Feedback on Amplify - new ELA curriculum

[Anonymous]

It sounds like they are considering dropping the ELC for all schools in the future (if they decide this pilot has been successful), is that right? How do we weigh in to ask them not to? Who makes that decision?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like they are considering dropping the ELC for all schools in the future (if they decide this pilot has been successful), is that right? How do we weigh in to ask them not to? Who makes that decision?

Are they considering dropping ELC or just altering the curriculum source.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like they are considering dropping the ELC for all schools in the future (if they decide this pilot has been successful), is that right? How do we weigh in to ask them not to? Who makes that decision?

Are they considering dropping ELC or just altering the curriculum source.

It sounds like they're piloting keeping kids in mixed classrooms doing Amplify and just doing a half-hour pullout for enrichment a few times a week?

[Anonymous]

ELC is still happening in the schools that aren’t a part of the pilot. The pilot includes several different ways of offering enrichment. ELC has some great components, and others that aren’t as strong as what Amplify offers. Ideally they will keep ELC but modify it so that it takes the best from Amplify and the best of the base ELC curriculum (like the William & Mary units, which are excellent).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flora Singer has enriched kids going to a different classroom everyday like compacted math. Unfortunately my kid’s school, Viers Mill, is keeping everyone in their homerooms for ELA, then, 4 times a week for a half hour enrichched kids are pulled out for “novel studies” while the rest of the kids are literally learning English. Have separate classes for compacted math, so I don’t understand the difference for ELA. I’m really disappointed because the non-enriched kids have behavior issues that affect the whole class

I see this misconception all over the Internet. Being gifted doesn't mean kids don't misbehave.

[phone]

[Anonymous]

The 5th graders are starting a poetry unit and the poems are not easy. Ther civilizations text from last unit was pretty lengthy and didn’t seem to be too easy for the advanced kids. Unless the teacher is always feeding the students the answers, there seemed to be some rigor.

Also, my 5th graders switched from ELa in the morning in prior years to the afternoon this year—a lot of them are dragging. Don’t mistake boredom with the curriculum for post lunch sleepiness.

[Anonymous]

I think this has nothing to do with the curriculum and everything to do with pacing for a general ed class. I have used CKLA for homeschool and the suggested pacing is very rigorous. I'm now a teacher and the inclusion + differentiation they ask general ed teachers to do is impossible. All these pre-packaged curricula include differentiation instructions but implementing them is extremely time-consuming. Yes it's worse for a teacher who has to spend so much time learning how to teach a new curriculum but even without that, true differentiation requires you to juggle way too much. And considering the fact that teachers get so much pressure to increase test scores, they have to triage and students who are already at high achievement will come last.

As far as what you can do, I have no answers! It really, really sucks. The only thing I can say is be an absolutely PITA to your school board and get them to go back to pull-outs or just do something to differentiate in a way that doesn't burden teachers. Point out that gifted kids also deserve a school experience that isn't miserable, especially since the current theory in education (a theory I agree with) is that giftedness is a neurotype and those kids tend to be overly-sensitive. They deserve accommodations just like all the other kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There should still be an ELC class. If you feel your DC is missing out on enrichment talk with your teach and the Reading Specialist. You can also bring in the Gifted Education Liaison.

Amplify is an on-level curriculum and was not yet evaluated for use with gifted students. It does include differentiation options for advance learners. If the novel studies are made up of advance reads, with vocabulary, analysis, and associated writing, it could be enough.

See to me the smart thing would have been to do is put the ELC kids in one class but many schools the leadership doesn't want to do that. So then the kids are not getting the enriched literacy curriculum as a full curriculum. It's often just like a little pull-out group and they're getting maybe 20 or 30 minutes if they're lucky

Ask the school leadership why the don't want to or didn't create a ELC class. Especially now with the on-level curriculum being more challenging.

I am guessing it's because the CES kids are already in their own classroom and then if they put the enriched literacy kids in their own classroom you end up with classrooms where there only a few on grade level kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flora Singer has enriched kids going to a different classroom everyday like compacted math. Unfortunately my kid’s school, Viers Mill, is keeping everyone in their homerooms for ELA, then, 4 times a week for a half hour enrichched kids are pulled out for “novel studies” while the rest of the kids are literally learning English. Have separate classes for compacted math, so I don’t understand the difference for ELA. I’m really disappointed because the non-enriched kids have behavior issues that affect the whole class

I see this misconception all over the Internet. Being gifted doesn't mean kids don't misbehave.

First of all, I never labelled anyone as gifted. Second, I’m sharing my child’s experience. The behavior and language of the students not in compacted math or enriched ELA is terrible in the classroom and the playground. Letters home all the time about racial slurs or threats of weapons, kids cursing at other kids at BTSN right in front of their parents without repercussions. I could go on and on. It feels worse this year because the CES students have been pulled out to a different school, so the misbehaving kids are now the majority.

What makes you so sure that there isn't behavioral issues in compacted math or ELC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flora Singer has enriched kids going to a different classroom everyday like compacted math. Unfortunately my kid’s school, Viers Mill, is keeping everyone in their homerooms for ELA, then, 4 times a week for a half hour enrichched kids are pulled out for “novel studies” while the rest of the kids are literally learning English. Have separate classes for compacted math, so I don’t understand the difference for ELA. I’m really disappointed because the non-enriched kids have behavior issues that affect the whole class

I see this misconception all over the Internet. Being gifted doesn't mean kids don't misbehave.

First of all, I never labelled anyone as gifted. Second, I’m sharing my child’s experience. The behavior and language of the students not in compacted math or enriched ELA is terrible in the classroom and the playground. Letters home all the time about racial slurs or threats of weapons, kids cursing at other kids at BTSN right in front of their parents without repercussions. I could go on and on. It feels worse this year because the CES students have been pulled out to a different school, so the misbehaving kids are now the majority.

What makes you so sure that there isn't behavioral issues in compacted math or ELC?

Before my kid was in compacted math she was called a dumb b74$h everyday by the same student. This year in compacted math, no problems at all. The mean kids are not in compacted math at our school but they are in every homeroom talking nasty to adults and students during class and recess.

[Anonymous]

Also, ELC at our school is a 30 min pull out group 4x a week. No behavior problems in that group. Lastly, the school begs for parents to chaperone field trips and recess. We see exactly which kids have “handlers”, I mean aides, because they are so mean and nasty. Those kids are not in compacted math at our school. I do not know the experience at any other elem but our own

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flora Singer has enriched kids going to a different classroom everyday like compacted math. Unfortunately my kid’s school, Viers Mill, is keeping everyone in their homerooms for ELA, then, 4 times a week for a half hour enrichched kids are pulled out for “novel studies” while the rest of the kids are literally learning English. Have separate classes for compacted math, so I don’t understand the difference for ELA. I’m really disappointed because the non-enriched kids have behavior issues that affect the whole class

I see this misconception all over the Internet. Being gifted doesn't mean kids don't misbehave.

First of all, I never labelled anyone as gifted. Second, I’m sharing my child’s experience. The behavior and language of the students not in compacted math or enriched ELA is terrible in the classroom and the playground. Letters home all the time about racial slurs or threats of weapons, kids cursing at other kids at BTSN right in front of their parents without repercussions. I could go on and on. It feels worse this year because the CES students have been pulled out to a different school, so the misbehaving kids are now the majority.

What makes you so sure that there isn't behavioral issues in compacted math or ELC?

Before my kid was in compacted math she was called a dumb b74$h everyday by the same student. This year in compacted math, no problems at all. The mean kids are not in compacted math at our school but they are in every homeroom talking nasty to adults and students during class and recess.

Wow, what school is this? I work at a Title I ES with few gifted/advanced kids coming out of it (so mostly on or below grade level) and this type of behavior is not normal at my school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flora Singer has enriched kids going to a different classroom everyday like compacted math. Unfortunately my kid’s school, Viers Mill, is keeping everyone in their homerooms for ELA, then, 4 times a week for a half hour enrichched kids are pulled out for “novel studies” while the rest of the kids are literally learning English. Have separate classes for compacted math, so I don’t understand the difference for ELA. I’m really disappointed because the non-enriched kids have behavior issues that affect the whole class

I see this misconception all over the Internet. Being gifted doesn't mean kids don't misbehave.

First of all, I never labelled anyone as gifted. Second, I’m sharing my child’s experience. The behavior and language of the students not in compacted math or enriched ELA is terrible in the classroom and the playground. Letters home all the time about racial slurs or threats of weapons, kids cursing at other kids at BTSN right in front of their parents without repercussions. I could go on and on. It feels worse this year because the CES students have been pulled out to a different school, so the misbehaving kids are now the majority.

What makes you so sure that there isn't behavioral issues in compacted math or ELC?

Before my kid was in compacted math she was called a dumb b74$h everyday by the same student. This year in compacted math, no problems at all. The mean kids are not in compacted math at our school but they are in every homeroom talking nasty to adults and students during class and recess.

Wow, what school is this? I work at a Title I ES with few gifted/advanced kids coming out of it (so mostly on or below grade level) and this type of behavior is not normal at my school.

Our school recently lost Title I funding but I imagine will go back after this year.

[Anonymous]

My advanced math class had a kid who acts like a sociopath

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There should still be an ELC class. If you feel your DC is missing out on enrichment talk with your teach and the Reading Specialist. You can also bring in the Gifted Education Liaison.

Amplify is an on-level curriculum and was not yet evaluated for use with gifted students. It does include differentiation options for advance learners. If the novel studies are made up of advance reads, with vocabulary, analysis, and associated writing, it could be enough.

See to me the smart thing would have been to do is put the ELC kids in one class but many schools the leadership doesn't want to do that. So then the kids are not getting the enriched literacy curriculum as a full curriculum. It's often just like a little pull-out group and they're getting maybe 20 or 30 minutes if they're lucky

Ask the school leadership why the don't want to or didn't create a ELC class. Especially now with the on-level curriculum being more challenging.

I am guessing it's because the CES kids are already in their own classroom and then if they put the enriched literacy kids in their own classroom you end up with classrooms where there only a few on grade level kids.

The can switch classes for reading and ELA. That way you have full classes generally and people are where they need to be for specific subjects.