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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]we are another happy family at ATS and so grateful we got in.

two kids are currently there. one of them was an above average reader going into the school. since he is so advanced he has been given the same amount of work but at a bit more advanced level. his teachers have also gone above and beyond in providing extra stuff for him too for over the summer and during the week if it's needed.

our other child that attends ATS is very much average in all subjects and has also had a positive experience. [/quote]

I just don't understand why they don't do this at all of the schools.[/quote]

Me too![/quote]
The model requires parent and teacher buy-in to be successful and not everyone wants that. [/quote]

If the instructional model requires parents, it shouldn't be a specified unique educational model. All "instructional models" benefit with parental support.
So, what part of the instructional model requires parental buy-in? Completing homework? or adhering to the dress code? Same would apply to the success of any school.[/quote]

NP. The point is that kids at option schools often perform better than those at neighborhood schools with similar demographics largely because they have parents involved & proactive  enough to seek out, learn about, and apply for the option school in the first place. This isn’t a secret. [/quote]

I understand the point. I've heard it for years and years. And I'm tired of it. Non-option schools can be quite successful, and many in APS are. It's the definition of "success" that seems to be at issue, if having the top scores is the criteria. In any system, one school is going to have the highest scores. Just because a school has lower stats does not mean it is not successful. All ATS does is weed out the more challenging children so that they don't have the demands and challenges of a Barcroft or a Randolp or a Drew. Those students aren't successful because their parents "sought out" and "learned about" and applied for it. It just happens that everyone there has done that. But many students whose parents don't seek to learn about options are equally successful in their neighborhood schools. It's just that you people believe those neighborhood schools aren't as successful as ATS because of all the students (many of who have very involved parents, btw) don't achieve at the same level and therefore drag the overall stats for the school down.

I challenge the ATS teachers to teach at Barcroft or Carlin Springs or Randolph and see how it compares - not because parents sought out ATS; but because those parents fled from those schools and as a group do not pose the same challenges in the same proportions. I believe ATS approach can be successful at any neighborhood school. That doesn't mean every student is going to be valedictorian.[/quote]
Have you taught at one of those 3 schools? I have and while in many  ways it was a lovely community with lots of very capable kids there were also parents who would have fought the ATS way. They didn’t want to or weren’t able to enforce behavior standards on their kid, help with homework or read newsletters. This is also true at the non-title I schools where I have worked. [/quote]

And did that keep you from being able to teach the motivated kids with engaged parents at those schools?
[/quote]
It definitely impacts the quality of the overall classroom [/quote]

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