Well, if you don't, you better get familiar with it as in NOW.
Last year Mr. Fredericksen changed to this program in K through 2nd grade. What this means is that your child will now have ONE Teacher the whole day. What it also means is that instead of advanced students learning at a higher level you now have 7 students who are high achievers, 7 middle achievers and 7 low achievers in one classroom, one Teacher.
The word on the street today is that Fredericksen is proposing to do the same thing from K to 5th grade.
If you are a Parent with children in those grades, you need to go to tomorrow's meeting and address the Board with your concerns. This information comes from a very reliable source, so don't let them fool you.
More than likely they will come back and say they are not completely familiar with such a thing but you mark my words, something is up.
Last year Mr. Fredericksen changed to this program in K through 2nd grade. What this means is that your child will now have ONE Teacher the whole day. What it also means is that instead of advanced students learning at a higher level you now have 7 students who are high achievers, 7 middle achievers and 7 low achievers in one classroom, one Teacher.
The word on the street today is that Fredericksen is proposing to do the same thing from K to 5th grade.
If you are a Parent with children in those grades, you need to go to tomorrow's meeting and address the Board with your concerns. This information comes from a very reliable source, so don't let them fool you.
More than likely they will come back and say they are not completely familiar with such a thing but you mark my words, something is up.
New Posts to fall below.
35 comments:
Send Dr. Freddy back where he came frim, now.
Joe,
The district has been working on this for about 3 years now. I have been challenging the central office to explain how this will benefit children and they are unable to respond in any meaningful way. I have requested specific information regarding the training teachers have received to implement this program but Margo Handy will not provide any details on this topic but simply responds "They've been trained to handle this".
When you talk to her about this topic, she acts like you're an idiot for bringing it up. I have done the research on districts that use this method of teaching and their children do not perform as well as those in homogeneous grouping patterns. Of course the ones who do worst in this set up are the high achievers and Dr Handy has proven herself to have no concern over these students. When questioned directly about her plan to keep these students challenged in the classroom her response was along the lines of "I have to worry about all students, not just the high achievers". No kidding.
This district continues to fail our students (particularly those at the elementary level). The only reason I think Fredericksen should stay is my concern that Margo Handy would be chosen as his replacement.
Folks, this is a call to action--if you want to see what this type of program can do to a school district, look at Snow Hill. A graduating senior from there wrote an excellent letter to the editor a few years ago describing his disappointment with the school system there. That he basically spent 12 years watching other kids try to learn as the teacher felt he "already knew enough". That's no way to treat children.
This is being done already in a lot of schools with huge successes. A good teacher, like my son's, differentiates instruction to meet all of the classroom needs. He also learns a lot from those less fortunate.
Look at it from the other perspective, if your child was one of the bottom 7, do you think it is still fair to have no models to work with.
Tracking in elementary schools only creates haves and have nots. This is PUBLIC education. If you want to run with the yuppies, go to private school.
Yes it sucks. We moved to the fruitland schools district because of the amazing schools. Well they already switched to heterogenous last year and we are looking elsewhere now.
It may not be one teacher for the entire day (students may change classes). The education of at risk students will not be affected. They will still demand most of the teacher's time, but the average and above average learners will be left on their own a great deal. The idea is supposed to be that the teacher teaches each group for one third of the time and two thirds of the time each group would be doing independent work. Never happens in my child's class. The way no child is left behind is that none are allowed to advance much. The question I've asked is how high achievers benefit ACADEMICALLY from this grouping. Social reasons are given even though they can't name the social problems they're having with above average students. I think it's because a teacher would have trouble controlling an entire class of low achievers so other students are like helpers or buffers. They don't learn very much but that doesn't seem to worry anybody but their parents. We need to remind them that the school system is here for ALL students, not to sacrifice the education of some students to benefit others.
Big deal...what is wrong with raising the bar for the bottom and middle group? If your child was one of them, would you feel the same? I think not!
Wow! I guess some feel teaching should be left all on the teachers. Children should be learning at school and home, if you feel like your child isn't being challanged at school then spend time with your kid(s) and challenge them at home. People find anything to gripe about. Don't like it then hold yourself accountable for what you feel your child's not learning. Teach them to expect more out of themselves realistically and not to always depend on others. Maybe we will have more adults willing to work and expect no handouts unless it is completely necessary.
This is what the liberals want. That is why Fredericksen and Margo Handy have been trying to dismantle the Magnet Program.
What makes you think that who ever replace's Frederickson is going to make things better? Could be worse. Keep wishing for the best and end up with worse.
6:39 PM
You would think the bar would be raised but it isn't. Look at the "gifted" GATE program in middle school. Years ago when the eighth grade GATE class had just the top 10% of students, they had to do research, read advanced novels and write term papers. Now over 50% of kids are in GATE, they correct one another's rough drafts (but the teacher doesn't check behind them), they read few if any novels and the ones they read are too easy and there are no term papers because it's too hard for the ones who don't belong in the class. Now nobody has an advanced class but lots of kids are enrolled. The bar went down and will stay down as we proudly proclaim that over half our middle schoolers are gifted.
Reponse to 6:10 pm.
I'm not sure anyone is talking about 'running with yuppies' and to make this a monetary issue is inappropriate. You also assume the only ones suffering are high achievers.
Homogeneous grouping allows children at the same educational level to receive detailed instruction focussed on their needs. Mixing children of multiple education levels means that at some point children will lose the focus of the teacher and will not receive instruction. It's inevitable in this setup. By definition the most time will be spent with the lowest level children, denying the higher level children the ability to learn to their potential.
I realize this is PUBLIC education, and as a result the PUBLIC should have input on the policy. I don't remember any explicit definition that one group of kids has to be 'models' for others. I thought it was about educating our children to the fullest extent possible. That's the only way to ensure the future success of our country.
I suppose the other way to look at it is if your child can't keep up, maybe you should take them to private school.
Studies show that high achievers do worse in heterogeneous classes because they learn very little. So why does a school system tell their parents we can't worry that your kid won't learn much because we're concerned about ALL kids? High achievers are part of ALL, and low achievers are not all of ALL.
Anonymous said...
This is being done already in a lot of schools with huge successes. A good teacher, like my son's, differentiates instruction to meet all of the classroom needs. He also learns a lot from those less fortunate.
Look at it from the other perspective, if your child was one of the bottom 7, do you think it is still fair to have no models to work with.
Tracking in elementary schools only creates haves and have nots. This is PUBLIC education. If you want to run with the yuppies, go to private school.
February 13, 2012 6:10 PM
This is obviously a public school employee posing as a concerned parent. The BOE and staff does this all the time.
This has been going on for several years now in all schools. I agree that the higher achieving kids are the ones losing out in this way of grouping. It can work if you have an amazing teacher. The amount of work needed to create meaningful lessons for the various learners in one classroom now is overwhelming. Think about it. For each subject the teacher must create at least three different lessons for the different levels of students. For an elementary teacher that could mean 12-15 different lessons each day. Take a fourth grade class that may have students reading anywhere from a first grade level to a 6th or 7th grade level in one classroom. The teacher must meet the needs of all these students reading at all these different grade levels. This is one of the reasons I left teaching.
February 13, 2012 6:32 PM
It has nothing to do with controlling a whole class of low achievers. It is mainly about the higher achievers bringing up the AYP scores for the low achievers. Again this minimal passing of AYP would be at the expense of the good students.
Vote Republican!!
The vast differences in student achievement are masked in a system like ours that gives no standardized achievement tests. The MSA rates kids as advanced, proficient and basic. The whole test is on grade level so the term advanced is meaningless cause it just means the student did lots of grade level work well. Our system doesn't want to know how truly far ahead of grade level achievement a child may be. As long as we don't measure it, we won't have to admit the work we give them is way too easy.
7:26 PM
I agree but the control issue is one sometimes cited by administrators. High achievers do not come to school to tutor other kids or pull up someone else's scores or balance out the behavior of children who have no idea how to act in a classroom. We owe them an education just like we owe everybody else.
6:10 PM
Yes the Board is so much in favor of heterogeneous grouping that even classes for adults are grouped that way. No, wait a minute, they aren't. Those who can't turn on a computer aren't in the same night class with those who are advanced programmers. Beginning sign language is a different class than second year sign language. Guess it's not fair to require adults to spend their classtime a few hours a week helping the less skilled. Kids are fair game, though.
7:26 said "Vote Republican!!"
And who do you think instituted NCLB and AYP? Your Republican Pres. George W. Bush. You don't get to blame liberals for that guy!
The frustrating part is that this gets crammed down our throats. The board spends time getting public comment on so many topics why not invest that time in this one? Parents had students start school in second grade last year with no idea this was going to happen. Now they want to continue the trend to third fourth and fifth grade. They spend time talking about dress codes but not telling us about a change as major as this that will change day to day education in the classroom.
This is also being looked at the high school level.
February 13, 2012 7:17 PM
Well said and very professional!!
Bravo!!
Anonymous said...
6:39 PM
You would think the bar would be raised but it isn't. Look at the "gifted" GATE program in middle school. Years ago when the eighth grade GATE class had just the top 10% of students, they had to do research, read advanced novels and write term papers. Now over 50% of kids are in GATE, they correct one another's rough drafts (but the teacher doesn't check behind them), they read few if any novels and the ones they read are too easy and there are no term papers because it's too hard for the ones who don't belong in the class. Now nobody has an advanced class but lots of kids are enrolled. The bar went down and will stay down as we proudly proclaim that over half our middle schoolers are gifted.
February 13, 2012 7:15 PM
Are you a middle school student? How do you know exactly what is going on?
6:10 is correct. The trend across the country is to group heterogenuously. This is just not Dr. Fredericksen's idea or Dr. Handy's. It is happening across the country. Obviously, there are pros and cons to both. Heterogenuous grouping sounds like the small country schools of years ago, where a teacher might have 6 or more grades. The younger ones learned from the older, the less able from the more intelligent. It was a win-win solution then. So maybe we're going back to those times. 6:10 says that a good teacher differentiates among the various ability groups, tailoring lessons to needs. Of course, the classes would need to be small. One teacher cannot do multiple lesson plans if she/he has a class much over 20. (I am a retired teacher, so I am familiar with the types of instruction).
Anonymous said...
6:10 PM
Yes the Board is so much in favor of heterogeneous grouping that even classes for adults are grouped that way. No, wait a minute, they aren't. Those who can't turn on a computer aren't in the same night class with those who are advanced programmers. Beginning sign language is a different class than second year sign language. Guess it's not fair to require adults to spend their classtime a few hours a week helping the less skilled. Kids are fair game, though.
February 13, 2012 8:01 PM
I don't buy your pity party for the kids that don't want to learn.
Parents in this area don't want their kids to be challenged. They just want the A....that is why they do projects for their kids...call the BOE on teacher when their child get a B....they don't care about learning...so long as they can say ...my kid got an A. You had the kid...take responsibility for them...stop blaming the BOE and teacher for your kid not meeting the high standard...or for misbehaving. Parents have no accountability at all. They send these kids all screwed up and expect society to fix them. Then when they can't they look for a scape goat. ...
8:53 PM
You're catching on. They control what you know and your opportunities for input. Go to a board meeting and ask who decided this and what were the opportunities for parent input. There's a policy on having parents on committees.
Fruitland Generic Citizen said...
7:26 said "Vote Republican!!"
And who do you think instituted NCLB and AYP? Your Republican Pres. George W. Bush. You don't get to blame liberals for that guy!
February 13, 2012 8:24 PM
You say that like it's a bad thing. Guess what NCLB and AYP is a good thing if the schools are receiving Federal funding. It's not Bush's fault that liberal Americans are using the school system as their day care services and they can't produce appropriate grades to be successful in life.
I have always know Fruitland Generic Idiot was a liberal moron, but this comment is proof in the pudding. You are typical liberal democrat that forces false information down the throats of gullible people. Just because you or another liberal said it doesn't mean it's gospel.
Here is a little bit of Legislative history for you:
"The legislation was proposed by President George W. Bush on January 23, 2001. It was coauthored by Representatives John Boehner (R-OH), George Miller (D-CA), and Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH)."
I don't have my glasses on, but I do believe I see the names of 2 flaming liberals who coauthored the bill.
Go blow smoke up someone elses butt!
9:41 PM
ALL parents need to ask why tens of millions of state and federal dollars are spent on educating at risk students and millions of local dollars are spent on getting them to behave while very little is spent on other kids. Does every single thing have to benefit those with the lowest achievement? Why would high school classes be heterogeneously grouped? Is it so doctors and clerks at Rite Aid can have the level of science background? Time for some class action suits by parents for failure of our school system to offer appropriate classes for students. Perhaps that's closer than we think.
Ask the central office supervisors to give you the dates of the inservices THEY have organized and provided so teachers can learn about differentiation. One post it note will be enough to hold the info. It sounds good to say teachers can serve all levels in the same classroom but they know their main concern is raising scores in the four subgroups that matter: African Americans, students who are learning to speak English, special ed. students and free/reduced lunch plan students. They know very well that those kids will get way more than 1/3 of the instructional time in a classroom with three groups. Tens of millions of dollars spent and the only way we've come up with to try to close the achievement gap is by stopping the progress of the strongest students. Maybe the gap isn't caused by schools and can't be fixed by schools.
I have never understood why a student who works at a level 2 grades above the one he's in is not allowed to go join that grade and move on with their lives. They are held back and choked year after year and advance more slowly. Imagine what the slow achievers would do if they saw their peers rewarded for doing better in their studies...
This is a nightmare. With my 3 kids, I have one of each in the categories. I can tell you that my below average reader has no business being mixed in with above average readers. Talk about a slap in the face for that child! The same goes for any above average reader.
I am an active parent who realizes that not all kids are created equal. Sometimes the harsh reality of someone needing extra help does not need to be sugar coated to make someone feel better. It is was it is. I also can not fathom the idea of my above average child being held back because the teacher now has to give extra help to other students. It makes no sense. I have argued the heterogeneous classroom for many years in our county, and always, with out doubt I am told "the above average kids will bring up the below average kids". BS!
As far as the above grade level kids, parents need to put a stop to letting them "tutor" other kids in the class! This does nothing but hinder their chances of a challenging curriculum.
The schools are not schools today. The schools do not produce leaders in science and mathematics in this country. The schools are becoming merely babysitting services for the burgeoning underclass. The schools have high school sophmores that, with calculators, can not perform the following equation: 5-3? 35 out of 37 in one class could not do this. Virtual learning will perform the same function towards schools as this blog has done for the newspaper that is local national or international. This country, in 10 years, will be a junkyard. A junkyard of mindless, mobile digitial tv (MDTV) addicted masses, that will be unable to articulate very little of substance in print. Questioning this? Look the way of blockbusters for technology disruptions in business, education and society..... everything moving to the web. Prisons will be the resdience of choice for folks in their 60s, as a place to live for the elderly, as cancer treatments and health care will be quicker for the incarcerated versus the "free". Once these folks figure out, they can't afford healthcare, they will figure out, they can commit a crime, and then the upperclass, will fund their healthcare, food and media ddcitions at the state prisons to the tune of $85,000 or more. In 2018 this posting, if preserved will seem prophetic. Why? America is asleep, visionless, and clueless to these educational issues and then there is the quiet Hadith dictates as to the Islamization of North America. Soon, athletic practices will not be held during normal afternoon times, but at midnight during Ramadan....... anywhere these folks gain a 2% foothold in the local populace. If this sounds like an ethic rant think again, All this has happened in Michigan and Florida and will soon start to occur in oither areas..... like well..... maybe here. You can read the goal of US becoming the Islamic State of North America by 2050, in the Mosques in Washington DC. Or view it for yourself on their websites........ The junkyard is forming as you read this........ full of kids.
I just heard that math and reading times will be cut back, due to parents demanding more ss and science. I was also told that there may be no spelling next year due to the time constraints.
Allegedly, teachers were told this last week.
WE NEED TO GRET SCHOOL VOUCHERS ON THE BALLOT NOW!!!IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THIS INSANITY FISCAL INSANITY AND GET A BETTER EDUCTION SYSTEM
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