Is School Choice a Bad Thing?

 Recently, I read an article in Civil Beat about the closure of small private schools in Hawaii.  I agree with the author that for some students, these schools are right for them, and they have opportunities they might not have in larger private schools. And yes, we need students to have choices in the kind of school that best meets their needs.

I have been thinking about school choice for awhile now. I know those words bring on strong negative feelings because generally speaking, it means allowing parents of children in “failing” schools to choose another school to attend, often a private for for-profit charter school. The thinking behind school choice is that “failing” schools will have to improve or they will eventually have to close down. The reality is that the neighborhood public school is often the only option for families. There are too many barriers to transferring or registering children and taking them to another school, but there can be choice within the public school system. I don’t believe in using “school choice” as a way for money to go to private schools; it needs to stay in public schools. 

We, in Hawaii, are fortunate that we have a statewide system that does not rely on county property taxes to fund our schools. Our system is more equitable than other states in the country in that funds are distributed using a weighted student formula. So schools that service students in lower income areas or who have a higher number of English Language Learners, for example, receive more funding per pupil to address challenges. Unfortunately, though, the equity divide still exists. We only have to look at schools in higher income areas; they receive much more support from their families, and students have many more opportunities than those in low income areas. I remember the disparity between fundraisers at different schools I worked at; the difference in the amount raised was eye-opening. 

When I was a principal, there were three elementary schools in our military community. I often dreamed about how we might provide our families with choice. The focus would depend on input from the school and the community, but as an example, one school could focus on STEM, another on the arts, or dual-language instruction, or blended learning. Teachers could transfer to the school that matches their area of expertise, and families could choose which school would be the best fit for their children. Unfortunately, we never  had that discussion, we got so inundated with other tasks, and principals came and left for other schools.  

I’ve often thought about why we couldn’t fit the student to the school and not expect all students to fit in at their school. Some will need a smaller environment to gain confidence and to thrive. Is it better to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? It really depends on the student and what they need at that moment in their life. Students have many options when they choose a college or university to attend. Why don’t they have that option in elementary, middle, or high school? 

I realize that there is no easy answer to this question of school choice, but in this time of changes, maybe we need to have that discussion. Although charter schools do offer choices to parents, they do not necessarily address the needs of a school community or complex area. Let’s stop thinking of school choice in the way others have portrayed it, as a way to steer money from “failing” public schools. Let’s think about school choice as a way to address the needs of students so they can be confident contributors to our community. 

Let’s Talk about Burnout

Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to participate in a virtual presentation to school leaders here in Hawaii. The topic was “Avoiding Burnout.” Since the pandemic began a year ago, I know that many educators, especially school leaders, have been feeling stressed as the requirements of their job have changed drastically and will continue to change. 

Burnout is defined as the emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by stress. No doubt, many school leaders have been on the verge of burnout during these challenging times. My presentation to the school leaders was not about data or studies about burnout; rather my suggestions were based on my own experiences as a principal.

First, we can’t pour from an empty cup.. I remember those days when I forgot to eat lunch or munched on unhealthy snacks when I was hungry. Instead of drinking water, I would get a soda from the vending machine. As I was getting ready to leave for home, I’d realize that I hadn’t made a dent in my goal of taking 10,000 steps each day. At night, I would toss and turn as thoughts raced through my head about what I needed to do, and on the weekends, I would go to the office because I knew it would be quiet and I could get things done. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the responsibilities of our job that we forget to take care of our basic needs - eating healthy, drinking water, exercising, getting a good night’s sleep, and relaxing. We need to fill our cup throughout the day, every day. Remember, we can’t pour from an empty cup.

Second, we all need a support group or network of colleagues whom we can call on when we have a question, a concern, a challenge, when we want to share something exciting happening at our school, or when we just want to talk. Connecting and sharing information is especially important during these challenging times. The principalship can feel like a lonely job because there’s only one principal at each school. But there are 287 public schools in Hawaii, and each one has a principal, and there is lots of expertise amongst our school leaders. Just as we ensure that our teachers have opportunities to collaborate and to support each other, our school leaders need to have those opportunities as well. And we need to share; don’t keep good ideas to yourself!  It doesn’t have to be in-person; my go-to for professional development is Twitter, and I’ve learned so much from colleagues, not just in Hawaii, but throughout the country as well. Make time to learn with and from each other.

Third, prioritize. Being a principal meant understanding what was best for our school. I encouraged our staff to be innovative and to think out-of-the-box and then to share with their colleagues. How do we balance our own vision of what our school could be with statewide directives or complex-wide initiatives? I compare this to a buffet line where everything looks good so we take a little of this and a little of that, and by the time we get to the end of the line, there’s not much room for the main dish. Our plate is so full that we can’t possibly eat everything. I learned to prioritize and to advocate for our school. What is the priority for your school community at this time? It may mean putting an idea on hold until later, or it could mean delegating a project to a vice principal, a committee of teachers, or even a committee of students. As a principal, we should be looking to build the leadership capacity of others. This is a great opportunity to do so.

Finally, take care of yourself . This part of my presentation was very personal as I shared about our son Jarand who passed away in May 2018 from Chronic Kidney Disease caused by high blood pressure. (Read about it here: Aloha, Jarand.). My husband Randy and I have made it our mission to share Jarand’s story and to remind people about taking care of themselves. As Randy says, “Superman and Wonder Woman are comic book characters. You are not a comic book character, and you are not invincible.” So take care of yourself so you can take care of others. 

I ended with a call to action to all of the school leaders. Now that schools were forced to change due to the pandemic, this is the perfect time to discuss how to make schools more relevant in this, the 21st century. We need to ask some tough questions: How will we ensure that ALL students have access to a quality education? How will schools reconfigure teaching and learning now that we know there are other options besides face-to-face, in-person learning? How can we ensure that our student learners have opportunities to create their own learning, learning that is meaningful and impactful to them? Is there a more reliable, less costly, and less time-consuming way to rate our school besides high-stakes tests? And perhaps most important, how can the voice of the principal be heard to make meaningful changes in our educational system? We need to have these kinds of discussions. Our world is changing rapidly, and we cannot keep teaching the way we were taught in school. Schools should be preparing students for their future. As John Dewey said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”

The Beauty of Poetry

 I remember my parents reading their favorite poems to us kids. Mom would read “Oh, Captain! My Captain!,” “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” and she would recite “Flanders Field” which she had to memorize when she was in school. Dad’s favorites were “Sea Fever” and “Casey at the Bat.” To this day, I have fond memories of those poems. 

My teachers probably read poems to us when we were in elementary school, but my earliest memory of actually studying poetry was in my junior year of high school. Our teacher was young, and she had us work in groups. We chose poems and led the discussion about what those poems meant. I remember that our group brought in lyrics to some songs by Simon and Garfunkle - “I Am a Rock,” “Sounds of Silence,” “At the Zoo” - and we had a great discussion about what the songs meant or symbolized. I realize today how forward-thinking that teacher was; we were so much more engaged in the discussions because the poems were chosen by our peers. 

As a mom and a teacher, I made sure to introduce poems to my sons and to my students. I selected the ones I liked from anthologies - A Child’s Garden of Verses was my favorite - and we laughed together when I read them poems by Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein. One of my favorite book of poems was Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill. We read a different color poem each day, and that book inspired some of my students to write their own color poem. I marvel at any poet’s ability to use language and words to convey vivid pictures in my mind or deep emotions. 

I admit that I did not teach my students to write poetry. I exposed them to different poetry forms, but there was never an assignment to write a poem. As someone who had never written poetry, I never felt comfortable asking my students to do so. When I became a principal, I saw poems that some of our students wrote, and I was amazed at their insights and their use of words to convey a mood or an idea. I wondered whether I had denied my students an opportunity to try their hand at poetry.

I was mesmerized when Amanda Gorman read her poem, “A Hill to Climb” at the Presidential Inauguration. How, I thought, can a 22-year-old write such mature thoughts at such a tender age? Her poem gave me hope for our country, if only we work together. Then I received a book called Voice: Poetry by the Youth of Kalihi, written by English Language Learner students at Farrington High School here on O`ahu. The students’ voices were evident in their poems, and their words, their thoughts, their feelings were heartfelt. I can imagine the pride these students and their families feel about seeing their poems in a book. Like Amanda Gorman, the voices of these ELL students give me hope. Their optimism, their goals for the future, and their pride in themselves is evident in their poetry. By publishing this book - not an easy task - the teachers gave voice to their students, but they also gave them confidence that their ideas are worthy of publication. If you have an opportunity, go and check this book out. 

A Metaphor for Hope

I love to post photos of rainbows on social media. I’ve been fortunate to capture some unusual or especially vibrant ones on my walks around our neighborhood. Yesterday, I posted this photo while we were in the car. 

As I write this blog post, more than 410,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, and 24.7 million have been infected. This pandemic has drastically altered our lives, and though we all thought it would be over in a few months, that has not happened. 

But I have optimism and hope that things will change. The vaccine is now available, and though many of us are not able to get it yet, we appreciate that our essential workers and kupuna (elders) are the priority. In Hawaii, some of our educators and school staff have already been vaccinated, and others are waiting. Hopefully, this will mean that schools can begin to reopen safely.

This is a perfect time for schools as well as the public to reflect on and to realize that our educational system needs a reboot. We cannot keep relying on test scores and grade point averages to define success. We need to focus on our students - their strengths, their needs, their interests - and help them to pursue their passions. 

During this pandemic, my husband and I watched a lot of DIY (Do It Yourself) shows like “Restoration,” “Maine Cabin Masters,” and “Overhauling.” I am amazed at the knowledge, the skills, and the pride that is evident in the workers throughout these shows. They do outstanding work, problem-solve constantly, work together, and consult with experts, all while keeping within the budget. I wonder what they learned in school and what they learned on their own.

I am filled with hope. My caption for this photo was, “After the rain comes rainbows and then sunshine. I am looking forward to better days ahead.” Let’s all be filled with hope - for our nation, our state, our schools, and our children. They are our future.

An Incredible Experience!

I decided that I had to share an incredible experience I had this past week because I’m still so amazed that I got to witness it. 

On Monday of this week, I noticed a swarm of honeybees in our pikake (jasmine) bush in the front of our home. I knew about swarms, that these bees were starting a new colony and following a queen bee to a new home; there can be only one queen in a hive. I took the following video and shared it on social media. I got lots of advice as well as “wow” emojis. 

I had seen swarms before so I knew that the bees would leave when they found a new place to build their hive, but on Tuesday, I called the Hawaii Bee Hotline to ask some questions and to make sure we had nothing to worry about. He informed me that scout bees had already gone on ahead and would be returning to the swarm to lead them to their new home and that all of bees will leave within a few days between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. 

On Wednesday morning, the swarm looked a little smaller, and at 3:05, I took our dog out and peeked at the swarm. It was still there, but there were a few bees flying around. I went into the house to get my phone so I could get a video, and what greeted me when I came out a minute later was unbelievable! I was lucky to get video of this moment.

This went on for about a minute, and then, the bees were gone. I was giddy with excitement, anxious to share this video with my social media community. 

The thing is that it was serendipitous. What if our dog didn’t have to go out at that time? What if I delayed going back out with my phone? What if I didn’t have it already set to video mode? I would have gone out and the swarm would have been gone. I would have missed it!

Of course, after watching this amazing experience, I had many more questions and did more research to find answers. My only regret was that I could not share it with my grandsons. I will share this blog with them and hope they will be as excited as I still am about witnessing this wonder of nature. 

Can It Get Any Worse?

I started a blog post yesterday. It was going to be a positive post, titled “Looking Back, Looking Forward,” and I planned to share a couple of beautiful photos of rainbows that I took since the start of the new year. I was filled with hope that 2021 would be a better year despite all the challenges we faced as a nation in the past year. 

As my husband and I were taking our daily walk yesterday morning, our son called to ask if we were watching the news. We hurried home and turned on the TV, and for the rest of the day, we watched in horror as protesters stormed the Capitol building as our elected Congressional representatives were meeting to certify the Presidential election.

I reflected back to the summer of 2019 when we took our grandsons who were then 9 and 12 years old, on a Revolutionary-Civil War tour. We visited museums, historical sites and national parks to experience, first-hand, the history of our country. We walked the Freedom Trail, visited museums, took a day trip to Gettysburg, and spent a day at the Capitol where they learned that Congress makes laws that should be good for the people of our country. The highlight was climbing the 300 stairs to the very top where we had a 360 degree view of the city. As we reflected at the end of the day, our discussion focused on why members of the Legislative and Executive branches of government were not working together. We could only hope that things would improve. Yesterday, our grandsons watched in sorrow and disbelief at the events that unfolded at the Capitol. 

How do we discuss this with our children? What can we say to them when they see this kind of destruction by adults? Is it okay to fan the flames of anger when we don’t get what we want and thereby, cause more damage? And should teachers be discussing these types of events in their classrooms? 

Our students today will be the leaders of tomorrow. They need opportunities to learn about and honestly discuss issues that impact them, not just today, but in their future. Teachers need to do more than assign chapters from textbooks and then test students on their recall in order to assign a grade. Students need to discuss current issues, and teachers need to be prepared to lead those discussions with their students. A concern is that teachers will tell students how to think, but that does not have to be the case. If there is a safe culture in the classroom, students will generate the questions and debate the issue respectfully. They will understand that it’s okay to agree to disagree because everyone’s opinions are influenced by their own personal experiences. 

Schools need to provide opportunities to discuss current issues if we want an informed citizenry. When students come to the classroom with questions about an event like what occurred yesterday, we cannot ignore them. This is a perfect opportunity to have respectful discussions, especially if there are differing opinions or if there are misconceptions about events. Teachers guide the discussions; they don’t tell students how or what to think. This blog  post provides some great advice for educators: How to talk to school children about the attack on Capitol Hill matters

This event was unprecedented in our history, and we hope it never happens again. This is why it is important for students to have opportunities to discuss and to share their feelings about events like these. School may be the best opportunity for them to do so. 

Time to Examine Our Beliefs about Education

These are challenging times as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on our nation and our world. Yet we see those in essential positions continue their commitment as they work tirelessly during these challenging times. That is true of our educators; learning how to adapt during a pandemic was never a part of the college coursework to becoming a teacher. I applaud my fellow educators for continuing to be their best for their students. Yet, I feel the urgency to have meaningful discussions about our schools and our educational systems. There is so much about our schools that need to be changed, and this pandemic and its impact on education can be the impetus for discussions.

When I was a principal, I sometimes faced difficult decisions between toeing the line and listening to my gut feelings about what was best for our school, our students, and our teachers. I wanted our staff to think out-of-the-box and to be innovative. Yet, I knew that as the principal, I needed to be aware of the expectations of our schools and regulations that needed to be adhered to. How do we balance the two when they were sometimes not in sync?

Now that schools have had to change due to the pandemic and safety issues related to being back in school, the time is ripe to discuss how to make schools more relevant. As a principal, I would often think about different scenarios and ponder how we might change the way we’ve always done education:

• Those of us in education see first-hand the correlation between socioeconomic status and student achievement.  Societal factors have a huge impact on some of our most needy students, and expecting them to be able to focus on school when their basic needs are not met is unrealistic. We know that given time and a caring staff, schools can have a positive impact on disadvantaged students. We know that school can be the one constant in a child's life, the one safe place where family problems can be forgotten for a few hours. How do we address the socioeconomic gap and its impact on education so that ALL students have equal opportunities to be successful?
• We know that every student is different and when they begin school, they do not start at the same starting line; in fact, some students are far behind other students when they first enter kindergarten, but we expect them to be at the same place at the end of the year,  Think of it as a running race; can we reasonably expect someone to start half-a-lap behind and finish at the same time as others who started with a big lead? How should we be measuring progress in school?
• During this pandemic, teachers shared how much they learned and how they collaborated with colleagues to create classrooms where social-emotional learning was as important as academics. If we agree that positive relationships between students and with their teachers can make a difference, how can we use that knowledge to positively impact teaching and learning?
• Seat time and good grades are not necessarily an indication of learning. Too often, learning in school is merely memorizing and regurgitating information. Real learning means applying skills or facts to delve deeper, to make sense of information, and the application to new situations. It may mean that students get feedback then revise their work before submitting it for credit. How do we change our reporting system to tell the story of real learning that has lasting impact on a student?
• Too often, school is teacher-directed. It is the teacher in the classroom who determines what to teach, when to teach it, and what is the evidence of learning. Students are often passive learners as opposed to being passionate, self-directed learners whose curiosity about a subject drive their own learning. How can we ensure that our student learners have an opportunity to create their own learning that is meaningful and impactful to them?
• This pandemic provided evidence that face-to-face learning is not the only option for K-12 schools. Technology is an equalizer; students can learn just as well through blended and/or virtual learning; in fact, some students thrived in this environment. How will schools reconfigure how they provide teaching and learning now that options other than face-to-face, have shown to be successful?
• The public judges schools based on standardized test scores, and schools feel the pressure of ensuring that their students are prepared for this once-a-year high stakes testing. Teachers may be evaluated based on the scores of their students. Unfortunately, the reports that schools receive are rarely useful. Teachers have no way of examining their student responses to see what kinds of errors were made. While we understand that the public needs to know that our schools are educating our students to be contributing citizens of their community, is there a more reliable, less expensive, and less time-consuming way to rate our schools besides high-stakes testing?
• One of the frustrations I had as a principal was not having sufficient funding for our students to experience a well-rounded education that included music, physical education, visual arts, drama, STEM, etc. Our teachers needed support, too - dedicated mentors for new teachers, instructional coaches, technology coaches, etc. This pandemic showed the dedication of our teachers to plug away despite the challenges they faced. While we understand the fiscal challenges our states are facing, the question of funding for schools will not go away. If our children are our priority, shouldn’t our schools be adequately funded?

Soon, we will have a new Secretary of Education. These discussions, at the national, state, and district levels, are long-overdue. Let’s hope we can finally work to improve our systems so that all students, no matter where they live, can have access to a quality education.