Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Universal pre-k for both 3 and 4-year-olds. It’s the only thing. We have to get them in younger. We are getting kindergarteners who don’t know colors, don’t know their names, can’t use the bathroom, can barely talk in their native language. For whatever reason, parents are just not preparing them. We cannot make up that deficit starting at age 5.

Montgomery County already offers FREE pre-K for lower income families with bus service.

How has that been working out for the kids who attend the free MCPS preK program?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know what else you can do for them. The county has already spent a lot of money and resources trying to help the lowest learners. But you can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to help themselves.

What they need is strong family support, but the school schools help there?

How do you know they don't want to help? Parents of all levels want to help in a way they can, for some it's just trying to stay alive have you met some of these families and know what kind of situation they're in?

Yes, I have. For many (not all) there is no push from the families to do well in school or even GO to school. There is no motivation to perform better.

OP's also asking: "Parents/guardians of these students need assistance too but there is time and language and cultural barriers- getting them information about identifying learning issues, ELL services, attitude/views about learning?"

If what PP says is true, that there is no motivation to perform better, what exactly are the expectations of those parents?

Anonymous wrote:Universal pre-k for both 3 and 4-year-olds. It’s the only thing. We have to get them in younger. We are getting kindergarteners who don’t know colors, don’t know their names, can’t use the bathroom, can barely talk in their native language. For whatever reason, parents are just not preparing them. We cannot make up that deficit starting at age 5.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For meals, I’d like to see protein for breakfast - like some sort of egg dish. The kids eat pure sugar for breakfast and are starving two hours later, when a kindly teacher might give them a carb snack.

I’d limit the screen time in lower elementary and encourage parents to do the same. More time just reading a book to the class where they sit there and develop their listening and concentration skills.

I’d continually reinforce basic math facts - simple single digit addition, substitution, multiplication way longer than you’d think necessary.

Yes - identifying issues earlier, especially for kids whose parents can’t.

Encourage kids to do their multiplication flashcards at home and test them daily on it at the correct grade level.

Additional recess or outdoor time. Both a morning and afternoon recess or daily PE. Some hard exercise in the morning might really help the kids and lower the amount of time spent on classroom management.

This is school, if your kid needs play time take them before or after school yourself. Very little time is spent on academics aready.

Anonymous wrote:The truth is that this is not some Holy Grail that has never been studied or solved. We know what works, but implementation at scale is hard and there's no political will:

At the ES level:
* Universal pre-K
* Wraparound services for families
* 3rd grade retention
* Early intervention for learning differences
* Alternative programs for at-risk kids, with a goal of reintegration
* Vocational programs, and conversely, accelerated programs without gatekeeping

Anonymous wrote:To be honest, they need to lower the expectations in some of our more challenging schools. The idea that focus and Title 1 schools can use the same curriculum as Potomac/Bethesda schools is ridiculous. Both CKLA and Eureka are way too high for over 75% of our students. We need curriculums that are accessible and give the right level of challenge. When it’s constantly over the kids heads, they shit down and aren’t avail for learning. If we could show them success, they would want to be there and learning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know what else you can do for them. The county has already spent a lot of money and resources trying to help the lowest learners. But you can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to help themselves.

What they need is strong family support, but the school schools help there?

How do you know they don't want to help? Parents of all levels want to help in a way they can, for some it's just trying to stay alive have you met some of these families and know what kind of situation they're in?

Yes, I have. For many (not all) there is no push from the families to do well in school or even GO to school. There is no motivation to perform better.

Anonymous wrote:For meals, I’d like to see protein for breakfast - like some sort of egg dish. The kids eat pure sugar for breakfast and are starving two hours later, when a kindly teacher might give them a carb snack.

I’d limit the screen time in lower elementary and encourage parents to do the same. More time just reading a book to the class where they sit there and develop their listening and concentration skills.

I’d continually reinforce basic math facts - simple single digit addition, substitution, multiplication way longer than you’d think necessary.

Yes - identifying issues earlier, especially for kids whose parents can’t.

Encourage kids to do their multiplication flashcards at home and test them daily on it at the correct grade level.

Additional recess or outdoor time. Both a morning and afternoon recess or daily PE. Some hard exercise in the morning might really help the kids and lower the amount of time spent on classroom management.

Anonymous wrote:To be honest, they need to lower the expectations in some of our more challenging schools. The idea that focus and Title 1 schools can use the same curriculum as Potomac/Bethesda schools is ridiculous. Both CKLA and Eureka are way too high for over 75% of our students. We need curriculums that are accessible and give the right level of challenge. When it’s constantly over the kids heads, they shit down and aren’t avail for learning. If we could show them success, they would want to be there and learning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know what else you can do for them. The county has already spent a lot of money and resources trying to help the lowest learners. But you can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to help themselves.

What they need is strong family support, but the school schools help there?

How do you know they don't want to help? Parents of all levels want to help in a way they can, for some it's just trying to stay alive have you met some of these families and know what kind of situation they're in?

Yes, I have. For many (not all) there is no push from the families to do well in school or even GO to school. There is no motivation to perform better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know what else you can do for them. The county has already spent a lot of money and resources trying to help the lowest learners. But you can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to help themselves.

What they need is strong family support, but the school schools help there?

How do you know they don't want to help? Parents of all levels want to help in a way they can, for some it's just trying to stay alive have you met some of these families and know what kind of situation they're in?