How much can you influence/improve your DCPS/DC Public Charter School?
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Anonymous
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How much do you think you can influence/improve your DCPS/DC Public Charter School?
I have recently experienced that expressing my family's expectations and desires really helped in improving the education in 2 of my kids' classrooms (elementary). We came from another system that was a lot more rigorous and the transition here provided a pretty stark contrast. But I went ahead and started a conversation early in hopes that the teachers would be open to our requests and questions, and I have been very happy with the outcome - teachers who seemed to be doing the minimum actually pointing out how proud they were at students' progress with some changes, printing out lesson plans for me to see what they're working on, etc. I went from "Eek! What did we get into!" To, "Wow, these teachers care, they may be somewhat inexperienced, but they seem willing to improve and make a difference in the kids' education, and they are making an effort." Now I am curious in a more general sense, how do people here feel about influencing/improving the education in their classrooms/school in DCPS? Do you feel invested, that your needs and requests are heard and considered? I have certain reasons for asking this- we have a decision on whether to stay at this school or overcome some obstacles to go to a better school (but several downsides in that route, so I'm hoping to stay at this DCPS). Thank you! |
Anonymous
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Which school?
We were at a title 1 elementary that had awesome teachers. Now at one that has a great reputation, and truly underwhelmed. |
Anonymous
| TBH, you sound kind of entitled. DCPS/Charter isn't for you. I couldn't fathom asking my kids' teachers to print out lesson plans. |
Anonymous
You can't? I mean... Is it unreasonable to ask a teacher what the kids have been learning, if there are vocabulary words we can learn together, etc.? I did not ask for lesson plans. But after I asked about what vocabulary words they may be learning (in second language), the next day the teacher had printed out a page on the theme they're working on, plus practice sheets for my kid. They didn't have to do that; that's why I am saying that I am happy and impressed. It seemed to me that the teacher was genuinely happy that we were interested in helping our child succeed and wanted to show us they're doing their best. I was curious if others have had similar situations. I read a lot about "X school sucks," "X school is the best," etc., but honestly I am wondering if other parents, like me, have felt that they may be able to influence/improve a school or classroom in similar ways. |
Anonymous
| Join a HSA, PTO, PTA or LSAT and you will realize how hard these people work and what you can do to help and make a difference. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
Sometimes. I'm involved in our PTO and I think a lot of what the PTO does is superfluous and doesn't really impact education quality, or student experience. The biggest piece is fundraising, which they don't always do efficiently because a lot of the focus is on organizing events to fundraise when the most efficient ways usually don't involve events. The events CAN be good community building experiences, but often are not, despite best intentions. After 3 years on the PTO, my conclusion is that the best thing you can do to improve the school itself is support the teachers and the classroom. Make sure your kid is prepared for the day and has what they need. Ask the teacher if there is anything they need for the classroom (this can run the gamut from cleaning supplies to pencils to a new rug for kids to gather on or upgraded tech for the class). Some of this has to go through the PTO but sometimes you or a group of parents can fund it directly without that extra administration. Volunteer. For read alongs or reading tutoring programs, field trips, or other classroom activities. I think classroom support is where the most bang for buck is. It also gives you more insight into what your kids actual experience is and what they are actually learning, which leads to better support at home. |
Anonymous
| Not to start a war, but I can't even imagine suggesting how to change a school after the experience of the school closures. |
Anonymous
OP here. Thank you! We are on the same wavelength! I have already volunteered to read at both kids' classes and aim to do so about once a month! I fully agree with you - helping the teachers, being invested in what they are doing, seems to make a difference. That was my impression so far and I wasn't sure if it was unique to this school. Regarding PA stuff... Their request for me to volunteer was to man a table at a weekend edfest with face painting and stuff... Just like you said. It doesn't seem to be activities aimed at actually improving the education in the classroom. Fundraising yes, but I am not the hugest fan of fundraising because you don't really know where the money will go. Also as a family with 3 kids we already have so many obligations on weekends, it's not really possible (or meaningful) for me to spend half a weekend day volunteering at a festival. I will keep doing what I'm doing and continue to be involved/communicating with the teachers! |
Anonymous
First of all, this premise bothers me, though I see it a lot in our gentrifying DCPS. When parents come in with the assumption that they can improve something, they are basing it on the.idea that *they know better*. There is so much parents don't know about learning in a school -- how teachers operate, where the curriculum comes from. Often these parents are non educators who only have the experience of being a student, and some gut instincts. It's cringey. All the advice to learn more is good -- join the LSAT or PTO, be humble, learn what is going on, question your assumptions. Ask teachers what they need to succeed and then provide that. That being said, I've found that when I get to know my kids teachers, and I pay attention to what the kids are working on, and I just make it clear to the teachers that I am paying attention, the teachers do make an extra effort to make sure my kids are learning. |
Anonymous
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What teacher is “printing out lesson plans” for anyone let alone a parent?
OP, please share what expectations and desires you shared that fixed your children’s classrooms. It would be super helpful for those of us working in struggling schools and with new teachers to know how to instantly fix them! 🙄 |
Anonymous
Not OP but I doubt it was an actual lesson plan. Our child's 1st grade teacher periodically sends home sheets or package that explain what the kids are learning in math or reading/phonics. We find it useful, especially in math since we didn't learn the "new math" in school and thus some of the strategies and techniques they teach are totally foreign to us (this is a very common issue for parents in elementary school). I also appreciate these handouts because it's just interesting and useful to know what my kid is working on. When we know they are working on money and currency, we can incorporate that into stuff at home. Same with units of measurement. I think parents sometimes don't pay attention or care that much about the details of what kids are learning in school, so OP's teacher may not have been sharing that stuff with all parents routinely, but when OP asked about it, the teacher had parent handouts and materials to share that explain what the curriculum is. This is standard and you can actually find a lot of those materials online if you go looking for them if you know the name of the curriculum being used. And teachers will tell you the name of any curriculum they are using if you ask! In fact they probably already shared this with you at an orientation day or BTS night but people often zone out or don't realize that this information can be really helpful if you want to get more involved in your child's education. I sometimes go online to look at materials from the reading curriculum, to find descriptions of Common Core standards to better understand my kids' report cards, or to find out what my kid will be working on in the next grade so I can do some support over the summer if I think it would be necessary or helpful. |
Anonymous
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OP here. You're right - it wasn't a lesson plan. Excuse the generalization. It was a sheet with information on what they're learning in this unit, vocabulary words, questions, etc. This is in another language so it is especially helpful for me to learn and support my children.
And to the PP who is being so cringed out by my post - I'm basically saying the same thing as you. I'm not telling the teachers to do a certain thing. I showed curiosity and investment in learning what they are doing in the class and showed that I want to help support them and my children. |
Anonymous
| Depends very much on the school, the individual teacher, what changes you want, how much time and money you have, and how you are perceived (some of which is in your control and some of which is not). |
Anonymous
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I’ve been deeply involved in PTO work and it seems clear to me that until they gather a strong base of broad support they are futile.
The money Title I shoestring PTOs generate isn’t valuable compared to overall school budgets and the engagement effort isn’t worth it for parents or staff in terms of results for effort. The PTOs are gentrifier bait but they aren’t enough. When demographic info from OSSE have “white students in X elementary school across all grades is less than 10” these parents won’t care about a PTO. All in all - mostly wasted time. Don’t worry about it until a school drops Title I status. Then they can actually do something useful. |