Barbara Petersen for ABQ School Board

And here is more from me:

I was disappointed this morning as I listened to Reveal, one of my favorite NPR shows. They joined the now popular chorus touting the “science of reading,” with phonics being the simplified silver bullet to children’s reading.

Reading instruction has to be AND, not or. If phonics is the stand alone in reading instruction it will be meaningless, especially for language learners, learners in dual language programs and students who are disengaged with the curriculum for reasons of culture, history or opportunity.

The conversation around the “3-cuing system” seems very orchestrated and willfully blind to its actual content. In fact, the first part of analyzing a child’s reading (with the 3-cuing system) is how are they using knowledge of phonics. Guessing is ONLY a very initial step that goes along with how to handle a book, what a word is and knowing that reading makes sense. Children already have some knowledge of the world and of language that will help them. That needs to expand along with the development of phonics knowledge. Language development and background knowledge must be an intentional focus of instruction as well. Different children need different amounts of explicit phonics instruction and the best teaching differentiates, making sure that children receive the needed level of support.

Check out the VOX article, “The New Science of Reading, Explained,” by Rachel M. Cohen. Reading instruction has to be AND, along with teachers who have the tools, time and resources to teach. The current simplification of an easy “fix” will succeed in greatly enriching a set of publishers and adding to the narrative attacking public schools. It will again fail students by ignoring the complexity of student learning and the different needs of different children.

Yes, phonics, AND…

My sister wrote this excellent letter to the editor of her paper. It is worth sharing because it speaks to the nationwide distortion of what young children do and don't need:

Monday's headline contained the "shocking" news that 80% of Sitka's kindergarteners are "reading deficient." In the school board discussion, no one mentioned the possibility that having state reading standards and teaching to them may be a poor approach to educating young children. It used to be that kindergarten was a place for socialization and teaching reading readiness. Actual reading was taught in first grade. Now our modern world wants things to move faster. We expect preschools to fill the role once filled by kindergarten, and identify the problem as a shortage of preschools and the failure of every child to attend one. But developmentally, a 5-year-old is still a 5-year-old, and not every one is ready to read. A clue -- the number of children "deficient" drops to 53% in first grade, and to 40% by second grade. Yes, we have excellent teachers, but perhaps they don't deserve ALL the credit? Many children who were not ready to read at 5 have caught up by age 7. Individual reading plans are an excellent idea, because every child is an individual! Every child deserves one -- not just the "deficient" ones, but the average ones, and the advanced ones who might be bored by holding them to the standard. By all means, let's recognize our children as individuals. And let's recognize our teachers as talented professionals who would best be allowed to do their job with all their creativity and appreciation of their students' individual talents, rather than forcing them to teach to the test.
Kathy Kyle

And Wilson Middle School's garden is looking good!

HHS Marching Band is sounding good!

This is exactly what has been on my mind; Our children are living a monumental moment in history. We need to help them make sense of their role in this moment, to grow in empathy, in awareness of their strength, courage, resilience, to welcome them back to physical school with love, excitement and the power of our relationships. The last thing any of us need is to instill a sense of panic over artificially imposed benchmarks that did not serve learning in the best of situations.
Duana Draszkiewicz
December 31, 2020 at 11:59 AM ·
Please copy & paste this far & wide, especially to families with school-age kids and to anyone connected with the public school system.
••••••••••••
From a letter sent to Heather Cox Richardson, with Intro comment here by Joyce Johns Hutchinson.
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Posting this "letter" found in the comments in HCR's Sub Stack letter this morning. This goes to all the educators who subscribe to this forum:
Written by a principal in Ballard, WA:
( "A principal who recognizes the value of creative activities for children.". jjh)
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“Dear Friends and Colleagues:
"I am writing today about the children of this pandemic. After a lifetime of working among the young, I feel compelled to address the concerns that are being expressed by so many of my peers about the deficits the children will demonstrate when they finally return to school.
My goodness, what a disconcerting thing to be concerned about in the face of a pandemic which is affecting millions of people around the country and the world. It speaks to one of my biggest fears for the children when they return. In our determination to “catch them up,” I fear that we will lose who they are and what they have learned during this unprecedented era.
What on earth are we trying to catch them up on? The models no longer apply, the benchmarks are no longer valid, the trend analyses have been interrupted. We must not forget that those arbitrary measures were established by people, not ordained by God. We can make those invalid measures as obsolete as a crank up telephone! They simply do not apply.
"When the children return to school, they will have returned with a new history that we will need to help them identify and make sense of. When the children return to school, we will need to listen to them. Let their stories be told. They have endured a year that has no parallel in modern times. There is no assessment that applies to who they are or what they have learned.
Remember, their brains did not go into hibernation during this year. Their brains may not have been focused on traditional school material, but they did not stop either. Their brains may have been focused on where their next meal is coming from, or how to care for a younger sibling, or how to deal with missing grandma, or how it feels to have to surrender a beloved pet, or how to deal with death. Our job is to welcome them back and help them write that history.
"I sincerely plead with my colleagues, to surrender the artificial constructs that measure achievement and greet the children where they are, not where we think they 'should be.' Greet them with art supplies and writing materials, and music and dance and so many other avenues to help them express what has happened to them in their lives during this horrific year. Greet them with stories and books that will help them make sense of an upside-down world.
They missed you. They did not miss the test prep. They did not miss the worksheets. They did not miss the reading groups. They did not miss the homework. They missed you.
"Resist the pressure from whatever ‘powers that be’ who are in a hurry to 'fix' kids and make up for the 'lost' time. The time was not lost, it was invested in surviving an historic period of time in their lives—in our lives. The children do not need to be fixed. They are not broken. They need to be heard. They need be given as many tools as we can provide to nurture resilience and help them adjust to a post pandemic world.
"Being a teacher is an essential connection between what is and what can be. Please, let what can be demonstrate that our children have so much to share about the world they live in and in helping them make sense of what, for all of us has been unimaginable. This will help them– and us– achieve a lot more than can be measured by any assessment tool ever devised. Peace to all who work with the children!”
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Here is my Thanksgiving update:

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is the most difficult year many of us have experienced. And yet, I have never been more grateful for our community and the support and love so many of you have shown for each other, for our students and families.

For our students, I recognize the hardships, the sacrifices, the losses you may be grieving, but this is a historic moment and by staying home, you are not only keeping yourselves safe, but giving a tremendous gift, playing a critical role in keeping our community and families safe. This will not go on forever. With the promise of a vaccine coming in the new year and heightened awareness of COVID-safe practices, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you are struggling, reach out to your teachers, counselors, friends for help. There are resources out there that can help.

For families, the always-challenging work of raising children and keeping a household together has had incredible demands added on, for some the stress of unemployment, for others the stress of working while parenting, and all becoming involved in their children’s education in a whole new way.

For educators, who also face the combined stress of working, parenting and working with their own children, the new world of remote instruction, building relationships, creating authentic and engaging curriculum have been an exhausting challenge, with some wonderful and creative outcomes along with the struggles.

For those of us on the board, we are acutely aware that our decision to remain remote has impacted the community more drastically than any previous decision. No matter what we decided, some would be grateful, some would be outraged. All of us are dealing with a reality we cannot wish away. We cannot forget that at this moment, our country has lost over a quarter of a million people, more than two 9/11’s a week in deaths! For some, this may seem remote, but for many in our community, it has been a catastrophe. As a board, based on science, evidence and no systematic national data, we decided to make physical health for students, staff and families the first priority, understanding that the decision would create other incredibly difficult stresses. However, we knew that, while young children may not be as vulnerable to COVID-19, their safety also depends on the adults in their lives being healthy. With many educators in high-risk groups and a decade-long teacher shortage, we cannot keep schools open if educators become ill.

By remaining remote, there would be stability and the district could focus on solving problems that include food stability, access to the internet and devices, reaching out to address mental and physical health needs, creating meaningful instruction and addressing the HVAC and facilities needs in schools, to name just a few.

We have a great deal of work ahead:
Selecting a new superintendent
Surviving a $40 million cut in funding
Addressing the chronic inequality and racism in society that has made a part of our community pay a much higher price in their health, education and well-being during the pandemic
Using the pandemic to “reset” our priorities in education for strong relationships, authentic and engaging learning and assessment
Working at both the state and federal levels to guarantee an investment in our children, in education, so that we can open safely with a new commitment to equity
Strengthening support for Community Schools and the school-based health clinics
Beginning in-person schooling in a safe and consistent way, beginning with those students who are youngest or struggling the most

These are just a few of the challenges we face and we need discussion to pull our visions together.

I will hold a constituent zoom meeting on December 10th from 5:00 to 6:30. If you would like to join me, please reply to this email and I will send you the zoom link the week of the 10th.

Sincerely,

Barbara

Barbara Petersen
APS Board of Education, District 4
505-288-6404
[email protected]

I am official now!

I am deeply appreciative for my community for giving me four more years on the Albuquerque School Board to advocate for our students, educators, and public schools.

Speaking with so many of you during the campaign heightened my awareness of the urgency for bringing real equity to our schools and meeting the needs of our community.

Community involvement in the decision making processes of the APS Board has been a centerpiece of my public service and my campaigns. I am excited to share upcoming opportunities to make your voice heard in one of the most important duties of the Board: selecting a new superintendent.
Please join us over the coming weeks at these community events set up for the board to hear from YOU on what you'd like to see in Albuquerque Public School's next superintendent. The first meeting is TONIGHT at Sandia High School from 6 - 7:30pm. I hope to see many of you at one of these important meetings!

Full list:
November 18, 6-7:30 p.m. - Sandia High School
November 19, 7-8 a.m. - Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex
November 21, 6-7:30 p.m. - Volcano Vista High School
November 22, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Alice and Bruce King Education Complex
November 25, 6-7:30 p.m. - Eisenhower Middle School and Alvarado Elementary School
November 26, 6-7:30 p.m. - Roosevelt Middle School
December 2, 6-7:30 p.m. - Zia Elementary School
December 3, 6-7:30 p.m. - Manzano Mesa Elementary School and Rio Grande High School
December 5, 6-7:30 p.m. - Albuquerque High School and Jimmy Carter Middle School

Albuquerque Public Schools APS is New Mexico's largest school district, serving more than a fourth of the state's students.

Together, we did it! I'm honored to have the opportunity to serve my community for another four years on the APS Board of Education!

Thank you to everyone who donated, put up a yard sign, hosted a party, told their friends about me, made phone calls or knocked on doors with me. It was knocking on over 3,000 doors that put into perspective how urgent the work for our district is. I am committed to our communities and to making sure my constituents have a voice on the APS Board.

Thank you, thank you!!!

P.S - Everyone at APS is so grateful for the overwhelming support of the bond and mill levy questions. Full election results can be found at: http://electionresults.sos.state.nm.us/default.aspx?eid=2747

I voted this morning at Highland High School - it took less than ten minutes and it felt great to support the APS bond and mill levy questions! Please make a plan to get out and vote if you haven’t already - polls are open until 7pm!

And, of course, I’d appreciate your support if you live in APS District 4!