Reply to Fairfax County: McLean Citizens Association demands smaller class sizes

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Is there any research which shows the effect of smaller class sizes and instructional coaches on these schools with small class sizes? [/quote]

I wonder if the studies of factory chickens vs. organic chickens are applicable. You know, when they compare chicken completely crammed into tiny cages with those with slightly more space.

Cramming so many kids into a classroom feels a little factory to me. [/quote]

I'm not following. Buckell has an abundance of space, excessive numbers of teachers compared to other schools, and is still failing. It's in a neighborhood that was built to succeed as a middle class neighborhood with many single family homes. If any school should succeed it's this one, but it isn't. So do we throw more money at it or do we figure out a better way to teach to this neighborhood? I don't think these families or teachers want to be in a failing school either even if the class sizes are so low.[/quote]

The homes surrounding Bucknell are small townhomes, crappy duplexes, and old single family houses that young yuppie families don't typically want to live in, and no one is flipping/renovating many in that area because it isn't a great area. It's a tough cycle to break.

Many neighborhoods that were once succeeding in the last century are not any longer.

The title one schools benefit from extra teachers because they have SO MUCH LESS human capital than the schools in the more stable neighborhoods - in the FARMS/ESOL schools, PTAs are almost nonexistent, parents are not clamoring to volunteer for things, in many cultures it just isn't common for parents to helicopter over their children's education, parents may want to help with homework, but they just can't, because they don't know the language and materials - I could go on and on about what I see.

But some of these are easy fixes. There is no school with less than 300 students that has an active PTA. It's just not possible especially with a population like you described. There are parents all over FCPS who speak a many different languages and not english and still seem to get by and even have kids who excel. Look at Greenbriar West and the exploding AAP population there. Or TJ which is filled with foreign students. I looked at the stats for this school. The amount of special ed kids is nil. These kids are not born by parents on drugs. The parents just don't speak another language. If they can't help with homework because they don't know the language and materials, how about educating the parents? Is that done? Are parents basically given short lesson plans in spanish to help their children? There are bilingual reading materials that could be given out for homework instead of asking parents to read with their child for 20 minutes. Monthly newsletters on what is being covered that month with suggestions on how to help your child can be distributed bilingually. I'm not an expert, but there are parents all over the world sending their children to schools where they don't speak the language and their kids are still succeeding.
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TJ is not filled with foreign students, its filled with American Asians.

I can tell you with almost certainty that my Spanish-speaking neighbors do not speak a word of English to their children. They have no reason to learn English, as they work in industries entirely supported by Spanish speaking individuals, so they don't. 
[/quote]

Do they have to though? My husband has parents who still don't speak English. They came over as orphans of world war II with only a third grade education. They had several children who attended english schools with children also speaking the same language as they did and are all doing well, speak Englishwell, are all married, and have good paying jobs. They cared about educating their children and the older children helped the younger children. They weren't even given free breakfasts and both parents worked and still do work. I hear many of these moms don't even work out of the house. What do they do that they can't review reading comprehension with their kids in spanish for 20 minutes a day to get their SOL scores up? Here are some books $15 each. Have them help out. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bilingual+reading+comprehension&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abilingual+reading+comprehension[/quote]

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