Interview with Chuck Cascio: Transforming Education Series

 I was honored to be interviewed by Chuck Cascio for his Transforming Education series. 

Chuck's questions got me to reflect on my journey as a student and educator, and writing out my responses was a very helpful exercise.

Opening Schools While Dealing with the Delta Variant

Schools are opening up as the Delta Variant is ascending. This could be a tough Fall.

What is the outlook for Covid cases?

UVA has a model for how the number of cases could progress. Here is what it looks like for Virginia:

The first peak represents last January. The second peak is the delta wave we are building towards. This model indicates that the worst of Delta could be in September and early October. Here is a quote from the authors: 

If the Delta variant continues to spread, cases could possibly peak at levels higher than previous January peaks. 

What should schools do?

Needless to say, FCPS's hands are currently tied by state legislation. If cases indeed surge as the UVA model suggests, AND the Governor unties the School Board's hands, then:

• Keep concurrent off the table of options. It's a terrible option that serves everyone poorly. 
• Switch to remote when public health and safeguarding your staff necessitate it. 
• Set the expectation that K-6 and special needs students will be the first to return as soon as case levels are low enough to do so safely. 
• Bring back MS/HS extracurricular activities before bringing MS/HS students back to classrooms.  
• CDC guidance indicates that virus spread and public health need to be thought about holistically. Every single thing we do to open up multiplies the spread of the virus. Opening up MS/HS in-person classrooms AND extracurriculars have multiplicative effects. If you are going to pick one, I suggest the latter for the following two reasons. 
• Allowing MS/HS extracurriculars provides students with valuable experiences without necessitating shuffling students from class to class. Unlike in ES, the secondary model of students moving from class to class is bound to spread the virus widely through the school and make contact tracing challenging. 
• Keeping MS and HS students remote would provide more space in which classes for students in ES and with special needs (e.g., Special Education, ELL, etc.) could be held while implementing social distancing strategies.

None of the choices ahead are easy ones, and I don't envy the School Boards that have to wrestle with them. Still, if our communities can take decisive action now, we can push down the peak and get back to normal quickly.

Opening School in the Fall: The Problem with Concurrent

K-12 Schools are planning how they will open in the Fall. Here are some thoughts on the options.

Back to Normal (AKA "Pandemic? What Pandemic?")

Many schools around the country plan to return to pre-pandemic normal in the Fall. The only concerns with that are that some people (both students and teachers) ...

1. Have significant health issues that make them particularly susceptible to a serious case of COVID and/or preclude them from taking the vaccine.
2. Have learned that virtual learning has significant benefits that help them deal with social, emotional, physical, or logistical issues. 

Being in-person is great for most students and staff, but it would be somewhere between critical and nice if there were a virtual option as well. An NPR/Ipsos poll indicates that (for a host of reasons) 29% of parents want to stick with remote learning indefinitely. 

Back to Normal, but with the Option of a Separate Virtual School

Some school systems are standing up virtual schools for those teachers and students who can't return to in-person school. This requires buying or creating the curriculum and software that are needed to make virtual learning really work. It also requires having teachers, administrators, counselors, ELL specialists, instructional coaches, and other supports that are focused on the virtual environment.

Concurrent

Some schools will choose to continue concurrent instruction they are currently using. In this model, teachers will be responsible for both in-person and virtual students at the same time. I have major problems with this.

1. The curriculum, tools, assessments, and supports that are best for in-person learning are not the same as those for virtual learning. As a result, either in-person or virtual students (or both) will be given a solution that is a poor fit for their situation.
2. Students who are remote will get much less attention and support than they need, while the need to address both populations will cause teachers and other staff huge amounts of stress.
3. Virtual K-12 schools around the country have created systems that support virtual students and staff, and they are different from in-person systems. Doing a good job of supporting ELLs and special ed and struggling or gifted students is different in a virtual setting. As are community building and collaboration and counseling and family engagement. These challenges require different systems in a virtual environment than we use in brick-and-mortar schools.
4. I have spoken to teachers (and other staff) who hate concurrent instruction enough that they will resign, retire, or take a leave of absence if forced to continue the concurrent instruction they are doing now. 
5. Reports from school districts around the country who are using concurrent instruction should give us all pause. Here is a quote from an NBC News article Educators teaching online and in person at the same time feel burned out: 

"Teachers are reporting high levels of stress and burnout around the country, including in Kansas, Michigan and Salt Lake Tribune reported, principals say their teachers are having panic attacks while juggling both.

High levels of teacher stress affect not only students and their quality of education, but the entire profession, said Christopher McCarthy, chair of the educational psychology department at the University of Texas at Austin.

'When teachers are under a lot of stress, they are also a lot more likely to leave the profession, which is a very bad outcome,' he said."

Many teachers and students welcomed the return to classrooms for hybrid this Spring because it means we are on a path to normalcy. But concurrent instruction is not sustainable, and will lead to VERY poor learning outcomes as well as significant staff attrition. Concurrent seems like the easy solution, but just because it's being done now doesn't mean it should continue. 

Through this school year, I have heard people raise equity as an issue totally disingenuously, so I'm sure they will do so in this case as well. We serve all students better when we give them educational systems and supports that match their needs. If we are going to allow students to choose virtual, then the only equitable way to do that is to do it well. Having them as add-ons to a physical class serves nobody well. As one educator told me recently:

If equity is about giving kids what they need, the best way to achieve that is to have a setting that supports the unique needs of the different learning platforms with teachers specifically trained to meet the needs of the kids in front of them.

Standing up separate virtual schools is the only way to serve virtual and in-person students well. 

The Shift to Concurrent

Teachers are returning to school buildings.  

I know the decisions have been made, and concurrent instruction is happening, but I want to clarify my concerns on the education side of things (I think I've gone on before about the public health side of this).

At our local high school, about 85-90% of the teachers are returning to classrooms, but, fewer than half of the students are returning to the building. 

So 90% of our teachers are returning to school buildings to improve the education of fewer than 50% of the students. I worry that teaching concurrently will generally degrade instruction, especially for remote students. I'm sure this isn't true for all teachers or contexts (e.g., special needs, vocational ed, and others), but based on my work with teachers around the country, the shift to concurrent is not an easy one.

I would argue that even if your goal is to keep students from "falling behind," the right strategy in November should have been to say that schools will stay remote for the remainder of the school year. Everyone could have focused on really great virtual instruction instead of spending so much time, money, and emotional energy preparing to return to school buildings.

And, there is a racial layer to this as well. Which students are returning? Data from around the country indicate that white students are returning to buildings in numbers FAR greater than students of color (e.g., New York, Nashville). This is not surprising in light of a recent Axios poll that indicates that Black and Latino parents are twice as likely as white parents to be extremely or very concerned about schools in their community reopening too quickly. 

Put this all together, and I think it's reasonable to predict that returning to buildings for concurrent instruction will widen opportunity gaps.

Teachers: Good luck. You have been put in a tough position, but I know you will do your best. I appreciate all you have done and all you will do.

Parents: This is a huge shift. Check in on your students often. 

Why Fix the Best School? Because It's Broken

The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology is consistently ranked as one of the best public high schools in the country. We can debate the metrics that are used for such lists, but it's hard to argue with the results the school produces: Tons of exemplary students who gain admission to impressive colleges and universities and go on to amazing careers. TJ is a success.

So why would anyone suggest changing anything about the school? The table below shines some light on the problems.

Three things jump out at me from this table. First, Hispanic and Black students aren't even applying to TJ nearly as often as we would hope. Second, once they apply, the admissions test knocks many of them out of contention immediately. Third, it's an even worse picture for economically disadvantaged students. 

If you look at these numbers and think "Well, the Asian kids are just smarter," then we have different assumptions about the nature of race, so you can just move on. I have no reasoned response.

If you look at these numbers and think "Well, the Black and Hispanic kids are not as qualified (through no fault of their own), and letting more of them in will significantly dilute the academic strength of the TJ student body," then we can have a reasonable discussion (though I disagree with you). 

In a recent School Board working session, the Superintendent presented his TJ Admissions Merit Lottery Proposal, and I like it. For the first time, the admissions process can reflect the reality that many students could benefit from the rich experiences at TJ -- not just excellent test-takers. Most students who meet the new requirements (e.g., moving the minimum GPA up from 3.0 to 3.5) will be able to thrive at TJ. A few points: 

1. The current system does a great job of identifying great test takers, but there is more to academics than test taking. I actually don't care about creating a strict ordering of everyone who can take a test well. It's important that admitted students be qualified, but more than 500 students in Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington, and the other participating districts are qualified to attend TJ. 
2. TJ teachers can figure out how to bring out excellence from students who took Algebra I in 7th or 8th grade and have a 3.5 GPA in their core middle school classes. Their classes will be SLIGHTLY less homogeneous, but not much. 
3. More Black and Hispanic students will apply than in recent years. I would guess that many students of color haven't particularly wanted to go to a school where they are culturally alone.
4. The TJ community will benefit from having more diverse perspectives and skill sets, while communities around Fairfax County will benefit from having connections to TJ. 
5. For the class of 2022, 2 middle schools combined to send 140 students to TJ (about 40% of the county's total), while 15 middle schools sent too few to report (small single digits).

The lack of diversity in TJ's student population has inspired hand wringing before. One question that struck me from this article was from an alumna who asked "Why are her white peers just noticing the problems now?" Honestly, I suspect that the declining representation for white students is a significant trigger. Nothing gets the attention of someone with privilege like being underrepresented. There are probably other reasons including the increased emphasis on equity in our society, but I'm a bit of a cynic.

Here are a few bold predictions:

• First of all, defenders of the status quo are going to lose their ever-loving minds. They will make impassioned pleas and defend the current system as the epitome of meritocracy.
• If this merit lottery ends up being enacted and the number of National Merit Finalists goes down, those defenders of the current status quo will freak out again and say "I told you so!" My response: I'm ok with that. When you rely on a test for admission, then it is no surprise that those students remain good test takers. I will not judge TJ based on how many exceptional test takers attend. That merit is judged primarily by a single test is ludicrous and narrow-minded. What is being rewarded with the current system is test preparation.
• Some families are going to move (or at least appear to move on paper) so their kids can have more favorable chances of selection. Any system can and will be gamed.
• Academic achievement will rise a bit at many middle and high schools. All of a sudden, kids from underrepresented areas of the county will realize that they have a chance of getting into TJ, and will work to become qualified for the lottery. 

I applaud Dr. Brabrand and the folks at FCPS who put together this innovative proposal. It will improve educational opportunities and outcomes across the county, and will make TJ a better place to learn.

Tips for Working in Zoom/Webex/BBCU

Here are a few tips for people transitioning to Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate or Webex or Google Meets for the next few months (most notably teachers). 

Ergonomics: (You probably ignore this usually, but being on your computer 8 hours a day can expose all sorts of issues)

1) Consider an external keyboard. The angles your laptop force your wrists into aren't comfortable for everyone. Since I've been using a wireless curved keyboard with ergonomic mouse, the tendinitis in my wrists has been fine. 

2) Top of monitor should be right around your casual eye level. 

3) Your elbows should rest at a right angle when using your keyboard.

4) Consider a setup that can allow you to stand. I use an Ikea desk with a motor that allows me to switch between standing and sitting. There are other solutions, but being able to stand every once in a while is a good thing.

Prepare your A/V presence:

5) Get an external monitor, and keep your open laptop to one side. With two screens, you can use your laptop to keep an eye on chat or to preview what you want to show next.

6) Make sure your camera is close to the top and center of the monitor you plan to be looking at. That might mean buying a $39 USB webcam that you can position on top of your monitor. My laptop's camera is by the hinge, and the view up my nostrils is not pleasant.

7) Position your light source(s) near the camera. Avoid having lighting (especially windows) behind you.

8) Keep a headset with boom mic or earbuds with a mic on hand. The sound quality of your laptop's mic might not be great. I know the headset will mess up your lovely hair. Cry me a river 😉

9) If you can, use one browser for personal stuff and a different browser for work. For instance, keep Chrome for work and Firefox for personal stuff on your work machine. This makes it easier to keep your worlds separate.

10) Before you start sharing, always check your tabs. You don't want to over-share. On Chrome, F11 hides all the menus and toolbars.

11) I didn't think I needed it, but I like having my phone on a stand on my desk. It brings it into my visual space so I can leave it on mute and not miss anything critical. Google Messages and WhatsApp both have web apps that allow me to see text messages in a browser tab, which is even better.

12) Make sure the space behind you is not distracting and doesn't include any windows or other bright light sources. Just like with browser tabs, you don't want to provide more distractions.

Special note for teachers: I know this is new for many of you, but you can and will make it work. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to be present and  connect with your students. If all you do is show up, riff a bit, and get students to engage in a conversation, that will be amazing. If you are lucky and/or good enough to also have some coherent curriculum, then that's awesome. Keep it simple and show up. You got this!

Helping Your K-8 Kid Learn Math

As many school districts plan atypical scenarios for the Fall, many parents are asking a couple important questions:

1. If I want to homeschool, what curriculum should I use?
2. If my kid is still "in" school, but doing a ton of work independently, how can I help them?

Choosing a Math Curriculum

Actually, I wish more people would ask what curriculum they should use. Many intelligent people imagine that they can just do it themselves or buy a book off amazon and get it done. It's not that simple. Curriculum matters, but where should you turn?

In 2012, New York state commissioned the creation of a really great set of curricula for K-8 Math and English Language Arts (ELA). The result of that effort is EngageNY, which is generally considered some of the best open education resources (OER) out there. When that contract wound down, part of the team that created EngageNY decided that they were not done, so they created UnboundEd.

UnboundEd has updated and extended the EngageNY product to create solid content with good focus, rigor, and coherence. Oh, and it's free. They are also really great people who care deeply about equity and confronting our implicit biases. For proof, check out their Bias Toolkit. 

For another perspective for grades 6-8, check out Open Up Resources. Open Up is newer, and perhaps less robust, but they have some good stuff.

There are other options. EdReports.org has reviews of many curricula, so you can certainly poke around there. That said, you could do a whole lot worse than leaning heavily on UnboundEd and sprinkling in a few things from Open Up (grades 6-8) and/or the supplemental resources listed below.

Getting Math Help

What if you or your student gets stuck on some math topic? Note that this is a really different need (and set of solutions) from the curriculum focus above.

1. If you haven't checked Khan Academy, you haven't done a serious search. I would not use this as a curriculum, but the videos can help a learner get over a bump in the road, or can help a parent brush up on something they learned and forgot years ago.
2. BrainPop is another good source of videos. There are a ton of others, and you can find many at OER Commons.
3. Friends and family could help. Who do you know that is good at math? They are likely sitting at home, and would be happy to help and interact with someone new. Lean on your network!

Having the Right Mindset

Stop telling kids that they are bad or good at math. Carol Dweck and others have done and published a ton of research on this, but the core idea is that with VERY few exceptions, most people can become good/better at math if they put in the right effort. Instilling a static mindset by telling a kid s/he is good at math or bad at math takes away their agency. They need to know that effort is valuable and it can lead to getting better.

This isn't about participation trophies and orange slices. This is about rejecting the dysfunctional and wrong idea that our genetics have predetermined what we can be. This is about helping every student know that progress is important and within their control. Lifting weights doesn't inherently make you strong, but with the right program, effort, and persistence, a lifting program can help you build muscle. It's the same way with mental effort helping our math ability grow.