Thoughts on Capsule Night--and a Wish

Capsule Night--not sure where the name came from--in some schools it is called Curriculum Night.

First of all, it's fabulous. Fabulous to see the teachers. (I kind of wish they did it each semester.) Fabulous to get a sense of my child's day, and at least create a mental map of where he is in each class. How many stairs does he climb every day?

Second of all, it's fun to see the parents--the ones I know, the ones I don't know. It made me realize I miss a lot of people whom I used to see regularly, back in elementary school. Next year, can we pair capsule night with some social time for parents at a coffee shop or bar? (Or in the school...)

Third of all, even though the classes are, like, 12 minutes each, I felt like I was sitting all too long! (Which is really funny, because mostly, I sit at a computer in my day job...)

Fourth of all--I was struck by how much access to computers teachers are requiring. And I wondered--if we didn't have more than one computer at our house--and/or if we had more than one child in high school now--that could potentially be a big problem. The technology divide seems to get bigger. And it's a lot more computer work than I remember from my two older kids. Which really makes me wonder--how much of that is necessary? Because exacerbating a technology divide is not a good thing.

Last, but not least, a wish:

Every year when I walk into the math class at Capsule Night, it reminds me that I wish the school district would offer a free evening class in every middle school and high school for parents, on how to use a graphing calculator. I'm sure it's not hard, but we didn't use them back when I took Algebra...or Geometry...or Trig....or Calculus. You know, back when the dinosaurs were alive.


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Reading--The Legislature Is Too Interested, the State Supreme Court Is Not Interested Enough

Third Grade Reading Bill Passes House Education Committee--What's In It?

The "third grade reading bill," as it is being called in shorthand, has passed the state house education committee. To my great disappointment, my representative (Adam Zemke) has signed on as a sponsor.


5) BEGINNING WITH PUPILS ENROLLED IN GRADE 3 DURING THE 2016-
8 2017 SCHOOL YEAR, ALL OF THE FOLLOWING APPLY:
9 (A) IF A PUPIL ENROLLED IN GRADE 3 IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR
10 PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY IS RATED 1 FULL GRADE LEVEL OR MORE BEHIND IN
11 READING, AS DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT BASED ON THE READING12 PORTION OF THE GRADE 3 STATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ASSESSMENT, THE
13 BOARD OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PUBLIC
14 SCHOOL ACADEMY IN WHICH THE PUPIL IS ENROLLED SHALL ENSURE THAT THE
15 PUPIL IS NOT ENROLLED IN GRADE 4 UNTIL 1 OF THE FOLLOWING OCCURS:
16 (i) THE PUPIL ACHIEVES A GRADE 3 LEVEL READING SCORE AS
17 DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT BASED ON THE GRADE 3 STATE ENGLISH
18 LANGUAGE ARTS ASSESSMENT.
19 (ii) THE PUPIL DEMONSTRATES A GRADE 3 READING LEVEL THROUGH
20 PERFORMANCE ON AN ALTERNATIVE STANDARDIZED READING ASSESSMENT
21 APPROVED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
22 (iii) THE PUPIL DEMONSTRATES A GRADE 3 READING LEVEL THROUGH A
23 PUPIL PORTFOLIO, AS EVIDENCED BY DEMONSTRATING MASTERY OF ALL GRADE
24 3 STATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS THROUGH MULTIPLE WORK
25 SAMPLES.
26 (B) IF A CHILD YOUNGER THAN 10 YEARS OF AGE SEEKS TO ENROLL
27 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY IN 
1 GRADE 4, THE BOARD OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
2 THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY SHALL NOT ALLOW THE CHILD TO ENROLL IN
3 GRADE 4 UNLESS 1 OF THE FOLLOWING OCCURS:
4 (i) THE CHILD ACHIEVES A GRADE 3 LEVEL READING SCORE AS
5 DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT BASED ON THE READING PORTION OF THE
6 GRADE 3 STATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ASSESSMENT.
7 (ii) THE CHILD DEMONSTRATES A GRADE 3 READING LEVEL THROUGH
8 PERFORMANCE ON AN ALTERNATIVE STANDARDIZED READING ASSESSMENT
9 APPROVED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
10 (iii) THE CHILD DEMONSTRATES A GRADE 3 READING LEVEL THROUGH A
11 PUPIL PORTFOLIO, AS EVIDENCED BY DEMONSTRATING MASTERY OF ALL GRADE
12 3 STATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS THROUGH MULTIPLE WORK
13 SAMPLES.

In other words--typically a student could be held back based on just his or her performance on a state test. 

14 (C) SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (12), IF A PUPIL IS NOT ENROLLED IN
15 GRADE 4 DUE TO THE OPERATION OF THIS SUBSECTION AND THE PUPIL HAS
16 DEMONSTRATED PROFICIENCY IN MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, WRITING, OR
17 SOCIAL STUDIES AS DETERMINED BY THE GRADE 3 STATE ASSESSMENT IN THE
18 APPLICABLE SUBJECT AREA OR BY THE PUPIL'S GRADE 3 READING TEACHER,
19 THE BOARD OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE
20 PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY SHALL ENSURE THAT THE PUPIL IS PROVIDED WITH
21 INSTRUCTION COMMENSURATE WITH THE PUPIL'S ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL IN THAT
22 SPECIFIC SUBJECT AREA. THIS INSTRUCTION MAY BE GIVEN IN A GRADE 4
23 CLASSROOM SETTING.

In other words, a student might be "moved up" to Grade 4 for math and science and social studies, and then pulled out for reading intervention, but not actually called a "4th grader" unless his or her reading progressed.

24 (6) FOR PUPILS WHO ARE NOT ADVANCED TO GRADE 4 OR CHILDREN WHO
25 ARE NOT ENROLLED IN GRADE 4 DUE TO THE OPERATION OF SUBSECTION (5),
26 THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY SHALL PROVIDE A
27 READING INTERVENTION PROGRAM THAT IS INTENDED TO CORRECT THE 
1 PUPIL'S SPECIFIC READING DEFICIENCY, AS IDENTIFIED BY A VALID AND
2 RELIABLE ASSESSMENT, AND ADDRESS ANY BARRIERS TO READING. THIS
3 PROGRAM SHALL INCLUDE EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES NECESSARY
4 TO ASSIST THE PUPIL IN BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL READER, AND ALL OF THE
5 FOLLOWING FEATURES, AS APPROPRIATE FOR THE NEEDS OF THE INDIVIDUAL
6 PUPIL:
7 (A) A REDUCED PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO OR 1-TO-1 READING
8 INTERVENTION WITH A VOLUNTEER.
9 (B) ASSIGNING TO THE PUPIL A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEACHER OF
10 READING AS DETERMINED BY THE TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM UNDER
11 SECTION 1249, THE HIGHEST EVALUATED TEACHER IN THE SCHOOL AS
12 DETERMINED BY THAT SYSTEM, OR A READING SPECIALIST.
13 (C) READING PROGRAMS THAT ARE RESEARCH-BASED AND HAVE PROVEN
14 RESULTS IN ACCELERATING PUPIL READING ACHIEVEMENT WITHIN THE SAME
15 SCHOOL YEAR.
16 (D) READING INSTRUCTION AND INTERVENTION FOR THE MAJORITY OF
17 PUPIL CONTACT TIME EACH DAY THAT INCORPORATES OPPORTUNITIES TO
18 MASTER THE GRADE 4 STATE STANDARDS IN OTHER CORE ACADEMIC AREAS.
19 (E) DAILY TARGETED SMALL GROUP OR 1-TO-1 READING INTERVENTION
20 THAT IS BASED ON PUPIL NEEDS, DETERMINED BY ASSESSMENT DATA, AND ON
21 DIAGNOSED BARRIERS TO READING AND THAT INCLUDES EXPLICIT AND
22 SYSTEMATIC INSTRUCTION WITH MORE DETAILED AND VARIED EXPLANATIONS,
23 MORE EXTENSIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GUIDED PRACTICE, AND MORE
24 OPPORTUNITIES FOR ERROR CORRECTION AND FEEDBACK.
25 (F) ADMINISTRATION OF ONGOING PROGRESS MONITORING ASSESSMENTS
26 TO FREQUENTLY MONITOR PUPIL PROGRESS.
27 (G) SUPPLEMENTAL RESEARCH-BASED READING INTERVENTION DELIVERED 
1 BY A TEACHER OR TUTOR WITH SPECIALIZED READING TRAINING THAT IS
2 PROVIDED BEFORE SCHOOL, AFTER SCHOOL, DURING REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS
3 BUT OUTSIDE OF REGULAR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOM TIME, OR ANY
4 COMBINATION OF THESE.
5 (H) PROVIDES PARENTS AND LEGAL GUARDIANS WITH A "READ AT HOME"
6 PLAN OUTLINED IN A PARENTAL CONTRACT, INCLUDING PARTICIPATION IN
7 PARENT AND GUARDIAN TRAINING WORKSHOPS AND REGULAR PARENT-GUIDED OR
8 GUARDIAN-GUIDED HOME READING.

Yes, that would mean the teacher assessed as "highly effective" based in large part on test score evaluations. And who is going to pay for the reading interventions? 

[Side note, but totally relevant: The ACLU of Michigan had brought a lawsuit forward based on Highland Park's failure to teach kids to read, and the Supreme Court of Michigan just declined to hear it. People, it's all about funding, and poverty... Go to the end of this piece to read an excerpt of the ACLU statement, or follow the link.]

9 (7) IF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PUPIL'S SCHOOL DISTRICT OR
10 CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE PUPIL'S PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY GRANTS A
11 GOOD CAUSE EXEMPTION FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBSECTION (5)(A) FOR
12 A PUPIL, THEN A PUPIL MAY BE ADVANCED TO GRADE 4 WITHOUT MEETING
13 THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBSECTION (5)(A). A GOOD CAUSE EXEMPTION MAY
14 BE GRANTED ONLY ACCORDING TO THE PROCEDURES UNDER SUBSECTION (9)
15 AND ONLY FOR 1 OF THE FOLLOWING:
16 (A) THE PUPIL IS A STUDENT WITH AN INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION
17 PROGRAM WHOSE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM TEAM DETERMINES THAT
18 THE PUPIL IS INELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE STANDARD GRADE 3 STATE
19 ASSESSMENT, OR THE MI-ACCESS ASSESSMENT OR ANY SIMILAR ALTERNATIVE
20 STATE ASSESSMENT, ACCORDING TO HIS OR HER INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION
21 PROGRAM.
22 (B) THE PUPIL IS A LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENT WHO HAS
23 HAD LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF INSTRUCTION IN AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER
24 PROGRAM.
25 (C) THE PUPIL HAS RECEIVED INTENSIVE READING INTERVENTION FOR
26 2 OR MORE YEARS BUT STILL DEMONSTRATES A DEFICIENCY IN READING AND
27 WAS PREVIOUSLY RETAINED IN KINDERGARTEN, GRADE 1, GRADE 2, OR GRADE 
1 3.

For crying out loud! This implies that you could have 10 and 11 year olds in with your 8 year olds. Think that makes any sense developmentally? 

It's also worth noting that dyslexia organizations are upset this bill was developed without them. Reading disabilities are often not diagnosed until third or fourth grade.

Here's the full bill. 

***********************************************************

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear ACLU of Michigan lawsuit

The ACLU had brought forward a case filed on behalf of eight public-school students in Highland Park who contend that the district has failed to meet its obligation to ensure basic literacy skills among children in the district.

By car, it's a little over an hour to drive from Highland Park to Lansing,
but clearly it's a world away. Screenshot from Google Maps.

As the ACLU writes, "Today the state Supreme Court refused to hear a case that ruled against children whose schools have failed to teach them to read.   While the trial court decided that The appellate court said that the state has no enforceable duty to ensure that schoolchildren actually learn fundamental skills such as reading – but rather is obligated only to establish and finance a public education system, regardless of the quality of that system. Waving off decades of historic judicial precedent, the majority opinion contended that “judges are not equipped to decide educational policy"... 

Dissenting from the majority opinion, Judge Douglas Shapiro accused the Court of Appeals of “abandonment of our essential judicial roles, that of enforcement of the rule of law even where the defendants are governmental entities, and of protecting the rights of all who live within Michigan’s borders, particularly those, like children, who do not have a voice in the political process. 

ALSO (my summary): The Supreme Court ACKNOWLEDGED an abysmal failure of the system, but by refusing to hear the case essentially said, "It's not our problem."

 *************************************************************** 

Connect...the....Dots 

Guess what? In Highland Park, in the lawsuit, a majority of kids failed the state assessment for proficiency in reading. The district had no money. Has no money. Is under emergency management. Can you imagine having all those kids held back, for one, two, or three years?

The state is ABDICATING its responsibility to help kids in poverty-stricken districts, especially, and no amount of "third grade reading bills" that require expensive interventions but don't provide any money for them is going to solve that problem.

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Pedestrian Safety Report Is Out--You Can Make A Difference

The past two days, Jews around the world marked the start of the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah. In case you're wondering what that has to do with schools, or pedestrian safety, let me tell you.

A year ago last night (counting by the Jewish calendar*), on the second night of Rosh Hashanah, a little girl named Anna Hendren Schwalb was hit by a car in Ann Arbor, and she unfortunately did not survive. In Anna's memory, last year I wrote about how pedestrian deaths--of children--are more common than you would think.

Ann Arbor averaged 55 pedestrian crashes per year for the five-year period 2010-2014; this was a 22% increase over the average of 45 pedestrian crashes for the previous five-year period 2005-2009. In addition, using those same two periods, the total number of incapacitating injuries resulting from pedestrian crashes increased 100% (22 to 44), and the total number of fatalities increased from 2 to 6. . . And while Ann Arbor crashes involving pedestrians represent only 16% of all crashes in the City of Ann Arbor, pedestrians account for one-third (1/3) of the fatalities and almost one-quarter (1/4) of all serious injuries. --From the City of Ann Arbor Pedestrian Safety & Access Task Force Report, p. 3

The fact is, when it comes to car-pedestrian, or car-bike accidents, it's not exactly a fair match-up.**

Anyway--I was already interested in pedestrian safety, but Anna's death made me pay attention to the city's Pedestrian Safety and Access Task Force. And last night, exactly a year after Anna was hit by the car, the task force presented their findings to city council at a working session.

And yes, I think that this is definitely a school issue. Many kids do walk or bike to school; and many don't, because their parents don't feel that where they would need to walk would be safe. Many kids walk to school on roads without sidewalks; cross roads without crosswalks; leave their houses before it is light, or return home when it's already dark.

Cover page of the Pedestrian Safety & Access Task Force.
You can find the report online here.

The Task Force identifies "Seven Symptoms" in their report--one specifically calls out children walking or biking to school, but I think the others all relate to schools as well:

1. Motorists passing other Vehicles that are stopped for Pedestrians in a Crosswalk. 
2. Motorists failing to stop for Pedestrians at Midblock Crosswalks. 
3. Motorists failing to stop for Pedestrians at School Crosswalks. Marked school crosswalks are not immune to symptoms 1 and 2. 
4. Motorists failing to yield to Pedestrians when Turning at Intersections. 
5. Inconsistent Signing, Marking and Signaling of Crosswalks. 
6. Snow and Ice Accumulation on Sidewalks and Crosswalks Inhibiting Pedestrian Travel. 
7. Motorists Speeding in Residential Neighborhoods.

There are a lot of recommendations. I am not going to summarize them here. I'm just going to say--you should read the report.

Beyond reading, though, what can you do?

1. Support the proposals in the task force report--some of them take money, some of them take time, some of them take awareness. Remember, support can be beautiful.

2. "If you see something, say something." If you see something that seems unsafe for pedestrians or bicyclists, speak up! The right "authority" to notify might be the schools, or city council, or township government, or the county road commission. Recently, I put in a request through my city council representative to have the Newport/Red Oak flashing yellow light become flashing red around the times that school starts and school ends. I don't know whether that will happen, but I realized--it doesn't hurt to ask.

3. Slow down. Yes, I'm talking to myself here, too. In fact, one of the recommendations is to work toward speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less city wide. As the report notes, "any residential street where the 85 percentile speed is greater than 25 mph or a school zone where the 85 percentile speed is greater than 25 mph during school hours should be evaluated for geometric, signal timing and roadside improvements that have been shown to reduce the speed of motor vehicles."

And why are we doing this? To make this place safer--for kids, and for adults, for pedestrians, for bicyclists, and for drivers.


*The Jewish calendar is lunar-solar, so it doesn't match up exactly with the secular calendar. The events I'm talking about took place a few weeks later in 2014.

**And I was reminded of this last month, when my husband was in a car-bike accident. He was the one on the bike. Luckily, he's fine (just a few scratches), thank you for asking. The bike was quite damaged. The car? unscathed. Whatever numbers of accidents they have compiled, I'm pretty sure that it's an undercount. For example, my husband and the car driver did not immediately file a police report (or exchange numbers! that was a mistake!)--my husband filed it several days later. How many accidents never get reported, or counted?

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Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley a Champion for Special Education

Last year, Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley held a statewide "listening tour" around the needs of families with
kids in special education.

Today, he made this presentation (short, easy to read) to a very interested Michigan Board of Education.

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/CalleyPresentationToStateBoardofEducation_Sept82015_499324_7.pdf

Lt. Governor Brian Calley

Calley's key points:

1) Develop a more inclusive and transparent rulemaking process

Michigan needs to develop a better system for informing and engaging with consumers of special education services before and during the rulemaking process. 

2) Improve access to, and the scope and quality of, services

Many parents reported that there is an expectation that children fit into the school’s structure, rather than the school providing what the child needs. Schools should have services that are better tailored to the specific needs of the child. Individual Education Plans (IEPs) should indeed be individualized. 

3) End the practices of restraint and seclusion

Using restraint and seclusion in schools is far more common than many people believe. Years ago, the state Board of Education established a policy significantly limiting the use of these practices to instances involving imminent danger to a child or their peers. This policy, however, does not carry the force of law and is ultimately voluntary.

Michigan Radio did a nice piece on this part of Calley's report.

4) Create a better dispute resolution process

Too many IEP disputes result in lawsuits and drawn-out confrontations. When a parent believes their child is not receiving the public education they are entitled to, in the least restrictive environment, there should be a better option than litigation. 

5) Support parents more with resources and options

Families need to understand what their rights are and how the IEP process works. Many described being overwhelmed and confused and even feeling "run over" as they went through what is supposed to be a collaborative process to help their child.

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How Was Day One?

For Rufus Moffat, a child in one of my favorite series of books (The Moffats! The Moffat Museum! The Middle Moffat! Rufus M.!), the first day of kindergarten brings a major challenge! Read the books! [The story of Rufus's first day of kindergarten is in The Moffats. I think my favorite book in the series is The Moffat Museum.]

So how was school for you today?

For my family, well--we only have one child still in the K-12 school system, and he's a veteran! (He's a junior in high school now.) So it was not really all that exciting.

That is in contrast to the past two years, where we had Youth For Understanding exchange students. It turns out that for exchange students, the first day of school is extremely exciting. They have no idea what to expect, they know very few people in town... so the calm in our house last night was a little...deflating after the experience of the past two years. [By the way--both years, our experience with YFU exchange students was excellent, and I am happy to talk to you about it if you are interested.]

If you're a teacher, if you're a parent, if you're a student....

What went well on Day 1? What needs improvement?

Were you welcoming students this morning at one of the Ypsilanti Community Schools? Was your child taking an AAATA bus or an AAPS (Durham) bus? Was your child switching schools? Are you a teacher in a school that is new to you?

Post your comments below!




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