Last week, I attended one of the Parent Forums to hear about the four proposals to address the enrollment inequity at Waltham's six elementary schools. There is one more chance for parents to give their input next Tuesday, 12/1. As usual, I have nothing but praise for the way that Dr. Echelson has handled the entire process, from identifying four possible solutions, to establishing a timeline (unheard of!), to soliciting parent and staff input at four meetings, etc. He said, at the meeting that I attended (and I paraphrase), "I have a lot of big plans for this district, so we need to get this issue resolved and move on." Oh, AND he even has a list of FAQs (and all of this stuff is on a Google drive, so that it can actually be accessed.)
My friend, the Watch City Wonder, blogged about the proposals and gave her opinion here today. The News Tribune ran an editorial. Both of them, at the end, ask the School Committee to reflect on what they've heard from staff and parents, and to make a decision. Both make clear that not making a decision is unacceptable. While I have a few disagreements with both opinion pieces, I wholeheartedly agree with that summary. Inaction is untenable.
At the meeting at the McDevitt last week (which I live-Tweeted @lizhmccarthy btw), I was greeted by a parent who I know, whose son is a classmate of my youngest. She looked surprised, and asked me, "What are you doing here?" I was, in turn, surprised at her reaction, and I got all defensive, which is kind of what I do when I'm taken off guard, and said something like "I have been the Poster Mom for complaining about enrollment inequity since the Dark Ages!" She thought about that for a second and said, "Yes, but you won't be included in redistricting." And then I felt really terrible because I got her point. As parent after parent walked to the microphone, a majority (and I didn't count, so this is subjective) identified as parents whose kids would not be affected by redistricting. Another parent I know who would be included in the redistricting plan was also there. Neither of them spoke. And I get that I don't really have 'skin in the game' when it comes to redistricting.
One of the areas most impacted by redistricting is the Garden Crest apartment complex; both of my kids have many friends who live there and I didn't see any of their parents at the meeting. That is concerning because, at an earlier meeting (at which I was not present), a parent made comments that seemed to some to be culturally insensitive at best and racist at their worst. I really would have liked to hear from someone representative of the Garden Crest community and I do hope that some parents were at the other parent meetings or will go next Tuesday and make their thoughts known.
In general, the meeting that I attended at the McDevitt was made up of parents who were concerned, reasoned, and well-informed. And I learned a lot from them.
Proposal A, which has kids changing schools every two years, was hammered by these parents because of the logistics: start times, end times, lunch times, after-school programming, bus routes, etc, etc. I travel frequently for work, and I can't imagine have two or three kids under age 10 at two or three different schools and thinking that everything would go smoothly. Especially if I imagine myself as a single parent, or as a parent who works off-shifts (like nurses and other medical personnel, police officers, EMT's and fire fighters.) I now have a middle schooler and a third grader, and so, for me, the logistics remain the same: I have a kid in elementary and one in middle school. The parents of multiple elementary school students who spoke out about this plan taught me a lot.
Proposal B is, of course, the redistricting plan, and the questioning here was gentle and respectful. See the FAQ's that I linked to above for information on grandfathering: in brief, there will be some limited grandfathering to the capacity that the district can bear. This is a sensitive issue because it impacts so much more than where your kid goes to elementary school: it may impact property values and may even change the DESE designation of Level 1, 2, or 3 schools in the district. Moving district lines is politically charged and it's emotionally charged: parents with more than one child have a relationship with administration and staff at a particular school; they have friends whose phone numbers are in their phones; they socialize with other parents nearby. But it's only for the next one to two year of transition: after that, you're part of the new community and you have more numbers in your phone and when your kids get to middle school and to high school, they will know more people. And I am saying all of this as someone without skin in the game.
My favorite is Proposal C: even knowing that in 3-4 years, we will outgrow the Middle Schools as they currently exist, there's the possibility that a new school building, which may house grades K-8 and/or some combination of special programs, would be completed in that timeframe or shortly after. Of course, I'm the parent of two boys, and when I heard a parent's concerns about her 5th grade daughter riding the bus with 8th grade boys, again, it gave me another perspective. I still think that one middle school for grades 5-6 and another for grades 7-8 will take care of the immediate issue without redistricting, allowing some breathing room as we initiate the inevitable Proposal D (build a new school, in addition to the high school) and get a better handle on where the new kids in the district are coming from (despite the mayor's insistence that new Waltham residents with kids are all buying houses for $600,000 in Warrendale and Cedarwood, because of course none of them are in any of the condos, multi-families, or apartments springing up like weeds around the city without any thought of traffic impact or student population. But I digress.) Of course, a change like that will move some kids who are currently in Middle School, however, I don't think that they will really care. In fact, they may not even notice.
If you are reading this and you live in the Garden Crest area, or in another area that may potentially be moved to another elementary school, please, if you haven't gone to a meeting, plan to go to the one next Tuesday. If you can't go to the meeting, then please get in touch with a School Committee member or with Dr. Echelson. If you are a parent who has strong feelings about the four proposals who hasn't yet attended a forum, then you need to make your opinion known, too.
In the end, it's up to the School Committee members to do the right thing and to do it now. No more can-kicking. This is the right superintendent to bring change. The situation, especially at the Stanley and the Fitzgerald, is critical. John, Margy, Kaytie, John, Teddy, Steve: collaborate and get it done. Our kids are depending on you. #OneWaltham
Monday, November 23, 2015
Thursday, November 12, 2015
This Just Happened
Allow me, first, to wholeheartedly confess that I drive like a highly-skilled, tightly-wound maniac. Think Jason Bourne in Paris. Almost every job I've had since 1988 has required me to drive: in the city, in New England (including Maine, which is a very large state), in New York City (all boroughs), in Montreal, in Toronto, in Rochester (in the snow), etc. Additionally, since my family of origin lives in Pennsylvania, I have made frequent 5-hour trips to see them, driving through some of the worst traffic anywhere ever. And I can do all of this while eating a Panera flatbread and drinking iced tea and participating on a conference call and passing an eighteen-wheeler at a speed exactly 14 miles above the limit (usually 79) (except on Route 128, where there doesn't appear to be a speed limit and so I just go with the flow.) I have mad driving skills.
And yet! When I am driving through someone's neighborhood, I slow down. I go at or under the speed limit, depending on conditions. I stop at red lights and stop signs. I pay attention to street signs. I really do drive "as if my kids lived here."
The reason for this bipolar driving model is that, on a highway, with lots of lanes, people are all going in one direction (generally straight ahead, unless you are on Storrow Drive or the Schuylkill Expressway, in which case all bets are off), and there aren't things like kids and pedestrians and cyclists and trash cans and landscapers and utility trucks and school buses and old people and letter carriers, etc. And DOGS! Because of all of those things that are on roads which are not interstate highways, it is a good idea to slow the flock down. Also: police officers. Just a few months ago, there was road work at the corner of Beaver and Warren streets and my friend, who is a police officer, was directing traffic. I gave him a wave and he tried to stop oncoming traffic to allow me (and some other cars) to turn left onto Warren (which can be hypertension inducing even when there isn't construction and a police detail.) My friend was all decked out in the screaming acid yellow traffic gear that makes cops and runners highly visible. There were about five trucks with flashing lights. My friend raised his hands to get the oncoming traffic to stop. A car didn't stop. He shouted, whistled, and waved his hands. The car kept moving. Right at the point where my friend was about to become a hood ornament, the car stopped. Now, if I had been a police officer, I would have ARRESTED that person on the SPOT for being STUPID, which is why I am not a police officer (because there is not enough room in all the jails for all of the stupid people whom I would arrest every day.) My friend shrugged his shoulders and then directed me to turn left. "Happens all the time," he said. GAH!
Which brings me to today. I was able to walk Finn to school at the Fitz at 8:20AM. The bell rings at, I think, 8:42. That is, we were early. There was no need to rush. I noted that there weren't many cars there today and that the drop-off was more calm than on most mornings. And then! A mom in an SUV (I will not give more identifying factors so as not to shame her, in hopes that she will read this and repent her ways and adopt the bipolar method of driving) made a right turn from Beal Road onto the bus driveway next to the school. Yes, the one with the huge DO NOT ENTER sign and the menacing gate, which is open for buses to exit after dropping the kids at school. Yes, the driveway that is next to the 'small' playground where, on nice days, many younger siblings hang out with their parents for a time after drop-off. Yes, the driveway next to the door which many teachers use to enter the school with their armloads of things (and elementary school teachers bring in things by the armload every day.) WHY WOULD ANYONE EVEN DO THIS? The risk, at the very least, of having a head-on collision with a school bus or van would be a deterrent. The idea that, while speeding down the driveway, there is potential of running over a pre-schooler or running into a teacher with armloads of stuff who isn't looking for a speeding SUV going the WRONG WAY would be enough for me to reconsider just how late for work I am and what the trade-off is.
Street signs are not suggestions: they are commands. Laws. If it says "Do Not Enter", it's not optional if you're late for work. If it says "Stop for Pedestrian in Crosswalk", it's not referring to the guy behind you (and, in fact, a car was rear-ended on Warren Street on Monday when it stopped to allow four students and a parent to cross.) If the light is yellow, it does not mean "speed up." If the sign says "Stop", it does not mean "pause."
Traffic everywhere is bad; in Waltham, it's reaching epic proportions and, very concerning in the recent Traffic Study, is that only a few of the worst traffic nightmares in the city were included. So, it's going to be up to us to drive as if our children live here. Because they do.
And yet! When I am driving through someone's neighborhood, I slow down. I go at or under the speed limit, depending on conditions. I stop at red lights and stop signs. I pay attention to street signs. I really do drive "as if my kids lived here."
The reason for this bipolar driving model is that, on a highway, with lots of lanes, people are all going in one direction (generally straight ahead, unless you are on Storrow Drive or the Schuylkill Expressway, in which case all bets are off), and there aren't things like kids and pedestrians and cyclists and trash cans and landscapers and utility trucks and school buses and old people and letter carriers, etc. And DOGS! Because of all of those things that are on roads which are not interstate highways, it is a good idea to slow the flock down. Also: police officers. Just a few months ago, there was road work at the corner of Beaver and Warren streets and my friend, who is a police officer, was directing traffic. I gave him a wave and he tried to stop oncoming traffic to allow me (and some other cars) to turn left onto Warren (which can be hypertension inducing even when there isn't construction and a police detail.) My friend was all decked out in the screaming acid yellow traffic gear that makes cops and runners highly visible. There were about five trucks with flashing lights. My friend raised his hands to get the oncoming traffic to stop. A car didn't stop. He shouted, whistled, and waved his hands. The car kept moving. Right at the point where my friend was about to become a hood ornament, the car stopped. Now, if I had been a police officer, I would have ARRESTED that person on the SPOT for being STUPID, which is why I am not a police officer (because there is not enough room in all the jails for all of the stupid people whom I would arrest every day.) My friend shrugged his shoulders and then directed me to turn left. "Happens all the time," he said. GAH!
Which brings me to today. I was able to walk Finn to school at the Fitz at 8:20AM. The bell rings at, I think, 8:42. That is, we were early. There was no need to rush. I noted that there weren't many cars there today and that the drop-off was more calm than on most mornings. And then! A mom in an SUV (I will not give more identifying factors so as not to shame her, in hopes that she will read this and repent her ways and adopt the bipolar method of driving) made a right turn from Beal Road onto the bus driveway next to the school. Yes, the one with the huge DO NOT ENTER sign and the menacing gate, which is open for buses to exit after dropping the kids at school. Yes, the driveway that is next to the 'small' playground where, on nice days, many younger siblings hang out with their parents for a time after drop-off. Yes, the driveway next to the door which many teachers use to enter the school with their armloads of things (and elementary school teachers bring in things by the armload every day.) WHY WOULD ANYONE EVEN DO THIS? The risk, at the very least, of having a head-on collision with a school bus or van would be a deterrent. The idea that, while speeding down the driveway, there is potential of running over a pre-schooler or running into a teacher with armloads of stuff who isn't looking for a speeding SUV going the WRONG WAY would be enough for me to reconsider just how late for work I am and what the trade-off is.
Street signs are not suggestions: they are commands. Laws. If it says "Do Not Enter", it's not optional if you're late for work. If it says "Stop for Pedestrian in Crosswalk", it's not referring to the guy behind you (and, in fact, a car was rear-ended on Warren Street on Monday when it stopped to allow four students and a parent to cross.) If the light is yellow, it does not mean "speed up." If the sign says "Stop", it does not mean "pause."
Traffic everywhere is bad; in Waltham, it's reaching epic proportions and, very concerning in the recent Traffic Study, is that only a few of the worst traffic nightmares in the city were included. So, it's going to be up to us to drive as if our children live here. Because they do.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
On Sharing: a peaceful meditation on the capacity equity challenges of the Waltham Elementary Schools
Ah, but before we begin out peaceful meditation, allow me to gently castigate, for just a moment, anyone who has ever complained about stuff in our Fair City and then went to the polls and reelected EVERY incumbent running to EVERY position. If you don't like stuff, the way to get it to change is to vote for NEW people, not to reelect the SAME people. Also, for anyone reading who didn't vote (which is two thirds of Walthamians): you must now shut up your piehole because you have no right to complain about anything ever. The only 'new' person who we have on City Council is Carlos Vidal (whom I supported wholeheartedly in his campaign) and the only reason Carlos had an 'open' at-large seat for which to run is that Tom Stanley gave up his seat to run for mayor. Wake up, Waltham.
Back to the matter at hand: the elementary schools in Waltham have had a growing disparity in enrollment. Humor me, for a moment, as I illustrate with a simplified model: we have six boxes with Legos in them. Two of the boxes have so many Legos (more than 500 pieces!) that we can't fit the lids on the boxes. One of the boxes has one-third fewer Lego bricks than the two that are overflowing. The other two boxes have some room in them, although not as much room as the two-thirds full box. How do we get to where we can put the lids on the overflowing boxes? Anyone?
We have looked at adding a smaller, kind of temporary, box outside next to the overflowing Lego box. That didn't work for many reasons. We have looked at some empty boxes that are around the city and discovered that one was in pretty bad shape and was allowed to fall further into disrepair because no one took care of it. We found that another box is now being used for the Lego People to live in. We discovered that it costs a lot of money to build a brand new Lego box and that we will likely be spending a lot of money for a very big Lego box for the big kids.
After three years and lots of very costly studies and lots meetings and NIMBYism and accusations of racism and hand-wringing, all of which has led to inaction, we finally get a Superintendent who is dedicated to addressing the issue. In fact, he has instilled ACCOUNTABILITY and TIMELINES, which are shocking things indeed to the City that likes to kick an issue down the road until it becomes a crisis.
[A brief aside: some stalwart volunteers and friends have a litmus test for bringing volunteers onto their Board. The only people whom they will consider are those who "Get shit done." I am so very thankful that we have a GSD Superintendent as a replacement for the "Needs more Data and Further Review" Superintendent.]
There are four proposals to address the number of Legos in the Lego boxes and the angst and hyperbole is truly mind-numbing. Some of the parent comments that I've read on Twitter and Facebook make me want to bang my head against the wall. To whit: the school with the most students in it is the Fitzgerald School. So, all of the plans take some students out of the school, whether by grade or by changing the district lines. And yet: these ideas are an affront to the integrity of the NEIGHBORHOOD! Some lament if can we still be a neighborhood if our kids are going to different schools for different grades. So, does that mean that my neighbor, whose kids go to private school, and my other neighbor, whose kids go to St. Jude's, aren't actually my neighbors? Am I not part of the Fitzgerald neighborhood now that I have a kid in middle school? What about my friends with kids in high school? Do they even count?
When I was a wee lass in the Philadelphia School District in the 1970's, there was a big Thing going on in big cities throughout the country. It was called 'desegregation' and was achieved by busing. My family lived in the middle class, largely white, largely Jewish area in the Northeast of the city (known as, I am not kidding, the Great Northeast.) Kids were bused from their homes in North Philly to our elementary schools: these kids were on buses at 5 in the morning and got home at 5 at night, all for race equality and a more equal distribution of resources.
Nothing even close to what I experienced as a third and fourth grader in Philadelphia is happening here in Waltham, and everyone needs to calm down. In our very diverse city, half of our kids are going to be in Middle School together and the other half will join them in High School. For those of us with kids who play sports or who go to the Y or the Boys and Girls Club for after school programs or who go to camp in the summer, our kids already have friends from the other Waltham neighborhoods: kids who live in apartments, kids whose parents speak another language, kids who were born in another country, kids who live with one parent, kids whose families rely on public transportation, etc. Economically diverse; diversity in physical ability; diversity in language; diverse families of origin; racially diverse; diverse religious beliefs; diverse political ideas. This is what I love about Waltham and why we moved here: I didn't want my kids to go to school exclusively with kids who looked and sounded just like they do.
Neighborhoods are geographic and they're made by people doing neighborly things. If you're involved in your kid's school, then you will be involved if and when they go to a different school.
I implore you all, when you go to the community meetings and when you give feedback to School Committee members, to keep this in mind. Don't denigrate the betterment of education in Waltham by getting stuck on the millions of tiny issues: the tiny issues will work themselves out. They always do. Keep in mind the improvement to education for all of the kids in the district. The best prepared students don't benefit from going to a school with more than 530 kids; likewise, a school meant to hold 500 kids that has less than 400 can't get the resources that it needs.
It's time to stop the hand-wringing and angsting and move forward. #OneWaltham
Back to the matter at hand: the elementary schools in Waltham have had a growing disparity in enrollment. Humor me, for a moment, as I illustrate with a simplified model: we have six boxes with Legos in them. Two of the boxes have so many Legos (more than 500 pieces!) that we can't fit the lids on the boxes. One of the boxes has one-third fewer Lego bricks than the two that are overflowing. The other two boxes have some room in them, although not as much room as the two-thirds full box. How do we get to where we can put the lids on the overflowing boxes? Anyone?
We have looked at adding a smaller, kind of temporary, box outside next to the overflowing Lego box. That didn't work for many reasons. We have looked at some empty boxes that are around the city and discovered that one was in pretty bad shape and was allowed to fall further into disrepair because no one took care of it. We found that another box is now being used for the Lego People to live in. We discovered that it costs a lot of money to build a brand new Lego box and that we will likely be spending a lot of money for a very big Lego box for the big kids.
After three years and lots of very costly studies and lots meetings and NIMBYism and accusations of racism and hand-wringing, all of which has led to inaction, we finally get a Superintendent who is dedicated to addressing the issue. In fact, he has instilled ACCOUNTABILITY and TIMELINES, which are shocking things indeed to the City that likes to kick an issue down the road until it becomes a crisis.
[A brief aside: some stalwart volunteers and friends have a litmus test for bringing volunteers onto their Board. The only people whom they will consider are those who "Get shit done." I am so very thankful that we have a GSD Superintendent as a replacement for the "Needs more Data and Further Review" Superintendent.]
There are four proposals to address the number of Legos in the Lego boxes and the angst and hyperbole is truly mind-numbing. Some of the parent comments that I've read on Twitter and Facebook make me want to bang my head against the wall. To whit: the school with the most students in it is the Fitzgerald School. So, all of the plans take some students out of the school, whether by grade or by changing the district lines. And yet: these ideas are an affront to the integrity of the NEIGHBORHOOD! Some lament if can we still be a neighborhood if our kids are going to different schools for different grades. So, does that mean that my neighbor, whose kids go to private school, and my other neighbor, whose kids go to St. Jude's, aren't actually my neighbors? Am I not part of the Fitzgerald neighborhood now that I have a kid in middle school? What about my friends with kids in high school? Do they even count?
When I was a wee lass in the Philadelphia School District in the 1970's, there was a big Thing going on in big cities throughout the country. It was called 'desegregation' and was achieved by busing. My family lived in the middle class, largely white, largely Jewish area in the Northeast of the city (known as, I am not kidding, the Great Northeast.) Kids were bused from their homes in North Philly to our elementary schools: these kids were on buses at 5 in the morning and got home at 5 at night, all for race equality and a more equal distribution of resources.
Nothing even close to what I experienced as a third and fourth grader in Philadelphia is happening here in Waltham, and everyone needs to calm down. In our very diverse city, half of our kids are going to be in Middle School together and the other half will join them in High School. For those of us with kids who play sports or who go to the Y or the Boys and Girls Club for after school programs or who go to camp in the summer, our kids already have friends from the other Waltham neighborhoods: kids who live in apartments, kids whose parents speak another language, kids who were born in another country, kids who live with one parent, kids whose families rely on public transportation, etc. Economically diverse; diversity in physical ability; diversity in language; diverse families of origin; racially diverse; diverse religious beliefs; diverse political ideas. This is what I love about Waltham and why we moved here: I didn't want my kids to go to school exclusively with kids who looked and sounded just like they do.
Neighborhoods are geographic and they're made by people doing neighborly things. If you're involved in your kid's school, then you will be involved if and when they go to a different school.
I implore you all, when you go to the community meetings and when you give feedback to School Committee members, to keep this in mind. Don't denigrate the betterment of education in Waltham by getting stuck on the millions of tiny issues: the tiny issues will work themselves out. They always do. Keep in mind the improvement to education for all of the kids in the district. The best prepared students don't benefit from going to a school with more than 530 kids; likewise, a school meant to hold 500 kids that has less than 400 can't get the resources that it needs.
It's time to stop the hand-wringing and angsting and move forward. #OneWaltham
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