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September 2006
No Love for Bicycle-Attendance Program
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was a bit surprised by some negative response to my story about District Attorney Paul Howard’s program that gives bicycles to kids with perfect attendance at three Atlanta schools. I liked the simplicity of the idea, as well as the universal appeal of a bicycle.
Well, nothing in education is simple. Several readers complained about the child’s quote that he goes to school even when he is sick. They view this is a bad idea. Keep in mind this child is only seven. His idea of sick is a little sneezing or a stomach ache. Obviously, his mother would keep him home if he had a high fever or something, and I regret I did not make that clear. But that is a fuzzy area as to when a child should go to school and when the child should stay home so as not to spread germs to others.
Today, a letter-writer raises another point. (Scroll down to the fourth letter.) She says Howard’s intentions are good but misguided. “Students should be rewarded for academic excellence,” Cheryl Schoenberg of Dacula writes. She notes that an employee who shows up for work but doesn’t do the job well is not likely to remain employed for long.
Do you like this program and the message it sends? Or do you worry, like the letter-writer, that your child would get infected by a sick child trying to earn the bike?
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School Report Cards for ‘06
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The school report cards for 05-06 are available here.
Here you can find out about any school or system: CRCT scores (the percent of all kids who passed, met and exceeded expectations); A “performance index” calculated by the state using a formula that is fully explained; “performance highlights,” which show areas where more than 80 percent of kids passed; how many kids were retained; high school completion rates; how many graduates pursue the various types public colleges in Georgia; High School Graduation Test results; SAT average; ACT average; demographics; and experience, education and salary average for teachers.
What you won’t find: Results on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in grades 3, 5 and 8. The state does not publish this information because they want to focus on their preferred CRCT. I have requested and received the Iowa results, but due to statistical problems I haven’t been able to publish them yet. This really, really frustrates me and has for years. The scores are not surprisingly low. Some educators think parents misunderstand the Iowas.
Overall, how would you grade the state report cards?
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End High School Fatigue
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Riverdale High School senior Aubrey Williams writes that he’s worn out at 17 due to schoolwork and standardized testing overload.
“Teens today are simply too stressed and tired because teachers, schools and parents demand high scholastic achievement and don’t help students use their time wisely.
Fatigue affects teens mentally and physically. It becomes a large part of the struggle to do well in school. Testing, pressuring and rushing students wears them out.
Fatigue has prevented me from functioning properly.
During the past school year, I found myself waking up late for school, or simply not going because I was too tired. With the amount of stress and pressure I had at school, focusing became more and more difficult.
When I couldn’t focus, I missed out on what the teacher explained. I stayed up late to finish projects and sometimes had as much as six hours of homework.
Anyone might assume that students choose to overwork themselves. They don’t. They are simply assigned too much testing and work to finish in a limited amount of time.”
He suggests a study hall period for students (Do they not have that anymore? Not that I ever studied, but…), the oft-debated block schedule and a paring down of standardized tests. He also thinks Moms and Dads should ease up on assigning the chores (Do they do that anymore???) and kids - himself included - should manage their time better.
Are today’s high school students overworked?
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More Than 40,000 Repeaters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s how Georgia kids who failed the CRCT in grades 3,5 and 8 fared after they had a chance to attend summer school and take the test again.
In a nutshell: 45 percent of third-graders who had to take the reading test again passed. That means about 11,460 should be back in third grade for a second go-round, unless their parents successfully appealed.
In fifth-grade reading: 41 percent passed, leaving 13,313 to stay back or appeal. In fifth-grade math: 33 percent passed, leaving 9,167 to repeat or appeal. NOTE: I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH OVERLAP THERE IS IN THESE TWO GROUPS OF STUDENTS.
In eighth-grade reading: 40 percent passed, leaving 7,700 shut out of high school pending appeal. In eighth-grade math: only 30 percent passed, leaving a whopping 19,422 to beg their way into high school or repeat eighth-grade. NOTE: I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH OVERLAP THERE IS IN THESE TWO GROUPS OF STUDENTS.
Given what I don’t know, I’m saying at least 44,200 kids should be repeating their grade. I need to find out how many successfully appealed, and how much overlap there was in the two groups. Stay tuned….
Also noteworthy, thousands of kids eligible for the retest didn’t bother to take it.
Meanwhile… Parents, was your child held back? Did you appeal? Was your appeal granted? Teachers, do you have repeaters in your class? Did you sit on any appeal committees? Talk to me!
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Math Whizzes Need Attention Too!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Eileen Dodd’s interesting story about a 15-year-old boy headed to Cal Tech after 8 years at North Gwinnett High School reminded me of a chat I had in a middle school office with some frustrated parents.
I was at this highly regarded middle school to interview a spelling bee champion. The student had an unexpected math test to finish, so I waited in the office, eager to squeeze in a few minutes of reading…until I started eavesdropping (I’m a reporter!) on a conversation among four parents waiting to speak with the principal.
Their seventh-grade students were taking Algebra I. What would they take in eighth grade? The parents wanted them to take geometry. BUT… they wanted the course offered at the middle school, as they weren’t comfortable with the deal the principal was offering, shuttling their children to the nearby high school to take the course. With 12 or so seventh-graders making an A or B in Algebra I, the parents thought the principal should form a class and find a teacher.
Their argument was - you know where this is going - WHY SHOULD ALL THE RESOURCES GO TO THE STRUGGLING KIDS? “MATH GEEKS” DESERVE ATTENTION TOO!
You be the principal. How would you handle this request?
(Note: Some Georgia middle schools do offer eighth-grade geometry, but this school at that time did not… Another note: I originally had the kids taking Algebra II. That’s wrong. They were taking Algebra I, and geometry would have been next in the sequence. Sorry for the confusion. )
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Masters of their Classroom Domain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue has deemed 199 teachers as masters of their craft. The Master Teachers may become Academic Coaches, spending part of the school day mentoring other teachers.
This program came out of the 2005 Legislature “to recognize teachers who are impacting student achievement and to keep Georgia’s best teachers in the classrooms, rather than moving to administrative positions,” according to a news release.
Almost 900 teachers applied to be master teachers. The winners were chosen based on “evidence of student learning gains through standardized tests,” the release says.
The Master Teacher and Academic Coaches program is costing about $2.5 million. For the full release and a list of the 199 teachers, go here.
Do you give this program a thumbs up or a thumbs down?
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Watching the Recess Pendulum Swing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yes, it’s true. I observed recess at an Atlanta school with my very own eyes. A true commitment to giving kids 15 minutes or so of unstructured play is still going to vary widely from school to school. But, still, school leaders everywhere are feeling the pressure from advocacy groups and parents to allow children a little bit of free play. Here’s my story.
Is your elementary school recess-friendly or recess-scroogy? How about for middle school students? Do they deserve what used to be called “social time” for 15 or 20 minutes a day?
Over at Momania, Theresa asks why parents volunteer in their child’s class…
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School in the Time of Football Season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I am working on a story involving a 7-year-old boy who is a bright and delightful student. A teacher’s dream. But I need to interview him at home, and this has posed a challenge. You see, he has football practice every weekday until 8 or 8:30. On Saturday, he has games. So on Sunday, I’ll be headed over to his house and knowing him I’ll probably find him as energetic as ever. Ah, youth. Please note, this child is a very good student. He comes to school every day - he is often the first one to arrive - with his homework completed.
Still, talking to his mother about his schedule just got me wondering how football players, especially the middle and high schoolers, manage school during the season. It’s such an intense sport.
Any parents of football players out there? Does school take a back seat during the season? Teachers … do you make accommodations for players during the season?
Can These Parents Be Saved?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
From the fascinating conversation going on under the thread about parents who lie about where they live… DeKalb mother “MMM” writes about DeKalb’s parent resource centers:
“Programs that modify behavior of parents and their students are another valuable option. The parent resource centers in Dekalb and programs like PAT (parents are teachers) can be excellent—-but in the experience of most educators, the parents who make use of these services are usually not the ones that most need them.”
I toured these parent resource centers when they first opened. I felt like a kid at Toys R Us. So many wonderful, glorious things: books, games, toys, workbooks. You check them out just like a library. Bring them back when you’re done. What a great idea, I said. I wrote a story about the centers in hopes that parents would take advantage. I heard a few months later from the folks at the center I visited. They said the center had indeed been a hit. But they acknowledged that teaching a parent how to help the child in a meaningful way mind does not happen overnight. They stressed that there was still so much work that needed to be done. And they noted, like MMM, that many of the parents taking advantage are already very involved, diligent parents.
Can these well-stocked and staffed programs designed to engage parents make a difference?
Trooper to Teacher
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s a story by Chris Reinolds about Troops to Teachers, a program that pays for some of the courses needed for a military professional to switch to teaching.
Yes, this is a way to get more teachers into classrooms. But another benefit might be the discipline these teachers can instill in the classroom. A special education teacher told Reinolds “her military background has helped her structure and organize her classroom and communicate well.”
Are you a trooper-to-teacher? Have you worked with one? Has your child had one as a teacher? Should trooper-to-teachers be helping traditional teachers - especially newbies - with discipline?
Larry is in Amherst, and He’s Fine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Back in May, I wrote about some Atlanta graduates going to “Little Ivy” New England colleges such as Amherst, Bowdoin and Middlebury. An exceptional guy and Middlebury alum named Graham Balch organized the program, and lots of people worked hard to make it happen for these students.
In my story, I quoted Conetrise Holt of Washington High, who is now at Middlebury, and Larry Thompson of South Atlanta High, now at Amherst.
I was happy to hear at a recent Atlanta school board meeting that all the students arrived safely. I wanted more details, so I cornered Jim Bostic, a state school board member. I heard he accompanied Larry and Larry’s mom to Amherst. Larry’s mom had never flown before. Bostic told me Larry is settling into the beautiful campus situated in the college town of the same name. (I went to neighboring UMass, so I’m very familiar.) Larry has tons of support, including Bostic, who went off to college at Clemson many years ago and remembers well the experience of feeling a bit out of one’s familiar element. In short, Larry is just fine. Amherst officials assured me in May that their school has a lot of experience working with students from public schools not known for sending their grads off to ivied campuses. Their graduation rate is something like 95 percent.
So why have I worried so much about Larry and the others? I guess it’s because I remember what it’s like to be an awkward freshman in an unfamiliar environment. It gets easier, but some students don’t stick around long enough to realize that.
Not Another Inspirational Teacher Movie
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m reluctant to post an endorsement of Half Nelson, a movie about a white social studies teacher in a Brooklyn middle school. It’s not a movie everybody would like, and not something anyone underage should go anywhere near.
But … I loved this movie! There are no inspirational-teacher-movie stereotypes. No grand speech. No game-winning free-throw. (The teacher also coaches basketball.) Just a teacher with a lot to offer his students, but ultimately too many of his own problems. (Okay, I’ll say it, since it’s not exactly a plot spoiler… he’s a drug addict.)
“Half Nelson” isn’t really about education, but there are some interesting school issues raised. The curriculum-shunning teacher is passionate and gifted at engaging his students in history, but he seems to go too far in exposing his ideology with his emphasis on dialectics. (See definition 3A.) Still, one could argue that it’s better to engage kids and risk exposing them to a biased view than to play it so neutral that the kids don’t care one way or the other.
I’d love to hear what others think of this movie, if you have a chance to catch it this weekend. (Just don’t ask me for a refund if you don’t like it… like I said, it’s not “Akeelah and the Bee”.)
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Lying about Residency: A Felony
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yowza, people, the Fayette school system has arrested a mother and a grandmother for lying about their residency so their children (and grandchildren) could attend Fayette County schools. Bridget Gutierrez reports here that they could be charged with “false swearing” on residency forms, a felony.
If convicted, the women could face jail time.
Is this harsh or justified?
A Long Road to Alternative Certification
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hi all, several blog contributers have mentioned Georgia’s alternative teaching program and how hard it is to figure out. I have heard that before many times. The teachers I know who have figured it out got hired first, then sought help from the Professional Standards Commission in getting certified.
Here’s a success story from “Joy in Teaching”
“We had one TAPP teacher at my old school a few of years ago who had been a police officer in NYC on 9/11. After going throught the devastation of that, she decided that her family’s needs would be better served if they not only left NYC but if she sought a different profession as well.
She ended up in special ed, which tends to “eat up” new teachers fairly quicky. She also ended up being absolutely GREAT and went on to win Teacher of the Year after her first year. The kids loved her, her peers loved her, and she enjoyed her job very much.
It’s possible for a TAPP trained teacher to succeed, but it’s rare. It takes a special person who has a serious support system behind them both at home and at school.
Come to think of it, don’t all new teachers need that?”
So it can be done! Let’s hear from others who have tried and/or succeeded in getting into the classroom under alternative certification. Have you tried to switch careers in to education? Have you succeeded? Did you get frustrated? Any ideas for a better process?
Early Decision: Good or Bad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An education consultant called me yesterday to talk about controversy over whether colleges should have an early decision process. Students can find out much earlier in their senior year whether their favorite college wants them. In some cases, the student must commit to attend the college if it accepts him or her early. In other cases, the student does not promise to attend even with an early acceptance.
I know the college application landscape is littered with applications these days. Students apply to tons of colleges - sometimes a dozen or more - out of fear they won’t get in anywhere.
The education consultant favors early admission, because he says it allows students to know sooner where they are going to college and then to focus on academics and extra-curriculars during their senior year without stressing about college prospects. Also, it gives parents and students more time to get their financial aid squared away.
On the con side, a policy wonk weighs in saying early admissions favors white, wealthy students who can commit to a school early without comparing various financial aid packages. Students sometimes commit too quickly based on an early decision acceptance out of fear that they wouldn’t get a better offer when, in fact, they probably would have had several good options to consider.
There’s more to this complex issue, but I’m weighted down right now with stories and tips and wanted to put this out there for parents to consider.
Parents, students, counselors etc., is early decision a do or a don’t?
Sticky PR for School Systems
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
School systems are PR machines.
A case in point: My colleague Bridget Gutierrez, who covers among other things the Fayette school system, called up the Fayette system’s Web site and found a link to a “clarification” of a story she wrote about Fayette’s decision not to participate in the state’s graduation coach program.
The one-page clarification says: “The Atlanta Journal Constitution article, ‘Fayette Opts Out of State Program, Graduation Coaches Deemed Not Worth It,’ inaccurately implies that the Fayette County School System is doing nothing to help lower dropout rates since it is not using the state’s Graduation Coach model…The Fayette County School System supports School Superintendent Kathy Cox and Governor Sonny Perdue’s efforts to lower dropout rates and has publicly stated that the school system is participating in the statewide initiative.”
The statement goes on to list the many dropout prevention programs the district has in place, though it never cites an inaccurate statement in Bridget’s story. Bridget spoke with Superintendent John DeCotis today, and he told her he did not like the tone of her story.
DeCotis acknowledged getting a call from someone at the Georgia Department of Education - Superintendent Kathy Cox hails from Fayette - about the story, but he told Bridget he did not post the clarification at the behest of Cox. He just wanted to clarify things… (He went on to mention a lack of fondness for the headline on this story…)
This happens sometimes on the schools beat. Even when a reporter writes up a conversation straight from a public meeting, school officials may feel misrepresented. Their Web site is a place to post their side of things. Public schools desperately need public support, so it’s understandable that they would monitor news coverage. Posting a rebuttal could backfire, however, and make the system appear defensive or overly sensitive.
What do you think your school system leaders should do, respond to news stories on their Web site or shake their heads and let it go?
“Teachers Shouldn’t Have to Pay Federal Taxes”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A blog reader suggested this post on an earlier thread:
“Patti, Can you please start a blog about attracting quality teachers in the classroom? My suggestions - 1)Teachers shouldn’t have to pay FEDERAL TAXES. 2)A FEDERAL LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM that will be used to pay off student loan debt. 3)Give Teachers More AUTHORITY IN TODAY’S CURRICULUM. (Teachers know what works) 4)Abolish the UNIONS and Offer Bonuses to Teachers who Increase students scores in the classroom. 5)Create a Partnership that Teachers are able to get LOANS FOR HOMES. 6) Starting salary at $45,000 7) Performance Based Compensation (Bonus) 9)Authority to get rid of troublemakers in the classroom
ANY SUGGESTIONS MY FELLOW BLOGGERS?”
Well, folks?
Dacula Elementary: 2,008 Kids and Counting…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Holy moly, I have heard of giant elementary schools. When I covered Gwinnett in the late 1990s, Jackson, Walnut Grove and I believe Fort Daniel were all over 1,500 students large. But 2,008???? You have to ask, “Is this just too big?” Laura Diamond does just that in her story
Some parents say there are too many kids packed into the school building, but others say as long as the school is properly run, they’re okay with it. After all, Dacula draws from many family-oriented neighborhoods, so parent involvement is a given. With the PI comes high test scores, generally good discipline, good teachers and all the other things that make a school click.
Would you object to a 2,008-student school for your child? Teachers, would you teach at a school as large? Any parents out there who have experienced the mega-school first-hand?
And after you’ve contributed to this discussion, hop on over to MOMania and read how Theresa’s child’s Gwinnett County kindergarten class had to be disbanded because it fell just a few students short.
Kids Who Skip School
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A blog reader sent me this the other day:
“I was running errands around Tucker today, and couldn’t help but notice a significant number of kids wandering the street or hanging around in the park behind the school in the middle of the school day. What efforts do the schools make to prevent kids from literally walking away from their education? What about the local police? Do they ever bother to try to enforce truancy laws when they see young teens wandering the street during school hours?”
I did a series on truancy several years ago and discovered a few things. First, though kids can legally leave school at 16, very few efforts are made to get 15-year-olds back on track because they are regarded lost causes. Second, the effort put into rounding up truants and getting them to school varies wildly depending on the commitment of the principal and the courts. Finally, to the surprise of no one, this problem is COMPLICATED. Several of the kids I met were 14 or 15 and nowhere near ready for high school. Not a lot of incentive for school districts to bring these kids back to class. And if the kids do come back, what are their chances???
DeKalb County has a truancy school that has helped hard-core school skippers get back on track. Working with truants takes a huge commitment on the part of a lot of people. Often these kids have psychological problems, unstable families, learning disabilities etc.
Should school officials and law enforcement work harder to bring truant kids back to school?
The Counselor’s SAT Dilemma
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is it really Friday? I guess so, since I got to read my favorite newspaper column, “Am I Right? by Jordy Ray Purlky Jr. The B Movie King.” Wow, this week went by fast.
Can you handle one more post about the SATs? Here’s an op-ed about how unfair the SAT is in the way that it opens the gates for talk about “Georgia’s stupid kids.”
Rick A. Breault, an education professor at Kennesaw State University, writes:
“Its intended function was to help determine a student’s aptitude for and possibility of succeeding in college. It was to be taken by high school students who were seriously considering college. And for many years, that was a small percentage of all high school students. Therefore, when a large portion of the high school population is strongly encouraged or even required to take the test and it is consequently used as a measure of what they have learned, the test has been used improperly and is no longer valid.
Now, with the push to get all students into college — whether or not they want to do so or have the ability, but simply as job training and credentialing — using the SAT as a measure of real learning is almost like using liquid measure to determine the distance between two places.”
So many questions here… The one I’m most interested in is whether counselors have an obligation to steer kids toward the SAT or away from the SAT? I’ve heard from many who say they are doing the right thing in getting most of their kids signed up, and other schools are cheating by discouraging kids from taking the SAT. I’m wondering, though, is it really wrong to be honest with a student about his or her post-secondary options?
AYP: A Student’s View
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Marjon Wolfe, a student at Clayton County’s Riverdale High School, says in this op-ed piece she and her friends are succeeding at school. So why does the state view it as a failure? Well, AYP calculations only take into account how juniors score on the Georgia High School Graduation Test.
“The last time I walked down my school’s hallway, I recollect seeing ninth-, 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders, and at times eighth-graders attend Riverdale to take advanced math classes,” she writes…”My teachers bust their butts every day to ensure that my peers and I receive knowledge to last a lifetime, so before some “high and mighty” politician places a label on me and my school, maybe he should come down for a visit, talk to students and teachers, and see what Riverdale is really like.”
Does Marjon have a point? (And please, people, this is a student. No need to attack her… just comment on her piece, please…)
“We All Want State-of-the-Art Schools”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Forsyth County Superintendent Paula Gault says she’s responding to what the community demands in recommending a $63.6 million high school. It’s a bit more than Marietta High School, which was called a “taj mahal” when it opened five years ago. Fulton’s Milton High was more than $65 million.
Land and other factors drive the price as well as bells and whistles. And in other parts of the country, these prices would seem like a bargain.
What do you want in a new high school?
Swimming Against the Tide of Boredom
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s hard to focus on just one point I gleaned from my visit last Friday to Augusta’s Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School. Click here for the story.
I think I’ll go with this: boredom. Usually when I visit middle and high schools, I see kids who are obviously bored out of their minds. Over the years, I have come to see this as their shortcoming. Life isn’t a nonstop party, and school doesn’t exist for students’ entertainment. BUT… I have to say that I observed at Davidson what school can be when boredom is not an issue. These kids are engaged. They do not need toothpicks to hold their eyelids open, even in academic classes. I have to think the constant changing of gears - from tap dancing to French to drawing to calculus - keeps them alert. These kids are so active. They’re doing stuff, not just sitting.
I know, I know, not every school has the luxury of accepting the most teachable kids. But there has to be a lesson in there somewhere for those who educate the masses. Doesn’t there?
DeKalb’s “consummate educator”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry for the late post. I had an out-of-town assignment, and just got to a computer. Kristina Torres has a profile of DeKalb County’s teacher of the year. Here’s the link.
Anthony Stinson, an Alabama farmer’s son, told Kristina his parents instilled in him and his nine brothers and sisters a belief in education’s value, despite their humble roots in a “podunk” town. The oldest child went to college to avoid a life in the fields, and all nine followed. All ten children ultimately ended up in education.
I can’t really think of a question … I just thought it was a nice story.
Have a safe Labor Day weekend!
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