What's real message of urban district scores?

Before we all break for the holiday, I wanted to pass along some interesting posts on this week's "nation's report card"  tally of how 21 urban districts fared on national reading and math exams.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools rated high compared with the other districts on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress,  though proficiency rates remain frustratingly low across the country,  especially for low-income and minority students.  As I noted in my article,  CMS' large numbers of white and middle-class students compared with most other districts contributed to its high rankings.

Paul Hill of the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education elaborated on that issue in a Friday blog post.

"It is tempting to squeeze the urban NAEP scores for evidence about what city is doing better or worse than other cities. But the big messages are that everyone's scores are very bad, and that cities with the highest concentrations of low-income and minority kids do the worst,"  Hill writes.  "Some cities have gotten unstuck from the bottom and are regressing a little bit to the mean. That's better than staying stuck, but unless those cities increase a lot faster, and keep improving for a long time, most of their disadvantaged students will not be ready for higher education or good-paying jobs."

"The deep message here is that nobody knows how to educate large numbers of disadvantaged kids successfully. A new curriculum or teacher training initiative can move the needle for a while, but results then level out. A great school can do wonders for a few kids, but efforts to replicate are seldom as successful. As a country, we still haven't accepted the core fact that this problem remains unsolved."

Andy Smarick of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute also took a dim view of the results and the cheerleading that ensued. He blogged that  "today is a day to be sad for millions of disadvantaged kids,"  not to celebrate.  He also noted that winners and finalists in the Broad Prize for Urban Education competition fared poorly  (though he didn't mention CMS, the 2011 winner).

Robin Lake of the CRPE called for expanding the data,  especially on cities that have some of the most innovative approaches to urban education,  including extensive use of charter schools. 

"The NAEP TUDA has effectively focused our attention on cities, where reforms are most urgently needed, but the data don’t tell us what mayors and civic leaders across the country need to know: which cities are most quickly and equitably increasing students’ access to high-quality public schools,"  Lake wrote.  "Our cities have long since moved past the notion of districts as the sole provider of public education. It’s time that our assessment and evaluation systems do, too."

Prepping for the Broad Prize

Guilford County Schools has paid a Denver consulting firm almost $40,000 to do a simulation of the Broad Prize for Urban Education judging,  according to a district news release.

The release says the researchers who did the Broad-based  "diagnostic report"  described Guilford as  "a rising district nationally,"  but noted that it  "still has more work to do before it can join the elite ranks of Broad Prize winners."

This year's winner is Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,  where Guilford County Superintendent Maurice  "Mo"  Green got his start as an administrator.  He was Peter Gorman's second-in-command before taking the job in Greensboro in 2008.

Like real Broad Prize judges,  staff from RMC Research Corp.  analyzed data and did a three-day visit that included classroom visits and focus-group interviews.  The group rated Guilford on the Broad Prize Framework for School District Excellence and suggested improvements,  such as more rigorous curriculum and more support for teachers.

The $38,600 cost,  which includes follow-up services,  was split between a Broad Foundation grant and money raised by the local Businesses for Excellence in Education.

Guilford,  North Carolina's third-largest district after Wake and CMS,  was one of four in North Carolina that was eligible for this year's Broad Prize,  based on size and having at least 40 percent of students from minority groups and eligible for federal lunch aid to low-income families.  Wake,  with a 33 percent poverty level as measured by lunch subsidies,  was not eligible.

Broad didn't seek CMS "naming rights"

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools employees and parents who are wary of the influence of The Broad Foundation have been grumbling about the district's decision to display a  "Broad Prize for Urban Education"  logo on electronic communications,  and to ask employees to attach the logo to their CMS emails.

Those concerns ratcheted up this month,  when the CMS communications office sent this follow-up:

"Thank you for spreading the good news about CMS winning the Broad Prize by changing your email signature.  In order to be in compliance with Broad guidelines,  we are asking all employees to use the revised  CMS/Broad logo in their signature.  We appreciate your cooperation."

Some people read that as a mandate from the Broad Foundation, which in September dubbed CMS the nation's top urban district and will hand out $550,000 in scholarships to the Class of 2012.  "I don't work for the Broad Foundation!  I work for the State of North Carolina and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools!"   wrote a teacher who forwarded the CMS directive.

Departing board member Kaye McGarry said people are asking,  "Since when did the Broad Foundation purchase naming rights to CMS?"   Keith Hurley,  a CMS parent who sought an at-large seat,  has also objected:  "Please, no more propaganda sent to my home for Eli Broad!"

LaTarzja Henry,  head of CMS communications,  said the decision to display the logo came from her,  not the Broad Foundation.   CMS could choose not to use it at all,  but if the district does display the Broad logo,  the foundation wants to make sure it's the official one.  The November mandate was just an effort to make sure employees had the updated attachment,  Henry said.

Henry said CMS has spent no money displaying the logo;  it has only been added to electronic material.  And the district must not be strictly enforcing its request for employees to use it.  I scanned my inbox and found emails from half a dozen teachers sent from their CMS accounts this month.  None included the Broad logo.

CMS plans really big party

Where and how do you host a party for more than 17,000 people?

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials are about to figure that out.  When The Broad Foundation awarded CMS the Broad Prize for urban education on Tuesday,  at a Washington,  D.C.,  ceremony attended by about 16 people from CMS,  they learned there's a benefit not listed in all the news releases.

In addition to the $550,000 in scholarships for the Class of 2012, it turns out the foundation will pay for a celebration to honor teachers, principals and others who did the work that led to the prize.  The foundation bases its decision on gains and achievement among minority and low-income students (read more about the selection process).

The foundation didn't mention a specific sum for the event,  and CMS has no details planned yet.  But chief spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry,  who will be in charge of organizing the festivities,  noted that the foundation knows how big CMS is  (about 17,750 employees),  and Broad isn't known for being tight-fisted.  "The goal is to make it big and make it all-inclusive,"  she said.

The Broad trip and other news

Next week The Broad Foundation announces the winner of the 2011 Broad Prize for urban school districts.  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is one of four finalists,  along with Miami-Dade and Broward County in Florida and Ysleta,  Texas.  The winner gets $550,000 in scholarships for this year's seniors, while the runners-up  --  a position CMS has claimed twice before  --  get $150,000.

The foundation will pay for former Superintendent Peter Gorman,  Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh,  board Chair Eric Davis and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators President Randolph Frierson to attend Tuesday's ceremony in Washington,  D.C.    In addition,  CMS will spend about $6,800 in money from the Spangler Foundation on airfare and hotel rooms for 12 more people (hotel taxes and some plane tickets aren't in yet, so the total isn't precise).

On the attendance list:  Board members Kaye McGarry,  Trent Merchant,  Joe White and Joyce Waddell;  Chief Academic Officer Ann Clark;  Chief Financial Officer Sheila Shirley;  LaTarzja Henry, head of public information;  Judy Kidd,  president of the Classroom Teachers Association;  Karen Meadows,  a science teacher at Collinswood Elementary;   Vanessa Benton,  director of academic services;  and Kathryn Block and Rashidah Morgan, who are in administrative jobs paid for by The Broad Foundation.

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In other bits from a busy week:  MeckEd put out an interesting report on Mecklenburg County's 11 charter schools this week. Most intriguing is an at-a-glance matrix that compares per-pupil spending, which ranges from $5,546 at Queens Grant Community School to $24,185 at Metrolina Scholars Academy.

Charters are public schools run by independent boards,  rather than county school districts.  They get state money and a per-pupil share of the money Mecklenburg commissioners provide for CMS.  Many supplement that spending with grants and fund-raising.  Unlike regular public schools,  charters don't get money for buildings,  which is part of what contributes to the per-pupil gap.  Metrolina is in the middle of a capital campaign to buy a former office building, and that bumped up the tally.

Kudos to MeckEd for diving into charters.  They're a relatively small but important part of public education,  and I've never found time to give them the attention I'd like to.

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Following up on the new contracts approved for a dozen CMS administrators earlier this week:  After initial reports that there were no pay hikes, it turns out that Scott McCully's pay went from $107,765 to $121,014, a 12 percent raise.  McCully's title is still executive director of student placement,  but as part of the shuffling of duties when Hattabaugh became interim superintendent,  McCully took charge of CMS police,  athletics and alternative education.

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Speaking of job shuffles: Co-blogger and fellow education reporter Eric Frazier has stepped into an editing job for the coming year.  We're rearranging positions to gear up for the Democratic National Convention.  Eric's move is great for him and the Observer,  though I hate to lose him from the beat  (he escaped once,  to do social media,  but we reeled him back in for the past year).

What's "urban"?

Talk about The Broad Prize for Urban Education always sparks questions about what they mean by "urban," and what kind of students can get scholarships from the Broad Foundation.

Some people say Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools shouldn't be labeled an urban district because it includes majority white, low-poverty suburban schools. And I did a double-take when Gwinnett County Schools landed last year's prize; I've always thought of Gwinnett as an Atlanta suburb.

After mulling some of those questions, the foundation redefined its eligibility standards this year, narrowing the field from 100 to 75. Spokeswoman Erica Lepping said even some of the past nominees have been taken aback by the "urban" label. The new requirements are based on size and demographics -- generally, at least 40 percent nonwhite and at least 40 percent who qualify for lunch subsidies. CMS is plenty big enough, 67 percent nonwhite and has a 53 percent poverty level.

Districts that make the finalist list, as CMS has three times, win significant scholarship money. I've heard rumblings that those scholarships are limited to low-income or minority students, or to those who attend "urban" schools. The student eligibility guidelines online don't say anything about the student's race or school demographics; it does specify financial need, as many scholarships do. The 13 who won scholarships Wednesday included white students, as well as four from the majority-white Myers Park High, which has relatively low poverty levels but includes a significant number of disadvantaged students.

CMS will find out Sept. 20 whether the third time's the charm. This time around, the big prize has shrunk a bit -- reduced, Lepping says, because philanthropist Eli Broad wants to make sure the endowment of around $40 million lasts longer. In 2010, Gwinett claimed $1 million in scholarships, while the finalists got $250,000 each. The foundation still touts the "$1 million Broad Prize," but now that's the total for the winner ($550,000) and three finalists ($150,000 each).

The Broad barrage

If only I could have cloned myself, I'd have been out front on the Eli Broad story.

Last summer, in writing an application for a seminar at Columbia University, I outlined the involvement of the Broad Foundation in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and discussed my interest in exploring how private philanthropy is shaping public education. When I got there, it turned out a lot of us were asking similar questions.

Now that I've finally broken off time and gotten some information on grant money from CMS, everyone's buzzing about Broad. Readers have been sending me great links. So, for those who want to delve deeper than the print article can go, here's more.

The nudge that finally got me focused on Broad was a recent article in the Raleigh News & Observer about how Broad might influence their new superintendent, who is being mentored by fellow Broad Superintendents Academy graduate Peter Gorman. There's also a WakeEd blog item that explores that issue.

Newsweek just published an investigation of whether investments by Broad, Gates and other education philanthropists have had the desired results. The conclusion: Not usually. The magazine looks at 10 school districts, none in the Southeast.

If you're trying to sort out the Broad/CMS connection, one of the biggest challenges is figuring out the "performance management" project that's gotten big bucks from Broad, Gates and Dell. CMS officials have been talking about this for years, and I've never quite gotten my head around a way to describe it in a newspaper article. When I asked CMS folks to help me with a clear, concise description, they sent me a four-page report. Here it is. The condensed version, from Chief Accountability Officer Robert Avossa: It's about providing educators with data to make decisions and creating systems to hold people accountable for results. Testing and performance pay are part of performance management, but it's a broader effort that includes CMS's school progress reports and school quality reviews.

The Broad Foundation Web site contains some details about the CMS connection, but it takes some hunting (again, thanks to readers who got me started). Here's a description of the Broad approach to investing, and here's where they list CMS as one of the foundation's investments in "redesigned, high-performing institutions." Here's information about the academy that trained Gorman and Wake's Anthony Tata, and the residency program that has placed other administrators in CMS.

An astute reader noted that Gorman is a member of the Broad Center's board of directors, and questioned whether that makes it a conflict for CMS to be a finalist for the Broad Prize for Urban Education. Foundation spokeswoman Erica Lepping said it would be if Gorman were a foundation board member. But the center is a separate nonprofit group that's funded by the foundation, she said, and is not involved in awarding the prize, which brings national prestige and hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships.

On the anti-Broad side, "How to tell if your district is infected by the Broad virus," orginally posted on a Seattle education blog, is getting a lot of circulation. And here's the Parents Across America "guide to the Broad Foundation." Those who are interested in the perspective of Diane Ravitch, a PFA founder and national education writer/researcher, can find more about the role of philanthropists in her book "The Death and Life of the Great American School System."

I cringed when I saw that the "virus" checklist includes "Local newspaper fails to report on much of this." I'll take the blame for putting Broad below the breaking news about school closings, performance pay and such. If Broad has a strategy for squelching news coverage, the only part I saw in action was that the school board's Broad-sponsored retreats were often too dull to generate stories.


Got more recommended reading? Post links in comments. The spam filter may snag them, but I'll check periodically to retrieve them. Be patient, though; it is Mothers Day.

The scoop from The Apple

Superintendent Peter Gorman's news conference this morning wasn't as celebratory as he and his crew had hoped, since Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools didn't snag the Broad Prize for Urban Education* at Tuesday's ceremony in New York City. But there were some interesting nuggets from the event.

First, the serious education stuff: Gorman said Gwinnett County Public Schools, which took the top prize, is pursuing many of the same strategies as CMS. The suburban Atlanta district has moved from a top-down strategy of "telling people what to teach and how to teach it" to one that grants more freedom to successful educators. Gwinnett Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks is also focused on building the effectiveness of principals and teachers.

There was also talk about the importance of leadership stability -- that is, having a superintendent who not only lays out his vision but sticks around to make it work. Wilbanks has held his job 14 years, the longest-serving leader of a big district, Gorman said.

Now the celebrity gossip: Gorman says he had a brief chat with NBC anchor Brian Williams, who gave the keynote speech at the Broad Prize ceremony. He says Williams told him about spending  time in North Carolina because he has a child at Elon University. "He also shared that he likes NASCAR," Gorman said.

And finally, a public-relations official's nightmare: LaTarzja Henry was getting ready for the award ceremony and flipped on the TV in her Manhattan hotel room. And there, on New York City TV, was a report on a student injured by an exploding pen in CMS's Turning Point Academy.


*As some have noted, our print-edition headline and photo caption were wrong in stating that CMS took second place. The four remaining finalists were not ranked. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the also-rans to the stage one by one before announcing the winner. CMS was the last eliminated, which added to the suspense but did not mean the Charlotte crew outscored Montgomery County, Md., and two districts in El Paso, Texas. As Gorman quipped today, "we like to say we tied for second."