Starting Over: A Post-Katrina Education

Wednesday, I woke up at about 7:30 a.m. and went straight to the computer. I had questions in my head that I needed to get on paper (or on the computer) before I forgot them. The questions were part of a Middle School Student Academic Survey for the 7th and 8th grade students at our school. I’ve been concerned about some to the behaviors that I heard about from the teachers. The purpose of the survey was to give us a better profile of our children and the baggage they may be carrying that keeps them from being successful in school. I emailed the survey to the Special Education Coordinator and asked her to let the children complete it during their language arts period, if possible. She had all of the completed forms for me Thursday.

The survey asked for names and birthdates. The students filled in the names of every school they attended beginning at Pre-K (Age 3) through the current grade. I asked if they had repeated any grades and which grades were repeated. They had to fill in their favorite and most difficult subjects in school. I asked what type of grades they usually earned on their report cards. If they had failed a LEAP test they wrote in which one. Finally, I asked them which high school and college they planned to attend. The survey ended with a question about career plans for the future.

Statistics tell a special kind of story. The eighth grade story is disheartening. It was hard to digest and I had to stop several times to think through what I was learning about our children. We have two eighth grade classes with 15 and 16 students respectively. One class has three students who are already 15 years old and two others who will be 15 within the next two weeks. The other class has three students who will be 15 before Christmas. They are two years behind their peers and should be attending high school dances, instead of lining up on the yard with our Pre-Kindergarten students.

Fourth and Eighth grade are our high-stakes grades in Louisiana, so the large number of failures in those grades did not surprise me. Twenty-three of the thirty-one students, 74%, have failed a grade; half of the failures were in 4th grade. Five students repeated more than one grade. Six are repeating 8th grade. In these two classes the percentage of students who have not had to repeat a grade is a dismal 26%; 5 in one class and 3 in the other. I suspected that we had a large number of students with a history of failure, but I had no idea the level would be so great—3 out of 4 students have been held back at least once and most of the students have attended 4 or 5 different elementary schools. As a result of the Diaspora created by Hurricane Katrina, most of the students attended two or more schools in 2005-06 then returned to New Orleans to attend 1 or 2 different schools. Our total student body includes transfers from over 114 different schools across the country and around the state. We have a culture of failure to overcome with our senior class. They are in a crisis!

The surveys showed that the students could not spell the names of the schools they attended, including ours. Don’t teachers require headings on student work anymore? Some of the students stated that they had repeated grades but did not know which grades they had failed. Very few students admitted to making grades of less than “C”. A few could not spell the names of their favorite or most difficult subjects. (I’m going to insist that the school name and the names of their subjects be added to everyone’s Spelling lists.) So many boys wanted to be football players for the NFL that we could probably start a new league. Amazingly, 25 of the 31 students stated that they intended to go to college. How hard will that be?

Most of the children had some idea of what they planned to do when they finished school. Cosmetologist, engineer, chef, singer, lawyer, construction worker, brick mason, gynecologist, artist, basketball player, and pediatrician were mentioned by the students who were not trying out for the Saints. I know we need to have a well planned career day soon and some opportunities for students to shadow workers. But, I want them to have realistic experiences and expectations. There are jobs that they can do to earn a living, but they aren’t aware of those opportunities. Besides, I want my own biological children to have careers, not just jobs. Shouldn’t we have the same goals for the McDonogh 42 students? Don’t they deserve careers? What kind of future will our children have? How much can we accomplish in the 6 months that are left in the school year? How many of the overage students will become dropouts? Shouldn’t someone tell the students that their goals of becoming doctors, lawyers, or engineers are too high when they can’t spell the word “science” correctly?

I went to bed with no answers last night. I woke up with these children on my mind. I haven’t looked at the surveys for the seventh grade students yet. I think that I’ll approach the mammoth problem step by step. How do you eat an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time. Once I gather all of the data, I’ll share it with the principal and ask her to present it to her Leadership Team. Maybe they will be able to start planning for the next wave. I am very worried about the current 8th grade class, very worried.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

Winter Wonderland is taking on a new shape. Way back in 2002, pre-Katrina, I was principal of Oretha Castle Haley Elementary School. It’s approximately two miles from McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School. But the two schools are worlds apart. At Haley, part of our Christmas tradition was to have a huge—I mean huge—winter scene with a giant decorated tree, animated figurines, and gifts. As the transplanted teachers sadly remind me, we aren’t at Haley any more. I was a fanatic about the holidays; the principal of our charter school is not a Grinch, just more reserved.

I petitioned the members of the Board to make the pending holiday one of our projects so that the principal would not have “one more thing” on her To Do List. We are getting lots of garland and candy canes to hang in the hallways. Teachers will be decorating their doors for a contest. The principal has planned the holiday meal with the addition of cake and ice cream. I’m going to ask the principal to let the classes have a party during the week before our holiday break, if it is not in her proposal already. The plan is to get to school early next Saturday to gussie up the building and surprise the students. We’ll need to turn on the lights on our soon-to-be-purchased Christmas tree. How hard can it be?

I was pretty distressed to note that the beautiful foyer at our school did not have any electrical outlets. It’s the perfect spot for the 9-ft tree and the red poinsettias we want to use around the base. It’s ideal for the tables with the miniature carousel, skating pond, hot air balloon, and lighted village, except that we can’t plug anything in! It’s sure to create a hit in the neighborhood. We are even planning to put out a sign inviting visitors with toddlers to view our displays and receive a treat.

We looked for other spots in the building to set up the glorious display. The auditorium stage is on the second floor where the Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Grade students would never see it. The basement is too open to monitor the gifts that teachers plan to donate for our lottery. In the hallway outside of the office, the tree would obstruct traffic.

When I was about to give up on the idea, Cynthia Horne, our Business Manager, said we could probably get electrical wiring completed in a few days. She assured me that she had just made a similar request of the newly hired maintenance company to add an outlet to her office for the extra equipment she needs. I didn’t really believe it was possible, mainly because I did not want to get my hopes up. Also, I had lots of trouble getting an electrician to finish re-wiring my house. Much to my surprise, when I was at school yesterday, I saw the poles and electrical frames in place for the new outlets. Two outlets were already completed and two more were in the works. I am so excited.

Actually, I’m more excited about having Cynthia as our Business Manager than I am about the outlets for the Christmas lights. Cynthia was the school secretary and office manager during my final days as principal at Haley. She has such a pleasant personality and a positive attitude that everyone who came in contact with her reminded me of how lucky I was to have her in charge of our school’s office. She is such a delightful person that whenever she was absent from school, the Assistant Secretary and I used to harmonize our rendition of “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” by Bill Withers. [And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. . . .] Often, the teachers would come to the office and upon realizing that Cynthia was not there, they’d turn around and say “Never mind.” I felt the same way.

A few weeks ago, I attended a conference in Washington, D.C. At one session, the speaker said that commitment and a positive attitude were more valuable than skills when one is facing a difficult task like school improvement. Cynthia demonstrates the will to get things done and the creative outlook to see solutions to problems. We need those attributes as we create our model school. She’s an excellent role model for our staff.

I remember that sometimes I’d come to school in a grouchy mood—I’m not a morning person. Cynthia would close my office door and protect the staff from my ugly attitude, until I improved my outlook and behaved better. She’d make coffee or order breakfast for me from the cafeteria to help me get on the right track. Throughout the morning, she’d check on me and, if necessary, offer a prayer or a hug. I couldn’t stay in a funk with her around. She’s still spreading sunshine.

During those years, Cynt completed her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, taking one or two courses a semester while working full time, raising a family, and helping her husband in his photography business. I don’t think it was a coincidence that her employment with a non-profit organization ended just as we opened our school. We are very fortunate to have her as our Business Manger. She’s a gift we receive every day. And, because of her ingenuity, we’ll be spreading a little more cheer this holiday season.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday, we had our monthly Board meeting at the school. It was our first chance to hold the meeting in a space that was easily accessible to the public. If we can get our web site up and running, the December meeting will be announced on it and we can hope for our parents and community to become engaged in the running of our school. The meetings are held on Saturday mornings to allow working people to attend. I am looking forward to planting the seeds for a true learning community in Treme.

Even though this is the Bayou Classic weekend in New Orleans, our Southern University board member was the first one to arrive. Dr. Carol McCree drove in from Baton Rouge for the meeting (and the Battle of the Bands, Greek Step Show, Football Game, and Parties). Madonna Green and Eddie Francis, two more Board members arrived right behind her. I was about ten minutes late, still making copies at the last second. We were missing two key people, Bernard Robertson, III and Tracie Washington. Bernard is a former pro football player and this is a very busy time for him. It was Tracie’s birthday and she treated herself to a lazy morning. Both missing members contribute a lot to our operation and sent me long emails with discussion topics that were shared with the other Board members electronically. We had a quorum with the four members present so the business was conducted according to our by-laws.

Even without two officers (Tracie is the Vice-President and Bernard is the Treasurer), we were able to have a very productive meeting. We voted to add an Assistant Principal to the staff. With only 465 students you might wonder “How hard can it be?” We made the decision in anticipation of an influx of students from the neighboring school, Joseph A. Craig Elementary. It was closed last week due to mold, roofing problems, and other structural damage. The students have been relocated to a modular building in East New Orleans, but some parents want the option of schooling closer to their Treme neighborhood. We have a few spots and our enrollment may top 500 after Christmas. Craig is one of two additional schools for which we have applied in the chartering process.

The growing administrative duties are more than the Principal and her administrative assistant can handle. Primarily, we want all of our teachers to have comprehensive assessments of their instructional strengths and weaknesses, regularly scheduled job-embedded professional development, and collaboration with our school improvement consultant. We need a PTA, after school clubs and other components of an effective school. It can all be very challenging as the tasks continue to mount. We are building the proverbial airplane while it is in the air. Hopefully, the new AP will be hired during the next month and will start at the beginning of 2008.

We also voted to purchase expensive science kits for grades 1-8 and a diagnostic test for grades 3-8. The two items will cost about $40,000. But the purchases will allow us to set up a real hands-on science lab and measure the reading levels of our students. I wish we could have done both of these tasks earlier, but we’ve been busy just getting everything up and running.

The decision about whether we will be granted two more charter schools will be announced at the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting on December 6th. If we are granted the two additional schools, we’ll need a CEO. Eddie is a marketing executive so it is his job to write the job announcement for Education Week and the local papers, in anticipation of the award. I don’t know whether getting more schools is good or bad. Actually, I voted against applying for more schools. The vote was 5:1 in favor of applying for Tureaud and Craig. I wanted to make sure we had the first school on target, before applying for more sites, but the timelines are off and we’d have had to miss a year to do things my way.

Finally, we voted on special holiday gifts for the staff (shhhh) and students. Our plans include decorating the school next weekend and sponsoring a door decoration contest for the classes. We also discussed several serious stumbling blocks, but I don’t want to write about them today. It will spoil my good mood.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Slices of savory roasted turkey topped with a large scoop of cornbread dressing and gravy, baked macaroni and cheese, green beans seasoned with sweet onions, hot soft dinner rolls, cranberry sauce and scrumptious sweet potato pie were all menu items in today’s school lunch at McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School. How hard can it be to prepare this particular lunch? It’s the traditional Thanksgiving lunch that everyone has come to expect. At least, everyone who has a fully operating kitchen can expect it. Our school is still trying to get a stove, freezer, steamer, and other basic equipment to move us from a warming kitchen to a cooking kitchen. We are supposed to be on a fast track with the kitchen equipment plans but we’ve been stuck in one spot for the last three weeks. I thought that with the nod from the state superintendent and the attention from the RSD facilities director we’d be well on our way by now. We are not.

I don’t know how Ms. Lipscomb, the cafeteria manager, and the other ladies pulled off that magic act today, but I was one of the lucky people who thoroughly enjoyed the special lunch menu requested by the principal more than a month ago. Today was the students’ last school day prior to the holiday break. Their special treat was the 500 individual 3-inch pies we purchased for the children’s dessert. I brought mine home to have with milk for my midnight snack. I have whipped cream in my refrigerator to add as a topping.

Our children are still living in tough conditions. Some are in trailers; many are living with extended family members; and lots of them are like me, living in a home that’s not fully repaired yet. I can cook Thanksgiving dinner because my kitchen has everything except countertops. Try baking a turkey in a trailer oven. Today’s special menu is the norm for this time of year. Last year, when the school was run by RSD, students complained of being served frozen sandwiches with icicles on the packaging. It was true at times.

Since we don’t have all of our equipment ordered yet, the menus are sometimes repetitive. Lots of pizza, beans and rice, baked chicken, and more pizza are the staples. I was at the school this morning to meet with the transportation vendor, the drivers and the monitors for a progress report on the recent changes we made to their bus routes. As the meeting ended, the company’s CEO remarked on the wonderful smells emanating from the kitchen downstairs. I had him and his friend escorted to the cafeteria for a complimentary lunch and asked the cooks to purchase one for myself also. It was all so delicious. I know the children (and teachers) enjoyed it as much as I did. I wonder what magic they will perform for the Christmas lunch.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 1:00 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Ray Charles sang a song with lyrics that said “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” Sometimes I feel like our charter school association is in that mode. We’ve had some bad luck.

In February 2006, we applied for three schools; all of them were among the lowest achieving schools in the New Orleans Public Schools district pre-Katrina. The schools were A.P. Tureaud, Wicker, and Craig. We were awarded all three schools, but Craig school was opened by the Recovery School District before we could take possession of the building. The RSD Superintendent did not want to turn the school over to our group because she felt we were too unstable as a Board and as a partner with our educational management organization (EMO), which will go unnamed. Instead she substituted McDonogh 42. We agreed to the substitution only to learn two weeks later that McDonogh 42 was termite-infested. The school could not be opened.

To make matters worse, we had our charter revoked by the State Department of Education because of irreconcilable differences with our EMO. This was in August 2006, three weeks before schools were set to open. Our group had already selected principals, many teachers, and staff. We had contracts lined up and registration of students was underway. Fortunately, the RSD re-hired most of the staff we had put in place. It was a bittersweet day when former Governor Kathleen Blanco visited Tureaud School on the first day RSD started operations, proclaiming it a model school for the district.

We reapplied for our charter in December 2006, this time asking for only one school, McDonogh 42. We did not come armed with an out-of-state, for-profit educational management organization this time. We were awarded the school in February 2007 and RSD opened it the next day for about 300 students who had been wait listed for up to six weeks. There was no school with room for them. Would it be possible for RSD to tell us once again to pick some other school? This time luck was with us and we started up on August 13, 2007. It has not been easy because our admittedly small board has had to do all of the work ourselves. You don’t have to ask how hard it could be. I’ve been answering that for months.

In September of 2007, we applied for two more schools. Once again, we asked for A.P. Tureaud and Craig. Yesterday, it was announced that Craig School was mold-contaminated. The students are being bussed to a modular campus in East New Orleans. I learned the news when the Director of Charter Schools called to request the number of vacant seats we had that could be offered to Treme neighborhood parents who did not want their children bussed far from their homes. The sad thing is there is no telling when, if ever, the school will be available for use.

Read the link on the story and I’ll bet you’ll agree that Ray Charles was singing the TCSA blues.

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news25/1195194379196760.xml&coll=1

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I was feeling pretty good about the salaries we are paying our teachers. The salary schedule was based upon the Recovery School District’s (RSD) salaries for 2006 – 2007. We added an additional $2,375 raise for certified teachers and $1,000 for other degreed personnel which the state granted in July. It was topped off with a potential $1,000 for teachers who participated in the two week pre-opening activities. It was a great deal for teachers because the RSD salaries were already among the highest paid in the state.

Last week, we submitted our plan for the Hurricane Educator Assistance Program. This fund is reserved as bonuses and incentives to recruit and retain certified staff. Our plan will pay each certified teacher a $500 bonus at the end of each semester for three years. If the teacher relocated to New Orleans from within the state and moved 50 miles or more, we will pay up to $1,000 for moving expenses. Additionally, we have a Pay-for-Performance plan that can earn each teacher $1,000 extra per year for three years. This plan includes activities, leadership roles, attendance to professional developments, and sponsorship of school clubs and community events. Sounds good, right?

One of our teachers forwarded RSD’s latest bulletin to me and took the wind out of my sails. On December 7th any teacher, assistant principal, or principal who worked in an RSD-operated school last year and returned for 2007-08 will receive a whopping $5,000 bonus!

We have nine (9) teachers who have to be wondering whether they made the right decision to transfer from the RSD schools where they worked last year to our charter school. What pot of gold does RSD have to pay these huge bonuses to hundreds of teachers? It’s not that I think they don’t deserve it; their jobs are some of the toughest in the new educational landscape. But, our teachers deserve as much as anyone. If this keeps up, we will soon be in a serious bidding war for teachers.

I think our teachers appreciate the things we do to show how much we value them. But there’s an old saying that starts, “Money talks and . . . . When I talk to the staff on Thursday at the Staff Discussion Meeting about how much we appreciate their hard work, I’m not sure who will be listening.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 1:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm on my way to the Annual Education Trust Conference in Washington, D.C. My plane leaves in 5 hours and I haven't been to bed yet. What's worse is that I have to fly with a sinus infection. Half of my face hurts like a throbbing toothache.

I was up late trying to finish a grant application which is due on Friday. I'm going to sign the signature pages and leave them with the Principal. Hopefully, I can complete the budget pages on the airplane and email them to her. She wanted to hand-deliver the plan to discuss any issues with the coordinator, so Friday morning is still not too late.

This morning (actually it was yesterday morning) I spent two hours in a meeting with our Transportation vendor. The meeting was hard because we've never worked with a transportation company and the company never worked with a charter school. In the end, we agreed to work together to get everything right. Later, as I was grocery shopping, the father of one of my students called me on my personal cell phone. I'd given the number to the owner of the bus company. I'll write about the conversation with the parent tomorrow (actually I mean later today).

I called the owner of the buses to ask him to keep my cell number to himself and not share it with parents. We ended the conversation with him offering to give me an extra bus for the morning and another for the afterschool program free of charge. He's a good man. And, I am very grateful. Everyone in New Orleans seems to be looking for another dollar, not Milton. He said it was no accident that we met up today. We both want to see our schools and businesses come back. We can get the transportation program running smoothly. He has over 30 years experience running his company and I have over 30 years as an educator. How hard can it be for two experts like us?

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 2:08 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Austin is doing a wonderful job teaching his third grade class. His students are always actively engaged in hands on learning. This teacher is what we call a “natural.” His room is attractively decorated and well organized, looking better at the end of the day than many classrooms look at the beginning. Parents are already clamoring to have their children moved to his class. Austin is a handsome young man with prematurely gray hair and an infectious laugh. His work ethic and classroom are equally attractive. What I like best about his room is the lime green, sheer curtains that block the glare of the sun. Many of the teachers have themed curtains gathered on tension rods to keep out the bright sunshine. Austin’s curtains create a magical hue to the room as the sunbeams are softened and colored by the semi-transparent fabric. He makes it all look so easy.

He’s also doing a wonderful job as ranking teacher. The principal had to attend a State Department of Education Leaders Summit in Baton Rouge today. Austin was left in charge with the Administrative Assistant. There were four teachers absent including one who reported to school and had to leave for a personal emergency. When I arrived at the school today at about 1:30 p.m., Austin was teaching a small group of students while the rest of his class worked on an assignment. Next to his group was a wheezing asthmatic child from the class next door where the substitute teacher worked with her full load of students. The little girl was crying and struggling to catch her breath while waiting for her mother to arrive. Austin said the school had called the home twice.

Austin is the chairperson of the school wide positive discipline plan committee and we met after school for 30 minutes to talk about the plan and the upcoming presentation for the faculty. The plan is well organized and focused on teaching students how to make good choices. He is ready to share the draft with the committee members for their feedback. I’d like to see a stronger focus on rewards, but I think he’ll get that from the faculty. They are not a punitive group. We made a list of things we’ll need before the workshop next week.

He is also the chairperson of the Hurricane Educator Assistance Program grant writing committee. The grant must be finished this week and in Baton Rouge by Friday. This time he is going to review my work and give me feedback, as I take the lead in writing this plan. I’m going to a conference at the end of the week, so he agreed to get the feedback to me within 24 hours (tomorrow). He’s also repairing his flood damaged house and trying to figure out how to go back to the University of New Orleans to complete his Master’s Degree in the Urban Leaders Academy. He started the program in the summer of 2005 before Katrina swept him, his wife and family members to Jackson, Mississippi.

In spite of what had to be a very hard day, he sat patiently and attentively and discussed the projects with me at length. He was still smiling, joking around, and superbly open to my critique of his work at 4:00 p.m. I’m so glad he is back.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 11:13 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)