard to get children to buy in to SEL principles when adults refuse to adopt them themselves. I continue to be a big fan of Majors and I’m sure I’ve irritated him with this assessment. But the truth is, on this one he struck out, and one never wants to get a reputation of giving a pass to those you favor.

Putting out a statement that training was canceled due to budget constraints is going to have implications throughout the year. Whenever a resource is not made available for any initiative, the perception will be that it is because the district is broke. During my years in the restaurant business, it was always drilled into me to never let people think you are financially struggling or else they will go somewhere different. I can’t help but think the same holds true with a school district. Let’s cross our fingers that this doesn’t hold true.

QUICK HITS

I have been meaning to mention this one for a while. It appears that buses for field trips are going up in cost this year – from $120 to $175 for three hours (overtime cost is also going up per hour). This will impact equity. Economically disadvantaged kids need the rich experiences of field trips they may not otherwise have, yet they’ll have to stretch the most to absorb the additional cost. Title I schools can almost always find reduced admission or grants to cover admission cost for field trips, but the buses (and paying for them) are kind of a separate piece, harder to get donations to cover. I hate to think about all the teams now having to decide what field trips to cut from their kids because of this hike. (Teachers will probably just dig deeper into their own pockets to make up the difference.)

The increase is without a doubt reasonable, as rates have probably been static for at least a decade, but I wish that we would put more thought into the impact on ED kids when making these moves. Once again, we talk about equity while our actions say otherwise.

Speaking of experiences, long time readers know how important I think recess and play is. And when I say recess, I mean unstructured play. I’ve posted in the past how recess increases learning and decreases discipline issues. Despite mounds of evidence touting its benefits, play has to continually fight for space in the school day. Peter Greene writes an excellent piece on why we have to fight even harder to preserve its importance. As he states, “There’s a certain kind of adult in the world, a kind of adult who looks at a bunch of children running around a yard laughing and playing and thinks, ‘Man, somebody needs to get those kids organized.'” Don’t be that adult.

Man, the rumors about the motivation for the departure of recent Maryland transfers are swirling like sands through the hourglass.

At today’s principal meeting, number 2 guy Sito Narcisse purportedly announced that the budget freeze for schools has been lifted. Though he won’t be putting that in an email. Plausible deniability?

Lisa Coons has become the new EDSSI in charge of priority schools. Coons has been doing a lot of the work already so this should be a seamless transfer, and actually an upgrade at the position.

Congratulations are in order! Dr. Braina Corke, assistant director of Metro Schools’ Nutrition Services, was recently awarded the President’s Award of Achievement at the National School Nutrition Conference. Dr. Corke currently serves as the president of Tennessee’s School Nutrition Association.

Have y’all seen this? Pretty cool, huh? Thank you again to MNEA for your endorsement.

POLL RESULTS

Let’s take a quick look at last week’s poll results.

The first question asked for your opinion on growth mindset theory. This one received quite a few comments emailed to me. Those comments fell on both sides of the discussion. Everybody does agree, though, that it is important to try to be as positive as possible.

I did receive some comments about the value of students who work hard versus those with a general aptitude who refuse to work hard. It’s always been my experience that if you have an inbred disposition towards something, you will naturally work harder at it. Those who practice guitar the most diligently tend to be those who have some innate talent. That makes it hard to separate where innate talent ends and hard work begins.

Furthermore, when we say kids aren’t working hard at something or applying themselves, often that relates to what adults want them to work hard on or apply themselves to as opposed to actually depicting their work effort. At some point I’ll try to explore how much of measuring learning is really about measuring compliance. That should heat things up.

The number one answer to the first question, 36%, was ‘I take some, I leave some.” The answer “A bunch of bunk” came in second with 29% of the vote. Here are the write-in votes:

Question two asked which of Dr. Joseph’s recently departed hires you’ll miss the most. This one was won by the write-ins with 47 responses. Number two was “my favorite is still in the wings” with 36 votes. Mo Carrasco came in third with 8. Here are those write-ins, though I must admit that I’m confused by the inclusion of Hank Clay:

The last question asked for who you thought was going to win the school board race for District 6. I must admit that I’m surprised that Tyese Hunter comes out on top with 42% of the vote. Knowing the number of readers I have in the Antioch area, I would give some weight to those numbers. Fran Bush comes in number 2, trailed by Aaron McGee. What I suspect is happening is that McGee and Bush are splitting the vote and allowing Hunter to potentially win re-election. There is a candidate forum scheduled or this Saturday.

Here are the write-ins:

And that’s a wrap. Hope y’all have an awesome week. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. Feedback is always welcome and I will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

I have started using Patreon as a funding source. If you think what I do has monetary value, you can go there and make a donation/pledge.Just because Andy Spears is also on Patreon doesn’t mean you can’t support us both. Trust me, I know I ain’t going to get rich, but at the end of the day I’m just a Dad trying to get by. Check out the Dad Gone Wild Facebook page as well. And if you are so inclined, check out my new campaign web page and sign up to help if you can. Early voting starts in just a couple of weeks.

‘Stead of treated, we get tricked
‘Stead of kisses, we get kicked
It’s the hard knock life!

– Hard Knock Life, Jay-Z

School starts for MNPS in just over a month. And it may be July, but like a character from a Charles Dickens novel, the ghost of budgets past continues to haunt current district leadership.

Next week, many of MNPS’s teachers were scheduled to engage in training on restorative practices and other SEL-related initiatives. After a very successful SEL conference, teachers were excited to get started expanding their knowledge and practice of SEL principles. Alas, it was not to be. Midweek, those scheduled to participate received the following in an email:

Due to the funding that Student Services received, based on the 2018-19 operating budget for MNPS, all SEL professional learning for the month of July will be cancelled.  This will include professional learning sessions in the areas of Restorative Practices, COMP, and SEL Foundations.  Dr. Major’s team will be notifying educators who enrolled in these SEL sessions through Performance Matters, but I wanted you to also know about this situation.  The major issue is that there are no funds available to pay stipends to staff during the summer.

Schools should still focus on implementing their Tier 1 behavior management plan and MTSS which will be reinforced during our Leadership Launch Week July 9-13.  Student Services will offer additional  professional development opportunities after school starts, and teachers can use PD days to attend, or if your school set aside money for Code 16 days, you may want to offer that time to some ha to attend.  Schools that had arranged for a SEL training as part of their in-service can plan to proceed as originally scheduled.

I am very sorry for this disruption in the opportunity for our educators to learn more about SEL practices.

Unbelievable. A couple of weeks ago, MNPS Director of Schools Dr. Shawn Joseph penned an op-ed for the Tennessean titled Our The Best Days are Ahead of Us. In it, he painted a rosy picture of the future for MNPS. Ironically enough, one of the imperatives he cited was this:

As we move into the next school year, the board and my team must collaborate on strategies to continue to support our employees, giving them the training and compensation that they deserve to afford our children a world-class education. 

Yet, here we are, 5 days into the new fiscal year, and cancelling essential trainings due to budgetary constraints. The disconnect between what is said and what is done is poised to engulf another year.

In my eyes, this is akin to a husband and wife having a lengthy conversation about the household budget after a series of financial setbacks. The husband tells the wife things will be tight, but he has got it all under control, all she has to do is believe in him. The wife is reassured and feels good. She loves her husband and wants to believe in him. Three days after payday, she goes to buy groceries only to have her debit card rejected due to lack of funds. Trust takes a hit.

I’m sure that MNPS leadership has some kind of convoluted, with just a touch of reason, excuse for why this budget shortfall happened. They may even try to cite the lack of funding by the city as an excuse. However, like the husband in the story above, shouldn’t MNPS know what their income and resources are? Do they not have their priorities set to ensure that those things are fully covered?

Whatever the excuse, the bottom line is that training on a so-called district priority got canceled because of lack of funds only 5 days into the fiscal year. The message sent is that despite their lip service, the district doesn’t feel that SEL training is essential. If they did, the money would be there. It’s really quite simple.

Let’s rewind the Dr. Joseph “Summer Hits” tape back a bit further and replay his speech from the SEL Conference. Remember where he vowed to take better care of adults and made the joke about “feeding the teachers or they’ll eat the kids”? Not so much, huh? Once again, we are provided with an example of why many in the room found no humor in the joke when it was made.

In canceling SEL training, the district not only denied teachers essential training, but once again they took money out of teachers’ pockets. Here’s the dirty little secret that you may not know unless you are a teacher, or the spouse of one: teachers count on summer professional development pay, not only as a means to improve job performance, but also as a vital income supplement.

Those teachers who were signing up for training next week were counting on being paid $85 a day for three days. That’s roughly $250 that now will not make it to their bank accounts. Add this instance to the fact that due to a lack of a raise this year, paired with increased insurance costs, next year many teachers will take home less money than they did last year. Then there are supply costs and let’s not forget the texts for the IFL units that teachers bought last year. What starts to emerge is the picture of an administration that not only doesn’t want to hand money to teachers, but one that can’t keep their hands out of their pockets.

I don’t know about you, but if you promised to pay me for a job, and I cleared my schedule in order to perform it, only to have you tell me a week out that you couldn’t pay me for that job, I’d be highly skeptical about the next assignment you offered me.

Of course we are not supposed to ask why there are “no funds available to pay stipends to staff during the summer.” Like the aforementioned wife, we are supposed to be trusting and just have faith. Even though funds come up short for essentials. After all, this is nothing but a disruption in opportunity.

You know what’s not being disrupted? Dr. Joseph and his hand-selected team traveling to Harvard University’s PELP Summer Institute. No lack of funds for that trip. Remember what we budget for is public validation of what we consider important.

This latest budgetary conflagration comes on the heels of frozen school budgets, dips into the rainy day fund, contract overruns, and inaccurate budgetary numbers. There is currently an ongoing audit, coupled with an investigation, of MNPS spending. Joseph has been very defensive about this audit, indignantly proclaiming that he has done nothing wrong and when the audit finds no fraud, he expects an apology.

Personally, fraud is at the lower end of my concerns at the moment. My first question would be where is the money and does anybody have idea how much is being spent and where? After we pull the budgetary threads together, and there is some semblance of clarity, whether there is fraud or not will reveal itself. But first, we have to get a clear picture of exactly what our financial situation is, and currently, I don’t think anybody can answer that question with any certainty. In fact, this all is starting to feel a whole lot like one of those teen movies from the 80’s where Mom and Dad go out of town and return to find out that the kids have thrown a kegger and the house has been wrecked.

Some school board members don’t see it that way and are reluctant to dive into the monitoring of the money. They argue that their job is one of governance and is not administrative. By asking too many questions, independent of Dr. Joseph’s input, they are getting out of their lane and getting into administrative work. For them, I refer back to 2009, when MNPS was taken over by the state. What I wrote almost two years ago based on the Garcia administration is becoming almost prophetic.

To make matters even more interesting, this week also saw school board member Dr. Sharon Gentry send a letter to Metro Council (Letter to Metro Council – MNPS Capital Needs) raising questions about the proposed sale of the MNPS Transportation Center located at 336 Woodycrest Avenue. As Gentry points out in her letter,

Our findings suggest that at least some of the claims about growth mindsets – such as how they supposedly have profound effects on academic achievement, benefit both high- and low-achieving students, or are especially important for students facing situational challenges– are not warranted. In fact, in more than two-thirds of the studies the effects were not statistically significantly different from zero, meaning most of the time, the interventions were ineffective.

They also offer a warning that, in the current environment, should probably be heeded:

Time and money spent on one thing means that those funds and that time are not being spent on something else. School officials, policymakers and other stakeholders may want to think twice before they buy a growth mindset intervention product or dedicate part of their curriculum to teaching growth mindsets thinking it’s going to make a difference in children’s academic performance. Our research suggests there is a good chance it won’t.

QUICK HITS

Here’s what Dr. Joseph is reading this summer:

• Outward Mindset, Arbinger Institute
• The Four Disciplines of Execution, Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling
• The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren
• No Opportunity Wasted: The Art of Execution, Bishop Joseph Walker
• Leadership on the Line, Ronald Heifetz, Marty Linsky

Hmmmm… I thought that Outward Mindset was on the list last year. Isn’t Arbinger the same group who wrote Leadership and Self-Deception? Don’t they have contracts within the district? Oh well… move along… nothing to see here.

Principals don’t have to worry about their training being cancelled next week. When it comes to money, we may not have it for teacher stipends, but we always have it for consultants and outside vendors. The district has 5 days of fun planned for them including a workshop on 5 key points school leaders must consider before responding to student activism with regard to their First Amendment considerations. Not rights, but  considerations. I want you elementary school principals taking copious notes during that one.

And another one is gone. EDSSI/Priority School head Latricia Gloster is reportedly on her way back to the DC area. Gloster was another one of Dr. Joseph’s recruits.

Rumors are swirling that change is also in the wind in the MNPS communications department. Word is that it’s no more warmest regards and a quick promotion in the public information officer position. If you are keeping score at home, that’ll make number 3 since Janel Lacy held the position.

REMINDER: DISTRICT 6 SCHOOL BOARD FORUM:
Meet and hear from the candidates* running for the District 6 (Southeast Nashville) seat on the MNPS Board of Education. The event is FREE and open to the public.

*Note: Ms. Hunter has respectfully declined to participate in this event and has been given an opportunity to provide a statement of support for her campaign.

Over the last several months, I’ve been highly critical of MNPS leadership and some of the policies they’ve enacted. In talking with teacher friends, they acknowledge the shortcomings of leadership but counter with the argument that in spite of all the turmoil, teachers are doing amazing work in the classroom. An assertion I don’t dispute.

Other people will offer skepticism to my criticism and say, “It sounds like you don’t think that anybody is competent in MNPS.” An argument I wholeheartedly refute. In fact, I would offer that I feel just the opposite. In the teaching ranks, and at the administration level, MNPS is filled with some incredible talent, albeit not as much as there once was, but incredible still the same.

It’s that very talent and dedication that gives cover to the district’s lack of leadership and the bad policies being implemented. What invariably happens when a shortcoming is exposed is that teachers and administrators – who, for brevity’s sake, I will lump under teachers – get together and figure out a workaround. The workaround allows progress to go forth, but it doesn’t allow the system to operate at full capacity or long term sustainability.

As Marshal Leslie points out in her blog post, The “Art” of Workarounds:

At their core, workarounds are caused by processes and systems that do not support the work that must be completed.  While they are typically temporary fixes, workarounds are also testaments to the creativity of staff that are not equipped with the tools needed to accomplish the job at hand.  So often we commend these actions as brilliant displays of “out of the box” thinking.  In reality, workarounds represent a glaring example of tradeoff thinking.  In order to achieve performance in one area, another key element (Satisfaction, Quality/Safety, Time/Utilization, or Financial) is sacrificed.  Take the example of medication overrides.  While valiant efforts are being made to reduce or eliminate override occurrences, workaround processes still exist that allow deviation from the approved (and safest) process for medication administration.  Allowing this deviation reduces the need for the real time problem solving efforts that will eventually lead to the resolution of the issue.  A short term need has been met, but long term patient safety has been degraded.  When the system is stressed, failures will likely occur.

That example is from the medical world, but the same holds true in education as well. A prime example would be last year’s literacy plan. By September it had become apparent that for numerous reasons – inappropriateness of texts, progress rate, lack of materials – the literacy plan was not going to work. Teachers immediately got together and collaborated on creating individual workarounds for their individual buildings. Any progress that was made in literacy this past year came through those individual workarounds.

Personally, I appreciate the ingenuity and skill of our teachers, but unfortunately those workarounds allow district leadership to claim credit for gains that they didn’t earn. Those gains allow for the false presumption that quality policy had been enacted, and while it may need some tweaking, wholesale changes are not required. Because of that false assumption, the system will continue to function based on the workarounds created by teachers, which will provide some success but never reach capacity.

The literacy plan is but one example – hiring practices, screening for gifted students, substitute teacher procurement, and testing being others – of policy that forces those doing the work to create workarounds in order to achieve any measurable success. I would argue that MNPS as a whole is becoming a district built upon workarounds.

The tragic outcomes of depending upon workarounds for solutions means that we fail to create and implement policy that has the ability to hold up under pressure and produce lasting and replicable results. Go back to last year’s literacy plan and ask the following questions:

• How do we replicate results due to teacher turnover and variation of implementation in individual schools?
• Since the quality of the workaround varies from school to school, how do you insure that the “opportunity gap” does not grow?

Having to rely on a workaround solution puts undue pressure on those who are doing the work. Look at the sports world for an example. Lebron James is considered to be one of the greatest NBA players of all time, yet he has very few rings comparative to his talent. It’s widely recognized that his lack of rings is due to the lack of supports he’s had in his career. Whether it’s been due to lack of coaching, lack of quality game plans, or lack of supporting staff, the reality is that James’s career has been one of having to find a constant workaround.

James has the skill, like many of MNPS’s teachers, to create workarounds that result in a degree of success. In James’s case, he’s been to the NBA Finals 9 times. He’s only won the title 3 times though. Every time his team was beaten by a team that was recognized for having superior organization. Imagine if he had always played on teams that allowed him to play to his strengths and not have to create workarounds? How many rings would he have won?

James is set to join his 3rd team in his 16-year career, since he joined Cleveland twice. Invariably there comes a point in each stint where James comes to the realization that the workarounds aren’t getting him rings and he searches for a situation that will provide better supports. It’s not much different for teachers. They grow weary of the work involved in developing workarounds and they explore other options. Thus we see the large churn of teachers MNPS is experiencing this summer.

So keep in mind that when I criticize, it’s not the teachers who are my targets. I am fully aware and supportive of what they bring to the table.

Some might also argue that I have a negative bent. I would counter that argument by saying I am positive that we have some of the most gifted educators in the country, and with the proper supports, we wouldn’t be just winning games… we’d be winning rings.

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Last week, it was announced that there were two new appointees for the positions of district Executive Directors of School Support and Improvement (EDSSI), Steve Ball and Carl Carter. Ball was previously at East High Magnet and Carter was at the Academy at Opry Mills. Both are highly respected educators. While some question the depth of Carter’s experience, everyone praises both him and his family’s decency. It is safe to say that both of these gentleman fall into the category of good people. And we wish to congratulate them and wish them success.

It is the process I find myself once again questioning. I refer to these as appointments because near as I can tell, neither EDSSI job was ever posted. “Wait a minute!” you say, “I thought it was MNPS board policy that all job openings had to be posted.”

Well, technically that is correct. Section 5.105 states:

The board is committed to efficient and cost effective recruitment practices.  Vacancies shall be advertised using appropriate internal and external recruitment sources in accordance with established procedure.  A deadline for receiving applications shall be established and disseminated with the vacancy notice.

But you have to have somebody willing to enforce board policy. And well… that hasn’t exactly been a strong suit of late. Keep in mind that board policies are also in the process of being updated, so there may be some confusion.

That doesn’t soothe the irritation of long-term MNPS educators who have been diligently working for years and feel that they are ready to take the next step in their careers, only to be denied the opportunity. It also doesn’t quell the assumption that MNPS has a hidden agenda in their appointments. While I personally don’t know Carter, Ball’s reputation is certainly not that of a “yes” man. Still, due to the lack of transparency, the two men will begin their tenure amid a clamor of whispers that can potentially make a hard job even harder. Are you seeing a pattern yet?

A MATTER OF TRUST

Friday I mentioned a comment that Dr. Joseph made at the Music City SEL Conference. He stated that next year the district will take greater care of the adults because they’ve learned “if you don’t feed the teachers, they’ll eat the students.”

Some folks understood the reference and shrugged it off. Some wrote it off as a joke in poor taste. Many teachers were offended. Facing a year where teachers would be assuming more responsibilities and taking home less money, it showed a lack of empathy. A bigger problem that is illuminated here is the wide scale lack of trust that Joseph and his team have earned.

Many people I talk to have used the defense that when Joseph is criticized for inappropriate remarks, those remarks were made under the guise of humor. That may very well be true, but you cannot use humor without trust. Your audience has to trust you enough to be attuned to your intent. They have to believe that you are speaking as one of them and making an observation akin to their own, not an outsider pointing out their foibles.

Looking at the reaction to several purported attempts at humor clearly indicates that Dr. Joseph has not earned that wide scale trust. Whether it’s these recent comments, or the playing of a rap song, or repeated references to “ain’t no crazy like Nashville crazy,” all are indicators of work that needs to be done in the realm of trust for Joseph.

This assertion is further backed up by his own survey results that show only 2 people in central office believe that they work in a trusting environment that allows for a free exchange of ideas. That’s the beginning and the end of the story right there. It doesn’t matter how many people think you are making progress, if after two years you can’t get more than two people to say they work in a trusting environment. You have problems, critical ones. And you can’t be successful without earning that trust.

Joseph arrived in Nashville pitching organizational change. Change that will prove an impossible feat without trust. CEO of Emergent Performance Solutions Jennifer Stanford highlights the importance of trust in change by pointing out in a recent blog post entitled The Role of Trust in Change how creating trust ultimately results in four conditions that truly define an organization changing at maximum potential:

• Condition 1. Trust is evident everywhere. Employees demonstrate a belief in leadership and have high-trust relationships that reduce the perception of risk in daily activities. There’s significant delegation and clear accountability, as well as the practice of servant leadership.
• Condition 2. Alignment is actualized. Employees are aligned with the organization’s vision and strategy, with the organization using a cascading goals process to ensure alignment at every level. Individuals and teams understand each person’s part in vision attainment.
• Condition 3. Processes support people. The organization operates like a well-oiled machine; processes and systems are smart, effective, and nonbureaucratic. There are many opportunities to learn and grow, and the organization has defined career tracks. Finally, the organization has a conscious and careful onboarding process and invests in the development of leaders.
• Condition 4. Clarity creates cohesion. The organization knows what success looks like, and performance objectives are clear. The rewards and recognition are meted out fairly, and there is a transparent understanding of what it takes for both the individual and the team to get to the next level. Leaders coach and uplift.

Ask yourself, which of these conditions exist in MNPS?

RANDOM NOTES

Two more veteran MNPS administrators are starting new jobs this summer. Terry Schrader will join Davidson Academy as Upper School Head/Principal. Vanessa Garcia joins Lipscomb University as its Director of Instructional Practice Programs and Assistant Professor (DIPPAP in MNPS talk). Both previously worked on the principal pipeline which supplied principals to fill several recent openings. We thank both for their service and know they’ll do great things.

Congratulations go out to former AZ Kelley ES AP Jeffrey “Kirk” Gilmore. Gilmore has been named the interim principal at McGavock ES.

Those of you who have been long-term readers know that I’m not a fan of social media posts celebrating teachers for going into school and working uncompensated on their own time. I’ve often spoken of the unintended consequences of such praise. As teacher Pernille Ripp points out in a recent blog post, “It hard to sometimes believe you are of any kind of worth when you are constantly reminding me of all the things you should be doing if only you were a great teacher.” I encourage you to read her whole post and its observations on student engagement: “How about instead of pretending that everything is under the control of teachers, we actually realized that the very best classrooms are those where students share the control and thus have to invest to actually learn?”

The Tennessean has a cool look back at Overton High School through the years.

POLL RESULTS

We good response to this week’s poll questions. Let’s review.

The first question asked for your impression of Dr. Joseph’s self evaluation (SJoseph Summative Self-Eval Evidence Companion – June 2018 to Board 06.1…). Your responses seem to mirror the central theme of this week’s blog post. Out of 122 responses, 91 of you called it “smoke and mirrors.” It should be noted that 3 of you did feel we are making progress. Here are the write-ins:

Question 2 asked how confident you were in MNPS’s financial situation. Out of 119 responses, 102 of you expressed a level of concern. Apparently out of the 3 of you who felt the district was improving, only 1 of you felt secure about its financial status. This is not a good indicator. Here are the write-ins, and they express some real concerns:

The last question had to do with Music City SEL Conference. Surprisingly, 50% of you responded that it was more touchy-feely stuff while discipline suffered.

Your responses reinforce a growing concern of mine. I get the feeling that the door for meaningful discussion on restorative practices is beginning to swing shut. I think most believe in the theory, but are wanting to see actual, scalable results. We all recognize the importance of restorative practices and SEL, but policies have been in place long enough now that people are looking for some meat. A lot of the skepticism has to fall at the feet of MNPS and the poor job they have done in scalable implementation. More than once I’ve heard it said that restorative practices should sue MNPS for misrepresentation. To be fair, there have been pockets of success, just not on the widespread level needed for wide scale conversion on non-believers.

I think overall there was a high degree of satisfaction with the conference, but my unsolicited advice would be to make next year’s conference focused more on results and telling the narrative of success. Once people become disbelievers, it is hard to turn them into converts. Especially when it’s an idea they agree with in theory but practice has disappointed.

Or, I could be wrong, and there were plenty of results for the taking at this year’s conference and most people are already converts. I’m just sharing my general sense in talking to people, both at the conference and outside.

Agree or disagree with the content, the quality of the organization of the conference is undebatable. This was one well put together conference. I know I’ve probably overstated that, but when the home team hits a grand slam, you gotta stand.

Here are the write-ins:

And that’s a wrap. Hope y’all have an awesome week. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. I’m always looking for more opinions and will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

I have started using Patreon as a funding source. If you think what I do has monetary value, you can go there and make a donation/pledge.Just because Andy Spears is also on Patreon doesn’t mean you can’t support us both. Trust me, I know I ain’t going to get rich, but at the end of the day I’m just a Dad trying to get by. Check out the Dad Gone Wild Facebook page as well. And if you are so inclined, check out my new campaign web page and sign up to help if you can. Early voting starts in just a couple of weeks.

Today marks the due date for the MNPS School Board’s evaluation of the Director of Schools. Dr. Joseph has already completed his self-evaluation (SJoseph Summative Self-Eval Evidence Companion – June 2018 to Board 06.1…) and widely shared it with the public. A more cynical man might think this is an effort to control the narrative before the board writes theirs. In discussing these developments, and their appropriateness, I felt it was warranted to check actual board policy.

Per board policy, as printed on the MNPS web page under board policy: “Both the board and director will prepare for the evaluation; the director will conduct a self-evaluation and board members will document the evidence used in rating the director’s performance.” So based on the stated policy, the director is in compliance with the letter of the policy, though I am not so sure about the spirit. The term “self-evaluation” is not actually defined, so it is open to interpretation.

My interpretation is that it a self-evaluation is done by the “self” and is not a document written and compiled by a staff member. Though I understand that this “ghost writing” of the director’s self-evaluation is not without precedent. I have to question, due to the district being in a financial crunch, what the cost of compiling this self-evaluation was and if those resources could have been better utilized elsewhere.

Board policy states that all documentation will be supported by objective evidence. “Objective,” another term that begs for definition. The director’s self-evaluation is rife with data, but I’d argue that it is not “objective” data. Rather, it is data that supports the narrative he would like to spin.

In order to have objective data, the board and the director would have to agree on what data would be used in the evaluation, and that data would be made available to all parties. Currently the only one who has access to the raw data is the director, who picks and chooses what he wants to share. Take away that control, and board members and the director would then be drawing their own interpretations of the agreed-upon data and the evaluation would be more authentic. As it is, board members are not making evaluations based on the actual data, but rather based on interpretations of data that supports a desired narrative. Spock would be pissed.

In order to effectively utilize the agreed-upon data base, an appendix would need to be added. There is no appendix included in the director’s self-evaluation and therefore members are not privy to how the information was gathered, what the norms are, what the ranges are, nor the intended use of the data. Quick… tell me what the average RIT score of a 4th grader is? My point exactly.

We need to add further clarification on MAP testing here. MAP testing is a measurement of growth. When you see that “students in grades 2-8 exceeded the national average in reading and math proficiency,” you need to recognize that what that means is, when nationally normed, MNPS students grew at a slightly faster rate than students at the same level nationally. They are making more growth than national peers, but not necessarily performing at a higher level. That is good news, but still needs to kept in perspective.

Earlier in the week, I told you about the director touting progress on central office culture because the number of people answering “making progress” had risen in regard to the question, “Do you work in a trusting environment, that allows for an open exchange of ideas?” This was in spite of the number of people who answered “yes, absolutely” had dropped from 19% to 3%. The same problem potentially holds true on MAP results. By not looking at the proficiency and growth scores together, we run the risk of celebrating one while the other falls.

MAP testing is traditionally done three times a year. We’ve only done it twice a year in both the years we’ve administered it, and this year we moved the spring window to the winter window based on the supposition of “test fatigue.” Again, there is no evidence that the lower test results in the spring of 2017 were a byproduct of test fatigue, or that test fatigue actually existed. Perhaps if the test would have been given multiple times with fidelity, we would have seen indications of a trend that pointed towards test fatigue, but instead we chose to create a narrative and rig the game by not offering the test at the time intended before supporting evidence could be gathered.

One last caveat here on the performance data collected – MAP, attendance, or any other data – it needs to be broken down into snapshots reflecting individual schools. If I say all MNPS students are growing at a rate of 54% over the rate of their national peers, what does that mean? If we break it down by ethnicity, it still doesn’t tell us anything. Are you going to argue that the African-American child enrolled at Buena Vista is identical to the African-American child enrolled at Eakin? What real significance is it if the AA child at Eakin is growing at a hypothetical rate of 68% while the child at Buena Vista is growing at a hypothetical rate of 40%? That gives you a composite 54% growth rate for AA kids. Same holds true for attendance figures or other key performance indicators.

Interestingly enough, back in January I asked Dr. Paul Changas, who oversees MNPS’s data accumulation, if it was possible to get growth scores in individual schools for the different levels of kids. It was my feeling that if a parent knew a school was as good at producing growth for high-end kids as it was for low-end kids, more parents may invest in MNPS. I was told that MAP couldn’t really produce that measurement. Yet, here in the director’s report is MAP data supporting the growth of kids in advanced academics. See my point? The director needed support for his narrative and the data to support that narrative is made available to him, but perhaps not to others.

We could spend the next 6 months citing similar examples and sparring over the director’s interpretation. The bottom line is the whole argument/discussion would be based on in-house interpretation. In order to have a robust discussion, everybody needs full access to ALL the data. Data that has been collected based on agreed methods, at agreed upon intervals, with agreed upon tools. Not like in the director’s self-evaluation where the data is delivered at varying intervals and in some instances, like the teacher retention data, is a year old.

The next part of my analysis of policy is going to disappoint some sitting board members who I now have worked very diligently on their evaluation. The director evaluation policy states, “A part of the evaluation may be a composite of the evaluation by individual board members, but the board, as a whole, will meet with the director to discuss the composite evaluation.”

My interpretation here, is that individual board members will submit their evaluation, which will then be molded into a composite evaluation. There is no definition of who will be responsible for creating the composite evaluation, though I assume it will be the committee chairs. There is also no definition of to what extent individual board member’s concerns need be included in the composite evaluation. It could be that those individual evaluations are given minimal consideration and never see the light of day.

So back to my initial question: is Dr. Joseph following the letter but not the spirit of the law? I don’t know because the policies listed are vague at best. Further complicating things is that I’m not sure if the policy cited is actually the current policy or the soon-to-be revised policy. It is listed on the MNPS web page under board policies. However, the page does contain the caveat that “until the policy revision process is completed it will be necessary to look diligently at both sets of policies in order to assure that the most current version is referenced. The process for policy revision is scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2018.” I can’t find the old policy, so I can’t compare.

Sections 1, 2, and 3 have been passed. Sections 4 and 6 of the board policies are currently up for review, but section 5, where the director review lives, is apparently in limbo. So who knows what the actual policy is? I wonder whose definition of exceeding expectations this meets? We continue to try to fly the plane while we build it.

WHAT’S $250K AMONG FRIENDS?

At Tuesday’s board meeting, a very troubling conversation took place. As you know, this has not been a very kind budgetary season for MNPS. They wanted an increase of $45 million and they got $7 million. Then they had to ask for $3.5 million out of the rainy day fund due to some unforeseen circumstances. Now Chief of HR Deborah Story was in front of the board asking for an extra $250K to cover overages on the contract with Education Solution Services. ESS is who we hired last year to help address the district’s sub shortage. Let’s go to the video on this one. The exchange over the contract takes place at about the 15:06 mark of the video.

Story shows up with no supporting documentation, no explanation, and a caveat that there may be smaller requests forthcoming. No definition of what smaller means is given. $100K or even $200K is smaller than $250K. Nobody but board member Jill Speering takes an exception to this.

Story continues throughout to assert that there was no way to predict the overage. When asked when the invoices come in, Story replies. “Monthly, sometimes, early on less frequent…” So Story is telling me that HR is incapable of managing billing cycles? That if a purveyor doesn’t submit bills in a timely manner, we don’t hold them accountable?

Story was doing so poorly at her explanation that her assistant Sharon Pertiller took it upon herself to just stride up to the microphone and start talking. Is that how we do things now on the board floor? You don’t need to be recognized, you just step to the mic?

Pertiller is clearly exasperated that she has step up and explain to the board that there was no way to predict how successful this program was going to be. How successful was the program? Very. What does that mean? Apparently that is just what it means, very. Are we using ESS next year? Nope, they are too expensive because there is a 27% up-charge on every sub we use. Was there a 27% up-charge included when the proposal was brought forth in September of last year? The answer to that is yes. The whole conversation has a very “who’s on first” feel about it.

On a quick side note, this concept of “too expensive” bugs me. What does that mean? If we recognize that in order to increase our retention of teachers we must increase the fill rate at schools., the evaluation needs to start with, was the program successful? How successful? If it was indeed successful and it costs a lot of money, the next question needs to be, is there anything out there that would give us similar results at a lower cost? If the answer to that question is no, then the program isn’t expensive; it’s just what it costs.

If priority in question is one of our top priorities, then we need to meet that cost of doing business and look at something else to cut. It’s the same with Reading Recovery, the Universal Screener, and paying for advanced academic tests. If the program is delivering results and meeting an established top priority, then we need to pay for it. Period. Or get different top priorities.

Back to ESS. In the end the board approved the additional $250K, but nobody mentioned where the money would come from or what would have to be sacrificed in order to fund this overage. I could probably name a half a dozen other areas that similar incidents have taken place and the questions were never raised then either. Nobody seems to connect these overages to the fact that we need to go into the fund balance for $3.5 million. In other words, the budget is so tight in a $900 dollar budget that we can’t find $3.5 million, yet it’s no big deal to approve an additional $250K. We can’t spend $1.3 million on advanced academics tests, but with a shrug we approve a $250K overage. Does something seem, to quote the bard – that’s Shakespeare to those of you who don’t read the classics – rotten in Denmark?

For me, this whole interaction speaks to a lack of respect for the MNPS school board. To show up with no supporting documentation or real explanation for a substantial overage is a sign of disrespect. To just approach the board without being recognized by the board is a sign of disrespect. To have no systems in place to ensure that overages don’t occur is a sign of disrespect for the board. Remember, the board is an extension of the taxpayers. Disrespect one and you risk disrespecting the other.

QUICK HITS

Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard on the 2018 Music City SEL expo. It was a fantastic event and one that is heading to the Music City Center next year. I look forward to attending again. Kyla Krengl and her team should be extremely proud of their work.

Riddle me this. At the school board meeting this week, I heard Paul Changas and Doug Renfro talk about why they couldn’t do a proper RFP because of the length of time that it took to imput and migrate data – 6 months. Yet the initial contract that was brought forth to the board was only for one year. Knowing how labor intensive the transition would be, why wasn’t a longer contract initially brought forth?

Charlotte Park ES has a new principal. Mrs. Julia Elmore is the new boss. She is the daughter of long time MNPS HR associate Barry Potts. We’d wish her good luck, but know that she’ll knock it out of the park.

The new Principal at Jere Baxter MS is former Pearl-Cohn AP Traci Sloss. Congrats are in order there as well.

Beloved McGavock ES principal Hildateri Smith resigned this week for personal reasons. She will be missed.

Yesterday I attended a wonderful event put on by the Power of 10 PAC. They announced their endorsements for the upcoming election. Not surprisingly, I didn’t win their endorsement. They endorsed Gini Pupo-Walker in District 8 and Aron McGee in District 6. They didn’t endorse anyone in District 2. I very much enjoyed the event and the conversations I engaged in while in attendance. This is a group doing good work and warrants support.

Tamika Tasby, who came from Atlanta to join Joseph’s administration with the directive to oversee professional development, is moving on. There is some question as to whether or not she led a single professional development session during her tenure. But nobody marked time for speakers at events like she did. Her official title was Executive Director of Innovation & Strategic Project Management Office. We wish her luck.

I have been remiss in announcing that Director of Visual & Performing Arts Nola Jones is retiring. Jones recently grew the Music Makes Us program. She will be missed.

According to the MNPS employee portal, there are still roughly 400 certified positions open in MNPS. Is that an accurate figure? Considering that human resources can’t keep track of substitutes, job interviews, applicants, or just about anything else… probably not. But it is the only number we have to go by. So… a month away from the start of school,  there are still close to 400 openings.

In his remarks at today’s Music City SEL Conference – that have the fingerprints of MNPS’s communications department all over ’em – Dr. Joseph told attendees, “One of the things we are committed to doing this year is paying attention to our adults and our adult needs because one thing we recognize is that if we don’t feed the adults, they eat the children.” Sigh… the man never learns. I hope he attended a few of the sessions at the SEL conference. Modeling, do not forget, modeling is the most powerful form of teaching.

In all fairness, the comments referenced above were probably in reference to a book recommendation that had been making its way around the conference. But in a climate where next year, teachers are going to actually take home less money while being expected to do more, it was not taken that way by all, or even most. Doing SEL right requires a high degree of sensitivity and a willingness to empathize with others.

Congratulations are in order! Dr. Susan Kessler, principal at Hunters Lane High School, has been elected president of the Tennessee chapter of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (TNASCD). TNASCD is a statewide professional organization whose mission is to provide an open forum for the analysis of educational issues. The membership collectively influences policy and serves as a catalyst for change. Through an open, diverse and expanding membership, this organization provides personal and professional renewal and the means for effective networking.

That’s another blog post in the bag. Hope y’all have an awesome weekend. Don’t forget to answer the poll questions. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. I’m always looking for more opinions and will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

Too often, MNPS initiatives are driven by outside entities. Our literacy plans are written by outside consultants and our teachers coached by people contracted by the district. We purchase scripted curriculum from the University of Pittsburgh. We have contracted specialists overseeing substitutes, student attendance, and STEAM initiatives. It gets to the point these days that it feels like you can’t turn around in Nashville without running into an education consultant. This week brings a refreshing change.

Thursday marks the kickoff of the 2018 Music City SEL conference at Cane Ridge High School. Over the last several years, there has been an increased awareness in the power of social emotional learning. Nashville has been at the forefront of that growing awareness and it’s obvious that Director of Social and Emotional Learning Kyla Krengel and her staff have the ear of school districts across the country.

This is the 8th year of the conference, and just a look at the numbers is enough to impress. This year’s conference features representatives from 39 states and 4 countries (Japan, Nigeria, Bhutan and ‘Merica). There are over 900 educators registered with 200 on the waiting list, with 450 people expected to attend the Thursday evening social at the Frist. Those are the kind of numbers we like.

Starting on Thursday there will be 100 workshops and 140 presenters. The exhibition hall will house 45 different exhibitors.  

Other highlights are the scheduled keynote speeches by Zoretta Hammond, Jeff Duncan-Andrade, and Scarlett Lewis. The Lewis speech should prove especially powerful, as she is the mother of Jesse Lewis, who was killed in his first grade classroom during the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, along with 19 classmates and 6 teachers and administrators in one of the worst school shootings in US history.

On Friday, there will be a student summit and student presentation with a spoken word performance. 

Hats off to Krengel and her team. This is a big deal, and Music City should feel proud of their work. I plan to attend a couple of sessions and I’ll try to pass on some of what I learn. Hopefully, MNPS leadership will take note of just what Nashville’s professional educators are capable of when left to their own devices and unencumbered by outside experts.

MORE LITERACY TALK

This week on social media, there was continued discussion on the value of the “classics” vs the newer more “culturally relevant” novels. Again, I believe there is room, and a need, for students and adults to read everything. I am thrilled that people are engaging in the conversation and that the conversations have evoked a level of passion normally reserved for sporting events. A couple of themes have arisen that I do want to comment on.

Something that has crept into the conversation is, in my opinion, a byproduct of the “if you can’t measure it, it didn’t happen” mentality that has infested education policy. I’ve heard people say, “I read Shakespeare in college and can’t tell you a single thing about it.” or “The Scarlett Letter had absolutely no relevance to me and I forgot everything about it as soon as I finished it.” I’d argue that both are false statements.

Everything you read has an internal and immeasurable effect on you. Whether it is the initial exposure to a universal theme, a reinforcement of social norms, an example of consequences, or just the increase in vocabulary. When was the last time you sat down after a book and said, “Well, that was a worthwhile read. I learned 7 new words.” The answer is never, but odds are every time you finished a book your vocabulary increased in breadth and depth. Why do you think most quality writers are also voracious readers?

About that not knowing Shakespeare, or other so-called classic writers, did you ever say, “Killing them with kindness?” Well, you are quoting the Bard. “This is a way to kill a wife with kindness, and thus I’ll curb her mad and headstrong humor.” — Petruchio, Taming of the Shrew, Act IV Scene 1. That’s only one example.

Did you realize when you uttered, “Love is blind,” that you were quoting Chaucer? It’s a line first seen in writing in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales – “For love is blind all day, and may not see” – this phrase means that true love is not superficial and also captures the idea that love can be unexpected or random.

Ever said, “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” If so, you’re quoting Don Quixote. The phrase comes from the Spanish novel by Cervantes. It referred to the fact that pots and kettles of the time were made of cast iron and got blackened in the fire, and is used to suggest that one shouldn’t accuse or criticize another of something they’re also guilty of.

If I quizzed you about any of those books, you’d likely roll your eyes at me and say they were irrelevant to your life. The point is that reading books is like hanging out with people. Every one of them has an impact on you. We’d never tell a kid they only need to have friends who have similar experiences and look like us, so why would we do that with a book?

The other thing that seems to be lost in the conversation is what does literacy look like in regard to post secondary school? Maybe college has changed since I went, but when I attended, professors could care less if an author interested you or not. There was assigned reading and you read it or you didn’t, with your grade usually reflecting your decision. Reading something that doesn’t necessarily appeal to you is an acquired skill and one that takes a while to develop. It’d be nice to have some practice before the stakes get high.

Lastly, the language spoken in the classics is reflected in the language spoken in the board room. If you want access to that board room, then you need to be fluent in the vocabulary. Being fluent in the classics translates to being fluent in the vocabulary.

I remember hearing the story of how when he was coming up, Sugar Ray Leonard would not just hone his fight skills. He would sit in front of the TV and emulate the diction of newscasters. He knew that in order to get where he wanted to go, his boxing skills would only open the door. His communication skills were what would determine if he was going to be able to walk through that door and stay in the room.

I get that mass culture is overly influenced by white males and is not reflected, nor inclusive, of everyone. In order to change that, though, you must have access. Tom Brady never threw a touchdown pass while sitting on the side line. He also never got in the game by telling Coach Belichick that he was only going to run the plays that he found relevant. These days though, nothing runs through the Patriots offense without Brady’s stamp. He got in the game, made the plays, and therefore changed the culture. Books give our kids the power to do the same.

Bottom line is, there is value in all reading. There is a time to read the books you like, and a time to read those that you don’t. There is a time to read books that are culturally relevant, and a time to read those that appear to have no relevance. Sometimes you have to be able to read a book on cleaning a washing machine. The point is to read everything you can get your hands on and to never stop searching for new material to read.

SAY WHAT?

Every week, MNPS Director of Schools Shawn Joseph sends out a weekly update to school board members. Lately he’s taken to sending it to Metro council members and assorted others as well. It runs anywhere from 15 – 50 pages and includes a robust review of what is going on in the district.

This week he kicked his report off with the following passage about the past week’s central office retreat:

We had another great central office retreat. This was the second central office retreat this year. The retreat was held at Bellevue Middle School. Mike Merchant was the facilitator. We gathered data from central office staff to determine whether we are making progress on leading with an Outward Mindset. We continue to have work to do, but the data indicates that we are making progress. Staff increasingly recognize that we are working to improve climate and culture, and they are connecting their work to our strategic goals.

The data reflects staff’s growing understanding of Outward Mindset, I have summarized the data we gathered below.

The seconds question of shared data asks:

We work in a trusting environment where there is an open flow of ideas and information.

Scale	2017	2018
Yes, absolutely	19.86%	3.57%
We are making progress	36.88%	51.19%
We need to address this area	43.26%	45.24%

This absolutely blew my mind. So dropping from 19.86% to 3.57% is considered progress? Let’s put those number into perspective here. There are roughly 70 people in central office. So what this survey tells me is that 2 people think they work in a “trusting environment where there is an open flow of ideas and information.” TWO! That also means that some of Dr. Joseph’s very own transplants, because he brought more than 2, don’t believe they work in a trusting environment.

Sure, results for “we are making progress” went from 36.88% to 51.19%, but keep in mind the amount of turnover that central office has seen in the last year. The new people likely aren’t answering yes; they are just being polite and saying, “Making progress.” I would also argue that there is a minuscule between “We are making progress” and “We need to address this area.”

Part of this concerns me because it also mirrors the manner in which the MAP literacy scores have been presented. In regard to literacy, Joseph talks about how kids showed growth greater than 54% of their national peers, but fails to mention that those number do not reflect mastery.  Growth is wonderful, but mastery should share the focus.

There obviously are more questions presented in the shared data, with equally disturbing results. But in my eye, if you don’t have trust then you don’t have anything. The answer to that question makes all others moot. So you gotta ask yourself, what is Dr. Joseph seeing that nobody else is?

QUICK HITS

After 2 weeks of adamant denial, Dr. Kathleen Dawson has admitted that she is leaving MNPS to take a position with Guilford County Schools. Guilford Schools is headed up by long-time Joseph associate Sharon Contreras – both are on the Board of Trustees for Learning Forward. Nobody quite understands Dawson’s adamant denials of leaving, but the press release from North Carolina provides some additional chuckles.

In the press release, Dawson is referred to as THE executive director of school support and improvement in Metro Nashville Public Schools. Took me a moment to realize that was the spelling out of EDSSI. The article fails to mention that 11 other people share that title with Dawson. The article also credits her with helping to design and implement two early colleges, one of which won’t be up and running until this school year. Interestingly enough, if you’ll remember, Dr. Narcisse’s resume also touted those early colleges and his extensive work on them.

Curious minds want to know if the district plans on posting the now-vacant EDSSI position or if they’ll just appoint someone like they did earlier this summer with Dr. Ball.

As a side note, earlier in the year, Gulford Schools reversed a policy of charging the public for open records requests. Hmmm….

There is a school board meeting tomorrow. The Performance Matters contract will be back on the agenda. I still feel that the board should reject the contract based on the administration’s failure to follow established protocols. I know that would cause some hardship for the district, but I don’t feel as if Joseph and his team will adhere to procedure without a little pain.

Also on the agenda is the renewal of the contracts of Education Solution Services and Communities in Schools. ESS works on providing in solutions to MNPS’s substitute issues, while CIS work on issues of chronic absenteeism. ESS’s contract renewal actually increases compensation by $25K.

(Erin Anderson addresses community)

I’m sure both are very worthy organizations who do high quality work. That said, since we are in such a budget crunch, shouldn’t contract renewals come with an evaluation of their efficiency in the last year? Before the money is spent, shouldn’t the board be provided with some supporting documentation? Just one more instance were evidence seems to indicate a lack of seriousness when it comes to expenditures.

More exciting news coming out of Prince George’s County Public Schools. Earlier in the month, former Ardemore Principal Georgette Gregory delivered a beatdown to a teacher on the playground at recess in front of fellow teachers and students. This week she was ordered by the court not to abuse and not to enter Residence. You can’t make this stuff up.

TNEd Report has an excellent piece on another failed Gates initiative. Ah… if only we invested in the things we know work.

Today, new Oliver Middle School Principal Erin Anderson was introduced to the Oliver community. This is an excellent hire and one that obviously pleases the community.

POLLS

This past weekend, I asked for your opinion on the idea of the MNPS School Board calling for a property tax increase in order to fully fund the budget. The number 1 answer, at 41%, was “I support it in theory but question the spending.” There is that ugly trust thing raising its head again. Tied for number 2, at 12% was, “Absolutely. Our schools are in dire need” and “I can’t afford another hit.” That, in a nutshell, is exactly where Metro Council landed on the issue.

Here are the write-ins:

We need accountability before giving MNPS more money.	1
How about we cut Some 6 figure folks at board?	1
Can all of the board speak intelligently on MNPS spending? No.	1
No, eliminate unnecessary positions at the top	1
no. Can’t afford and don’t trust MNPS to spend well.	1
No they should look at their own spending	1
Big fat no	1
I do not trust my boss [MNPS] to manage money. NO	1
Absolutely NOT! What happened to previous funds? Overpaid administrators!	1
Never	1
Historically Nashvillians do not raise their own taxes.	1
No	1
If MNPS was good stewards of $, wouldn’t need a raise.

Question number 2 asked for your opinion on the teaching of the classics in schools. 61% of you supported a mix of classics and new YA titles. 17% supported whatever gets people reading. Here are the write-ins:

 

We need relevant, relatable, diverse, engaging reads.	1
Disagree with Nic Stone-as Lipsey taught us,there’s a time & place 4 every boo	1
A mixture of now and history	1
Balance! We ARE more alike than different!

Question 3 asked for which Metro Council Member impressed you the most during the recent budget process. Unfortunately, the number one answer, at 31%, was none. Coming in next, in a virtual dead heat, was Bob Mendes and Steve Glover. Once again demonstrating that split between raising taxes and not. Here are the write-ins:

Burkley Allen	1
Jacobia Dowell

And that’s a wrap. Hope y’all have an awesome week. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. I’m always looking for more opinions and will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

I have started using Patreon as a funding source. If you think what I do has monetary value, you can go there and make a donation/pledge.Just because Andy Spears is also on Patreon doesn’t mean you can’t support us both. Trust me, I know I ain’t going to get rich, but at the end of the day I’m just a Dad trying to get by. Check out the Dad Gone Wild Facebook page as well. And if you are so inclined, check out my new campaign web page and sign up to help if you can. Early voting starts in just a couple of weeks.

Have you ever been at a bar or at the airport, sitting by yourself, trying to mind your own business when that guy plops downs next to you and starts talking? You know, the one who seems to have an opinion on everything and insists on sharing those insights, whether you want to hear them or not? It’s in that spirit that I offer you a glimpse of what’s on my mind today. Some of it you may agree with, while some may provoke the opposite response.

As some of you may know, I’m currently running for school board. The election is a little under 6 weeks away and it’s already been an eye-opening experience.

First off, just let me say, there is a whole lot more to this running for office thing than what initially meets the eye. There is a ton of minutiae that needs to get done before you can even get to the big things like knocking on doors and putting up signs. Palm cards and signs have to be designed. I don’t how busy your family is, but a simple thing like taking a family picture can get delayed for weeks due to the inability to coordinate everybody’s schedule. That’s just one example.

A simple job like knocking on doors requires the acquiring of a list of voters. That list must be sorted into manageable sections. Volunteers need to be coordinated. I’m certainly not complaining, but I have developed a new appreciation for those who have come before me.

Speaking of signs, I’ve learned that putting up signs is like throwing rice kernels in a coffee tin. You have no idea how many it takes to make an impact until you start getting them out there, then it gets a little daunting.

I love doing interviews for endorsements because let’s face it, one of my favorite things is sitting around talking education policy. The problem is that even though intellectually I know not everybody is going to like me, nor should they, emotionally it kind of stings when they choose to endorse someone else. Good thing for me, rejection just makes me want to work harder. It makes me want to talk to more people. It makes me want to get more signs out.

The best thing I’ve discovered during this adventure is just how many good, kind, and involved people there are out there. I can’t explain the mixture of emotions – humility, pride, fear, courage – that courses through you when someone hands you a check they’ve written for your campaign. Or when somebody just out of the blue drops you a line and says, “Hey, come put up a sign in my yard.” Or when somebody you don’t know that well calls and says, “What do you need? How can I help?”

I’ve found those types of experiences happening to me with ever-increasing frequency and I have to say, it’s pretty awesome. You can talk about democracy in a hypothetical manner all you want. You can describe community anyway you like. But run for office, and it all becomes tangible. It becomes real. You can feel it in your core. It’s an experience I recommend for everyone.

Netflix is currently airing Joseph Campbell’s documentary A Hero’s Journey. Running for office is the personification of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. Keep in mind that Campbell defines a hero as “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” In running for office, one quickly realizes that this is about more than oneself. I relish this challenge. I also encourage you to watch the Campbell documentary. Better yet, read his writing.

Which brings me to my next point. Campbell is an old white guy who passed away 30 years ago. It’d be easy to dismiss his writing as archaic and irrelevant. But that would be a mistake.

The current slate of young adult fiction is at an all-time high quality-wise. This has led to a movement to make all student reading culturally relevant. I don’t disagree that if a student can see himself in a piece of literature it is easier for them to become engaged. But I would counter that if we become too focused on seeing just ourselves reflected in literature, we run the risk of missing the universal themes. The understanding of which make us all a little better as people.

I remember 18 years ago when I first started going to AA meetings. I found myself one Saturday morning at a meeting sitting across from an African-American woman who was at least 20 years my senior. She started speaking and I started to tune her out.

After all, she didn’t look like me. Her life experiences certainly weren’t the same as mine. Luckily, she was a compelling speaker, and I wasn’t able to disengage completely, because what started to emerge as she talked was a story that sounded a lot like mine. It was filled with fear, self-loathing, anger, and the questioning of God. It started to sink in to me that she and I may look nothing alike and I may not have understood her unique challenges, nor her mine, but deep down we were more alike than we were different.

That revelation was one of the most powerful moments on my road to recovery. It completely shifted the axis of my world and changed my perception. Could I have gotten the same revelations from someone who more closely resembled me and shared my experiences? Perhaps, but I would have continued to gravitate to those I was familiar with and denied myself the rich experiences that have shaped my life since that moment. I don’t believe my life would have the same depth.

In looking at Campbell’s chart above, I would argue that every time a reader starts a book, they embark on a hero’s journey. Why limit that journey? I would argue that if you are focusing on the color of Natty Bumpo’s skin and the time in which he lives, then you are missing the larger point of The Deerslayer. Just like you are missing the point if you are focused on the color of the skin and where the protagonists of The Hate U Give live.

Both Starr and Bumpo are wrestling with how do you fit into two different worlds when you are not sure you fit into one? They are both wrestling with issues of morality and violence. To truly explore these issues, you have to go deeper and strip away the outer essence and come to the realization that in the end, we are all human and all facing the same challenge.

Historically, one of the ways racism justified itself was in the dehumanization of people of color. Black people were described in terms that painted them as being less than human, and therefore subhuman treatment was justified. It was abhorrent behavior, and fortunately we are making strides to rectify those actions. Literature is a powerful tool in that fight.

It has the power to break down the myth, deny it, and cement the realization that underneath it all, we are a lot more similar than different. I get that reading books that have protagonists that appear to be disconnected from the reader presents a challenge, but would you argue the counter? That a farm boy from Iowa can find no relevance in The Hate U Give? It’s a pendulum that needs to swing both ways.

I read a great deal of culturally relevant books to my children. Especially my son. This spring we read Long Walk To Water and Refugee. We also have read My Side of The Mountain and are now reading Mike Lupica’s Shoot-Out – which I’m pretty sure will never be considered a classic or culturally relevant. Through reading he is getting to experience whole swaths of the world that may never hold relevance to his life at all. But should he need to call upon those experiences, they will be available.

Like education itself, the purpose of reading is seldom agreed upon. Some will argue that reading is an important tool for upward mobility. Others would argue that avid readers make better citizens. I would tend to argue towards the latter. To me, it’s not enough to just get kids reading today. It has to be a life-long trajectory. In order for that to happen, there has to be a realization that there is power in all literature.

I would argue against an overemphasis on the classics as much as I would a complete dismissal of them. Both should hold pace in every reader’s book bag. To reject a book merely because of when it was written, or by whom it was written, serves as a closure of the mind. I don’t believe in being a servant to history anymore than I would advocate that we ignore the past. It’s subject to context and complexity.

Literature is like the classic Superman. Not only does Superman have super human strength, but he also has X-ray vision, the ability to fly, and super tough skin. You wouldn’t expect Superman to let any of his other powers remain untapped while he just focused on his super human strength, would you? He wouldn’t be Superman if he did. The same holds true for literature. Set free, it can change the world.

The best things about these conversations is that we are bringing the same passion to a conversation about literature as we would in regard to who was a better baller, Steph or LeBron? That, to me, is what’s most important. Publicly engaging in passionate conversations about literature can only make us all better and produces no losers. It’s a demonstration that words and ideas aren’t just encased in tombs sitting on dusty shelves. They are living breathing entities. Just another reminder that ProjectLit doesn’t just educate kids, but also communities.

NO, WE WEREN’T ATTACKED BY ALIENS

June has been quite the month for revelations in the state of Tennessee. Last week it was revealed what we all already knew, the Achievement School District sucked. Harsh words, I know, but words I’ve been saying for 5 years. Now finally, it’s being publicly admitted. In a classic understatement, State Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen said, “We have not seen the success in the ASD that we want, and that is something we’re addressing.”

The truth is, according to research done by the Tennessee Education Research Alliance, or TERA, the ASD is producing results on par with schools that receive no interventions. Furthermore, according to ChalkbeatTN, locally controlled low-achieving districts called Innovation Zones have not only improved performance — as shown in other studies —  but have sustained those improvements over five years.  Hmmm… where have I heard that before?

Mid-week brought the admission from the TNDOE that aliens did not interfere with the administration of this year’s TN Ready tests. It was just good old fashioned administrative error. I’m just shocked. Who would have known?

By the end of the week, everybody had gotten in the spirit of things as it was revealed that the Bill Gates initiative on teacher evaluation was just another shortfall. Rooted in research that showed the value of a quality teacher, the Gates initiative was intended to keep good teachers in the classroom and root out bad ones. The re-tooled evaluation system was supposed to ensure that all kids benefited from a quality teacher.

Unfortunately, that’s not what the data showed. According to the report,

“Central-office staff in [Hillsborough County] reported that teachers were reluctant to transfer to high-need schools despite the cash incentive and extra support because they believed that obtaining a good VAM score would be difficult at a high-need school.”

The initiative also proved to be costly both in time and in money. Once again, I’m left wondering, who could have known? Maybe now we can focus on things that do work – smaller classes, fully funding schools, providing kids time in school to read, less testing, treating teachers like professionals.

Don’t think for one minute though that Gates is done helping. Nope. The Gates Foundation is now shifting its focus to curriculum. At some point, someone is going to put their arm around Bill and quietly explain to him, as they walk him out of the room, it might be time for a break. It’s not you, Bill, it’s us, and of course we can still be friends.

BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?

This week, the Nashville budget season came to an end. It hasn’t been a pretty one and has produced few “winners.”

Tuesday’s council meeting lasted until well past midnight before producing a budget that awarded MNPS just $7 million more than last year, significantly shorter than the $44.7 million initially requested. According to MNPS senior leadership, that puts them in the hole for $22 million.

Unless you are counting the $3.5 million they needed to reconcile this year’s expenditures. Earlier during Tuesday’s council meeting, MNPS was granted permission to take that money from reserves. Quick questions I have here are when were these shortfalls discovered, and were adjustments placed in the coming year’s budget to account for them? Why is the need just being expressed now?

In the case of benefit shortfalls cited, open enrollment ended in November. By February, reconciliation should have taken place and district leaders should have been aware of the shortfall. What accommodations were made at that time? Once again, the loss in enrollment is being cited as a contributor to the shortfall. I fail to understand how such a minuscule amount, $7.5 million, can continue to have such a devastating effect.

There was a plan on the floor to raise property taxes by 50 cents that would have provided full funding for the schools as well as raises for city employees. That initiative failed by a vote of 20-19, with acting Vice-Mayor Sheri Weiner casting the tie-breaking vote. Don’t think that initiative ends there, though.

MNPS School Board member Christiane Buggs has begun pushing for the board to use its power to call for a referendum on raising property taxes to fund schools. According to Buggs, she wants to explore the possibility of having the School Board propose a referendum for voters to decide the question of a property tax increase as early as August. Per Channel 5 News, Buggs is not trying to circumvent the processes already in place with the Metro Council and the Mayor, but says she just wants to explore all possible options.

I’m not sure this is the right move for a number of reasons. Mainly because we have a school board that barely has an understanding of their own budget initiating an action that will impact the city’s future ability to raise revenue through a tax increase. Where would such an action leave raises for other city employees going forward? What if another financial crisis arrived in the near future for the city, would the board’s action potentially hinder the city’s options?

I 100% believe that public education is underfunded. The increase in funding, though, needs to come first from the state. One thing that board member Will Pinkston gets right is the need for the state to meet their financial obligation, something they’ve continually failed to do.

It would also behoove us to take a closer look at how Denver Public Schools is now doing their budget book. It shows a true commitment to transparency and public understanding. “We rely, in Colorado, on voters’ trust and voters’ support for our work in education,” Superintendent Boasberg says. “And we know that at the heart of that trust lies a high degree of transparency.”

Elections are right around the corner. Nothing sends a message to an elected official like an election. Everybody needs to register to vote, and then actually vote. Vote for people you know will enact policy that will provide increased resources to public education. It’s past time to mobilize and make sure your voice is heard.

QUICK HITS

Many of you have been asking, where is the MNPS Director of Schools evaluation? Some of you have even noted that it was scheduled for January but hasn’t yet been executed. Rumor has it that board members are working on it right now. Hopefully, their evaluations will be shorter than the 48 pages Dr. Joseph utilized for his self-evaluation.

There is a new blogger in town. Those of you who are familiar with David Jones via Facebook know he has some strong opinions on education and other subjects. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed. And he’s a senior editor at a publishing firm, so you know the writing will be better than mine.

There is always a Nashville connection. Most of you, by now, are familiar with the abhorrent actions being taken down on our southern border. Now, raise your hand if you knew that CoreCivic is operating 8 immigrant detention centers down there? In all fairness, CoreCivic released a statement last week that says, “None of our facilities provides housing for children who aren’t under the supervision of a parent.”

Keep in mind, CoreCivic used to be CCA until they decided a rebranding was in order. Did you know that the head of CoreCivic sits on the board for the Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF)? Just putting it out there.

Prince George’s County Public Schools continues to be hotbed of action. Supposedly they are in the process of getting a new superintendent, but the way things are unfurling, who knows when that’ll happen. Watching events transpire in PGCPS certainly gives insight into events here in Nashville. We are all a product of where we come from.

Word out of Robertson County is that former MNEA head and MNPS teacher Stephen Henry is taking very positive steps on his road to recovery. Our prayers here at DGW continue to be with him as he progresses in his journey. Addiction is a horrible master.

That’s another blog post in the bag. Hope y’all have an awesome weekend. Don’t forget to answer poll questions. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. I’m always looking for more opinions and will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

“Books are fun, Nicholas, he says,
they’re like
amusement parks
for readers.

Yeah, well, maybe
they would be fun
if I got to pick
the rides
sometimes, you answer.”

– Kwame Alexander, Booked

This past weekend, I attended the very first ProjectLit Literacy Summit. All indications are that it won’t be the last. On a Saturday morning at Maplewood High School, over 200 people gathered to discuss books written for and about young people. We live in a time where there is an abundance of quality literature being produced for young readers, and ProjectLit celebrates that abundance.

ProjectLit is a movement created by Maplewood students and facilitated by their teacher Jarred Amato. It’s a movement that grew out of a study on what to do about book deserts and the realization that there are kids in Nashville who don’t have unfettered access to books. Out of that initial focus has grown a community that does more to hook kids on the power of reading than any other initiative in Nashville.

There are two main reasons for the rapid growth of ProjectLit. The first is that the focus sits squarely on students. Students pick the direction of the organization, the books, and facilitate the book discussions. This isn’t one of circumstance where adults are driving the train. In truth, most of the adults are along merely for the ride. ProjectLit doesn’t just ask for student buy in; it demands it.

Secondly, Amato gets what nearly every other adult in the city fails to grasp: it’s all about culture. Sure, the majority of his books are culturally relevant – we’ll talk more about that in a minute – but more importantly is the culture centered around literacy that Amato and his team foster. Reading is fun. It’s cool. It’s attractive. It’s something you want to do and do more often.

This belief in the power of culture is something I share with Amato. It was in that spirit that my wife and I loaded up both kids, aged 7 and 8, and headed to Maplewood on Saturday morning. The kids, to be honest, weren’t exactly chomping at the bit to go, but they’ve sorta gotten used to this kinda thing. Community meetings, school board functions, trips to legislative sessions, candidate door knocking – these are all activities they have had to endure in their short lives. You see, these are all part of the foundation of our family culture.

Politics, intellectual curiosity, compassion, empathy, athletics, and literacy are all among the bedrock of our family’s culture. They are not things we just talk about in an abstract sense, but rather things we try to put into practice as well. I believe in exposing kids to things that they may not fully grasp, nor be overly interested in at the time. After all, you can’t get a Redwood without first planting the seed.

We arrived on Saturday morning shortly after author Kwame Alexander started speaking. I could fill a whole blog post full of inspirational quotes from Alexander. Beyond being an incredible author, he’s an inspirational speaker as well. I strongly urge anyone who has an opportunity to attend one of his talks to do so.

During Alexander’s talk, my kids did not silent in rapt attention. They wanted to check out the books around the room and sample the eats available. The were fascinated by a calendar filled with author birthdates. I encouraged my son to ask Kwame Alexander a question during the Q and A period because I’m also a believer in the importance of call and response between adults and children when it comes to brain development. I’m trying to raise children who are never afraid to question adults. Alexander was extremely gracious in his response.

After the author talk, as the room broke into small groups, we took our leave. First appearances would indicate that the kids took very little away from the morning. However, as we got in the car, the first words out of their mouths were, “Can we go to Barnes and Noble?”

We went to Barnes and Noble, and we bought several books. My daughter spent a large portion of the remainder of the weekend consuming those purchases. My son, not quite as much, but the foundation is continuing to be built. The culture was reinforced.

It seems that we are continually focusing on trying to increase literacy rates, but are never willing to do the work to create a culture that supports that goal. We decry society’s focus on sports and lament that the same importance isn’t attached to education. But why should reading be held in higher esteem when we don’t open the doors like we do for sports?

We represent reading as a chore. Something that needs to be done to achieve a reward, with little focus on its inherent value. It’s an activity almost entirely directed by adults, and we justify that by proclaiming how it’s important to read the right texts. Confession: I spent a year as an emerging reader reading nothing but Sweet Valley High romances. Confusion is further created in children because reading seems to be a “do as I say, not as I do” activity. How many of those adults pushing reading lists this summer will read more than 2 books themselves? If they read that many books.

Sports, on the other hand, comes with no prerequisites. No adult is telling you how many games you must watch this summer or even how many you must play. Can you imagine a campaign that gave kids a free cheeseburger if they attended 10 baseball games or played in 9 dodgeball games? It would be considered ripe for ridicule. Instead, with sports, kids are left to discover their passion at their own pace.

My son has fallen in love with the Golden State Warriors, a team I share no affinity for, but am all too willing to discuss with him. He utilizes his iPad to scour the internet for information about the team, frequently returning to me to share newly acquired knowledge. We spend a fair amount of time these days discussing the Warriors and as a direct result, basketball. He has what I would describe as a fever to know more about his chosen team. Imagine if I would have told him he had to cheer for the Utah Jazz and then demanded he bring me facts back. I don’t doubt he’d be as enthused, but that’s what we do with reading.

Currently his interest in sports continues to grow and expand into other areas. It’s a pursuit that he feels he has ownership of. He chooses the players that inspire him and the teams he chooses to cheer for. He establishes in his own mind ownership of content. He is inspired by Steph Curry, not because an adult told him that Curry is the “right” athlete to cheer for, but rather because of the qualities that Curry exhibits that resonate with him.

How many times have I sat around with other fathers discussing how we took our children to sporting events knowing full well it wouldn’t hold their attention for the duration. We freely admitted we were priming them for the future. We would speak with pride on how they made it to the 2nd period and what an improvement it was over last year. Yet, we seldom drag kids to literacy events. Instead we offer the excuse that they would find it boring and uninteresting, perhaps when they are older.

Exposure at an early age allows a love of sports to take root and grow into adulthood. I think about my own travels to adulthood and how a love of Penn State football always served as a connection with my father, even when all others failed. I continue to follow Penn State football today, despite my father passing away several years ago, not just because of the entertainment factor but because it’s a constant conduit and reminder of the values of my family. My wife shares a love of reading as a similar conduit with her own father.

The analogy to sports is not perfect. Some kids never develop a love of sports, but substitute music, movies, or other recreational activities. Think about the things that anchor the culture of your family. For some of you, it may already be reading. Think about how those activities became integral and ask yourself, what if we recreated the process with literacy? Why don’t we take a similar approach to reading?

What if kids constantly saw city and school leaders with a book in their possession? What if adults stopped and asked kids what their favorite book is like we currently ask kids their favorite athlete or musician? What if we bought kids apparel adorned by images of books like we currently purchase sports jerseys? What if we allowed kids to see us reading like they currently witness us watching games? I just don’t believe you can underestimate the power of “culture.”

One last observation on reading and literacy. Over the last several years, there has been a push to make sure kids are reading “culturally relevant” books. I agree with the concept that books can serve as mirrors and that students will take a greater interest in books that reflect their lives. However, even in the interest of producing better readers, we can not sacrifice the power of books as windows and time machines.

I’m not a Jewish boy growing up in NYC in the 50’s, but I interact with enough adults who were. Therefore, reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn provides me a greater understanding of their motivations. I know little about life in Scandinavia, but by reading Jo Nesbo books I get a glimpse of what life is like for people who live there. Few of us may run away from home and live on a mountain, but in the pages of My Side of the Mountain we can discover how those who bear little outward resemblance to us share several inner traits. We discover that fear, loneliness, a desire for self-sufficiency are not traits exclusive to certain individuals.

Books can provide role models of who we want to be as adults. They can show us the consequences of certain choices that we all face daily. They can instill empathy for those who may appear foreign.

I just finished a book call Lightning Men, a mystery set in 1953 Atlanta. It’s a book that not only drives home the serious implications of racism on individual lives but also helps explain why changing laws sometimes just isn’t enough. As a mystery book, written primarily for entertainment, I’m sure it’s a book that few would place on the “right kind of reading” list. But that’s the power of the written word; it can entertain and inform simultaneously.

Personally, and I must add my disclaimer that I am not a teacher nor do I play one on TV, I would love to see instruction that placed To Kill A Mockingbird next to The Hate U Give. How are the characters similar and how are they different? Have times changed much? What are the universal themes that both express? The possibilities are endless.

Lord knows I don’t want to undervalue the importance of decoding and phonics and other strategies, but if you don’t get the cultural aspect right, then they won’t take root either. Drill a kid on phonics and watch his eyes glaze over and attention waver. Get them caught up in the narrative and its inherent power, and they are yours to work with.

I think that the work Amato is doing is vital to creating a culture of literacy districtwide. He’s pushing boundaries further and in a more sustainable manner than any previous initiatives. It’s my belief that real gains could be made if district leadership embraced his, and his students’ work. Like children themselves, if allowed to grow unencumbered to its full potential, there is no telling what benefits mights be reaped from ProjectLit.

QUICK HITS

Congratulations to Steve Ball who was recently announced as the latest Executive Director of School Support and Improvement (EDSSI). What? You missed the job opening being posted? That’s all right, near as I can tell nobody else saw it either. Nor the posting for the East High Magnet School principal position which will reportedly be filled by AP Jamie Jenkins. In defense, I suspect Jenkin’s appointment will be as a temporary principal with a job posting to come in the future.

Former MNPS teacher Scott Bennett – many of you cite his guest post as your favorite of the year – whose family recently relocated to South Africa, was back in Nashville for graduation services. I encourage you to read his reflections from that visit. I know my wife will appreciate his inclusion of a Murakami quote.

Former MNPS Executive Aimee Wyatt has received a promotion after less than a year with SREB. She is moving into the position of Director of State and District Partnerships at Southern Regional Education Board. Her team will be serving the states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York. Another example of quality talent plying their trade elsewhere.

Congratulations are in order! Alexander Davis, a graduate of Martin Luther King Jr Magnet- Pearl High School, received a college-sponsored National Merit scholarship from Northeastern University.

For the last four years, Metro Schools has participated in the Community Eligibility Program (CEP), the federal reimbursement program that allows school districts to offer lunch at no cost to students. Eligibility is based on poverty as measured by the direct certification numbers used for participants of government assistance programs. Effective with the 2018-2019 school year, MNPS is no longer eligible to participate system-wide and can no longer offer this program to all students at all schools. I cannot understate the travesty of this development. Families, make sure you check out who’s eligible for what.

Indiana is taking a slightly different approach on how it incorporates STEM principles into the classroom. I’ll let you decide what you think.

The Renowned Sound of Cane Ridge HS has been selected to participate in the 2018 World Series of Marching Bands representing MNPS and the State of Tennessee. Knock them dead, kids.

The MNPS budgetary needs continues to get muddier and muddier. First, the district asked the city for an increase in funds of $45 million. When the mayor responded with a budget that only allocated an increase of $5 million, the district announced that they were now $17.5 million short for next year based on expenditures that weren’t even outlined in the first ask. Friday – yeah, I know – MNPS announced that they needed an additional $3.5 million just to get through this year. Does anybody have any idea on just how much money MNPS needs?

I’m still waiting for someone to name the person who replaced someone at MNPS and is doing a better job than the person they replaced. In other words, name me the upgrade.

POLL RESULTS

Time to take a look at this weekend’s poll results. Thank you to all who participated.

The first question asked was which department of MNPS did you think was performing at a high level. The English Learners department easily garnered the most votes, with 38% of you citing them as your answer. Special Ed finished second, and Curriculum and Instruction finished a surprising third.

As is par for the current course, MNPS has let EL Director Kevin Stacy go to another district and has elected to replace him in leadership with a number two who flamed out at an elementary school this year. Remember what I said earlier about letting quality talent get away?

This one garnered a lot of write-in votes:

Question 2 asked for your reaction to the district’s relationship with ERDI. Out of 112 responses, 54 of you expressed grave concerns and 32 of you indicated a need for further research. Only 4 of you expressed a lack of concern. Hmmm… there are four chiefs… never mind. Here are the write-ins:

The last question asked about summer camp attendance. I must admit that I was a bit surprised by the responses. I expected the usage to be greater. 35% indicated 1-2 camps, but 31% of you said none. Here are those write-ins:

And that’s a wrap. Hope y’all have an awesome week. If you need to contact me, you can do so at Norinrad10@yahoo.com. I’m always looking for more opinions and will try to promote as many of the events that you send me as possible, but I do apologize in advance if I fall short and don’t get them all out there.

I have started using Patreon as a funding source. If you think what I do has monetary value, you can go there and make a donation/pledge. Just because Andy Spears is also on Patreon doesn’t mean you can’t support us both. Trust me, I know I ain’t going to get rich, but at the end of the day I’m just a Dad trying to get by. Check out the Dad Gone Wild Facebook page as well. And if you are so inclined, check out my new campaign web page and sign up to help if you can.