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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Objectively, the test scores and student success rates are much higher at Swanson and it is not close. Kenmore is a nicer building and it is more diverse - both very good things. We have a few friends whose kids went to Kenmore, and two of the families pulled them out for private school because their kids were not learning and they were worried they would not be prepared for high school. [/quote]

This is because there is a much higher ELL and low SES population at Kenmore. If you compare higher SES white students, the performance is about the same.[/quote]

My friends who took their kid out of Kenmore said that the big problem was that the teachers had to spend so much time on the ELL population that the other students were often idle and not learning.[/quote]

Maybe that’s how they justify their decision. It’s simply not true, this isn’t ES. A lot of MS requires kids to work independently, especially with the double periods. The teachers spend about half the class teaching and then the students are expected to work on assignments during the second half, with the teachers available to answer questions and help if asked. The ELL kids don’t get extra instruction from the lead teachers or extra attention from them. Maybe their kid wasn’t ready for that much independent time and needed a more structured environment, or maybe the parents didn’t like this approach, which happens at all Arlington MS. That’s nothing to do with Kenmore or the ELL kids. [/quote]

This isn't entirely accurate. My kids went to Swanson, and my daughter is a top student. She often had an assigned seat with the ELL students and was expected to help their interpreter follow what was happening in class, specifically science class. She didn't mind and didn't complain and learned to be empathetic to these kids' struggles, but she didn't learn much in some classes, and this is definitely a feature in middle school. Now she's in high school, and it doesn't happen at all.[/quote]

That’s totally inappropriate and has never happened to my kid at Kenmore. My kid reports that the kids who talk and causes trouble aren’t ELL kids at all. Maybe some classes get the ELL cluster and others don’t? No idea, but it’s never another student’s responsibility to prioritize assisting an ELL student over their own learning. Ever. Wonder if APS is aware this is happening? WTF[/quote]

I’m a MS teacher and have worked at 2 schools in APS in the last 12 years.  It is almost never the ELL kids disrupting classes.  I’ve had several ELL kids with attendance/truancy issues, but none who were disruptive while in class.

I’ve never seen or heard of a teacher asking a student to help an interpreter and cannot imagine how that could be happening to the same student in multiple classes.[/quote]

I am the PP whose kid helped the interpreters at Swanson, and yes it happened. Fine if you can't imagine it, but I also have a neighbor whose son 2 years older had the same experience. It may mot be widespread, but it is common.[/quote]

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