Money and dreams

[What follows is the text of part of a letter that Dr. Janet Morrison sent to the Sowell Scholarship Selection Committee as the group decided on this semester's award recipients.  I found it moving and so indicative of what chldren from low-income families face as they attempt to better their lives. We need to work harder to protect funding for students who are ready and willing to work hard on their education.  LJ]

Hello everyone~

I'm a little behind on getting scholarship info out to you this semester. As most of you know, I am now working with the Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation. I am the director of their Eagle Scholars college readiness program where 150 students are enrolled in the program. E

Each year teachers at Tasby middle school choose 30 out-going 6th graders to be in the Eagle Scholars. We stick with those 30 kids year after year until they graduate. This is our first year of high school seniors.

I have been meeting with individual families and have met with about 15 so far. It amazes me that anyone could ever claim that poor people don't value education. I wish everyone could see the emotion as parents and their children tear up when they talk about their biggest fear is that they will not be able to fulfill their dreams.

When I ask why they wouldn't be able to, it is always because of money.

Last night I watched a 7th grader tear up over this same concern. I don't think she had ever expressed that concern and stress to her mom. I could tell it shocked and greatly concerned the mom that her daughter was already so concerned about their money situation. Her mom immediately tried to console her and tell her that they would ask friends and family for favors and would find a way to make sure she could go to college and fulfill her dream.

I can almost guarantee you that the applicants for the fall will be much greater in number since I now have contact with many more seniors who will be looking for assistance. Since the Eagle Scholars stick with the program over 5 years, they are absolutely amazing and dedicated students with their only fault being that they are poor and can't afford college. I'm glad we have this scholarship that I will be able to tell them about.

Another important piece of information...Nazareth [the scholarship applicant] is asking for $3,000 this time. She is doing great at UT and has now declared Biology and pre-med as her major. She has switched a couple of times from Education to Engineering to (now) Biology. Her dad has requested that this be her last declaration.

Knowing Nazareth, I know she is determined and responsible. She has looked into the program to make sure she can still graduate on time (which she will). She said the students received a letter from UT stating that due to government cuts the amount of financial aid they are able to receive has been cut. She was very concerned about this. She has the maximum amount of Stafford loans but does not want to take out Parent Plus loans because she does not want to burden her parents with the potential debt if she cannot get a job in this economy. Instead, she has been working relentlessly with the UT Financial Aid department to find as many other grants as possible. Because of her hard work and persistence...I would recommend that she receives the complete $3,000...but I am open to any suggestions from the committee.

Thanks so much for being a part of this important act of helping kids fulfill their dreams.

Janet

Facts about public education in Dallas County

• Dallas County has roughly 2.5 million residents and over 800,000 students involved in early childhood, public K-12 and higher education.
• They are educated by 1500+ early childhood providers, 15 ISDs, 80 different charter schools and numerous 2-year and 4-year all operating in an independent manner with insufficient sharing of data, best practices or coordination of strategic plans.
• About 70% of students in Dallas Count public schools are eligible for free and reduced lunch.
• Every year almost 5,000 students who started 9th grade at the same time in a Dallas County public school fail to graduate from high school.
• The average college graduate earns roughly $1 million in their lifetime that a high school dropout.
• The cost to the Dallas region for each 9th grade cohort's subsequent failure to send 100% of students to some type of post-secondary education is over $5 billion!
• By 2040, if current educational attainment trends persist, Texans will experience the following:  $15 billion delcine in state tax revenue; 15% increase in number of households living in poverty; increase of 100,000 in prison population and additional $1.5 billion per year in incarceration costs. 

(Data drawn from materials published by Commit in Dallas, Texas)



My favorite artist. . .

My favorite artist, Gracie Bea Toombs is headed to the state art competition with her latest masterpiece! 

The fact that she is my granddaughter has absolutely nothing to do with my objective assessment of her wonderful work! 

I'm thinking Picasso. 

How about you?

A tribute to a dog. . .

Prepare to shed a tear here!

This video sent me off down a long memory lane with my own children and, now, my grandchildren.  It also set me to thinking about pets and children from extremely low-income families.  There are a number of dogs in our building here in Downtown Dallas, home to over 250 low-income folks. 

Watch.  Consider.  Enjoy!



[Note: I posted this before learning of the passing of our family's beloved Griffey on Friday. He was an amazing dog. R.I.P., Griffey. We'll never forget you. With much love, Granddad]

Take Action Today: Save AmeriCorps!!!

On Friday, a number of us had the privilege to meet with Robert Velasco, II, the CEO of the Corporation of National and Community Service, best known for its AmeriCorps program created in 1993.  Talking with Mr. Velasco for over two hours allowed me to rehearse some fairly amazing facts and stats about our AmeriCorps program here at CitySquare.  

For example. . .

• 80% of our AmeriCorps resources go out the door to our partners in the community, typically very effecitve but smaller non-profits who use the members to build capacity in operating summer and after-school programs
• Over the past year our members worked with 3,700 low-income children in these programs and at CitySquare
• AmeriCorps members provided nutritious food products to 28,000 individuals, including 8,000 children in our mobile summer lunch program who also participated in enrichment programs focusing on learning and fitness

The list could actually go on and on as to the benefit and cost effectiveness of the AmeriCorps program.  I've witnessed amazing "return on investment" in human and community capital over the past 6 years that we've been involved with AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Upon my return to the office from my meeting with Mr. Velasco, I learn that members of the U. S. House of Representatives have crafted a legislative plan to end almost all of the work of the Corporation of National and Community Service!  A truly absurd, short-sighted, ridiculous plan.

Here's the briefing I received:

The Save Service Coalition learned yesterday that the House of Representatives has issued draft legislation to shut down the Corporation for National and Community Service and eliminate funding for AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund, the Volunteer Generation Fund and Learn & Serve America. While we are pleased that the House bill includes funding for the National Senior Volunteer Programs, the bill dissolves the entire service enterprise, cuts over 100,000 jobs, and eliminates essential services that children, seniors, veterans and entire communities rely on.

Please visit the Save Service Take Action page to write and call your Members of Congress immediately to prevent this House bill from becoming law.

All of this comes at a time when the nation's investment in service should be growing to create jobs and better provide services to local communities. We will continue to work with the tens of thousands of Americans who are engaged in the Save Service initiative to ensure our country's policymakers recognize the value national service provides to our country and the critical role that the Corporation for National and Community Service plays in support of the 70,000 nonprofit and community organizations that mobilize Americans in service.

At a time when we need to find inexpensive ways to get things done, provide educational services for children and leverage scarce resourses, destroying AmeriCorps and its family of service solutions makes no sense whatsoever. 

Please take action today to tell your Senators and your member of Congress that you support continuing the vital work of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Homework and hope

My friend and Harvard educated business mastermind, Brant Bryan sent me this "stat of the day" from the Harvard Business Review.  I find it most interesting.

Students Do Less Homework When the Jobless Rate Rises


An uptick in the jobless rate from 5% to 6% decreases the amount of time high-school students choose to spend on homework by about 19 minutes per week, says Steven McMullen of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That's because a higher unemployment rate diminishes expected labor-market returns, thus reducing the value of human-capital investment. For similar reasons, a $1 rise in the minimum wage in a state increases students' homework time by about 21 minutes per week, McMullen says.

Source: How do Students Respond to Labor Market and Education Incentives? An Analysis of Homework Time

The Perfect Teacher

Gracie Bea Toombs is my 9-year-old granddaughter.  She is a very special little girl.  Of course, you'd expect me to say that, but it is true.  Gracie is about to complete the 3rd grade at White Rock Elementary School.  She loves school, even more her teacher, Ms. Cornett.   Not long ago, Gracie wrote the following tribute in honor of her teacher as the school year draws to a close.  I think you'll like it, and I think you'll see what I mean about Gracie.

The Perfect Teacher

There are many kinds of teachers.  Some tall.  Some small.  Some teachers just speak matter of fact like.  Some teachers just teach the way textbooks tell them to.  But the best teacher's lessons don't come from a textbook.   Her lessons come from her heart.  If you were uneasy, mad or sad, the perfect teacher comforts you.  She loves each and every child for who he or she is. 

This year, I am one of the 21 fortunate third graders who are in her class.  I like all teachers, but this year she has stood out to me.  She opened up her heart to every student in my class.  She has taught us so much this year.  Sure, she's taught us reading and math.  But that's not the most important thing.  She has taught us about protests in the middle east and the struggle in Japan and how it effects us.  For black history month she had us memorize speeches about segregation and women's rights.  While the other classes were just reading from textbooks, we were there at those freedom marches and protests.  For earth day we helped the world by making new paper from recycled paper.  We also planted sprouts while all the other classes colored bookmarks.  We gave water to people in Africa through thewaterproject.com. 

She has taught us life skills:  kindness, love, peace, organization, and self-estemm.  But those aren't the most important things she did for us.  She has told us to stand up to injustice, that we could be anything we wanted, and that we can change the world.

But it is not us.  It's her.  The other classes may say they learn more than us, but you can go up to any one of them and ask them about protests in the middle east, or the struggle in Japan or about changing lives in Africa or about life skills or about standing up for what we believe in, and trust me, they won't know as much as WE do. 

Sometimes it only takes ONE TEACHER to change the world world.  And that teacher is my third grade teacher, Miss Cornett.

Conversations teachers endure. . . "It's all your fault!"

Expanding vocabulary, poor children--all about words. . .

The number of words spoken to children early on in life make a world of difference!


Here's a quote from this report on an amazing research project:

But in the end, the finding that most struck people, Hart says, was not about the quality of the speech — how often rich versus poor parents asked questions or positively affirmed their children — but about the quantity.


According to their research, the average child in a welfare home heard about 600 words an hour while a child in a professional home heard 2,100.


"Children in professional families are talked to three times as much as the average child in a welfare family," Hart says.


And that adds up. Hart and Risley estimated that by the age of 4, children of professional parents had heard on average 48 million words addressed to them while children in poor welfare families had heard only 13 million.

Spend a bit more time here and isten to the less than 6 minute report from NPR:

Children. . .all children. . .are amazing--we can't afford to lose even one

Confidence in opportunity

Forgive me just here for being so personal.  The photo caught my oldest grandson, Wyatt Toombs kicking a soccer ball in the midst of what appears to be a pick-up game in Central Park, New York City.  I can't wait to get the details on this one. 

Wyatt and big sister, Gracie, flew to New York City with Jennifer and Brandon over the past long weekend, made even longer by the fact that the schools were closed on Tuesday as well.  They went to see Lion King on Broadway, made a trip to see Lady Liberty, rode to the top of the Empire State Building, toured the Museum of Natural History, visited what is claimed to be the largest toy store in the world--what a trip it must have been! 

My grandchildren are blessed beyond my ability to describe, and for that I am most grateful.  Experiences like this trip set them up for dreams and learning and success.  No guarantees, of course, but a real opportunity to keep making progress. 

Bringing similar opportunities and options to the children of low-income families is a big part of what we try to do.  Such experiences are vital to academic achievement and to education for life. 

Wyatt's obvious confidence at 6-years-old battling away in a soccer match with perfect strangers, most of whom look older than he, grows. at least in part, from the rich experiences he's already enjoyed in life.

Principal for a day. . .

On Tuesday I enjoyed the privilege of serving as "Principal-for-a-day" at Rufus C. Burleson Elementary School, a DISD school located in Pleasant Grove. 

While it may be true that there are poor schools, bad principals, unruly children and rotten teachers, I certainly did not see anything remotely resembling those characterizations during my day at "Burleson," as the students refer to the school. 

The building is old, but immaculately maintained and cared for. 

The atmosphere conveyed a sense of calm, quiet order. 

Students were well-behaved, teachers well-prepared. 

I visited classes from Pre-K to 6th grade (E. B. Comstock, the middle school in the feeder pattern is too crowded to accept this oldest class at Burleson).  In every setting the students were attentive, actively engaged in their learning activities and very respectful of their teachers and one another.

I sat in on band practice. 

I visited a great computer learning classroom where students worked hard on math skills. 

The PE class was fun. 

The art teacher a real creative sort. 

As I left the building, I ran into Yolanda Knight, the real Principal of the school.  She was walking the property with DISD planning officials who were evaluating the property for improvements.  Ms. Knight was lobbying hard for her kids. 

"Give this lady anything she wants," I counseled as I left.  "She knows what she's doing if what I just saw is any indication of her effectiveness."

What a great experience. . .except for one defining reality with which every one of these students must struggle:  poverty. 

Burleson's atmosphere couldn't be better.  Tweaked maybe, but not made substantially different or better.  The school reminded me of my elementary school experience.  Caring teachers.  Attentive students.  All of it. 

Then, I took a moment to look at their test scores. 

On the TAKS scale of "met minimum requirements," the older students seem to have improved slightly over the past three years, likely a tribute to the Principal and her team. 

The younger children who continue to use the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (I took that test!) and, in terms of performing at grade level, under-perform badly in math and only 61% read at grade level. 

Among older students (3-6 grades) 43% are college ready in math; 34% in reading; 40% in science and 65% in writing skills.  In terms of involvement, 93% attend classes 90% of the time.  Only half of the 5th graders are on track for middle school. 

What's going on here?  I had to ask myself that question. 

I think I know.

It's not the school. 

It's not the kids.

I don't think it's the parents or families, though I know popular wisdom would lay blame at their feet almost exclusively.  While parents must share in any blame game scorecard, they too are trapped in the same web of enduring difficulty. 

It's the entirety of the social milieu, the oppressive fabric of life lived in a complex community of urban poverty that stands behind the test scores, the limited expectations, the shortened personal possibility horizons and the realistic prospects for change. 

The parents of these children work very hard to keep their families housed, clothed and fed.  Most don't really make it, always playing catch up to keep things moving.  Burleson serves breakfast and lunch to its students, an indicator of both the income levels of their households and their persistent struggle with "making ends meet." 

I saw bright-eyed children in very worn clothing. 

Several years ago a candidate of DISD School Board asked me what I thought was the number one issue facing Dallas schools. 

My one-word reply surprised him.  "That one is easy:   poverty." 

My experience as a principal reconfirmed my idea. 

To improve public schools we'd better get serious about eliminating poverty. 

And, our ideas need to be larger than the enormity of the challenges we face in this regard. 

Much larger. 

Who's up for the battle?

Tweet from Cornel West

Cornel West (@CornelWest)

9/21/10 10:50 AM

"We've allowed the souls of our young people to grow emptier, our schools have become a disgrace, & our communities shattered."

Student apathy and national leadership. . .

Here's an interesting op-ed essay from Thomas Friedman that appeared last weekend in The New York Times.  As usual, Friedman presents a unique take on the failure of American public education and the place of the nation in world affairs as a result.  Tell me what you think.

We’re No. 1(1)!

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: September 11, 2010

I want to share a couple of articles I recently came across that, I believe, speak to the core of what ails America today but is too little discussed. The first was in Newsweek under the ironic headline “We’re No. 11!” The piece, by Michael Hirsh, went on to say: “Has the United States lost its oomph as a superpower? Even President Obama isn’t immune from the gloom. ‘Americans won’t settle for No. 2!’ Obama shouted at one political rally in early August. How about No. 11? That’s where the U.S.A. ranks in Newsweek’s list of the 100 best countries in the world, not even in the top 10.”

The second piece, which could have been called “Why We’re No. 11,” was by the Washington Post economics columnist Robert Samuelson. Why, he asked, have we spent so much money on school reform in America and have so little to show for it in terms of scalable solutions that produce better student test scores? Maybe, he answered, it is not just because of bad teachers, weak principals or selfish unions.

“The larger cause of failure is almost unmentionable: shrunken student motivation,” wrote Samuelson. “Students, after all, have to do the work. If they aren’t motivated, even capable teachers may fail. Motivation comes from many sources: curiosity and ambition; parental expectations; the desire to get into a ‘good’ college; inspiring or intimidating teachers; peer pressure. The unstated assumption of much school ‘reform’ is that if students aren’t motivated, it’s mainly the fault of schools and teachers.” Wrong, he said. “Motivation is weak because more students (of all races and economic classes, let it be added) don’t like school, don’t work hard and don’t do well. In a 2008 survey of public high school teachers, 21 percent judged student absenteeism a serious problem; 29 percent cited ‘student apathy.’ ”

There is a lot to Samuelson’s point — and it is a microcosm of a larger problem we have not faced honestly as we have dug out of this recession: We had a values breakdown. . . .

To read on click here. 

Poverty and education

Eric Jensen has something to say about education and low-income children.  Jensen outlines his learning and approach in his book, Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids' Brains and What Schools Can Do About It. 

Jensen really "gets it" when it comes to understanding the very real, day-to-day dynamics assoicated with poverty.  Children and families face challenges and difficulties that most of us simply do not understand.  Jensen's research and experience provide enlightenment and insight for anyone interested in really understanding the world of the poor.  Every urban public school teacher or leader needs to listen to Jensen. 

Jensen's understanding leads to hope, not dispair. 

He speaks to "changing brains for the better."  He outlines "upside potential" for children from poor families. 

If you care about public education, you need to spend some time with Eric Jensen. 

To meet Jensen and to listen to his ideas click .

Creativity and education

Dr. Janet Morrison, director of education at Central Dallas Ministries, continually preachs the gospel of children and creativity.  This notion of experiential education rests at the core of her work with the low-income children she loves so deeply.  Driving toward "creativity improvement" is her mission.

Janet sent me this article from the July 10. 2010 edition of Newsweek.  Worth your time.  Love to hear your reactions.

The Creativity Crisis


For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining. What went wrong—and how we can fix it.

Back in 1958, Ted Schwarzrock was an 8-year-old third grader when he became one of the “Torrance kids,” a group of nearly 400 Minneapolis children who completed a series of creativity tasks newly designed by professor E. Paul Torrance. Schwarzrock still vividly remembers the moment when a psychologist handed him a fire truck and asked, “How could you improve this toy to make it better and more fun to play with?” He recalls the psychologist being excited by his answers. In fact, the psychologist’s session notes indicate Schwarzrock rattled off 25 improvements, such as adding a removable ladder and springs to the wheels. That wasn’t the only time he impressed the scholars, who judged Schwarzrock to have “unusual visual perspective” and “an ability to synthesize diverse elements into meaningful products.”

The accepted definition of creativity is production of something original and useful, and that’s what’s reflected in the tests. There is never one right answer. To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result).

In the 50 years since Schwarzrock and the others took their tests, scholars—first led by Torrance, now his colleague, Garnet Millar—have been tracking the children, recording every patent earned, every business founded, every research paper published, and every grant awarded. They tallied the books, dances, radio shows, art exhibitions, software programs, advertising campaigns, hardware innovations, music compositions, public policies (written or implemented), leadership positions, invited lectures, and buildings designed.

Nobody would argue that Torrance’s tasks, which have become the gold standard in creativity assessment, measure creativity perfectly. What’s shocking is how incredibly well Torrance’s creativity index predicted those kids’ creative accomplishments as adults. Those who came up with more good ideas on Torrance’s tasks grew up to be entrepreneurs, inventors, college presidents, authors, doctors, diplomats, and software developers. Jonathan Plucker of Indiana University recently reanalyzed Torrance’s data. The correlation to lifetime creative accomplishment was more than three times stronger for childhood creativity than childhood IQ.

Like intelligence tests, Torrance’s test—a 90-minute series of discrete tasks, administered by a psychologist—has been taken by millions worldwide in 50 languages. Yet there is one crucial difference between IQ and CQ scores. With intelligence, there is a phenomenon called the Flynn effect—each generation, scores go up about 10 points. Enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, a reverse trend has just been identified and is being reported for the first time here: American creativity scores are falling.

Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William & Mary discovered this in May, after analyzing almost 300,000 Torrance scores of children and adults. Kim found creativity scores had been steadily rising, just like IQ scores, until 1990. Since then, creativity scores have consistently inched downward. “It’s very clear, and the decrease is very significant,” Kim says. It is the scores of younger children in America—from kindergarten through sixth grade—for whom the decline is “most serious.”

To read the entire article click here.

Gracie and Gracie

My grand-daughter, Gracie, loves horses. 

She loves riding horses.

She loves grooming horses.

She loves petting horses.

She loves hugging horses!

During a summer "horse camp," riding camp to be more proper, my Gracie met up with another "Gracie," the gray dapple in the photo. 

The two girls hit it right off! 

What a joy!  Total joy!

Waiting for Superman: a film to see

Education and black men

African American men commenting on education and its importance to all of our communities and our future.

Teach for America provides the platform for this important conversation.

My friend, Rev. Gerald Britt asks the important question of us all, "Are you willing to invest in the education of my children so that they can grow up and compete on an even playing field with your children?" 

Possibly that is the fundamental question. 

What do you think?

David Hornbeck on educating our children. . .

David Hornbeck, former Maryland Commissioner of Education, Superintendent of the Philadelphia public schools and founder of Good Schools Pennsylvania, spoke on April 22 at the "Mayor's Breakfast" for the Dallas Faith Communities Coalition.  A minister, lawyer, community organizer and advocate for children, Hornbeck blew me away with his challenging message about education in America, especially among the children of low-income folks. 

He informed an attentive audience of community leaders who work mostly in West Dallas that we have the knowhow to educate any and every child "in whom we have an interest."  Of course, the last phrase is the key to our opportunities, as well as our failures, isn't it? 

In public education today, our problems are not related to knowledge, but to will.

He asked us if we wanted for all children the same educational options that we desire for our own children and grandchildren. 

He quoted the words recorded in Matthew 25:31ff where Jesus says that whenever we serve the hungry, the naked, the outsider, the homeless, the ill and the imprisoned, we serve him.  Hornbeck quickly pointed out that folks who fall into any of those classic categories of need and want are "disproportionately undereducated." 

He told us that the ability to predict a child's level of educational attainment by learning their zip code is "immoral" and unacceptable.

He finished his lecture by listing the "4 requirements" for educating every child in the nation regardless of income, race or status:

1)  We must believe that all children can achieve and at a high level.  Expectations are key.  This belief must permeate every decision that we make in creating a learning condition.

2)  We must use effective practices so that results trump tradition or long-established process.

3)  We must develop fair accountability systems for teachers and students.

4)  We must find adequate funding that is fairly (justly)  raised and equitably distributed, recognizing that local areas will need assistance from their states. 

The only reason we don't get it done is our lack of public and political will. 

Lot's to consider in his words of experience and wisdom.

What do you think?