Alma Powell's Five Promises

Educators as national security experts? Yes, according to Alma Powell, chair of the America's Promise Alliance, who delivered the keynote address during the opening general session of ASCD's 63rd Annual Conference and Exhibit Show in New Orleans. Educators, Powell said, are some the world's most influential people, for they shape the course, prosperity, and security of nations. 

Powell said it's unacceptable to sit by while millions of young people fail to complete high school, fail to get a healthy start, or get into trouble because they don't have safe places to go. To that end, the Alliance has developed three National Action Strategies geared toward raising high school completion rates and ensuring that high school graduates are ready for college and the workforce.

• Go Where the Kids Are: Using schools as hubs for delivering a range of services to disadvantaged young people from caring adults who know them by name
• All Kids Covered: Ensuring that low-income children receive the Medicaid or S-CHIP health care coverage they are eligible to receive
• Ready for the Real World: Engaging middle-school students in service learning and career exploration opportunities so they are motivated to succeed in school and life

Powell's organization, which was created in 1997, works to ensure that children receive five Promises in their lives: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education that builds marketable skills, and opportunities to help others. Powell acknowledged how the work of the America's Promise Alliance dovetails the work of ASCD's Whole Child Initiative.

Comments

[RSM]

An ill-advised proposal. Where are the parents/guardians in all this? Have we given up on those responsible for providing for their children? Rather than obviate their rights and responsibilities we should, as a society, be creating opportunities for parents to re-assert their role as parents. The schools are struggling with a whole host of unfunded mandates and significantly increased educational expectations. They do not need the additional burden of serving as a clearinghouse for services that belong within the purview of families and existing community organizations.

[T W Dash]

i teach high school and have just about enough time to prepare daily lessons and assignments
and we are asked " to do more" . . . not sure if that is possible . . . i'm sure there are those well-meaning teachers who will say "yes".. but again i ask .. do they prepare adequately for their own classes?

[LB]

When did parents cease having to be parents? Add that to the budget cuts we face in California, reduced staffing, and increasing work loads, who is going to pay and povide the resources necessary to do this?

[Augustfarm]

It is difficult, if not impossible, to disagree with what Alma Powell wants for our nation's children. Whether or not, all of those promises should fall in the lap of our schools needs to be discussed. There is currently a much-discussed problem about getting schools to teach the basic core curriculum to the students they serve. Perhaps it is too far a stretch to add to that responsibility all of the other needs children have in their communities, families, and world.

Could we please have a stronger call for cultural change that includes stronger parenting, supports for struggling families, world-class medical programs, spiritual growth, and less materialism? Would it be unconscionable of me to suggest that organizations and leaders of all sorts take responsibility for these changes? Could Americans not be better served by fewer video games, cell phones, automobiles, televisions, shopping sprees, million dollar CEO's, politicians, and single parent families?

It is, as Powell said, "unacceptable to sit by while millions of young people fail to complete high school, fail to get a healthy start, or get into trouble because they don't have safe places to go.", but why are schools the places to take responsibility? Hasn't anyone noticed how overworked, over criticized, under staffed and under funded educators and their buildings are these days.

Education, teachers and schools suffer the brunt of tongues that wag about needed changes, universal failures, and lost hope. Find another all but dead horse to beat and unless you can help the schools in real ways, do not look to the schools for even one more thing.

[Cyndy]

Something like this is beyond the capabilities of schools as they are now constituted. However, if we redefine schools as the heart and soul of a community then we can begin to think outside the box and envision such programs of change. Why must schools be locked at the end of the day? Could we not locate health clinics to serve the community in a school? Could not other services use the school to provide programs that help kids? Could not social workers serving the community be located in school buildings? What about programs that support effective parenting? English classes for those who need them? There are many ideas to consider if we do not think of schools as only places where teachers work with groups of students. Make schools vital parts of a community, welcome parents and others into the schools, solicit community input, respect the ideas and prioritize them. Then get to work making them happen. This is not another job for the teachers, this is a way to revitalize a community.

[Richard]

I can't believe the ludicrousness of this proposal. When are we going to ask parents to be parents? Has anyone ever looked at the number hours teachers have to work? I come home physically and emotionally drained almost every night, and now Mrs. Powell wants me to worry about the children's health care.

No thanks.

[Tom]

This is just more government, more taxes, more dependence on the state and politicians for our livelyhood. When do we reject this creeping socialism?

[Bruce R. Phillips]

As a College Headmaster writing from South Africa, I must sadly agree with both the sentiments expressed by Powell and the comments reflecting the fact that our schools are more and more being asked to fulfill surrogate parent roles and our teachers simply cannot offer the kind of "all encompassing" care that is being expected of them. The question to be asked is why is this though a necessity today in 2008? I believe the answer lies within the comments posted to date... we live in an increasingly dysfunctional world. Our young people are presented with dysfunctional messages in advertising (the macho man drives faster and gets in touch with his inner self)/ dysfunctional so called entertainment is presented on television-dysfunctional families (on tv) presented as the norm/dysfunctional sportsmen are lauded (the more violent the sportsman the more he is the hero...gone are the days when sportsmanship actually counted/dysfunctional homes/dysfunctional cellphones (porno freely available...and why on earth is it important to be able to watch a full length movie on a cellphone?)/and lastly we are producing teachers who are themselves products of this dysfunctionality...they barely are able to mange themselves and their daily tasks, never mind about the plethora of problems they are being presented with in classes daily...(forgive me dedicated teacher...this is not meant to offend you)
Alma Powell...we have been doing what you are suggesting for years...address your comments to the dysfunctional world you serve...not the teachers!

[Charlie]

Gee, I wonder who is going to pay for all of this free social service? Schools are already pushed to the limit. It should not be the responsibility of a school district to provide health care, assume the role of parent, provide a babysitting service. How about a proposal to teach some parenting and responsibility so the kids who do come from families who do the right thing don't have to suffer through disruptive, dangerous, irresponsible, rude, disrespectful, inappropriate, etc, behaviors in the classroom?

[Nikki N. Tsangaris]

Outrageous, unrealistic recommendations! Making schools the center of all collaborative services will absolutely deter from our primary responsibility--to help students learn at high levels. Who will pay for all this? Most importantly, who will administer all this? Effective building principals are stretched to the limit already. No way, Alma.

[Carter Carey]

Currently, I am an Assistant Principal at a Chicago Public School. Prior to this, I taught high school social studies for twenty years. If there is one problem with education that has been made apparent throughout my experience it is that too many parents have abdicated their responsibilities. Reading the comments generated from Alma Powell's Five Promises, I was struck by how out of touch with the current reality people really are. It seems to me that most of the comments longed nostalgically for a time when parents were accountable for their own children. Obviously, America’s Promise Alliance is responding to societal problems that go far beyond our changing traditional family structure or entrenched educational institutions. As a parent and professional educator I appreciate their effort and look forward to contributing to their vision.

[Richard Radtke]

It is interesting that ASCD invited a speaker who seems out of touch with the problems facing education today. Alma is in a dream land, and sometimes that is a nice fundraising place to be. Perhaps the plan would work if all other professions kicked in and did more. Doctors could come to schools at least on a weekly basis to donate their time to assure that families have accessible health care. Social services professionals could open offices at the schools at no cost to the schools. Good, healthy groceries could be given out to families when they pick their kids up from school, and the large corporations could make this happen at no cost to schools. Landscape companies could come and take care of the school grounds for free. Transportation companies could donate time and buses so that kids could be driven to and from school at no cost to schools. I could go on. If all people got involved to implement Alma's ideas, the schools could focus on educating kids. Schools educating kids would be a new and fascinating idea for Alma to consider and promote.

[Heather]

I agree with many of Carter's comments...I can envision a school that helps support parents in becoming better parents where services are offered right at the school to help make getting health care, counseling, or even parent education more convenient for families. But, it would need to be done with companies, corporations, donations, etc. so that teachers can focus on education. Furthermore, as a teacher, I understand how stretched everyone's energy, time and resources are. But if we don't have a vision...possibly an idealistic one, then we will stay on this stagnant course or schools struggling for money and struggling to meet the needs of its students. A vision (a very idealistic one)is actually what helps me make decisions on a regular basis and keeps me really excited about the future.

[Gee]

I doubt Dr. Powell has actually worked as a principal or assistant principal in (a). an urban high school with 2300 at-risk students who arrived in the ninth grade with assigned probation officers ;( b.) 200 plus teachers (many with no experience teaching and using a curriculum and textbooks or inclusion classes) and support staff (who live in the community and fight among themselves); (c).a fleet of transportation buses –the school handles discipline issues on the bus too; (d). four lunch periods that must be monitored because of students’ throwing food, stealing food or creating conflicts with cafeteria staff; (e). administrators who must compile paperwork and coordinate witnesses for weekly tribunal hearings for serious offenses such as “gang fights”, using/distributing drugs, or possessing weapons in addition to referrals from teachers for threats on themselves, other students or teachers, from students informing the administration about conflicts in the community that influence the behaviors of students in the school (one in every four students has a discipline referral) and from faculty/staff about dress codes issues such as exposed backsides or metal spikes in jewelry ; (f).communicating with parents at contact addresses or phone numbers that are invalid; (g). making referrals to the social workers about attendance issues in a school where the average rate of attendance is 76%; and (h). developing and monitoring a myriad of programs designed to increase the academic performance of students.

[ASCD Bloggers]

Some of the bloggers seem to think Alma Powell said in her Annual Conference General Session address that educators were the only ones responsible for educating the "whole child."

In fact, one of her major points was that the job is too big for any one group to do alone. Here are some rough notes of what she said: "You can't expect government to do it alone, and while the responsibility starts with the parents, the job is too big for them to do by themselves....We are kidding ourselves if we don’t think it is a community problem."

Citing the oft-quoted statistic that one-third of U.S. high school students drop out before graduation, she noted that "it was time to draw the line" just as FDR did when he attempted to reverse the employment trend when nearly one-third of the population was unemployed. "Our children are not failing. Our communities are failing the children....We share obligations to raise our children....We will only enjoy half successes until we focus on the whole child."

[Kris Minor]

On behalf of America’s Promise, I’d like to take this opportunity to address some of the good & sound concerns raised here, along with some possible misperceptions about our efforts arising from Mrs. Powell’s address in New Orleans.

First, we absolutely do not intend to minimize the role or importance of parents. As Mrs. Powell noted in her remarks, it all starts with parents.

We believe, and research affirms, that caring adults are the gateway to the other Promises (i.e. safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others). And parents are typically the most important of the caring adults in a child’s life. Nothing will, or should, ever change that.

However, we know from research and experience that children need to experience caring adults in all areas of their lives, starting with parents but also including extended family, neighbors, coaches, teachers, mentors, adults in faith communities, and others. Yet within our society there seems to be a growing attitude that children other than our own are someone else’s responsibility. Mrs. Powell’s message was to affirm, as she said, the wisdom of the old African proverb: It really does take a community to raise a child. Even the most effective parents feel undermined and isolated if their efforts are undermined by a dearth of other caring adults in their communities. We have always believed that, to address the needs of the whole child, we need caring parents AND other caring adults — not caring adults in place of parents.

Second, we certainly do not wish to create any impression that we want to add to the enormous burden of responsibilities that already have been placed on our schools and educators — in fact, quite the opposite. One of Mrs. Powell’s key messages is that an unfair and almost impossible burden ALREADY has been dumped on our schools. As she stated in her address, “Our schools have not failed us. We have failed them. As a community, we have failed to shoulder our share of the burden of caring for the whole child.”

As you all know well, it is extremely difficult for children to thrive if they lack enough caring adults and safe places beyond the walls of their school. It is difficult for them to thrive if they lack a healthy start and don’t learn the value of service by helping others. To address these “whole child” needs, we believe we must involve more people from the whole community to fulfill our mutual responsibility to our children and to each other.

You heard one of our alliance’s national action strategies described by Mrs. Powell. It involves bringing more supports and partners to the places where children and families already congregate and where children are already known by name -- including schools, community centers and more -- so they can be transformed into hubs for the coordination of support services (such as ensuring that all eligible children are enrolled in SCHIP or Medicaid so they can receive the healthy starts they need). I invite you to visit our website, www.americaspromise.org, to learn more about how our partners from every sector of society are beginning to put this strategy, and others, into effect.

Our strategy is not to increase the burden on schools but rather to lighten some of that burden by increasing communities' supports for children in ways and places where it can have the greatest impact on those who are most at risk. Through our strategies, we aim to reach at least 15 million of our most disadvantaged children with more of the Five Promises during the coming five years. By engaging partners at the local level, by increasing awareness of the need among Americans at all levels, and by providing strong advocacy to encourage sound policy decisions, our work is aimed at reinforcing the heroic efforts of our educators who are on the front lines on behalf of America’s children.

Thank you for all you do, each and every day.

[John Koetsier]

I wonder if most people commenting here did not actually attend ASCD and attend the keynote session.

I did, and by no means at all did Alma Powell imply that educators needed to "pick up the slack," or do more.

She talked about 5 key things in kids lives that ensure the best chance at success. Some of those are education-related. Some of them are family and parenting related. Some of them are community related. All of them are centered on kids.

Here's my take on what she talked about:
http://sparkplug9.com/2008/03/25/alma-powell-ascd/