"MY KID'S GETTING AN OKAY EDUCATION--- WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT??

Members of Nyack PIE hear a lot of this as they try to improve our district's schools. But in the last few months, both local and national news have shown that the issue of challenging all students isn't about to go away.

See Ithaca, New York where on June 4th the New York Times reported that a move to eliminate tracking in high school science provoked a "fiery debate" between those who believe such a move would "water down classes" and those who argue "you are creating an amount of segregation when you track".

See Montclair, New Jersey where the Times reports the schools offered a national model over the last ten years as they struggled to bridge the racial divide. "It takes more/' Montclair parents declared, "to bring children of different races and backgrounds together than simply bringing them together...Desegregation," one parent went on "is not about body counts, it is about quality education for all children." See Edison, Georgia where the superintendent of schools is in danger of losing his job for publicly announcing "the problem...that elite classes were largely white and the lower-level classes entirely black."

Here in Nyack, on June 16th, Director of Curriculum Fred Frelow addressed a community forum on the subject of educational excellence for ALL students. He revealed some disturbing statistics. Taking test scores from one elementary school, he showed how all students make an unexplained jump in achievement between the fourth and fifth grades. But where white students soar, students of color barely make it to grade level.

Further statistics, to be presented in the Fall, will show if such differences continue into secondary school and are supported by tracking.

This discrepancy is the reason Nyack got a Mellon grant two years ago. In the grant application, the district admitted that minority students are disproportionately disciplined, placed in lower tracks, and labeled as special ed. Dr. Frelow's presentation was the first public analysis of the statistics.

The Mellon grant focuses approximately $100/000 a year on proven means of achieving educational equality. So far, money has gone to support multi-age and interdisciplinary classes, character education, mentoring programs and community involvement, among other programs.

PIE believes that there can be no such thing as a perfectly good education for one child if another is getting the short end of the stick. Students will LEARN injustice if it isn't actively fought.

THE SATURDAY PROJECT was, once again, a huge hit. Designed as a model of the kinds of educational approaches PIE believes in, it featured three Saturdays filled with kids of different ages, races, and backgrounds working together; this time around on the arts. There was a strong multicultural focus with Haitian-Americans Gilbert Paris and Eric Alcin teaching dancing and drumming and African-Americans Samuel Harps, III and Charlie Burnham helping the kids compose and perform their own play.

Here were four talented/ personable male teachers of color—how sad that a child is likely to pass through the Nyack system without meeting even one.

Parents were key to the success/ as over 25 helped nearly 50 kids make masks and paint scenery. Special guests: high school teacher Marie Montanez; high school student Marlene Losier and Haitian advocate Jonathan Demme taught Creole.

A final performance at the Olson Center brought all this together. No more than a taste/ the Saturday Project nevertheless offered a chance for children and grown-ups alike to see what might be. Special thanks goes to the supporting grant from the Arts Council of Rockland.

Simultaneously (impossible as it may sound), Nyack PIE threw a successful benefit performance of the acclaimed family film, "THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH". A Rockland premiere, it drew over 350 happy people. Money raised will be used to continue our efforts, including sponsoring community forums, programs for kids, and involving more parents in their children's education.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

The Saturday Project successfully included students of all kinds: those labeled gifted, learning disabled, and emotionally disabled. In regular school, this hasn't proved easy. PIE has heard reports of more teachers diagnosing more kids as having ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). This combined with the casual prescription of the drug Ritalin in response, is troubling. We urge all parents with questions about this matter to contact PIE and/or the district. The problem of attention deficit is not necessarily the child's.

Meanwhile, in Valley Cottage Elementary, second grade parents met to discuss their feelings about inclusion and blending. This year, one "normal" classroom regularly included a child with Down^ syndrome and often combined with a special ed. class. Reaction was split among parents who felt that it had enhanced their child's progress and those who felt it had hindered. The final word belongs to the children themselves. They wrote a letter to the Valley Cottage principal protesting a substitute teacher who has mistreated the child with Down's syndrome. Scared that they might be punished, the second graders nevertheless sat down— and on their own initiative—supported their fellow student. PIE applauds them/ and the district's plan to continue inclusion at Valley Cottage and Liberty next year.

Through the Mellon grant/ teachers and parents have been visiting model schools in the nearby area, including CENTRAL PARK EAST. CPEwas featured in a series of NEW YORK TIMES articles in May and its founder/ Deborah Meier, is the driving force behind school reform in New York City and has attracted tens of millions of grant dollars. Reaction was mixed: from those who said, "We're already doing this" to those who admired the student-driven learning. Call PIE if you'd like to be involved in future visits.

A SCIENCE CLOSET

has been funded at Upper Nyack. Initiated by parents and teachers, the closet is a central location for equipment and special kits relating to science and available to the whole school. Liberty Elementary has had one for a few years now and it's proved a good first step in getting much needed science into the elementary curriculum... POGs [Parents Organized for the Gifted] held a meeting at Nyack Library. Turnout was small as should be expected: by their own definition/ "gifted" is only 1-3% of the school population-which would figure out to 30-90 elementary children district-wide. POG's ultimate goal is to skim off this top percentage throughout Rockland County and form a SEPARATE SCHOOL. Hmmm...Is it our imagination or are an awful lot of Nyack parents resorting to OUTSIDE TUTORING to make sure their elementary children learn the three R's?

STUDENT PROTEST

At the high school, some thirty-five students staged a one period sit-down protest. Their issues included a new, stricter discipline code which threatened some thirty seniors' chances of graduating, the increased presence of "security guards", lack of real say in decision making, and racial problems.

Given the district's recent history—from the fire at the old high school to racial slurs written by students—you'd think the administration would welcome a peaceful, issue oriented protest.

This year, the state has passed a retirement incentive that is proving alluring to some of Nyack's staff. At this date, some twelve teachers have chosen retirement and seven positions appear to be opening district-wide.

You have a chance to affect who fills those openings, and, given the tenure system, that may well be a long-term decision. All you have to do is volunteer to be on a district hiring committee. You'll look over resumes, interview candidates, and make recommendations to the school board. You can have a real say in the tenor and complexion of Nyack's faculty. To be considered call Roberta Zampolin at 353-7015 and please put in your request that the meetings be held when working members of the community can attend.

More generally, any community member interested in learning more about the district and where it might be headed is invited to attend a free symposium July 17-19th at Nyack High School. Sponsored by NCREST (the people who monitor the Mellon grant), it will feature some of the brightest minds in education speaking especially about community/school partnerships. While the district has arranged childcare, the talks run from 8:30 till 3:00, Monday through Wednesday, making it awfully tough for working parents. Fortunately, PIE has arranged with NYCREST to video tape highlights of the talks. So for you community members who can't get away during the day, we have tentatively set showings for 7 pm on the above dates, July 17 - 19th, at Nyack Head Start. Call for more information.

If you're REALLY interested in school reform, Nyack PIE will help sponsor a summer trip to Cambridge, Mass. for a conference run by the National Coalition of Educational Activists. Featuring workshops on anti-bias education with Enid Lee (whom PIE brought to Nyack earlier this year), "increasing parent and community participation", "power sharing: negotiating the curriculum", and a pre-conference on parent leadership, rethinking classrooms and teachers unions, the conference will be held at M.I.T. from August 1 through 6. PIE has already reserved three slots and will help arrange transportation and a place to stay. Call soon if you're interested.

DISCIPLINE is a pressing issue in our schools. Whether ifs stricter class cutting rules [see the strike by high school students reported in Student Protest], keeping elementary students inside at recess, or maintaining order in the middle school cafeteria, the question becomes what is effective discipline. At what point are we humiliating, rather than educating our children? How much of the school day goes into maintaining order? How much of the problem is plain old boredom? This Fall, PIE plans to look at effective discipline: the atmosphere of our schools and the problems teachers face. Give us a call with ideas, suggestions, information.

TESTING is another area where PIE hopes to focus some attention in the coming year.

While some schools and teachers are investigating alternative methods which most parents only vaguely understand—portfolio assessment, authentic assessment—standardized testing continues. And continues to be the measurement of success or failure. How we test children directly effects how we teach them and how they do or do not learn.

Are secondary students involved in putting together portfolios of their work? How are first through third graders measured now that the CAT test isn't being given? What determines if a child is "gifted" or not? Stay tuned.

Science in the Park has been re-scheduled for the Fail. Date? to be announced.

Video of daytime NCREST conference highlights - evenings at Nyack Head Start/ call for times.

NCEA conference in Cambridge, MA.