What can be done to level the playing field?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see what’s really wrong with closing the achievement gap from the top down.

Virtually all the people at the top benefited from unearned privilege.

Race to the bottom. Sounds like a great plan.

[Anonymous]

It would require a ton of money spent right: hiring teachers who work with just a few students and loop in with them foe the entirety of elementary school, building relationships.

[Anonymous]

It can't be done. Proven time and time again. We should just give up on this idea and go to another plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It can't be done. Proven time and time again. We should just give up on this idea and go to another plan.

Honestly, this. Set a reasonably high floor for public education and make sure that the education offered at every school is sufficient for a student to become literate, numerate, and employable. Offer a track at every school that can lead to college and robust vocational training opportunities for kids not interested in college.

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

[Anonymous]

Listen, I just was operated on by a neurosurgeon who had nearly 10 years of training post residency. (Medical school). I would like our public schools to acknowledge we each have different skills and we should in no way be limiting anyone for any reason to an education - including acceleration and remediation. Wish ‘Success for All’ style of elementary / at least could be implemented everywhere.

https://www.successforall.org/our-approach/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It can't be done. Proven time and time again. We should just give up on this idea and go to another plan.

When have we offered universal pre- k to all? Class sizes in public school as small as private school ( max 15). Universal Year round schooling and late opening hours to mitigate extra tutoring and enrichment by the middle class/rich?

The answer is never so we have never done what would work to actually level the playing field. What happens outside the classroom is at least equally if not more important. Kids need supervision to get homework done, intervention if behind, the ability to move at their own pace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can't be done. Proven time and time again. We should just give up on this idea and go to another plan.

When have we offered universal pre- k to all? Class sizes in public school as small as private school ( max 15). Universal Year round schooling and late opening hours to mitigate extra tutoring and enrichment by the middle class/rich?

The answer is never so we have never done what would work to actually level the playing field. What happens outside the classroom is at least equally if not more important. Kids need supervision to get homework done, intervention if behind, the ability to move at their own pace.

Title 1 schools in FCPS have pre-K for the kids who are from impoverished families and small classroom sizes. The gap persists. Part of the problem is that ESOL are placed in a regular classroom in ES. In MS, the ESOL kids have their own classes and you start to see gains when that happens. I have no clue why the ESOL classes are not separated out in ES so that younger kids have a better chance of staying on grade level while learning English. It would decrease the need for ESOL class in MS because the kids were more likely to learn English in ES. The ESOL program would still be needed for kids who are arriving at later ages but hopefully the ES kids would be able to move out of it at an earlier age.

And nothing that is done in the schools will work if the kids do not make it to school. There is a higher level of absenteeism associated with lower incomes. If the kids are not at school, there is no chance to help them learn.

Title 1 schools offer summer school to FARMs families and parents choose not to participate.

There is a large societal issue at play here, we are not going to fix it by slowing down things for the MC and UMC kids.

[Anonymous]

Do free buses still operate over the summer so the poor students can still get into school. Is the summer school open to elementary and younger kids so that teenagers don’t have to babysit siblings. Can kids who have to have paid jobs over the summer be able to fit summer school into their schedule?

Basically, apply the flexibility of the best community colleges to low income teenagers since many have the same outside education obligations as adults .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do free buses still operate over the summer so the poor students can still get into school. Is the summer school open to elementary and younger kids so that teenagers don’t have to babysit siblings. Can kids who have to have paid jobs over the summer be able to fit summer school into their schedule?

Basically, apply the flexibility of the best community colleges to low income teenagers since many have the same outside education obligations as adults .

Yes. There was a bus for the kids attending our ES summer school program.

[Anonymous]

So what percentage of eligible kids attended the summer school? 75%, 50%…?

[Anonymous]

So what is the high achieving immigrants from poverty stricken countries who are staffing our hospitals and tech firms do right then to do as well as they did?. That future doctor in rural India had far fewer resources available to them than any American kid today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are public schools where there are significant achievement gaps between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Yet some schools thrive despite having great economic differences among the student body - these schools show no significant achievement differences in math, science, social science, and language arts. What are the schools that have no gap doing right? Do these schools provide after-school tutoring, supplemental weekend and summer enrichment? Do these schools provide parents with the resources to supplement their kids or are systemic issues permanent barriers in schools that cannot overcome the gaps (such as parents not having sufficient time because they work in the evenings and nights and needs to sleep during the day)?

Fully funding 0-5 programs and educating future parents in MS and HS will do quite a bit. I don't think you can ever completely eliminate it, but we can get much closer.

[Anonymous]

Half yearly exams. Final exams. Both must be proctored and the question papers must be created by central office and cannot be leaked. Do it for all grades all subjects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see what’s really wrong with closing the achievement gap from the top down.

Virtually all the people at the top benefited from unearned privilege.

What do you mean closing the gap from the top down? Do you mean let the top kids figure it out on their own and focus on the others? If so two problems:

You are short changing the kids at the top -- truly we cannot do better than always shortchanging someone?

But more important: Ignore the strong performers and their parents will take them out of public school. Maybe not all can afford private but they can afford religious. Or their parents who vote will quickly throw out the leadership.

The solution has to be multi-faceted. We are dealing with lots of different issues. But I think we would be better off lifting the bottom than capping the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can't be done. Proven time and time again. We should just give up on this idea and go to another plan.

When have we offered universal pre- k to all? Class sizes in public school as small as private school ( max 15). Universal Year round schooling and late opening hours to mitigate extra tutoring and enrichment by the middle class/rich?

The answer is never so we have never done what would work to actually level the playing field. What happens outside the classroom is at least equally if not more important. Kids need supervision to get homework done, intervention if behind, the ability to move at their own pace.

Universal pre-K does help poor so you could try it more. Year round schools and late opening seems to me to be smart for some percentage of the population.