Pass/No Grade Passes

It's a small thing in these crazy times but thank you for eliminating that February week-long break. Because all of the neighboring towns have eliminated it, it had become nearly impossible to find child care for that week -- none of the local nonprofits offer vacation camp that week anymore so it was a mad scramble to sign up with the few available options (New Haven Parks & Rec for example). And I couldn't understand why we would extend the school year by 3 days in June rather than have 3 additional days in February. No idea why people were so wedded to it but I for one won't miss it!

If anyone would like to explain how trips that are already paid for thru NHPS scheduled for the entire week of Feb break will affect students. Many have and continue to strive for perfect attendance. Will it be held against them as an absence for going on a school trip that was originally scheduled for days off but are no longer days off? Thank you Dr J and student rep for thinking in terms of how this changes things for many families not just teachers. Parents should be allowed to vote(one vote per household with a registered student when it comes to these major changes.)

Mom247..

Only the teacher union votes count. Your vote and your children's vote don't count.
Union first, kids ...

@mom247 - perfect attendance is not something a student should strive for anymore. In a post-pandemic academic setting, all students should stay at home when they're sick rather than risk infecting all of their peers and teachers. Take a chill pill and enjoy your vacation.

If students get no grade, will they still get credit for the course? Are prerequisites waived? If student has not mastered Algebra I, will they be allowed to enroll or placed in Algebra II?

You can't please everyone with the calendar. Had the teachers voted for Feb break, everyone would complain we were keeping kids in school too late until June. People complain in every scenario.

is there a copy of the agreed upon 2020-2021 10 month calendar online? I can't seem to find one.

The February break is sacrificed to the whims of the parents , who can't be troubled with making arrangements for child care-- for their own children.
Teachers didn't want the 4 day Feb week. Students didn't want it. It's the time of year when weather can be awful and many many kids and teachers get sick. But who cares? As long as parents can get to work; right? That's America--- live to work and work to shop!

The grading policy is going to come back to bite NHPS . Try to get kids to do work next pandemic! Only a fool would do the work when there is no cost to not doing it and they all get passed anyway. But what the heck? We have another holiday now- more groundbreaking educational leadership from a silly little district that thinks it is a grand educational treasure.

Recognizing Eid as a school holiday is a great move. The Muslim students I spoke to about it feel honored, validated, and of course happy to have the day off to celebrate.

Per the calendar: New Haven is one of the very few districts where the union contract says that we can vote on the calendar. That's why only teachers vote on the contract.

Per the grades: If they get no grade, that's only for the 4th quarter. Their grade for the year is based on all their previous work.

The addition of Eid as a holiday is a good one and I should have applauded that, as well, in my initial comment!

@CityYankee

"next pandemic"?!?!? I can't tell if you're joking!

Politics 101--- I was trying to come up with the next X and I called it pandemic. God forbid!!
But when kids know that not doing the work has no consequence; many will not have the maturity to do what's right rather than what is easy.

CityYankee: Yes, most parents work. They work to provide for their children, and to pay the taxes that pay government workers. Many do not, themselves, work for the government. As a result, they get far fewer holidays. A day a business is closed is a day that business is not making money, to pay, among other things, its employees who pay the teachers, etc. Holidays not widely observed, such as Presidents' Day, Eid, Yom Kippur, Columbus Day, Good Friday, etc., mean private sector workers must call in sick or scramble for childcare. As few businesses observe Presidents' Day, I suspect most parents also oppose a four-day week in February, and would prefer a five-day week.

These are unusual times, and call for a lot of creative thinking on how to handle things during the pandemic. Until we have a vaccine or cure, lots of school systems will have to approach education in a way that is realistic to accommodate the reality of the virus. But after this is all over, society should probably rethink an education system school year calendar that was set up to accommodate small family farming planting and harvesting needs. Educational calendars should reflect the educational needs of students and the childcare needs of parents, not the shrinking number of small family farms in this country.

Dear Heather--- parents today want 24/7 day care for their kids. They would jump at year long school; anything to get kids to a sitter so they can....... fill in the blank. School does not have to meet the needs of the parents but the best interests of the students. They are looking for babysitters.

Dear 1644- I do believe that in the 21st century that people know that children have to be cared for. If you do not have the wherewithal or desire to plan for this; you should plan not to have kids and there are ways to avoid pregnancy. It is not the govt's fault that you don't know what to do with your kids.

I stayed home with my kid for 12 years and wrecked any chance of a decent pension. Do you know what 12 years out of the full time workforce does to a pension??? Do the numbers. It was my sacrifice to make because I had a child so I accept the consequences. So should everyone.

Speaking for myself as an educator of 33 years, not officially for New Haven Public Schools.. Re the grading policy, as pointed out this follows both state and national guidelines. Most local higher education institutions also went to a form of a Pass system (including Yale). With many students not able to access online learning through lack of technology, internet, time due to child care, or even wok to help their families, it doesn't make sense to approach grading in a punitive manner.

Several commentaors have referred to grades being the reward for "work". This implies that all school consists of is a bunch of work tasks students complete, and their grades are about how much work they did. That certainly isn't the goal of a learning institution. The lowest form of assessment is task completetion, the next is engagement (how much were their minds/brains engaged in learning new content/skills), and the purest form is on learning (the quality AND quantity of new, improved, learning of contents and skills). Wouldn't anyone want to be judged on quality rather than how busy we look/appear in our own life and career?

Grades simply exist to give a rough, very imperfect summary of learning, because we teach students, we are not the bosses of workers.
So teachers will continue to give feedback on learning assignments, projects, discussions, etc... but students will just have a different type of summary for one quarter. Students will be engaged in learning in a variety of ways, and some may miss doing some tasks, but good teachers help switch the mindset to internal/intrinsic rather than carrot/stick/reward motivations. I am proud to be part of a school system that values this attitude towards school and learning and rejects the employment factory mindset.
-Dr. Richard Therrien, K12 Science Supervisor, NHPS

Rich,

You're thoughts show the disconnect you have between how you want to think things are and how they are. When these kids move on from your fantasy and the real world slaps them in the face they can thank you and your colleagues for it. The low standard the the NHPS has implemented during these times are simply to avoid the massive deficiencies that cannot be covered up.

Your grade can't go down, and this is based off some daily low level assignments that many kids won't bother doing.

Good job New Haven, way to reach for the ground.

The soft bigotry of low expectations.

Fact Finder is spot-on: Our NHPS kids will eventually compete head-to-head for college admissions slots and jobs against other kids whose private or public school systems are actually trying to maintain educational standards. Instead of teaching all students to the lowest common denominator, offer extra help and even cut slack for those kids who are struggling (I'm a teacher -- it's not hard to figure out who those students are), but keep up educational standards for the rest.

As an NHPS parent (and as a teacher who busted her butt to make sure her college students continued to get a decent education when we moved online), I'm disappointed in our public schools and worried for my kid. Enough with the diminished expectations, NHPS.

To 1644 on credit and moving unprepared to the next level: the answer is yes and yes. This is social promotion on steroids. No; it's worse--- it's pity promotion and a slap in the face to all those students and teachers who tried so hard to teach and learn. They will both remember that it does not pay to work. Just wait for someone to save you and fix everything. Great!

Mr. Therrien and all the other do-nothing subject supervisors collect their 6 figure salaries and parrot the party line. I think Mr. Therrien gets an extra stipend for hallelujah-ing over every district decision. They crow about higher order thinking when we have students who can't comply with the simple requirements to be on line. What does he care? He gets paid very well to throw them under the bus.

But as we can see, it is the same 5 parents and 6 regular commentators who write. Do the rest of the parents care? Nah... promote 'em and get 'em out of the house so I can get back to working and shopping.

The 'real world' is penalizing students without access to technology, students that lost family members to COVID-19, and students whose families lost income/employment due to COVID-19. We are trying to provide ALL students an opportunity to succeed going forward (over 600 deaths or 2000 cases of COVID-19 in New Haven).

Dr. Therrien,

I had far less egregious comments edited by the powers that be at the Independent, a choice which I acknowledged as acceptable in the name of civil discourse.

How City Yankee is allowed to get away with leveling these baseless and ugly accusations against you in these same pages is a total mystery to me.

tmctague: How is giving credit for material not learned preparing students to succeed going forward? Is it not setting them up for failure, when they enroll in courses for which they lack the necessary foundation.? When I was in school, every year there were kids who, through no fault of their own, were unable to complete their coursework. Some had emotional trauma, like the death of a parent, some suffered illnesses (such as mononucleosis), some had accidents, some had mental breakdowns. They were allowed to withdraw, and repeat the courses they had dropped.

This only benefits the children that are struggling. Treating middle schoolers the same as high schoolers isn't just. Honors programs and AP classes on a high school level being counted as a pass means why bother anymore ..now I have done so much that if I dont do any more I will still pass. Equally as many students struggling as succeeding but this doesn't benefit the latter. The rules were changed three quarters of the way thru the marking period? What about those who have put in the extra to do better than the last three marking periods? When these children apply to different programs, scholarships, schools it looks as thought they were held to mediocrity. Test have been given standards were given so those who did don't matter ,only those who didn't whether by choice, circumstances or crisis. Homeless students arent given a pass under non pandemic situations, children with food scarcity arent given a pass under non pandemic, children from abusive homes, in foster care , with out electricity, without supervision, without wifi or lap tops etc arent given a pass ...NHPS has access to every single child they know who is and isnt working on school work shame on them for not making exceptions to those children . Principals guidance counselors etc know that a vast majority of those not achieving weren't achieving under the norm.
There should have been at minimum a choice. Do you want to numerical/letter grade or do you want to OPT out and take the pass NG option? Different schools have different levels of achievement as we all already knew, now those who are on the succeeding end have will have lowered their standards to be just like everyone else SHAME ON DR TRACEY and her advisors

new haven should allow parents/guardians to vote (one vote per family of a registered student) to approve calendar..this pandemic was a perfect example of how much other peoples choices and decisions affect parents. There is no doubt that MANY teachers rose above and beyond but like wise there is no doubt that many parents, grandparents guardians etc took on the role of being a full time teacher! I hear all the accolades for what NHPS many of which are well deserved but I know that many many many children have only succeeded for the contribution of their families.

1644 and Mom247,

It is telling that you both try to compare what is happening now to other contexts that don't involve a worldwide pandemic. 1644 sets up his argument by stating "when I was in school..." and Mom247 repeats, for emphasis, the phrase 'under non-pandemic situations.'

The problem with this line of argumentation is that THERE IS A PANDEMIC. This is (let's hope) a once-in-a-multi-generational situation. Given that everyone, from university admission board members to future employers, is aware of what students and families are going through, the likelihood of them looking askance at a 'pass' or 'pass with distinction' assessment in the last quarter of the 2020 academic year is negligible. It seems to me that if you really want to get upset about a systemically unfair way of assessing intelligence and hard work, you should be railing against the tendency of ivy league graduates to be offered opportunities that are denied community and state college graduates simply because they attended school at an elite institution (and many other examples besides).

I and other teachers who are currently working with NHPS students have tried to detail some of the struggles that they are going through, but you just don't seem to want to acknowledge this. I am left wondering why that is, and how the conversation can be moved forward otherwise.

06511: What difference does it make if the student's parent died in a pandemic or a car accident? The result is the same: the student cannot complete his coursework. Again, the grades don't always reflect effort, mine did not. The do reflect, at least partly, learning. If we don't give grades, then standardized test scores are more important. As for AP courses, the grade doesn't matter, the number of the exam does. Someone who got an "A" in the course but a 1 or a 2 on the exam didn't learn much. Supporting this policy, you imply that it's not important if students actually learn what you teach: they can move on without it. If so, the curriculum needs to be examined.

Quote for the day, from the NYT:

"I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus." — Quibi CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, trying to convince the New York Times that starting a streaming service that doesn't play on TVs is a microbe's fault.

1644: So true. Nobody wants to take any personal responsibility.

We have people foolish enough to leave their cars running attended and then are shocked when the cars are stolen: blame it on not enough police.

We have people who just litter all over New Haven: blame it on not enough trash cans

We have an inept, do-nothing Board of Alders who can't manage the City budget: blame it on Yale

Dennis Serfilippi
I said it, and take full responsibility

And we have people who are so intent on negating the actual, lived experience of students and families during this pandemic, as well as the anecdotal evidence from those who are actually working with them on a daily basis, that they want to blame public servants and administrators for coming up with an imperfect but rational solution.

We have people who are so wrapped up in this idea of a letter grade, in insisting that the only valuable kinds of knowledge and experience are those that can be assessed on a report card, that they would rather dismiss wholly the concerns of those who have lost family members, have had to take care of siblings, have no access to the internet, are English Language Learners, are differently-abled, etc, etc, then just let go of this notion for one grading period. They can't imagine - how can these peoples' experiences be that different from their own, or from their mom's in world war two? Why can't they just FIGURE IT OUT?

As Mom247 said, probably inadvertently, "this only benefits the kids who are struggling."

...and why would we want to do that?

1644,

How are you. I teach 10th grade Biology. Next year, if I encounter a 10th grade student with an educational 'gap' in their understanding of Biology that can be attributed to the pandemic, I will address it as necessary, as quickly and thoroughly as possible. I don't anticipate my class coming to a screeching halt because students missed a lesson on climate change. Teachers are prepared to teach students that are behind grade level; it's our job.

If we attempt to embark on identifying students that missed coursework during the pandemic, adjusting for their various abilities, and get them 'caught up', they've missed the introduction to the next class. When are we supposed to get them caught up? How? Who will do it? Will the pandemic clear by then? What if it doesn't? What if the students don't show up? What if they 'fail' their Q4 re-education but passed for the year anyways?

We are advocating for a fresh start that minimizes disruption to our students' educational trajectory with the understanding that any residual deficit from this pandemic will be addressed on a case by case basis. We are trying to avoid or mitigate disruption to the educational trajectory, i.e. avoiding what happened to your mother by testing, re-testing, and placing students with distinct circumstances. This may appear similar to your mother's educational experience in the 1940s, but I promise you it is different, as 06511 stated above.

Dennis Serf,

I have been thoroughly pleased with Dr. Tracey's leadership and communication through this difficult time. In fact, I look forward to reading her thoughtful, calming emails. She has listened to the mayor, governor, and health officials while also seeking feedback from families and staff.

1644,

You ask, "What difference does it make if the student's parent died in a pandemic or a car accident?"

I know a little about this because my good friend's mom was killed in a car accident back when we were in high school.

When my friend was ready to come back to school, he was able to. There, he had the comfort of supportive friends and community that could check in on him without him having to ask for this. During lunch we could hang out in the cafeteria playing Magic: The Gathering or just joking around. He was able to distract himself with schoolwork if he wanted to, but the teachers, being understanding and recognizing my friend's humanity and grief, went easy on assignments or gave him extra time if he required it - in short, he was surrounded by a caring community who could respond to his needs and emotions in real time. It was a nurturing place outside of his home, a home which was still filled with his mother's presence which he often needed to get away from.

Children who lose family members now live in a warped time of social distancing where little of what I have just mentioned is available.

Empathy requires the ability to look outside your own personal story and worldview and to understand that the world is experienced differently for different people - it's going to go a long way to getting us through this crisis.

Dennis Serf,

I have been thoroughly pleased with Dr. Tracey's leadership and
communication through this difficult time. In fact, I look forward to
reading her thoughtful, calming emails. She has listened to the mayor,
governor, and health officials while also seeking feedback from families and
staff.

I agree. We're fortunate to have her. It's a welcome contrast to the prior person who masqueraded as a superintendent.

06511: The ones who are struggling are the ones you are hurting the most. You are lying to them, and setting them up for failure.

tmctague: I am well, thank you. I hope that you are well.
Previously, I suggested summer school, which is the traditional remedy for students who fail courses. (cityyankee went apoplectic). If there are a lot of "no grade" students, a school might have a whole cohort starting where they left off in March and continuing through next summer. In general, students who are not at grade level should not be advanced. It should not be your job to teach what the prior year's teacher did.

As a Gr. 8 teacher in NHPS, I truly understand this difficult balance we are all trying to hold—that goes for parents, teachers, students, administrators and all the way up to our superintendent. I know most of us are doing the best we can with what we have right now, and I hate to criticize, but I can't help be concerned about this new grading system. Most teachers voted in the survey for a Pass/Fail option for the 4th marking period. However, this has been now changed to Pass/No Grade, which extremely limits teachers' flexibility to grade based on what students do. Is this really going to help our kids in the long run, just to pass them all forward whether they did or did not make the attempt to learn this year?
I think most would agree there is a big difference between grading a child who has no access to technology, had a sick family member or other mitigating factors; and grading a child who has the devices, the support and the ability to learn but simply refuses to participate. Yet in both of these cases, the students would now receive NG: no grade. Educational content aside, what life skills are we reinforcing here? What message are we sending about kids who attend NHPS... that we can't expect them to do school work simply because they live in or around New Haven as opposed to a different district?
I'm not trying to oversimplify; I believe wholeheartedly that the superintendent and others have the best intentions in mind by creating what they call a "non-punitive" system. My concern is that NHPS already falls behind compared to other CT districts. The difference is becoming even more apparent as we watch students in other districts developing all kinds of new skills during this time, not the least of which are resilience and personal responsibility. Making too broad assumptions that most of our kids can't do that, or that we just need to give them a break, is what leads us right in to that vicious cycle of inequity in education—as well as in society.

As a parent and once upon a moment educator I appreciate those that truly understand that this doesn't BENEFIT anyone except those who will need to answer questions about their performance as leaders. In no form or fashion does this system benefit the MAJORITY of children. There were other options to assist those with extenuating circumstances but noone wanted to be held accountable. the Reality as is; it doesn't matter if you excelled, put minimal effort ,learned anything, nothing or did nothing! The chaos is when students start new classes and they are so not on par that teachers cant move forward..Then the students who did, again will be sitting in place, teachers will have to do twice as much and standard evaluations will look worse than ever. The system knows who is and isnt participating and the failure of families to not be in touch with admins for the many issues they may be encountering is a failure on their end. The system has a dozen ways to for you to reach out in addition to those reaching back. The differences between middle school elementary and high school are so grossly different yet they (admin dont even acknowledge) being solely concerned with "not hurting/not punishing" is like a parent primarily concerned with be their child's friend.
Current world opportunities aren't what they used to be. Manufacturing , factory work, labor arent as prevalent so education & trade are the primary ways to assure that our youth will be able to afford the lives they want to have cheating them out of that is cruel for any reason

@ mom247--- you are correct but no one cares except teachers and a few parents and students. This is CYA on steroids!!!!!! No one is listening and no one wants to be responsible!! 99.9% will be passed. What is the difference between that and the usual 99.5% that are pushed ahead every year????