This article originally appeared in Teachers College Record, Date Published: 10/3/2004 http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 11381, Date Accessed: 10/24/2004
Used with permission of the author.
This article views the failure of policy to reduce the learning gap over the past decade as a function of the reforms to solve the most pervasive and fundamental learning blockage faced by [...]
I read a study recently from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute called America’sPrivate Public Schools. According to the study, our public school system is supporting schools that are public in name, but are more exclusive than most private schools, teach no poor children, and have few minority students. In fact, according to the report, 1.7 million American children attend these private public schools.
“With education, I know I can go beyond my wildest dreams. With help from my teachers, family, and friends, the sky is the limit!” said 8th grader Zaniriusz. Zaniriusz lives in a community with a dropout rate above 50% for Black males, but aspires to graduate from college and return to his neighborhood to “build a new playground,” make sure “every family has air conditioners and heaters,” and “get rid of criminals and gangs.” He shared his experiences in “A Mile in My Shoes Writing Project: African-American Males Telling Their Own Stories.”
Educators should give themselves a pat on the back: the achievement gap is narrowing. More kids are passing standardized tests and more schools are meeting NCLB’s requirements. That’s a huge achievement for teachers and schools, but most of all, it’s a huge achievement for the students themselves.
Except, along the way, we’ve forgotten some kids.
We’re doing well at the middle and that’s great, but the demographics have remained almost unchanged for students who excelled in education standards like reading and math.
It’s grim, but true: a student who has dropped out of school is likely to be poor, African-American or Hispanic, and from a school that has few resources and poorly qualified teachers. When compared with their higher-income peers, these kids under perform and are disengaged at school. (U.S. Department of Education, 2000.)
What does a successful student look like? Does race or ethnicity play a part? Researchers asked a group of African-American students these questions, among others. The researcher/school counselor surveyed one school’s data, selected 45 African-American students who had never taken the Georgia High School Graduation Test, and asked for volunteers from the group to participate in a program to help the students pass the test.
A few weeks ago, I had to stay after school for a SILT meeting. SILT was established because of our school district’s commitment to VPAT, with hopes of increasing NCLB and CATS indexes (from the KCCT) in an effort to meet AYP. Of course, SILT needs to remember to report to DILT, a strong instructional arm of SCPS. A focus on CC 4.1 and close examination of PCs should help, I am told. Same with a recommitment to teaching and modeling TRIBE.
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