November 17, 2009 1:46 pm

Judging People By The Color Of Their Skin

Holy Civil Rights era, Batman, the racist vigilantes have struck again. It seems that here in 2009 there are those that still believe that a persons ability is determined by the color of their skin. The vilagantes are coming out over the Norwalk Board of Education recent election results. Two incumbents, both Democrats and both black were not re-elected. This has prompted deep reflection. The Hour reports:

“I don’t know where we’re going to go at this point. It was a rude awakening,” said Shirley Mosby, a Democrat and one of the two black board members not re-elected.

“It’s not a race thing, it’s an equity thing and understanding all cultures,” she added. “There’s not one African-American member sitting on that board and African-American kids are the ones who need the help.”

Whoa there Shirley. Africa is a continent, famously posted about here.�African-American kids? What about the Algerians, Moroccans, �Libyans and Egyptians? You mean them too? Souqek khawi. What was it that Martin Luther King said about his dream?

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Well aren’t we there now? Isn’t it time to address the racism that black Americans are perpetuating? Poor families and immigrants need the most help. Economic status, not color the the skin is the greatest obstacle to student performance. Shouldn’t the BOE focus on that issue. Newly elected Steve Colarossi thinks so at least. And maybe focusing on the actual problems of students instead of the ethnicity for once will put the resources to the students based on something data driven rather than something based on the politics of race.

What is the more important issue here? Ethnicity, culture or something directly tied to student performance?

The Hour also posted the demographics of the Norwalk Public School system. Yet the most recent �Norwalk Public School District 2007/2008 strategic school profile lists different numbers. If a full 1/3 of students come from families that speak one of 56 different languages, shouldn’t we be focusing on how to better communicate with those families?

Strangely Jodi Bishop-Pullan sort of agrees with me on that 60s era thing, she just missed the forest. From the Hour:

Bishop-Pullan and Mosby said they felt the�district was going backwards, and the former said she felt like she was living in the 1960s.

“I think it’s a shame that a city that says that diversity is its biggest strength would have a board with so little diversity, particularly when you have an achievement gap between the majority and minority,” said Bishop-Pullan. “When you have parents who don’t feel welcome in schools we have issues, and I think that you need to have all voices at the table.

“I think it’ll take a lot of effort to keep connected to all communities and make sure that we’re still asking the right questions,” she added. “I think that people will try (to make sure all students are represented) but it certainly won’t be the same.”

No it in fact might be better, when the focus is on what obstacles face students who are struggling that isn’t focused on what color their skin is. Then again Jodi Bishop-Pullan is always free to resign and allow the DTC to reinstate Greg Burnett on the BOE to address her concerns. But that would mean perpetuating the idea that it does matter what the color of your skin is. Sadly.

anonymous

I call this the Bruce Morris and Lynn Moore job protection plan. This BOE faction seem to think that if they keep calling enough people racists, someone will see that these 2 are untouchable. Not very logical, but the race card seems to be the only one in their deck.
Steward

Jean Reno for BOE!

The scores split by Free/Reduced Lunches is amazing — in a need-to-improve way.
Kurm Udgeon

I think that we should all remember the terrific job which Mosby and Pullan did during their tenure on the board. What makes them think that their racist rhetoric can undo the job which they didn’t do on their watch. It’s time for these politics of race to be over and done with. They want to perpetuate the myth that only people of (their) color can do the job. WRONG! The people have spoken and they want change. So be it. I guess the minute er hour hasn’t got any other of yesterdays or the day befores news to report on, so they resort to racist headlines. Why doesn’t someone shut down the damn paper and put it out of it’s misery.
Democrat

Kurm Udgeon–bad news but Jody is still there for another 2 years. Or maybe if we’re lucky, she and Migdalia will stop their whining and quit.

Who is Jean Reno?
Just asking…

Let’s get rid of all the women in politcs also and go back to the good old days of white guys in suits making the decisions. Who gave blacks and women the vote anyway? Been nothing but trouble ever since.

NorwalkSpectator

Please, please, please tell me you’re kidding!

Kurm Udgeon

It may have been Janet Reno. (ugh) Could be that she is Norwalk’s answer to John Gault. Ayn Rand lives!!!!!

Perhaps that should be Fridays headline in the minute.

turfgrrl

Kurmudgeon: C’mon you don’t know Jean Reno, “The Professional” or the greatest French actor since Gerard Depardieu?

turfgrrl

Steward: And what is even more amazing is that when you talk to teachers you find that many families who would qualify for the program don’t apply for it. The BOE in fact discussed this awhile back, as a result of discovering that so many families were in arrears with the lunch program.

One of the most expensive foods that can’t seem to get on the table of our poorest families is fresh fruits and vegetables. If we spent as much time and energy on solving that problem as we do banning bake sales, we might be able to reduce poverty and improve the education of all of our students.

NorwalkSpectator

Not only did Dr. Cook discuss this issue at length with the Board, but this year, there was also a very strong push to get as many families enrolled in the program as possible. The outstanding lunch debt has been reduced from over $150,000 four years ago, to under $70,000 the following year and further still this past school year. Dr. Cook is hoping to close out the year in the black and I say, “Go, Dr. Cook, go!”

turfgrrl

NorwalkSpectator: Good news there, thanks for posting! It’d be cool if we know how the enrollment outreach was done, did it improve because of better communication? Can it apply to other issues that need greater parental involvement?

NorwalkSpectator

From what I understand, Dr. Cook and George Gianitti went to the principals, they talked to the assistant principals, they talked to the food service workers, they talked to practically anyone they could button hole long enough to listen about the Free and Reduced Lunch program. Dr. Cook could give you more details on how they did it, but I know it was alot of work.

Secondhand Rose

Fruits and vegetables are not that expensive unless you’re wasting your money on a lot of bread, chips, cookies, and other garbage first. I have been living on $25k a year for the past 14 months, and if I can do it, anybody can do it. I pay over $1000 a month for my condo rental, don’t have cable or a cell phone, drive a 16 year old used car, and haven’t bought a brand new item of clothing in over a year. And I don’t receive any food stamps or any aid from any social service agency and have never approached a soup kitchen or a food pantry for help. So as far as I’m concerned, quit your whining and educate yourselves on how to eat properly and within your budget. It can be done. I’m doing it.

NorwalkSpectator

Just a few points of clarification

The amount Title One funding for any given school is directly tied to how many Free and Reduced lunches are enrolled at that school prior to October 2nd. If school meets a certain percentage, then the school qualifies.

A few years ago, there was a major issue with obesity in the schools and sugar, white bread and soda were all but banned from being on Norwalk school grounds. The food that the food service prepares is wholesome food. Yes, there are cookies still but what is available is carefully prepared and thought out.

For a single adult, (you didn’t mention anyone else living with you) 25K is doable, but the old adage that two can live as cheaply as one is false, especially if one of them is a growing child. Vegetables and fruits are wonderful, but I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that $25K would be a fortune for some of the families in the District.

And finally, I have heard some teachers talk about how their students come to school without jackets, socks or in thin summer like clothing because that’s all they have. I know of at least three teachers that hunt around for coats, socks, hats mittens and other items of clothing for their students who apparently have almost nothing to their names. And I know of one teacher who had a kindergarten student arrive for the first day of school clutching a cosmetic bag that contained Twinkies, which apparently was for her lunch.

So, I don’t think the issue is someone whining. I think there are real issues there and far more complicated than just tossing a few carrot sticks and an apple at a kid. Oh, if only it were that simple!

Steward

I had never focused on the phrase “Souqek khawi” before. A search brought me to “Expressions marocaines en fran�ais.” While reading North African slang in French, my mind wandered off to the Pieds Noirs and their treatment in Marsielles, Aix, etc. during the ’60′s. Next thing you know, Jean Reno pops into my head. “Mon Dieu!” I said to myself, “There’s an African minority!” … and, then, Voila! I’m back at the BOE.

Anyway. There are many sad aspects of education in Norwalk that need improvement. This data points to such a critical need. Imagine the chutzpah to know this and suggest cutting reading specialists! Has anyone performed any CART analysis on the data to see what other failing clusters appear?

turfgrrl

Steward: Glad you appreciate the obscure references that only George Santayana could love. I think Bruce Kimmel was one of the few who want down the path of looking at the data and thinking about what that meant from a policy standpoint. I have confidence that the newly constituted BOE will be data driven and problem solving. But it takes more than just a board to effect change. I’d like to see the business community step up and put some dollars towards reducing poverty and increasing food support to families in Norwalk. If everyone is really so concerned with scores etc. then why not tackle the most glaring problem?

Steward

With Classification and Regression Trees (CART) you link all of your variables that could impact a measurement. You run it in the magic box and it segments the drivers by correlation. It�s real cool and also eliminates the endless conversations of what about this variable? Or did you consider this? It cranks up the sophistication, clarity, & honesty of the pitch several notches � easier sale. Trust me, getting money or focus these days is hard. CART products ain�t cheap but for a referral fee ( Not!) we could find someone to run the data � the hardest part to pull together.

NorwalkSpectator

I think it is incredibly sad that before the new Board of Education is even sworn in, the presupposition is being made that the new Board can’t possibly care about “all Norwalk students” or want what would be best for “all the students”. Of course, what may be best for one particular student, may not be the best for all, but then again, what situation in life is that way?

The other sad thing is that embedded in this article is another underlying assumption that only people of the same cultural/ethnic/and-or race can teach the students from that same people group or ethnic mixture. I guess that means that Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which was handed down on May 17, 1954 (for the mathematically challenged like myself, that’s 55 years ago) was nothing more than a symbolic gesture. What a monumental waste of time and resources we’ve had for the last 55 years! Based on that assumption, busing should have never even been attempted. And charter schools? Another failed experiment. The ipso facto conclusion would be that the schools should have remained “separate but equal”. I’m sorry, I can’t buy that at all.
Publius

Apparently the voters of Norwalk owe Mosby & Rivas an apology for putting in the new slate?

NorwalkSpectator

Publius, just a small point of clarification regarding as to whom we are expected to apologize to. Did you mean Mosby and Murray, or Mosby and Rivas? Rivas is still on the Board.

By the way, you might want to check out the other thread about last night’s BOE meeting. Rivas and Mosby supplied some interesting theatrics.

Fleeced

“I think that you need to have all voices at the table.”

I thought you ran on the platform of ONE VOICE.
Typical democrap hypocrite.
http://www.threejars.com Paul Steed

A conversation with Dr. Joshua Starr � Superintendent of Stamford�s Public Schools

Recently the NSA sat down with Dr. Joshua Starr in his office for a free-ranging conversation.

Much of the existing public discourse around education involves budgetary issues; we chose to focus instead on pedagogy. Our conversation focused on how Dr. Starr and his team are shaping the District�s teaching modalities and affecting how knowledge is made available and acquired.

Now in his fifth year as Superintendent, Dr. Starr feels that his administration�s efforts to centralize and standardize curriculum are well advanced. Stamford�s public school curriculum had not been revised in decades. Consistency across Stamford�s twenty schools and within all classrooms makes it possible to more thoroughly and objectively evaluate curriculum and how it is being delivered.

One of the Stamford Public Schools� goals is to raise standards for all children. Dr. Starr firmly believes that equity among and within our schools is the logical successor to many of the important gains made from civil rights and desegregation initiatives of forty years ago. The same curriculum should be available to all children. All children should be challenged and encouraged.

A cornerstone of this philosophy is �detracking.� Stamford has defined tracking as �the practice of grouping students based on their achievement levels with little opportunity for movement.� Dr. Starr believes tracking is not benefitting any students no matter what their school level. He believes that data shows that you can raise the outcomes for lower performing students without impacting higher performing kids. Currently, children are sorted into as many as five distinct academic groups. One of the biggest indictments of public school education in the United States is the huge performance gap between the lowest achieving groups and the highest. In Stamford, this performance gap has consistently been in the 40% range as measured on standardized tests.

Grouping by ability may not just lower certain student�s self-esteem but may also predispose faculty to notions of what individual students are capable of. Many teachers, particularly in the middle schools are in support of detracking.

In addition to (1) eliminating low-level classes, the Starr administration has focused on the following core areas: (2) supporting professional development, (3) reforming instructional methodology and (4) �efficacy� (which involves reshaping teachers� belief systems).
One period per day has been added for academic enrichment, where students are encouraged to delve deeper in topics of interest. There is also a half hour per week advisory period where students discuss the social and emotional issues around school and learning.

Dr. Starr pointed out that Stamford�s initiatives have been well received by both the State and the GE Foundation. Both have asked that equity � specifically detracking – be built in to all of Stamford�s reforms. Stamford has included detracking in its Strategic District Improvement Plan and has been commended by Hartford for having one of the most transparent budgets, aligned with its educational goals out of roughly fifteen major Connecticut school districts.

No matter what the policies and initiatives, Dr. Starr firmly believes the over thirty-years of data that suggest that teacher effectiveness is the most determinant factor in educational outcomes.
Dr. Starr is especially proud of how hard all of his staff works with a sense of pride and for a common purpose. He feels the greatest accomplishment to date has been institutionalizing an education framework with higher standards and greater access. The main regret of his tenure is not having the resources available to institute world languages and technology programs. Perhaps his biggest surprise is how the same set of educational data can be interpreted in several different ways. As the Superintendent responsible for educating more than 15,000 students, Dr. Starr believes in a systematic approach with a dispassionate analysis of outcomes.

While we were chatting with Dr. Starr, my mind kept turning to Dr. Roger Bannister. On May 6, 1954 he became the first man to officially run a sub-four minute mile. Nobody had thought it was possible. Incredibly, just 46 days later another runner broke Sir Roger�s record. Within only three years, sixteen other runners had broken the four minute mile barrier.

Telling a child something isn�t possible can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Believing that all children can have adequate educational outcomes seems like a logical goal but requires a paradigm shift in thinking for many parents, teachers, administrators and public officials.

The NSA would like to thanks Dr. Starr for his generous time. Sarah Arnold, Public Affairs Officer for the Stamford Public Schools, was extremely helpful in providing much of the background information for our meeting and participated in our discussion. Special mention must be made of the GE Foundation�s tremendously generous support of the Stamford Public School System. The NSA�s own Master Teacher � Gail Okun � provided special insight and technical expertise for this article.