Parents DO have a voice in their children’s school.  If your child is enrolled in a non-public school you of course speak with your checkbook.  This is a tremendous way to leverage influence over improving the quality of education.  But parents of public school children have a voice too.  Every public school that accepts federal funding, which is pretty much every public school, is required to have a group comprised of faculty and parents.  Half of the group must be parents.  This group might be called a School Advisory Council or a School Leadership Team, or some other name that a state requires.  At first glance, it is not usually the place where parents choose to get involved.  It doesn’t have the sizzle of Band Boosters or PTA, or other groups where participants raise money or are directly involved with kids.  So many parents ignore this opportunity, and administrators have to actively recruit in order to get enough parents.  But, this is generally the ONLY parent group in public schools that is tasked with school governance.  It is the group responsible for how federal funds such as Title I and Title III are spent at the school.

Unfortunately, this group often functions as a “rubber stamp” to what the school leaders want, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  Parents who can band together and make it their business to understand the purpose of these funds can make a tremendous impact.  The role of this council is to create an annual plan of school improvement, and to use the federal funds to that end.  This School Improvement Plan or Comprehensive Educational Plan, or other names adopted by states, spells out what results the school leaders will be accountable for each year. 

The development of the plan follows an annual schedule each year involving the analysis of school data, development of goals, development of an action plan to reach those goals, and the budgeting of funds to contribute to the goals.  This document creates the foundation for all school initiatives, and for the development of the individual goals of the school leaders.  The federal government created this process so that school leaders would become more accountable for school results to parents.  However, school leaders tend to play it safe and only include goals that are not as aggressive as they should be. 

Parents can use this process and its leverage to force change in their schools.  They don’t have to just be a “rubber stamp.”  They can insist on seeing real data and pushing school leaders to demand more and create change in their schools.  So, if you don’t think your school is getting the job done, get involved.  Find a group of like-minded parents and work together with them on your school’s council to make it happen.

...you should meet some kids.  I am so privileged to work with students at some special high schools in New York City.  Our “international schools” accept students who have been in the United States for three years or less.  These kids enter high school with little or no English skills, and are expected to graduate high school, meeting the same course and test completion standards as all other NYC students in just four years.  Some come from regions where war is the norm.  Others come from extreme poverty.  Many are living in communities here where gangs rule the streets and attempt to keep them from coming to school.  Yet, all share the same American dream.  The most amazing thing to see is how they help each other.  Each international school follows an instructional model designed to promote rapid language development.  The kids work in groups of four or five, to solve problems, complete assignments, and encourage each other.  There are usually several different languages present in each group, yet somehow they find a way to communicate.  Despite all they have endured, and the daily struggles that create the context for their lives, they are optimistic.  They will tell you they are lucky to be in a country where anything is possible.  They will talk about hopes and dreams and the lives they want to create for their own children and grandchildren.  They will tell you what anyone needs to succeed;  persistence, hard work, and a good attitude. 

So before you make up your mind about immigration, be sure to meet the kids who are our newest Americans.  It will remind you why we are so lucky to live here, and why we should help and encourage others who have found their way to the American dream.

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This afternoon I was delighted to find a photo album posted online by one of my nieces.  The album contains many wonderful photos of my grandparents over the years - from their childhood all the way until the end when they were in their 90’s.  What struck me was how they absolutely embodied the American dream.  They lived their life surrounded by a loving family, in a house in the suburbs that they owned.  My “Pop Pop” proudly served as a Merchant Marine during WWII while my “Mom Mom” held down the fort at home, caring for two little ones on her own.  She worked outside the home helping with the war effort, and then went back to being a full-time mom when Pop Pop returned.  They both volunteered in their community and taught all of us to do the same.      Our lives were (and still are) full of fun and laughter, caring and tears, and a strong commitment to each other.  Through hard work and careful planning, Mom Mom and Pop Pop were able to do everything they dreamed of doing.  They traveled to many places, including their beloved Hawaii.  They had a house at the Jersey Shore, and eventually a condo in Florida.  There were many wonderful adventures throughout their many years.  They had enough resources to spoil all six of us grandkids just a little bit.  When our children, their great grandchildren, were growing up, they established a small college fund for each one.  It wasn’t much in terms of dollars, but it spoke volumes of their commitment to their family and their understanding of the importance of education.

So, as I continue to hear all of the debate about schools, I can only think.  We all just want the American dream for our kids.  We want them to enjoy the rich, full life that my grandparents had.  A good education makes the American dream possible - and I don’t think that’s too much to ask!

The medical profession has used this technique for decades...rounds.  It has taken educators quite a while to get on board, but they are now starting to use this very powerful strategy to improve their practice.  The instructional rounds process involves a group of educators visiting multiple classrooms in a particular school to better understand how learning is taking place.  Through a planned protocol, and very targeted observations, the group discovers what is happening in a school in the context of a predefined “problem of practice.”  It has the potential for swift, powerful adjustments in a school that can have dramatic results for kids.

Last week I had the privilege of visiting a middle school to participate in instructional rounds.  The school had identified students’ difficulty with critical thinking as its problem of practice.  It is a wonderful school with very high student expectations, and a very structured, happy learning environment.  Every teacher is skilled in delivering instruction according to a consistent structure that includes independent work, class discussion, and lots of small group learning.  As our team of three educators visited each classroom, we divided the observation tasks.  One person described on paper what students were doing, another looked at what the teachers were doing, and the third person looked at the content of the lessons.  This allowed each of us to really focus and write down lots of details.  After we visited each classroom we debriefed in a small conference room.  This process was repeated through six classrooms.  Then, we looked at the patterns across all of the classrooms.

We discovered that all of the higher level student questioning, which might lead to critical thinking, was contained in the quick, independent work that occurred at the beginning of each lesson.  Kids did not have ample time to process these deep questions or to interact with their peers.  Later, when kids worked collaboratively in groups, the tasks focused on lower level questions that simply involved listing or describing.  This was truly an amazing discovery.  The teachers would just need to flip the tasks in order to improve the development of critical thinking skills.  Let the kids do independent warm ups with lower level questioning, and then allow the bulk of time, devoted to collaborative group work, focus on critical thinking tasks.  The teachers at this school have been struggling for almost a year with this issue to determine what is preventing the kids from becoming stronger in critical thinking.  In just a couple of hours, through the instructional rounds process, they were able to figure out what was wrong and fix it. 

Teaching has traditionally been a very isolated profession.  If you talk to career educators, they tend to say that they just want to close their classroom doors and be left alone.  It is time to open the doors and allow teachers to learn from each other in a safe, meaningful way.  They must make the rounds to improve learning.

To learn more about this process, click here.