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Rethinking High School, Part III: School upgrades will need support
HUNTINGTON -- Cabell County Schools' quest to improve education at its two high schools won't be accomplished by curriculum changes alone, say experts who point to a variety of obstacles to better learning.
The chief question, they say, is whether the principal stakeholders will be convinced to get on board with the goal of better preparing students to compete in a global workforce -- one that is seeing more and more better-educated students from other countries landing jobs.
That bigger question leads to more specific ones, most of which are likely to be part of the discussion when Cabell County Schools' high school restructuring committee begins its work in earnest later this fall.
- Will policymakers at the state and local levels require students to take more challenging classes, perhaps at earlier ages, or review school calendar restrictions to see if they should be changed?
- Will more parents start emphasizing the importance of education to their children and demand that their youngsters work harder at gaining important skills?
- Will teachers buy into initiatives and perhaps new pay structures aimed at closing achievement gaps?
- Will the people in charge of funding commit the dollars needed to attract better qualified teachers and to help develop the instructional skills of all the state's teachers?
- And will the students themselves understand better futures hinge greatly on how diligently they work at their studies?
"There has to be a paradigm shift of the general public," longtime Cabell County educator Denis Chapman said. "They have to buy into it. You have to change attitudes toward education and toward what a school is."
The restructuring initiative was kicked off in June with the showing of "Two Million Minutes," a documentary film demonstrating that students in India and China are outpacing American students, to a large degree because the education systems in those countries are more demanding.
The experts say that disparity threatens the futures of students in the United States, as they must compete in a global marketplace for jobs. In addition, the lack of a skilled, educated work force could hurt the national and local economies as employers lean toward locating in places where the labor pool is better educated. That could especially hurt West Virginia, which has one of the nation's least educated adult populations.
Geraldine Sawrey, Cabell County's assistant superintendent over school improvement and leader of the restructuring committee, said the group is expected to come back with recommendations in the spring. From there, subcommittees will be formed to study and research the recommendations.
"But it can't just be lip service," said Chapman, who also is president of the Cabell County Education Association. "Unless Cabell County and West Virginia decide to think outside the box and do things completely different, it's just another Band-Aid."
It starts at home
Among the key challenges is encouraging more support for students at home, Cabell County Superintendent William Smith and other educators said. Parents, Smith said, have to instill a mindset in their children that academic success is vital to a better life.
"Getting an education was considered basic to success and there was no question that a student was expected to attend school regularly and do his very best to make good grades," Smith said. "Presently, we have fewer adults passing this intrinsic ambition on to this generation."
Moppy Lavery is trying to change that. She has given freely of her time at Huntington High School for the past nine years, spanning the high school careers of three children, one of whom is still there. She is a member of the restructuring committee.
"I wanted to make a difference and improve the educational environment," Lavery said.
She and Patty Steel, another Huntington High mom, have started an Academic Boosters Club at the school with the hope of giving accolades to students who perform well in the classroom. The club's goal is to encourage all students to strive for academic success and remember that being smart is cool.
"We have to make them feel like academics are important," Lavery said. "By having a good strong academic background, it makes for a smoother transition to college."
But many parents aren't like Steel and Lavery. Cabell County officials say it's probably split down the middle. For every parent who pushes a child toward academic success, there are parents who either don't care or get upset with teachers because they felt their child deserved a better grade.
"Attitudes are much different today (among parents)," Chapman said. "No longer do they respect the teacher. They have become quite confrontational."
Hazel Palmer, who retired as president of non-profit The Education Alliance Aug. 31, said tougher economic times, more single parents and kids growing up without role models all have contributed to the problem.
"It's critically important because some students don't have a lot of support for achieving," Palmer said. "They're being told by their peers or adults that they don't have what it takes or they aren't expected to do well. There's a 100 percent correlation in having that concerned adult and students doing better in school."
That could be easier said than done in West Virginia, where only 70 percent of students live in married-couple families (tied for 21st among states), and 26 percent live in families with incomes below the poverty line (47th), according to the 2005 American Community Survey.
Besides giving students more support, Thomas Friedman, who authored the book "The World is Flat," urges parents to take more responsibility for their actions in front of their children.
"... this crisis we see in our schools has its roots in American homes increasingly devoid of books and printed material, where children turn to television, computers and electronic game for entertainment -- and see the adults around them doing the same," Friedman writes. "Education begins in a home where reading is intrinsically valuable and necessary; where recognition of the hard work associated with education and doing well in school are top priorities; and where parents join schools in having high expectations for their children's success. We need a new generation of parents ready to administer tough love."
Steve Paine, state superintendent of schools, said during his East Asian visits this summer that it was evident children had supportive parents, which made it easy for the teachers to push the kids harder.
"The East Asian parents get on the school system for not getting tough enough," Paine said. "We struggle from not having the strong parent connection. That's really unfortunate. We can set the bar as high as we want, but we have to have support."
Lavery and Huntington High history teacher Bruce Senior, who has two sons in high school, said they don't have any answers for bringing parents back into the schools. They hope Edline, a new online grading program that allows parents to check their child's progress on a weekly basis, will at least help by placing more accountability in the home.
"It's hard to get people involved unless there is a problem or they see it as a problem," Senior said. "But for overall improvements to the school, people aren't interested in that."
In the classroom
In the same way involved parents cheer their kids on from the homefront, teachers must also do the same in the classroom, although their responsibility lies in the challenges they present to students.
"Teachers, principals ... they have a moral obligation to step up their efforts," Paine said. "And we have excellent teachers, and they can rise to the occasion."
Paine acknowledged that because today's students learn differently, teachers must present lessons more creatively, with student-led discussions and by using technology to make the global stage relevant. He said he's seen that happen in some classrooms, but if it's not happening across the board, it's the students who lose out.
"I think our very best and brightest teachers have taught kids this way for years," Paine said. "But I think we also have traditional teachers still teaching memorization."
Cabell Midland world history teacher Rick Newman, who has nearly three decades of experience, said teachers are willing to change, but the system in which they work almost prevents it.
"The biggest lie in education is that teachers are afraid of change," Newman said. "We'll do whatever it takes to make learning better."
Newman said the blame really falls on time, which he calls "a teacher's biggest enemy," often turning teachers' planning periods into catch-up time.
"You're required to do so much during your planning period that I don't get to do my planning," he said. "Then I have to go home and do it."
Denis Chapman said a lack of professional development is hurting teachers' ability to make a difference. Those concerns have only grown larger new technologies have been integrated into classrooms.
"There is a disconnect between availability and application," he said. "It goes back to staff development. Not only time to learn the technology but time to development lesson plans around it."
Paine doesn't argue that point. He said the biggest challenges he sees aren't just changes to the curriculum. Instead, he said a major hurdle is helping teachers by giving them more time, offering more professional development and rewarding them with monetary incentives.
In Singapore, Paine said, teachers are required to engage in 100 hours of relevant professional development and are well-compensated for their time.
"We don't give teachers enough time," Paine said. "We don't have a structured professional development system that's working. We need to provide teachers with the time and resources they need."
At the desk
The students also must be willing to work harder, recognizing that the world they are about to enter changes just about every day. But most officials agree the system around them has to change first.
Jordan Sager, who graduated from Huntington High School in June, said in some classes, she never felt challenged.
"I worked hard, but I worked hard because that's what I do," Sager said. "I challenged myself even more than the school system challenged me."
Those who argue that raising the academic standards will only result in more students failing or dropping out can look at the 2008 ACT data that suggests students respond to being challenged.
The average composite scores from students who reported to be taking core classes or higher was 21.8, more than a full point ahead of the state average and .7 of a point ahead of the national average. Those who reported taking less than core courses scored an average of 19.5.
Deborah Chapman, who teaches family and consumer science at Huntington High School and is married to Denis Chapman, said many students just don't want to do the work.
"I hear students say 'I turned it in.' But they didn't do a very good job of what they turned in," Deborah Chapman said. "But they think they should get full credit."
Some of it has to do with convincing students that the work they put in now will be rewarded, not just with a grade, but with knowledge that has monetary value in the workforce. Even Eric Newfeld, a Cabell Midland sophomore who has solid parental support and takes advanced classes, said it's not easy for a 17-year-old to think in terms of a career and global competition.
"No one is really thinking about a job yet," he said. "Kids feel disconnected. They say, 'That's all the way in China and not here.'"
Sager said the current generation of students has to take ownership of their education, be more willing to take advanced classes and push themselves for success even when no one else believes in them. And that's not easy for a generation that, Sager said, lacks work ethic and been given a lot with nothing asked in return.
Say it, mean it, do it
Making significant changes in high school education -- and perhaps in the lower grades leading into high school -- likely means more costs, but Paine said there is no way to quantify them. Most of the financial resources are already in the budget, he said, but should be shifted from areas that are thriving to areas that need a boost -- or for something new altogether. He and Smith said the Legislature is going to have to be willing to part with dollars, because part of fixing the problem is offering a competitive wage. Another is investing more in teacher development, others say.
"We also have to recognize the importance of making the teaching profession attractive to quality graduates," Smith said. "The data is clear that the most effective use of resources is at the point of learning -- the activities in the classroom. Teacher pay has to remain on the table."
Sen. Bob Plymale, D-Wayne and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said he's been working for the past 16 years to make changes in public policy. But he acknowledged the battle is far from over.
"We've got to get very serious about what we're teaching in the classroom," said Plymale, who also will serve on the restructuring committee. "And we have to put more money into professional development."
Plymale said the way kids are learning today is far different than when he was a kid. He said he learned in a "write-it-down society," which worked well for him. But students today are more instantaneous in absorbing information and utilize different methods to do that, including technology.
"Technology should not replace what a teacher is doing," Plymale cautioned. "But it should enhance it."
Plymale also cited the new school aid formula, which gives counties more money to use for pay increases, projects or programs. For Cabell County, he said, that means an extra $500,000.
He also hopes the new WESTEST 2, the state's achievement test, will show that standards and expectations of students are being raised.
But he said these are just a few things among many that need to be done.
"We still have a long way to go," Plymale said. "That's why I think it's imperative to do it quickly. Yesterday was when we should have done it."
