MCAS Reform Lobby Day

On February 13th I had the opportunity to participate in the MCAS Reform Lobby Day held at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. This event is organized by Citizens for Public Schools (CPS) and was attended by both supporting organizations and youth from the surrounding communities. The Hearing room was packed as students raised their voices against an exam that is devestating graduation rates in the state especially in urban communities. I had the privilege of spending time with five of these students as they made their way to Representative Haddad’s office, the co-chair on the education committee. These students met with Rep. Haddad’s aide and told their stories of how this exam has negatively impacted their lives and the lives of their classmates. They were then able to make the same case their Representative, Brian Wallace, who listened with great interest to what they had to say.

This day was important for numerous reasons. One, we brought attention to the negative ramifications of high stakes testing and the need for alternative assessment methods to combat the escalating dropout rate. Two, we gave these students the opportunity to not only use their voice, but the opportunity to learn the process of lobbying and actively engaging in the process. Finally, we were able to show in force that the tolerance for the inequity that comes from this method of assessment has reached a limit. We succeeded on all of these points. Please consider joining this effort to bring change to the students of this Commonwealth and for that matter, across the country. High stakes testing is a a by-product of No Child Left Behind. To take action visit the NEA website and follow the links. If you are in Massachusetts, you can do the same at the MTA website. Please join us in our effort to reform these educational policies.

Who is Susie Flynn?

Hey folks! We have a candidate out there who deserves our attention. Her name is Susie Flynn and she wants to be our next President. Susie has one issue in mind...health insurance for ALL CHILDREN. She is backed by the Children’s Defense Fund. Here is what Susie has to say:

My name is Susie Flynn. I am running for President of the United States of America to help the nine million children who have no health insurance. This is a crisis. These children have been let down, yet the people accountable are doing too little to solve it. By running for President, I intend to make everyone in America aware of the issue so that it will no longer be ignored. Under your next President, every child in America must get the health insurance he or she deserves.

For more information on Susie Flynn and her campaign go to: www.electsusie.com. At her website you can participate in the change that is needed for the 9 million uninsured children in America!

Educational Inequity’s Failing Hub Youth

If we need a true picture of the inequity in public education, perhaps we should go directly to the source. The children that we are failing can tell us first hand their educational experiences, both good and bad, and give us a more accurate description of how they are managing with the current struggle.
Why does geography dictate a quality education? How is it that excellence comes more easily to those who live in more advantage districts? This is public education. It is the right of every student to be given equal opportunities. No Child Left Behind? MCAS? How can you equally demand and assess when you don’t equally educate. Where is the fairness and equity in this system?
This is not just a Massachusetts problem but one that reverberates across our county. It takes a united group of students, educators, parents and lawmakers to see a broken system and insist that changes be immediately addressed. 
In the following op-ed piece, the student gives a heartbreaking description of his experience in the public schools in Massachusetts. There are thousands more like him trying to make the best of what they have been given. His cautionary tale of inequity needs to be heeded by lawmakers and we, as advocates, need to see these necessary changes to fruition.

Educational inequity’s failing Hub youth
By Dominicke Lewis
Saturday, December 29, 2007 - Boston Herald Op-Ed

From fourth grade through ninth grade, I attended Bedford Public Schools through the METCO program, which gives youth living in Boston a chance to attend schools in the suburbs.
During my six years in Bedford schools, I got an excellent education. There were never more then 20 students in my classes. I always had great materials and books, the building was beautiful, the teachers were respectful and the classes were orderly. I really learned a lot.
In the ninth grade, I had to transfer to Hyde Park High. There were obvious differences between my old school and my new school. To begin with, I was learning the same material in ninth grade at Hyde Park that I had learned in seventh grade in Bedford. My classes had as many as 30 students in them. We had so few books that students weren’t allowed to take them home to study. The building was old and run down.
Because the MBTA bus I now had to take to school made frequent stops, I had to wake up extra early in order to get there by the 7:20 a.m. start time. By the time I arrived, I was so exhausted and cranky that the last thing I wanted to do was start studying.
Doing well in school was a lot harder there because the classroom environment was chaotic. The disruptive behavior of some students took the teacher’s attention away from helping the students who wanted to learn. Once, when I asked a teacher a question, she refused to answer and told me that I would never amount to anything. Many times when a student was being difficult, he or she would be asked to leave the classroom. Those students would end up hanging out in the hallway and picking fights or just leaving the school altogether.
As I struggled in my new school, my guidance counselor tried to help, but she had so many students to keep track of, she wasn’t even able to remember who I was.
There was so much chaos that I began to feel I was wasting my time. So, at age 16, I decided that the best thing I could do was to drop out of school, join the Job Corps and get my GED.
Recently, there has been much discussion about how urban youth have trouble achieving academically. Urban students don’t perform as well on MCAS as suburban students and have a higher dropout rate.
But look at the difference in how we’re being treated.
One student gets a great building, new books, interesting curriculum and plenty of attention from teachers; the other gets old books, worn-out buildings, worn-out teachers and one overcrowded MCAS prep class after another.
You tell me, which student do you think is going to do better?
When I went to school in Bedford, I knew I was being prepared for a successful future. When I went to Hyde Park, I knew I was wasting my time.
No student should have to feel that school is a waste of time. And we are running out of time to fix the real problems that Boston students have to deal with every day.
So what are the governor, the Legislature and the mayor waiting for? The students of Boston deserve the same educational opportunity provided to the students of Bedford. We deserve a real chance.