Middle schooler failing - no word from school

[Anonymous]

are barreling ahead with the same expectations *they had pre-pandemic*.

[Anonymous]

Not FCPS, but I noticed on my child's most recent report card it says in small print at the bottom "If your child fails a class, contact your child's counselor."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another part of the broader problem is that your middle schooler missed at least 18 months of learning how to manage an increasing work load between school and home.

It's a learned skill to go to seven classes, collect the work, keep it organized on paper and on screen, know what the deadlines are for everything, pace yourself on a project that is due in ten days, sit and study at home, and so on.

Please keep that in mind here, and talk to your student about what he or she needs. Our middle and high school students are struggling because their skills are lacking in certain study-management areas, but the schools are barreling ahead with the same expectations.

My child is in 6th now in APS and 5th grade last year seemed much more about “learning how to be in school again” rather than getting ready for middle school with regard to workload, organization, and expectations. That sounds like more of a criticism than is intended. But, yes, kids lost valuable skill building time. And even though there was learning going on at home (I know, I know) the organization/executive function skills took a huge hit because there was no replicating the “pack your backpack and leave the house” or even forgetting something in a locker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does the school know if this is your average DCUM parent or a family in crisis of the guidance counselor doesn't call?

How about the family in crisis gives the school a head's up so the school counselors and teachers know what's going on before it gets to the level the kid might not be able to pull themselves out of?

Of course families should reach out but by not having schools reach out, the school is punishing kids for the sins of their parents. That in no way promotes equity, something APS says they care about. Either APs should admit they don't care about equity enough to create systems to help students whose parents can't or won't reach out proactively or they should put their money where their mouth is and create systems that promote equity. But lip service with no systems is BS

But that’s not OP. So what is she complaining about? Her kid is her responsibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sit down with your kid and his ipad and go through it together.

1) Go through studentvue/parentvue looking at the details for each assignment where he got a bad grade. Some teachers put in missing work as getting 50% of the points, so take that into account. Make a list of all assignments that are missing or need to be redone.

2) Go through Canvas and go through each classes page as well as the to do list, announcements, and mail. Make a list of all past assignments that are missing or need to be redone as well as upcoming work and tests.

3) For all assignments that your kid claims to have turned in that are marked as missing, sit there as your kid sends a message to the teacher asking about it. (You might need to dictate).

4) For all tests and quizzes that need retakes, similarly have your kid write to the teacher in canvas asking about it.

5) For unfinished work and upcoming tests, look at the list and prioritize how work will get done. You might need to help them study if they haven't had to study for tests before. Teach them how.

6) Check in daily with kid/ipad until grades improve. Slowly back off and let them take over, but continue to check parentvue frequently. Yes, middle school students should be able to do this on their own. But many need help, and this is the time to teach them how.

7) Consider if there are any underlying issues. If he's having issues with one or two classes, you might want to arrange a call with the teachers. If you suspect ADHD or learning differences, you could ask the school to assess him for special ed or get him assessed privately. If there are one or two areas that he needs help in, think about hiring a tutor.

I'd insert a different step for step one: Tell your child you're aware of their first quarter and current grades and it seems they aren't doing as well as they are capable of doing, and ask them why/what's the difficulty. Give them an opportunity to acknowledge/admit they're not doing their best and see what insight they have and level of responsibility they take for it. If it's all the teachers' or somebody else's fault, you have some additional work to do with your child to address that (trust me!). Then make a plan for the child to pursue with your oversight....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously OP should reach out. But if there isn;t a requirement for counselors to document they have reached out to parents in these instances, there should be. It is frustrating to me that there is all this talk about equity in APS and then the school is depending on parents to reach out in situations like this. Obviously some parents have a lot more bandwidth to reach out than others.

I was with you until your last sentence. What a cop out. You’re the parent. I’m the parent. Our “bandwidth” isn’t an excuse to not care about or pay attention to our kids’ progress in school and then blame the school. The ultimate responsibility is ALWAYS on us as the parents . Yes they have a job to do but we don’t get to cry and whine about our bandwidth to grt out of the hard work of parenting.

What if you are a refugee and don't speak English or Spanish and you are working two jobs and don't understand the grading system? What if your spouse was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and your sister died of a heart attack and you have to take custody of her kids? Obviously under normal circumstances I agree with you, but the guidance counselor should reach out to see if their are special circumstances.

DP. Unless the parents have already initiated contact and are actively working with the teachers/counselor, the teachers/counselor should be reaching out to any family whose child is struggling to the point of failing. Maybe the parents are aware, maybe they aren't. Either way, reaching out to the parents to make sure they are aware, and to offer assistance, and to explain their perception of what's going on, and to initiate a joint effort, etc. is absolutely part of teachers' and counselors' roles. I don't care how busy they are or how many students they have. It's part of the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised the guidance counselor has not reached out. What is the point of guidance counselors if they don't reach out to parents in a situation like this? There could be something serious going on at home (parent in hospice etc) that could lead to a student failing classes and the parents not noticing.

There are only a few guidance counselors at each school. On a day to day basis they are dealing with behavioral and socio emotional issues, plus 504/IEP meetings, etc. You expect them to monitor all of the children's grades and reach out when they see a downward trend? That is completely unreasonable! The counselors at WMS have been great with our students when they've had challenges, FWIW.

NP. Yes! ABSOLUTELY! Teachers and counselors are supposed to work together. Teachers should be reaching out to parents when the student is struggling - or just not turning in work, or whatever. Teachers know kids' potential and know when students are under-performing, and they certainly know when a student is failing! Teachers should also be notifying the counselor. The counselor should then be looking into how the student is doing in their other classes and trying to figure out what's going on, which includes reaching out to parents and asking questions and talking about it.

Counselors may be overworked; but kids FAILING should be included in tier 1 for action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked at how many people are saying the onus is on the kids / parents. It is to an extent, but failing every class should be sending off alarm bells with everyone.

Good luck to you, OP. My DC went through WMS and is now at YHS, and I got no support from the school until DC was failing every class - a fact of which the attendees at the 504 meeting were unaware, even though it was the primary reason for the 504 - and had to be partially hospitalized for depression. And I raised the issue with teachers, counselors, admin, requested meetings, etc. ALL THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL, and WMS was USELESS.

Good luck to you, OP, and if you can leave APS, do it.

They did. Grades and assignments are posted online. Parents and students see the grades and can see if anything is missing. That is the notification. Now you expect teachers to call and say “I am posting everything but want to make sure you are actually looking at it.” What’s next? A phone call to make sure you read an email?

This is not elementary school anymore. Teachers notify with an online grades and the kid can follow up if they need more assistance.

First of all, since paper report cards are no longer provided, it would be helpful if the school would at least send an email to let parents know when final quarter grades are actually posted. It doesn't take that much effort - it's a system the administration can set-up and do, not require each individual teacher to do.

Second of all, all parents shouldn't hover daily in their kids' Canvas accounts all the time. Speaking from personal experience, our continual peering into Canvas and ParentVue to monitor assignments and grades caused way too much stress and conflict in our family for years and greatly impacted both our personal relationships within the family and the mindset of our kid - all negatively. For many students and many families, stepping back and letting the school function and the student sink or swim is better in the long run. That's not to say we no longer cared or were no longer involved as parents; but once our kid was able to build a good rapport with the guidance counselor and we got our kid with a competent case carrier, and stopped logging into Canvas or ParentVue every day or every week or even at all, life was better for everyone. The case carrier and counselor - doing their jobs decently! - inform us when something is necessary and we continue to show interest directly with our children by asking what they're doing in their various classes, what homework they have, etc. but not every single day.

You're right. It's not elementary school anymore. But kids don't all immediately mature and adjust to middle school independently. Middle school is a transition and the school should absolutely be communicating with parents directly when a student is failing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked at how many people are saying the onus is on the kids / parents. It is to an extent, but failing every class should be sending off alarm bells with everyone.

Good luck to you, OP. My DC went through WMS and is now at YHS, and I got no support from the school until DC was failing every class - a fact of which the attendees at the 504 meeting were unaware, even though it was the primary reason for the 504 - and had to be partially hospitalized for depression. And I raised the issue with teachers, counselors, admin, requested meetings, etc. ALL THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL, and WMS was USELESS.

Good luck to you, OP, and if you can leave APS, do it.

They did. Grades and assignments are posted online. Parents and students see the grades and can see if anything is missing. That is the notification. Now you expect teachers to call and say “I am posting everything but want to make sure you are actually looking at it.” What’s next? A phone call to make sure you read an email?

This is not elementary school anymore. Teachers notify with an online grades and the kid can follow up if they need more assistance.

First of all, since paper report cards are no longer provided, it would be helpful if the school would at least send an email to let parents know when final quarter grades are actually posted. It doesn't take that much effort - it's a system the administration can set-up and do, not require each individual teacher to do.

Second of all, all parents shouldn't hover daily in their kids' Canvas accounts all the time. Speaking from personal experience, our continual peering into Canvas and ParentVue to monitor assignments and grades caused way too much stress and conflict in our family for years and greatly impacted both our personal relationships within the family and the mindset of our kid - all negatively. For many students and many families, stepping back and letting the school function and the student sink or swim is better in the long run. That's not to say we no longer cared or were no longer involved as parents; but once our kid was able to build a good rapport with the guidance counselor and we got our kid with a competent case carrier, and stopped logging into Canvas or ParentVue every day or every week or even at all, life was better for everyone. The case carrier and counselor - doing their jobs decently! - inform us when something is necessary and we continue to show interest directly with our children by asking what they're doing in their various classes, what homework they have, etc. but not every single day.

You're right. It's not elementary school anymore. But kids don't all immediately mature and adjust to middle school independently. Middle school is a transition and the school should absolutely be communicating with parents directly when a student is failing.

Well said. I could have written this post myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not FCPS, but I noticed on my child's most recent report card it says in small print at the bottom "If your child fails a class, contact your child's counselor."

That note is on the report card. We don't get report cards anymore here in APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With no scores below 50% (eg no 0s for missing assignments), mandatory retakes for anything under a B, how is anyone failing?

Retakes are not mandatory and if they were you can still never do well on the test.

A student who doesn't do the work and doesn't do well on tests or retakes or doesn't retake at all, is still going to fail no matter what policies you put in place.

Those ludicrous policies were established specifically for the students who were already failing. 50% is still failing. Students failing because they don't do the work don't suddenly start doing the work when their minimum score is raised, even if it's still a failing grade.

I'd like to know how many students this 50% policy actually helps. I suspect it only benefits students (but doesn't make them better students) who were borderline and now get a D or maybe a C more easily because they don't have to counteract "zero" scores with D or C work. I don't see how it in any way helps any student who is failing. And it doesn't motivate higher-performing students who can already get away with a bad score here or there and/or make up for it with their otherwise straight A's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obviously OP should reach out. But if there isn;t a requirement for counselors to document they have reached out to parents in these instances, there should be. It is frustrating to me that there is all this talk about equity in APS and then the school is depending on parents to reach out in situations like this. Obviously some parents have a lot more bandwidth to reach out than others.

I'm so sick of everything coming back to "equity." this has nothing to do with equity. Any family whose student, regardless of background, should be contacted. The policies and procedures should be the same for every student. The "inequity" part is that some parents take the initiative and others don't.

[Anonymous]

Why is he failing ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not FCPS, but I noticed on my child's most recent report card it says in small print at the bottom "If your child fails a class, contact your child's counselor."

MCPS? They might still call

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously OP should reach out. But if there isn;t a requirement for counselors to document they have reached out to parents in these instances, there should be. It is frustrating to me that there is all this talk about equity in APS and then the school is depending on parents to reach out in situations like this. Obviously some parents have a lot more bandwidth to reach out than others.

I'm so sick of everything coming back to "equity." this has nothing to do with equity. Any family whose student, regardless of background, should be contacted. The policies and procedures should be the same for every student. The "inequity" part is that some parents take the initiative and others don't.

I hate the way they use “equity”. Really equity should mean that students who need more help, get more help. Passing everyone along without the kids learning anything doesn’t help anyone, least of all the kids who are failing and will end up leaving school with no skills.