Hello, I am Art Jarvis, superintendent of the Tacoma Public Schools.
I have some important news for you about significant changes coming to some of our schools.
The U.S. Department of Education has launched a national initiative to help local school districts like ours improve the quality of education at the lowest-performing schools in each state.
Four Tacoma middle schools are newly identified as "persistently low performing" because their reading and math test scores fall in the bottom five percent of all schools in Washington over the last three years.
These middle schools are Giaudrone, Hunt, Jason Lee and Stewart, and we must prepare an application for support to intervene immediately in each of these schools.
Let me outline for you the four intervention options from which we have to choose:
Option Number One is called "Turnaround." The Turnaround Model starts with significant changes in staff assignments. The leadership and the teaching staff would be assigned to the Turnaround School based on newly identified skills and competencies matched to the curriculum model. Up to 50 percent of the staff may be rehired using these criteria.
Option Number Two is called "Restart." This is not an option for us. In Washington state, charter schools are not allowed.
Option Number Three is called "Closure." This simply means closing a school permanently or temporarily and sending the students to higher achieving schools nearby.
Option Number Four is called "Transformation." This option requires us to replace the principal. It also requires us to implement a new evaluation system, developed with staff, that uses student growth as a significant factor in evaluating teachers. We then must identify and reward teachers who are increasing student outcomes and remove teachers who are not.
We are being asked to make plans for all four schools in roughly the next 10 days. The changes will take effect in the 2010-2011 school year. Our timelines for decision-making and application are so tight they require making immediate decisions.
Let me describe my recommendation to the board about which model we adopt for each school and why:
For Hunt, I am proposing closure. Decreasing enrollment over time has given Hunt the smallest enrollment of all middle schools. By closing Hunt temporarily now, we can construct a new Hunt - as recently approved by voters - so the school can reopen with a new educational program, new leadership and new staff. We would relocate students from Hunt to neighboring middle schools.
For Jason Lee, I propose the Transformation model. The school has already embarked on academic and program improvements with a new principal this school year. This model allows the district to enhance the work already being done by encouraging community partnerships and an extended learning day without replacing the staff.
For both Stewart and Giaudrone, I propose the Turnaround model. This model allows both middle schools to transition to new programs of enhanced academic rigor that require more teachers with specialized training. Giaudrone would shift to an International Baccalaureate program, which follows a global curriculum built around real-world applications. Meanwhile, Stewart would shift toward a curriculum based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
We recognize that sometimes "disruptive change" is necessary. We are committed to the changes even though they are disruptive to the adults – parents, teachers, staff – in the belief they will truly benefit children.
We are literally making changes in two weeks to programs that have been in place for 100 years. We're committed to putting in place - in these four schools - new learning systems that we can replicate throughout the district.
By March 5th, the School Board must formally adopt a plan that describes the intervention model we will use at each school.
The March 5th deadline is important. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, working in concert with the U.S. Department of Education, set that deadline for school districts to apply for a new federal program of School Improvement Grants. In our state, those grants will provide $17 million each year for the next three years to eligible schools willing to engage in these major change efforts.
Leading up to March 5th, we have identified three ways for you to share your thoughts on this process.
First, the school board will have a study session on the School Improvement process at 5 p.m. Thursday, February 25th, following by a public comment period as part of the board's regular meeting. Second, we will host an open house on the process Monday, March 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Lincoln High School. Third, we have created a method on our Web site where you can submit your comments, which we will provide to the board. More details are available on our Web site.
To oversee this rapid change process, I have established an internal team, led by Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Carla Santorno and Assistant Superintendent for K-12 Support Rosanne Fulton. Their efforts will blend this middle school initiative with three district-wide initiatives already under development:
- Close the Achievement Gap.
- Upgrade our math curriculum.
- Reorganize our Curriculum and Instruction Department.
This multi-faceted change process means children in Tacoma will have new environments and systems to help them learn.
Our own data does not dispute the status of "persistently low performing." It substantiates that we have been unable to overcome the socioeconomic factors that drive achievement gaps and cause children to struggle. Now we have an opportunity to sharply focus our work at the middle schools, recognizing full well that the work is disruptive as well as bold.
I have confidence in these changes. We have recent evidence that bold steps have shown remarkable success.
For example, over the last three years, we phased in all-day kindergarten at our elementary schools. The results show more children - particularly from our lower-income families - are leaving kindergarten ready for first grade. This success will lead to a positive ripple effect as those students progress from elementary to middle school.
We still have much work to do. We must find new leadership for each school. We must work with the Tacoma Education Association to find the right mix of teachers for each school. And we must adjust the learning model for each school.
I want to especially thank Mr. Derrick Hartman, president of the Tacoma Teachers Association, for joining us in partnership to undertake this reform effort. I know that some of our staff will be deeply immersed in designing the future of these schools.
Other staff will be sacrificing to help us create a different world in which all of our children in these schools can and will succeed.
As we move through this process and over the next several months, I commit to you that we will provide frequent updates on our progress and what the changes mean for you, your children and our staff.
Again, please watch our web site at www.tacomaschools.org for more information.
Thank you.