Los Angeles Schools Ban ‘Willful Defiance’ Suspensions

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The Los Angeles Unified School District will stop using “willful defiance” as a justification for suspension, a sweeping change that eliminates the broad category as an option for teachers and administrators.

The school board voted 5-2 to end the practice in large part due to concerns raised that the punishments disproportionately affected black and Latino students and disrupted their education. The change was part of a “School Climate Bill of Rights” adopted by the board. The change comes as school districts across the nation feel more pressure to avoid removing children from classroom instruction. In many districts, “zero tolerance” is giving way to positive behavior reinforcement strategies.

Defiance could range from swearing at teachers to not complying with a teacher’s orders. The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2011-12, willful defiance accounted for nearly half of the suspensions in California schools and about 30 percent of Los Angeles’ out-of-school suspensions.

The Center on Public Integrity has reported on other criticisms related to the ticketing and arrests of students. The group reported that L.A. board president Monica Garcia said she sponsored the “bill of rights” because the suspensions were not helping academic achievement. ”What I expect to happen now is more graduation in Los Angeles,” Garcia told the center. She said she wants to stop the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

A study released last August by The Civil Rights Project at UCLA examining nearly 7,000 school districts found that about 7 percent of Latino students received out-of-school suspensions at least once during the 2009-10 school year, in addition to 17 percent of black students and 5 percent of white students. The group warned that suspending students places them at higher risk of dropping out or ending up in the juvenile justice system. Suspension rates varied by geographic region, however.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the vote drew a large crowd.

“Now we’ll have a better chance to stay in school and become something,” Luis Quintero, 14, told the Times.

NPR visited with Jose Huerta, principal of the predominantly Latino Garfield High School in Los Angeles. He strongly supports eliminating suspensions and feels that not using them has helped the school’s graduation rate. ”Suspensions are off the table at Garfield High School,” he told NPR. “I can’t teach a kid if he’s not in school.”

- “LA Schools Throw Out Suspensions for ‘Willful Defiance,’” NPR.

- “Schools Rethink Suspension,” The Wall Street Journal.

- “Study Analyzes Suspension Rates by Race, Ethnicity and Disability,” Latino Ed Beat.

- “Los Angeles school board cracks down on suspensions for minor infractions,” The Center for Public Integrity.

Judge: Group Can’t Block DC School Closures

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A federal judge has ruled against a community group that sought to block Washington, D.C., public school closures by arguing that they disproportionately hurt black and Latino children.

The Washington Post reports that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote that school officials were not intentionally discriminating against the students.

“In this case, there is no evidence whatsoever of any intent to discriminate on the part of defendants, who are actually transferring children out of weaker, more segregated, and under-enrolled schools,” the judge wrote. “The remedy plaintiffs seek — i.e., to remain in such schools — seems curious, given that these are the conditions most people typically endeavor to escape.”

According to the Washington, D.C., public schools web site this year about 69 percent of students enrolled are black and 16 percent are Hispanic. Additionally, about 77 percent of D.C. students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

According to the Post, the schools the district wants to close in June would affect only two children who are not black or Hispanic out of 2,700 children. According to the ruling, the schools on the closure list are about 94 percent black and 6 percent Hispanic.

Similar charges of school closures hurting minority children have been risen in Chicago.

The judge also noted that community members were given enough notice of the plan. The suit was brought by the group Empower DC.

- “Activists file lawsuit to stop D.C. school closures,” The Washington Post.

- Court opinion on D.C. School Closures

L.A. Teacher Led Walkouts of Mexican American Students

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Sal Castro, a Mexican American Los Angeles high school social studies teacher who played a pivotal role in the walkouts of Latino students demanding better educational opportunities, died Monday at age 79.

In Castro’s obituary, The Los Angeles Times noted that students at five high schools walked out in 1968 “in a dramatic bid to remedy overcrowded and run-down schools, soaring dropout rates, poorly trained teachers, and counselors who steered Latino students into auto shop instead of college-prep classes.”

The Times went on to note that Castro once said that the conditions were “like American education forgot the Latino kid.”

For his role in the protests that became known as the “blowouts” he was arrested, then fired and then later rehired but placed at first in schools where there were few Latino students.

University of California Santa Barbara Chicano studies professor Mario T. Garcia wrote in The Huffington Post that “what the walkouts really changed was the consciousness of the students. They recognized that it was within their power to produce social change.”

Despite his punishment at the time, eventually the Los Angeles Unified School District appreciated his legacy. This week, the district posted a tribute to Castro online. The district later named a middle school after him.

Superintendent John Deasy said, “Sal Castro held a mirror up to our district that showed the need for a youths’ rights agenda more than 45 years ago. Graduation rates, access to college-prep courses, allocation of resources—all of these issues needed fixing and that is why we have spent every day striving to provide the education each and every one of our students deserves.”

- “Sal Castro and Chicano Educational Justice,” The Huffington Post.

- “Sal Castro Dead: Chicago Rights Activist and Educator Dies of Thyroid Cancer,” Associated Press.

- “Latino Educator and Activist Salvador (Sal) Castro Remembered,” Los Angeles Unified School District.

L.A. Parents Use “Parent Trigger” To Create Unusual New School Plan

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Empowered by California’s “parent trigger” law, the parents at one elementary school cast their votes Tuesday in an unusual election.

They were deciding whether the struggling 24th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles should remain in the L.A. Unified School District, break away and be run by a charter school operator–or opt for an unusual combination of the two.

While public school districts and charter schools often compete to enroll the same students, the parents took the unusual step, and 80% opted for merging both models together.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the parents voted for L.A. Unified to handle the kindergarten through fourth grades, and the charter school to handle grades five through eight. Parents will also participating in the hiring process for new staff.

The majority of the children at the school are Latino, and the vote gave voice to many of the Spanish-speaking immigrant parents. That was reflected during the vote. However, they did not work alone. The campaign was largely organized by the group Parent Revolution.

The Times reported that the vote, which took place in a park, had a festive atmosphere and included face painting, piñata and tamales.

“I’ve seen the struggle of some parents here that they’ve gone through so many problems with their children,” parent Esmerelda Chacon told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m very , very happy with the results we got.”

The California law allows a majority of parents at a failing school to petition seeking reforms, including replacing the principal and much of the staff to closing the school.

So far, the parent trigger concept has proved to be controversial. In Florida, for example, the debate has raged over whether the law reflects an effort to privatize education by converting public schools into charter schools run by companies.

It remains to be seen whether putting parents in charge of a school can be an effective turnaround model. But it’s an experiment many are setting their hopes on.

- “Parents choose unique school takeover model in ‘trigger’ vote,” Hechinger Report.

- “Florida Senate revises ‘parent trigger’ proposal,” The Tampa Tribune. April 11.

Hartford, Conn., Schools Reach Agreement On ELLs

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Years after concerns were first raised about how the Hartford Public Schools in Connecticut were instructing English Language Learners, the district has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, pledging to make a number of changes to address the needs of the population.

The Center for Children’s Advocacy first filed a complaint with the OCR in April 2007. The student population includes many Spanish-speaking students, in addition to refugees from various countries.

The February 2013 agreement includes ensuring that ELL students receive at least 45-60 minutes a day of ESL instruction from an ESL-certified teacher (or bilingual) and that ELL students receive support in learning core content. It also required the district to actively recruit qualified ESL- and bilingual-certified staff, and offer professional development on ELL instruction to general education teachers.

In addition, when administrators meet to review school performance data they also will review ELL data, including examining the students’ academic progress and graduation rates. In addition, the district will make interpreting services available to parents–but agreed to avoid using students as interpreters.

The district also must provide certain information to the Office of Civil Rights by October 2013, including the numbers and types of ELL staff at each school, a description of professional development opportunities, and a copy of its plan for communication with non-English speaking parents.

By December 2013, the district must provide information including a list of all ELL students and their proficiency levels, the schedules of ELL teachers, and a description of support services in core content for ELL students.

According to the Learning the Language blog, attorney Stacey Violante Cote with the Center for Children’s Advocacy said that the group became concerned about a lack of services for ELL and immigrant students.

“That’s why this agreement with OCR is so necessary,” she said. “We need something that is going to outlast any administrative turnover or changes in the district’s reform agenda.”

Meanwhile, the blog reported that Mary Beth Russo, the school system’s lead facilitator for ELL services, said the district began implementing changes far before the agreement was signed. Those changes included offering school choice to ELLs. Hartford also began publishing a guide providing information about ELLs at every school, including their academic performance and the staff working with the population.

ELL students face considerable hurdles to overcome. According to the Hartford Courant, only 49% of ELL students in the district graduated in four years in 2010, compared with 62% of non-ELLs.

- “After Federal Probe, Hartford Schools Agree to Improve Services for ‘English Language Learners,’” The Hartford Courant.

- Hartford Board of Education Resolution Agreement

Broad Prize Finalists Recognized for Hispanic Student Gains

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Four finalists are in the running for the elite $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education, recognized for their success in boosting the achievement levels of low-income, Latino and black students.

The winner won’t be announced until Sept. 25. The winner will receive $550,000 in scholarships for students, and the three other finalists will receive $150,000 each. According to the press release, 75 of the nation’s largest districts were eligible and considered for the prize.

But here are a few details on the achievements of the finalists:

- Corona-Norco Unified School District, California. Higher percentages of Hispanic and black students are testing at the “advanced” achievement level in reading, math and science, than in other districts.

- Cumberland County Schools, North Carolina. The school system’s graduation rate increased twice as fast as in other urban districts–by 4% between 2007 and 2009, versus the average of 2%.

- Houston Independent School District, Texas. The district had the highest SAT participation rate among other urban districts for all students. In particular, 84% of the district’s Hispanic students took the exam.

- San Diego Unified School District. Hispanic, black and low-income students improved in science more than students in much of the state.

Corona-Norco Unified and Houston were both finalists in 2012.

To get an idea of just how coveted the prize is, San Diego superintendent Bill Kowba called it “the Oscars of the education world,” KPBS reported. A Houston Chronicle editorial boasted that the city is known as “the Silicon Valley of education reform.”

- “A Sampling of 2013 Broad Prize Finalist School District Student Gains That Bested Other Urban School Districts,” The Broad Foundation.

- “HISD makes urban education’s Final Four,” The Houston Chronicle.

- “Inland Empire school district repeats as finalist for academic prize,” The Los Angeles Times.

- “San Diego School District Nominated for National Award,” KPBS.

Latino Charter School Operator Promotes English Immersion

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) began as a Latino advocacy group in Chicago in the 1980s. But now the UNO name is known more for education, as a charter school operator running ten K-8 schools and one high school.

UNO enrolls about 6,500 students, about 95% of whom are Hispanic, 93% low-income and 38% English Language Learners.

The group still emphasizes serving Hispanic students. What I find interesting is that the system emphasizes using English immersion techniques for English Language Learners. The school system’s web site emphasizes that the curriculum offers “a complete American experience.”

Juan Rangel, CEO of UNO, recently emphasized the approach in an essay about how to best educate Hispanic children for Education Next. Rangel himself did not speak English when he enrolled in kindergarten, The New York Times noted in a profile of him. He was born in Brownsville, Texas, to undocumented immigrant parents from Mexico.

“I picked up the language so fast,” he told the Times.

In his most recent essay for Education Next, he promotes the necessity for schools to promote assimilation to immigrant children.

Rangel’s support of English immersion is interesting, given that many Latino educators support the bilingual education model. Illinois is one of the states that uses bilingual education to educate ELLs. Rangel points out that his students perform better than those in Chicago Public Schools on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).

In particular, the following passage stands out:

“Immigrants and native-born Americans alike recognize English as a unifying feature of American society and as a key to immigrant advancement. Poor English-language skills not only delay full assimilation for our community, but also deny Hispanics full access to American opportunity. UNO chose English-language immersion over the traditional bilingual transition program to teach English to its children and families.

Structured English-language immersion challenges the conventional approach to educating English language learners (ELL). Our students’ limited English-language skills could easily be used as an excuse for low performance or a need for unlimited resources, but we see it as a necessity for teachers to differentiate their instruction to reach all learners, including ELL students. Most pragmatically, English immersion is effective in closing the performance gap between ELLs and their peers nationwide, and is financially viable and scalable—unlike the many bilingual transition programs that require untenable complements of teachers and resources and produce mixed results at best.

I believe, and our schools’ performance bears this out, that a well-rounded, rigorous program with excellent teachers and leaders works with any population of students, and works especially well for Hispanic immigrant children.”

According to the Illinois Interactive Report Card, about 76 percent of UNO students met or exceeded state standards. The system does face academic struggles–it did not make adequate yearly progress.

- “Emphasize Civic Responsibility and Good Citizenship,” Juan Rangel, Education Next.

- 2012 Illinois School Report Card for UNO Network Charter Schools.

Las Vegas School System Could Stop Translating Written IEPs

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Children with special needs who are also English language learners must overcome significant hurdles to succeed academically. If their parents don’t speak English and are not comfortable navigating the school system, the potential barriers to student success grow even taller.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that since 2004 the Clark County School District has provided the parents of its 8,000 ELL special education students with verbal and written translation services. These services help parents understand the complex federally required Individualized Education Plans (IEP) that outline the personalized goals for children with disabilities.

But the school district has proposed cutting out the written IEP translation services to achieve necessary budget cuts, the newspaper reports. The proposal wouldn’t cut the verbal translators present at parent-teacher meetings, which school districts must provide by law.

Fernando Romero, a Hispanic community activist and a Clark County parent whose son has autism, has spoken out against the proposal. ”As a father of an autistic child, I am very upset to hear that they are planning to do this,” Romero told the newspaper. “I know how long it takes to understand the IEP and how technical it is. I’m appalled by this.”

The school district hired a consultant who made recommendations on cuts based on efficiency. In the case of the written IEP translations, the consultant determined that the documents often were sent so late to parents that they were no longer useful. District officials have said they could save $20,000.

Latinos Underrepresented in New York City Gifted Programs

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

While Latino children make up the largest racial or ethnic group enrolled in New York City’s public elementary schools, they occupy the smallest percentage of the gifted and talented program’s enrollment.

Data obtained by The Wall Street Journal shows that Latino children are dramatically underrepresented in the program, making up just 12% of the city’s 14,266 gifted elementary school students this school year. Yet Latino children make up about 41% of the 489,911 elementary students.

The Journal reports that white and Asian children make up about 70% of students enrolled in the city’s 110 gifted and talented elementary programs. Children who are Latino, black or of other races make up about 29%. The newspaper asked the city’s chief academic officer, Shael Polakow-Suransky, whether he thought the racial imblance was a problem.

“I wouldn’t say that we set a goal for ourselves on diversity,” he told the newspaper. “We set a goal for ourselves on having a high standards that we want to push our kids and our families to meet.”

The newspaper is shining a light on the disparity, as the city prepares to change the exam it uses to screen for gifted children. The new test will be the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, relying on abstract thinking.

A large part of the racial and ethnic disparity is that low-income, minority parents don’t know about the gifted program or test. Nor do they have the resources to prepare for it, as tutoring can be expensive. Critics say that the city should not solely rely on standardized test for admission to the program.

According to the Journal, only about 13% (39,300) of children kindergarten through third grade were even tested for gifted programs in 2012, and the city does not believe in screening all students.

In a follow-up story, the Journal reported that the school system’s Chancellor ,Dennis Walcott, said the low enrollment of black and Hispanic children “is what it is.”

“It’s unfair to [black and Hispanic students] if they just need to be put in a program to satisfy some type of percentage,” he told the newspaper.

The lack of diversity among elementary schoolchildren is just the tip of the iceberg. The New York school system has also come under fire for the lack of diversity at the city’s most elite magnet high schools, including Stuyvesant and Bronx Science .

Last September, the NAACP filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education (with the support of Latino Justice PRLDEF), saying that the city’s magnet admission exam discriminated against black and Latino students.

At the time, Reuters reported that in the 2011-12 school year Latinos only made up about 2.4% of Stuyvesant students, and black students made up 1.2 percent.

Admissions standards for gifted programs can vary widely. Make sure to compare your school district’s racial and ethnic composition against the gifted population. Does your district use an exam, or include other factors?

- “City Defends Gifted Policy,” The Wall Street Journal.

- “NAACP says entry exam bars Blacks, Latinos from Top N.Y. Schools,” Latino Ed Beat.

- “Gifted, Talented and Separated.” The New York Times.

Latino Group Reaches Agreement with Denver Schools, Police

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A Latino advocacy group has reached an agreement with the Denver Public Schools and Denver Police Department that limits the role of scope of police in schools primarily to criminal threats to school safety–and not routine discipline matters.

Padres & Jovenes Unidos (Parents & Youth United) has worked for several years to combat what it refers to as the school-to-prison pipeline, which it partially blames on harsh discipline and zero tolerance policies.

The intergovernmental agreement seeks to define the role of police in schools, provide due process protections to students and families, requires input on the policing process, and mandates training prior to police being assigned to schools, Ricardo Martinez, the group’s leader, wrote in a commentary for The Denver Post.

He wrote that instead of the police ticketing or arresting students for non-criminal incidents such as talking back to teachers or swearing, the students should be referred to school administrators for disciplinary action.

The agreement seeks to solve discipline problems without using criminal punishment.

The Denver Post reports that Denver Police Chief Robert White said that “our job is to deal with serious violations of the law, and that’s what we’re going to do.” There are 15 Denver police officers working in 16 schools currently.

Superintendent Tom Boasberg told the newspaper that he expects the agreement to result in lower numbers of suspensions, expulsions and referrals to law enforcement.

The timing of the agreement is interesting, since it seems to go against the increased national discussion about the need for greater police presence on campus following the Sandy Hook Elementary incident.

- “As School-To-Prison Pipeline Continues to Swallow Students, Denver Works to Stem Flow,” The Huffington Post.

- “Guest Commentary: Limiting the role of police in our schools,” The Denver Post.

- Padres & Jovenes Unidos (Parents & Youth United)

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Category Archives: Urban Education