{"id":10966,"date":"2017-02-13T13:54:34","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T18:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/?p=10966"},"modified":"2017-02-16T13:38:10","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16T18:38:10","slug":"opinion-no-proof-that-bcps-expensive-stat-program-helps-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/2017\/02\/13\/opinion-no-proof-that-bcps-expensive-stat-program-helps-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: No proof that BCPS’ expensive STAT program helps students"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_5574\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5574\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5574\" src=\"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/ann-Miller.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/ann-Miller.jpg 150w, http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/ann-Miller-97x146.jpg 97w, http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/ann-Miller-33x50.jpg 33w, http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/ann-Miller-50x75.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ann Miller<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><em>Submitted by Baltimore County Board of Education member Ann Miller:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\">What is the opportunity cost of the STAT program?\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\">STAT is a digital conversion initiative by Baltimore County Public Schools<\/span><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\">\u00a0that puts expensive HP EliteBook laptops in the hands of each of the system\u2019s 112,000 students, beginning in kindergarten.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">With the initial \u201cLighthouse School\u201d rollout started in fall 2014, we are now over half way through our third year of implementation with more than $275 million already invested, plus annual projected costs of $60 million. To put it in perspective, the opportunity cost of $60 million per year is 1,200 teacher salaries. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">This is the most expensive and experimental program in our school system history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">While the Lighthouse Schools were a way to \u201cstart this transition,\u201d Superintendent Dallas Dance has stated <\/span><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s3\" style=\"color: #000000;\">he never intended to pilot the initiative<\/span><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">. W<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">hile the Lighthouse Schools have the appearance of a pilot, they do not serve the purpose of a pilot, which is to implement the program on a small scale, measure results, then decide whether to proceed. The implementation was rolled out in such a way that there were no control groups to compare results to, and the board did not receive nor require metrics on student outcomes before proceeding with expansion of the program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">[pullquote]<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">This is the most expensive and experimental program in our school system history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">[\/pullquote]<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\">To date, no quantifiable evidence shows STAT, which stands for Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow, is improving student educational outcomes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\">Although the\u00a0rollout didn’t include any measures by which student success would be evaluated, we do have indicators that\u00a0<\/span>STAT is hurting our school system:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">PARCC scores have dropped<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">MAP scores are below the average in our state<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">MSA scores peaked in 2012 and have declined every year since, most substantially since 2014<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">NAEP scores have declined<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">SAT scores have declined starting in 2014<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Teachers are overwhelmed and leaving the system<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Through thousands of stakeholder emails and testimony, we know our school system is suffering in almost every department<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">The superintendent made cuts to over 300 out of 500 system programs to pay for STAT, but the board voted against my motion to require him to release information about the cuts.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">This valuable information would give us a quantifiable measure of the opportunity cost of STAT.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">There are three ways to consider opportunity cost: how STAT impacts pedagogy; the 300 programs cut; and the basic educational needs of the system that remain unmet because the funding and resource priority is on STAT rather than on these essential needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028h5\">\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">First, STAT\u2019s impact on pedagogy. What are we losing when instruction is delivered more through devices and less through teachers?\u00a0 The initiative was touted as being adaptive and differentiated — \u201cstudent-centered\u201d is the catch phrase. But teachers make nuanced changes in the way they deliver instruction to their class and to individual students constantly through real-time interaction and by personally knowing their students and their needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Second, there is opportunity cost in the programs already cut to pay for STAT.\u00a0 The timing of certain cuts suggest they could have been part of the reductions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Elimination of magnet program at Lutherville Lab<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Central office appropriation of school budgets<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Reduction of budgets for textbooks even when digital curriculum not available<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Transportation<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Grounds and building maintenance<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Print management consolidation<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Reduction of teachers through attrition<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Overuse of long-term subs (at lower salary)<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Delay in hiring for unfilled positions<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Curriculum development<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Athletic budgets<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Use of paraeducators as teachers (at lower salary)<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Excessing of paraeducators<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Using retread tires instead of new tires on buses<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Bus route changes to reduce bus drivers<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Bus capacity based on three to a seat instead of two<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Reduction of assistant principals<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Elimination of seven period day schedule<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Elimination of tech teachers<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Fewer teachers getting reimbursement for advanced degrees<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Reduction of GT classes in elementary schools<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Consolidation of Offices of Library Media Services and Instructional Technology under the Office of Digital Learning<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Paid parent helpers (at lower salary) rather than special education teachers or paraeducators in fulfilling special education service hours on student IEPs<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Reduction in teacher insurance benefits<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Think of this list as continuing on for over 300 programs, and you get the impact on the system of paying for STAT.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Third, there is opportunity cost in areas that may not have been part of the previous cuts, but are being neglected due to lack of funding or other resources. Facilities, curriculum, transportation, special education, magnet programs, Gifted & Talented, safety and discipline, teacher and principal retention, support staff, grading, and reducing class sizes, to name a few.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">While the below real-life scenarios are not in every classroom, the issues have been brought to my attention by multiple parents and teachers across the county.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Scenario One:\u00a0 To pay for STAT, we sacrificed funding for basic educational needs, such as teachers.\u00a0 As a result, overwhelmed teachers are unable to manage their excessive class sizes and discipline problems take an inordinate amount of their instructional time.\u00a0 At the same time, falling student outcomes have the central office pushing principals to raise their positive numbers like attendance, graduation, suspensions, and grades.\u00a0 So teachers are not getting the support they need with discipline issues from their school level administration who don\u2019t want to suspend students.\u00a0 While teachers deal with growing discipline problems in the classroom, they use the devices as babysitters to occupy kids who would otherwise be learning.\u00a0 These kids are abusing the devices — as there is inadequate supervision — to surf the net inappropriately or play games.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Scenario Two:\u00a0 To pay for STAT, bus routes were rerouted, which reduced the number of bus drivers.\u00a0 Drivers\u2019 daily routes were increased, and bus capacity was changed to be based on three students per seat instead of two.\u00a0 The result has been very long bus rides for some kids, including special needs students, up to one-and-a-half hours each way.\u00a0 Some buses are so overcrowded that kids are standing or sitting in the aisle.\u00a0 Students have been made to wait at the bus stop in winter weather for an hour or two after their regular pickup time, or in some cases the bus never shows at all.\u00a0 Factor in that children are waiting at the bus stop in the morning, after their parents have left for work, carrying a $1,200 laptop in their backpacks.\u00a0 These are significant safety issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[pullquote]<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\">I don\u2019t even think it is sustainable right now when we consider the devastating impact it is having on our system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[\/pullquote]Despite assurances from the superintendent and his staff — the superintendent has stated he \u201cwould stake [his] career on STAT\u201d — I don\u2019t believe that STAT is fiscally sustainable over time.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even think it is sustainable right now when we consider the devastating impact it is having on our system.\u00a0 At the February 7th board meeting, I made a motion for a one-year freeze on further expansion of STAT until it can be thoroughly evaluated for success and justified.\u00a0 The motion was voted down 9-2.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">The Baltimore County Board of Education has a legal and moral obligation to provide oversight and direction of our superintendent and school system.\u00a0 At every step of the way, we have had the ability to change direction.\u00a0 Let\u2019s have a reason for moving forward with a technology program before we plow forward blindly at the expense of students who have one shot to get a proper education.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">We owe it to our students, the taxpayers, our teachers, the parents, and to those who will come after us picking up the pieces of what we leave behind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><em><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">I write as an individual, not as a spokesman for the Baltimore County Board of Education.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-p2\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\">Ann Miller, At Large Member<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\">Board of Education of Baltimore County<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"gmail-m_-4393987667917436028m_1987567673494715922gmail-s1\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:amiller2@bcps.org\" target=\"_blank\">amiller2@bcps.org<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Submitted by Baltimore County Board of Education member Ann Miller:\u00a0<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[218,151,175,24],"class_list":["post-10966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-ann-miller","tag-bcps","tag-dallas-dance","tag-education-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10966"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10970,"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10966\/revisions\/10970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towsonflyer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}