Our students don't just need a device

We are closed.

Governor Whitmer ordered all K-12 schools in Michigan to close beginning March 16. Originally, we had hoped that we would reopen in April.

That fleeting hope was dashed on April 2nd when the Governor closed schools for the rest of the year.

Those who believe in technology have jumped in to extol the value of online learning. Who needs a classroom? Just provide every student a laptop and an internet connection.

Problem solved.

I would disagree.

While it is true that learning can occur online, students need more than a device. 

Students need caring adults in their lives who know them, try to understand them, support them, push them, and care deeply for them.

Our kids don't just need a device.

They need adults - who are not their parents - demonstrating to them that they are worth it.
  
Our Novi teachers do more than just feed students content. They encourage. They motivate. They challenge. They support. They create an environment where students not only learn but also develop a sense of themselves - who they are and who they can become.

And not only our teachers. We have bus drivers, secretaries, paraprofessionals, support staff who spend more time with the children in our district than their parents do. And each of them makes a difference for our students. 

During our pandemic closure, I am doing a read aloud every day. It is hoped that it does some good. The book we are currently reading is Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson.

In one passage Ms. Bixby, the 6th grade teacher, tells Topher, her student:

We all have moments when we think nobody really see us.

When we feel like we have to act out or be somebody else just to get noticed.

But somebody notices Topher. 

Somebody sees.

Our Novi Community School District staff - teachers, administrators, secretaries, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, lunch support, hall monitors, tech staff - see. Our staff see our students. They notice. They care.

This caring relationship provides our students with a floor to stand on, to grow from, to become whom they were meant to become.

The process is messy. The process is slow at times.

But people make the difference.

In a virtual learning environment devices are clearly important.

But what's most important during this pandemic closure is to remember that our students need more than a device.

They need us.

Yes, things have been lost

We must admit that we have suffered a loss.

Many, in fact.

Physical.

Grandfathers and grandmothers. Parents. Siblings. Best friends. They have died. Been taken from us by a killer none of us knew about just a few short months ago.

By now we all know of coronavirus - COVID-19. It has disrupted life in ways small and large.

None bigger than the actual ending of life. We grieve along with those who have suffered this loss of life. Words cannot express what they feel, what we feel, how both parties ache.

Some of these losses will haunt those who have lost. They could not be present because of hospital rules and significant concerns about who might be infected. So some of those we have lost were alone. And that hurts and haunts and brings us to our knees.

And there are other losses.

A high school senior year disrupted.

Prom? Probably gone.

Graduation? Up in the air. Almost gone. More than likely altered at least.

The spring sports team? Probably done. 

The final band, orchestra, choir concert? The final dance? The scholarship breakfast? The senior picnic, last day of school? All hang in the balance.

No matter how many people say we will get through this, that we will look back on this and remember the lessons that we learned, what we know now is that we have lost.

So let us give ourselves time to grieve. To ache. To let our hearts break.

It is OK.

We can't stay here forever. At some point we must pick up and move on.

But right now, we can hurt. Don't tell me there is a silver lining, a lesson to be learn, that it is part of a bigger plan.

Just sit with me. Share my pain. Let me know that you care. Let me know that you understand . . . that things have been lost.

Be quiet. Be kind. Be there.

It's a broken heart . . . it's supposed to hurt

Last night, as I sat in our Novi High School National Honor Society induction ceremony, two of our Novi High School winter sports teams were competing in the state playoffs.

Both lost.

But that does not tell the whole story.

Winter sports is a grind. The season seems long. It stretches from one calendar year to the next. It encompasses holidays. The weather outside can be dismal.

Yet, these student athletes practice each day, show up on game day, give everything they have.

Our Novi High School girls basketball team had the lead at halftime against a perennial power. Unfortunately, the second half did not go our way and the girls lost.

Our Novi High School boys hockey team also played a perennial power. The game went to three overtimes. Our goalie stopped 54 shots, but, ultimately, the boys also lost.

Today, by chance, I bumped into our hockey coach. He said two important things. First, it hurt. Second, this is what high school sports is all about.

I am sure that our girls and boys hearts are heavy today. Both teams had a chance. You play to win. And it did not happen.

That hurts.

But it is the chance you take when you play the game. These athletes knew going in that only one team a season wins the last game of the year. Only one team celebrates. The rest have their hearts broken.

And that is the beauty of high school sports. Participating in athletics helps learn lessons that may not be learned in the classroom. Winning is fun. But the lessons learned can, and may, define a lifetime. 

Hard work.

Grit.

Planning.

Practice.

Creativity.

Curiosity.

Team work.

Collaboration.

Communication.

These lessons and many more are learned as our students engage in our athletic program.

Broken hearts will heal.

And the lessons learned will, hopefully, help our students continue to have confidence as they move forward with their lives.

Let's support, not retain, our 3rd grade students

What if I told you that the state of Michigan was mandating that by the end of 3^rd grade all students needed to be 52 inches tall – that’s almost 4 ½ feet. That’s the average by the way.

If a student is not 52 inches by the end of 3^rd grade he or she would be retained and would need to repeat 3^rd grade. 

I could argue that I am not punishing the child. I’m just doing this for their own good. Small children get teased. Small children are weaker. They could fall behind. They can’t keep up. They will experience failure in some tasks. 

What if I told you that those children who are not 52 inches by the end of 3^rd grade would be retained? 

You would say that I am nuts!

And I would agree.

Because in 3^rd grade, students are not the same age. Some could be almost eleven months older than their friends. Plus, parents come in different sizes – genetics influence how tall the child will be. Plus nutrition. Sleep. Allergies. Lots of things influence growth.

You might argue that instead of holding students back, maybe we should just support them. Help them be successful. Provide support if and when it is needed. Let them stay with their friends. Let them grow, with support from us. 

That seems reasonable. 

What if I told you that the state of Michigan was mandating that by the end of 3^rd grade all students needed to be at or near proficient in reading or they would need to repeat 3^rd grade?

Does that make sense?

Kids need to read. On that I think we would all agree.

But, 3^rd graders can be almost eleven months different in age. 3^rd graders can have significantly different home literacy environments. 3^rd graders can have different levels of support in their communities. 3^rd graders develop at different paces.

Instead of retaining 3^rd graders, we need to support 3^rd graders. And while we are at it, we need to support 2^nd graders and 1^st graders and kindergarten students and preschool students. 

What we need to do is have reading specialists in every building who can support students who struggle. 

What we need to do is ensure that our teachers know and understand literacy and can intervene strategically when necessary, 

What we need to do is create class sizes that are manageable. 

What we need to do is provide public libraries that support our students. 

What we need to do is support parents so they can support their children and improve their literacy.

What we need to do is encourage parents to read to their children every day, talk to their children every day about meaningful things, and love their children so their children have confidence.

Let me repeat, kids need to read. But, punishing them by retaining them is not the answer.

Research demonstrates that retention is not an effective strategy. Early retention has a number of negative side effects and does not help close the gap or promote success.

What does work is having high quality classrooms in schools that have resources to intervene early and with effective instructional strategies. 

So in Novi, we will be exercising the legally allowed Superintendent good cause exemption for students whose 3^rd grade test scores indicate that they might be struggling in reading. We will learn each child’s strengths and weaknesses. We will treat each child as an individual. We will also continue to provide high quality instruction and support from interventionists as appropriate. We will work with families to identify family literacy practices that will make a difference. We will promote these students to 4^th grade.

Kids need to read. In Novi, we will work to make sure that all of our students have the support they need to be successful and that we continue to prepare them for their future. 

Why am I so stupid

On November 11, 2019, it snowed in Novi.

A lot! Probably 8 inches.

It started before school, snowed all day during school, and even continued into the evening. Disaster!

A parent emailed us to describe the carnage:

I know the first snow of the year is difficult but I wanted to express my extreme concern with the bus situation this morning.  The elementary school children stood (at least 4 small children) at the bus stop, in the cold and snow, for 1 hour today.  I am not exaggerating. 

It was not our finest hour.

But in our defense the weather service predicted only light snow - no more than 3-4 inches. We live in Michigan, I rationalized. This will be no big deal.

I was wrong.

Fast forward to yesterday, February 25, 2020. At 2:00 PM, approximately 20 Oakland County Superintendents were on the phone with our weather person. The report was that tomorrow (today if you are keeping track) we would receive 6-8 inches of snow - most of it coming between the hours of 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM.

So it was agreed - snow day. We would be putting our students at risk if we brought them to school, had to release early, and were then late getting everyone home. Roads would be slick. Buses might slide. Parents could not get home in time.

So, by 10:00 PM on February 25th most schools in Oakland County had called off school for February 26th. An eminently responsible position.

I went to bed and slept well. I knew that the decision was reasonable.

But wait.

On February 26th, Oakland County did not receive the anticipated snow. We received 3-4 inches. Clearly, we could of had school. This is Michigan. This was no big deal.

So why am I so stupid?

I prefer to think of myself as human, not stupid.

People make mistakes, bad calls, decisions that, looking back, should not be made. Even though we operate in a world that has more data than we have ever had, many decisions still rest upon people like me to gather, sort, and interpret the data.

My guess is that a computer, given the data that we had, would have made the same decision about today.

The benefit of a human making the decision is that, hopefully, people consider the impact of the decision on the people who will be affected. I erred on the side of caution because people - school children - were involved.

If I'm called stupid - so be it.

I'll continue to try and refine my decision making skills. I will be perceived as stupid at times. But, I'll keep at it. I'll keep trying to make good decisions for the students and the families in my district knowing that together we can keep learning, keep growing, and keep building a positive place for all of us.

Feeling like I belong

In our school district we have missed the last two days of school because of cold weather.

Not just cold weather but "oh my gosh, holy cow, can you believe it, freezing everything" cold weather.

And while I am sure our students (and staff) enjoyed the unexpected holiday, I also know that they welcome the opportunity to return.

For school is not just a place where students go to learn and staff go to teach and support students.

School is place that gives people purpose. School is a place that provides opportunity to every person who enters the front door.

Students find adults who are not their parents who care deeply for them and who want the best for them.

Staff have the opportunity to give back to others - whether it is to students or to colleagues.

Schools don't always get it right, but schools create a community where people look out for each other.

So I for one am glad that we get the chance to return to a place that creates so much opportunity and makes me, most of the time, feel like I belong.

A wrong solution for Michigan's schools

"Stacked rankings" are the business equivalent of education's bell curve for grades. A few "A's" and "F's" and a whole lot of "C's".

Microsoft has used stack rankings. Some argue that it led to Microsoft's "lost decade"; a loss of collaboration and creativity. 

Every current and former Microsoft employee I interviewed—every one—cited stack ranking as the most destructive process inside of Microsoft.

Kurt Eichenwald

Vanity Fair, August 2012

HB 5526 (page 68), recently passed by the Michigan House and forwarded to the Michigan Senate has a "stacked rankings" component. It requires the following when grading schools:

 

THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL'S PUPILS ON THE APPLICABLE STATE ASSESSMENT COMPARED TO PUPIL PERFORMANCE ON THE APPLICABLE STATE ASSESSMENT FOR ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS SERVING A SIMILAR PUPIL POPULATION. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL DETERMINE SIMILAR PUPIL POPULATION USING DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS THAT THE COMMISSION CONSIDERS TO HAVE A STRONG CORRELATION TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. 

While the language is not clear, the intent is very clear. Similar schools will be grouped and compared to one another. This requires some schools to get an "A" grade and some to get an "F" grade.

 

Stacked ranking - enshrined in state law.

Microsoft thinks so much of it that they have abandoned it. Brustein says that "corporate America has largely lost confidence in management programs that jam employees onto bell curves."

Yet, HB 5526 requires failure.

Why?

The cynical side of me is inclined to believe that it is because those opposed to public schools want to ensure that there will be failures. 

This model refuses to accept that all schools within a class or grouping could be doing well. 

Why not create a real system that honestly evaluates what is occurring without mandating that there be failure? 

Secondly, there is an assumption in this bill that schools can be grouped by similar characteristics. That may be true in general but not in specifics. Any one who has been in schools knows that each school has its own culture, its own unique characteristics that make it different from every other school.  

But HB 5526 requires that within this narrow band of similar schools some schools will fail.

What this means is that a school with high performance could receive a low grade when compared to others within its "class." However, a school with lower performance may receive a high grade when compared to schools within its class.

The bills sponsors say this, and other provisions of the law, are done to give parents clarity on school performance. This bill does nothing of the sort.

Public schools are doing good work. Instead of mandating failure let's create a system that honors the hard work and the success is occurring in public schools.