Edit TextDelete Text How Good is ther Public Education System in Maryland?
Newsweek: For years, Newsweek ranked Maryland schools among the best in the nation. Three years ago, the Kirwan Commission learned the truth: Maryland schools are not among the top schools. We are firmly in the middle of the pack. Ratings all depend on the criteria used for ranking.
The “Challenge Index,” which was begun in 1998, is the oldest high school ranking system in the country. Here is how the Challenge Index creates its rankings. The Challenge Index “is the only list that does not rely on test scores, which are more a measure of student family income than school quality. It is also the only list that compares private and public schools. It ranks high schools by a simple ratio: the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge tests given at a school each year, divided by the number of seniors who graduated that year.
Why base its rankings on the percent of students taking one or more of those tests? “Participation in college-level AP, IB, and Cambridge tests is a unique measure of the depth of learning. Teachers cannot dumb down the exams because they are written and graded by independent experts. Success on the exams has been linked with success in college. The list is designed to recognize schools that challenge average students, so magnet or charter schools that have few or no average students are placed on a separate Public Elites list on this website.”
The Challenge Index also provides two more categories of information:
“E&E%” is the percentage of all seniors who passed at least one AP, IB, or Cambridge test SOME TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL.
“Lunch%” gives the percentage of all students whose family incomes are low enough to qualify for lunch subsidies.
One more important piece of information given is the type of school. A “C” after the name of the school means it is a public charter school. A “P” means it is a private school. All others are publicly-run public schools.
Why base its rankings on the percent of students taking one or more of those tests? “Participation in college-level AP, IB, and Cambridge tests is a unique measure of the depth of learning. Teachers cannot dumb down the exams because they are written and graded by independent experts. Success on the exams has been linked with success in college. The list is designed to recognize schools that challenge average students, so magnet or charter schools that have few or no average students are placed on a separate Public Elites list on this website.”
The Challenge Index also provides two more categories of information:
“E&E%” is the percentage of all seniors who passed at least one AP, IB, or Cambridge test SOME TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL.
“Lunch%” gives the percentage of all students whose family incomes are low enough to qualify for lunch subsidies.
One more important piece of information given is the type of school. A “C” after the name of the school means it is a public charter school. A “P” means it is a private school. All others are publicly-run public schools.
So what? It's obvious that nationwide rankings are not going to help parents decide if their child is going to a "good" school. What it DOES tell us is the value of CHOICE. Fourteen of the top 20 schools are public charter schools! And the pattern continues on down the list. (To see the whole list of 300 schools, click here or on the table above.)
Charter Schools are just one of the CHOICE alternatives, but the number of such schools has been spreading throughout the country, and there is a significant body of data, comparing their effectiveness with that of public schools.
from News from Annapolis, Week 2, January 2022
Focus on Education
Baltimore Couple Files Lawsuit against Baltimore City Public Schools
For the last six years, I, along with the Maryland Public Policy Institute, Fox 45’s “Project Baltimore,” the Baltimore Sun, on occasion, and the Washington Post, among others have written passionately about the unconscionable failure of the Baltimore City Public School (BCPS) system to provide so many students with even a minimal education
My constituents, indeed, all Maryland taxpayers, are funding not only their own county school systems, but a large share of City Schools. Many of us would be perfectly happy helping to fund education for lower-income families; unfortunately, most of our tax dollars have done nothing to educate generations of children for over 40 years.
Taxpayers can get used to paying for a lot of bad laws and mismanaged bureaucracy – we do it all the time. But the true casualties of this injustice are the children of Baltimore City
Just last year, the news media reported extensively on the unbelievable case of the Augusta Fells elementary school where one student was graduated after passing just one class and accumulating a .13 GPA – that put him in the top third of the graduating class! And that was the tip of the iceberg. The school was also claiming far more students than actually attended in order to qualify for a higher budget – the so-called ghost students
How much will the Kirwan Blueprint cost counties?
The Howard County Delegation recently met with our School Superintendent for the first detailed look at what the requirements of the Blueprint for Maryland (results of the Kirwan Commission) will cost our County. The answer is, a lot!
This first table shows six new or expanded categories of funding required by the Blueprint. (Note that the “per-pupil cost” in this model uses different criteria from the 'per-pupil costs' used when comparing jurisdictions.
The increases in the Education budget are staggering
This screen shows the total; Howard County education operating budget projections. It shows that coming into FY 23, the budget has a negative balance of just under $30 million -- WITHOUT any of the newly mandated Blueprint costs.
from News From Annapolis, Week 4, February, 2022
FOCUS ON EDUCATION
For many years, Marylanders were told that our schools were exceptional, as evidenced by our yearly rankings in the top five. The Kirwan commission is to be congratulated for looking at reality rather than hype. Here is what the Report said:
"When it comes to actual learning outcomes, Maryland's public education system is a long way from performing at the level of the best in the world or even the best in the United States."
Just how bad Maryland's K-12 education system is was encapsulated in a statement by a Kirwan Commission member who described it this way:
"Education in Maryland is handicapped by . . . archaic, inequitable yet rigid “local control” structure that denies Marylanders a fair, uniform and high-quality education, that denies the state the authority to intervene in chronically failing schools and districts, that denies school leaders the authority to make essential decisions, and that denies families the right to place their children in the schools that will best serve them."
Yet for all the work done by the Kirwan Commission, over three years of study, numerous hearings, the advice of experts, and a $32 Billion implementation budget, the Commission omitted the single best (and least expensive) solution to improving schools: COMPETITION through SCHOOL CHOICE.
"Children and parents should be especially troubled -- as I am -- by the Commission's refusal to endorse or recommend any form of school choice, whether within and between districts, to charter schools, or to private and alternative schools."
Individual Member Statement
January 2019 Report, p. 152
A Washington Post editorial, published on March 9, 2019 and titled "Maryland still has no idea how to fix its public schools," expressed a certain skepticism about the Commission's deliberate decision to ignore school choice options: "While there certainly are praiseworthy aspects to the commission’s findings - - - it is disappointing there was no nod to providing choice to students trapped in failing schools"
School choice is a major part of the educational system in states showing the most success in educating their students. There is a cornucopia of studies and other scholastic evidence proving the advantages of pairing school choice with public schools.
The foremost expert on the positive effects of competition on public education is Stanford Professor, Caroline Hoxby, who has said, “If every school in the nation were to face a high level of competition both from other districts and from private schools, students’ level of learning would be 28 percent higher than it is now"
Why don't we have School Choice?
"To realize similar gains in the quality of Maryland schools, however, major political obstacles must be overcome. The state’s Education Industry Complex is its most powerful special interest group; it rewards its minions in the legislature – many of whom were once themselves teachers or members of the ed bureaucracy – with generous campaign contributions and large blocs of votes if they support the status quo and spanks them for any deviation from the party line."
More next week.
from News from Annapolis, Week 6, February 2022
Focus on Education: What is CRT and Why do We Care?
The most relevant concern about teaching CRT values is the underlying premise that race is determinative; that being born white makes you an oppressor and being born black makes you oppressed.
If you want to understand a bit more about CRT, I recommend, "A Parent's Guide to Critical Race Theory," by Christopher Paslay, 2021. Here is a sample from the book:
"To the parents fighting against CRT: You are on the right side of history. The pushback against CRT is an organic extension of the Civil Rights Movement, and falls directly in line with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Dream." Those pushing CRT, who now teach that color-blindness is "racist," are the ones who have lost their way. History will expose their cynicism, polarization, and vindictiveness, and reveal that using an identity-0based approach focusing on skin color -- as opposed to a principle-based approach focusing on the content of character - was wrong-headed and counterproductive."
.... but our schools say they don't teach CRT
This refrain is heard everywhere, "We DO NOT teach Critical Race Theory. Just look at our lesson plans!" But the principles of CRT are taught indirectly in every course. Here are some of the genteelisms that have become inherently CRT:
"equity"
"social justice"
"white fragility"
"intersectionality"
"tackling systemic justice"
"unconscious bias or "implicit bias"
"interrupting racism
"cultural proficiency/relevance"
"critical ethnic studies"
"diversity and inclusion"
"1619 Project"
"social/emotional learning"(often referred to as "SEL")
Indeed, Howard County spent six months creating a new County School Policy that enshrines much of CRT.
POLICY 1080 - HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
(below are a very few examples of the Policy, with strike-throughs and highlights showing changes from first draft to final draft, and my concerns)
Policy Value Statement:
"The Board acknowledges systemic racism, implicit and explicit bias, institutional barriers, and other discriminatory practices that have causedopportunity gaps, resulting in inequitable outcomes for students. As such the Board is committed to providing all students with a dynamic and relevant educational program that nurtures their social/emotional well-being, and affirms their identity and experience in order to maximize each student's individual potential.
(Why remove "relevant" programs?)
Purpose: "...The purpose of this policy is to establish expectations related to the reduction identification and elimination of disparities in education outcomes.
(it is humanly impossible to "eliminate" disparities in outcomes)
Standards:
Academic achievement and growth is a high priority for each and every student."Access to a culturally responsive and relevant curriculum that provides meaningful and dynamic school experiences are essential to postsecondary success.
(THIS change encapsulates the issue; academic achievement now takes a backseat to equity)
Work collaboratively with parents, community, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Howard County Executive, the Howard County Council, local law enforcement agencies, and other county agencies, community groups, business organizations, bargaining units, and other stakeholders to increase equity and inclusion for students and staff.
(`The progressive majority in the legislature also continues to try to remove School Resource Officers )
Black Lives Matter at School
There has been a practical merger between K-12 CRT and the "Black Lives Matter at School," movement. BLM at school has pursued its agenda aggressively in efforts such as the BLM Week of Action, and the Action & Activities planned for one day each month. Praise for this book is included in the forward pages and includes the following:
"We need this book right now. The shadow-loving fungus of white supremacy won't continue to send its spores to infect our children if we act now to bring the curative light of antiracist knowledge, compassion, and justice into their lives. "
If words matter -- and they do -- why would the author choose to include such a hateful statement? Interestingly, the book devotes one whole chapter to Howard County, Maryland.
Chapter 9: Success and Challenges Garnering State and Local Union Support in Howard County, Maryland
Chapter 9 is an interview with a Howard County educator who teaches Spanish in one of Howard County's high schools, and who has held senior positions in both the Maryland State Education Association (teachers union) and the National Education Association. She fought -- successfully -- to get Howard County to participate in the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.
"By far, the most debated and controversial part of the week of action in terms of the demands is the "fund counselors, not cops" demand," she noted. "There are still many educators who do not understand that police do not represent safety for many Black and Brown communities or students." She predicates her belief in the existence of racism on the "disparities in the severity of discipline, suspensions, and expulsions of Black and Brown students versus their white peers for the same offenses."
And finally, she takes a swing at the County: "I wanted to note that in my particular county, racism is hidden under a veil of utopianism and "diversity."'
WASHINGTON (SBG) - The largest school district in Maryland is under criticism this week for allegedly teaching Critical Race Theory in the classroom. Watchdog group Judicial Watch obtained 685 pages of redacted records from Montgomery County public schools in Maryland in regards to their anti-racist audit and Critical Race Theory classes.
Included in the records is a pyramid that details “overt white supremacy,” such as racial slurs and hate crimes, and “covert white supremacy,” such as tokenism and racial profiling. READ MORE
Maryland students told there's a 'double pandemic' of COVID and racism
New York Post, Nov. 4, 2021
According to new documents received by Judicial Watch and exclusively provided to Fox News, Maryland’s most populous county, Montgomery County, launched a “psychoeducational lesson” teaching children in schools that there is a “dual pandemic” involving COVID-19 and “systemic racism.” Materials recommended that teachers buy the Ibram X. Kendi book “Antiracist Baby” as “the perfect gift” for “ages baby to age 3.” READ MORE
"If you want a close look at the madness of critical race theory, look at what’s going on in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland’s largest school system. Little of this is connected to reality, and it’s no wonder parents everywhere are objecting.
"We received two sets of records related to the teaching of critical race theory, including a training course with information about a book titled “Antiracist Baby” that introduces the youngest readers to “the concept and power of antiracism,” and says it’s the “perfect gift” for “ages baby to age 3.”" READ MORE
The documents also include information from a course titled, “Digital Literacy 3” at Thomas Pyle Middle School, Quarter 2: When Justice Isn’t Served” and features the following slides:
“Scenarios of Injustice” describes a group activity where the students, “Work together with your group to determine how you would address your scenario of injustice.” “Everyone must prepare to present your ideas to the class.”
In this scenario, students are told that they witnessed two men – one black and one white – fighting in a parking lot. Police arrive and separate the men -forcing the black man to the ground, handcuffing and putting him in the police car. The police question the white man who, “shakes hands with the policemen and walks away.”
Under the heading “Common Task, Gender Roles Reflection Graphic Organizer,” is a draft slide titled, “Reflecting on Gender Roles in My Life,” in which students are asked to “Describe when and how you first recognized your gender as part of your identity. It could have been in a positive, negative or neutral way.” It further asks the children to “Briefly describe how you felt about being a member of your gender group(s) in different aspects and stages of your life.”
Under the heading “Race Reflection Graphic Organizer” is draft slide titled, “Reflecting on Race In My Life” that asks students to, “Describe when and how you first recognized race. It could have been in a positive, negative or neutral way.” Students are further asked about the race of their family members: “Are your parents the same race? Are your brothers and sisters? What about your extended family-uncles, aunts, etc?”
The “Religion Reflection Graphic Organizer” features a draft slide titled, “Reflecting on Religion in My Life,” and asks students to “Describe when and how you first recognized your religion. It could have been in a positive, negative or neutral way.” It further asks “Did you feel threatened, minoritized or privileged in this moment? Why?” and “Where do you go to worship?” and “Did your belief become stronger as you became older?”
The “Sexual Orientation Reflection Graphic Organizer” slide titled “Reflecting on Sexual Orientation in My Life” asks the children to “Describe when and how you first recognized your sexual orientation.”
Program for International Assessment -- PISA Rankings
from News fromAnnapolis: Week 7, March, 2022
Focus on Education
More evidence of CRT & Black Lives Matter at School
Help for Parents
After reading the story below, you may want to reach for something to help you feel empowered. Last week highlighted an excellent resource titled A Parent's Guide to critical Race Theory, that you can purchase online.
This week highlights another good resource -- and this one is free. This short 20-page book catalogs the various claims made by those who would like to convince you that CRT isn't taught in K-12, and if it is taught, it's just asking that American history include stories about people of all colors.
The Statement below came from the "Black Lives Matter at School" website
by Christopher Rodgers
"As PK-12 schools and universities across the nation are entering the school year, Black Lives Matter at School has taken the origins of our movement from a Day of Action, to a Week of Action, to a Year of Purpose — this, all behind the backdrop of youth-led global uprisings in the name of the Movement for Black Lives.
"We stand in our purpose. We believe wholeheartedly in our mission. As Assata Shakur teaches us, we know we have nothing to lose but our chains.
We are witnessing language, organizing practices, and organizational principles that abolitionists and anti-racist organizers have relied upon for several decades entering the mainstream discourse for today’s movements, catalyzing a bold new generation of activism. This heightened awareness of the work has attracted the likes of the President and other white-supremacist mouthpieces to rehash strategies that criminalize the teaching of histories and perspectives that enliven the struggle for a beloved community and a just world order. . . .
"Conceptual frameworks like critical race theory (CRT), curated syllabi/resource guides like the BLM@School Curriculum Resource Guide, and critical historical analysis like the 1619 Project are indispensable to providing foundations for principled struggle, abolitionist visions, and radical imagination.
"To close this letter on recommitting to our mission and in the spirit of providing a platform for teaching, we turn to our ancestor Toni Morrison to support our analysis."
Racism and Fascism
by Toni Morrison, Department of Creative Writing, Princeton University
... Let us be reminded that before there is a final solution, there must be a first solution, a second one, even a third. The move toward a final solution is not a jump. It takes one step, then another, then another. Something, perhaps, like this:
Construct an internal enemy, as both focus and diversion.
Isolate and demonize that enemy by unleashing and protecting the utterance of overt and coded name-calling and verbal abuse. Employ ad hominem attacks as legitimate charges against that enemy.
Enlist and create sources and distributors of information who are willing to reinforce the demonizing process because it is profitable, because it grants power and because it works
Palisade all art forms; monitor, discredit or expel those that challenge or destabilize processes of demonization and deification
Subvert and malign all representatives of and sympathizers with this constructed enemy.
Solicit, from among the enemy, collaborators who agree with and can sanitize the dispossession process.
Pathologize the enemy in scholarly and popular mediums; recycle, for example, scientific racism and the myths of racial superiority in order to naturalize the pathology.
Criminalize the enemy. Then prepare, budget for and rationalize the building of holding arenas for the enemy-especially its males and absolutely its children.
Reward mindlessness and apathy with monumentalized entertainments and with little pleasures, tiny seductions, a few minutes on television, a few lines in the press, a little pseudo-success, the illusion of power and influence, a little fun, a little style, a little consequence.
Maintain, at all costs, silence.
This is an excerpt from a speech delivered at the Charter Day celebration, Howard University, March 3, 1995. Ms. Morrison, a former Howard faculty member, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993 for her novel, Beloved.
News from Annapolis Week 9 is devoted almost entirely to education. A link to that Newsletter is shown below.
It is fascinating -- if terrifying -- to watch a proposal slowly and silently morph from being "unacceptable" to the vast majority of people to being "critically necessary" to that same majority.
Over time, the public school system has found it more and more difficult to educate all of our children. Rather than look for alternative teaching methods and systems that have proven track records success, the insular education bureaucracy has turned to blaming poverty, racism, and mental health for the inability of certain children "to learn."
Certainly, all of those things make learning more difficult for a child, and teaching more difficult for the teacher. But in placing blame upon these cultural affects, the cure becomes for the school system to focus on solving the problems of poverty, racism and mental health.
While that is a laudable goal, is that what we want schools to be focusing on? Is that what we believe schools must do before they can teach children?
In case you were wondering what prompted the question, "What's happening in our schools," it's HB 657. This bill requires that a standardized "Behavioral Health Questionnaire" be given to and filled out by the parent of each student on a yearly basis, to be used for "early identification of mental health and substance use needs."
The form below is currently used by Baltimore City Schools and shows the type of information that the new Standardized form will require; the difference here is that Baltimore City's form includes the word "Optional." The Bill has no provision for parent consent.
How did we get to the point where government believes it has an absolute right to the private medical information of our children. . . all in the name of doing good? That is exactly how our freedoms are eroded, one at a time . . . all in the name of doing good.
CRT Issue-Spotting
The following is taken from A Parent's Guide to Critical Race Theory: Fighting CRT in Your Child's School
A GOOD Way to evaluate whether the essence of CRT is being taught in your child's school is to ask the following questions. Do the teachings:
Stereotype or scapegoat entire groups of people?
Racialize instruction or the learning environment?
Employ racially segregated affinity groups or caucuses
Target “Whiteness” or attempt to disrupt it?
Divide groups into “oppressors” and “oppressed”?
Redefine common terms or coin new ideological language?
Target objectivity, truth, and neutrality?
Indoctrinate students with a partisan agenda and encourage activism?
TEACHING ANTI-RACISM
SHOULD:
Expose and end racial injustice
Encourage multiculturalism
Teach tolerance
Foster understanding and communication
Should NOT:
Target “Whiteness”
Use the terms “White Privilege” or White fragility”
Stereotype or scapegoat groups because of race
Polarize people into “oppressors or “oppressed”
Ask yourself these questions
Does the teaching of Anti-Racism
Focus on eliminating White privilege” or White supremacy culture”?
Does it use the term “White Fragility” or imply all Whites are systemically racists?
Does it imply Whites suffer from “internalized racial superiority,” or that people of color suffer from “internalized oppression”?
TEACHING "EQUITY" PROGRAMS
SHOULD:
Promote programs and resources to all children
Maintain instructional rigor
Eliminate gaps and disparities in learning and resources
Should NOT:
Eliminate programs or resources
Water-down curriculum or instruction
Use correlation to prove causation
Ask yourself these questions
Does the teaching of Equity Programs:
Is “equity” eliminating programs in school?
Is “equity” lowering instructional rigor or watering-down curriculum?
Is “equity” using correlation to prove causation, and using systemic racism” a a blanket cause when there are other underlying variables that need attention?
CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING
SHOULD:
Foster communication
Deepen student-teacher relationships
Build learning partnerships
Help students of all cultures engage in learning
Should NOT:
Target Whiteness
Indoctrinate students on issues
Promote political activism
Organize protests or lobby for partisan causes
Ask yourself these questions
Does Culturally Responsive teaching in your child's school:
Target Whiteness?
Indoctrinate students on issues?
Push a political agenda or promote political activism?
Require students to organize protests or lobby for partisan causes?
TEACHING ACCURATE HISTORY
SHOULD:
Be objectively accurate
Be fair and balanced, revealing both positive and negative accounts
Incorporate the histories of diverse cultures
Should NOT:
Alter factually accurate historical records
Revise history through a "subjective" lens
Disproportionately represent historical accounts
Ask yourself these questions
Does Culturally Responsive teaching in your child's school:
Target Whiteness?
Indoctrinate students on issues?
Push a political agenda or promote political activism?
Require students to organize protests or lobby for partisan causes?
News from Annapolis END OF SESSION Newletter is devoted entirely to Education. Below is a link to that Newsletter.
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