Turning high-poverty schools into high performing school part 1

William H. Parrett and Kathleen M. Budge's book, Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools, had me think about what specific steps we can and do enact to support our children living in poverty. I just finished Ed Week's report that identified 40% of American children as living in poverty. Many communities have far higher numbers than that. The one I work in has a 65% rate.

Their chart on pages 160-1 details practices that address the needs of underachieving students living in poverty. I have reproduced the first two columns and added my thought in the third.

Effective  practice	Examples	My world
Create a bond between students and school Foster a sense of belonging	Class meetings Advisories Athletics and clubs	Restorative justice circles work toward community building. In many places clubs and sports are only activities for a few. The participators are involved, but large swaths of the student body are not. Bussing, home commitments, and expense are impediments for many
Teach, model and provide experiences that develop creative and critical thinking skills	Higher order questions Socratic seminars Multidisciplinary units	In NY our regents exams (graduation requirements) are full of application level questions so the good teachers use them when they teach these courses, but the students resist them and perform poorly. Multidisciplinary units are decreasingly common as students go up the grades as subjects become increasingly siloed. This is good teaching, but often many challenges abound.
Provide opportunities to build short-term working memory	Mnemonic devices Multisensory instruction	We just finished our semester with midterms last week. In a community circle I threw out the question- hony w many students studied outside of school. I received many curious glances as only two students in the group of 35 said yes. They don’t see the need or know how. These kids would bomb college if they went now. We need to generate knowledge of how to do it and motivation for why to do it.
Provide specific opportunities for the development of social skills.	Cooperative learning Peer tutoring mentoring	The mother of a child of a child with ASD in me says how about direct instruction. My child and others like him need direct  support in how to function in society. SEL (social emotional learning) is all the rage now. I do not understand why more schools do not have more programs. Restorative justice processes involve teaching these skills as do PBIS focused programs. English class however offers a fantastic opportunity to discuss social skills through literature- no student or specific event is the target so it is less charged and they are more cold when they examine behavior and  use perspective.
Access and build on prior knowledge to expand knowledge	Brainstorming, Semantic mapping Autobiographical activities Advance organizers	I go back to my pre-service instruction when we visit an urban school. We were going to work in the classrooms, but first had an intro to the building by the principal. She lived 45 minutes away in a rural community. She introduced the idea that some of her students had never seen stars. She would bring kids to her home to see farm animals, stars and campfires. Teachers assume kids know these ideas, and many do, but some do not. Brainstorming alone does not build on prior knowledge, we need to find ways to link where we are going to their lives. Some teachers I have worked with are geniuses at this. KWL charts capitalize on this idea. Nonfiction videos, field trips and picture books- even for our high school kids- help build the knowledge we need for academic success.
Mediate and scaffold learning experiences	Reciprocal teaching Think alouds Visual organizers Guided instruction	In  some ways this is so strange that it needs to be said. Marie Clay’s direct instruction could be highlighted here. These ideas have been around for decades, we just rename them and send them out again.
Personalize based upon diverse learning needs	Learning styles, multiple intelligences Differentiated instruction RTI	The research does not really support the first two as ways to improve achievement. Differentiated instruction is useful, but requires time to implement. We run into resource challenges- time, staff and expertise- to do these things well. Personalized learning is a current catch phrase. Much of the research around it does not support its use. This is a feel good.
Accelerate and enrich rather than remediate	Talent development College prep for all Arts education	As a parent of a gifted child, this one concerns me. She specifically selected some of her high school classes because the students in them would be decent at playing school and not interfere with the activities of the classroom. Escalante was able to get his kids to pass calculus not just because of the work he did in class, but because they stayed after, came in late and attended on Saturday. Unfortunately many places and people cannot support this level of intensity. In the rural district I work in, the transportation becomes a real impediment. How do we support kids who need to be home to work on the farm chores or child care duties? Scaffolding for success in important, but the many impediments need to be identified and countered.
Actively engage students in learning experiences for authentic, meaningful purposes	Project based learning, authentic assessment	This works better in some areas than others. skillful guiding of a class working on projects to learn both the required content for the state tests art the end of the year and authentic experiences is challenging. Lecture is efficient delivery of instruction. Projects take time. Finding ways to build in authentic choice is challenging for secondary staff trying to prepare for final exams.
Connect physical activity, exercise and motor development to learning	PE Sensory motor labs	Some research suggests that daily activity increases achievement independent of anything else. Other research suggests that for kids with ADHD, daily aerobic activity can help them control their bodies at least as well as medication can. Our kids spend too long sitting and staring at screens. They need to get up, rev up their engines and get the blood to flow to their brains. Boys in particular need exercise and movement embedded in their school day. Just about all kids would benefit from daily exercise.
Provide learning experiences that help students envision their future and foster hope	Service learning Community-based internships mentoring	While these are good ideas, just witnessing them in the short-term does not allow students to see themselves differently. Parents who tell their kids what they have is what they’ll get are hard to counteract. This needs to be a movement in the community, not just school. The community needs to see their children as capable of great things. This has to start with families when they are young. Immigrants who come to this country want a better life for their kids. Our generational poor need that optimism as well.

To me it seems that we do many of these things on a daily basis, so why are we  not more successful. I think the answer to that question lies in the lack of systematic implementation and belief in our kids. If we can more deliberately use more of these ideas perhaps we can better meet the needs of our kids struggling with poverty.

Myths of poverty

The school I am currently working at has a poverty rate of 65%. It is, according to state demographics 87% white and rural. It is also, not unsurprisingly, underperforming. 29 % of the grades 3-8 students are proficient in ELA and 39% in math. It has an 87% graduation rate. Not a stellar school, but also not one of the worst in the state. Because they identify as a high poverty school, I began reading William H. Parrett and Kathleen M. Budge’s book, Turning High Poverty Schools into High Performing Schools.

Part of the beginning is a dispelling of poverty myths. I find it interesting because these ideas are so prevalent in our society today. I have taken the myths identified and looked at them through a more personal lens.

Myth- Poverty is an issue for people of color.

Where I work clearly demonstrates the problem with this idea. I, a white lady, grew up in poverty as the daughter of two college educated people in the suburbs. Poverty is clearly everywhere and affects all.

Myth- Government assistance gets people out of poverty.

My son has ASD. He is Medicaid and SSDI eligible. Consequently, he cannot have over $2000 in assets. He has a car he bought with back payments. When this car goes, how will he buy a new one? He cannot save money he might have left over at the end of the month. (Actually now with the ABLE accounts this is not strictly true, but for years it has been.) He uses his car to go to work (over 50 hours per week at minimum wage), which generates enough money that he receives no SSDI. We have put in place a system that encourages him to spend his entire income rather than save. When his car dies, how will he replace it and go to work? There are no buses where we live. The assistance is not helping him get out of poverty, it is helping maintain his poverty. Other people get caught in the I have to work, but do not earn enough to pay for childcare, so I do not work cycle. Our system consistently puts people in a no win cycle, rather than helping them out of the pit where they are.

Myth- People in poverty abuse drugs and alcohol at a higher rate than others.

Alcohol abuse is 10% higher in employed people than unemployed people. Prescription opioid abuse in higher in lower income brackets. Overall rates are the same; the drug of choice is different. (https://willingway.com/income-drug-alcohol-abuse/)

Myth- Poor people have a poor work ethic.

Again, my son is an excellent case in point. He works over 50 hours per week to earn a living: two part time jobs, neither of which provide any benefits. He rarely takes a day off. He has a good work ethic, just like many other working poor. Data suggests the working poor actually work more hours than their wealthier counterparts.

Myth- Education, which brings people out of poverty, is equally available.

If the fact that your zip code is a better determinant of your chance of academic success than anything else, nothing can persuade you. Schools in poorer areas tend to have higher staff turn over and  student absenteeism and lower access to health care. Our poorer students do not need an equal amount spent on them; they might need substantially more. In the town I grew up in (middle class suburb), graphing calculators were on the school supply list. In the school I work, they are in the math classrooms. Students do not have this tool to do homework outside of school the way they do in more affluent areas. The 20% staff turnover rate far exceeds the state average of 11%. When you constantly have an influx of new staff, results are not as good. I remember talking to students from a NYC school who talked about not having pencils or paper because neither the school nor the families could afford to provide them. For everyone who whines about not having a 1:1 device program (a program with highly variable results when looking at impact on achievement), think about those of us who struggle to lay our hands on devices to share between classes and those in other places who do not have wi-fi at all. All schools are not created equal.

 

Myth- Parents of students in poverty are uninvolved in education because they do not value it.

As a PTA leader, I have talked to many, many parents. They want a good education for their children. There are cultural groups that do not expect to have parent involvement in school- that is the purview of the teachers. Some parents had truly awful school experiences and cannot face the idea of going into a school. Many more, however, find the school schedule a challenge. If you work between 8 and 3, you are in direct conflict with school time. Banks finally caved on bank hours and are open late at least one afternoon and one weekend day per week. Imagine not being able to take a phone call. One of my son’s employers forbids cell phones on employee bodies during work hours. He cannot take a call or respond. During his breaks he can, but they are short and strictly regulated blocks of time. He is hourly. If he were to take off for something, he would not be paid. Many parents are in the same boat. Unpaid time means unpaid bills.

Few of my children’s teachers ever called after hours. Messages were often left for me to respond to at some point. Often I responded by email because that would be a way teachers could respond when they were able. Many teachers will email afterhours, but fewer will make that evening phone call. Although we think of high speed internet as ubiquitous, I have many families without it at their homes. Email is not a great way to communicate if you cannot retrieve the messages.

Many parents just do not know what role we expect them to play in educating their child. Do we want them to supervise homework, ensure it is correct and help the kids complete it? Do we want them to read to and with their kids every day? 14% of adults have a below basic literacy level. Many parents do not have the skills to support content area as kids approach high school. Do we want them to come in and share a party or special event or to volunteer at an activity? How are we facilitating that? One principal I knew about wanted parents to come in and volunteer but resisted providing a safe place for their belongs like coats and purses while in the building or convenient parking at the program. Do we allow them to park near the door they can use to enter the building or must they walk all around the building in the rain or sleet or snow to volunteer or attend a meeting? Do we offer things at various times to accommodate schedules? Do we have plans for transporting families to school for activities? Do we have plans for what to do with kids while parents are “involved?”  I worked in one school for students with significant disabilities. These kids could not be left alone, even if they were over 12. Most babysitters will not work with special needs populations, especially large teenage boys who need physical supports or interventions. How are they to come to the meeting or program? Parents of students living in poverty may not be able to afford child care for a meeting or school event. Are we going to look funny at my son who shouts at the end of a performance earlier announced to be about an hour, “Your time is up. You need to be done now.” even though he was thoroughly enjoying the activity? (True story) Do we put catches with things? If you come to open house and get your card stamped by your child’s classroom teacher you can have a free cookie, dinner, or raffle ticket. Is the notice sent out in a language that the parent understands? Just because the family speaks a different language at home does not mean they can read it fluently. 

We need to examine how we welcome parents and families, what our expectations are and what we do to communicate those expectations to our families. Otherwise, we are the ones with barriers to entrance. As the ones who want the cooperation, we need to make the most. A major point of the text is that each community must evaluate their needs profile. Problems in one area are not the problems of all geographies. With an open mind we need to identify our beliefs and how they support barriers so that we can tear down those walls.

How to fail at almost everything and still win big

Many people are familiar with Scott Adams' Dilbert cartoons. His nonfiction works cover business topics with the same humor as his cartoons. I listened to his audiobook, How to Succeed at almost Everything and Still Win Big. He tells anecdotes from his life to highlight his ideas. His overarching theme is to focus on systems not goals. Systems include mindsets and processes rather than a focus on the big picture.

The overall system for achieving success is to focus on diet first and then exercise because this will provide you with the energy to be creative, productive, positive, socially desirable and able to handle life's little bumps. He describes how focusing on positive health behaviors helps put you in a position to move forward in other areas. Part of his idea of focusing on health issues is to know yourself and set your life up to maximize your personal self.

He believes in luck as the determining factor in life, but sees personal choices as increasing or decreasing the  odds of luck finding you. In order to improve your odds he suggests learning multiple skills, controlling your ego, developing persistence. and avoiding dead end jobs. I find his focus on learning skills to be fundamental. He thinks of learning one skill doubles the odds of success. We do not need to become experts with our skills, but proficient with them. He identifies key skills as: public speaking, business writing, understanding the psychology of persuasion and technical concepts, social skills, good grammar and accounting. Interestingly, while most people would agree on the importance of these skills, few of them are taught in school. Public speaking are a component of the Common Core skills, but since it is not tested, it is rarely focused on and even more rarely explicitly taught. Some English teachers might think they teach business writing, but do they teach how to composes a succinct email, a formal business letter, or a formal proposal? Some would say but we teach powerpoint- the presentation skill of business, but in business, the focus is on content, error-free slides not pretty slides, on brevity not sentences,  on truly understanding your information not including every detail. Those same English teachers would also argue that persuasion is taught- they teach a persuasive essay. We teach a small number of technical concepts- coding hour is in place because it is rare. We might teach word processing, but the aesthetic details are less important than being error free. Social skills are poorly taught if at all. We have limited our grammar instruction to be mostly worksheets (useless) or poorly sequenced, in context grammar. Accounting is understood by few outside of business teachers. We rarely teach kids about interest rates and the practical implementation of them. We graduate students who cannot balance a checkbook much less read a balance sheet. Perhaps these are some areas to think about when we look at preparing students for college and career.

This book is entertaining and informative. I would recommend it for people hoping to maximize their potential.

He sees the ultimate goal as happiness. For most people this means being good to others. We achieve happiness by having good health, having resources and skills, and having a flexible schedule. I think for most people these three things would bring them happiness.