Reply to WCP article on Watkins

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]I sense [detractors] think that somehow those [achievement gap] efforts harm the outcomes for white students or other students,” says one parent who supports Bell. “Maybe they think if you’re focusing efforts on the achievement gap, you can’t achieve for all students.”[/quote]

I think that this is a real concern. Do Watkins families feel that children doing above grade level work are pushed to reach even farther? That is not the sense I have come away with after speaking with Watkins parents. [/quote]

Do Watkins family think their kids are MORE important than some other Watkins family kids?  The reasonable, community-minded approach would be to work to serve both sets of students, particularly since you chose to live in a city and neighborhood that you know is beset by income inequality.  Not to take over the school for your own personal benefit.l  [/quote]

No, but they certainly think their children are equally important.

By the way the Watkins neighborhood is not beset with income equality. The income equality comes from OOB. Doesn't make the kids any less important, but you should get your facts right. [/quote]

The idea that the UMC kids at Watkins are somehow being harmed by attempts to address income inequality is just ludicrous.  [/quote]

When the attitude of some teachers is that your child is already ahead and therefore it doesn't matter if they make progress during the year, then yes, they are being harmed. [/quote]

Yeah, I don't believe that's the case.  Even if it is, sounds like it's one bad teacher -- and also that there's no evidence that NOT helping the kids at the bottom would help the kids at the top.  [/quote]

Preventing (or at least, not encouraging) the further advancement of the advanced kids will help reduce the achievement gap. Helping the advanced kids excel increases the gap.  It's not "ludicrous," it's common sense. [/quote]

That sounds like a really intense conspiracy theory, and I seriously doubt it's true.  [/quote]

the school isn't the reason advanced kids are advanced and conversely they can't them back academically.  This is just stupid tin foil hat trolling from PP[/quote]

np here.  I don't think this is so far off the mark.  Look at what is happening at Wilson next year with the Principal putting all students, regardless of ability, in honors classes.  I think DCPS understands that it is next to impossible to meaningfully raise the scores of low performing students without serious, costly social interventions.  So, lets make that achievement gap lessen by slowing the propulsion of higher performing students.  You really think an "honors" class that has students both below and above grade level is going to serve higher performing students?  How much more advanced will they really become when the teacher spends the majority of her/his time trying to get students several grades behind just to grade level?  I am all for helping these students but suspect DCPS has decided to do it at the expense of high performing students.[/quote]

so you're comparing a HIGH SCHOOL curriculum with an ELEMENTARY SCHOOL curriculum?  That's ridiculous[/quote]

or you could look at the obvious -- the highest performing students are going to perform with or without the lower performing students keeping up.  They won't get pushed like the TJHSST students but they aren't going to regress.[/quote]

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