Reply to Why does mcps do a crappy job with magnet/enriched opportunities

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I don't disagree with this generally, with a child new to a CES this year, but notwithstanding what some say on this forum, the CES classroom is filled with really bright, generally enthusiastic and motivated kids.  That makes a lot of what they do in class work.  One could replicate that in the larger ES's and MS's by simply tracking kids, but nobody, apparently, wants to do that. [/quote]

Nobody wants to do that because it's bad for all of the kids who are, for whatever reason, in lower tracks. Research has established this over and over and over.[/quote]

It has showed that if the classes all have the same kids/teacher ratios.  Research after research has shown that lower track kids need better teacher ratios.  They also need accountability.

Make the higher track classes 25-30 to 1
Make grade-level track classes 20-25 to 1 
Make the lower track classes 15 to 1 and supply aides to rotate as needed.

The biggest need is getting kids in early grades up to grade level.  You will never ever get a child a few levels back to grade ability in a mixed classroom no matter how many times you pull them out for small groups (which we all know is not a lot.)  Small groups also leave hours of wasted time when you aren't in a group and most of these kids are too embarrassed to ask for help from peers.  And we all know the teacher is too busy.  Small group sessions may work if there were two teachers or a teacher and an aide in the class, but right now MCPS has about 25 kids in a class with 1 teacher and about 6-7 ability groups for reading.  If you have ever volunteered in any grade K-5th, you can see that it is a hot mess.

The problem everyone seems to think is that these kids will all know they are in the worst class and that kids will see a pattern (more hispanic and AA males in the lower class.) Well, I sure don't think mixing everything up perfectly between race, sex, and ability is working either.  Not addressing the issues is what MCPS does best.  Knowing they can't bring up the rear and decrease the front has been terrible.  Why not have mixed classrooms and then at least mix whole classrooms for math for an hour in the morning and then reading for an hour in the afternoon.  The 90 minutes of busy work so a teacher can attempt to get thru 5-6 groups a days for 10 minutes each is a negative for all of the kids.  Our test scores show it too.  The only schools doing well are the kids with parents that piggyback things at home.  [/quote]

This is EXACTLY what needs to happen.  Most teachers would agree with you that this would be a huge improvement over the current sh(tshow that is an ES classroom in MCPS.

And, the kids know NOW who is a strong student, and who isn't.  Keeping the kids in a mixed classroom isn't preventing that.  I had kids in my DD's 1st grade class comment that they weren't as smart as Larlo because he was such a good reader and they were not.  [/quote]

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