Small schools in the Journal Sentinel

Sarah Carr, an education reporter down to the local rag, has a brief profile in Monday's paper on some of the small schools opening in MPS this fall. I am quoted in the article, right after "The initiative has not come without its critics."

I am not taken out of context or anything--and those of you who know me and have followed my writings on small schools know where I stand--but I do want to make a few things clear about my position, and state them all in a concise manner for anyone just Googling me today:

1. I do not believe small high schools are inherently bad. On the contrary, there are very real data and very real stories from all over the country that point to the potential success of small schools, and I support the movement in general.
   
2. My problem with the way small schools are being implemented in Milwaukee lies with its top-down approach. An edict has come down from on high that all 9-12 schools will be converted to small-school multiplexes. (The paper's story, and the editorial board's unsurprising cheerleading.)
   
3. Marty Lexmond, whom I have a story about that maybe I'll tell you later, is quoted right after me:

   But Marty Lexmond, who is heading up the district's high school reform efforts, said "there continues to be a good deal of excitement from teachers who find this intriguing, and we continue to get calls from teachers who want to know how they can submit proposals." He added that attendance rates have been above district averages at nine of the 10 new small schools that have opened in the last two years.

   This might give the reader the impression that I do not support teachers' rights to start these new schools. I do--anything that re-energizes the teaching and learning process is good. I have some major worries about funding and long-term support, not to mention ramifications to district initiatives standardizing curricula across schools and the real threat to union solidarity. What I do not support is the way the teachers who had been at Washington or Marshall were unceremoniously told to shrink or die. Small schools grow best from the bottom-up; too many MPS teachers feel the pressure from the top down.
   
   In addition, the district throws out lots of meaningless stats concerning small schools, including attendance and graduation numbers. There are no data, as far as I know, comparing student-to-student attendance rates between small schools and their old comprehensive schools. And as for graduation rates, a number of the pre-existing small schools whence the data came--Lady Pitts and Project STAY Senior Institute, for example--have as their sole focus getting students graduated by any means they can.
   
4. This also worries me (and my wife, who had it jump out at her, too):

   At Alliance, teachers are thinking about more short-term hurdles. "I am the math department," said [. . .] a first-year teacher who joined the school three weeks ago.

   Alliance sounds like it will be a good school, and I am sure the teachers there will do everything they can to educate the students to the fullest extent possible. But, especially since MPS cut the mentors a few years back to save money, I wonder if enthusiasm will make up for inexperience. As long as we're throwing around data, very real data do exist that show teachers' effectiveness improves with experience. I know, personally, that my first year of teaching was my worst; I am embarrassed now to think about what I did--and did not--do.
   
5. I have a massive, massive problem with the fact that 1/3 of the $17m in Gates start-up grant money went TALC, an organization founded by a fellow named Danny Goldberg. You may recognize that name because Goldberg now sits on the MPS school board, where he chairs the school reform committee--the committee that oversees the small schools transition and which can direct funds right back to TALC.
   
6. Finally, I do not like the implication that large, comprehensive high schools are worthless. I am the product of one, for example, and I think I turned out okay. And the comprehensive high school where I teach has made considerable strides in the last few years, increasing our graduation rates, average GPA, attendance rates, and, this past year, significantly, our truancy rate. We have densely populated college-bound classes and career tracks for students planning to enter the workforce after graduation. Students have a chance to find a niche and grow. That doesn't mean students can't find a crack and hide, I know; but I do believe that there is a place in MPS for the comprehensive high school.

So there you have it. If you did not read my earlier series on small schools, the final edition is here, with links to the previous parts right at the top.