“I don’t like questions. They invent the answers. The real answers are discovered, before you even know what the question is.”
― William McIlvanney, Laidlaw

The other day I was scrolling through my social media posts when I came upon the following from an old friend,

“My kids graduate in May. My plan is to speak at the June school board meeting followed by however meetings it takes me to get the last 12 years off my chest without worrying about who I may piss off and how it may affect my kids. I’m already excited. 🙂

I paused for a moment and reflected on his words. We used to regularly talk back when both of us wore younger man’s clothes. He’d welcomed his kids into the world a few years before me, but our worldview, and approach to fatherhood were similar.

Deeply committed to his children, and their education, he’d been a tireless advocate for MNPS during his kid’s elementary school years. Often addressing the board on various issues, joining the PTA, even going as far as organizing a father’s group that met weekly in an effort to strengthen the cluster. He was the epitome of what school administrators claim to be looking for in parents.

Since he lived across town from me, my updates into his family life usually came via social media. As his kid’s entered into their middle school years, updates on his advocacy work became infrequent. Running into him one afternoon, I asked about his current level of involvement.

“We’re still involved”, he answered, “Just not as much. I think that’s the way the system is designed. Get’s you hyped and deeply involved in the beginning, then just wear you down, until, in the end, you withdraw more and more.”

Over the years, as I continued doing whatever it is I do, I’ve thought about those words quite frequently, often feeling the ring of truth. Based on his recent post, I’d say, in this case, the system had worked to perfection.

In talking to parents, especially those with kids entering into high school it’s a sentiment I hear expressed with greater frequency,

“Three more years and then we are down. If I just hold on.”

“Man, all we got to do is make it 2 more years and then I’m done with all of it.”

Different variations, but always the same words, uttered by people who in the earlier years had been champions for public schools. Parents who had served on PTO’s and volunteered as classroom aides. Parents who had volunteered to read to kids, and chaperone field trips. For the most part, just holding on, talking like runners hitting the back end of a grueling marathon.

Maybe the exhaustion stems from the rigor of parenting, Raising a family ain’t easy, whether it is one or 7. Until you’ve experienced it, you can’t begin to understand the degree of difficulty. And no it’s not the same as owning a cat or dog.

And maybe it is how love works. I’ve heard marriage referred to as a death by a thousand cuts. Over the years we are often guilty of slighting, ignoring, and dismissing those we hold most dear. Perhaps this is just another example of us neglecting those that should be deeply valued.

At last week’s MNPS board meeting, the talk centered upon the importance of parental involvement in a child’s academic success. CAO Mason Bellamy, in an answer to a question from board member John Little – who inexplicably didn’t seem familiar with the state’s RTI or MTSS process – described the district’s parent hub as a cornerstone to the parent/school relationship, going on to praise the district’s efforts to expand offerings.  However, as is usually the case with administrator presentations, what’s not being said is as important as what is being said.

When pressed by school board members, Bellamy admitted that only 23% of the parents in the district were enrolled in the parent portal. A portal that had existed for multiple years. But fear not, starting tomorrow, Bellamy was going to have his principals focusing on getting more parents signed up.

What remains unclear is why tomorrow, as opposed to last week? or last month? or even last year? If parental involvement was truly as important as Bellamy was espousing, shouldn’t somebody have already recognized the shortcoming and taken steps to address it? Why do I suspect that if there hadn’t been a school board meeting last Tuesday, tomorrow would become some nebulous date in the future?

Too often, tomorrow never seems to come.

As public education advocates, we often bemoan the attacks of outside forces on our beloved institution, but perhaps equal attention should be paid to what goes on inside the tent.

The system wears teachers down to a point where adequate staffing becomes an untenable burden. The same holds true for support staff, so integral to a school’s ability to function. parents are often alienated. And too many kids fall through the cracks. Instead of addressing these issues head on, we prefer a strategy of putting our fingers in our ears and humming real loud.

Case in point, despite years of a declining pool of bus drivers, little effort has been made to change the way we transport kids to school. Other than to discuss how transportation can facilitate earlier start times, scant attention is paid to the growing inability for urban districts to successfully transport their students. As a result, utilizing “party busses” complete with stripper poles is now considered a viable means of student transportation.

I’m sure tomorrow the Boston school district will have an in-depth conversation about busing challenges.

Yesterday, the indispensable Mercedes Schneider rightfully took great umbrage at recent claims by Teach for America that public education hasn’t changed for 100 years,

Students and families count on school to give children agency to lead and shape a better future for themselves. Yet our schools were never designed to unleash the potential of all children. Schools weren’t designed to meet the diverse needs of millions of students who rely on them today. They weren’t designed to help children facing challenges of poverty overcome those obstacles and access opportunity in a dynamic, global world. And our public school system is remarkably impervious to innovation, adaptation, and change.

Schneider rightfully points out a number of key areas that significant change has been made since 1921, including but not limited to,

• The expected, terminal grade level was eighth grade.
• No auxiliary services were provided, including lunch or transportation.
• There was no such thing as any accommodation for a special population. Students not deemed “normal” could be denied admittance.
• Schools provided no mental health services, and students who missed school due to illness were not entitled to opportunities to recoup missed work.
• Corporal punishment was expected, endorsed, and utilized.
• There was no “mixing of the races,” with white citizens leveraged to advantage, including in educational experience.

She also rightfully points out that TFA has been in existence for 30 years now without making any significant contributions to education issues. I would argue that they have only been useful in providing temporary relief to staffing district staffing problems while strengthening the narrative that anybody with minimal training can be a high-quality teacher. A claim akin to that of a decade of piano lessons being capable of transforming a child into Mozart.

As ludicrous as TFA’s claims are, I would also question though, whether public educations transformation has been rapid enough and truly responsive to the needs of all stakeholders. If parents are regularly exiting the system exhausted and depleted, is the system really functioning at a high level? And if it’s not, how do we expect it to fight off outside challengers?

Charter School growth as it relates to new operators, has definitely slowed, but existing schools have continued to see increased enrollment. At the same time, theyve become more established as part of a city’s education landscape. The successful ones now have a proven track record in which to attract future students.

Take Nashville’s Valor Academy for example. A school I was once vehemently opposed to, but now give serious consideration as an option for my son. A consideration that once would have been deemed at least improbable, if not impossible. However, a series of cuts and disappointments over the past several years have contributed to a growing sense of , maybe there is another way to do this. Maybe the local school isn’t the only logical fit for my child.

The challenges are only going to grow. We are now entering a period where children educated in charter schools are raising their own families, and making choices for their own children. They are not going to be swayed by the same arguments of malfeasance and inadequacy that have been employed over the last decade. They will use their own experiences as a barometer in order to gauge what is best for their children. And part of that will come from discussions with their own parents.

If, say Valor, has a parental portal with 70% participation vs MNPS’s 23%, who’s going to win out? And that is just one challenge looming on the horizon.

Yes, I am familiar with the unfair playing field on which charter schools operate, but if we are waiting for some great leveling to occur, we’d be better off buying that bridge in Arizona I have trying to unload. We always tell our children that excuses only go so far, maybe it’s time to practice what we preach?

We can wait until tomorrow to start addressing these growing challenges, but perhaps it’s something we ought to commit to today. Just saying.

NOTHING LIKE A SUMMIT IN A PANDEMIC

Evoking scenes from the Kubrick movie Eyes Wide Shut, the Tennessee Department of Education kicks off its inaugural Reading360 Summit on Tuesday. It’s a virtual summit, so unfortunately participants won’t be able to enjoy a mid-week afternoon walk in the woods together. Slated to continue through Thursday it offers a full slate of learning opportunities for educators. A glance at the posted agenda reveals a plethora of enticing session titles,

Categories: Education