| OPENING-DAY ADDRESS Paul B. Ash, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools August 25, 2008 Good morning and welcome back. We all know that Lexington is an outstanding school system. In this room, we have some of the best teachers anywhere on this planet. Our school system excels because of you. Lexington students perform at incredibly high levels. For example, last year, our average SAT scores for non-examination schools were the highest in the State of Massachusetts. Year after year, our students win awards for athletics, art, music, drama, debate, foreign languages, science, mathematics, and other areas of achievement. By almost every standard, the vast majority of our students excel both inside and outside the classroom. One could say that I should end my speech here, say thank you, and sit down. That speech would be comfortable and familiar, but it would also be incomplete- it would neglect to include the experiences of all of our students in the Lexington Public Schools. Are we really meeting the needs of all students in all of our schools? Let's consider the data for four sub-groups: METCO, special needs, English Language Learners, and Lexington's low-income students. First, METCO achievement - Last year, former Lexington Education Association president Vito LaMura presented the results of his study on METCO academic achievement. The conclusions in his report were based on all available assessment data: MCAS results from seven different grade levels, local assessments of literacy and mathematics skills in grades 1 and 2, under-representation in secondary school high level courses, over-representation in special education, and lower grade point averages in the middle and high schools. Consistently, the data show a large achievement gap between Lexington's METCO students and the Lexington white and Asian students. When Mr. LaMura looked at the MCAS scores for METCO students in other "high performing" communities in our area, he found the achievement gaps to be similar in size and scope to ours. Now, let us consider the other three sub-groups: special needs, English Language Learners, and low-income students? According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the 2007 Lexington 4-year graduation rate for students with special needs was 79.8%, the graduation rate for low-income students (not including METCO students) was 85%, and the graduation rate for students with limited English proficiency was 81.8%. The overall 2007 Lexington graduation rate for all students was 95.1%, including the four sub-groups. In other words, students with special needs, ELL students, and students who come from low-income families are 10% to 15% less likely to graduate from Lexington High School than the overall graduation rate would predict. Why is it that Lexington, and every other "high performing" school system in the country, has an achievement gap? The roots of this problem run very deeply into the systemic, institutional, political and social history of our country. The insidious core of the achievement gap problem lies buried so deeply in the essence of our society's institutions that it is nearly invisible to many of us, even though it is pervasive, even ubiquitous in scope on a national level. According to Professor Ron Ferguson who runs the Harvard Achievement Gap Initiative, there are no "high achieving" school districts in the country that have closed the achievement gap. I repeat, there are no high achieving school districts in the entire country that have closed the achievement gap. Some of you may wonder- is it possible to close the achievement gap? The answer is yes, and the good news is that there are gap-closing schools. They're just not in overall high performing communities. Karin Chenoweth, in her book, It's Being Done, describes in detail academic success in sixteen individual schools in low-income communities across the country. The schools that are profiled in her book each have a high percentage of children living in poverty and children of color. Each school described in her book has already significantly raised academic achievement, as measured by meeting or exceeding state proficiency standards for almost all of its students. These sixteen schools, with very limited financial resources, are succeeding where Lexington, and every other affluent community in the nation, has not succeeded. Let us take a moment to pause, reflect, and be humble. Lexington prides itself on the many areas of achievement in which our students are among the best in the nation, if not the world. We turn our eyes to the places where we excel, sometimes overlooking the places where we fall short of excellence. It is hard to look at the achievement gap, and at our failure to effectively address it, especially because failure is the norm. No other community similar to Lexington has made significant inroads into addressing, let alone solving, this problem. No catastrophic event, no Hurricane Katrina, has occurred here to raise our consciousness to the full extent to which we, as a community, do not hold all students to high expectations and re-focus our instruction when students are not meeting those expectations. Indeed, it was not until this past year that data delineating the extent of this problem was even first collected. I know how hard it can be for those of us living and teaching in Lexington to embrace the sense of urgency that is felt by many people in urban and rural schools. Yet we need to embrace that urgency in our hearts and minds- in our hearts because we care about each student, and in our minds because we know that dropping out of school means failure for our youth and society. Let us remember that Lexington is a community made up of human beings, and all human beings are fallible, no matter how lofty and noble our intentions. The teachers and administrators in the schools profiled in Karin Chenoweth's book are also human beings. What they have, however, that we lack here in Lexington is a different perspective. They experience the true, deep urgency inherent in solving this national problem, one that we have not shared because no one is pressuring us to raise academic achievement for African-American, ELL, special education, and low-income students. Out of urgency and desperation comes creativity, and out of creativity and hard work comes success. The teachers, administrators and communities profiled in Karin Chenoweth's book all have insight, vision, experience from which we, here in Lexington, could learn many things. Other experts who have studied this national problem also have wisdom to share with us, and with any school systems that will listen. Dr. Doug Reeves, our keynote speaker here in Lexington three years ago at our district-wide Professional Development Day, told us about 100/100/100 schools, by which he means 100% minority, 100% free and reduced lunch, and 100% of the students achieving proficiency on state examinations. Dr. Reeves has made extensive study of the best practices of these schools. According to Dr. Reeves, closing the achievement gap means all or nearly all students demonstrating proficiency on the statewide assessment tests. For us, that would mean all or nearly all Lexington students performing at the proficient or advanced levels on the grade 10 ELA, math, and science MCAS tests. I believe that proficiency on statewide tests is not enough. We must also do everything we can to insure that all of our students are prepared both for post-high school education, and to live fulfilling, productive lives as conscientious members of society in the 21st century. So here is our challenge - How can the Lexington Public Schools close the achievement gap? How can the Lexington Public Schools nurture, support and educate each and every student in our community, regardless of race, wealth, background or special needs? To really make honest inroads into addressing a challenge as complex and difficult as this, we must recognize that growth is a process, we must make a long-term commitment, we must employ a variety of different strategies and interventions, and we must always be willing to learn from our missteps. We must begin to apply our collective skill-sets and resources to the task, combined with harnessing the transformative potential of professional learning communities, which over the past three years we as a district have begun to embrace and utilize. To begin this long process of change, growth and improvement, we must first identify the programs and intervention strategies students need, and second, we must examine how we can work more effectively together to better meet the needs of all students. Closing the achievement gap for African-American, low-income, ELL, and special education students will not be accomplished simply by working harder or hiring better teachers. If that were all it took, then Lexington, Newton, Brookline, Wellesley and other high performing school districts would have already solved this problem. How do we to provide both equity and excellence for all students? I am pleased to report that we have added seven new programs or intervention strategies during the past two years, and will add six more this year. Two years ago -
These programs are only the beginning of the work we need to do and the changes we need to make. We must also continue to change how we work together to support struggling students. As Rick and Becky DuFour told us last year, we need to work more collaboratively and interdependently to further improve student work. Mike Schmoker wrote in his book titled On Common Ground that a professional learning community "Starts with a group of teachers who meet regularly as a team to identify essential and valued student learning, analyze current levels of achievement, set achievement goals, share strategies, create lessons to improve upon those levels, and develop common formative assessments." On the October 16 Professional Day, we will have the privilege to hear Dr. Robert Marzano speak about designing assessments for learning, ensuring effective teaching in every classroom, and building academic background knowledge for all students. Dr. Marzano is one of the leading experts in the United States on effective teaching practices. Our work improving instructional practices will not stop on October 16. Thanks to a Lexington Education Foundation grant, all elementary and middle school teachers will receive on-going professional development this year on designing assessments for student learning. The high school faculty will focus some of its attention this year on developing Professional Learning Communities and responding to the recommendations of the accreditation team of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. As a district, we are also working on developing a three-year plan to narrow the achievement gap. Last spring, we established the Achievement Gap Task Force to build upon the work and recommendations contained in Vito LaMura's report. The task force includes teachers, administrators, and Lexington and Boston parents. This fall the task force will publicly present its three-year action plan. Once the report is released for public comment, I sincerely look forward to your analysis and opinions. As educators we must both honor our past, and look to the future; we must allow creative energy to flourish, in our drive to create something even better. For us, that something better is providing all of our students with the knowledge, confidence, and skills they need to thrive after they leave the Lexington schools. As professional educators, we have a moral imperative to close the achievement gap for African-American, ELL, low-income, and special education students. I am convinced that we will succeed, if we thoughtfully create the programs that our students need, and we collaboratively work together as a team. I wish all of you an outstanding school year. |
Last update: 08-25-2008/mja