Reply to Data indicate worsening early literacy progress and widening achievement gap among District students

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Reply to "Data indicate worsening early literacy progress and widening achievement gap among District students"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I work as a nurse case manager at one of the DC Medicaid MCO health plans.  
I call and see (in person via home visits) Medicaid members (i.e. their parents) all day and connect them with healthcare providers, resources etc. 
[b]
People, this is a crisis situation for the poor kids in our city. 
[/b]
There are thousands of kids who are not getting any education.  They are logging in maybe once every 2 weeks.   If that.  Many have never logged in once.  Their last 
instruction was in March 2019.

The thing is, no one really cares.  The kids are poor and most are black and no one cares.  Their teachers say they do, but they don't. 
The mayor says she does but ultimately she doesn't.  The upper NW white people (I am one) say they do but they certainly don't [i]really[/i] care. 
 
This is a massive tragedy.

[/quote]

+1000

I am a white parent and I am not worried about my child's literacy. I am unsure if I would send her to in-person school -- we have the resources to not have to if we don't feel it is safe. So no, this isn't about my kid, it's not about childcare, and I'm not using disadvantaged kids to push my personal agenda.

I also spent a decade tutoring DCPS students in reading before having my child. I am extremely worried about what is going to happen to literacy rates for poor black students in this city. We already were not serving these students. We already were not serving their families in ways that would help these kids get an education. And now we have abandoned them.

If we were serious, really serious, about helping these children, we would not be having endless arguments over in-person schools. We would go into these communities and ask families "What do you need to get your child to school?" We would prioritize in person school for these kids and we would find a way to make it happen safely, whatever it took. Outdoor classes in tents set up on fields. Classes in schools where the windows open. Half days, alternate days, everything on the table. We would work with the charters, with private schools, with every education outlet in this city and say "We have to help these members of our community with this essential need. What can you contribute?"

The city has pulled together to feed hungry people, to get money to laid of restaurant staff, to help local businesses and to protect tenants. Well let's do that for the thousands of 4, 5, and 6 year olds who are being robbed of one of the most essential skills needed to function in society. Let's make sure these kids learn to read, that they have access to teachers and books and a safe place to do it.

If we don't, many of these kids will never make it back. And it will be our fault.

[/quote]

Exactly, but this won't work for these posters, because it's not really about the "poor black and brown kids."  It's about [b]using[/b] the poor black and brown kids as tools to get their OWN kids into buildings.[/quote]

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