Reply to MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries

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Reply to "MCPS and Starr will probably need to change boundaries"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]I don't know if you can find anyone worse. People hated Weast, but at least he had a vision - especially when it boiled down to professional development. [b]And while Weast labeled low performing schools as red zone schools, he did acknowledge there was a disparity among area schools. [/b]

Starr has nothing to his name. He tried to highlight social-emotional learning, but no one - aside from school psychologists - really understands the research behind it and how it can be applied to instructional practices.  [/quote]

This. [b]You can't solve a problem if you keep trying to hide that you have it. [/b]The whole 2.0 and everyone is a P disaster is all about hiding the achievement gap rather than solving it. Bussing kids around isn't going to make any difference either. It will just divert funds to buses not actually teaching students.

If MCPS wants to solve the achievement gap, it needs to stop passing the buck until its too late. This starts in ES with giving actual assessments and tests to identify early on when students are failing. It means giving after school tutoring programs and rewarding students for improvement. It means giving kids back their tests and exams and requiring every kids that scored below a certain percentage to attend tutoring, correct their mistakes and take a make up until they pass. [/quote]

Starr is constantly talking about the achievement gap. That's not what I would do, if I were trying to hide the achievement gap.[/quote]

Talking about it w/o offering solutions does nothing.

If he really believes that social-emotional learning is the key (look at his strategic plan), he would specifically address it at the school level.  This isn't the case.  He goes on and on about equity, but I have yet to be involved in a discussion at the school level about WHAT equity looks like in the classroom. Sure, I can find the definition online. But how does that definition translate into instructional practices?  And most importantly, how do we get educators to do some self-reflection on their beliefs?

It's hit or miss.

"Redistributing kids" won't solve the problem.  Kids self-segregate - even in some very diverse schools.  In the "W schools," they'll self-segregate by money.  Do you honestly think some kid living in low-income housing will be welcomed by the kid in the mansion?  doubtful

And sprinkling in a few kids coming from disadvantaged homes will make them stand out, as most will be black and Hispanic.  Is that fair?

If I had the answer, I'd be a millionaire. But I know that this solution will not work either.  [/quote]

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