Victoria Team Meeting - September 6th by Lia Martin

Victoria Team Meeting - September 6th by Lia Martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq Thoughts on San Antonio en-us 2017-08-17 15:55:27 UTC 2025-12-01 21:15:25 UTC hello@padlet.com In San Antonio and elsewhere, there are opportunities to train parents to advocate for the quality of their children’s education (by, for example, training parents to understand student achievement data, recognize high-quality instruction, and ask questions of teachers and school/district leaders). Have we considered engaging in this type of work as an organization? I see direct connections between this type of work and our strategic plan.• The article reinforced my belief that education reform and sound social policies go hand-in-hand. I’m really interested in learning more about SA Tomorrow. lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/181976153 2017-08-21 23:46:37 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/181976153 Thanks for sending us the article on San Antonio to read. It made me excited to visit TX again. I moved exactly a year ago and haven’t been back to visit yet. It was fun to read about San Antonio and see all the TEA and STAAR language. It definitely brought back memories from my 5 years in Dallas. There are similar things going on in Dallas, with lots of growth towards the north and they do have high performing school districts. There is so much land in TX. Honestly, if I were to buy a house there, I’d go north too. What parent wouldn’t want to put their kid in a beautiful school building, with great tech, teachers that look happy, and a school that does well on STAAR? I definitely have a new perspective, being a parent of 2 now, with one starting kinder in two years. I want my kiddos going to public school and I’ve started thinking of a mortgage as “tuition.” (At least people can buy houses in TX…in the Bay Area, you have to move to Sacramento to buy a house…)Anyway, another thing I thought of as I read was the parent’s quote, something like, “We don’t want backpacks…we want a good education!” This reminded me of a Revisionist History podcast comparing Bowdoin and Vassar. The podcast was about what Vassar is doing to increase the diversity of its student pop, and how they sacrifice things like excellent dining hall food, because every dollar counts and should be used strategically to meet your goals. lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/181976312 2017-08-21 23:47:47 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/181976312 A few reactions to the article:I feel like I've read this article before -- about another community and the challenges they face. This seems to be true many places. I often consider: What is the role of a school in a community? What is the role of a community in a school?Providing children with an excellent education is complex because everything from the infrastructure of the community to the beliefs of those community members and educators seep into the bloodstream of a school. "Not only are these districts predominantly Hispanic, they are less diverse than they were 25 years ago."This feels true of many schools and communities where I have worked. Is poor infrastructure or poor schooling the cause? How does racism show up here? How do low expectations show up here?What is the role of a school in the community? The quality of schools drives where people live.What is the role of a community in the success of a school? A revitalized urban core could attract diverse residents (racially, socio-economically, etc.). Who else is fighting to improve the quality of education children receive without directly touching the school itself and how are we holding them accountable?"They don't need backpacks. They need a good education."This quote captures, in my opinion, so much of what is wrong with public education. Not only do we need to radically reimagine the construction of schooling, but we need to throw low expectations - wrapped in veil of generosity and equity - into the fire and nurture a collective belief in human potential. In San Francisco, the fight for equity trumps expectations for rigorous content and instruction for all children. Quality instruction is not consistently viewed as a vehicle for equity. Teachers are rated "effective" even when test scores and other metrics contradict such a rating. An HR director revealed at a PLUS PD that this is both known and accepted among SFUSD principals. A school administrator observes as students litter the hallway with trash and rather than expect these students to take pride in their school and hold a value of leave it better than you found it the students return to class and the administrator picks up their trash. It's not worth it, the administrator reveals. What's really getting in the way of providing all children with an excellent education? Looking forward to the conversation. lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/183828840 2017-08-30 23:06:55 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/183828840 Thank you for sharing the article about San Antonio. I grew up in Houston and visited SA often. Most of my college friends are from SA, so this story sounds very familiar. As a graduate student, I got to read the case on unequal school funding (SAISD v Rodriguez). As a registered voter in Harris County, I recently voted on HISD’s role in the recapturing program, or Robin Hood. HISD was making a decision whether to stay involved in the program. I still am not sure how I feel about the way Texas funds schools. My time in HISD taught me that while it is a property rich district, many of its schools are severely under-funded. I grew up in a southeast neighborhood in Houston. The schools I attended were Title I, and I, too, had issues keeping up with my white peers during my time at the University of Texas at Austin. I had to make the move from Aerospace Engineering to Mathematics because of my failing grades in Physics and Chemistry. Instead of becoming an engineer, I chose to teach high school math. I still have conflicted emotions about that decision.When thinking about my family’s future, academically and financially, I have to think about what type of neighborhood and schools they attend. I have a sister that moved to the suburbs to ensure that her children attend higher performing schools. She teaches in the district, as well. I have seen that more and more of my relatives are moving to the suburbs. All of my relatives are originally from Mexico, so that must mean that the minority population of these districts is increasing. The district my sister works in, for example, has had a major increase in the number of Latino students. Currently, over half of their students are Hispanic. What I’m left wondering is: what will happen to the academic performance (especially in the state test, STAAR) if these schools don’t implement programs that ensure all students succeed? Will they keep lecturing, as they do in the high schools, hoping that students categorized as ELL will eventually learn to keep up? I wonder what will happen to the urban schools they leave under-enrolled. Will they just shut their doors, similar to what occurred at Dodson Elementary and Jones High School? These questions, among others, perturb me constantly. As a new member of TNTP, I want to ensure that I’m part of a solution. I might not be a community planner or developer, but I’d like to know that my efforts can help developers raise neighborhood satisfaction in our poorer communities. Although a lot of what I read sounded familiar, there was a new piece of information that I’ve always guessed was true but have never verified. While empty-nesters and young transplants pay premium prices for housing, they neglect school quality. There can be a way to get them emotionally invested in the communities they financially invest in. I am surrounded by “techies” in my personal life and constantly ask myself, “What can I do to get them involved in SFUSD and the SF community?” Any help with answering this question would be greatly appreciated.I truly value having the opportunity to reflect on this interesting and urgent article. I hope my response wasn’t too long or personal. As you can see, this issue hits pretty close for me. I hope my sincere interest and personal stake in this doesn’t reflect poorly on my professional capabilities. I see it as a strength and hope to use it to my advantage when building long-lasting relationships with our clients. I can’t wait to learn and experience more with our team at OrgWide! lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/183828971 2017-08-30 23:08:38 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/183828971 lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/183829189 Reading the Express-News article, I found myself drawing connections to the situation in Dallas and other major urban hubs across the growing South, West, and Sun Belt. I also couldn’t help but think about the intersection of education and housing policy. Reading the ‘SA Tomorrow’ Comprehensive Plan, I found it disheartening that they do not outline specific strategies to combat the economic segregation in the city. Instead, the authors of the plan seem to have accepted its lasting reality and have outlines systems to address its implications rather than its cause. I hope that the school system in SA can think of ways to further encourage economic integration in a city where 90% of the student body is on Free or Reduced lunch. How can upper and middle class students and their families be lured back into the city? Into the schools? What choice offerings can the school district prioritize to accelerate this integration? How can SA work with surrounding districts to accomplish this. Economic integration benefits everyone. I hope SA can rethink its strategy and incorporate a specific plan to address this. ]]> 2017-08-30 23:11:10 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/183829189 lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/183829291 I’m responding to the pre-work for our OrgWide meeting early because I have the same pre-work for an SAISD team call. I think my main reaction is that the economic incentives associated with property development are breeding some backwards priorities in local school districts. Maybe this was just the article’s angle, but it felt like the districts were more concerned with competing for affluent families than serving the families who are already in the districts. In other words, it read as though the end game is attracting more wealth to the school system, not serving all students well. I’m the Insight liaison for the SAISD TIF team, so I narrowed in on the SAISD stuff, and the quote that stuck out to me the most was Superintendent Martinez’s feelings about students from low-income backgrounds: “It makes the work that much harder for us because if a child lives on the East Side or lives in a poor neighborhood and can’t see themselves being successful, that’s more work for us.” I have a sense that there’s a culture of this sort of sentiment in the district. If the economic incentives do actually lead to better teaching and learning in schools, I guess it’s a win and maybe we shouldn’t care what the motive was, but it doesn’t sit well with me.]]> 2017-08-30 23:12:17 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/183829291 lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184094665 The article that was shared reminded me of a course I recently took in graduate school where we studied the intersection of housing and education, and specifically about how many years of legally supported segregation and discriminatory housing policies have reverberated through the public school system. This article reminded me (thematically) of both of these:

The Case for Reparations. Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/

To understand racial inequality in America, start with housing. Here, in the nation’s poorest major city, the segregationist roots go deep.
https://placesjournal.org/article/memphis-burning/ placesjournal.org

]]> 2017-08-31 21:29:02 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184094665 lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184266309 This article is an all-too-common example of the intersection between housing and education policy, or how housing policy IS education policy. I got the impression that part of SA’s solution to this challenge is to attract middle-class and wealthy families to the neighborhoods with low-performing schools. This might work, but is it really getting at the root problem? I would think the goal is to offer a great education to the families already in the neighborhoods. Attracting wealthier families may help with that, but it could also raise housing prices, lead to gentrification, and create stigma and increased racism around the quality of the schools and source of improvement (“these schools were bad until white kids started going here”). I wonder if it’s a political strategy to frame it around economic incentives. I’ve read about some universal pre-K efforts being framed around long-term economic benefits (less people going to jail, less $ spent on healthcare, less welfare/disability, etc) rather than around fairness and equity so that the policy would get support from both sides of the aisle.]]> 2017-09-01 17:17:54 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184266309 I'm reading everyone's comments so far and two points resonate 1) I've read this before, in that, this story sounds like the stories of many/all of the communities that we work with where children aren't getting a fair education/excellent teacher 2) The intersection with housing is crucial and would love whomever took the course in grad school to talk to us more about that. Just listening to NY Times podcast this morning about Harvey and how so much of the reason for the flooding has to do with the expansive growth outside of Houston and the building over the natural swamplands that used to catch the runoff that's now covered in concrete and contributing to the flooding. I wish we had more discussion at TNTP about this intersection of housing and schooling. (PS Also reminded what my TX colleagues already know too well - the STAAR passage rates are so 'high' compared to states like NY. Looking forward to discussion jessica_simmons3 https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184359502 2017-09-02 15:15:47 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184359502 Most of my thoughts, which seem to echo what others on the padlet have been saying, are around the school funding formulas and housing values that underlie a lot of this inequity or at the very least exacerbate it. I'm not surprised that property values play into inequitable school quality in San Antonio, but what did surprise me was how the article seemed to suggest (often through the quotes of local policymakers) that the solution was to attract more affluent residents to south and central San Antonio (implying that poor families would go ... where?), rather than radically rethink school funding formulas and tax distribution/redistribution in the San Antonio metro area to make sure every school in the city's environs has equal access to certain baseline conditions. ("The district will have to do something that's unusual for educators: talk to developers ... the city's SA Tomorrow comprehensive plan recommends policies that call for infill development and adaptive reuse of underutilized or abandoned structures in the urban core."). Why are we betting on businesses and wealthier residents to uplift the school conditions in areas of concentrated poverty? Is that a naive question? Tax policy/school finance is not my area of expertise so I'm not exactly equipped to suggest what radical rethinking might look like myself, but I always wonder if it is possible to suggest that a certain proportion of property taxes for the entire San Antonio metro area get pooled and distributed equally to schools, over and above which communities could raise additional funds. I would love to be able to dig in more here since this is an issue that cross-cuts so many of our client districts (and is likely only going to get worse as foundations and funders move away from direct grants to districts). lia_martin https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184906360 2017-09-05 19:09:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184906360 elizabeth_blair1 https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184925439 I have very similar reflections to many who have already responded. I read this and though of my past experiences in Chicago as an educator, and in the last two years as a parent. I knew I was committed to sending my child when he was old enough to a Chicago Public School because I had the ability to live in the part of the city I wanted to in order to ensure he went to a high quality school. So often this is not the case for all, in particular the families I've worked with, but yet city after city experiences this same problem. I truly believe strong community schools have the opportunity to contribute to transforming communities but they cannot do the work alone. I wonder about the impact the resident described in the end of the article can have, reflecting on his own experience, remaining loyal to his neighborhood and family, while still being concerned about his children experiencing the same thing he did. His decision to stay in that neighborhood can have an impact- but what will the cost be? How can we stop failing generation after generation of children through the this cycle of low expectations? I see it now in the district I'm in and it seems so contradictory to all that is advocated for in terms of equity and fighting systemic oppression. ]]> 2017-09-05 20:10:51 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/184925439 Key Themes heather_barondess https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/185001264

· What is the obligation of the school in holistically educating and supporting kids? And what is the role of the community in the success of a school? (Community broadly defined)

· “They don’t need backpacks, they need a good education.”

· School Finance, baseline expectations for all schools

· Economic integration as a key strategy for school improvement.

· “I’ve read this story before.”

· STAAR passage rates

]]> 2017-09-06 04:51:10 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/185001264 andrea_henkel https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/185171909 It's interesting - over a decade ago, when I was in college, I attended a lecture about a trend of families declaring bankrupcy because they were moving to neighborhoods where the school districts were better. This is obviously not a new phenomenon, but that doesn't make it any less dire.]]> 2017-09-06 15:29:57 UTC https://padlet.com/lia_martin/e9ezrylyi9pq/wish/185171909