The Minimalist and Inadequate Explanation of What the Lighthouse School and Commissioner’s Network Are
The “Lighthouse School” is part of the new Sheff agreement. The Sheff v. O’Neill case agreement was approved in Connecticut’s Superior Court. That’s legally binding, folks. According to KathleenEngland, “there’s ample funding across three years to support” the school chosen for a Lighthouse School redesign. The amount being promised is $750,000 per year for at least three years. England said that the school selected would be one making progress rather than at the bottom, but that the neighborhood the school is in would also need to be “on the cusp of improving.” To be eligible, the school would also need to be a neighborhood, non-magnet with what the Hartford Public Schools is calling “potential for natural diversity.” There is a tight timeline for the selection and application process. England says that “it’s a great opportunity” for schools “to get financial commitment,” to “maybe take a design you have in place and take it and make it more robust.” With this process, she said, it would “absolutely” remain a neighborhood school and not become a magnet school. This would be money to enrich existing design. The Global Communications Academy IB was named as a potential candidate.
The Commissioner’s Network, in contrast, has been around a few years and already taken in one of our public schools– Milner. For 3-5 years, the school district loses complete control over the public school, but according to State Department of Education documents, there will be a “transition” of the school as it leaves the Commissioner’s Network. Operating expenses must still be provided by the local school board while it is potentially “partnered” with another not-for-profit management organization. When Milner entered the Commissioner’s Network, the school was closed down, teachers told they would have to reapply for their jobs, and then re-opened as Jumoke Academy Honors at Milner. This time around, Superintendent Kishimoto says HPS is not necessarily suggesting a change in school leadership and not talking about a closure because there is not time for that. Kishimoto is continuing to push for America’s Choice at SAND and Clark Elementary School to apply to the Commissioner’s Network.
But It’s More Complicated Than That, So Keep Reading. This isn’t Reader’s Digest
The superintendent responded that “the primary complaint to us” from parents has been “access” to “schools of choice.” She said that 80% of school enrollment is driven by children living within the neighborhood. She said that when parents seek choice, it’s often because a school is in close proximity to work or to another relative.
If that is true, then this Lighthouse School initiative seems an odd way to reduce economic, ethnic, and racial isolation — which is what the Sheff agreement aims to do.
Natural Diversity?
The term “natural diversity” refers to the variety of plant and animal life in an ecosystem. For whatever reason, it was determined that this phrase would be employed to describe what would make schools eligible for the Lighthouse School model. What we think they actually want to say is that a school needs to have the potential for de facto racial, ethnic, and economic integration.
Matt Poland, Chair of the Board of Education, described the Lighthouse School model as a way to attract people to Hartford. He called this a beacon that would “magnetize” without actually being a magnet. Board member Rich Wareing pointed to the stupidity of this scheme’s name, saying that anyone who had spent any time by the sea would know that a beacon is supposed to warn sailors of danger.
Cotto, who was just re-elected to the school board, said “when you do school choice there is no natural diversity.” He cited studies done and referenced by Trinity College and Achieve Hartford! showing that parents tend to select to send children to schools where the racial makeup mirrors their own. Wareing also questioned the “natural selection” theory.
Where Does the Money Come From?
A Lighthouse School, according to the documents distributed by the Board of Education, would ensure that a chosen school receives $750,000 a year for at least three years. Though the Lighthouse School model is tied to the Sheff settlement, there were questions as to where this funding would come from. There does not appear to be any money yet appropriated by the State legislature, so on paper, there is no guarantee that the funding would be there.
What’s the Incentive?
Funding for the Commissioner’s Network has been questioned for different reasons. Last time, there was a race by the superintendent, backed by most of the BOE, to close down Milner and give it to the State and Jumoke for management. But now, “the funding isn’t nearly as attractive,” Wareing said. “What does a quarter of a million dollars buy?”
Will This Commissioner’s Network Thing Really Be Different This Time Around?
Kishimoto tried to assure everyone on Tuesday that things would be different this time, in part because the deadlines being what they are, there just is not time to completely close down the schools that would potentially enter the Commissioner’s Network. Without acknowledging it at this recent meeting though, Kishimoto listened to those deadlines whooshing past when she sent Milner into turnaround mode.
New board member Beth Taylor asked what other models could exist beyond what is being employed at Jumoke Academy Honors at Milner. The Commissioner’s Network schools do not have to have a partner, Kishimoto said, but can if the parents and community make the request. The superintendent clarified that a Commissioner’s Network school could partner with another school in the district, giving the Betances Early Reading Lab as a model she sees as successful potentially partnering with one of the turnaround schools. Craig Stallings, another new board member, asked what kind of teacher development would take place with the Commissioner’s Network. He was assured this would happen.
Kevin McCaskill, the Director of School Programming & Design, echoed the superintendent that the State’s application process had very different requirements with Milner than it does now, but no details were provided as to what had changed.
Process to Gain Community Buy-In Called a “Charade”
The inability to engage parents and community early and consistently has been a constant issue for the current HPS administration. It does not appear that any substantial changes can occur, given the timelines provided.
The process and timeline for the Lighthouse School is such that talks began mid-December about selection committee names and by the end of the first week in February, that committee will have reviewed “appropriate models and designs.” By February 21, the committee will need to hold a community forum. Within the following week, interested school communities will have to provide a letter of intent to England. Then, within one week, three potential candidates are named by the committee. Within two weeks, a public forum must be held to discuss the models being considered. May 6, 2014 is the final deadline.
“Are we at all concerned with the ability to create authentic demand in three weeks?,” Wareing asked.
The Commissioner’s Network process and timeline has even less wiggle room. Beginning in December, the superintendent needed to review potential candidates and let the board know two recommended schools. By mid-December, the principals of said schools were to be informed. By January 7, there was supposed to be support from the Hartford Federation of Teachers. “Conditional Turnaround School Committees” should be formed by January 17. Although schools have School Governance Councils, this is something different. It would be comprised of a parent appointed by the BOE and one appointed by HFT. This would also include an administrator appointed by the board and teachers chosen by the union. A letter of intent would be sent by January 22 and tentatively, the Commissioner’s Office would approve schools by February 3, 2014.
This gives no time for meaningful community involvement. But according to the superintendent, the “process is for community input. It’s not for the community to design the school.”
The time frame for organic support, Wareing said, is “not realistic.” The push for change is “not coming from the people,” he said, “it’s coming from the experts.”
Wareing slammed the process, saying that it is designed to make the community believe that they had wanted the changes being imposed. He said, “in reality, the process is driven by the man behind the curtain. […] This is not community involvement. This is a charade.”
Why These Schools?
A packet attributed to Kishimoto and McCaskill listed all of the schools that have been deemed “turnaround,” “focus,” or “review,” with the turnaround designation given to those determined to be at the bottom. How are schools ranked?
According to documents provided by the Hartford Public Schools citing the CT State Department of Education, a “review” school classification is one at which the overall SPI (school performance index) is below a 64 or a CMT participation rate is below 95%. A “focus” school is defined as a “Title I school with one of its subgroups among the lowest performing in the state.” A “turnaround” school is described as one of the lowest performing schools, statewide. To assess high schools, essentially the same measures are used, but with the CAPT instead of CMT.
Dr. José Colón-Rivas, board member, asked if there was a rubric charting progress for schools and how the community would know how progress was being measured. Kishimoto admitted that the three categories have not yet been explained to the “community at large.” McCaskill said that to the public, they would talk about attendance and graduation rates for high schools, but look at scores for elementary schools. Neither measure is holistic, but it is clear that if students are not attending, they are not learning the material that the district believes is necessary. Poland said, “if you don’t come to school, you don’t learn.”
SAND and Clark have been named as schools the superintendent would like to see taken into the Commissioner’s Network, but the rationale is not immediately clear for either. SAND had been “lauded” several years ago, Cotto said, but now it’s at the bottom. He asked repeatedly for an explanation of what happened. This question was dodged again and again. Finally, some explanation was provided. SAND had been using the “America’s Choice” model, which was apparently showing signs of success when it was bought out by Pearson. The model at that time began to have “reduced quality.” Even so, no specifics were given about what was no longer working. When pressed, McCaskill acknowledged that the school has had four principals in as many years. Cotto again asked why this was the case. What is happening at this school and in some other Hartford schools to account for such high turnover? This discussion was completely shut down by the superintendent, who said, “many reasons . . . some personnel that we won’t discuss here.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School is listed as a “focus” school
According to the materials provided by the Hartford Public Schools, there is interest in having the Burns Latino Studies Academy apply to the Commissioner’s Network in 2014-2015. This school has already experienced a redesign, along with a mid-year dismissal of a principal, followed by the installment of a temporary principal, followed by the hiring of a permanent one before the 2012-2013 school year.
If these were to all go through, it would mean that Hartford sent four public elementary schools into the Commissioner’s Network.
Besides financial incentive and a convoluted community buy-in process, there were questions about why the Hartford Public Schools were even considering this. “This Commissioner’s Network business,” Cotto said, “comes off as collective punishment.” He wanted to know why not “find the weak link and deal with it. Maybe half the teachers are good and half aren’t. Then, deal with that. Can we solve this on our own without running to the State?” He added that “we pay a lot of people to know what’s happening,” and that someone should be able to pinpoint these issues to address them.
A Bit of Curiosity
The State Bonding Commission approved a few million bucks be spent on converting the old hotel on Constitution Plaza to apartments
With the Lighthouse School model, Kathleen England said the chosen school on the border of making progress would need to be in a neighborhood on the cusp of improving.
How is improvement qualified and quantified? Will our neighborhoods have to take tests? That’s being obtuse, of course, but it’s not unimaginable that the ways to measure neighborhood improvement would be as inadequate as those currently used to measure student achievement.
It’s interesting to notice the proximity of many of the schools ranked as turnaround, review, and focus, to the recent, current, and proposed housing developments and improvements in Hartford.
SAND, in the Clay-Arsenal neighborhood, is within walking distance of the area being called “Downtown North,” which is currently being looked at for redevelopment. The State Bonding Commission recently approved funds for the development of apartments in several buildings downtown. Of the 193 units in the former hotel on Constitution Plaza, 32 would be “affordable.” The redevelopment with help from State funding at 179 Allyn, 201 Ann Uccello, and 283-291 Asylum Street would yield entirely market rate apartments. Additionally, 777 Main Street has been approved for redevelopment with State funding; the former Bank of America building would be made into mixed-income housing. Not all of this new housing would be large enough to accommodate families. Nonetheless, High School, Inc., which is listed as a “review” school, is in close proximity to these redevelopment sites Downtown. The Global Communications Academy IB is also nearby.
The Kennelly Elementary School is categorized as a “focus” school
A few blocks from the Burns Latino Studies Academy is the former Hartford Office Supply Building, which has been scheduled to go to auction several times, only to be dropped at the last minute. There has been interest in converting this vacant building into apartments and the State has shown interest in it. Burns, along with McDonough Expeditionary Learning School, Expeditionary Learning Academy at Moylan, Kennelly Elementary School, Sanchez Elementary, Parkville Community School, and the various academies within Hartford High are all relatively close to the new busway, which some have hoped would bolster development along the corridor. The Summit Park affordable housing project, which would mean 42 mixed use units on Zion, Park, and Summit Streets, recently was awarded a grant from the TD Charitable Foundation, but is also slated to receive $767,553 in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits per year.
The Horace Bushnell Apartments on the corner of Vine and Albany are being redeveloped with help from federal and state programs, along with other sources. These will be a mix of market rate units, alongside those for the elderly who qualify for Section 8. There would be 74 units in total. This is a five minute walk from Jumoke at Milner and less than a ten minute walk from Global Communications Academy IB.
Near Bulkeley High, Betances Early Lab School, and Burr Elementary is the Twin Acres development which is being expanded and renovated so that some units are given additional bedrooms and bathrooms. Federal tax credits amounting to $896,166 were approved for this.
Next
The next regular meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for January 21, 2014 at the Journalism and Media Academy Magnet School, 150 Tower Avenue. 5:30-830pm. This is open to the public.
Opportunity or Charade? BOE Talks Money for School Design
After Board of Education members were sworn in without fanfare on Tuesday, the conversation picked up basically where it left off last year, but with some unexpected contributors to the dribs and drabs of critical thinking.
The Minimalist and Inadequate Explanation of What the Lighthouse School and Commissioner’s Network Are
The “Lighthouse School” is part of the new Sheff agreement. The Sheff v. O’Neill case agreement was approved in Connecticut’s Superior Court. That’s legally binding, folks. According to Kathleen England, “there’s ample funding across three years to support” the school chosen for a Lighthouse School redesign. The amount being promised is $750,000 per year for at least three years. England said that the school selected would be one making progress rather than at the bottom, but that the neighborhood the school is in would also need to be “on the cusp of improving.” To be eligible, the school would also need to be a neighborhood, non-magnet with what the Hartford Public Schools is calling “potential for natural diversity.” There is a tight timeline for the selection and application process. England says that “it’s a great opportunity” for schools “to get financial commitment,” to “maybe take a design you have in place and take it and make it more robust.” With this process, she said, it would “absolutely” remain a neighborhood school and not become a magnet school. This would be money to enrich existing design. The Global Communications Academy IB was named as a potential candidate.
The Commissioner’s Network, in contrast, has been around a few years and already taken in one of our public schools– Milner. For 3-5 years, the school district loses complete control over the public school, but according to State Department of Education documents, there will be a “transition” of the school as it leaves the Commissioner’s Network. Operating expenses must still be provided by the local school board while it is potentially “partnered” with another not-for-profit management organization. When Milner entered the Commissioner’s Network, the school was closed down, teachers told they would have to reapply for their jobs, and then re-opened as Jumoke Academy Honors at Milner. This time around, Superintendent Kishimoto says HPS is not necessarily suggesting a change in school leadership and not talking about a closure because there is not time for that. Kishimoto is continuing to push for America’s Choice at SAND and Clark Elementary School to apply to the Commissioner’s Network.
But It’s More Complicated Than That, So Keep Reading. This isn’t Reader’s Digest
There was insistence that a Lighthouse School would not be turned into a magnet model, but Kishimoto said that there is possibly legislation being drafted that could make this model a magnet. There are a number of unknowns. And, if one recalls, Dacia Toll previously misidentified Achievement First as being a “neighborhood school” and also claimed that Achievement First is “not responsible for meeting Sheff standards,” which is factually incorrect. At the recent BOE meeting, Robert Cotto, Jr. said, “there are very few neighborhood schools at this point.”
The superintendent responded that “the primary complaint to us” from parents has been “access” to “schools of choice.” She said that 80% of school enrollment is driven by children living within the neighborhood. She said that when parents seek choice, it’s often because a school is in close proximity to work or to another relative.
If that is true, then this Lighthouse School initiative seems an odd way to reduce economic, ethnic, and racial isolation — which is what the Sheff agreement aims to do.
Natural Diversity?
The term “natural diversity” refers to the variety of plant and animal life in an ecosystem. For whatever reason, it was determined that this phrase would be employed to describe what would make schools eligible for the Lighthouse School model. What we think they actually want to say is that a school needs to have the potential for de facto racial, ethnic, and economic integration.
Matt Poland, Chair of the Board of Education, described the Lighthouse School model as a way to attract people to Hartford. He called this a beacon that would “magnetize” without actually being a magnet. Board member Rich Wareing pointed to the stupidity of this scheme’s name, saying that anyone who had spent any time by the sea would know that a beacon is supposed to warn sailors of danger.
Cotto, who was just re-elected to the school board, said “when you do school choice there is no natural diversity.” He cited studies done and referenced by Trinity College and Achieve Hartford! showing that parents tend to select to send children to schools where the racial makeup mirrors their own. Wareing also questioned the “natural selection” theory.
Where Does the Money Come From?
A Lighthouse School, according to the documents distributed by the Board of Education, would ensure that a chosen school receives $750,000 a year for at least three years. Though the Lighthouse School model is tied to the Sheff settlement, there were questions as to where this funding would come from. There does not appear to be any money yet appropriated by the State legislature, so on paper, there is no guarantee that the funding would be there.
What’s the Incentive?
Funding for the Commissioner’s Network has been questioned for different reasons. Last time, there was a race by the superintendent, backed by most of the BOE, to close down Milner and give it to the State and Jumoke for management. But now, “the funding isn’t nearly as attractive,” Wareing said. “What does a quarter of a million dollars buy?”
Will This Commissioner’s Network Thing Really Be Different This Time Around?
Kishimoto tried to assure everyone on Tuesday that things would be different this time, in part because the deadlines being what they are, there just is not time to completely close down the schools that would potentially enter the Commissioner’s Network. Without acknowledging it at this recent meeting though, Kishimoto listened to those deadlines whooshing past when she sent Milner into turnaround mode.
New board member Beth Taylor asked what other models could exist beyond what is being employed at Jumoke Academy Honors at Milner. The Commissioner’s Network schools do not have to have a partner, Kishimoto said, but can if the parents and community make the request. The superintendent clarified that a Commissioner’s Network school could partner with another school in the district, giving the Betances Early Reading Lab as a model she sees as successful potentially partnering with one of the turnaround schools. Craig Stallings, another new board member, asked what kind of teacher development would take place with the Commissioner’s Network. He was assured this would happen.
Kevin McCaskill, the Director of School Programming & Design, echoed the superintendent that the State’s application process had very different requirements with Milner than it does now, but no details were provided as to what had changed.
Process to Gain Community Buy-In Called a “Charade”
The inability to engage parents and community early and consistently has been a constant issue for the current HPS administration. It does not appear that any substantial changes can occur, given the timelines provided.
The process and timeline for the Lighthouse School is such that talks began mid-December about selection committee names and by the end of the first week in February, that committee will have reviewed “appropriate models and designs.” By February 21, the committee will need to hold a community forum. Within the following week, interested school communities will have to provide a letter of intent to England. Then, within one week, three potential candidates are named by the committee. Within two weeks, a public forum must be held to discuss the models being considered. May 6, 2014 is the final deadline.
“Are we at all concerned with the ability to create authentic demand in three weeks?,” Wareing asked.
The Commissioner’s Network process and timeline has even less wiggle room. Beginning in December, the superintendent needed to review potential candidates and let the board know two recommended schools. By mid-December, the principals of said schools were to be informed. By January 7, there was supposed to be support from the Hartford Federation of Teachers. “Conditional Turnaround School Committees” should be formed by January 17. Although schools have School Governance Councils, this is something different. It would be comprised of a parent appointed by the BOE and one appointed by HFT. This would also include an administrator appointed by the board and teachers chosen by the union. A letter of intent would be sent by January 22 and tentatively, the Commissioner’s Office would approve schools by February 3, 2014.
This gives no time for meaningful community involvement. But according to the superintendent, the “process is for community input. It’s not for the community to design the school.”
The time frame for organic support, Wareing said, is “not realistic.” The push for change is “not coming from the people,” he said, “it’s coming from the experts.”
Wareing slammed the process, saying that it is designed to make the community believe that they had wanted the changes being imposed. He said, “in reality, the process is driven by the man behind the curtain. […] This is not community involvement. This is a charade.”
Why These Schools?
A packet attributed to Kishimoto and McCaskill listed all of the schools that have been deemed “turnaround,” “focus,” or “review,” with the turnaround designation given to those determined to be at the bottom. How are schools ranked?
According to documents provided by the Hartford Public Schools citing the CT State Department of Education, a “review” school classification is one at which the overall SPI (school performance index) is below a 64 or a CMT participation rate is below 95%. A “focus” school is defined as a “Title I school with one of its subgroups among the lowest performing in the state.” A “turnaround” school is described as one of the lowest performing schools, statewide. To assess high schools, essentially the same measures are used, but with the CAPT instead of CMT.
Can you spot the problem here? Hartford plans to begin using SBAC in place of the CMT this year. The old testing model has fallen out of fashion, yet its results will continue to be used.
Dr. José Colón-Rivas, board member, asked if there was a rubric charting progress for schools and how the community would know how progress was being measured. Kishimoto admitted that the three categories have not yet been explained to the “community at large.” McCaskill said that to the public, they would talk about attendance and graduation rates for high schools, but look at scores for elementary schools. Neither measure is holistic, but it is clear that if students are not attending, they are not learning the material that the district believes is necessary. Poland said, “if you don’t come to school, you don’t learn.”
SAND and Clark have been named as schools the superintendent would like to see taken into the Commissioner’s Network, but the rationale is not immediately clear for either. SAND had been “lauded” several years ago, Cotto said, but now it’s at the bottom. He asked repeatedly for an explanation of what happened. This question was dodged again and again. Finally, some explanation was provided. SAND had been using the “America’s Choice” model, which was apparently showing signs of success when it was bought out by Pearson. The model at that time began to have “reduced quality.” Even so, no specifics were given about what was no longer working. When pressed, McCaskill acknowledged that the school has had four principals in as many years. Cotto again asked why this was the case. What is happening at this school and in some other Hartford schools to account for such high turnover? This discussion was completely shut down by the superintendent, who said, “many reasons . . . some personnel that we won’t discuss here.”
Clark School is another puzzle. Its School Governance Council has agreed that improvements need to be made, but its concerns do not touch on school design. The SGC mostly wants more teachers and staff hired, along with building repairs made. As reported when Achievement First was actively pursuing “partnering” with Clark, the school does not have top test scores, but it’s not in last place either.
According to the materials provided by the Hartford Public Schools, there is interest in having the Burns Latino Studies Academy apply to the Commissioner’s Network in 2014-2015. This school has already experienced a redesign, along with a mid-year dismissal of a principal, followed by the installment of a temporary principal, followed by the hiring of a permanent one before the 2012-2013 school year.
If these were to all go through, it would mean that Hartford sent four public elementary schools into the Commissioner’s Network.
Besides financial incentive and a convoluted community buy-in process, there were questions about why the Hartford Public Schools were even considering this. “This Commissioner’s Network business,” Cotto said, “comes off as collective punishment.” He wanted to know why not “find the weak link and deal with it. Maybe half the teachers are good and half aren’t. Then, deal with that. Can we solve this on our own without running to the State?” He added that “we pay a lot of people to know what’s happening,” and that someone should be able to pinpoint these issues to address them.
A Bit of Curiosity
With the Lighthouse School model, Kathleen England said the chosen school on the border of making progress would need to be in a neighborhood on the cusp of improving.
How is improvement qualified and quantified? Will our neighborhoods have to take tests? That’s being obtuse, of course, but it’s not unimaginable that the ways to measure neighborhood improvement would be as inadequate as those currently used to measure student achievement.
It’s interesting to notice the proximity of many of the schools ranked as turnaround, review, and focus, to the recent, current, and proposed housing developments and improvements in Hartford.
SAND, in the Clay-Arsenal neighborhood, is within walking distance of the area being called “Downtown North,” which is currently being looked at for redevelopment. The State Bonding Commission recently approved funds for the development of apartments in several buildings downtown. Of the 193 units in the former hotel on Constitution Plaza, 32 would be “affordable.” The redevelopment with help from State funding at 179 Allyn, 201 Ann Uccello, and 283-291 Asylum Street would yield entirely market rate apartments. Additionally, 777 Main Street has been approved for redevelopment with State funding; the former Bank of America building would be made into mixed-income housing. Not all of this new housing would be large enough to accommodate families. Nonetheless, High School, Inc., which is listed as a “review” school, is in close proximity to these redevelopment sites Downtown. The Global Communications Academy IB is also nearby.
A few blocks from the Burns Latino Studies Academy is the former Hartford Office Supply Building, which has been scheduled to go to auction several times, only to be dropped at the last minute. There has been interest in converting this vacant building into apartments and the State has shown interest in it. Burns, along with McDonough Expeditionary Learning School, Expeditionary Learning Academy at Moylan, Kennelly Elementary School, Sanchez Elementary, Parkville Community School, and the various academies within Hartford High are all relatively close to the new busway, which some have hoped would bolster development along the corridor. The Summit Park affordable housing project, which would mean 42 mixed use units on Zion, Park, and Summit Streets, recently was awarded a grant from the TD Charitable Foundation, but is also slated to receive $767,553 in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits per year.
The Horace Bushnell Apartments on the corner of Vine and Albany are being redeveloped with help from federal and state programs, along with other sources. These will be a mix of market rate units, alongside those for the elderly who qualify for Section 8. There would be 74 units in total. This is a five minute walk from Jumoke at Milner and less than a ten minute walk from Global Communications Academy IB.
Near Bulkeley High, Betances Early Lab School, and Burr Elementary is the Twin Acres development which is being expanded and renovated so that some units are given additional bedrooms and bathrooms. Federal tax credits amounting to $896,166 were approved for this.
Next
The next regular meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for January 21, 2014 at the Journalism and Media Academy Magnet School, 150 Tower Avenue. 5:30-830pm. This is open to the public.
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