Reply to DCPS Policy on Talented & Gifted & Acaemic Magnet Middle School Programs...Questions for You

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Reply to "DCPS Policy on Talented & Gifted & Acaemic Magnet Middle School Programs...Questions for You"

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[quote=Anonymous]This is why we left DCPS.  My child was ID'd by her K teacher as deserving of extra reading help because she was so far ahead in reading in even K.  But, of course, all the extra reading help went to those kids who were behind grade level, not ahead.  OK, I understand devoting limited resources to those who are failing, but we could not stay in that situation at the expense of our child.

By, 2nd grade it was clear that the lack of academic rigor (in addition to the lack of TAG programs) was seriously affecting our child's emotional development (in addition to academic opportunity).  We left for MCPS where that child has participated in the elementary and MS magnet programs.

Before I left, I advocated for more challenge for students at our school, more homogenous grouping of students within classrooms, within grades and across grades.  This would have meant reading groups in language class, math classes performing above/on/below grade level and the opportunity to move kids up for a class in another grade.  In my child's class, I thought approximately 30% could have benefited from regrouping and more challenge in some way.

Surprisingly, I found teachers, parents and the principal all opposed this.  Teachers opposed it because it required more work -- 3 separate plans and preps per class if you were creating reading groups, for example.  Also, teachers did not have the support to do this -- no assessment tools to identify kids who could benefit, no differentiated curriculum provided by central office and no post-teaching assessment of whether skills were learned.  Teachers had the attitude -- I've been doing this for 30 years, why change?  Other teachers were worried about hurting some children's feelings.

Many parents seemed to oppose it.  Some simply seemed too busy to advocate.  Others were too unaware of their child's skill level and the curriculum.  Others consciously rejected academic challenge, seeing elementary school as more about learning social rules and creating social relationships and academics as less important.  Other parents did not think that the pattern of diversity at our school would support more challenging programs.  This is a nice way of saying that when I pointed out that other schools had more differentiation, the response was that other schools had a higher proportion of white, wealthy students.  Other parents simply thought that their kids were smart enough to do well whether or not they got academic challenge at school.

Interestingly, I met many African-American parents of academically advanced parents, many of whom pulled their children for private schools by 3rd grade.  One parent told me explicitly -- my child will experience enough prejudice that I can not afford for her to have a crappy education handicap her.  That child got a full ride to one of the top DC area private schools.

The principal didn't openly oppose more challenge.  But, simply put, since there was not strong pressure on her to change, change was not the top of her list.  Since some parents opposed it, it was better for her not to wake a sleeping lion.

I wish there would have been more TAG programs within each school with differentiated levels of teaching within grade.  I wish there had been central magnet programs in elementary and middle school.  I knew about Banneker and would have sent my child there, but high school was too long to wait.  If these programs had existed, our family would not have moved out of the District.

But, far worse than our own family having to leave the District is that I met many talented kids, including children of color and those with limited financial means, who could have benefited from academic challenge, but won't ever get that in DC.  To me, it is a shocking waste of precious human capital.    [/quote]

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