CARE - Not "Anti-Education" - Part 1

Many of the Racine Journal Times weblog postings to The Schools Report blogs have been critical of CARE - Coalition to Actively Reform Education. I feel that the JT education reporter, Brent Killackey, has not fairly represented CARE’s positive message of accountability. CARE advocates having a measurable plan, both academic and financial, before supporting the upcoming June 6th referendum.

Some have criticized CARE because they are not “educational experts”, but school reform does not need to be rocket science. When the Independent Commission on Education released its report in January 2006, the community applauded and overwhelmingly agreed with these “non-educational experts” on their findings. Knowing the recent history of RUSD, I believe the Independent Commission’s report will not be acted on without pressure from the public and citizen’s advocacy groups like CARE.

Apparently, it is Unified’s modus operandi to ask for help and then fail to act on those suggestions. CARE believes that RUSD needs to better communicate its mission to the public it serves. The Independent Commission agrees and states:

The District has a limited communications function but significant communications needs, both internally and externally. Virtually everyone we spoke to commented on the District’s failure to communicate successfully important information to the people who need it. Without focused information delivered in a timely way, employees are stymied in their ability to meet job responsibilities effectively and are not meaningfully connected to the greater purpose and direction of the District. Externally, strategic communications efforts are needed to build public understanding of, and confidence in, the District’s long-term strategies and goals for
improvement.

CARE believes that this is one of the reasons why RUSD has not been successful in implementing Dr. Hicks’ school reform plan, the Quality District Model.

Why is CARE being attacked as being anti-education when CARE is advocating some of the very things The Independent Commission has stated are necessary?

Where's the 5 Million?

One of my regular four readers recently sent me an email asking why I haven’t posted anything since Sunday. I told him I had written a couple of pieces about the board meeting Monday, but I did not feel comfortable posting them since they were not very positive. I do not want to sink to that level – yet…

I am trying to write something positive, but I see very little positive happening this week. Eric Marcus’ new citizen advocacy group, CARE, is being persecuted by some who apparently did not even take time to read any of the materials released to the press.

As a recovering liberal, I think spending money on education is the best investment for any community. With that said, I see very little money being spent on education. I see mismanagement of tax dollars. We lose a million a year because we do not apply for transfer of service funds for certain students that enroll during the year? Can you say “ineffective stewardship of tax dollars”?

We also lose about the same amount simply because of our accounting practices – not properly adjusting how workers compensation is stated has cost this district every year.

Last year, it was the Medicaid billing. How much revenue did we miss out on that one?
We are still working (over a year later) to make sure all the people responsible for billing are properly trained.

Finally, after a resoundingly defeated referendum in April 2005 and having a ‘do-over’ in June, the district received $6.45MM in additional revenue. We also received $5MM in state revenue that we did not plan on.

When administration was creating the budget last year, the governor had not yet approved the state budget so RUSD really had no idea on what the amount the state would give the schools. RUSD received 5 million more than they had budgeted for, in addition to the extra 6.45 million. Now they want more! My question is this, what happened to the 5 million??????

I understand that at least 2 RUSD board members have visited this site, so perhaps they can help me (and my 4 readers) understand where this money went. I urge you to post – I do allow anonymous posters so your identity will not be known.

Education in America: State-By-State Report Card

At first, I was pleasantly shocked today when I stumbled across the Education in America: State-By-State Report Card . Although we ranked in the top 10 in most money spent per pupil (no big surprise), I was pleased to discover that we ranked 8th in overall achievement and 3rd in graduation rates when compared with other US states. Then it occurred to me that the graduation rates of both Racine (79%) and Milwaukee (65%) are holding the rest of Wisconsin back, due to the fact that these school districts have relatively large student populations. It is nice to be ranked at #1 and #2, but not for having the worst graduation rate.

Milwaukee has started addressing the problem; MPS offers numerous choices to the families including magnet schools and diverse specialty programs. Also,since the early 90’s the state legislature has made it possible for the children of Milwaukee most at risk for failure to attend charter and voucher schools. It is time for RUSD to step up to the plate and begin offering comprehensive choices for the families and children of eastern Racine County. Dr. Hick’s reform plan, the Quality District Model, has some merit, but it is clear that it does not work for all children. We cannot continue to use one approach for all of our children; we will be doomed if we do. After 5 years of the QDM and no real improvement, it is now time to seek other options. We cannot continue on the path we are on; we may have lost a significant group of students already and cannot afford to lose any more.

If Milwaukee and Racine schools could improve their results to match the rest of the state; I believe Wisconsin could be #1 in every category in a very short time. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to be #1 in something we can be proud of?

Memo to Dr. Hicks

To: Dr. Hicks - CEO of Racine Unified School District
From: The Greater Racine Community
Date: April 22, 2006
Re: 10 Traits of Highly Effective Schools


We came across this list of traits of highly effective schools and thought it would be helpful to you. Our suggestions on how to acquire these traits are included.

1. The principal is a strong instructional leader. He/she sets the school agenda, communicates the mission of the school, determines what gets measured and noticed, and distributes the resources.

Please note that the principal is a leader in an effective school; not administrators in Central Office. We need the decisions made by the principals for our schools to be effective. Our schools are unique; the one-size-fits-all approach is not working and the principals are the best resource to make the right choices.

2. The teachers are well-trained, motivated and know their subject matter. They respect their students and have high expectations for their achievement, and teach using methods that produce results.

The average age of a RUSD teacher is 48; this fact will lead one to believe that the majority of our teachers have numerous years of experience and continuing educational credits. Instead of valuing their years of experience and different teaching styles, you brought in consultants to retrain our teachers to deliver the curriculum in a way that is uncreative and only promotes mediocrity.

3. The students are motivated, disciplined, eager to learn, self-directed, and respectful of their peers, their teachers, and their parents.

RUSD does not have control over what kind of student enrolls, but you as a superintendent, do have the power do make sure that children who choose to act violently towards their peers and teachers are removed. Expulsion, not another Responsibility Training session, is needed when children act so violently that we need to have 3 police officers in each of our high schools.

4. The parents are involved in the life of the school in real and important ways.

Again, this is something that is hard to mandate. With that said, your attitude when parents approach administration with concerns is disturbing. You, as the leader of this district, need to take some responsibility and admit that your directives are not working.

5. The school's standards are academically focused, rigorous, comprehensive, clear, and measurable. They call for students to learn material and demonstrate skills that grow increasingly more difficult as they progress through school.

NWEA-MAP testing is an excellent tool for measuring a student’s annual progress. However, there are not any measurable goals. How can we hold you accountable if we do not understand what goal we are working towards?

6. The school has a solid academic curriculum (the teaching materials and methods that are used in the classroom) that is focused on student learning.

Our curriculum is sound, but as mentioned earlier, the teaching methods mandated by your educational reform plan does not allow the teachers to teach in a creative way. The teaching methods of CP (teaching 2 small groups alternately) does not allow for teachable moments. While one small group is being “directed” by the teacher, the other group is working independently. These children cannot address their questions in a timely manner, thus making it difficult to master the information that was presented to them in their earlier “direct instruction” allotment of teacher time.

7. Academic achievement and educational excellence are top priorities. The successful school pushes students to achieve, accepts no excuses, and has requirements and expectations for all students.

Far too long we have accepted that because we are a large urban district, we should expect lesser results from our students. To imply that only white middle-class children can learn is insulting. If different teaching methods are needed to close the achievement gap; please allow the schools to use those.

8. The school's mission is academically focused.

Our district’s focus does not seem to be academics; it is about labor unions, contracts and our “business partners”. We delay the purchase of textbooks as a budgetary adjustment, instead of insisting that the district employees pay a more equitable share of their health benefits.

9. A network of communication channels keeps information flowing back and forth between and among principal, teachers, students, and parents.

Information is not flowing freely; there seems to be a dam built by administration. We have heard from parents, board members, and teachers that information is not shared with them. Meeting agendas, complete with “board packets” should be available via the district’s website. More town hall meetings and focus groups should be held; not committees with the same corporate-sponsored members dictating policy. The schools belong to all the citizens of eastern Racine County; not just the hand-picked corporate lackeys.

10. There is agreement about what constitutes acceptable behavior by staff, students, and parents.

There is much discussion about this lately; apparently violence is running rampant in our schools. Many teachers state this is a direct result of the Responsibility Training that was implemented in our schools. We need to return to schools that provide a safe and welcoming environment.

We urge you to consider these recommendations; both our children’s and Racine’s future depends on the success of RUSD.

Adapted from Ten Traits of Highly Successful Schools, by Elaine K. McEwan, ©1999

CARE – Coalition to Actively Reform Education

Most informed residents of eastern Racine County recognize that Racine Unified is not achieving any kind of success and wonder what can be done about it. Wonder no more!
Eric Marcus has started a citizens’ advocacy group, CARE - Coalition to Actively Reform Education. Please join me in supporting CARE; we are initially focusing on insisting that the RUSD:

· Be accountable and provide proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars

· Racine Unified School District needs to articulate a shared vision for our childrens’ education, 5-year and 1-year goals along with measurable actions to improve RUSD student achievement and engagement

· Offer neighborhood schools to all RUSD students and decrease average busing times
· Provide educational leadership that earns the respect of the community

The following is the press release that was sent to all the traditional media outlets earlier today:

For Immediate Release
Educational Reform Group Opposes Referendum
Racine, Wisconsin – April 20, 2006
Contact:
 Eric Marcus, Coalition to Actively Reform Education (CARE) - 847.668.3915
http://home.wi.rr.com/care

The Racine Unified School District is asking the community to exceed spending limits and give them another $6.45 million. The Coalition to Actively Reform Education (CARE) thinks it’s just good money after bad and urges a “no” vote.

Between 2000 and 2005, the number of Racine Unified School District students remained the same while overall school spending in Racine rose from $178 million to $256 million - an increase of 43.8%. At the same time, student achievement on statewide exams and graduation rates continue to be far below state averages.

While asking again for a tax increase, the Racine Unified School District has failed to present a vision for the education of our children, 1-year and 5-year goals or an action plan to improve student performance. CARE has developed a vision, goals and actions for the Racine Unified School District. We want to work with parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders to quickly finalize and begin implementation of this plan.

At its April 3, 2006 Board meeting, the Racine Unified School District acknowledged that it could reduce expenses by over $2 million with no impact on students or teachers. There does not appear to be any reason these cuts could not have been made in prior years. This is not the kind of tax revenue stewardship we deserve.

CARE calls for the Racine Unified School District to present an acceptable plan for our children’s education - including specific and measurable actions for achieving them – before asking the voters for more money. Continuing to ask voters to simply make up deficits is irresponsible. We need to ensure that our spending is focused on providing the best education for our children. We invite the Racine Unified School Board to meet with CARE to discuss cost reductions that would have little, if any, impact on our childrens’ education and would not require a referendum in 2006.

Despite unacceptable student achievement, the top 21 Racine Unified School District administrators were paid $2,497,308 in salaries and fringe benefits in 2004 (the most current state published figures). That’s an average of over $118,919 a year. Racine Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. Thomas Hicks, is paid a salary of $140,100 plus fringe benefits of another $53,028 for a total of just over $193,000.

While Racine Unified School District teachers will receive copies of their proposed new contract as part of the ratification process, though legally permitted to do so, the School Board insists on keeping those terms a secret from the community which must pay for it.

The June 2006 referendum gives our community the opportunity to tell the Racine Unified School District that we will not give them more tax dollars without effective stewardship for public money and an acceptable plan to improve the education of our children.

CARE, a non-partisan advocacy group formed to improve the education of children in the Racine Unified School District, offers membership at no cost. CARE advocates setting measurable objectives to improve student achievement and graduation rates; establish District accountability with proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars; offer neighborhood schools to all students, decrease average busing times; and provide educational leadership that earns the respect of the community. CARE invites inquiries and membership.

Exactly How Much Does Busing Cost?

Since I posted a comparison of revenue for RUSD and KUSD, today I thought it would be beneficial to post a comparison of where that revenue is spent.

Again, these numbers are taken directly from the Schools Performance Report (SPR) that is available on the Wisconsin Department of Instruction website. And as before, 2003-2004 is the most current information available. It is broken down to expenditure per student, since I think smaller numbers may be easier to comprehend.

As you can see, busing costs are killing this district. Kenosha spent $5,480,768 on busing, whereas RUSD spent $9,175,517 .This may be due to the fact we have not effectively bid out the contract with Durham (our transportation vendor) in 10 years.

The Independent Commission 's current benchmarking results "indicate that RUSD is spending twice what Kenosha is spending to transport less than twice as many students." I have included links for the full report from the Independent Commission.


Racine

Instruction $6,101
Support 914
Busing 433
Admin. 2,052
Facilities 297
Total Ed. Cost 9,796

RUSD Total District Cost $10,039

Kenosha

Instruction $5,932
Support 1,052
Busing 256
Admin. 1,830
Facilities 297
Total Ed. Cost 9,796

KUSD Total District Cost $ 9,889



Vote NO until we can get some of these expenditures in line with other school districts!!!

Mill Rate Myths

In order to help the voters of eastern Racine County make an INTELLIGENT and INFORMED decision, I thought I would take this opportunity to dispel the rumors of our mill rate. The current board and administration will tell the voters (again and again !!) that they need the referendum because our mill rate is abysmally low.

It is true; our mill rate is low. But the data below shows that although Kenosha’s mill rate is higher than ours, and did collect more in property taxes, we still collected more in state and federal revenue and our total revenue is about the same.

The data is taken from Wisconsin’s Department of Instruction website; the data is from 2003-2004, the most recent year available:


Racine
Number of students 21,203
Property Taxes $53,063,274
Other Local Revenue $4,695,838
State Revenue $137,421,051
Federal Revenue $17,864,153
RUSD Total Revenue - $213,044,316

Kenosha
Number of students 21,379
Property Taxes $61,560,509
Other Local Revenue $8,831,051
State Revenue $126,129,743
Federal Revenue $16,136,755
KUSD Total Revenue - $212,658,058

Are Magnet Schools Really Better? Perception vs. Reality

There was a letter to the editor earlier this week in the Journal Times that has been bothering me all week. The author, as I understood the letter, will not support a RUSD referendum because the system is a “dysfunctional and unfair” one.
Dysfunctional – I agree with that. Unfair, that may be true on some level. It seems she has a vendetta against magnet schools, which I feel needs further analysis. She claims it is unfair that the district’s 3 elementary magnet schools have to limit their enrollment. I agree with her on this point; every year there are lengthy waiting lists to secure a seat in these schools. The magnet schools work, but not because of special curriculum. I know this because my children attended two of these magnet schools.

The magnet schools do work, but not because of any administrator in Central Office or special curriculum. They work simply because there is parental involvement. Parental engagement is the panacea for student achievement. So instead of 2 million dollar Riverdeep software, consultants from Michigan, NWEA-MAP testing, perhaps we need to buy some parental engagement. Does anybody know how to accomplish this? Last I checked, you cannot legislate or mandate good parenting.

Do we need more magnet schools, return to all neighborhood schools, or a combination of both? As a parent I want to have the choice to send my child to the school I choose. Which is the best way? The community of eastern Racine County has a rare opportunity; with the facilities study done in June, administration and the board will be asking these very same questions. Let your voice be heard. Attend a meeting, phone or email a board member; we hold all the power. If Unified is not “doing it” for you, exercise your greatest power and vote NO on June 6th.

QEO? We don’t need no stinkin’ QEO!

In today’s Journal Times, there was an article about the current proposed REA contract which stated “The tentative agreement on Racine Unified School District teachers' contracts for 2005-07 and 2007-09 periods includes a salary and benefits package greater than the qualified economic offer, The Journal Times has learned.”

What I find amazing is that the Journal Times FAILED to mention is that in the 13 years since the QEO was enacted, where teachers are guaranteed a 3.8% increase in total compensation, EVERY negotiated contract was GREATER than the QEO.

The QEO was enacted in 1993, along with the shared revenue and spending caps to curb the out of control property taxes across Wisconsin. But because changes made to health care can not be unilaterally changed, and health care costs keep rising, each and every contract since 1993 has been ABOVE and BEYOND the QEO!!!

It should make every one feel better that RUSD is not alone, few districts in Wisconsin go to arbitration which is the only way to force them to pay more for their health care and truly give the teachers a 3.8% increase.

Am I the only one that thinks that education should be the primary objective of school districts and not benefit packages?

School Board and Administration Plead Ignorance of Growing Gang Violence in Our Schools

In the public comment portion of last night’s RUSD board meeting, I listened to 2 different families share their children’s’ tragic experience with the growing violence in our high schools. In both incidents, the young men were brutally attacked in the bathrooms at their respective high schools, J.I. Case and Washington Park. These young men were innocent, good children that were victimized simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I do not doubt that there was not one person in the room that was not deeply touched by their words.

In one of these incidents the attackers were identified as known gang members, according to the police and school reports filed. The attackers even videotaped themselves brutally beating these young men. Apparently these attacks were either a gang initiation or a new and very disturbing trend. Not one of them (RUSD board members) or the new Director of Safety and Security were aware of these attacks before the parents brought the information forward at last night’s meeting. While the parents were assured by board members and administration that these were isolated incidents, I can guarantee that they are not

I have a sibling who works as a patrol officer for Mt. Pleasant (J.I. Case HS is in their jurisdiction) that shares general knowledge of events like this (never names) and I am convinced that gang violence is an ever growing problem in our schools. Some of these ‘children’ are eventually suspended, but only after numerous Control Theory and Responsibility Training sessions, and will most likely end up at one of the other schools because we simply do not have the room at the Mack Achievement Center to hold them all.

And if the leadership of our districts truly believed this acts of violence are random, why on earth have all of the football games been moved to Hammes Field (instead of Horlick Field) and why have they created and filled a new Central Office position – Director of Safety and Security? It sounds to me like they know about the problem and are now scrambling to find solutions...

Responsibility Training (RT) and Control Theory (CT), both disciplinary components of Hicks’ Quality District Model are obviously not working here in Racine. The inmates are now running the asylum.

RUSD experiences Groundhog Day

The RUSD board, earlier this evening, settled on an amount for the upcoming June 6th referendum. Like the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day, where Murray's character keeps repeating the same day over and over, the voters of Racine keep voting for the same referendum amount - $6.45MM. This will be the fourth year in a row the voters will be asked to approve spending beyond the state imposed spending caps (The first two years were combined in a 2 year referendum).

While I agree that it takes money to have good schools, I question why the district is not forthcoming with supporting documentation on why they need this money. Historically, the voters of eastern Racine County approve referenda when they are assured it will be used for a specific purpose. Since 2001, RUSD leadership has not done this and have had a difficult time passing these referenda. This only makes the already volatile issue worse. Ironically this practice coincides with the appearance of Dr. Hicks.

I also question giving more money to this adminstration because I feel our district's results do not warrant it. The achievement gap is widening, and little is being done to help the children who need it the most. I will not support this referendum without measurable objectives put in place by the board with the understanding that if Hicks cannot produce, he needs to take the QDM (along with RT, CT and CP) out on the road.

It is my belief he does not want a shared vision for the future of our children. His disrespect for the voters of eastern Racine County is appalling, to say the least. We do not need arrogance in a leader, we need a leader that is willing to listen to the community and act on its behalf.

We need to pressure the board to hold Dr. Hicks to some measurable objectives. Our childrens' futures depend on it.

If the calendar says April, it must be RUSD referendum time

Where most people look forward to the first signs of spring, the citizens of eastern Racine County have begun to dread April. Spring does not only bring daffodils and baseball, but the return of the now annual RUSD referenda to exceed the spending caps.

The Journal Times, in its usual fair and balanced style, has covered this in today’s paper but has failed (again) to mention that at last week’s board meeting the motion to have the referendum on June 6th was not initially approved. On a 3-4 vote, (with Janet Days and Armin Clobes absent) the motion failed. David Issacson, Brian Dey, Julie McKenna and Randall Bangs voted against having the referendum on June 6th.

In a leadership style that has become familiar to the voters of Racine County, outgoing School Board President, Bill Schalk brought the motion back for a second vote. Only two board members questioned the legality of bringing forth a failed motion a second time in the same meeting. These same 2 board members, Dey and McKenna voted no again, but the second motion passed on a vote of 5-2 to have the referendum on June 6th.

Tonight is round 2; hopefully Days and Clobes will be there to vote. I also hope that I am one of many public citizens at the meeting tonight. It gets pretty lonely sitting all by myself!

Read the JT article at: http://www.journaltimes.com/nucleus/index.php?blogid=49

A New Voice Joins the Blogosphere

Because this is my inaugural post, I suppose I should provide the reader with a little biographical and background information so the reader knows what to expect from me. I live in Racine with my husband and 2 school-aged children. They both attend school in the Racine Unified School District (RUSD), so I obviously have a vested interest in seeing that RUSD improve. But all taxpayers, business owners, and residents are stakeholders in RUSD and should demand more from our schools. I, like many others, have been asking for accountability (the new buzzword at RUSD) for years. It would seem that this idea is finally starting to catch on; the majority of the posts here will revolve around this topic.

Accountability is needed at both levels of leadership – administrative and board. Currently, the district’s board has one consistent lone voice of reason – Brian Dey. Eric Marcus would certainly have joined Brian in the fight against the status quo, but unfortunately his strong message failed to resonate with the public on April 4th. Hopefully the three candidates that won, Gretchen Warner, Tony Baumgardt and Don Nielsen will be effective leaders. I truly wish them the best of luck.

Eric Marcus had my full support during his campaign, and I will continue to support him as he tries to spread his message to the citizens of eastern Racine County with his new citizen advocacy group, CARE. More information about CARE is forthcoming in both this weblog and more traditional media outlets.

Finally, I promise I will try to share with the readers the background needed to make informed decisions. I try to attend as many RUSD board meetings as possible and will share the information that the local print media refuses to cover. I will even interject this information with my astute (hopefully!) analysis. I may even try to amuse you; these meetings can be rather humorous if you think watching a dysfunctional family fighting at the Thanksgiving table is funny.