MS 344 (NYC): How can this be?

American Thinker  @amthinker  tweeted a story today from the New York Post. The Post reports that MS344--the Academy for Collaborative Education (ACE/MS344)--a middle school in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, is so chaotic that the state wants to close it. However, the United Federation of Teachers is fighting the closure. They did the same when the school was first announced for closure in 2009. A search of the UFT website finally exposed this article where the suit was explained: schools on the list (a total of 22) have not received promised help from the Dept. of Education. The DOE's "Proposed Closure Scenario" disputes that, listing nine specific means of assistance given; grants, training for teachers, and assistance for the school's principal Ms. Shaw were some of the ways the DOE tried to help the Academy.

ACE opened in the fall of 2006 full of promise. "ACE was launched just four years ago with high hopes. The Department of Education promised to give students 'intensive mathematics and technology programs' -- and to get them into the city's most competitive high schools" according to the October 2010 Post article below. This review seems to indicate the school is home to less than half the expected enrollment and mentions the decision to close as of April 2011.

Just how bad is the school? Here's today's article from the Post. The embedded video (which includes profanity) shows students refusing to go to class, followed by a classroom apparently vandalized when left empty for just a few minutes.  Things don't seem to have changed since October 2010 when this story appeared in the Post. When the student results from ACE are compared with peer schools (40 other schools with similar socioeconomic demographics, ELL and special needs populations) ACE/MS344 "has the lousiest scores." After earning a D in the 08-09 results, the school progressed to an F on the 09-10 Dept. of Education progress report, including an F in two of the three major categories of evaluation.



The Quality Review Report from the NYC Dept. of Education mentioned in February 2009 (during Principal Shaw's first year)  that "Poor student behavior is a major concern at the school that interrupts classroom
instruction." While some characteristics were listed as "underdeveloped with proficient tendencies", the school received an overall evaluation of underdeveloped--the lowest possible level.

The August 2009 "Persistently Dangerous Schools" list includes "JS344": Academy of Collaborative Education. One 7th grader is quoted by the Post as saying that the police "come almost every day."


How good is the school? Here is a school-produced video log from the school, with several videos from April of this year. A teacher apparently teaches "cooking" skills to a small group of kids, and they seem to love her. Someone (perhaps the same teacher) allows a student to interview others about the all-important state tests. One student says she wants to do well so that the school won't have to close.

The "Learning Environment Survey" from 2009-2010 shows a great deal of improvement from 08-09 to 09-10. A majority of students feel safe, inspired to learn, and believe their teachers know their names. Parents are 97% satisfied with the education their children received in that school year. Examining the data as responses to individual questions tells us that 14% of students don't feel safe in their classrooms and that 24% do not feel safe in hallways, locker rooms, and other common areas. A shocking 90% of students say that other students get into fights some of the time, most of the time, or all of the time. Perhaps most telling: only 29% of students agree that students show respect to their teachers.

In the end, though, the students deserve a safe place to learn with trained teachers who care about the students. This graphic compares ACE/MS344 with another school that has some classrooms in the same building. Democracy Prep is the city's #1 charter school. How do they compare?

Student backgrounds matter in education, yet these two schools (and the 41 schools in the peer group ACE is considered as similar to) show that ACE isn't helping its students as much as other schools are. Kids are not prepared for the elite high schools--perhaps not for any high school.

Teachers impact the quality of education, and while some good teachers may be on staff at ACE, things are not improving. The students are not respectful (by the students' own admission) and they may not have the most updated technology. However, kids can learn without fancy technology. Administrators direct the school, and manage every part of it. Is Ms. Shaw the problem? She certainly hasn't helped; the Post mentions claims Shaw hired friends and family members to work with her, and that she has mistreated her teaching staff overtly and also by failing to support them.

Is the UFT the problem? While the union has "met with the MS344 staff" this year, nothing has changed for the students or the teachers. Perhaps the blame should fall on the parents, who may have sent children to school unprepared for learning, or unwilling to be respectful. The UFT blames the government, and probably some parents share that sentiment.

Everyone can share the blame, or no one, yet the ACE children who didn't know how to read fluently in 2009 still can't read fluently. The children who struggled to learn 6th grade math last year likely struggled this year through 7th grade math. What hope do they have for success in the fall of 2011?

Their best hope at this point is another school. MS344 should never have been allowed to reach the depths it reached; having done so, the effort to bring change will cost too much. The cost of bringing change to ACE/MS344 is irreparable harm to the futures of the 50+ kids who just finished what should be the last year of the Academy for Collaborative Learning's existence.