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MS 80 Parents Want Answers On Restructuring

By HEATHER HADDON

A group of MS 80 parents charge that Education Department officials have ignored their concerns regarding the city's plans for restructuring their school.

While the school will be broken into academies with new curricula by next fall, it is uncertain whether officials will evaluate teacher performance in the process.

"They're focusing on the curriculum, but with what we got, how will you get different results with the same teachers?" asked David Rivera, an MS 80 parent, during a particularly intense parent association (PA) meeting. "On every apple tree there are a few rotten apples, and we have more than our share."

Parents first heard about the shake-up when they were called to an emergency meeting on March 4. Gail Davis, the local instructional supervisor overseeing MS 80, informed the school's principal about the restructuring and changes that would be considered. But Davis later told the school's principal and the teachers that their jobs were safe, according to parents.

But officials insist the restructuring process has not yet been determined, and that Davis never made a statement about the teachers. "Whenever this type of restructuring gets under way, school officials always gather input from parents before going on with any plans," said Department of Educations spokesman Paul Rose.

By September, MS 80 must be restructured according to federal Title I standards of "adequate yearly progress" for low-income schools. The school has failed to improve its eighth grade scores on the state English exam for the past five years, and it must begin its restructuring planning this year under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

While state and federal guidelines apply, a school restructuring plan is devised at the district level.

As the Norwood News has reported, MS 80 will be divided into two academies, each with clusters of 275 students in grades six through eight, according to Lovey Rivera, MS 80's principal. The groups will each occupy their own floor in "vertical houses." Currently, MS 80's floors are grade-segregated.

The school will also revamp its curriculum. "We're really looking at how to use a more interdisciplinary curriculum," Rivera said. In addition to the principal and the district, the curriculum will be examined by the PA, teachers, and MS 80's teachers' union rep.

But information trickles down to the school only a little at a time. "Every month we learn a bit more about the restructuring," Principal Rivera said at the recent PA meeting. "That's how it is."

Districts must consult parents and allow them to comment on restructuring plans, according to federal law.

After MS 80 parents made demands during a school board meeting last week, Davis promised to set up a meeting with parents as soon as possible. But she would not discuss the issue of teacher evaluations. "That is part of the conversation that I need to have with you at the school," she said.

The No Child Left Behind Act states that schools entering restructuring should "replace all or most of school staff," and some education advocates agree that teacher replacement is key. "You cannot just slap a focus on a school and keep the same staff and students and expect change," said Jaquie Wayans of insideschools.org, which reviews city schools.

But it's unclear if removing teachers is possible, or if local administrators even consider it an option. Irma Zardoya, Region 1 Superintendent, said at the board meeting that only Schools Under Registration Review --  which is the worst category of adequate yearly progress --  could dismiss a portion of its staff according to seniority.

"We have to work with the teachers collectively and to hold them accountable," Zardoya said. "Throughout the years, there have been many efforts, including capacity-building, to improve [MS] 80. These things take time."

Eleanor Edelstein, a spokeswoman for Council Member Oliver Koppell, talked to Zardoya about the issue. "She said they can't do it because the union contract doesn't allow for them to remove teachers," Edelstein said. "The only recourse is if the principal would give them unsatisfactory marks, and then it would have to go to a hearing. It would be arduous."

Marsha Silberman, the district's UFT representative, said she understands parents' frustrations, but she puts the blame elsewhere. "This has less to do with the teachers than the schools being overcrowded and underfunded," Silberman said. "[The administration] has allowed the middle schools to be such a mess. Management needs to make the environment better so qualified teachers won't leave." Silberman said she would meet with parents to discuss their concerns.

At the PA meeting, parents cited several incidents they say are indicative of the school's unruly atmosphere, including a teacher who they say pushed a student down the stairs.

"The teachers treat our kids like they are dumb," said Dilecy Delmau, MS 80's PA president. Delmau also places some blame for the school's troubles on teacher absence.

But MS 80 teachers actually have fewer absences than the city average, according to the school's "report card," issued by the Education Department. And the school's current pool of 96 teachers has been relatively stable over the past three years.

Ironically, that low turnover -  a goal at many urban schools -  is cited by parents as part of the problem. "The older ones are set in their ways," said Cruz Morales, another MS 80 parent. "They are just waiting it out for their time to retire."

David Rivera concedes students are partly to blame for MS 80's problems, but he still thinks teachers are the main issue. "We have more than our share of rambunctious pre- teens, but it comes down to the teachers keeping them interested," he said.

Frustrated by mixed signals, parents are writing letters to the chancellor, planning a bus trip to his office and encouraging other parents to visit their children's classrooms to evaluate teachers.

The bottom line for parents is how their kids are doing in school. David Rivera, who attended MS 80 in the 1970s, doesn't think his two sons are getting the attention he received. "It took a group of teachers to turn me around," he said. "You don't see that anymore."

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