Council Partners With NBA to Help Males of Color Succeed in Life
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• Seattle Gets New Leader, p.3
• In the Spotlight, p.7
LEGISLATIVE
• ESEA Off and Running, p.10
The Nation’s Voice for Urban Education March 2015 Vol. 24, No. 2 www.cgcs.org
Council Partners
With NBA to Help
Males of Color
Succeed in Life
A partnership has been established
between the Council of the Great City
Schools and the National Basketball As-
sociation to improve educational and social
outcomes of males of color, and includes
NBA affiliates – the National Basketball
Players Association and the National Bas-
ketball Retired Players Association.
Part of President Obama’s My Brother’s
Keeper initiative, the partnership is de-
signed “as a collaborative effort to help put
boys and young men of color on a path
to lifelong success,” says Council Execu-
Former Houston Emerge student and Stanford freshman Felipe Guillén comments during Hous- tive Director Michael Casserly and NBA
ton’s recent State of the Schools event. Photo credit: Dave Einsel/Houston ISD Senior Vice President Todd Jacobson in a
joint letter.
Houston’s Emerge Program Gets Boost After the presi-
dent last summer
To Help Students Attend Top Colleges announced that 60
big-city school dis-
For four years, Edgar Avina rode his bike six miles from his family’s mobile home to tricts pledge to sup-
Houston’s DeBakey High School. His journey ended last June, when he graduated and port My Brother’s
received a full scholarship to attend Yale University. Keeper, the Council
Avina was one of 64 Houston Independent School District graduates who matriculat- in October held a
ed at a top tier university last fall as part of the district’s Emerge program, which identifies two-day conference
and helps high-potential students from low-income households receive scholarships and to turn the pledge
admittance into the nation’s elite and Ivy League colleges and universities. into reality. Urban school leaders from
Houston’s Emerge program has been so successful that school district Superinten- across the nation converged in Milwaukee
dent Terry Grier recently announced $8.5 million in grants received from the Houston to discuss implementing action plans under
Endowment to expand the program and to boost college attendance of the city’s public- the conference banner “United to Make a
school students. Difference: Improving the Achievement of
The district plans to use a $5.5-million grant to expand the Emerge program, which Young Men of Color.”
Emerge continued on page 4 NBA continued on page 5
INSIDE THE COUNCIL MARCH 2015
‘Engineering Zone’ Launched to Support K.C. STEM Students
Students in Missouri’s Kansas City
Public Schools who are interested in
STEM (science, technology, engineering
and math) now have a place to call their
own.
The Kansas City Engineering Zone is
a pilot program located on the campus of
the University of Missouri-Kansas City
that has opened its doors to students on
the robotics teams at Paseo Academy and
Lincoln College Preparatory Academy.
The KC Engineering Zone was created
as a facility where urban students interest-
ed in science, technology, engineering and
math can access the space, technology and
expertise they need. It was also construct-
ed to be an equalizer to provide resources
on par with more affluent areas.
The zone is the result of a partner-
ship between the University of Missouri- Kansas City Schools Superintendent R. Stephen Green joins students from Paseo Academy and
Kansas City School of Computing and Lincoln College Preparatory Academy to mark the launch of the new Kansas City Engineering
Zone. Photo credit: KC Stem Alliance
Engineering and the KC STEM Alliance,
a collaborative network of educators, busi- schools have STEM or robotics pro- The site is set to be a magnet for stu-
ness affiliates and organizations that in- grams, but many of their facilities have dents in the region who want to learn more
spires interest in STEM careers to gener- limitations. about STEM and spur interest in STEM
ate a robust cadre of professionals for the “What is uneven is the physical space fields as possible careers. The location plans
Kansas City community. and the tools and the machinery as well as to open up to more schools’ robotics teams
According to Laura Loyacono, KC access to mentors in the urban core,” said and engineering contests, as well as be a
STEM Alliance executive director, many Loyacono in an interview on WDAF-TV. regional resource through hosting STEM
summer camps.
Executive Director Editor Associate Editor Staff Writer
Michael Casserly Henry Duvall Tonya Harris Danyell Taylor
mcasserly@cgcs.org hduvall@cgcs.org tharris@cgcs.org dtaylor@cgcs.org
Council officers
A newsletter published by the Council of the Great City Schools, representing 67 of the nation’s largest urban public school districts.
Chair
Jumoke Hinton Hodge Albuquerque Charlotte East Baton Rouge Long Beach Oakland Sacramento
Board Member, Oakland
Anchorage Chicago El Paso Los Angeles Oklahoma City San Diego
Chair-elect Atlanta Cincinnati Fort Worth Louisville Omaha San Francisco
Richard Carranza Austin Clark Co. Fresno Miami-Dade Orange Co. Santa Ana
Superintendent, San Francisco Baltimore Cleveland Greensboro Milwaukee Palm Beach Seattle
Birmingham Columbus Honolulu Minneapolis Philadelphia Shelby Co.
Secretary-Treasurer Boston Dallas Houston Nashville Pittsburgh St. Louis
Felton Williams Bridgeport Dayton Indianapolis New Orleans Portland St. Paul
Board Member, Long Beach Broward Co. Denver Jackson New York City Providence Tampa
Buffalo Des Moines Jacksonville Newark Richmond Toledo
Charleston Detroit Kansas City Norfolk Rochester Washington DC
Wichita
All news items should be submitted to: Find the Council on:
Urban Educator
Council of the Great City Schools
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 702 • Washington, DC 20004
(202) 393-2427 • (202) 393-2400 (fax)
2 | URBAN EDUCATOR
MARCH 2015 INSIDE THE COUNCIL
Boston and Seattle Name New Superintendents; Tenure Extended
For San Francisco, Guilford County and Milwaukee School District Leaders
Tommy Chang, a the Washington School Administrators perintendent Darienne Driver will be able
schools administra- Association, and was also a finalist for Na- to lead the school system for at least an-
tor in Los Angeles, tional Superintendent of the Year. other two years. She has been superinten-
has been named the After retiring from the Marysville dent of the 77,391-student school system
new superintendent school system in June 2013, he served as a since 2014.
of the Boston Public leadership coach working with more than The school board recently voted to ex-
Schools. 40 school districts, including the Seattle tend Driver’s contract through June 20,
He is the local school system. 2017, and commended her for efforts to
instructional su- improve student achievement and engage
Tommy Chang perintendent of the A Vote of Confidence families and the community.
Los Angeles Uni-
fied School District’s Intensive Support &
Innovation Center, where he oversees 135
Superintendent Maurice Green has led
North Carolina’s Guilford County Schools
Former Atlanta
schools and some 95,000 students in the
nation’s second largest school district.
in Greensboro since 2008, and under his
leadership the 72,000-student school dis-
Superintendent
Chang was named Boston’s next su-
perintendent March 3, and will succeed
trict has the highest four-year graduation
rate in its history and has been nationally
Remembered
interim superintendent John McDonough, recognized for its innovative character edu- A former superintendent of the At-
who has been at the helm since the spring cation programs. lanta Public Schools, Dr. Beverly Hall,
of 2013. As a result, the school board has extend- died on March 2 after battling breast
“Dr. Chang will provide the leadership ed Green’s contract through June 30, 2018. cancer. She was 68.
that our school system needs and I am con- In its review of the superintendent, the She is remembered among many ur-
fident that his innovative views on educa- school board praised Green for his strong ban school leaders in the Council of the
tion will move our students forward,” said character and integrity. Green was also Great City Schools as a long-standing
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh in a news praised for turning down a 3 percent an- member of the organization’s Executive
statement. nual raise, the sixth year in a row he has Committee and the winner of the 2006
Seattle Public Schools also named a new turned down the annual compensation. Richard R. Green Award, the highest
superintendent re- Also receiving a three-year contract ex- honor in urban-school leadership.
cently, appointing in- tension recently was Richard Carranza, the “Today, Atlanta lost one of its gi-
terim superintendent superintendent of the San Francisco Uni- ants,” said Council Executive Director
Larry Nyland as its fied School District. Michael Casserly in a press statement.
permament leader to He has led the 57,000-student district “Urban public education has lost one
head the 52,000-stu- since 2012 after serving as the deputy su- of its great stalwarts. All of us lost one
dent school district. perintendent for instruction, innovation of the best friends anyone could ever
He has served as the and social justice. have. And America’s children lost one
school system’s inter- “Richard is driving our district forward of their truest champions.”
Larry Nyland im leader since Au- with a clear vision of the transformation
gust 2014, succeeding that our schools need, a deep understand-
Jose Banda, who left the district to lead ing of what we are capable of, and an un-
California’s Sacramento Unified School yielding commitment not to leave any
District. student behind,” said school board vice
Nyland is a native of Seattle and gradu- president Matt Haney in a press release.
ated from the district’s Roosevelt High During Carranza’s tenure, the district
School. has turned around low-performing schools
Prior to serving as Seattle’s interim and made strides in reducing student sus-
leader, Nyland led Washington’s Marysville pension rates, particularly for African
Atlanta Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall
School District for nine years. In 2007, he American students. accepts the Richard Green Award.
was named Superintendent of the Year by And in Milwaukee Public Schools, Su-
URBAN EDUCATOR | 3
INSIDE THE COUNCIL MARCH 2015
Emerge continued from page 1
Toledo Schools Take NASA Challenge
now serves 25 high schools, to all 45 high Most high school students simply learn about the design challenge, now used on
schools. The expansion is expected to in- about Mars from a textbook, but in Ohio’s the junior high level, for high school class-
crease the number of Houston school dis- Toledo Public Schools students are going es.
trict graduates in the program who go on one step further by designing hardware to The partnership between Toledo schools
to attend top colleges from 100 this year to actually rove the planet. and NASA was made possible by a $3.8-
250 annually over the next two years. Engineering students at Start High million Youth Career Connect grant from
And a $3-million matching grant from School are getting a hands-on education the U.S. Department of Labor. The grant
the Houston Endowment will be used to through a NASA challenge to design new is part of a national program that focuses
deploy 28 new college counselors to cam- wheels for a lunar module on the surface of on making students career-ready through
puses across the district in efforts to boost Mars. The designed hardware that is being academic and career-focused curriculum.
college attendance rates by 20 percent over crafted by juniors and seniors could pos- In addition to Start and Bowsher, the
the next three years. sibly be installed on the Mars Rover. Cur- grant focuses on three other high schools
“HISD [Houston Independent School rently, the machine has to be moved along in the district in order to create partner-
District] has been awarded a pair of truly the planet’s surface with a mechanical arm. ships that provide training, job-shadowing
generous grants from the Houston Endow- Two NASA personnel at the Glenn and mentoring to ensure students learn
ment that will transform the lives of scores Research Center Simulated Lunar Opera- skills relevant to the job market. The To-
of children who may not have attended tions facility will help oversee the class- ledo school district was the only recipient
college otherwise,” said Superintendent room’s progress. During a news confer- of the federal funding in the state of Ohio.
Grier in a press release after delivering his ence, NASA outlined how its personnel Romules Durant, Toledo schools super-
annual State of the Schools address. will help students, including giving assis- intendent, remarked during the news con-
Students in the program participate in tance to students in order to build a replica ference that the collaboration is a prime ex-
college admissions workshops, SAT boot of a moon surface at Start as well as con- ample of how the district is providing new
camps and college tours to prepare them duct student tours of the NASA facilities. classroom experiences to broaden students’
for campus life. A computer and design class from To- knowledge base. He also added he’s ready
“They’re real trailblazers, setting a tangi- ledo’s Bowsher High School will also be to take the district’s catchphrase ‘TPS
ble example for others in our under-served working on part of the project. The two Proud’ to Mars.
communities to follow,” Grier stressed, classes are helping to modify a manual
touting Emerge students in his Feb. 11
address before a sold-out crowd at a local
hotel. “They remind all of us that our chil-
dren’s ability to succeed is driven by expec- Dallas Bilingual Teacher Wins National Award
tations. And those expectations are shaped
by the adults who matter in their lives.”
Felipe Guillén, another Houston high Irma De La Guar- school district a few years later, where she
school graduate who participated in the dia, a third-grade taught kindergarten. “I wanted to make an
Emerge program, is now a freshman at dual language teacher impact on society; make a difference in my
Stanford University. He told the hundreds at Harry C. Winters community,” she said.
of educators, administrators and commu- Elementary School In 2007, she was recruited to Withers to
nity members at the recent State of the in Dallas, was re- help start its dual-language program. She
Schools event that he would have never cently named the teaches Spanish Language Arts, science
dreamed of attending a prestigious school 2015 Teacher of the and social studies as part of the Two Way
like Stanford. Year by the National Dual Language Program at Withers.
“I didn’t get to this place all on my own. Irma De La Guardia Association of Bilin- De La Guardia is no stranger to win-
It wasn’t just through hard work, or focus- gual Education, which represents English ning awards for her achievements in the
ing on academics,” he said, acknowledg- language learners and bilingual education classroom. She was elected 2012-2013
ing the support system provided by the professionals. Teacher of the Year at Withers. And she
Emerge program. “This dream became my Originally an auditor in Mexico City, was selected as 2014 Bilingual Education
reality because of those who believed in me De La Guardia moved to Dallas nearly 15 Teacher of the Year by the Texas Associa-
– people in my family, fellow classmates, years ago. A career change through alter- tion for Bilingual Education.
and a lot of you in this room….” native certification led her to the Dallas
4 | URBAN EDUCATOR
MARCH 2015 INSIDE THE COUNCIL
Three Big-City Superintendents Represent Urban Schools
At White House Forum on My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge
Three big-city school superintendents tional convening. Later in the day, Coun- His district is among some 25 urban
converged at the White House recently cil Executive Director Michael Casserly public school systems, including the Dis-
with other education, church, business moderated a panel discussion on “Strong trict of Columbia, that have developed ac-
and community leaders to advance Presi- Schools, Strong Kids: Partnering with Su- tion plans to move the Council’s Males of
dent Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initia- perintendents to Increase Opportunity and Color Initiative forward in improving the
tive, launched in February last year to help Achievement.” achievement of young men of color.
young males of color reach their full po- Missouri’s Kansas City Public Schools The D.C. school system and Washing-
tential. Superintendent R. Stephen Green, District ton’s new mayor recently launched an ini-
The White House hosted a daylong “na- of Columbia Chancellor Kaya Henderson tiative called Empowering Males of Color,
tional convening” of a variety of commu- and Minnesota’s St. Paul Public Schools aimed at increasing the success of black
nity sectors that joined the president’s My Superintendent Valeria Silva discussed and Latino male students from pre-kin-
Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge to how school district leaders can help meet dergarten through 12th grade. The district
ensure opportunities and overcome barri- the My Brother’s Keeper Community Chal- in the nation’s capital plans to dedicate $20
ers for all youth, especially boys and young lenge. million to help improve the outcomes of
men of color. “In KCPS [Kansas City Public its males of color, which includes working
Last summer, the Council of the Great Schools], we’re committed to making sure with the community.
City Schools led 60 urban school districts that all students receive the education and “We serve more black and Latino boys
to the White House to support President guidance they need to become successful than any other group of students, and we
Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative. contributors to their communities, and the need to give them the tools to succeed,”
Attorney General Eric Holder and se- president’s challenge aligns perfectly with said D.C. Schools Chancellor Henderson
nior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett our goals,” said Superintendent Green. during the rollout of the initiative Jan. 21.
delivered remarks to open the Feb. 12 na-
NBA continued from page 1
Thus far, some 25 districts have come
forward with plans of action to help young
males of color achieve in life. And several
big-city school districts have hosted com-
munity events to support racial and cultural
equity.
The NBA and its affiliates have made a
commitment to provide resources aimed at
encouraging male students of color to stay
in school, attend classes every day, concen-
trate on their studies, complete homework,
and serve as school and community leaders.
“Over the next several months, we rec-
ommend representatives from the NBA
teams and school system leaders in their
respective cities reach out to each other to
determine how we can better coordinate
our efforts, our talents, and our skills to im-
Left to right, Council Executive Director Michael Casserly, District of Columbia Schools Chancel- prove the lives of boys and young men be-
lor Kaya Henderson, St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Valeria Silva and Kansas City Public
Schools Superintendent R. Stephen Green participate in a panel at the White House to support ginning during the 2015-2016 school year,”
President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative. stressed the joint letter of partnership.
URBAN EDUCATOR | 5
INSIDE THE COUNCIL MARCH 2015
Atlanta District Dallas ‘ACE Plan’ Provides Teachers
Tops in Financial To Low-Performing Schools
Management In an effort to place effective teachers in will also receive extended contracts and
every classroom, the Dallas Independent have their evaluation ratings stay the same
The Council of the Great City Schools School District recently announced a plan for two years.
recently recognized the Atlanta Public to recruit the highest-performing teachers In early spring, district officials will
Schools for attaining the highest standards and principals into the lowest-performing identify the five to eight low-performing
in financial management, accountability schools. campuses that will be transformed into
and fiscal control. The Accelerating Campus Excellence ACE schools. In addition to recruiting new
The Council presented the Award for (ACE) Plan is a pilot program aimed at teachers and principals, teachers already
Excellence in Financial Management to relocating top teachers and principals to located at campuses designated as ACE
the Atlanta school system for enhancing, work at five to eight of the district’s strug- schools will be incentivized to remain at
safeguarding, and protecting the financial gling schools. The Teacher Excellence Ini- their campuses. Bonus stipends of $5,000
integrity of the district. tiative, the district’s evaluation system that for returning distinguished teachers and
This is only the fourth time since the defines and rewards effective teaching, will $3,000 for returning proficient teachers
Council initiated the award in 2008 that identify which teachers are considered the will be added to their normal salaries.
it has honored a school district with its most effective to be eligible to teach in new “Our lowest-performing schools need
highest national award for sound financial ACE schools. the most effective teachers,” said Dallas
management. The last award was given to The ACE Plan will offer a bonus sti- Schools Superintendent Mike Miles.
the Miami-Dade County Schools in 2012, pend of $10,000 to eligible teachers and The ACE program is scheduled to begin
with the Houston Independent School $15,000 to participating principals. Dis- in the 2015-2016 school year.
District and Florida’s Broward County tinguished ACE teachers and principals
Public Schools in Fort Lauderdale receiv-
ing the top financial honor earlier.
“This is a significant milestone for the
Atlanta Public Schools,” Council Execu-
Denver Teacher Leadership Program Expands
tive Director Michael Casserly said, hon-
oring the school board, superintendent, In Denver Public Schools, an innovative This shift in the traditional teaching
chief financial officer and staff for provid- teacher leadership program that started in model is having an effect where it counts
ing exemplary financial management and 14 schools two years ago has been so suc- most, with the students.
stewardship of taxpayer dollars. “Citizens cessful that the program is expanding to “I’ve noticed that teachers in this pro-
and taxpayers in Atlanta should take pride more than 70 schools in the 2015-2016 gram are willing to engage in dialog with
school year. students that is very different than what
Differentiated Roles, a teacher leader- it was before,” said Carmelina Palmer, a
ship program, has been praised by partici- senior at Denver Center for International
pating schools for helping to align existing Studies. “It’s no longer ‘Are you under-
school-wide initiatives and distribute lead- standing the material?’ It’s more, ‘What
ership, while retaining great teachers. can I do to make sure you are getting what
The program’s success lies with teacher you need…’”
leaders, known as team leads, who serve in Schools interested in joining the teacher
a hybrid role that includes both teaching leadership program are required to create
and non-teaching time. Team leads spend design teams, comprised of teachers and
half their day as teachers in their own school leaders, and spend months creat-
Council Executive Director Michael Casserly, classrooms, and the other half of the day as ing a strong plan regarding what teacher
second from right, presents the Award for
Excellence in Financial Management to Atlanta team leads who work closely with a team of leadership should look like at their school.
school district officials at a board meeting. Left teachers in their schools, co-planning, ob- Schools with a strong plan are awarded
to right, Atlanta Schools Board Chair Courtney serving instruction and providing feedback. funding to implement these roles.
English, Superintendent Meria Carstarphen
and CFO Chuck Burbridge. Selected team leads participate in extensive Teacher teams are developed around
professional development to improve skills specific goals for the school and its stu-
they need for their new leadership roles.
Atlanta Award continued on page 12 Denver Teacher continued on page 12
6 | URBAN EDUCATOR
MARCH 2015 INSIDE THE COUNCIL
Serving the Students of San Francisco in Dual Roles
Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell advocates district, the city and private entities and
for the San Francisco Unified School Dis-
In the bring more private dollars into the school
Spotlight
trict by serving as a board member, a posi- system.
tion she has held since 2006. But she also Last year, she helped shepherd a $2.7-
advocates for the 57,000-student school million donation from the Salesforce.com
district by serving in another role: senior Foundation to fund the mayor’s Middle
adviser on Education and Family Services Grades Leadership Initiative to provide
to San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee. San Francisco middle schools with in-
She has served in this position since creased technology resources, including
2005, when then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, purchasing iPads for middle school stu-
appointed her to the newly created senior dents in math and science classes and cre-
staff level position because he wanted to ating Wi-Fi digital classrooms. This year,
develop a better relationship between the Salesforce.com Foundation is donating an
school district and the city. additional $5 million.
“He felt strongly that the city and school A former pre-school teacher, Mendoza-
district go hand-in-hand and in order to McDonnell also has a strong interest in
have a great city you have to have great strengthening the district’s early childhood
public schools,” said Mendoza-McDonnell education programs, which she believes can
in a recent interview with the Urban Edu- help close the district’s achievement gap.
Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell with her daughter
cator. and son. She is a 1983 graduate of the San Fran-
Her decision to run for the school board cisco school system, as well as her daughter,
a year later was spurred by Newsom, who cation because he has someone like her on while her son is a sophomore at one of the
believed it would be beneficial to have the inside who can serve as his eyes and district’s high schools.
someone in city government who under- ears as well as the interest of students and The public servant describes her service
stood the inner workings of the school families she serves as a school board mem- on the school board as “an honor and privi-
system so the city could align its services ber. lege to create and implement policy for our
and resources with what the school district She said balancing the two roles can be young people.” But she urges those who
needed. a little tricky because oftentimes she may want to follow in her footsteps to come
Although Mendoza-McDonnell had find herself at an event featuring the mayor, into education for the right reasons. “This
never run for political office and was run- superintendent and her fellow board mem- is about changing the history of how pub-
ning against 16 other candidates, she fin- bers, but she will be staffing the mayor. lic schools have served our schoolchildren
ished second in the city-wide election for However, she feels strongly that serving as historically,” said Mendoza-McDonnell.
the three available seats on the board. Her the mayor’s education adviser has helped “Open your mind to multiple solutions of
election made her the first, and only, Filipi- her tremendously as a board member. the challenges of public school systems.”
na elected to public office in San Francisco. “Being at the table when the city is plan- Mendoza-McDonnell, who recently
And what about the potential conflict of ning things, I get to be the one who says turned 50, likes to travel, spend time with
interest that may arise in serving as a mem- ‘have we talked to the school district about friends and family and take advantage of
ber of the school board as well as the may- this or how will this impact families,’” said all the things living in a city as ‘dynamic’ as
or’s education adviser? She admits that the Mendoza-McDonnell. “The school district San Francisco offers.
issue came up when she was first elected, can be a part of these conversations.” And in her nine years on the school
but over the years she believes people have According to the San Francisco Chroni- board, she has attended hundreds of board
come to appreciate the dual roles. cle, since Mendoza-McDonnell was elected meetings, but there is one meeting she will
“I think people appreciate this kind of to the board in 2006, she has recused her- likely never forget. It was the one where
‘twofer’,” said Mendoza-McDonnell. “Be- self only once from voting on an issue be- her boyfriend approached the microphone,
cause when I’m at a meeting, people know cause it involved the school district suing told the board he was in love and after sing-
that they not only have me there as a school the city over rules regarding civil servants. ing a few songs, including Stevie Wonder’s
board member, but they know the things “You are the Sunshine of My Life,” bent on
that came out of the meeting which were Bringing in More Dollars one knee and asked a surprised Mendoza-
meaningful, I will share with the mayor.” McDonnell to marry him.
As a result, she believes the mayor is As a board member, she has worked to They will celebrate their two-year anni-
more knowledgeable than most about edu- increase partnerships among the school versary in August.
URBAN EDUCATOR | 7
INSIDE THE COUNCIL MARCH 2015
Boston Extends New San Francisco Disciplinary Efforts
School Day Help African American Students
Boston’s school board recently voted to Four years ago, officials in the San Fran- New Discipline Code in NYC
extend the school day by 40 minutes in 60 cisco Unified School District analyzed
elementary, middle and K-8 public schools suspension data and found that although While the efforts made by San Fran-
in the city, giving nearly 23,000 students African Americans constituted only 10.5 cisco schools to reduce the number of sus-
the equivalent of an additional month of percent of the overall student population, pensions for African American students is
instruction. they made up nearly half of all suspensions. showing results, the nation’s largest school
The vote follows an agreement forged So the district embarked on a series of district recently announced a plan to im-
by Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, Boston efforts to fix the problem and their work plement a series of school climate and dis-
Public Schools and the Boston Teachers is paying off, with new data revealing that cipline reforms.
Union. the number of suspended African Ameri- District officials in New York City
Calling the agreement “a historic mo- can students is down 17 percent since last have partnered with the New York Police
ment in public education for Boston,” school year. Department and the Mayor’s Office of
Mayor Walsh noted in a press statement One of the ways the school system be- Criminal Justice in an initiative to reduce
that “Boston’s students deserve more learn- gan to reduce the disproportionate number ineffective suspensions, increase oversight
ing opportunities. The extra 40 minutes of suspensions for African American stu- and accountability and eliminate dispari-
will mean more time for academic learn- dents was when the Board of Education ties that negatively affect African Ameri-
in 2013 passed the Safe and Supportive can and special-education students, who
Schools resolution. The resolution com- are more likely to be suspended than their
mitted the school system to addressing the peers.
” Boston’s students de-
serve more learning oppor-
disparities in principal-office referrals, sus-
pensions, expulsion referrals and expulsion.
Under the new discipline code, princi-
pals will be required to seek authorization
tunities. ” As part of the resolution, middle school from the Office of Safety and Youth Devel-
principals began implementing Behavioral opment before suspending students for in-
—Boston Mayor Martin Walsh
Response to Intervention (Rtl), a research- subordination/defying unlawful authority.
proven program that offers a multi-tiered In addition, a School Climate Leader-
approach to help struggling learners. As ship Team has been created to coordinate
part of the program, students’ progress is and evaluate the effectiveness of reforms
ing, more time for enrichment opportuni- closely monitored to determine the need and make recommendations for improve-
ties, and more time for added supports for for instruction or intervention. ment.
struggling students.” As a result of the program, district mid- Initiatives will also be put in place to
The additional 40 minutes will be dle schools have made the most strides in reduce the need for suspensions, includ-
phased in over three years, and will begin reducing suspensions for African Ameri- ing allotting $1.2 million to 100 schools to
this fall in 20 schools, according to the can students, accounting for 40 percent of implement restorative practices and $2.36
school district. the reductions taking place in the school million to provide counselors to students
Currently, students in traditional Bos- district. who are in detention and help them ease
ton public elementary schools are in class At a recent school board meeting, three their transition back to traditional schools.
for six hours a day, and six hours and 10 schools demonstrated the programs they The NYPD will also establish a pilot
minutes for middle-school students. have developed within the Rtl framework. program at five schools that will replace
“This is an exciting time in the Boston Visitacion Elementary School conducts summons for student misconduct with
Public Schools,” says Boston School Com- daily check-ins with students and orga- warning cards, with the program expand-
mittee Chair Michael O’Neil. “Innovations nizes classroom circles where students talk ing to eventually 25 schools. The police de-
such as longer school days, an improved about their feelings. James Lick Middle partment will also begin tracking the use
teacher hiring and evaluation system, and School has an Rtl faciliatator, who helps of restraints in schools and will provide a
more opportunities for school staff, parents provide lessons for all homeroom teachers, monthly report on any use to the Mayor’s
and partners to collaborate are leading to while students at Civic Center Secondary Office.
greater outcomes for students….” School get raffle tickets for being on time According to district officials, the
and for positive behavior in class. school climate reforms will go into effect
in Spring 2015.
8 | URBAN EDUCATOR
MARCH 2015 INSIDE THE COUNCIL
School District in Orlando Riding Wave of Success
By all measures of success, 2014 was Minority Leadership Scholars program,
a good year for Orange County Public where young students of color meet after
Schools in Orlando, Fla. The district be- school and receive academic and social
came the first co-winner of the prestigious support from adult male mentors in the
Broad Prize for Urban Education, along business world. The district is also embark-
with Georgia’s Gwinnett County Public ing on plans to send older students into el-
Schools. As a co-winner of the 2014 award, ementary schools to provide the same kind
the district received $500,000 in college of support for third-grade boys of color.
scholarships for its high school seniors. This concept models the Males of Color
The 191,942-student school district also initiative established by the Council of the
Council PSAs Air won the confidence of voters, who in Au- Great City Schools, meeting the criteria of
gust, passed a renewal of a half-cent sales President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper”
At Daytona 500 tax worth approximately $2.1 billion. The Initiative.
funds will help the school system contin- The school system’s state-of-the-art
ue its building program with 59 schools digital tech centers recently received a
More than a million race-car fans scheduled for renovation or replacement in boost when Florida Gov. Rick Scott an-
viewed the Council of the Great the next decade. nounced plans to fund $20 million for
City Schools’ latest public service an- And three months later, in November, student scholarships at the state’s technical
nouncements on the Common Core citizens overwhelmingly approved the re- centers. He made this announcement while
State Standards at the recent Daytona newal of a one-mill property tax estimated touring the district’s Orlando Tech.
500, NASCAR’s most prestigious to raise approximately $429 million, which The district is also continuing its ef-
motor race. will help the school system retain highly forts to make Advanced Placement (AP)
Two 30-second spots aired mul- qualified teachers and preserve arts, athlet- courses open to academically prepared stu-
tiple times on a jumbo-tron during ics and academic programs. dents. Last year, the district was named to
the Feb. 20-22 event at the Daytona the College Board’s 5th Annual AP District
International Speedway in Daytona Continuing the Success Honor Roll in 2014 by posting significant
Beach, Fla. gains in AP class enrollment.
The Council in January launched So what’s next for the district in 2015? “We want to continue leading our stu-
its second PSA campaign to increase In an effort to close the achievement gap, dents to success with our excellent, dedi-
public awareness and engagement of two years ago Orange County Schools Su- cated teachers and principals, and an out-
the Common Core State Standards, perintendent Barbara Jenkins created the standing central office leadership team,”
especially around new assessments to district’s Minority Achievement Office. said Orange Schools Superintendent Jen-
help students prepare for college and One of the office’s newest initiatives is its kins.
career success.
Two Common Core PSAs – one
on English language arts and the oth-
er on mathematics -- have been devel-
oped for television and radio, and in
English and Spanish, with a compan-
ion three-minute video.
The Council’s first Common Core
PSA, rolled out in December 2012,
won two prestigious Telly Awards and
ranked high in the Nielsen Media Re-
search rankings among national pub-
lic service announcements.
The PSAs and three-minute videos
are available on the Council’s web site
at www.cgcs.org.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, left, listens as Orange County Schools Superintendent Barbara Jenkins
discuss the importance of the district’s technical centers.
URBAN EDUCATOR | 9
LEGISLATIVE COLUMN MARCH 2015
ESEA Off and Running
By Jeff Simering, Director of Legislation
The U.S. House of Representatives has would be be repealed in H.R. 5, allowing funds
under consideration a new Elementary generated by poor students to be used to benefit
and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) others.
reauthorization bill -- H.R. 5, The Student
Success Act. After three days of debate on Additionally, H.R. 5 freezes ESEA program
the House floor without bipartisan support, funding for the remainder of the decade and
further action has been postponed as of the beyond. And, the formula grant funding that
beginning of March. In the meantime, the remains would be diverted, in part, to States to
Senate continues its bipartisan negotiations at support a 150 percent increase in the State Title
the committee level. And even though other I set-aside.
reauthorization efforts have failed in the 110th,
112th and 113th Congresses, the outlook for a Finally, the House bill eliminates the
reauthorization in the 114th Congress appears long-standing ESEA maintenance of effort
better -- though clearly far from certain. requirement for districts and states. Without
this essential fiscal protection, states could cut their own
Nonetheless, the Council of the Great City Schools has state education expenditures and not suffer a reduction in
opposed the new House ESEA bill. While the organization federal funds as in current law. Under this provision, ESEA
acknowledges efforts to fix many of the flaws in No Child dollars could become an offset against reductions in state
Left Behind (NCLB) and roll back unproductive federal aid without providing the additional benefits intended in
requirements, the House bill swings the pendulum too far the original Act.
in the opposite direction. H.R. 5 undercuts the purposes,
benefits, funding, and integrity of the main ESEA While the Senate Education Committee continues
programs for disadvantaged students, their schools, and bipartisan negotiations on its ESEA reauthorization bill,
their communities. In fact, the fundamental financial the panel’s ESEA Discussion Draft starts with all the
infrastructure of this landmark law is so diminished that unacceptable fiscal provisions that are under consideration
attention to key ESEA policy issues that need fixing has in the House. This includes Title I portability, the repeal
been sidetracked. of the schoolwide poverty threshold, a six-year freeze
on ESEA funding, an increased Title I State set-aside,
The House bill also erodes the essential targeting of and the elimination of the ESEA maintenance of effort
funds under the so-called “portability” provision. Under this requirement. Hopefully, the bipartisan process can make
option, districts with high-concentrations of poverty could substantial revisions to these extremely troubling provisions.
have their “weighted” Title I allocations redistributed by
their State to school districts with lesser or minimal poverty. In fairness, it is easy to criticize a partisan bill that was
Thereafter, school districts would be required to direct Title fast-tracked in the House, but it should be noted that
I funds to any school with even one low-income student. an overwhelming bipartisan process with strong White
House support created the now widely disparaged NCLB
The result would be a two-step dilution of Title I funding Act. Bipartisan bills may readily address the interests of
for high-poverty communities – first from the State to the Congress and the Administration, while being divorced
school district level and second from the school district to from the needs and operational realities of the nation’s
any school with one or more poor students. In effect, there diverse schools, communities, and children.
no longer would be Title I schools as we know them, and
former Title I schools would have significantly less Title The nation needs a better and more workable ESEA bill,
I funding than before. Moreover, the 40 percent poverty but at this point, neither the House nor Senate has produced
threshold for using Title I funds for schoolwide activities an acceptable product.
10 10
10
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EDUCATOR
EDUCATOR
EDUCATORMARCH 2015 INSIDE THE COUNCIL
L.A. School Board
Approves Aid
To Students at Risk
Of Deportation
In Los Angeles, almost 3,000 unac-
companied youth who fled from dangers
they faced in El Salvador, Honduras and
Guatemala last year are unrepresented in
court cases on the Los Angeles Immigra-
tion Court docket.
In a potentially precedent-setting mea-
sure for urban school districts nationwide,
the Los Angeles Unified School District
Board of Education recently approved a
plan to allow attorneys employed by the
district to accept a limited number of de-
portation cases, without charge, involving
Council Testifies on Capitol Hill unaccompanied children who live within
the school system’s boundaries.
Executive Director Michael Casserly of the Council of the Great City Schools The pro-bono work will be handled by
testifies Feb. 5 at a forum on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary 10 district lawyers working in concert with
Education Act (ESEA), hosted by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-Va.), ranking nonprofit organizations that specialize in
minority member of the House Education and Workforce Committee. “The chal- immigration law.
lenge … facing the Committee is to design an ESEA reauthorization that is an The move furthers the nation’s second
improvement for schools and students over current law with their accompanying largest school district’s mission to keep
flexibility waivers,” Casserly concluded in his remarks. “Merely delegating author- students in school.
ity to the states and hoping for the best is not a supportable approach.” (Photo “LAUSD continues to lead by example,”
credit: Michael Campbell) said Los Angeles board member Mónica
García. “Our students faced with circum-
stances beyond their control can now focus
First-Ever Student to Serve on Minneapolis in the classroom instead of the courtroom.”
The initiative is slated to begin this
School Board spring.
The Los Angeles school district is not
the only school system in California offer-
Noah Branch, Pat- government leadership to the next level. ing assistance to unaccompanied minors.
rick Henry High Branch will serve as a non-voting mem- The San Francisco Unified School Dis-
School sophomore, has ber of the school board during monthly trict and the Oakland Unified School Dis-
impressed his peers and meetings. The goal of his new position is trict offer newcomer programs that special-
Minneapolis Public to be the voice of student issues and work ize in helping recent immigrant students
Schools leaders with his with the school board to improve the qual- make the transition to school in the United
self-professed critical ity of the district through the development States.
and conscious view of of education policies and programs. The San Francisco School Board ap-
Noah Branch the world and passion Currently, Branch is actively involved in proved a resolution committing that it will
to address injustices. Minneapolis schools City Wide Student dedicate resources toward both the short-
Selected as the first-ever student repre- Government and The Movement, Patrick and long-term needs of unaccompanied
sentative to join Minneapolis Board of Ed- Henry’s student council.
ucation, Branch is ready to take his student L.A. School Board continued on page 12
URBAN
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Council of the Great City Schools
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Atlanta Award continued from page 6
in how well the city’s public schools are The Council convenes a panel composed Great City Grads
managing their resources. Few city school of respected senior financial executives
systems can match Atlanta on this front.” from major school systems across the na-
To receive the Award for Excellence in tion to conduct the review process, which
Financial Management, an urban school includes an assessment of the district’s
district must demonstrate it complies with management practices, an extensive review
a series of management practices that rep- of documents, and a lengthy site visit.
resent the highest standards in financial
accountability and control in nine catego-
ries: general financial management, inter-
nal controls, budget, strategic planning and
L.A. School Board continued from page 11
management, internal and external finan-
cial auditing, capital asset management, immigrant children enrolling in the dis-
debt management, risk management and trict’s schools.
purchasing. The district has hired new teachers and
established professional development for
newcomer teachers and support staff.
Denver Teacher continued from page 6 In addition, the school system has hired
a social worker to coordinate legal and so-
dents. This program is not a one-size-fits- cial services for unaccompanied immigrant A. Philip Randolph
all and is unique to each selected school. children.
“I greatly appreciate the innovative The Oakland school system has hired Labor Leader and Social Activist
work of our teachers and school leaders,” an unaccompanied minor support services
said Denver Schools Superintendent Tom consultant and created a newcomer task
1907 Graduate
Boasberg, “which is positively changing force to make recommendations for a long- Cookman Institute
our schools and is providing tremendous term strategic plan for newcomer support.
leadership opportunities within the teach- The district is also using grant money to Duval County Public Schools
ing profession.” pay for new support positions and services (Jacksonville, FL)
for unaccompanied minors.You can also read
