Reply to What the heck is happening to DCPS?

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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]My 2nd grader at a charter school just learned a song that helps them to ask people for their pronouns which is great.  They've also learned the phonics, continents, multiplication and the basics of plate tectonics (when they learned about the continents, they learned how the continents got their shape - it was apparently a very exciting lesson because they came home and showed me how various mountain ranges around the world were formed).[/quote]

We are not at the same charter but my 2nd grader, at an immersion charter, last year spent time in similar topic in science where they learned about earth plates, volcanoes, tsunami, etc…and they built some cool volcanoes using paper and clay and wrote stories about above in both English and Spanish.  The kids loved it.[/quote]

DCPS science curriculum is very strong. The problem here is that science and social studies are not tested subjects (except for a couple of times throughout their 13 years, OSSE tests science knowledge). When the testing stakes are high in terms of bonuses for principals and school rankings and federal funding, of course the no -tested subjects are allotted VERY little time. Many elementary teachers can only teach these subjects when time allows as the focus on math and ELA is relentless. The math curriculum is actually quite good, even if unfamiliar to parents. The steady focus on number sense and flexible operations will pay off! But there is also a time for memorizing basic math facts too. I suggest making some simple multiplication flash cards and doing them at dinner each night If your kid isn’t fluent by the end of third grade.[/quote]

PARCC numbers don’t support your premise above.  The overwhelming majority of kids are way below grade level in math, as in 1 or 2.  Look at the science scores, also abysmal.

If the curriculum was strong in content, above would not be so bad.  [/quote]

I think PP is trying to say the content is good, but DCPS teachers cannot spend enough time on it because they have to focus on math & ELA PARCC scores. [/quote]

NP. I think you miss their point. They are saying that the data doesn't support your position. If what you said was accurate then the Math and ELA scores should be excellent at the expense of science. But those scores suck.[/quote]

Scores are very dependent upon the socio-economics of particular schools, unfortunately. Math and ELA scores are high where incomes and opportunity are high in DCPS. Emphasis on science is slowly growing and DCPS now has an excellent science curriculum. But there is still not much time left for science and social studies. In schools where these subjects are given more emphasis the students come away with a very strong foundation and are often really excited about what they’re learning.[/quote]

I hope the science curriculum is excellent at the elementary level. However, as a middle school science teacher I find what downtown provides us to be laughably bad. I write all my own stuff. Kids need to learn science by doing experiments not by watching a screen.[/quote]

I agree. Another middle school teacher here.
The middle school curriculum in different subjects provided by DCPS is way too easy.
DCPS does not like challenging students for some reason. True rigor only comes in at the HS level in AP courses because DCPS cannot mess with that curriculum. It is a shock to many kids when they get to AP classes because they have not been progressively challenged [/quote]

I am an AP teacher and get a lot of concerned parents who say their kids had straight As until my class in the subject.

Also my PK3 kid is learning continents at a non DCPS school.  It shouldn’t happen in 6th grade.  [/quote]

why would DCPS want classes to be HARDER? the stats are dismal enough with the unchallenging curriculum.[/quote]

Because there is a large block of kids who are capable and need it to be prepared for college.  But yea, forget about them, let’s just focus on the bottom, put everyone in the same class and teach to the bottom.  
[/quote]

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