Reply to To the parents in "good schools"

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "To the parents in "good schools""

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It also goes noticed when teachers don't spend time with children helping them in any way. The main issue I've seen with teachers in wealthier schools is that there are kids who aren't bored but go off track on work or don't complete work because the teacher isn't really involved with the class.[/quote]

That would seem like a relatively small subset of students.  If the kids go off track or don't complete work, it's likely to affect their grades, their test scores, or both, and the parents will notice. [/quote]

Unfortunately that really doesn't happen because the SOL's are covering basic skills, not a lot of growth for these children. So yes, it's noticeable when kids don't pass SOL's, but grades can be inflated and are also not a very good measure of progress.[/quote]

If it were all that simple, then the SOL pass rates at the poorer schools where the teachers are supposedly motivated to bust their butts so hard presumably would be higher.[/quote]

I work in a Title I school. My kids attend school in a high income area. The issue with the SOL is really linguistic. Kids who have language issues (ESOL, SPED, or just a lack of language acquisition) will struggle on these tests because of the way they are structure. In a lot of ways, the SOL is as much a content test as a language test, but we struggle with teaching academic language to students particularly when they are either learning English or just getting gaps filled that their parents would normally do.

I agree with OP in a lot of ways. I have two kids and there is definitely a mentality that it's up to the parents to "fix" things. In some ways, it makes sense. I had a kid with speech issues and he didn't qualify for services, but would be facing a big issue if we didn't intervene (sadly, this happens with my own students with speech issues they fall way, way behind in literacy and then qualify for speech but are behind the curve). I paid for speech privately, and he was able to clear his issues before they became a big problem. Poorer parents can't do this.

On the other hand, when it comes to things like classroom management, I actually think my kids' wealthy school is sort of a mess. My other kid had normal issues (talking, calling out, etc.). One year I got weekly e-mails about this until I suggested a conference. In the conference I asked what strategies the teacher used to either redirect, whether there was a behavior improvement plan, what her class structure was like (many independent desk activities without teacher intervention), whether any of the best practices were being followed generally and she looked at me like I was an alien. She basically recommended I get private testing for ADHD, which we actually led to me realizing my kid who was "struggling to learn" was, in fact, gifted (thanks COGAT). And didn't have ADHD. And surprise, my kid also wasn't behind. She was a kid who needed classroom management. So, the e-mails were sent for a purpose. Because when that teacher was observed, if my kid was acting up (or any kid) the teacher would have cover of sorts. It's lazy as hell, but effective.

Ironically, both kids are now in a middle school that is a high FARMS AAP center middle school and I've actually been incredibly pleased. So, there's that.[/quote]

Principal (well, AP) in a wealthy school. The e-mails about the classroom management issues is a huge problem and something I've seen a lot. FWIW, I tend to send specialists and counselors into the classroom to get a better idea before a teacher can student "Student X" is a problem. Frankly, I don't trust the teachers unless they can demonstrate they did the work before bringing a problem to me to solve (most don't). I came from a Title I school as well (I transferred here to learn more about working with this population) and yes. There is so much space for teachers to be lazy if they aren't held accountable by admins. We try, but there are many things and this is one of those things that falls by the wayside too often, fwiw. If anything, I am pressured to give breaks, rely on data (which is good) because doing more is more work for everyone and there's no reason to create work that doesn't really matter. I'm a year and a few months in and I wouldn't take a full principal position in a non-title I school. [b]My expectations are too high.[/b][/quote]

LOL.  [/quote]

great attitude from shool leadership... why try to be part of the solution (at a no title 1 school) when you can just ignore it.  You're no better then those you are critiquing - pot meet kettle.[/quote]

Um, you seem to have reading issues. The AP made it clear that she doesn't let teachers coast, she uses specialists to observe to confirm issues and is actually more responsive than her school culture's demand. If anything, I'd prefer an admin who actually trying to get to the root cause of an issue instead of just passing the buck.

Then again, I think this thread is telling. Parents seem to be more invested in their homes' value than in actually supporting their kids and schools.[/quote]

Right, the AP above says he/she does what you describe AT a title 1 school.  But says they won't work at a non-Title 1 school because "my expectations are too high".  The point isn't are they doing something about it, its that AP refuses to do something about it AT a non-Title 1 school.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics