Lynn Among Districts Not Meeting Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives

Per Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is required to establish annual measurable achievement objectives (AMAOs) for English language acquisition and the academic achievement of limited English proficiency (LEP) students. Title III, also called the 'English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act', has a number of purposes which include: 

• to help ensure that children who are limited English proficient, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and meet the same challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards as all children are expected to meet
• to assist all limited English proficient children, including immigrant children and youth, to achieve at high levels in the core academic subjects so that those children can meet the same challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards as all children are expected to meet
• to promote parental and community participation in language instruction educational programs for parents and communities of limited English proficient children
• to hold State educational agencies, local education agencies, and schools accountable for increases in English proficiency and core academic content of limited English proficient children by requiring - (A) demonstrated improvements in the English proficiency of limited English proficient children each fiscal year; and (B) adequate yearly progress for limited English proficient children and youth.

 In Massachusetts, AMAOs are established for LEP students in grades K-12 in three categories: 

(1) Progress toward English language proficiency. The Massachusetts goal for 2011 was for 61% of LEP students to make progress toward proficiency.

(2) Attainment of English language proficiency defined as scoring at the midpoint of Level 4 or above on the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment (MEPA) test. The MEPA tests LEP students' proficiency in reading, writing, listening comprehension and speaking production. Individual attainment targets were determined for each district based on its students' number of years in Massachusetts

(3) Adequate Yearly Progress of the LEP subgroup on the MCAS exam in both English language arts and mathematics. 

On January 30, 2012, the Massachusetts DESE released a summary of AMAO data for LEP students in public school districts receiving Title III funds. In order to to be eligible to receive Title III funding, a district or consortium of schools/districts must enroll more than 100 LEP students. It should be noted that under this section of NCLB, schools/districts are required to notify parents of its failure on the AMAOs within 30 days. Of the 58 public /charter school districts receiving Title III funds, 22 did not meet the target goal of 61% of LEP students making progress toward proficiency. Districts not achieving this goal include Boston, Brockton, Lynn, Springfield, Fall River and Taunton. Twenty districts (out of 58) did not meet their targets for the percentage of students actually attaining English language proficiency; Lynn once again is included on this list along with Salem, Metheun, and Lawrence. Finally, out of 51 districts, only seven made AYP in English Language Arts  in the LEP student subgroup (Arlington, Barnstable, Brookline, Clinton, Lawrence Family Development Charter, Lexington, and Lowell Community Charter). Similarly only seven (out of 52) districts made AYP in in math for this group (Arlington, Barnstable, Brookline, Lawrence Family Development Charter, Lexington, Lowell Community Charter, and Westborough). 

In 2011, Lynn, a district with nearly 20% LEP students, did not meet any of its established AMAOs. Lynn missed the progress target (61%) by one percentage point as 60% of Lynn's LEP students made progress toward proficiency. In terms of attainment, the Lynn missed reaching its target by four percentage points (target: 36%; actual 32%). Before last year, however, the city did meet a minimum of one of its goals related to Title III dating back to  at least 2005. Lynn met its attainment goal in  2005 and 2010, its progress and attainment goals in 2006 and 2009 and its progress, attainment and math AYP goals in 2007. Although some question the practice of simply trying to get students proficient in English as quickly as possible, focusing on students with limited English skills is still essential particularly in a city like Lynn which has been charged with educating such a large population of these students.

*To view the full AMAO report: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/amao.aspx

Lynn School Committee Meeting 1/26/12

The next Lynn School Committee meeting  is scheduled for Thursday January 26, 2012 at 7pm. SC meetings take place at 90 Commercial Street. 

For the agenda for this week's meeting, see: http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/clerk_meeting_notices_2012/School%20Committee%20Meeting%201-26-2012.pdf

Lynn School Committee Meeting 1/12/12

The first Lynn School Committee meeting of the new year is scheduled for Thursday January 12, 2012 at 7pm. SC meetings take place at 90 Commercial Street. Some important things on tonight's agenda include: 

• Innovation School Prospectus - Juli Ierardi 
• A presentation on the Wraparound Zone Initiative
• Redistricting - Dave Hegan
• Financial Report - LVTI Adult Literacy Program
• Enrollment Report - January 1, 2012

*To see the full agenda, visit: http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/clerk_meeting_notices_2012/School%20Committee%20-%20Meeting-Agenda%20-%20Jan%2012,%202012.pdf

Comparing Massachusetts's Urban Districts

In a previous post about school choice in Lynn, I pointed out that a number of school committee members keep reiterating that among similar districts Lynn is ranked first. So what are those other districts and how does Lynn compare in terms of demographics and (multiple) educational outcomes? Per the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), ten districts combine to form a cohort known as the Commissioner's Districts. These districts are: Boston, Brockton, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Springfield and Worcester. The urban districts are linked based on the following criteria:

• 10,000 or more students (Holyoke is an exception)
• Highest poverty and subgroup enrollment in the state
• Three or more schools in Corrective Action or Restructuring in the aggregate for ELA, math or both
• In Corrective Action either in the aggregate or for subgroups as a district

In terms of the populations of some key subgroups, here is how the cities compare (**ELL = English Language Learner; LEP = Limited English Proficiency; SPED = Special Education). This data was taken from the 2010-11 school year.

	Low Income	ELL	LEP	SPED
Massachusetts	34.20%	16.30%	7.10%	17.00%
Boston	74.4%	43.4%	28.0%	19.4%
Brockton	72.8%	32.9%	19.3%	13.5%
Fall River	76.6%	23.8%	5.4%	20.0%
Holyoke	82.5%	50.8%	26.0%	26.2%
Lawrence	87.1%	77.3%	23.8%	20.1%
Lowell	72.5%	43.9%	33.1%	15.4%
Lynn	78.6%	52.7%	21.6%	16.1%
New Bedford	71.2%	21.4%	4.1%	19.8%
Springfield	84.2%	24.4%	14.1%	22.8%
Worcester	70.1%	43.2%	31.8%	20.9%

Next, we compare the districts with regard to their dropout and graduation rates as well as their average number of school absences and overall attendance rate. The district with the best statistic in each category  (Worcester) is highlighted in red. Lynn ranked fourth among these districts in the dropout rate category  and third in the graduation rate. Dropout and graduation rates are from 2009-10 while school absence and attendance information is from 2010-11 (the most recent for each).

	Drop out Rate	Graduation Rate	Avg. # Absences	Attendance Rate
Massachusetts	2.9%	82.1%	9.3	94.6%
Boston	6.8%	63.2%	13.5	92%
Brockton	5.5%	66.7%	10.7	93.7%
Fall River	4.9%	66.2%	14.4	91.4%
Holyoke	9.5%	52.5%	15.1	90.5%
Lawrence	9.4%	46.7%	12.1	92.7%
Lowell	4.4%	69.4%	11.1	93.3%
Lynn	5.4%	68.5%	10.8	93.7%
New Bedford	8.1%	53.5%	12.8	92.3%
Springfield	10.5%	53%	15.1	90.8%
Worcester	3.8%	71.4%	9.8	94.2%

Listed next are the percentage of students achieving proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA) and math on the 2011 MCAS exam. Also highlighted in red is the district with the highest percentage in each category (Lynn); Worcester was a close second in each category.

	ELA	Math
Massachusetts	69%	58%
Boston	47%	40%
Brockton	49%	35%
Fall River	49%	37%
Holyoke	34%	27%
Lawrence	41%	28%
Lowell	47%	43%
Lynn	51%	41%
New Bedford	45%	37%
Springfield	41%	28%
Worcester	50%	40%

Finally, what do high school students in these urban districts plan to do after graduation? Listed below are four options though the DESE also tracks data in three other categories ('unknown,' 'other,' 'other post secondary). This data is from 2009-10. In that year, Lynn had the highest percentage of students join the military.

	4yr Public/Private	2yr Public/Private	Military	Work
Massachusetts	60%	22%	2%	7%
Boston	51%	19%	1%	3%
Brockton	43%	43%	2%	5%
Fall River	29%	52%	2%	15%
Holyoke	23%	52%	2%	0%
Lawrence	35%	47%	3%	6%
Lowell	47%	35%	2%	4%
Lynn	30%	50%	5%	8%
New Bedford	44%	41%	4%	7%
Springfield	28%	27%	2%	2%
Worcester	40%	41%	3%	8%

**All Data Taken From: www.doe.mass.edu

This Day in History: January 11

-Muhammad leads an army of 10,000 to conquer Mecca, 630

-Alexander Hamilton, first United States Secretary of Treasury, is born, 1755

-The Michigan Territory is created, 1805

-Insulin is first used to treat diabetes in a human patient, 1922

-Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California, 1935

-East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh, 1972

-Holiday: Independence Resistance Day (Morocco)

Urban Districts Decline in 3rd Grade Reading Proficiency; Lynn Improves Slightly

The blog Eye on Early Education focuses on the goals of ensuring that children in Massachusetts have access to high-quality early education and that they become proficient readers by the end of the third grade. Proficiency in 3rd grade reading has been established as a huge indicator of the likelihood of graduating from high school.  In September 2010, the blog reported that proficiency rates on the 3rd grade reading MCAS exam were up from 2009 in 10 urban districts in the state; increases varied from two percentage points to fifteen percentage points. Unfortunately, the increases seen in 2010 did not continue in 2011 in all of the urban districts.

	2009	2010	2011
Massachusetts	57%	63%	61%
Boston	31%	37%	36%
Brockton	36%	40%	33%
Fall River	35%	37%	40%
Holyoke	21%	25%	21%
Lawrence	34%	40%	36%
Lowell	33%	41%	39%
Lynn	37%	45%	47%
New Bedford	38%	53%	45%
Springfield	36%	39%	40%
Worcester	35%	45%	39%

Only three urban districts continued to see an increase in 3rd grade reading proficiency rates in 2011 (highlighted in teal). Increases for the three districts that did improve in 2011 were minimal ranging from only one to three percentage points.

In Lynn, some elementary schools saw huge gains in 3rd grade reading proficiency rates while others decreased. Highlighted in teal here are the Lynn elementary schools that saw increases in the percentage of students who scored proficient or higher on the 3rd grade reading exam from 2010 to 2011. Increases ranged from four to eighteen percentage points. Three schools (Ford, Aborn, and Sisson) either met or exceeded the state average for this particular exam while Connery, a Level 4 school, increased from a 9% proficiency rate in 2009 to a 37% proficiency rate in 2011. Though Sisson did decline in its 3rd grade proficiency rate, the school still performed better than the state average.

	2009	2010	2011
Aborn	58%	58%	70%
Brickett	43%	60%	57%
Callahan	31%	40%	44%
Cobbet	12%	36%	28%
Connery	9%	25%	37%
Drewicz	34%	54%	45%
Ford	50%	48%	61%
Harrington	21%	28%	26%
Hood	35%	30%	48%
Ingalls	29%	40%	44%
Lincoln-Thomson	65%	68%	57%
Lynn Woods	77%	54%	52%
Sewell Anderson	38%	63%	43%
Shoemaker	51%	57%	53%
Sisson	78%	81%	70%
Tracy	49%	54%	44%

While Lynn as a whole is increasing in terms of 3rd grade proficiency rates, there is always room for improvement. This particularly true as there seems to be an achievement gap at this level between certain subgroups in the city such as male/female (41% proficient vs. 52%) and low income/non-low income (43% versus 62%) among others. As proficiency in reading in the 3rd grade has important implications for future academic success, improving and increasing students' literacy skills is essential to raising educational achievement in Lynn and other urban districts.

**Data Taken from: www.doe.mass.edu

Thinking about School Choice in the Context of the Lynn Public School System

Reading this guest commentary by Mary Levy posted on the blog All Things Education served as a catalyst for thought about the desire for school choice within the Lynn Public School  (LPS) system, a district which has been deemed to be under performing by the state of Massachusetts. While this particular topic locally has been sensationalized (and somewhat racialized), there is a real need for discussion about the  want for more educational choices in "low performing" Lynn and the factors that contribute to the burgeoning push for school choice among parents in the city. Most salient was the point by Levy that in the Washington, D.C. public schools there have been many determined parents who sought to improve their neighborhood schools, but were mostly "ignored or rebuffed." Perhaps, this is (a major) part of the problem in Lynn as well. As local education blogger Stanley Wotring notes, LPS, either through their actions, tone, or overall unresponsiveness (real or perceived), may actually discourage parents from actively being involved in their child(ren)'s education despite the school system's call for an increased parental presence.

More importantly, however, there may be a disconnect between how parents and community members view the Lynn public schools and how the school committee/superintendent/mayor view them. At the superintendent's evaluation on December 21, 2011, the majority of school committee members praised the superintendent and the current state of the Lynn public schools. One statistic that many of the school committee members keep reiterating is that, among similar districts in terms of size and demographics, Lynn is ranked first. This statement has been held up as a positive indicator of Lynn's academic quality given certain contextual factors (high poverty, substantial English Language Learner/Limited English Proficiency population) despite what some may call sub par standardized test (MCAS) scores  (51% of students proficient in English language arts, 41% in math in 2011). Additionally, the dropout rate in 2009-10 was indeed not the worst in the state at 5.4%. Though these numbers may be the best among urban districts, it is debatable whether or not the Lynn citizenry should accept this as adequate or "not that bad" as there is the potential for great improvement. The fact that even high performing communities like Marblehead and Weston are actively trying to improve their test scores further underscores the need for Lynn to follow suit in light of its much lower standardized test scores. It does, in fact, appear that many parents do not accept that Lynn's current academic performance as the best the city can produce. While some parents  are less critical and simply want the district to progress in a positive fashion, other parents/community members hold very negative opinions about the school system, regardless of where it stands in comparison to other districts. Unfavorable sentiments about LPS from a less than satisfied faction of the Lynn population have appeared on the message boards/comment sections of various blogs and media outlets.

One parent, whose son was placed in an out-of-district placement, remarked:

"Would I go back? Would I move him to a Lynn middle school? Not on your life. If I can help he'll never be in another Lynn school." [source: Lynn School Watch]

Another parent moved away from Lynn in order to avoid having to send her child to public school in the city: 

 "I own multiple properties in Lynn and the sole reason I moved...was because of the horrific schools in Lynn. It was a wake up call to me as a parent when I actually first hand toured schools in the city. There are no gyms and outdoor areas at many of the schools. The class sizes are large. Police even need to be present! I hope someday things change. Until then most people who can will send their kids elsewhere." [source: Lynn-Side Edition]

 Of one particular elementary school, another parent said that was

"No discipline where needed, no organization and appropriate supervision of students. There is no adequate communication between teachers and parents. In process of trying to move my child out of that environment."[source: greatschools.org]

While another said

"There is no communication directly with the parents - until it's too late to correct a problem. My personal experience with this school was very unpleasant and stressful and I will NEVER recommend this school to anyone. The tone used to communicate with parents is offensive. Not to mention it's an under achievement school-extremely under achievement [sic]." [source: greatschools.org]

So, in the context of Lynn, what is school choice really about? Certainly the want for more school choice in the city is partly due to low test scores, questions about academic rigor, a higher than average drop out rate and concerns about bullying/school safety. The other, potentially more important factor, however, is a system that does not seem to be responding in tangible ways to parental concerns about the school system; refer back to  two of comments included here which cite a lack of communication among the parent's criticisms. Thus, the combination of negative sentiment toward LPS and an administration/elected school committee who is thought to be failing to address the schools' "poor" academic achievement while simultaneously appearing to invalidate parental concerns has resulted in a growing push for easily accessible school choice.  Here I specifically mention 'easily accessible' school choice as those with means have long been able to send their children to private or parochial schools like Sacred Heart, North Shore Christian or St. Mary's while low income parents have historically been left with their local public school which may be of poor academic quality. At the national level, the growing movement for 'school choice' has come to specifically mean charter schools or sometimes publicly funded vouchers given in order for low income students to attend private schools. In Massachusetts, there are 79 charter schools with six charter applications currently being reviewed by the state. With the advent and increase in tuition free charter schools in Massachusetts some of which produce high test scores when compared to the local district, parents with less resources in cities like Lynn are now also able to seek alternative educational environments for their children like their more well-off counterparts. In Lynn, parents can enter their child(ren) into the lottery for placement at KIPP Academy Lynn which currently serves grades 5 - 9 or the Phoenix Charter School (Chelsea) which serves grades 9-12 (other charter schools in the area do accept Lynn students if there is space available). KIPP, in particular, fills a significant need as an educational alternative because of the grades it serves (middle school level) especially when one considers that two of Lynn's three middle schools are currently among the bottom 20% of schools serving common grades statewide.

Particularly with regard to the city's lowest performing schools, it seems as though the topic of Lynn's educational quality has long been discussed without any real positive change or publicly stated plan of action. How many unflattering articles have appeared in The Daily Item and the Lynn Journal about LPS and, yet, some in positions of power still claim to not know of any dissatisfaction with the school system. Therefore the issue of school choice in Lynn may actually stem the fact that many parents may feel ignored or rebuffed when it comes to their concerns as Levy notes in her piece about the DC public schools. A fundamental partnership or alliance between the schools and parents (generally speaking) does not appear to exist in LPS due to negative experiences some have had with teachers, principals, the school committee or the school administration. Moreover, if LPS was under performing, but people had faith in the schools' leadership and future trajectory and also felt as though their issues/concerns/criticisms were not falling upon deaf ears then the desire for choice would likely not be as strong as it currently appears to be. As commenter Victoria Young states "The single biggest issue we face in this country...is the failure to listen to people." So while School Committee member Rick Starbard may hope to hold off another charter school in Lynn, in the current climate in which LPS does not appear to be progressing to the general public's satisfaction and parents do not feel heard, this may not be possible as parents continue to seek, and possibly demand, schools that will adequately respond to their needs.