Ideas for 2022: One School at a Time
I’m hesitant to make resolutions both personally and professionally. At least in my experience, there’s little correlation between declaring something a resolution and meeting the goal. If I end up following through on a goal or undertaking, it’s not because I mentally labeled it “resolution” or wrote it down, or said it three times fast in a public setting. It’s because I liked how it made me feel (running) or because I could see my progress (crossword puzzles) or because enjoyed the communal elements and positive feedback loop (cooking). In other words, when I set goals, the most important thing I can do is figure out how to fit them into that “pleasure, progress, and community” framework.
In any case, in lieu of resolutions, over the next few weeks, I’ll write about a few ideas I have for 2022 that are swirling around my mind at the moment, ideas that I haven’t been able to dislodge, ideas that could potentially tap into that framework, and ideas that could become projects and initiatives for the Goyen Foundation in 2022 and beyond. Some are larger scale. Some are trivial. All interest me. The first idea is the One School at a Time Project.
I recently noticed that the state of Massachusetts publishes a partially complete district curriculum map that details the various curricula used across different subjects and different age groups (High School Science or Elementary Literacy, for example). I went through the map and identified every district in the state that uses Fountas and Pinnell and Units of Study, two discredited curricula, as their elementary literacy curricula. I then identified the local newspapers and contact information for school committees in the relevant districts (59 in total, though the map I was using is incomplete).
My eventual plan is to select one elementary school in one of these districts, get to know the parents and community it serves, and work with interested parents to advocate for the adoption of a higher quality curriculum. If I support the parents in launching this campaign, then I’ll choose another school in a different district and go from there. Hence, the One School at a Time Project.
Right now, I’m pouring over data about reading proficiency, trying to identify outlier schools in Massachusetts (schools with low percentages of low incomes students and low test scores and vice versa), and building a rough advocacy toolkit (sample op-ed, general talking points, questions) about the importance of using high-quality literacy curricula.
Interestingly, the Massachusetts Department of Education seems to agree with the premise underlying this project—that districts and schools need to prioritize high-quality literacy curricula. Last year, the DoE offered a grant to support schools’ transition to new, high-quality literacy curricula and instructional materials. They are even prioritizing grants to schools trying to move away from Fountas and Pinnell and Units of Study (among several other ineffective but slightly less popular curricula) with the hopes of accelerating the switch to high-quality curricula.
As I develop the toolkit, select a district and individual school to partner with, I’ll report back and share it here.
