Reply to Disadvantaged children can hurt achievement of others in their classrooms

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Also [b]I challenge your notion that parents all over the city equally involved.[/b] There are definitely many involved families in gentrifying neighborhoods, and I am sure many involved families in individual schools but just look at the focus group participation by ward. Generational poverty is a problem. Those are the kids that need the most help and whose parents do not have the knowledge re how to help. I do not doubt their love for their children, but if they were as involved as many other parents throughout the city then dcps would not be in the state it is in.[/quote]

Why do you challenge that?  How are you so certain that ONLY wealthy or gentrifying parents are involved?

When I taught at a failing ES on Capitol Hill years ago (way before charters), I had parents showing up in my classroom, calling me on my lunch break, following me to my car, showing up early and staying late for parent teacher conferences, grilling me about poor grades, insisting on more homework--so freaking involved I wanted to set up boundaries to keep them at bay.

But they could do nothing about broken and boarded up windows, rooms with no heat or air condtioning, inoperable toilet facilities for an entire floor, no music, art or PE classes; anything you needed was rusty, broken or missing.  Who could possibly learn there?  The place looked like a prison or asylum inside and out.  It was the most dilapidated and depressing environment I've ever been in, but I didn't have to stay there.

I'm sure it's not that bad anymore, but when I talk about resources, it's not just funds/pupil.  It's getting whatever is needed to ensure education and enrichment, which may mean an entirely different  set of priorites--specialized staff or training, before and after school programs, enrichment and community development, specialized curricula, the chance to organize around interests (science club, etc)--but these extras are also essential to the success of a school.

You say failing parents are the reason DCPS is failing, but I say it's the other way around.[/quote]

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