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And when exactly do the TEACHERS do this? During regular class time when they are supposed to be teaching all of the students?
Surely, middle-income students aren't shortchanged while low-income students get an extra measure of attention to make up for limited parental involvement.
And when do these projects (the growing of beans under various circumstances, etc.) take place? Do TEACHERS stay after school to help them? How does the bussing home work when they stay after school?
I was a "room mother" for most of my children's elementary years and spent countless hours as an unpaid aide assisting with behavior management on field trips, helping students learn to read... For years, I observed what goes on in classrooms day in and day out.
Even the best teachers were not able to provide more than a bare minimum amount of extra attention, and this was at the expense of educating the rest of the students. The worst teachers didn't even try. It was sink or swim.
Many teachers paired up students to provide this extra academic support. Low achieving students were paired up with those that had a handle on the material as Science Partners, etc. I assume this still goes on.
Teachers dumb down the curriculum in order not to leave low performing students behind. In the 7th grade, our son's English class was reading comic books. Comic books! When I asked his teacher why they were not reading regular "chapter books", he told me that many of the kid came from homes that did not have books and did not go to the library, thus did not read well. So in order to not to leave them behind, the whole class read comic books that year. Was it fair to sacrifice the academic progress of the middle-income students to meet the needs of the low-income students?
Perhaps it would if in the great scheme of things the low-income students actually benefited from this. But I can find no data that it does.
A year or so ago, someone posted some rudimentary information comparing drop-out stats and so forth for students who were bussed but could get no other information out of the school district. The poster wrote that the school district said this information was not available. But even this very basic comparison did not show any significant difference with bussing.
If there is a difference, let's see it.
I can't help but wonder why if it made much of a difference we haven't seen it by now.
Hey, stop making so much sense, that's not allowed!!
Occassionally yes, but mostly their TEACHERS do this. Seems obvious?
The example given was about access to tri-fold boards. This actually just happened in our "diverse" school. I saw a couple (like 2?) science fair projects on ripped up shoe boxes/cardboard. I asked the science teacher if he needed any tri-fold boards donated and he said that the had enough from the PTA and all students were made aware they were available. These 2 particular students chose not to ask for one (and I know nothing about the two students), but they were available to all through PTA funds.
If one doesn't want classrooms "dumbed down" one must not expect them "accelerated" either.
I don't think parents would be any happier with kids in middle school who can read at college level reading books designed for kids in middle school than they'd be happy with a child who has learning difficulties being asked to read on grade level.
The truth is that teachers are supposed to differentiate in blended classrooms. The reality is that many of them do not.
Doesn't change the fact that they are expected to.
If you want to make 100% sure your high achiever is only exposed to advanced work? Send the kid to private school.
Comic books aren't necessarily a bad thing to read. I doubt the kids spent all year reading comics. There's a curriculum to follow.
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Page 60 had some info on Special/Optional Academies which, according to page 12, 75% of students are enrolled in free and reduced lunch.
But I could find no data on academic improvement for students on free and reduced lunch who were bussed to middle-income schools. Is it somewhere in this report?
If bussing was actually improving academic performance and graduation rates, I can't help but wonder why this information is not being used to justify bringing it back.
Fearing that I had once again operator-errored this, I went back to the url/pdf and typed in 60 again. We're both right. It's page 60 of the pdf, but page 46 of the numbered report. That page begins the elementary school stats, alphabetically, for ED, NED, and LEP students.
I don't know what the solution is, but I do know it's pretty stark to see a 35% FNR average and then look at some Western Wake schools with 5-10%. 5% is 1 kid per class.
I've always seen both sides of the argument for and against diversity busing. We all have different perspectives based on our own experiences.
Growing up I went to city schools in Rochester, NY. It was neighborhood schools. Districts are by town up there, not by county like here. Because of this, the schools are pretty segregated. If you didn't like the schools you had two options. 1. Move to the suburbs. 2. Go to private school. Those weren't options for my family. We couldn't afford to move to the suburbs and obviously private school wasn't an option either. The schools in the city are horrible. Test rates are in the gutter, last I checked only 20% of 3rd graders could pass the state assessment. Over 80% free/reduced lunch rates some schools closer to 100%. We walked to school. Parents weren't at the school, most of the parents I knew worked 2 jobs. I was one of the few white kids at my school. I went to school with my friends in my neighborhood. We were all poor so it just was what it was and I didn't realize schools were different elsewhere. Fast forward to my later school years when we did finally work our way out of poverty and into the suburbs. I needed additional help for 2 years to catch up to my peers. Parents were involved at the school (they weren't working 2 jobs to make ends meet). We had enough books, supplies, and computers for everyone to use. We went on field trips. We had instruments for band that weren't broken. It was really weird to go from one environment to the other.
When we moved down here I looked for a house that had great schools. I wanted the best for my kids just like everyone else does. I bought a house based on those schools. My children were never reassigned to a different school. If they were though, I don't think I would have minded all that much. Wake County schools aren't "bad" compared to where I moved from. Yes some are worse then others for test grades, etc. but none of them compare to what I know to be truly bad schools. An hour bus ride, yeah that's not fun but when my kids were younger they were already at school early and staying late because I had to work. Kids are resilient. They can adapt. The world won't come to an end because they are on the bus for awhile.
I could go on and on but this is one of those subjects that people just end up arguing over and once a side is picked for or against, rarely does anyone change their mind.
Achieving academic success for ALL children
Creating safe and stable school environments
Promoting community-based schools with consideration of proximity to home, student safety, and stability of family.
Collaborating with the community to access available community resources
Providing parents with clear choices in calendar and programs
Providing a plan that is effective and efficient in utilization of our facilities and transportation.
Providing a logical progression between elementary, middle, and high school that utilizes consistent, logical and predictable feeder patterns
Supporting a positive educational environment with a commitment to maintaining superior teaching conditions
Retaining excellent teachers and principals to enhance school choices and stability
Offering quality programs in every school
Provide a plan to support families and keep siblings from being separated by tracks or schools without parental consent
Building a sense of community and connection with neighborhoods through parental involvement
Maintaining stable student populations that consider proximity to home in each Wake County school is important to ensuring academic success for all students. Assignment policies will recognize the impact of student assignment on students, families, and communities and the costs involved. The promotion of community schools with choice will increase stability, encourage parental involvement, support and strengthen the community and place emphasis on the education of every student.
Each student enrolled in the Wake County Public School System shall be assigned to a school of his or her grade level considering the attendance area in which that student' parents or court-appointed custodian is domiciled and the student resides. Exceptions will be made as necessary to limit enrollment of a school due to overcrowding or for special programmatic reasons such as the need for special education services or alternative school programs. Opportunities will be provided for high quality year round and magnet schools as viable options for families. Additional options could include vocational and alternative schools.
Student assignment plans will be based on the following factors:
A. DISTANCE
Assignments should be made with consideration of proximity to residence. No student should be required to travel more than the maximum time established by Board Policy 7125.
B. CHOICE
Students may apply for a school other than their base assignment. This includes calendar options and magnet programs. Enrollment may be limited based on availability.
C. STABILITY OF ASSIGNMENT
Students should remain assigned to a school at each level (Elementary, Middle & High) unless a new school is opened, availability becomes a factor or a request for transfer is initiated by the student' parent of legal guardian. A student' assignment will be grandfathered at their request subject to Board Policy 6203-Tranfer of School Assignment.
D. FACILITY UTILIZATION
Student assignment should seek optimal utilization of each school' capacity.
E. GRADE STRUCTURE
Student assignment should adhere to K-5, 6-8, 9-12 grade organization whenever possible with consideration given to logical feeder patterns within communities.
F. ALIGNMENT WITH THE MAGNET SCHOOLS PROGRAM
The student assignment plan should include the system-wide objectives of the Magnet Program.
G. STUDENTS WITH HIGHER NEEDS
Assignments should accommodate students with higher needs, including those identified as being Limited English Proficient (LEP) or requiring services from Special Education programs.
I cannot understand why people aren't on board with this, even with the fact that the board wholly agrees with it. I trust they have more data and information than we do to make these kind of decisions, especially considering the past assignment disagreements they've had. Everyone has been begging for a school board that can work together and make decisions in the best insterest of the students and not themselves or their party's agenda. We finally seem to have that and everyone still complains. Go figure.
Even Tata acknowledged that the improved test scores that year were from resources he was able to acquire through federal funding, not as a result of the choice model assignment policy (which one year of data is not enough to draw conclusions from). If we're only looking at test scores as a direct result of assignment, they will likely be going down across the board this year (realistically as the result of a new curriculum but hey, I'll say it's because of the choice policy to support my own belief).
To address teachers teaching: they can and do differentiate in the classroom, which is what most people expect. They also teach ALL children how to write up science projects, not sure why one would assume that some children would need more than others on something like that. It's part of the regular curriculum, however they do meet with children for additional help during "working lunch", homeroom and before school in our schools as well as have other resource teachers who can reach out to those who truly need more individualized help. There are plenty of opportunities for children to get the help they need.
I know you have spent time being a room mom, but were those all in WCPSS? Because what you experience in one area of the country is not necessarily what happens here. I really haven't encountered much in the way of behavior problems in the classroms in the 2 decades I've spent in them and the few who have been disruptive weren't even lower income children. I think it's unfair to say that it's the low income children that bring behavior problems to the classrooms.
The truth is that teachers are supposed to differentiate in blended classrooms. The reality is that many of them do not.
The problem with blended classrooms is that teachers end up spending most of their time dealing with problem and lower-performing students, ignoring the others. It doesn't really help the other students advance.
The problem with blended classrooms is that teachers end up spending most of their time dealing with problem and lower-performing students, ignoring the others. It doesn't really help the other students advance.
That is simply not the reality of the way it works. Both of my kids are AG kids in blended classrroms and have had plenty of opportunities to advance through the years. There are different levels of math instruction and reading groups and all sorts of tools and resources teachers have these days. They are well trained to deal with children on all ends of the spectrum.
In any case, I don't see what that has to do with the assignment policy other than to prove Meh's point that some parents simply don't want "those kids" in their kids' classrooms.
Last edited by lamishra; 05-10-2013 at 10:19 AM..
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