Testimony Before the Joint Committee on Education

Friday, March 22, 2019

Chair Lewis, Chair Peisch, and Members of the Committee:

I’m Mary Ann Stewart of Lexington, pleased to offer testimony in support of The PROMISE Act, for strong local accountability, and for improved family engagement strategies.

As a parent of three, I’ve gained deep understanding of our educational enterprise through personal engagement with local PTAs, School Site Council, and as Elected Representative from my neighborhood to Town Meeting; Elected President of the Massachusetts PTA, and elected twice to School Committee, serving as Chair during the worst recession of our lifetime; then, Governor Patrick appointed me to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Knowing that decisions we make today will have a generational impact on students, The PROMISE Act is thorough and needs your support—I urge a favorable vote out of Committee.

MassINC’s report released last month (Local Accountability: An Untapped Strategy for Advancing Student Achievement in Massachusetts Public Schools, https://massinc.org/research/local-accountability-2/) contributes to this conversation. As someone focused on student achievement, and 26 years after MERA, it’s past time for an infusion of state resources. This time, the strategic drive for school improvement will be greatly enhanced when communities develop accountability provisions of their own.

Punitive measures, attempting to *school* educators on student learning, are counter-intuitive and demoralizing. We should move from *all compliance all the time* to supporting educators with relevant tools that sharpen skills in tangible, relatable ways for students’ deeper learning. This requires focus, rapid implementation, and sustained dedication.

PROMISE fully implements the pillars of FBRC, bringing relief to Gateway Cities and small and rural districts. Districts that lose significant amounts of Chapter 70 aid to charter schools require provisions for relief.

Locally and statewide, we should do everything possible to engage as many families as possible so all students achieve their potential. There’s a ton of information backing this up—more than 40 years of research—but, I’ll leave you with this: One study concluded that schools would have to increase their spending by more than $1,000 per pupil to achieve the same results that an engaged family brings. That families are increasingly from diverse backgrounds and countries, substantial efforts must be made to remove barriers to their engagement. Thank you.
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Image credit: A standing room only crowd in Gardner Auditorium today at the Joint Committee on Education public hearing on bills pertaining to School Finance I. ~ mas

Modern Lead Learners*

To the Gilbert & Sullivan tune, "Modern Major General":

To model a true Partnership with Fam'ly and Community,
(As leaders of our school it is a key responsibility),
To strive to liberate the barriers with true integrity,
For Stu' success we'engage all fam'lies to our best ability!

We do not hesitate to work hard to improve engagement rates,
Shared vision that we all create will lead us to eliminate
The gaps in learning that exist, the urgency is oh so great,
Our staff is focused ev'ry day, as school improvement demonstrates!

The Partnership needs all of us, it's more than a philosophy,
We take to heart relationships and excellence and equity,
Our strength lies in diversity to re'lize opportunity,
Modern fam'ly 'engagement is a shared responsibility!

We have experience and skill with tools and staff most critical,
Communications ev’ry way from face-to-face and digital,
We build relations big and small, collaborate with one and all,
For Stu' Engagement, most of all, Fam’ly Engagement is our call!
- - -
*A theme song for today's school leaders! "Family" refers to the community of adults in a child's life who provide advocacy and support for them to succeed at school and in life.

Modern Family Engagement

Hands: How often have you experienced "random acts" of family engagement at your child's school, those one-off events to count heads in the building toward the school's family engagement plan?

Research demonstrates that when families are engaged in children's education, student achievement and graduation rates increase. Also? Studies show that effectively engaging families is cost effective, so much so that schools would have to spend more than $1,000 per pupil to get the same results.

So, it's clear that schools need families to help close learning gaps, but few know what good family engagement looks like, and fewer are willing to take the risk.

It's been observed that, in the homes of high-achieving children, the academic climate is in-sync with the academic climate of their schools. Together they generate a series of beliefs, attitudes, skills, and motivations that lead to higher achievement of many kinds.

Modern families play critical roles for student success, raising their children in multiple settings and across time, in collaboration with many others:

• Modern family engagement is a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to engaging families in meaningful and culturally respectful ways - and families are committed to actively supporting their children's learning and development --> where families and schools co-create responsibilities and roles for student success

• Modern family engagement is continuous across a child's life --> where schools and communities provide opportunities for family engagement

• Modern family engagement is carried out everywhere children learn - at home, in pre-K programs, in school, in after-school programs, faith-based institutions, and community programs and activities --> where families, schools, and communities take stock to learn and improve

It's important for schools to be intentional in their approaches to build relationships with families, yet many teacher preparation programs provide very little preparation on how to work constructively with families. As the Lead Learner in a school building, Principals set the tone, co-constructing roles based on a shared responsibility and their understanding of complimentary responsibilities.

How family friendly is your school? How do you know? One way to find out is through a welcoming school walk-through. Invite some families, some community members, teachers, and support staff, including custodians, cafeteria workers, and school secretaries. Walk through the building and ask them to look at your school as a new visitor would see it:

• How inviting is the entrance?

• Are signs clear and in the languages represented by families whose children attend the school?

• How welcoming is the front office?

Consider using a guide like this checklist from Beyond the Bake Sale.*

All parents have the capacity to support their children's learning and there are many different kinds of learning. Many times, educators don't understand how they intimidate families, especially those whose first language isn't English. How can you shift culture in a school?

- - -
* Beyond the Bake Sale is a great book for the whole school to read together, but it's even more effective to read it in mixed teams of educators and parents. I've read it several ways and one of the most powerfully engaging was as a virtual book study across 10 time zones using blogs, twitter, and voxer to share learning and challenge thinking.

Too Small to Fail is an initiative of the Clinton Foundation and The Opportunity Institute to empower all parents with tools to talk, read, and sing with their young children from birth. Check out their Programs & Partnerships to see how they are shifting awareness in the media, in laundromats, on the playground and more.

Harvard Family Research Project helps stakeholders develop and evaluate strategies to promote the well-being of children, youth, families, and their communities.

Strong Families, Strong Schools

Based on my keynote at the Family Leadership Conference, Saturday, May 21, 2016.

When our eldest entered school, I wanted to know his teachers, the principal, and other families* in our neighborhood. I'm on the state Board of Ed now as the Parent Representative and I'm there with no particular education expertise to speak of, but by virtue of having a child in the public schools at the time I was appointed by Governor Deval L. Patrick in August 2014.

I've learned quite a lot about our children and our schools over the years as a parent, as a former Lexington School Committee Member and Chair, and as a past state PTA president. I want to share some of what I've learned about what it means - and why it's important - for modern families to be engaged in their child's education.

Over forty years of research demonstrates that when families are engaged in their children's education, student achievement and graduation rates increase and this holds true regardless of a parent's level of education, country of origin, or socio-economic status.

Schools need families to help close learning gaps, and we all need to work together to help our schools fulfill the promise that public education holds for every child, but what is it supposed to look like?

I attended a conference a while back that was focused on helping families help their children succeed at school. I didn't write down who the speaker was, but I did write what was said, and it reveals some profound indicators for families and schools:

In the homes of high-achieving children, the academic climate is in sync with the academic climate found in their schools. And together, they generate a series of attitudes and beliefs, skills and motivations that lead to higher achievement of many kinds.

With the federal update of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the language for families has been sharpened from "family involvement" to "family engagement". It's a challenging provision because we all know how busy families are these days.

Modern family engagement is not a checklist; it's about building relationships with families for student success no matter the family's culture, language, or socio-economic status. It's about understanding and co-constructing complementary roles, but before you can get there, you have to establish some core beliefs. This is what the book Beyond the Bake Sale is all about.

In Bake Sale, the authors share 4 Core Beliefs which are the four corners of family-school partnerships. I highly recommend reading and discussing the book in mixed teams: of parents, teachers, building leaders, custodians, secretaries, school committee members, selectmen, faith-based and community-base leaders, etc., because the whole community shares a role in student success.

Sharing responsibility means families become full partners with schools in an integrated, strategic way for students, not as a stand alone event, or a thing that a school or individual does. Effective family engagement is woven into everything the school does.

Approaching relationships with families in this way is to focus on a strength-based model, wherein family engagement is systemic and integrated, not something added to an already full plate; it's the sauce that brings everything together.

Shared responsibility is continuous across a child's life - from birth through adult - and it happens everywhere children learn: at home, in pre-kindergarten programs, before- and after-school programs, in school, and in faith-based and community-based programs and activities. Shared responsibility is identified as having three dimensions:

1. Opportunities: where schools and communities provide opportunities for family engagement;
2. Roles: where families, schools, and communities co-create responsibilities for student success;
3. Learning: where families, schools, and communities take stock to learn and improve practice.

Modern families engage with schools and communities to support children's learning, guide them through a complex school system, advocate for more and improved learning opportunities, and collaborate and communicate effectively with school and community partners.

Modern schools engage with families and communities in order to build relationships, communicate effectively, provide activities that link to learning and address differences, and support advocacy and share power.

* * *

* "Parent" or "family" refers to the adult/s who serve a care-giving role in a child's life.

ADDITIONAL SELECTED RESOURCES

1. 1647: 1647families.org 
2. Building Capacity for Family Engagement: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/14/11/building-capacity-family-engagement 
3. Family Engagement in Anytime, Anywhere Learning: http://www.hfrp.org/var/hfrp/storage/fckeditor/File/Family%20Engagement%20in%20Anywhere%20Anytime%20Learning_HarvardFamilyResProj.pdf  
4. Harvard Family Research Project: hfrp.org
5. Massachusetts Parent and Community Education and Involvement Advisory Council: http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/sac/parent/ (See Family, School, and Community Partnership Fundamentals: http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/sac/parent/FSCPfundamentals.pdf)
6. National Association for Family and Community Education (NAFCE): nafce.org
7. National Parent Teacher Association (National PTA): pta.org
8. The Equity and Excellence Commission Report to Education Secretary Arne Duncan: http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/eec/equity-excellence-commission-report.pdf

Crossposted to MAStewartMA.wordpress.com

Supporting our schools is everyone's business - not just for those with kids in school

I'm an involved parent - some might say I'm too involved!

When I first began as a volunteer in my child's school, I was in a partnership mindset and the school was, too. The school principal set that tone and fostered the culture to support it, engaging families and community members in a process that was defined and well-communicated. This isn't the case for all schools.

High quality public education may be the focus of local, state, and national policy, but it's not yet a civil right. There are tremendous disparities in funding, facilities, and instructional resources across our nation's school districts, and this inequity underlies the poor outcomes that the No Child Left Behind law attempts to address.

But, learning happens everywhere: in before-school programs, after-school programs, in school, in pre-kindergarten programs, in community-based programs and faith-based programs. We can think of learning happening across a continuum.

As a result, our schools need everyone's help: parents, family members, community residents, local organizations, and anyone else whom we can engage in children's learning. From early childhood through high school, families make key contributions to student learning.

Family, school, and community partnership is not some "nice to have" - it's a necessity for school improvement and student success.

Collaborating with the community in support of your child's education*

There are many ways to engage in a child's education: at home, at school, and in the community. Here are some ideas for collaborating with community organizations in support of children's learning:

• Make local agencies and businesses aware of what's happening at your child's school.

• Help coordinate and participate in events that support community groups.

• Talk with employers about co-sponsoring parent meetings or parenting workshops on site.

• Encourage employers to adopt flexible work schedules and time off so that employees might attend school functions.

• Help organize and/or participate in community career, art, or health fairs.

• Recruit community members (seniors, business people) to volunteer at school.

• Serve on local community advisory councils and committees.

• Work with local authorities and public officials to sponsor community events.

• Encourage and help facilitate your child's participation in community service.

• Be a role model; be active in community service yourself or together with your child.

- - -

* This refers to any adult who serves a care-giving role in a child's life.

Family engagement isn't a checklist

I'm a proud parent of three: two sons, now college grads, and a daughter in high school. I became active in their education at school when our first child entered kindergarten (lo those many years ago...) and it's what keeps me engaged during those long Board of Ed meetings each month.

Back when they were little, the family-school partnership inspired and motivated me to contribute my skills as an artist and musician to further the educational goals of students and the school. I was happy to do things other than fundraise. Besides, it was fun connecting with other families and teachers and staff in the process.

Family engagement isn't a checklist; it's about a school's openness to a relationship with all of its families for student success.

More than 40 years of research shows that students with families actively engaged in their education at school and at home do way better at school and in life - and this holds true regardless of a parent's level of education, country of origin, or socioeconomic status.

Modern school culture uses the language of "partnership" to describe the mutual relationship of schools and families to co-construct opportunities for learning. This is intentional, as it acknowledges the child at the center of decisions in schools, families, and communities. It's a statement about the shared responsibility of all who make those decisions and that they're focused on children's development and learning success. This focus impacts student skills, grades and achievement, health and safety, discipline, and other attitudes and behaviors, and includes encouraging students to develop talent in art, sports, music, technology, and other areas.

As the Parent Representative on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, I'm one of 11 voting members appointed to provide oversight of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by virtue of my parent lens. 

That parent lens isn't only important for some things, it's necessary on all of the issues that have an impact on our children, our schools, and our communities. It's in all children's best interest to have families represented all across and up and down the educational enterprise and, by the time they're in high school, to have students represented, as well.

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Notes, quotes, tweets

I've blogged before about my experience in a global book study with the book, Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential School Guide to Family-School Partnerships. Some of the parents and educators from that group have gone on to have the book study with parents and educators at their school.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.
~ Malala Yousafzai

Being talked about at the dinner table is a "good" thing. Are Your Students Thankful For You? https://t.co/OJeC8zJbmB via @mjanatovich

— Jon Harper ; (@Jonharper70bd) November 24, 2015

Remember I'm-possible!!! pic.twitter.com/Q2roOTwmXB

— Ted Huff (@TedHiff) November 25, 2015

How do you know if your school is "family friendly" and why does it matter?

How family friendly is your school? How do you know?

Sometimes it's really easy to overlook things that may be unintended barriers to family engagement because seeing them day after day can make them invisible to you. One way to address this is to have a welcoming walk-through of the building. How will families and community members engage with school leaders and staff in the process?

Henderson, Mapp, Johnson, & Davies suggest that even before families enter the school building, they're looking for signs that they will be welcomed:

• friendly signs (in all major languages spoken by families at the school) point out the entrance and say that families and visitors are welcome;

• parking spots for parents and visitors are clearly marked and are near (or at least not very far from) the entrance;

• school staff and parents greet visitors in a friendly way and ask if they can help;

• teachers, administrators, and other school staff go outside the building to greet and talk with parents.

Once inside the building, how welcoming is it? What do you see? What impressions do you come away with? And, once you have identified barriers, what's the process for removing them?

Schools that Work

When we think of being involved parents* at school, what comes to mind? Is it to volunteer in the classroom? Fundraise for needed items? Attend a program, event, or meeting?

These are only part of what it means to be a modern, engaged parent today. Parents are working, juggling family, extra-curricular activities, and other commitments. Certainly, our students and schools win when parents are meaningfully involved in classrooms and schools. And, while it's true that an engaged parent may be a school volunteer:

• he may also be interested in learning how school events actually link to learning, so that he may better support learning at home;

• or, she may want to participate in decision-making opportunities in the school or in the district;

• or some may wish to advocate not only for their child and her classroom, but for all of the children in the school, city, or town, by speaking out on school-wide issues before local, state, and/or national elected representatives and policymakers.

Between government mandates, increasing class sizes, and shrinking budgets, public schools today are challenged to provide every child with opportunities to meet their educational needs.

Our communities, along with the Commonwealth, and the federal government as a critical third partner, have a shared responsibility for maintaining public schools and ensuring that all children have access to a high-quality public education.

The parent partnership extends beyond the school walls and includes our elected representatives at the local, state, and national levels. We must let them know how they can make a difference for our children by showing up to advocate for resources.

Across Massachusetts, schools lack resources for critical programs they need to close gaps and overcome barriers to learning that threaten the quality of education for every child - and leave our most vulnerable children behind.

To keep the promise of public education alive is to renew our partnership with policymakers and to promote a more fruitful collaboration on behalf of every child in every public school in every city and Town.

I'm dedicated to building family, community, and statewide partnerships that work for our schools and children.

Yes - family engagement is about partnering with our child's teacher and school -- and, yes, it's also about packing healthy lunches for them, monitoring their screen time, and talking with them about their goals and passions.

But, that's not the whole picture.

We all need to work together - beyond the classroom and school - to help our schools obtain the resources they need to fulfill the promise that public education holds for every child.

Advocacy is like an ever-flowing river - one that you may step into at any place, at any time. And whether you choose to dip your toe in at the edge of the shore, or wade all the way into the deep - your presence has changed the course.

Now is the time. We must partner together because these are our children, our schools, our future and they deserve no less.
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* Throughout this post, "parent" refers to any adult who serves a care-giving role in a child's life.

Parents as Partners in Shared School Decision Making

I truly believe that when parents are fully respected and engaged as partners with schools, schools do better. When our youngest was in elementary school I served on the school's Site Council for two years (2006-2008), elected through a representative process. Site councils give parents the opportunity to shape school policy by giving them an equal voice in school decision making, along with teachers, principals, and community partners. Serving on the Site Council was an engaging, pragmatic way to partner with the school in students' academic and social-emotional life.

Our Site Council was comprised of four parents whose children attended the school; each parent served overlapping terms of two years each, with two parents elected each year. Three school staff members were elected by staff. Then, one parent was nominated by members of the council to serve as Co-Chair; the principal served as the other Co-Chair and also appointed one member from the community at large.

We met monthly in a conference room at the school, before the start of the school day, and for about an hour. The issues we took up had an impact on the annual school improvement plan:

• the impact of class size on student performance;

• school safety and discipline;

• the school handbook;

• family engagement;

• enhancing the school grounds, and more.

HERE's what's on the DESE website about Site Councils. Among other things, the Massachusetts Education Reform law requires School Site Councils to:

• adopt educational goals for the school;

• review the annual school building budget;

• develop a school improvement plan which must correspond to the district improvement plan.

The relationship between School Committees and school Site Councils provides for a unique opportunity to improve and strengthen community engagement within public education governance. The law provides an oversight role for School Committees and further states that elected School Committees at the district level may grant additional authority to School Councils in the area of educational policy. During my years on the Lexington School Committee, and in partnership with MASC, we met with representatives from the Town's 9 School Site Councils twice a year to strengthen their awareness of their roles and responsibilities.

The most important work of the school Site Council is the development of the School Improvement Plan (SIP). In this work the entire school community develops goals and plans strategies to address identified needs. Parents can have an important impact in this process by making sure that issues important to them and their children are addressed. These might include:

• establish a welcoming school environment;

• training to help school staff work effectively with families;

• class size, its impact on student learning, and a plan to reduce class size;

• design and implement parent/family engagement activities;

• meeting the learning needs of diverse students, including students with disabilities and students who are English language learners.

Once developed (annually), a Site Council submits their SIP to the School Committee.

I learned a lot about our school during my time on the Site Council. I found it an informative and empowering way to take part in a collaborative process that had a positive impact on the students and school culture. The experience led to my running for Town Meeting, then the School Committee, where I ultimately advocated for all of the Town's public school children. 

If you're still with me here, having read this far, and it sounds even a tiny bit interesting, I encourage you to look into the process for serving on a local Site Council.

NASBE15 Pre-Conference :: Student Data Privacy :: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 :: 1:00 PM*

Pre-test: Can you identify what the following acronyms stand for?

• SOPIPA

• PII

• SBEs

• FERPA

• COPPA

• PI

• PPRA

• SEAs

• PTAC

Presenters

State Law and Policy Trends:
Rachel Anderson, Senior Associate, Policy and Advocacy, Data Quality Campaign

Amelia Vance, Director of Education Data & Technology, NASBE

Common Pitfalls of Contracting with Education Technology Providers:
Michael Hawes, Statistical Privacy Advisor, US Department of Education

Security 101:
Jim Siegl, Technology Architect, Fairfax County Public Schools

Overcoming Policy Hurdles to Help Kids Succeed:
Elizabeth Laird, Lousiana Deartment of Education

Federal Data Privacy Legislation Panel:
Reg Leichty, Moderator, Founding Partner, Foresight Law + Policy
Jon Bernstein, President, Bernstein Strategy Group
Paige Kowalski, Vice-President of Policy and Advocacy, Data Quality Campaign
Kobie Pruitt, Education Policy Manager, The Future of Privacy Forum
Mark Schneiderman, Vice President for Government Affairs, School Messenger
Elana Zeide, Privacy Research Fellow, NYU Information Law Institute

State Boards of Education (SBEs) have some authority over education data privacy (Here's what's posted on MA/DESE website - remind me to follow up on any further BESE authority).

School as we know it is changing:

• Technology and information needs are evolving faster than policies.

• There's a lack of communication with parents and the public about the value of educational data.

• Talking about privacy can be challenging.

• How do we address the personal nature of privacy?

Since September 2015, 187 Bills on student data privacy have been introduced in 47 states; legislative themes include:

Thirty-three states have passed student data privacy laws since 2013. Laws prior to 2014 gave State Education Agencies (SEAs) and SBEs^ authority to:

• Rule-making

• Override authority

• Adopt & implement privacy policies

• Provide a public data inventory

• Appoint Chief Privacy Officer

• Review potential new data elements to be collected/linked/shared

• Ensure role based access to data

• Notify parents of rights

• Create a data security review team

• Provide oversight of vendor contracts

[^ Again - noted for follow-up with DESE]

Rachel Anderson:

• One thing Congress doesn't do is work from scratch

• Congress is attempting to use/update FERPA for student data privacy issues - - it's complex because the law was written in 1974 and it has a hard time fitting into today's educational context:

• 1974 student "educational records" could be locked in filing cabinet with a key...that's out of touch with 2015

• There's no "educational record" now, there is "student data"

Jim Siegl:

• There's a trade-off between what's useful and convenient for teachers in the classroom and a rigid system for "protection"

• Biggest risks to security are the mistakes made by people with access to data in systems every day (as opposed to "data breaches")

• How is your district handling educator training of day-to-day data?

• Ongoing staff training is a must - anyone handling student data should be trained in

• how to use data, and
• how to protect data

Elizabeth Laird:

• Welcome to Privacy-pa-looza!
• Louisiana schools struggle with strict privacy law
• Louisiana is the only state with criminal penalties
• Time for a longitudinal data system
• Lousiana's plan to protect student privacy

Take-aways on student data privacy:

• SBEs have been collecting student/school data for 100 years

• Technology and data can sound abstract
• the philosophy of "protection of data" at the intersection of "education" makes it a challenging issue

• Need to consider state and federal interaction
• How to consider investing scarce public resources to student data privacy?

• What is the appropriate federal role?
• The "role of consent" in some of the federal bills is an "over-correction" > > > must strike a balance between "privacy" and data's "value"

• The potential for over-reach; must consider the role of technology in education and the consequence of passing draconian legislation, lest it become too burdensome for educators

• Still...laws are not enough - we need leadership from the education community to build trust and best practices.

Suggested foundational elements of a state data privacy and security policy to include:

• Statement of the policy/law's purposes - - To include talking about both the VALUE of educational data and the importance of PROTECTING that data)

• Select the person/s in charge - - Who will answer people's questions? Who creates policy and guidance? Who enforces the state's laws?

• Transparency plan - - In the absence of being transparent...anything that can be said will be said...SBEs haven't been good at communicating the VALUE of educational data and the importance of PROTECTING that data. It can (and should) be simple.
• Explain the "who, what, where, why, and when" of data collection.
• Make the data easy to find and understand.
• Give details for those who want to read them.

• Limiting vendor use of data - - Limit data use for non-educational purposes. Check contract provisions for data use and storage. Define who has signing authority on contracts. Beware of "click-wrap" agreements.

• Statewide data privacy & security plan - - Have a comprehensive plan to address privacy, and also address administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. Ongoing staff training and methods of encryption.

• Ongoing staff training - - Anyone who handles student data should be trained in: How to use data and how to protect data

Pre-test answers:

• SOPIPA: Student Online Personal Information Protection Act. A California law, the first state law to comprehensively address student privacy. Effective January 1, 2016

• PII: Personally Identifiable Information

• SBEs: State Boards of Education

• FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (of 1974!) A federal law designed to protect the privacy of student "educational records". Established the rights of students to inspect and review their educational records.

• COPPA: Children's Online Privacy Protection Act - a federal law designed to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13

• PI: Personal Information

• PPRA: Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. A federal law that affords certain rights to parents of minor students with regard to surveys that ask questions of a personal nature.

• SEAs: State Education Agencies

• PTAC: Privacy Technical Assistance Center - provides guidance and best practices.

* I found the presentations and panel discussion to be an excellent complement to the morning visit to Halstead Academy.

NASBE :: Data Privacy Resources

There's more in the Storify

- - -

Materials from the Session available online:

NASBE :: Comparison of 2015 Federal Education Data Privacy Bills

Why Does Student Data Matter?

10 Things We Would Lose Without Data

Student Data Principles

10 Steps Every District Should Take Today

Parsing Student Privacy: Creating a Parent-Focused Framework for Conversation

Is Student Privacy Erased as Classrooms Turn Digital?

Parental Support for Technology and Data Use in Schools

A Parents' Guide to Student Data Privacy

Student Privacy Pledge (with statements from NSBA, CCSSO, Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), National PTA, more)

NASBE Pre-Conference::Visit to Halstead Academy::Baltimore County Public Schools::Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Maryland is organized into 24 public school districts. Members of NASBE visited the Halstead Academy of Art and Science, a preK-5 magnet school in Towson MD, part of the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS, @BaltCoPS). School data is HERE.

Recent 3rd grade study of Gustav Klimt...

...inspired artwork that beautifies the hallways

Halstead is also a district "lighthouse school" piloting the county's instructional digital conversion program known as Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow (S.T.A.T.). The name "stat" (proposed by a group of students) conveys the urgency of the work: learner-centered, not led by technology, and future-focused, not based on tradition.

Theory of Action - BCPS' North Star

Framework is based on Danielson & P21

As Massachusetts has been wrangling with its decision about how to assess students now that the state has aligned frameworks with common core state standards, something I've been asking in state board meetings is: What's our vision for 21st c learning? If we're saying that we need "next gen" assessments, what are we doing to ensure that our school and classroom environments, curriculum, professional development, instructional practice, and so on are also next gen? What do students need today to meet tomorrow's (unknown) demands?

Not only have they asked the questions and forwarded a vision, BCPS has a plan. The digital conversion is in its third year of a comprehensive five-year strategic plan that includes system-wide changes in everything from budgeting, physical facilities, policies, and communications to professional development, curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Learning is changing with intention and buy-in from all stakeholders in BCPS schools, with everything from how classroom furniture is arranged, to what is being taught, to how the school day is structured. Ultimately, as the S.T.A.T. program progresses, all BCPS schools will have:

• digitally-enhanced curriculum supplemented with engaging, adaptive digital resources;

• digital devices for every student and teacher;

• educator, student, and parent access to information and resources through the BCPS One platform;

• wireless and broadband infrastructure.

District policy review process

Instruction-driven approach to tech

S.T.A.T. evaluation tool

During our site visit, we met first with the instructional technology team for short presentations on the above, then visited classrooms, talking with students and teachers. Fifth grade classes were on a field trip; I spoke with children and adults in their K, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classrooms. I observed respectful learning environments, engaged students, small group instruction, collaborative and parallel learning, and student-directed learning:

Third grade parallel learning

Kindergarten whole group instruction

Second grade small group math (at whiteboard table) 

Third grade class expectations 

Third grade small group literacy

First grade collaborative learning

Second grade collaborative learning

Pro tip: Include FTE needs in the RFP for leased devices! BCPS included 89 FTEs as district-wide Instructional Coaches who support all educators. Coaches observe and offer feedback through the use of guiding questions focused on the teacher, the learning environment, and the student:

• Teacher: What teacher behaviors contribute to a learner-centered environment for all students?

• Space: How does the physical space reflect input from all students and facilitate a learner-centered environment?

• Student: How are all students (by race, gender, English language competency, or disability) acquiring, developing, using, or producing knowledge, information, and skills?

Learner-Centered Environments: Professional Learning Tool

Here's the take-away: The district developed a comprehensive plan to integrate technology SIDE-BY-SIDE with teachers, school administration, the local school board, families, and the public. Eight areas were identified for conversion: communications, budget, policy, infrastructure, organizational development, assessment, instruction, and curriculum. Budgets are realigned and reallocated to support the district's implementation of the BCPS THEORY OF ACTION - - $207 million over 5 years (for necessary infrastructure), then settling into the operating budget at $67 million each year thereafter. Substantial investment has been made in BCPS - and beginning returns on that investment expect to be evident this year, three-years into the plan.

See more in My Storify

Back to School

#My3Words

I'll admit to being more than a little misty-eyed when I saw our youngest head off for the first day of school for this year. She works hard and has faced many academic challenges in her K-12 experience thus far, showing resilience and strength of character in facing them. She follows two older brothers, now college grads, and though she is still on the journey, in many ways just beginning, I couldn't be more proud.

We know families play essential roles in student success, beginning with their critical role in children's school readiness. Children depend on all of us to support their development everywhere they learn: at home, in PreK programs, in school, afterschool programs, in faith-based institutions, in community-based programs and activities. Engagement is continuous across a child’s life and entails enduring commitment -- but changing parent roles -- as children mature into young adulthood.

Researchers describe effective family involvement as a shared responsibility, meaning that schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage families in meaningful ways in which families are committed to actively supporting their child's learning and development. The strongest research evidence indicates that parental beliefs, attitudes, values, and child-rearing practices, as well as home–school communication, are linked to student success.

The Parent and Community Education and Involvement Advisory Council (PCEI) to the Commissioner and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has created a set of Family, School, and Community Partnership Fundamentals in Massachusetts. The Fundamentals describe six guidelines schools can use to plan, benchmark, and calculate effective school, family, and community involvement policies and practices. They support high expectations for such partnerships with the goal that coordinated, comprehensive, and systematic supports will create opportunities for all students to achieve academic proficiency and beyond.

The Department's 2015 Strategic Plan includes a goal for supporting students' social-emotional health through the use of the Fundamentals incorporating "engagement strategies into ESE grants, policies, services, and resources from across state agencies and stakeholders, and to strengthen and expand the Department's capacity of educators to support family and community engagement."

Engagement is intentional and integral when it acknowledges the child at the center of schools, families, and communities, and is focused on student learning and development that impact student skills, grades, achievement, health, safety, discipline, and other attitudes and behaviors, as well as to develop students' talent in art, music, technology, and other areas. 

Families not only play a critical role in a child's school readiness but in their decision to pursue higher education. Effective partnership is essential regardless of parents' level of education, country of origin, or socioeconomic status. It's a complementary role through collaboration with schools, educators, and community organizations that establish meaningful relationships for student success.

MASC/MASS

Here's a quick post, languishing in drafts since the Conference last fall...

Images are from the breakout portion of the session I presented at the MASC/MASS Annual Joint Conference with Margaret Driscoll of the Melrose School Committee and Kim Savery Hunt of the Plymouth School Committee.

We opened the session with thoughts on how School Committees can use family engagement in their three priority areas of budget process, policy development, and evaluation of the superintendent. Then, we broke the large attending group into three smaller groups so they could turn and talk, providing the info captured below. 

The Journey of a Thousand Meetings

September 12, 2014

Looking back, I will tell you that each step was borne of on-going curiosity, learning, and interest. I'm writing about it because it's important to reflect back. Parent voice is not only important, it is necessary on the issues that have an impact on our children, our schools, and our communities. I have been supported by family, friends, neighbors, community members, the PTA, and the Governor. I sincerely hope my experience and common sense - and curiosity to want to know and do more - will continue to serve our children's best interests and success.

When our eldest entered Kindergarten my husband and I joined the school's parent group - it happened to be a PTA, and we joined to get to know his teacher and school better, connect with students and families in his class, and generally, be engaged from the outset.

Our children, 2012

As the years went by, and two more children entered the school system, I found myself more and more interested in making a difference at this school. Over time, I took on various roles there because I was interested in using some of my business, organizational, and artistic skills. It was fun getting to know other parents and teachers in the process, whether acting as a Room Parent or Field Trip Chaperon, or sharing the organizing of the 5th Grade Moving-On Ceremony, or working on a Collaborative Art fundraising project involving all classrooms in the school.

As our children grew and developed, so did my interests. Not only did I learn and share in the schools and across our Town, I honed my listening and advocacy skills. In the beginning, I advocated for my own children. I took advantage of leadership training by the PTA, the League of Women Voters, the Public Policy Institute (now the MA Leadership Academy), and more. Soon thereafter, I was advocating for all children in the school, for Town residents, then for all children in the school district. I volunteered on communication and leadership teams for local debt-exclusion overrides, School Committee, and Selectman candidate elections; drafted letters and fliers in response to state Ballot Initiatives; and spoke up to participate on a state education task force.

Last Friday, September 12, 2014, I was honored to be sworn-in by Governor Patrick as the Parent Representative of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Massachusetts General Laws required that I step down from my role on the Lexington School Committee. I look forward to advocating for the nearly one million children in our public schools across the Commonwealth.

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Handheld shots from the Governor's Office

Other stuff, perhaps of interest:

• From Michigan: The Colorful Principal: Tough to Admit @benjamingilpin
• From British Columbia Public Schools: Schools, Politics, and Other Stuff: Public Education is Hurting
• From Edutopia: Start the Year by Building Hope @edutopia

Family-School Partnership Models

In thinking about the type of partnership your school culture embraces, consider how well it engages families and the greater community in:

• Building Relationships
• Linking to Learning
• Addressing Differences
• Supporting Advocacy and
• Sharing Power

Bake Sale authors point the way with these four partnership models:

The Partnership School

This school's culture holds that all families and communities have something great to offer and the school will do whatever it takes to work closely with all stakeholders to make sure every single student succeeds. Home visits are common with new families. The building is open to community use and social services are available to families at all times. All family activities connect to student learning and parents and teachers look at student work and test results together. The parent group includes all families and there's a clear, open process for resolving problems. Student-led Parent-Teacher conferences are held three times a year for 30-minutes. In a Partnership School, the PTA is focused on improving student achievement and families are involved in all major decisions.

The Open Door School

Partnership is improving here: families can be involved in many ways and they're working hard to get an even bigger turnout for activities. Teachers explain test scores, if asked, and folders of student work go home occasionally. The school holds curriculum nights three or four times a year and families are knowledgeable of out-of-school classes in the community. Minority families have their own group and multicultural nights are held once a year. Regular progress reports go to parents, but test data can be hard to understand. Parent-Teacher conferences are held twice a year. Parents can raise issues at PTA meetings, as well as set its own agenda and raise money for the school. And, a Community Representative sits on the school-based site council.

The Come-if-We-Call School

The phone is used as a hotline by staff to invite parents in - but only when there are problems, because the school thinks there's only so much families can really offer. The school is the expert here and families are told what students will be learning at the Fall Open House. The school can't address differences when it's overwhelmed with more than twenty different languages, because they think immigrant families don't have time to come in or care to contribute. The principal sets the agenda for parent meetings - and the PTA gets the school's message out! If community groups have concerns, they are more than welcome to take them up ... with the School Committee.

The Fortress School 
By its very nature, a fortress is most difficult to access. There's a whole community up there behind those walls, but unless you work here, or go to school here, you are not welcome - and you will be seldom invited in. The school thinks that if students don't do well here, it's because their families aren't giving them enough support - because the school is already doing all it can. The principal will select a few "cooperative parents" to help out at times. And families are afraid to complain fearing reprisals on their child.

 A key to understanding partnership, is to see it along a continuum. Some schools may be Open Door Schools, yet still have some Fortress classrooms. How will you ensure your school's culture is open to embracing true partnership with families and the community?

As a first step, take a welcoming walk-through of your building with an eye for any unintentional barriers; consider how you will engage your families in that process. And then, once you identify barriers, what's your process for removing them?

In education, what will be effective depends on your goal and how it's measured. Schools cannot do this work alone - it's a shared responsibility of schools, families, and communities to ensure all students succeed. This means looking beyond parent volunteer and fundraising stereotypes to build inclusive and effective partnerships for student success.