“FROM POVERTY TO PROMISE ”

Presenter: Kriner Cash, Ed.D. SuperintendentSt. Bonaventure Education Forum

April 9, 2018

THE BPS DISTRICT PROFILE

�33,834 students – 56 schools�80% non-white; 47% African-American�89% receive free/reduced lunch�57 of 58 schools are Title I sites�90% BPS students have extraordinary

needs

2016-2017 Data1

OVERVIEW OF EXTRAORDINARY NEEDS� Students who present behavioral issues that may result in suspension

� Students with attendance issues (At-Risk, Chronic, Severe)

� Students who are pregnant and/or parenting

� Students experiencing homelessness

� Students with Disabilities (SWD) whose disability significantly impedes their success in school

� Students who have been traumatized (i.e. victims of bullying, violence, domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, war, refugee camps, etc.)

� ELL students (New Americans) displaying adjustment issues

� Students experiencing mental illness

� Students with medical, cognitive and/or behavior issues that may hinder academic success (Medically ill, 504 students, lead paint poisoning, etc. )

� Disconnected students with engagement issues (in school but not engaged academically)

� Students experiencing the combined consequences of abject poverty (homelessness, foster care, public assistance, over-aged and under-credited for their grade level, and/or combinations from list above) 2

2016-2017 Data

BPS LINGUISTIC PROFILE

� 33,834 students

� 5,392 English Language Learners

� 2,024 Spanish Bilingual

� 84 world languages spoken

� 97 countries of origin

� 84% receive free/reduced lunch

� 20.5% SWD

2024

692622

511

492

295

258

241137 120

Spanish

Karen

Arabic

Somali

Burmese

Nepali

Bengali

Swahili

Karenni

Mai Mai

Top 10 Languages 2016-2017

URBAN EDUCATION REFORM AS A MAJOR CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE

The Superintendent as Lead Education Ambassador and Children’s Rights Activist

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Racial Justice Social Justice

Criminal Justice Juvenile Justice

Economic Justice Employment Justice

Housing Justice Transportation Justice

Equity Justice Equality Justice

Curriculum Justice Instructional Justice

Grading Justice Homework Justice

Assignment Justice Scheduling Justice

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Gender Justice Expectation Justice

Policy Justice Literacy Justice

Disproportionality Justice Testing Justice

Food Justice Wellness Justice

Funding Justice Narrative Justice

Environmental Justice Mental Health Justice

Safety Justice Violence Justice

We must work TOGETHER to break the chains of injustice.

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The Pervasiveness of Discrimination

Rec

eivi

ng a

prom

otio

n

Obt

aini

ng b

ank

loan

sG

ettin

ga

job

Buying a home Hailing a taxi

Getting insuranceRenting an apartment

Arrested for drug–related crimes Qua

lity

of m

edic

alca

re

Purchasinga carPulled over by police

Suspended from preschool

Cost of bail

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Public Education Must Be Geographically Contextualized and Aligned

Public Education

Community

City & County

Region

State National Landscape

Global Landscape

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SCHOOL SYSTEMS WITHOUT TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP“Activity versus Productivity”

Improved Outcomes for ALL StudentsGOAL 9

“BUFFALO’S NEW EDUCATION BARGAIN: A CITY OF CHOICE, A SCHOOL SYSTEM OF EXCELLENCE”

The Buffalo City School District (BCSD) is the second largest, and most culturally and linguistically diverse school district in NewYork State. Once seen as a failing district, Buffalo Public Schools is in full turnaround mode. The District has made a deal that requires the collaboration of parents, children, and the City of Buffalo called, “The New Education Bargain with Students and Parents (NEB).” Through strategic innovation within the NEB, graduation rates are rising, student growth and achievement scores are rising, and the district is providing greater programmatic access, quality, and opportunity for all students than ever before.

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Vision – Journey – Destination“Leadership matters”

“Organizations move at the speed of trust”

“Fail to plan, plan to fail”

GAME CHANGER I

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Human Capital and Capacity Building

“The right people doing the right work at the right time”

“There is no growth in your comfort zone. There is no comfort in your growth zone”

“If you don’t have pressure on the carbon, you never get to the diamond”

GAME CHANGER II

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Organizational Culture and Climate“Team work makes the dream work”

“High expectations, high reliability, high accountability”

“Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets”

GAME CHANGER III

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Leading and Managing the Political Landscape“Change comes about from the inside out”

“Be the change you seek”

“Master The Three R’s: Relationships, Relationships, Relationships”

GAME CHANGER IV

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Teaching and Learning“The main thing”

“Where the game is won or lost”

“We must give 100% effort to 100% of our students 100% of the time. So too, must our students and parents.”

GAME CHANGER V

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IMPROVED RELATIONSHIPS & PARTNERSHIPS� Board of Education

� Parent Groups

� Teachers/Principals

� Mayor’s Office

� Common Council

� Strategic Partners

� Business Community

� Foundations and Philanthropy

� Higher Education

� Faith-Based Organizations

� Health Care Organizations

� Our New Americans Community

� Law Enforcement

� The Local Judiciary

� NYS Education Department/Commissioner

� WNY Legislative Delegation 16

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RigorousEarly

Elementary Education

RigorousEarly

Elementary Education

Strong Community

SchoolsNew

Innovative High Schools

Extended Learning

Excellence for All Our Students

Services for Our

Neediest Children and

Families

New Relationship

with Our Teachers

Strong Community Schools

• 15 Community Schools launched

• 42 Collegiate, corporate, faith-based, and healthcare partners support 4 Promise Zones city wide

• Z-Space Computer labs at Saturday Academies

• 41,000+ free meals served Saturday & evening programs

• 26,000 participants in parent centers, Saturday & evening programs

• Over 100 courses available for children and adults

What We Have Accomplished So FarRigorous Early Elementary Education

• Courses offered for expecting, new and pre-school parents focusing on health, developmental milestones, and academic/vocabulary readiness

• PK-2 Class sizes reduced to 18-20 in our neediest schools• Literacy Coaches in every elementary school• Designed and disseminated grade level expectations template for each

subject• Integrating GT instructional elements into K– 4 curricula District-wide

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RigorousEarly

Elementary Education

Strong Community

SchoolsNew

Innovative High Schools

Extended Learning

Excellence for All Our Students

Services for Our

Neediest Children and

Families

New Relationship

with Our Teachers

Extended Learning Excellence for All Our Students• Enriched after school programs at every building 5 days a week• Providing consistent programming:

o 3-Part framework for afterschool o Partner with CBO’so 2 hours per day / 5 days per week (ES)

• Saturday academies for all families in Community Schools• Created and launched enriched summer camp curricula & programs

What We Have Accomplished So FarNew Innovative High Schools

• 10 New Innovative High Schools/Programs

• 7 New Career Technical Education certifications established

• Curriculum designed to align on-time student graduation with emerging industries

• 4 Virtual credit recovery centers launched to help over-aged, under-credited high school students in a non-traditional, flexible setting

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Services for Our Neediest Children and Families• Mental Health clinics in every school and one at the Adult Education Center

• 4 new comprehensive Parent Centers launched to empower, engage and educate families

• Say Yes Family Support Specialist in every school

• Legal Clinics for families

• Mobile Health Units to provide comprehensive health services

• Hired 10 multilingual cultural staff members and expanded ELL services

• Creation of a Parent Congress to provide opportunities for parent groups to have optimum representation in district level decision making

• National grant awards to improve student health and wellness

• My Brother’s Keeper programming for males of color district-wide

• Comprehensive array of strategic partners, vendors, and CBO’s for each school supporting student needs

RigorousEarly

Elementary Education

Strong Community

SchoolsNew

Innovative High Schools

Extended Learning

Excellence for All Our Students

Services for Our

Neediest Children and

Families

New Relationship

with Our Teachers

New Relationship with Our Teachers • Settlement of contracts with BTF & BCSA• Additional 25 minutes of instructional time• Laser focus on quality instruction, student work, course rigor, assessment, time,

& high expectations• CLRT, Trauma-Informed Care and Technical Assistance Center on

Disproportionality training for all teachers and principals• MBK - Partnering with Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, NY, to increase the

number of minority teachers in the education pipeline, as a way to diversify our teaching staff

What We Have Accomplished So Far

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What We Have Accomplished So FarTechnology Integration and Upgrades

9 Phase-in iPads for literacy and numeracy enrichment in all district Pre-K through Grade 2 classrooms

9 All elementary schools have access to a library of over 12,000 high quality digital books (myON)

9 Phase-in of iPads and laptops for middle school and high school students

9 Access to computer labs for parents and students at Saturday Academies

9 4 web-based credit recovery centers launched to help over-aged, under-credited high school students in a non-traditional, flexible setting

9 Virtual 3-D learning (z-space) designed to expand hands-on science learning through state-of-the-art technology

9 Audio/visual digital kiosks at all Parent Centers and the Central Registration Office to provide information on district schools and services

9 Approved Smart Schools Plan9 Partnership with Sprint to expand community and in-

home internet connectivity9 Phase-in of 1:1 computing for students in grades 3-12

(20,000)

9 Access for teachers to a rich library of over 7000 online cognitively challenging, cross-curricular, standards-aligned, real-world content lesson plans (NextLesson)

9 Comprehensive training for teachers supporting the integration of mobile technologies in the classroom

New Innovative

High Schools

RigorousEarly

Elementary Education

Strong Community

Schools

Extended Learning

Excellence for All Our Students

Services for Our Neediest Children and

Families

New Relationship

with Our Teachers

9 Expanded opportunities for online initial credit attainment including Advanced Placement courses

9 Launch of Coding Clubs and youth technology mentors

9 Implementation of Schoology and Office 365 cloud tool

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What We Have Accomplished So Far

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9 Graduation rates climbing from 57% to 64% since 2015.

9 Grades 3-8 proficiency rates in ELA & Math rising since 2015.

9 Number of schools in good standing rising from 14 to 26 since 2015.

9 24 of 25 Receivership Schools met Demonstrable Improvement Index Targets during their first 2 years in Receivership.

9 21 Priority or Focus schools have increased achievement levels of students and moved into a higher performing accountability level since 2015.

9 While still in need of improvement, SATISFACTORY attendance rates are UP from 40% to 44%; CHRONIC absence rates are DOWN from 33% to 30%; and suspensions have decreased 23% since 2015.

Curriculum – rigorous, research-based curriculum plan for all content areas

Materials – rigorous, research-based materials for all content areas

Instruction – rigorous, research-based content, high expectations, & best practices

Assessment – research-based, efficient tools for driving instruction

Grading – consistent, equitable, effective grading practices district-wide

Technology – accessible, world-class learning technology for all students

Extended Learning Time – engaging, enriching, motivating learning opportunities that improve student achievement

Special Education/Multilingual –rigorous, research-based, culturally & linguistically responsive instruction that improves academic proficiency for ELLs & SWDs

Professional Development – data-driven, research-based PD to align and improve instructional practice

OUR VISION & OUR WORK

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State Standards – rigorous, college-and-career-ready standards aligned with effective curricula, instructional strategies, and assessments to achieve them.

Teaching & Learning – selective hiring, development, and strategic assignment to schools and teams.

School Design – schools with restructured teams and schedules; personalized learning and support that responds to student needs and promotes instructional collaboration and excellence.

Leadership – transformational leadership roles with clear goals, accountability and career paths; and, given the guidance, flexibility and support to achieve results.

OUR VISION & OUR WORK School Support – a central office team that serves as a strategy partner; leverages data and resources to identify and share best practices; and, works together to increase school effectiveness, efficiency, and student outcomes.

Funding – systems that allocate resources –people, time, and money – equitably, based on student and school needs.

Partners – partnering with parents, families, community organizations, Say Yes, Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo, Cullen Foundation, Oshei Foundation, TNTP and many others to better serve students’ needs.

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NEB Key Outcomes• An urban school district in “Good Standing” • An effective teacher for every student• Significant increases in student growth and achievement• Greater percentages of students finishing college• A large, strong, stable middle class in Buffalo

OUR VISION & OUR WORK

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DISCUSSION—QUESTIONS—COMMENTS

For additional information visit www.buffaloschools.org26