By Travis Reems
Filed Wednesday, November 1 at 11:43 PM
The following is a repost of an SLS Watch article by R.E. Porter:
In recent weeks, St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Diana Bourisaw has presented a detailed plan for raising student achievement in St. Louis to one community group after another. The foundation of her plan is the philosophy that compassion for children from difficult backgrounds meant holding them to high standards. There can be no excuses, she said, for accepting less than their best.
At the third forum on public education from the self-styled St. Louis Children's Agenda, for example, Bourisaw said that raising student performance was the key to regaining accreditation. She said that the district is committed to raising student test scores on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests and on American College Testing's (ACT) college entrance exam.
"We will improve academic achievement by focusing on people, not programs," she said. The district has begun providing professional development geared to classroom practice. The curriculum is being aligned to state standards as measured by the MAP test, and children will be tested every six weeks to see how they are progressing towards what the state education department expects them to know at the end of the year. Teachers get the assessment results
back almost immediately and have a week to review if the children need it. Principals have the power to assign more resource to classes that consistently have trouble meeting expectations.
Every aspect of the district's efforts will be driven by data, she said. In addition to the benchmark tests, each school will report quarterly to the board on how they stand in relation to their targets in several different areas, including attendance and discipline. Principals participate cluster study groups for additional support, and 36 low performing schools get help from performance teams to target academic achievement. Bourisaw also said that the district is going to refocus on reading instruction, and it will continue to teach reading beyond the 4th grade where it traditionally had stopped.
The motivation underneath all those hard-headed initiatives is the realization that permitting students from poor backgrounds to fail just condemns them to a lifetime of failure. Bourisaw recount how, when she was a young teacher working with juvenile delinquent boys, she initially had made excuses for them out of a misplaced sense of compassion, and forgave them for not handing in assignments on time due to chaotic conditions at home. She said that over time she came to understand that it was more compassionate to demand that they hand in their assignments despite the chaotic conditions at home, and the more demanding she became, the better her students did in school. She developed a "no excuses" policy towards her students that drove them to raise their level of achievement.
"What they really needed," she said, "was someone to care, someone to demand that they do the work. When you did that, they delivered."
Strangely, former school board member Hattie Jackson, who is the wife of current school board member Ron Jackson, said after hearing the same presentation that all she heard was "excuses and demographics, plenty of excuses, but no strategic plan to to inform each individual school (and improve student achievement)."
Perhaps the fact that her husband is hostile to Bourisaw affects her ability to hear what the other 60 people in attendance heard: a sensible, comprehensive approach to raising student achievement.
17 Comments:
Are the St. Louis Public Schools fortunate or not to have such a class act at the helm of the district? Why Veronica O'Brien could probably go on to greater things on this achievement alone, that is, bringing an A-one professional and superintendent to the district. We should all thank Veronica for bringing Dr. Bourisaw to the district. Dr. Bourisaw is the best, and she's a real lady besides.
She has a vision, a plan, and the will power to give it everything she has to make it happen. Children and parents have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. Teachers and staff at last have a leader one can look up to and respect. Let's hope the school district can keep her for a long, long time.
At last the district has a leader with experience, expertise, and a heart. Can any school district, urban or suburban, ask for more?
Three cheers for Dr. Diana Bourisaw. Three thanks yous to Veronica O'Brien for bringing a pro and a class act to the SLPS.
Bourisaw's family, husband and children in particular, have a lot to be proud of. Many of us join them.
Thursday, November 02, 2006 5:28:40 PM
Strictly staffly speaking, you have a point. Veronica did something right. Maybe she can use this coup in the future if she ever plans to run for something else. Please don't mess this great opportunity up. We don't need any more charlatans at the top.
Without Hilgemann and Moore, perhaps this board can accomplish something positive for a change.
Thursday, November 02, 2006 5:34:05 PM
This Board WONT accomplish anything unitl they get the schools on track and allow schools to "compete" with county schools.
Thursday, November 02, 2006 8:10:16 PM
Anonymous 8:10:16, what does that mean? This board is doing everything it can to get the district on tract. Why does it have to compete with the county?
Dr. Bourisaw is definitely ahead of everyone in the race to get the schools on track.
So what's your point? The previous board not only got them off track but actually derailed the district. It takes time to recuperate from such a radical and tragic result.
Can you imagine someone like Spampinato or Williams coming even within an inch of what Bourisaw has done so far? St. Louis has a gem, and this board would do well to do everything in its power to support and cooperate with her in order to avoid a state takeover.
Friday, November 03, 2006 6:09:10 AM
Correction: on "track," not "tract."
Friday, November 03, 2006 6:10:22 AM
Does this "gem" have an extra toner cartridge laying around?... because my school has not had a functioning copy machine for the last four days, AGAIN. And still no Open Court workbooks. And still no safety officer, paper, etc. I have to laugh when I read about this "no excuse" crap while we can't even make a copy.
How about getting back to the BASICS first?
Friday, November 03, 2006 6:35:26 AM
Jim,
What superintendent would know that unless it is communicated to him/her? There is probably someone or a department that is responsible for this.
In some schools, the office staff are responsible for taking care of copy machines directly with the vendor.
Talk to your principal and office staff to learn what the hold up is.
As to the other issues, sounds like the problem is on-site management. Someone isn't taking care of your school, as he or she should.
Friday, November 03, 2006 7:53:02 AM
It appears that the new mantra is 'test, test, repeat'. I hope it will improve test scores.
The talk of data, will it extend to teachers/administrators? 'Teacher/Principal Smith, year in year out, your students don't do as well other like students in this school/district. We've sent you to training a couple of times already. It's time for you to go.' I doubt the above conversation will happen, but maybe it should.
Friday, November 03, 2006 9:03:30 AM
Jim
If you're serious about getting copies made here is the man to talk to: Terry.Laster@slps.org
He is the man in charge of the dept for tech services, computers, copiers etc. You, your adminstration, your PTO leaders and the parents need to contact him. If you don't get the satisfaction you're looking for go higher.
Friday, November 03, 2006 4:08:57 PM
I read about the benchmark tests and how we will get immediate feedback and student results. Have they been put on the computer yet? because I have given two benchmark tests and have not been informed of the results. It is vital that the students get feedback on these, or to them it is just another test that they do not know how they did on, therefore they could care less about doing well. Last year, we were able to go to slps website, click on assessment and have the results. Is it the same this year? and when the heck will we get results for the the first and seccond tests? By the way, I really like Bourisaw and what she is doing for our schools and students. I like the weekly messages too that she sends out to slps staff.
Friday, November 03, 2006 5:52:33 PM
Strictly...& Anon.
Thanks for the reply. I will contact Mr. Laster. This issue (and many others) have been communicated to our principal at staff meetings, TEAC meetings, and informally. The answer is always that our budget has been slashed to an absolute ridiculously low amount and we don't have the money we need for essential supplies/services.
I strongly suspect that Dr. Bourisaw is fully aware of this problem. She has been told many times at school board meetings, labor management meetings, informal discussions, etc. But if things continue to deteriorate I will address the Board again. (another staff member of our school already addressed these issues at last month's board meeting, with no positive results)
So I don't buy the argument that the administration is unaware...unable to do anything maybe...but not unaware.
As far as our office staff, we have ONE secretary for a K-6 school with about 450-500 students. She is overwhelmed and overworked and rarely has the opportunity to even leave her desk. Myself and others have brought the under-staffing issue to the forefront MANY times.
It is laughable (and an insult to the efforts of many over the past several years) to say that the administration is unaware of these problems.
The trouble is a lack of $$$, as always. So WHO is not "taking care" of our school? There is plenty of blame to go around.
Saturday, November 04, 2006 8:33:31 AM
By the way...I don't mean to rain on the Dr. Bourisaw parade...but in my school (North Side) the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Saturday, November 04, 2006 8:41:42 AM
In the end, it is a lack of money. One can't have small class sizes without money to hire more teachers. Next year the deseg repayment bills start rolling in. If everybody doesn't start getting along, things could be really bad for Foundation Formula or even local control.
Saturday, November 04, 2006 8:43:07 PM
Let me conclude with this thought: Veronica went out on a limb to hire Bourisaw. Bourisaw should at least show her respect, as is her due not only as a board member but as the president of the Board.
Other board members should help Veronica and Bourisaw eliminate any convicted felons from the district.
Friday, November 10, 2006 5:09:54 PM
FYI-I have been told that the proper procedure to have issues addressed regarding technology problems-ie-computers, copiers, fax etc is to report them through the help desk. Requests for repairs should go through helpdesk@slps.org first to be logged and then will be responded to. Hopefully! You would do well to keep a log of your own with reminders for yourselves to follow-up on these requests. You can follow-up w/Mr Laster if you get no response. Remember, "It takes a village....", the villages are forming, I can see it and it is exciting!
Wednesday, November 15, 2006 1:25:14 PM
Also, if a school needs supplies, and the district cannot supply these items needed, go to your PTO and request them. I work with two PTO's and both have asked faculty and staff for a "wish list" of items, supplies etc that would make it easier to do their jobs. We try to supply these items whenever possible with the funds from the fundraisers we have during the year. Each school should have this valuable resource avail to them. If they don't, shame on the parents of that school. Parents, when you ask yourselves "How can I help the situation in this school district?" That's how. If you don't have time to be a member of the PTO, then simply ask your child's teacher what they might need to make it easier to conduct a class. Maybe it's paper, maybe it's dry erase markers, who knows and if you can't afford the items requested, ask a local company (the business you work for, the supermarket, the office supply store)for a donation. You will find that many local businesses are happy to help the local schools, especially with small requests, it may be they just didn't know what was needed or who to ask. There are many ways each and every one of us can help in some small way. It's just a matter of making a personal decision to do something, anything.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006 1:48:33 PM
Anon,
"If a school needs supplies, and the district cannot supply these items needed..."
Is this sad or what? If a district cannot supply these items then it needs to get the money needed to do so. Shame on all of us for not demanding greater funding for education where it is needed most.
How many bombs were manufactured in the time it took me to write this? How many were dropped?
Saturday, November 18, 2006 7:06:17 PM
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