Middle Schools Plan Given High Grades;

DOE, UFT Back Council
Middle Schools Plan Given High Grades

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The Department of Education will spend $5 million to improve at least 50 low-performing middle schools by increasing professional development, awarding Teacher scholarships and adding more guidance counselors, but the money will not go to reduce class size.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: Gives report an A. The City Council's Middle Schools Task Force released its report last week, and many of its recommendations were accepted by the Department of Education. The United Federation of Teachers, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators and a host of education advocacy groups had representatives on the panel. The unions welcomed the findings, which they said would improve student performance and working conditions for educators.

UFT: 'Adopt Them All'

"The Middle School Task Force's recommendations are so on point that our goal is to have all of them adopted," said UFT President Randi Weingarten.

Mayor Bloomberg did not commit to implementing all 39 of the recommendations, but advocates said they believed that the establishment of a Director of Middle Schools Initiative would make the $5 million commitment more than a one-shot deal. Former Region 8 Local Instructional Superintendent Lori Bennett will take on the new role.

GREGORY FLOYD: Keep agents under NYPD. Principals at the targeted schools, in consultation with School Leadership Teams and Ms. Bennett, will be able to use the pot of money to choose from a variety of task force recommendations. They have options that include hiring additional guidance counselors, offering extended-day programs to students, awarding Teacher scholarships, creating collaborative learning communities, and purchasing professional development services. The DOE has also agreed to waive fees for in-house professional development services for high-needs schools.

The scholarships can be used for continuing education for Teachers at local colleges and universities.

The DOE is still considering whether to implement several of the report's recommendations. One suggestion was that each school allocate 90 minutes of professional development and common planning time within the work week. Another was expanding the Lead Teacher program, in which experienced Teachers are paid extra to mentor and assist new Teachers.

CHRISTINE QUINN: Hopes for 'dramatic' gains.

Seek Career Ladders

The report's authors additionally proposed creating a clear career ladder for Teachers and administrators to move up through the system. And they proposed bonuses for top-caliber Teachers who agree to transfer to high-needs schools to teach in shortage areas such as Math and Science.

The Task Force members also wanted the DOE to push for a training program geared to educators planning to teach in the middle grades.

They argued that research showed that middle school is an especially turbulent time in children's lives and that educators needed to be attuned to the specific challenges of that age. There are training programs for elementary and high school educators, but not for the middle grades. Middle school teachers have the highest attrition rate in the school system, and fewer than half of them are certified in at least one of the subjects they teach.

While test scores have risen recently for the middle grades, the increase has been less impressive than among elementary school students. Some advocates refer to the middle school period as the "lost years" in which the process of turning off from school and dropping out begins.

A Drastic Fall-Off

About 74 percent of 4th graders could perform math at grade level this year, but for 8th graders that number was 45.6 percent. About 56 percent of 4th graders read at grade level, while 41.8 percent of 8th graders could do the same. About 27 percent of 8th graders were proficient in social studies and 40 percent in science.

While the report was careful to mention the efforts the DOE has taken to improve city schools, it also warned against a perceived danger in the latest reorganization. "The new model of Principal accountability and autonomy must be implemented in a way that does not overwhelm Principals with managerial and administrative tasks to the point of being unable to act as the school's instructional leader," it stated. This concern was expressed by some Principals when the restructuring was announced.

"The Middle School Task Force has touched upon some of the critical problems and issues that impact middle schools," stated CSA President Ernie Logan in an e-mail. "I hope that improvement in the middle grades will continue to be a top priority of the Department of Education."

Shift Safety Agents Back?

The report's authors also tackled the issue of safety and discipline, recommending that School Safety Agents be moved from the aegis of the NYPD and placed back under the authority of the DOE. They noted the lack of communication that sometimes occurs between SSAs, students, and educators and argued that the responsibility for discipline should not devolve from educators to the SSAs. They asserted that this process had in some cases undermined Teachers' and administrators' authority and had led to more-confrontational approaches to discipline issues.

To solve the problem, the authors recommended beefed-up conflict resolution training for the SSAs and educators. They also suggested that an SSA representative be placed on the School Leadership Team, currently comprised of the Principal, a Teacher and parent representative, to enhance communication.

In response to a reporter's a question about whether the SSAs might be transferred back to the DOE, Mayor Bloomberg said, "We'll have to take a look at it. What we're trying to do is make sure everyone is safe, first and foremost."

'237' Head Opposed

But Local 237 Teamster President Greg Floyd, who agreed with placing SSAs on School Leadership Teams, warned against moving his members from the NYPD's authority. "Some schools have serious gang problems," he said. "There is a crime problem and if something's not done, it's going to explode. The Police Department is the best way to go."

The Mayor at an Aug. 13 press conference noted that the city's schools had made progress, but that there was much more to be done, and he thanked the Task Force, which was convened by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, for "coming up with such a sound set of recommendations to help us continue moving forward."

"The recommendations of our task force point the way toward a comprehensive, effective approach that will dramatically improve New York City's middle schools," said Ms. Quinn in a statement. "We are proud that the administration and the DOE have agreed to implement many of these recommendations this year, and we will continue working to move forward with even more of our key proposals citywide."