Badly Written Newsday Article Generates Response

[originally transmitted to Elwood Community Network on 11/13]

A few days ago there was an article in Newsday regarding the "needs improvement" list, compiled by the State Education Department related to the requirements of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Law. The article noted that in 2010 there were 28 LI public schools on the list, but in 2011 that total had jumped to 106, and the article further noted that "The new additions extend to such well-regarded school systems as Elwood, Half Hollow Hills, Massapequa, Oceanside, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Smithtown and West Islip."

While the article mentions some of the factors which could cause the SED to identify a particular school, in a particular district, it does not identify the reason why each of these "well-regarded school systems" in Nassau and Suffolk had one school, or in the case of only Oceanside and Smithtown two schools, added to the list.

The Newsday article also does not mention that each of the added schools of the "well-regarded school systems" were added in "Status 1;" you see, there are three Status designations, and a separate chart, published in the same edition of Newsday (but buried 40 pages later), did give the breakdown of the Status of any school, in any district, and, in a box on the side, this chart also gave the definition for each Status designation, as follows:

1 BASIC, in which "one student group, most commonly students in special education, did not meet academic targets."

2 FOCUSED, which "indicates that more than one student group fell short."

3 COMPREHENSIVE, which "indicates that all student groups fell short."

The Newsday article also failed to point out, although the accompanying chart made this clear, that none of these "well-regarded school systems" have any comprehensive deficiency causing any of them to be added to the list of 8 districts in Nassau, and 9 districts in Suffolk, which are on the State's "District List;" indeed, the one and only district of the eight districts in the Town of Huntington on that list is the Huntington School District.

So, once again, Newsday does a shoddy job of reporting, and then provides a useful chart but buries it forty pages in back of the deficient article.

Now, that has not stopped at least one community member from already trying to use the article for political purposes related to the Board of Education.

Well, we've come to expect trash talk from some people, but not everyone takes the time to actually analyze what Newsday is reporting in any story, and they could be duped by potential malicious comments twisting the facts for self-serving purposes.

Of greater interest to me was the authoritative statement posted to our District's website on Friday, and that is pasted, in full, below:

[begin pasted text]

District Responds to State Education Department Report

In a report released on November 10 by the New York State Education Department, the Elwood Union Free School District was informed that James H. Boyd Intermediate School was identified as a “School in Need of Improvement.” This designation was based on the special education subgroup not achieving adequate yearly progress, as determined by the new state scoring system.

It is important to note that the District, as a whole, was reported as being in “Good Standing.” As always, the Elwood Board of Education and administration remain committed to improving academic achievement among all subgroups of our student population. We will continue to work together to ensure that our students are provided with the programs and services needed to meet not only state benchmarks, but the high standards set forth by the Elwood community.

[end pasted text]

Therefore, (a) we have one school, Boyd, which (b) has been identified by SED based on one set of scores for Special Education students (Note: as a general statement, Special Education students often have overall abilities and disabilities which can vary dramatically from year to year as some move in and others move out), and (c) has been further affected by changes made by the State in its own measurements; in other words, this is a very narrow factor for our own District, and you have to therefore wonder about the other Districts in the "well-regarded school systems" grouping

As the parents of an autistic son, now 22, my wife and I have a lifetime of experience in Special Education issues, and my wife knows more about the breadth of these disabilities because she served, for over ten years, as a very active volunteer Parent Member in CSE's and CPSE's for our District.

It would be nice to see Newsday actually do some true journalism on the issue of Special Education and its impact on various districts, as well as on parents.

By the way, Half Hollow Hills, historically, has one of the best Special Education programs in Suffolk County, and Elwood began improving with its own population about fourteen years ago. It would be interesting to know how many of the Districts got dinged for only Special Education measurements, and how many for deficiencies in their general education populations.

But, I guess I won't hold my breath waiting for such good journalism out of Newsday.

Thinking Of The Future, Or Preferring To Be Wed To The Past

[originally transmitted to Elwood Community Network on 10/28]

There was an excellent article in the Financial Times, a newspaper known to anyone in either the business or academic communities involved in international markets and global understanding.

The subject was the increase in teaching of Mandarin Chinese (which is the predominant dialect of the many in China, and the official state language) in Europe and the United States. Not many Americans are unaware of the increasing economic power of China, and there are always advantages in being fluent, or at least conversant, in the power languages of the future.

One paragraph of the author's story was particularly telling about our country:

"In 1997, about one in 300 US elementary schools taught Mandarin; by 2008 the figure was close to one in 30, according to the latest statistics compiled by the Center for Applied Linguistics. The rise is reflected in the number of students sitting SAT II standardised tests, up 50 per cent since 2001; Advanced Placement programmes run by the College Board have grown by more than 2.5 times."

Whenever you think of doing the best for not only your kids, but for that generation and the generations to come, try to envision what will give them -- and our nation -- the greatest advantage in the future.

Try not to be mentally mired in the past, or somehow imagine that "an education" is "the right education."

Our kids and our grandkids will benefit most from a geopolitical understanding, from a deep knowledge of history and economics, from a mastery of intensive math and science subjects, and from the ability to speak Mandarin Chinese and other emerging languages of "the next generation."

There is a time to recognize that more traditional European languages, while good to know, and while comfortable to some parents because that was what they studied or what their own parents or grandparents spoke, are not truly necessary and should only be an ancillary experience after learning Mandarin Chinese.

Time is not on our side, and state education departments are frequently uninspired and often mentally stagnant.

The entire article has more information about European attitudes on the matter as well as the challenges in establishing the teaching network. You can read this article on the Financial Times website; you do need to register, but is free:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/73c7e4c8-e527-11e0-bdb8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1c2a6YC1S

Newsday Doesn't Get it Complete, or Right, Again

[originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 9/12]

Last week there was a story in Newsday about the Elwood School District and its need to reduce its Kindergarten program from Full-Day to Half-Day due to fiscal constraints caused primarily by massive reductions in State aid.

Since the author of that article had obviously not done very much research, and had elected to simply talk to the first three people she found outside Harley willing to comment and made no more of an effort to seek a District or BOE comment than a single phone call, I thought it appropriate to set the record straight by communicating directly with the Newsday reporter.

The full text of my communication is pasted below.

Jerry Hannon

......................................

[begin pasted text]

As a long-time member of both the Audit Committee as well as the Citizens Finance/Budget Advisory Committee of the Elwood School District, and as a former President of the Elwood PTA Council, I appreciate media coverage of our small but very substantive school district.

Unfortunately, the perspective you received from three district residents did not provide a proper understanding of what proved to be a very complex issue.

You did make clear that you tried to get a comment from the district Superintendent, and were unable to do so before your deadline, but I would suggest that in the future you also try to reach either the President of the Board of Education, Joe Fusaro, or the Vice President, Dan Ciccone; their respective E-mail addresses are: <<fusaroj631@aol.com>>, and <<dtciccone@optonline.net>>.

From my own personal perspective, I would note the following:

(1) The budget setting process for the 2011/12 school year was the most challenging during my eleven years in this school district. Most notably, the massive cuts in aid by NY State, combined with the continuing service mandates imposed by the State, as well as the escalation of such cost factors as pension contributions mandated by the State, and exacerbated by ongoing cost structure constraints imposed by labor contracts agreed to by school districts during better economic times, forced this district -- and others -- to make major cuts.

(2) This is a K through 12 district, and not a K through 2 district -- nor, for an even worse perspective, a K-alone district. Nobody likes to see cuts affecting their child, and that is understandable, but 2011/12 was definitely a time for Shared Sacrifice, and it would be irrational to imagine that Kindergarten could not also be affected by budget cuts, when students in so many other grades, as well as taxpayers, had to make sacrifices as well.

(3) Knowing that the economic necessity of reducing from our Full-Time Kindergarten program, which was instituted only two years ago in Elwood when the State's aid contributions permitted it, the Board of Education came up with a very creative plan to enhance what would become the Kindergarten Half-Day Program with additional learning experiences. That was a plan whose details would be best addressed by the Board, but it is partially addressed in the pasted messages below; what I can tell you is that it would have required the consent of the local teachers union, Elwood Teachers Alliance, and I do note with considerable dismay that neither of the two residents which expressed to you their concern about the program cuts spoke about this plan, and about why it was never implemented. Perhaps one or both were unaware of the refusal by the union to cooperate, or perhaps one or both choose to avoid confronting the obdurate union officials about why they would not place the children in Kindergarten ahead of their own parochial self-interest.

Economic challenges are now a reality for school districts, and it does not appear that the budget-setting process for the 2012/13 school year will be any better, and it may well continue for years into the future.

Until the State increases aid meaningfully, and until the State reduces mandate costs, and until the few remaining unions -- largely teachers unions on Long Island -- which have not yet indicated a willingness to join in sharing the sacrifices, of students and taxpayers, districts like Elwood will be faced with burdensome challenges that will require Shared Sacrifice across the thirteen grade levels of each district.

Kindergarten can not be made exempt from such Shared Sacrifice, yet teachers unions, such as Elwood's, could help to reduce the level of sacrifice required by the students if they focused upon the totality of education rather than upon their own economic interests.

I invite you to consider the community commentaries -- pasted below -- which I transmitted to two E-mail distribution lists on July 3rd, and later posted on the blog Elwood Illuminations <<http://elwoodilluminations.blogspot.com>> where you will also find other school district and education-related commentaries.

You will also find my abbreviated bio on the home page of Elwood Illuminations.

While I realize it is not always possible to completely research a story, you should have the benefit of a comprehensive perspective on this and other issues related to the Elwood School District.

Regards, Jerry Hannon

Agreed, Good Idea, But Bad Design By NY State

[originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 10/10]

At Elwood's BOE Work Session on Oct 6th, we finally learned some specifics about what the State has done in implementing the teacher performance appraisal process. Like many things in life, specifics trump generalities any day of the week.

Thanks to some candid descriptions by the Superintendent of Schools, and some useful dialogue among trustees as well as some residents, we now know what NY State has done, and we also now know that what the State has done seems to have been done "more to us rather than for us."

There was general agreement during this discussion that education in New York would benefit from an enhanced teacher performance appraisal process, but the State seems to have created not only a new unfunded mandate in creating their version, but they also seemed to have created a highly flawed system which could create unintended consequences as well as increase costs dramatically.

First of all, the data which would be required to be gathered, managed, and submitted to the State by each school district, in addition to what is presently submitted, would require a dedication of district resources that will not be paid for by the State.

Second, the use of State student assessment data as 20% of the performance appraisal calculation will place, perhaps in unintended ways, an increased burden upon students themselves, whose scores on such specific tests will now be part of a process which could determine which teachers will subsequently be subject to dismissal if that teacher's overall score is
below a certain level for a specified period of time.

Third, the State has set itself up, and in so doing has set school districts up, for what would seem to be a perpetuated challenge process whereby an unhappy teacher, and/or union representatives, could delay any appropriate significant action by a school district for years longer (and it seems beyond definition at this point) than the theoretical appraisal process would allow. As the old line goes, justice delayed is justice denied.

Fourth, the State's new process would even seem to make it more difficult for school districts to determine the suitability of one of the very, very few areas of a school district's current ability to manage quality control among its teaching staff, namely, with probationary teachers. Right now a district has discretion with this class of new hires, but it seems that the new State structure could even make a district subject to delaying tactics and possibly challenges from new hires.

The reaction of trustees and residents alike indicated that what the State has designed is the wrong thing for us and other districts.

As BOE Vice President Dan Ciccone put it, "Do we need accountability, absolutely. Do we need appraisals, absolutely. But this is not what we need."

One resident agreed and noted that this State design would put too much burden on the students, as well as the staff managing all of the data.

Another resident noted that many employers, including his company, use a 360 degree review. As background, that is one which basically gathers reviews of one staff member by (a) their customers (in this case it would be parents), and (b) by their peers (in this case it would be other teachers), and (c) by their superiors (in this case it would be the building principal and central office administrators).

Yet another resident indicated that everyone is being held accountable at their own jobs, but that school districts definitely need to get rid of unfunded mandates.

To all of the above, I would say "Amen."

For me, Albany long ago became a four letter word, but it seems to be getting worse rather than better.

As additional background for this issue, as well as to provide a review of the foundation-setting which Elwood had for this evolving State action, I have reprinted an excerpt from my community commentary, titled "Important Presentation on Staff Performance Evaluation Process," which was published on 12/10/10:

"...there were some significant “compromises” by the State Education Department as a result of pressure from the New York State United Teachers, which is the 600,000 member union in NY State....Dr. Friedman reminded everyone that “the devil is in the details,” and that these changes need a great deal of clarification. He also reminded us that when we consider measurements of various aspects of performance that can and should be used to determine staff value, that “not everything that can be counted, counts, and not everything that counts, can be counted.”

Anyone who would like a copy of that commentary, with its attached early-stages analysis done in November of 2010 by Ron Friedman, should simply send me an E-mail with that request.

Newsday Letters - One Insightful, One Angry

[originally transmitted on 9/2 to Elwood Community Network]

In today's Newsday, on page A35, there are two letters written in response to an Op-Ed published on Aug 27th which was authored by an obviously dedicated Lynbrook teacher, regarding how he spent his summer vacation.

If you would like to read Mike Imondi's original Op-Ed, you can access it on the Newsday website:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/expressway-a-teacher-s-lazy-summer-1.3124601

Additionally, if you would like to read the somewhat angry response by Peter Haynes of Bayport, which has many elements of truth to consider, you may read that on a different Newsday web page:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/letters/letters-teachers-and-their-time-off-1.3138796

But, I feel that the following letter (also found on the immediately-above web page citation), from a former member of the BOE of Port Washington, provides a more comprehensive perspective which challenges not only the absurd notion of some people that "all teachers are lazy whiners", but also the absurd notion that "all teachers are equal, and all teachers try really hard, and all teachers deserve the same compensation."

That latter attitude merely depresses the prospects for the very best teachers while protecting all but the very worst teachers, as if each deserves nothing more, or nothing less, than the others.

Jerry Hannon

.............................................................................................

Letters: Teachers and their time off

Published: September 1, 2011 7:37 PM

The Expressway essay by teacher Mike Imondi ["A teacher's 'lazy' summer," Aug. 27] rankled me. It's not that I haven't seen dedicated public schoolteachers like his self-description. I have. We had three daughters go through the public school system with good results and many dedicated teachers.

One problem is that there aren't more such teachers, especially for the middle to struggling students. In my district, teacher absenteeism is very high (7 percent). High absenteeism adds needless expense and hurts students' education. Absenteeism is a better measure of dedication than the amusing testimony of a hardworking English teacher.

English and social studies teachers may take more work home than other teachers, but those who don't take work home (or lack dedication) are paid the same as those who do.

A related problem is that the system does not support responsible teacher behavior. Unions demand short hours. That hurts students and makes the system unaffordable. Most successful education reforms include more contact time between teachers and students, more days and more hours per day. It's especially important for students with fewer resources at home to have more time in a school's constructive environment.

I prize the instances when I hear from teachers who criticize the system to stand up for the students, but they are rare because both administrators and unions slam courageous whistle-blowers. If Imondi's piece were a call to responsibility for our less professional teachers, union leaders and administrators, it would have been far more valuable. Students do not need another self-serving defense of the status quo.

Joseph Mirzoeff, Port Washington

[Newsday] Editor's note: The writer was a member of the Port Washington Board of Education from 1995 to 1998.

Another Corporate Executive Proclaims "Enough, Already"

[originally transmitted on 9/2 to Elwood Community Network]

The logjam in Congress, which seems focused more upon the interests of a political party rather than the American people, has caused another corporate CEO to shout "Enough, Already."

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote the following, which was also E-mailed to all those with a Starbucks account:

.........................................................
{Begin Text}

September 2011

Dear Starbucks Friend and Fellow Citizen:

I love our country. And I am a beneficiary of the promise of America. But today, I am very concerned that at times I do not recognize the America that I love.

Like so many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failure of leadership in Washington. And also like you, I am frustrated by our political leaders' steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty. Americans can't find jobs. Small businesses can't get credit. And the fracturing of consumer confidence continues.

We are better than this.

Three weeks ago, I asked fellow business leaders to join me in urging the President and the Congress to put an end to partisan gridlock and, in its place, to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. More than 100 business leaders representing American companies - large and small - joined me in signing a two-part pledge:

First, to withhold political campaign contributions until a transparent, comprehensive, bipartisan debt-and-deficit package is reached that honestly, and fairly, sets America on a path to long-term financial health and security. Second, to do all we can to break the cycle of economic uncertainty that grips our country by committing to accelerate investment in jobs and hiring.

In the weeks since then, I have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt stories of Americans from across the country, sharing their anguish over losing hope in the strongest and most galvanizing force of all - the American Dream. Some feel they have no voice. Others feel they no longer matter. And many feel they have been left behind.

We cannot let this stand.

Please join other concerned Americans and me on a national call-in conversation on Tuesday September 6th hosted by "No Labels," a nonpartisan organization dedicated to fostering cooperative and more effective government. To learn more about the forum and the pledges, visit www.upwardspiral2011.org

America is at a fragile and critical moment in its history. We must restore hope in the American Dream. We must celebrate all that America stands for around the world. And while our Founding Fathers recognized the constructive value of political debate, we must send the message to today's elected officials in a civil, respectful voice they hear and understand, that the time to put citizenship ahead of partisanship is now.

Yours is the voice that can help ignite the contagious upward spiral of confidence that our country desperately needs.

With great respect,



chief executive officer, Starbucks Coffee Company

{End Text}
.................................................................

I feel that Mr. Schultz will strike a responsive cord with most citizens of this country, whether Republican or Democrat or independent.

Those who speak only from the right wing, and those who speak only from the left wing, have a lot to answer for already.

The best traditions of this country have come from the broad center, but Republican moderates and Democratic moderates are increasingly berated by the extremist wings of their own parties and the result is a total logjam which has made it impossible for the basically centrist views of the President to progress and succeed.

Yes, those who have hated Barak Obama from the beginning will never accede to a moderate approach, just as those who have wanted a left wing President -- and are furious at the more moderate approach of Mr. Obama -- will never accept his basically centrist views. But, whatever your own views of his presidency, and there is much to be disappointed in just as there is much to applaud, you surely cannot countenance the obstructionism in Congress which has further deteriorated the economy as well as prevented our historical approach as Americans of putting Country before Party.

Mr. Schultz speaks wisdom for those whose eyes and ears and minds are actually open.

Jerry Hannon

Washington Post's "Challenge Index" - What Does It Really Mean?

The Washington Post has published an update to their annual “Challenge Index”, which they describe as a measure of a high school’s willingness to challenge its students.

In the preamble to their results, the Post described their methodology as follows: “The formula is simple: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors. While not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the rating can reveal the level of a high school’s commitment to preparing average students for college.”

They went on to describe two additional measures which the Post reveals in their summary of statistics for the high schools covered by their survey: “E & E is the percent of all seniors who had at least one passing grade on an AP or IB exam. Subs lunch is the percent of all students designated low income.” It appears that neither of these two categories of information are used in their Challenge Index calculations, so you may simply think of them as informational data points.

This is a survey which was originally produced annually by Newsweek magazine, which was sold by the Washington Post in 2010, with the Post obviously retaining this survey which seems to generate interest among some parents. To my mind, an index which is determined by a number of tests taken, without any regard for the actual grades obtained by the students taking such tests, is of very little value indeed.

Nevertheless, it may be a good indicator that a particular high school might be taking a much-too-exclusive attitude about who may take such tests, or even an attitude that it fails to sufficiently challenge the students in that high school.

However, if someone were to focus solely upon the Washington Post’s “Challenge Index”, without simultaneously paying careful attention to the NY State assessments (in the case of schools within this state) of college readiness, as determined by actual scores on NY State Regents exams in certain categories, they could obtain a very misguided sense of the value of one high school versus another.

As an example of this, I would invite readers to refer to a community commentary which provided analysis of the State assessments, as revealed in Newsday this past June, and which may be viewed on the following web page:
http://elwoodilluminations.blogspot.com/2011/06/sed-survey-shows-elwood-did-very-well.html

There was a subsequent article in the NY Times, which provided greater insight of the State process and of the meaningfulness of these assessments for John Glenn HS, and you may refer to the related community commentary on this web page:
http://elwoodilluminations.blogspot.com/2011/06/ny-times-article-offers-greater-insight.html

Now, to illustrate the somewhat mythological “value” of the Washington Post “Challenge Index”, contrast the Challenge Index results for Cold Spring Harbor HS, followed by the results of most of the other high schools in the Town of Huntington, with that of John Glenn HS, as seen in the chart below.

Then, contrast the results of the State assessments based upon actual grades achieved, rather than the number of tests taken without regard to scores achieved (i.e., the Washington Post “Challenge Index”).

You will discover that John Glenn’s Class of 2010 had the second best NY State key Regents scores among the nine high schools in the eight school districts in the Town of Huntington.

As a further analytical note, while I initially wondered why the E & E rate of Glenn was so low, in contrast with how well we did on the State’s assessments (again, based on actual scores on NY State Regents), it finally dawned on my slow mind that any school with a low percentage of its students taking these AP/IB/other college level courses (such as Glenn, in comparison to its peers), is predestined to have a low E & E score which is based, as the Post stated and as I cited in the third paragraph of this commentary, on “...the percent of all seniors who had at least one passing grade on an AP or IB exam.”

That was my “Ah-Ha” moment of the evening.

Now, for the dubious honors, and dubious value, of the Washington Post’s “Challenge Index” for the Class of 2010:

HS_____ Index ____Rank-NE ___Rank-National __E & E ___ Sub. Lunch.

Cold S H _4.085 ____ 17 ________117 __________74.50 ___ 0.00

Harborf. _ 3.258 ____36 ________244 __________57.70 ___6.00

HHH-W _2.542 _____75 ________478 __________46.00 ___11.00

HHH-E _2.457 _____88 ________533 __________44.40 ___ 10.00

Commack _2.174 ____ 115 _______694 __________40.00 ___ 3.00

Hunting. _2.104 ____125 ________750 __________34.40 ____32.00

Northp. _ 2.088 ____131 ________ 765 __________52.10 _____6.00

Glenn ___1.632 _____199 _______1,181 _________34.00 _____14.00

Whitman _1.583 ____212 ________1,240 _________37.40 _____36.00

Having dismissed the “Challenge Index” as a meaningful assessment of quality, there is nevertheless one possible application which can be used as a Kaizen Moment, or Continuous Improvement Opportunity, for the administrative management of John Glenn HS: How about challenging the students to try more demanding courses, as another way of improving their overall performance, and, particularly, their overall opportunities to excel in their post-secondary education endeavors?