Ann Arbor school district outlines plan to eliminate achievement gap
Ann Arbor school leaders presented a layered approach for eliminating the district's long-standing achievement gap Wednesday.
The plan, developed by district administrators in collaboration with a team of seven building principals or educators, includes nine areas of focus:
- Developing clearly defined and articulated content and grading standards
- Building equity teams
- Developing an accountability system
- Quality professional development
- Parent and community engagement
- Student engagement
- Improving early childhood programs
- Understanding the barriers to learning and resources
- Student intervention and support services (SISS)
Closing the achievement gap — or performance disparity between white students and their black and Hispanic peers — has been a priority of Ann Arbor Public Schools’ for nearly 31 years, school administrators said Wednesday during the Board of Education's meeting at Mitchell Elementary School. The district also wants to improve the performance of impoverished and special education students.
“If good intentions could solve this achievement gap, we’d have solved the problem a long time ago,” said Trustee Andy Thomas.
Andy Thomas
Superintendent Patricia Green said many best practices are in place throughout the district; however, Ann Arbor must increase its consistency.
Administrators discussed the district’s history with the achievement gap as well as national statistics. They identified several critical components to closing the gap that were previously overlooked, such as written procedural expectations, classroom instruction for addressing social and emotional learning and a defined list of who is responsible for the plan.
Green said the next step will be developing an accountability template, assigning specific tasks to individuals and establishing a timetable with a start and end date for putting the gap elimination plan in motion.
“We will be establishing who’s in charge and who’s monitoring what,” she said.
Math appears to be where the performance gap is the greatest in Ann Arbor Public Schools.
Eighty percent of Caucasian fifth-graders scored proficient on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program exam in 2010-11, while just 32 percent of African Americans, 42 percent of Hispanics, 38 percent of economically disadvantaged and 33 percent of special education students scored the same, according to data presented Wednesday night.
Data from the eighth grade MEAP and 11th grade Michigan Merit Exam in 2010-11 reflected a similar performance disparity. However in 11th grade, fewer total students (56 percent compared to 72 percent in fifth grade and 62 percent in eighth grade), regardless of race, scored proficient.
This data uses the projected new cut scores for the MEAP and MME.
The test results shared for reading revealed a similar pattern of fewer students scoring proficient as the grades increased. In fifth grade, 93 percent of Caucasians, 50 percent of African Americans, 55 percent of Hispanics, 59 percent of economically disadvantaged students and 45 percent of special education students scored proficient.
Deputy Superintendent for Instruction Alesia Flye said the gap elimination plan calls for the analysis of student performance data at least once per month.
This will cause the data needs of the district to increase “exponentially,” Thomas said, acknowledging the extra work this could create for the research services department.
Green said at a January Committee of the Whole meeting that this department already is overwhelmed and understaffed. She added the district’s aging technology also makes data collection and access difficult at times.
Based on the data collected already, Flye said the district needs to target additional resources at the high schools.
Administrators — along with Jazz Parks, principal at Tappan Middle School, and Terra Webster, principal at Logan Elementary School — have developed an equity plan rubric for aiding each building in creating and effectively using an Equity Team.
Green said the rubric is intended for educators to keep handy to guide them in helping eliminate the achievement gap.
Parks and Webster, who have started successful equity teams at their buildings, will lead professional development throughout the district to work toward eliminating Ann Arbor schools' inconsistencies in: grading and assessment practices, the knowledge of culturally responsive teaching strategies, instruction practices and the use of supportive interventions.
In terms of early childhood education, the district intends to examine enrollment in its preschool programs and look at ways to increase access to at-risk children.
“If it were a perfect world, I would want to have a second preschool location,” Green said, referring to issues of money and staff. “But I realize it is not a perfect world.”
Improvements to early childhood education would include increasing vocabulary instruction and collaboration between preschool leadership and kindergarten/elementary school leadership, as well as between preschool parents and their prospective parent-teacher organizations.
AAPS trustees were largely pleased with the presentation school leaders gave on the achievement gap elimination plan, calling it “comprehensive” and thanking leaders for the “depth and breadth” of information in the report.
However, Trustee Susan Baskett said she is not convinced AAPS has the “political will” to move forward with the gap elimination plan.
Susan Baskett
She also said some of the language in the presentation was “pretty highfalutin.”
Trustee Simon Lightfoot also criticized the language, asking for less educational jargon and more specific information about how the district intends to engage the parents, students and community in the achievement gap elimination discussion.
“There was a lot of how our adults in the district can meet and learn and collaborate. … I want to see more direct stuff with the kids,” she said. “I want to hear from some of the students that are standing in the gap ... Sometimes I think we have so much theory and research and data in things that are common sense.”
Lightfoot added she wants to hear more about how all of the jargon translates into something tangible for the kids.
Flye said the district intends to start a “Peaceable and Respectful Schools” student leadership program next year, and ideally administrators would interact with these students once a month.
She said the school district also would work to conduct annual community meetings at the Peace Neighborhood Center, Community Action Network and Ann Arbor Community Center with incentives, such as free books or games, to entice those disengaged parents of children in the gap to come.
In addition, AAPS will be making an effort to host a series of community conversations in the evenings or on the weekends for people to attend, according to the report.
Staff reporter Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.
Comments
boo
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 3:59 p.m.
same conversation, same solutions, same results.
lt1234
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:51 p.m.
Tie the project manager's compensation to the success of the project. Measure the performance of the employees who execute the project to the success of the project. If we do this, the project will have a chance to be successful. Did you do this? How long have you being doing this? Will you do this?
lt1234
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:48 p.m.
Tie the project manager's compensation to the success of the project. Measure the performance of the employees who execute the project to the success of the project. If we do this, the project will have a chance to be successful. Did you do this? How long have you being doing this? Will you do this?
Awakened
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 11:50 a.m.
Perhaps it is time to recognize that the single most important factor in a child's acchievement is parental involvement. Public Schools cannot overcome that.
Unusual Suspect
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:17 a.m.
The job of the schools is to educate each child as much as possible. Sweating the differences between them does not help that.
T Wall
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:16 a.m.
I also found a man who was retired to become a best buddy to a student. The "Grandpa" would take him out once a week, to buy a pair of shoes or some nice clothes for him or just to spend some time and show some interest. The grandpa would also be called to school when the father was not able to come or to support the student in activities he was involved in. The boy's father was grateful for and open to this grandpa. This program works and it was free. We all need to be loved and have a sense of purpose that someone really needs us. That 1/2 million dollars would be better spent on this concept. I remember a single loving parent telling me that she provides all the cable stations while she is at work for her children. She went on to say that she stocks her refrigerator with her children's favorite treats and provides a healthy microwave dinner because, when she got home at 6pm, she was too tired to cook dinner for her 4 children. After she changed out of her work clothes all of her children would cuddle on the couch for more TV, before bedtime at 10pm. Even though our school social worker would suggest good parenting skills, it was difficult to check that the ideas they suggested were being implemented at home. When talking to the students the social worker would relate how the children are trained what to say and what not to say to a teacher.
T Wall
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:15 a.m.
Part 2 A couple of other experiences I want to relate in regard to the difficulty that an at risk child faces. I remember a single loving parent telling me that she provides all the cable stations while she is at work for her children. She went on to say that she stocks her refrigerator with her children's favorite treats and provides a healthy microwave dinner because, when she got home at 6pm, she was too tired to cook dinner for her 4 children. After she changed out of her work clothes all of her children would cuddle on the couch for more TV, before bedtime at 10pm. Even though our school social worker would suggest good parenting skills, it was difficult to check that the ideas they suggested were being implemented at home. When talking to the students the social worker would relate how the children are trained what to say and what not to say to a teacher.
T Wall
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:05 a.m.
PART 1 - Needs to be separated in 3 parts ...I wonder if Ann Arbor schools are going to pay another $500,000 to a consulting firm in order to create a plan to help bridge our achievement gap. When are we ever going to learn that "THE PLAN" is basically the same plan we've been using for the past 31 years. I am not faulting our school board, their intentions are admirable but our administrative staff is doing what they do best- quieting the community by offering "The Plan" It's just a move to let the community think that they are seriously working on the Achievement Gap yet, in reality, they are making minimal gains. If we are to bridge the Achievement Gap we have to start with these two areas Parent/Community engagement and Student intervention and support services (SISS). Let me tell you what I discovered, in my 30 years as a teacher, with many of the students that have fallen behind their classmates. Many did not have the support of parents, who although willing, were not able to help them achieve because they were inadequately equipped to help. I never met a parent who didn't love their child but some of these parents lacked good parenting skills due to how they were raised, without good role models themselves. It is not impossible to teach good parenting skills, but it remains difficult because of the parents past environment. We need to find ways to educate these parents better at a younger age to improve on their parenting skills. Making the job even harder is the fact that parents of at risk kids don't show up at these meetings. If we are able to get parents actively involved and able to support and encourage their kids to seek education we would make tremendous progress.
Joe Kidd
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 8:41 p.m.
Glad to see two board members, Lightfoot and Baskett have the same concerns I do. Another question I have had with this issue is that they never report the cause of the problem. It is easy to say what the problem is, but what causes it? You can't fix something if you don't know the cause. Also, I sure would like to hear from the teachers and not the administrators. I guess the people that come up with these terms with a "high gee whiz" factor don't want us to hear from the people at the front lines who have the best knowledge of the issue.
Joe Hood
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 7:21 p.m.
Why are Asians left out of all of these educational equations? Asian students do better than all of these groupings of kids. And I second Stephen Ranzini's comment about math in AAPS. The Chicago based math experiment has to go! It's wonderful having to teach my kids math again because of a failed experiment.
jns131
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:47 p.m.
bulldog? You just hit the nail on the head. Or head on the nail. When I did some volunteer work helping out a classroom in Willow Run elementary, I was told by a K teacher of all things, to make sure no homework goes home because it won't get done. Most of the children I found out are picked up by sibs because most times there is no parent to come home to. How sad is that? So, yes, I agree, the parent factor needs to come into play here.
Bulldog
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 7:49 p.m.
Most Asian students have parents at home that are involved with their child's education. They live in a very disciplined environment and education, positive behavior, and respect are top priority. Somewhere, some children, are not getting this message from HOME! I believe teachers have high expectations for ALL students, but what's missing is the HOME component!
Bulldog
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 7:14 p.m.
For starters, let's start holding the principals a bit more accountable that their staff is even teaching the district curriculum! I am shocked at the experience my children have had in their elementary classes. The district has spent a lot of time and resources choosing the best programs, aligning them with the state standards, and training their teachers. Why are teachers not held accountable? Why aren't principals seeing that this is being followed? It's really not up to the teacher to have the academic freedom to create their own curricula, be it a math program or reading program. The district provides this for teachers and it must be taught! I am frustrated!
Bulldog
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 9:48 p.m.
Very true-Local, but I'm speaking of principals that were in buildings for 10 years and their staff is still not implementing the district curriculum! There is NO reason for this!
Bulldog
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 9:47 p.m.
Very true-Local, but I'm speaking of principals that were in buildings for 10 years and their staff is still not implementing the district curriculum! There is NO reason for this!
local
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 9:02 p.m.
I agree, but the principals need to know what is going on, many are in new positions and just learning the curriculum themselves. It's to bad that other teachers within the building don't make it known as well.
ChrisW
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 7:02 p.m.
At the risk of sounding racist, we should have the Asian kids tutor the African American ones.
a2edu
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:46 a.m.
Amen, Pieper.
J. A. Pieper
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:53 a.m.
ChrisW - why should the brightest students have to spend their time tutoring the struggling student? The bright students deserve challenges and equal teacher time, it is not their job to tutor. My own children were not happy to have to work helping the students who just didn't seem to care. They also hated having to sit next to them, so they could be a role model for behavior. I think current educational practices are taking away opportunities from the capable students, the thinking is "they can learn on their own."
crayzee
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 7 p.m.
I realize that XMO's comment is a bit tongue-in-cheek but there is a valid point in there. I highly doubt that the Caucasian kids have the highest performance metrics in the district. So why are they considered the performance standard? This should not be viewed as a racial issue. The gap that should be addressed is the gulf between the under-performing students (of all races) and the highest-performing students (of all races). If I were a parent of an under-performing student, I would push my kid to strive to perform at the level of the best students, not that of the average white kid.
DagnyJ
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 6:16 p.m.
How about improving instruction?
Mark
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 6:13 p.m.
Parents of the brightest kids should pull them out--no matter what the race or economic status of the child. The brightest kids are not being served in the Ann Arbor public schools. It's not even close. There are options for parents looking for something more challenging. And not all of them are expensive. Kids are only little for so long--how much of that time needs to be spent in uninspiring classrooms waiting for challenging work? A kid could wait all the way to high school AP classes to really be inspired. We owe them so much more. (And on the bright side, this would make the achievement gap smaller.)
J. A. Pieper
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:47 a.m.
How true!
KeepingItReal
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 5:12 p.m.
AAPS trustees were largely pleased with the presentation school leaders gave on the achievement gap elimination plan, calling it "comprehensive" and thanking leaders for the "depth and breadth" of information in the report. Please tell me what is different about this report than the others that have been presented over the years? Trustee Simon Lightfoot also criticized the language, asking for less educational jargon and more specific information about how the district intends to engage the parents, students and community in the achievement gap elimination discussion. There's an old saying.."if the only tool you have to work with is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."
Macabre Sunset
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 5:07 p.m.
The damage is done long before these children are in elementary school. The more accurate term would be "parenting gap." Anything else assumes either genetic issues (ridiculous from a scientific perspective) or widespread racism on the part of a system run by African Americans and full of teachers who are bending over backwards to ensure there is no racism in the schools. This begins and ends with the parents. I think, though, that the ultimate goal here is to get any responsible parents of a non-African American student to take their children out of the AAPS.
Mark
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 6:05 p.m.
Just to address one of your points, children within a family tend to score within 10 I.Q. points of each other. Even when parents think there are larger differences among them. That's genetic. True, they are likely being raised in a consistent environment, either positive or negative, but kids within one family are remarkably similar as to I.Q. I'd say parents of the brightest kids should pull them out--no matter what the race of the child. The brightest kids are not being served in Ann Arbor. It's not even close. There are lots of options for parents looking for something better.
Tish
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:22 p.m.
In the year 2000 The National Center for Education established that, "the clearest result with respect to….achievement is that average achievement scores are higher in schools with smaller class sizes." Overwhelmingly, research shows that all students benefit from smaller classes, but the clear winners are disadvantaged students and students of color. Want to close the achievement gap? Take all the money that you will use for professional development, and teachers time off in order to attend the professional development, etc. and begin the process of lowering class sizes. It is the single best way to close this ever widenting gap between those that have, and those that have not.
aatownie
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:22 p.m.
I would encourage everyone to watch Tavis Smiley's 'Too Important to Fail' report on PBS that analyses the increased drop out rates in high school specifically African American males. The most successful method to address this national tragedy has been an all encompassing approach, comprehensive support for the entire family. It is easy to say that 'more parental involvement' is needed-however, it is difficult to get involved with your child's education when you might be dealing with chronic unemployment, housing, mental health issues, etc...get help for the whole family and everyone is successful. The school is the closest to identifying issues and barriers affecting the family; by providing resources (housing, employment, medical, etc) to the family, the student can focus on his/her studies not the problems at home.
Michigan Man
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:04 p.m.
Read the new book by Ben Carson, MD - called "America the Beautiful". Black man from single parent (mother) family in Detroit raised with no expectations of any success! Ben studied his AZ off, read everything in sight, wrote books reports for his mother (who could not read and had a 3rd grade education) and generally got his life on the correct pathway. Went to Yale as undergraduate, Michigan Medical School and is now a world class pediatric surgeon at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. That book will tell you all you need to know about eliminating/eradicating the so called achievement gap, once and for all.
Sieben 7
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 8:38 p.m.
I would have to agree with dotdash that as inspiring as Dr. Carson's book might be unless it tell us HOW this quest for knowledge was instilled in him it is irrelevant. Perhaps MM can tell us what methods were used to inspire Dr. Carson to excel academically and we can utilize them in AA.
dotdash
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:23 p.m.
Sorry, can you elaborate what you mean about the book telling how to eliminate the achievement gap? From all I've read, Ben Carson seemed to be a very driven kid, right from the start. How is the applicable to the vast majority of kids (of all ethnicities) who may be less driven?
dotdash
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 3:45 p.m.
Will we never consider the possibility that this is not a problem that the schools can fix? That the causes (poverty, lead exposure, chaotic homes, parental education) cannot be overcome by the educational system? I get the sense we are torturing schools by trying to make them come up with plans to address issues that are too big and too intractable. Why don't we take on problems we think we can solve?
Dog Guy
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 3:05 p.m.
Is AAPS concerned enough to develop a "Khan do" attitude? My most effective teachings and learnings have been with various forms of the monitorial system. Waiting for students to get to university graduate studies to use this effective method loses most students along the way. Focusing on teachers as those who do the education leaves students to actually do the education alone at night with homework. We teachers are ego-driven performers with a captive audience and unwilling to cede control and credit to students. Meanwhile, the administrators are counting things. As Gully Jimson said, "The only good government is a bad government in a hell of a fright."
Hot Sam
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 3:02 p.m.
Ahhh the annual "gap" discussion... The first step is to decide where to end it... In the early grades would make sense...however as many posters point out, the answers are very dependent on parents. If the parent(s) are not, haven't been, and are not going to be involved then what to do? Maybe it's time for a return to reform schools of some kind. These kids desperately need to know someone cares and to learn a sense of shame and the wonderful feeling of accomplishment when overcoming it. The most telling statement that President Bush ever made, was the one about the "soft bigotry of low expectations".
brimble
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:57 p.m.
"•Developing an accountability system" -- really? How about holding people accountable -- from administrators to principals to teachers to parents to students?
J. A. Pieper
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:40 a.m.
I do like the idea of the student and the parents taking more responsibility. NCLB does not have any reference to parental/student responsibility, and it has to be a three way partnership ti achieve a positive learning experience, teacher, parent, child. If one part has a disconnect, learning is much more difficult. AAPS has "looked" at data for many many years, but this achievement gap issue can't be solved by just looking, we actually have to do something with the data!
thecompound
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 2:33 p.m.
Isn't that like the fox guarding the hen house, lol?
Stan Hyne
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:51 p.m.
Not all children learn at the same rate. Not all children are equally motivated. Even in the same family with the same parent pressure, results are different. Not all people want to do the same things as an occupation. Schools/teachers should motivate and challenge all students to do the best they are capable of doing. The very best students may be the ones that need more challenges. People are different learn to live with it.
KeepingItReal
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:50 p.m.
I agree with Trustee Baskett. This has been going on for a long time and there is absolutely no continuity form one administration to the next. Every new Superintendent come into the District and make all kind of promises as to how they are going to solve the "Gap" and then leave. Another administration comes in with the same promises and leave and after spending millions of dollars only the administrators, and consultants and assorted staff benefit from these initiatives. Now, Superintendent adds a new twist, the "Discipline Gap." we'll end up spending millions of dollars on this new initiative and probably 31 years from now, we will be discussing this problem. Its time to let teachers teach and expected student to learn.
xmo
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:39 p.m.
Sounds racist to me "performance disparity white students and their black and Hispanic peers" What about the "performance disparity between Asian students and their everyone else"?
KeepingItReal
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:03 p.m.
Amen Brother
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:26 p.m.
@Don Bee: FYI, per the U.S. Department of Education website I mentioned above, "Connected Math", the text/program you mention is being used in AAPS math education is tied for the seventh worst math text/program in the U.S. with a "zero" "effectiveness rating".
Peregrine
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 1:33 a.m.
You need to be clear that you're talking about the middle school curriculum. At least one Ann Arbor elementary school is using Everyday Math, which ranks highly on the site you linked to. Having helped with homework and studying using the curriculum, I'm very impressed with it since it works to develop thinking with math and applying math to the real world rather than just trying to calculate an answer to a simple math problem.
ChrisW
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 6:58 p.m.
The math textbooks are beyond atrocious.
DonBee
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:05 p.m.
Mr Gaynor - An MIT professor was on NPR yesterday talking about how data was being used by the most successful organizations. Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, maybe getting a plan for how data will be used and what it is used for is a good idea. All - One thing that I have watched work over and over again is to group students by ability, not by age. The groupings are by subject, not overall. So if you are great in math and not in reading you end up in two different groups. The groups with the lowest ability are smaller with more teacher time. The groups at the top of the scale get more free time (reward) in the library, with a much lower level of teacher time. This allows teachers to focus on bringing up the bottom. In the grade school I attended, grades 1 through 6 were involved in the groupings. Everyone loved it. 90 minutes a day of reading and 90 minutes of math. The single grade school district turned out several full ride scholarships each year to major universities. This takes work, parents need to see that their 4th grader in a group of 1st graders is in the best interest of the 4th grader. This is not an easy sell. The other thing that has to stop is social promotions, if you can't do the work, you should not get promoted to the next grade. As to data, some knowledge of how the student is doing across the day, and where they are struggling is very useful, for some subjects, monthly assessments are good (they used to call them tests and quizzes). Accountability has to be 3 ways - the student - the teacher and the parent. If a teacher sends home homework, the parent has to make sure it is done. The district offers very little opportunity for parents to be involved and has done zero training for parents on things like Connected Math (probably the worst math program even designed).
jns131
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 2:06 p.m.
The teachers blame the parents, the parents blame the teachers and the board blames everyone else. What a chase the tail game we weave. If you take a look at Willow Run you can see that the parents are almost non existent. Send them to school and hope they learn something. Teacher want to teach but can't when they can't get parents into their classrooms to talk to them. The school board is telling the teachers you aren't doing your best and yet, they are trying with what limited resources they have. I hate to say it, but it starts at home and the parents need to step up to the plate. I know, the teachers hate me when I ask them what is going on in your classroom spiel but yet they know I am one of few who want to know what is going on so we can get to thru this maze.
thecompound
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:14 p.m.
I completely agree with your points/suggestions, but who do you think it would be a harder sell for, the board, the teachers, the parents, etc... as far as groupings? Just curious what your opinion is.
thecompound
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:04 p.m.
Take all the resources you are going to spend on #'s 2 ,4 and 8 and dump it all into #9. That is tangible. Imagine all the Student Intervention and Support Services that could have been paid for with the money spent on Glenn Singleton/PEG/HIS books and supplies. Just imagine. I actually agree with Lightfoot on this one concerning tangibility.
antikvetch
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 12:13 p.m.
I still say the answer is to dumb down the smart kids....
jns131
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:40 p.m.
I think they separate the smart ones. Should have seen the homework ours is doing this weekend. My husband had to give up all plans of cleaning out the garage this weekend. I am not good with Algebra.
Mark
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 5:57 p.m.
That's being done, too. If you've looked at your kid's homework lately, it's not very challenging. Sad.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:35 p.m.
Seems you're not the only one with that thought.
Kelly
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 12:11 p.m.
Students expect to have a clear rubric stating expectations; teachers and administrators should have it too. Without that, how will we know how we're meeting our goals? @Stephen - well stated. We are a research & education - based community. Why not apply to our public schools? @T - failing students is very expensive, because we are paying for that year twice. Anything that costs less than that is cost effective for the district.
average joe
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:24 p.m.
Kelly- (@T) Are you saying that the schools only get paid to teach little Johnny one year of 2nd grade, & if he fails, the second time around is on the school's dime? Seriously, I didn't know this & if so, this has to change.
Mike
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 11:58 a.m.
"If good intentions could solve this achievement gap, we'd have solved the problem a long time ago," said Trustee Andy Thomas I agree with Andy Thomas. We just continue to throw good money after bad and hope it will fix the problem. We've been doing this for many years with no results. Some people view the world as it is, others view it as they want it to be. They would never spend their own money on something that doesn't work. Why do they continue to insist on spending the public's money? Think about that honestly.........
T
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 11:43 a.m.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. How is it fair to the majority of the students to spend more time, money and resources on the lowest achievers. If anything the achievement gap will close because the bar will be lowered. I know this might be an unpopular idea with those in power, but what happened to not passing a student who didn't make the grade. It's a political decision by the administration for them not to admit that some kids can't do basic reading, writing, and math. Graduation rates are more important.
jns131
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 1:52 a.m.
averagejoe? This is where parents fail as well. We need parents to be involved in all levels.
average joe
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:18 p.m.
jns- "Public education needs to teach life skills not push math down your throat skills." Really. Shouldn't "life skills" be the responsiblity of the parent?
jns131
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 3:59 p.m.
I agree with that statement. It is done at Willow Run. But what I am stating is that children are being out too fast from the system and again, I agree, the administration is saying, don't fail em, we need the stats to show we are doing our job. This is where the system fails the children.
thecompound
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 2:30 p.m.
@jns131, I think T meant that the administration thinks that graduation rates are more important, imho.
jns131
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:59 p.m.
Graduation rates are more important? I disagree. Why? It pushes them thru the system and out the other and into a society that they will have troubles with later in life. Public education needs to teach life skills not push math down your throat skills. Take a look at Willow Run. They have a 50% grad rate because most drop out because they don't get it. Take a look at the socio economic demographics. Where you live says a lot too. I also agree with the statement, you can lead to water but can't make em drink. So true. Good luck closing the gap. What we need to do first is close the economic gap before we get to the achievement gap.
Davidian
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 11:42 a.m.
"Parent and community engagement" This is what matters most and is most neglected.
local
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 11:08 a.m.
I agree with Jeff, more data collection doesn't make sense. Here is the issue, a teacher and school can only do so much. A teacher can teach the lessons, but the teacher can't go home with that student and have them do the homework/practice necessary to master the topic. The teacher can invite families in for conferences and invite parents in to volunteer, but the teacher can't go and pick them up and force the parents to be present for these events. A teacher can plead with a parent to be involved, get your child to school on time, and make sure they get fed and had a good nights sleep. The teacher can't go home cook the kids dinner and breakfast and make them go to bed at a reasonable time. The point is the, the schools and teacher in particular, can only do so much. If families aren't involved and don't value education, I am guessing the child won't either. Until we admit that the parents role is almost more important then the teachers role, we are never going to close this gap.
jns131
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:38 p.m.
I do email conferences. If there is something I need to know? I email. Email is very good way to get a response from teachers if you need to know something. I know our childs teachers prefer email over trying to call or just come in. If we can get parents to do this? We may have something. I do know some charters do mandate parents come in to talk to the teachers, even if there is nothing to talk about.
Joe Kidd
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 8:50 p.m.
I am with Local. One teacher told me they spend so much time collecting data they can't work on their lesson plans. And to your point: "A teacher can plead with a parent to be involved, get your child to school on time, and make sure they get fed and had a good nights sleep," I would add "make sure the homework is done and done correctly."
Bulldog
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 7:17 p.m.
http://neapriorityschools.org/successful-students/flipping-the-classroom-homework-in-class-lessons-at-home-2 Here is a great article for you Local.
pegret
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:40 p.m.
I think local really hit the nail on the head. My child's school REQUIRED parental involvement, and we still had parents who never showed up for anything, regardless of the day or time. Unfortunately there is only so much the "community" can do if there is no value put on education in the home.
gretta1
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:40 p.m.
You have just expressed exactly my sentiments. The schools are very, very important but they are not a social service catch-all. Education is a lifelong, daylong undertaking that does not stop outside classroom doors.
average joe
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 11:39 a.m.
"....and force the parents to be present for these events." After attending virtually all of my kid's conferences over the years, one common opinion of the teacher was that the parents that should be at these, weren't. So I ask- Why can't we "force" parents to attend conferences? Is there any way possible to mandate the participation of the parent(s) as a requirement to advance the student to the next grade? There must be a way.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 11:05 a.m.
Research shows that the best way to eliminate the achievement gap is to implement a balanced calendar. President Obama and his Secretary of Education have both made speeches highlighting this fact. Here is an excellent description of what a balanced calendar is: http://www.nayre.org/calendar_comparison.htm The achievement gap would be easier to eliminate, if Ann Arbor's schools used textbooks and teaching methods that are scientifically proven to actually work. A good resource from the U.S. Department of Education gives specific guidance based on peer reviewed data and is available here: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ ("Find What Works") Unfortunately some of the textbooks being used in AAPS to teach math for example are shown by peer reviewed data on this site to not only "not work" but are proven to be "detrimental" to student learning. Why are we surprised then that the MEAP scores are so awful? Can we please fix this?!
Tish
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:28 p.m.
If the U.S. Department of Education was run by people whose background was education I might believe what they had to say. Textbooks and tests are not the answer.
jns131
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 4:02 p.m.
Believe it or not? His school system does not use the AAPS system of math books. And this is a charter school. If he could help AAPS? He would. But this is something he says the system needs to be addressed by the board and the teachers. Which neither is listening to at the going rate.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 3:19 p.m.
@jns131: FYI, per the U.S. Department of Education website I mentioned above, "Connected Math", the text/program that is being used in AAPS math education in the middle schools is tied for the seventh worst math text/program in the U.S. with a "zero" "effectiveness rating". There are two others texts/programs available which are rated as highly effective available and listed there. Perhaps your math teacher husband could look into that and discuss that with the people that pick the curriculum for the AAPS middle schools?
jns131
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:55 p.m.
I actually blame the state of Michigan for the whole math mess and MEAP mess. Why? Because they raised the bar again on who can achieve the gap and who cannot. Mine is very proficient in some areas but not in others. But according to MEAP? Mine pretty much is so so proficient. I am a firm believe that the NCLB and MEAP testing hinders children to the point were they can pretty much write off any hope of ever getting anywhere in society let alone a great job. Now we have that MME and ACT thing. We need to make colleges responsible again for getting these children up to speed. Not the public education system. My math teacher husband told me it is not the books that is the problem, but the children who are learning it and the economic households they come from. If the parents don't get it? Neither will the children. BTW, why do we need three years of math if this stuff is going to be used for anything but lining the rat cage?
Jeff Gaynor
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 10:42 a.m.
First, I'll assume that "eliminate" is annarbor.com's word, not that of any of the participants in this important effort. I have seen, over 31 years, incremental - if slow - steps to address this, but agree with board members Baskett and Lightfoot that it's more verbiage than substance; well intentioned, but still superficial. Of course a serious attack on this would take a frank and difficult discussion - and action - on the local and national level, something we're not yet prepared to do fully. Much to my horror, I read, "...analysis of data at least once per month." Yes, data is important - but as a teacher in the district I have seen a trend of incessant looking at data replacing looking at kids. We used to look at where a student was, and work for growth. Now we test for grade level standards, independent of whether students are working behind or beyond this level.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 5:12 p.m.
Hi Jeff, actually "eliminate" was the term used by all at the table last night. However, there was discussion about adding more specific, tiered stages of improvement to the plan, recognizing that 100 percent elimination seemed like an insurmountable goal. Thanks for your comment!
thecompound
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:10 p.m.
meant "they" not that. all these improvements and still no editing, lol?
thecompound
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.
"analysis of data at least once per month". Well that had to come up with something to justify the early morning raises didn't they?