A Failure by 3rd Grade

 A Failure by 3^rd Grade

 

Generally, kids are fairly successful readers with good word attack skills by the end of third grade.   Good thing too, because in fourth grade reading begins to be used to acquire information in other subject areas.

But what happens to kids who are not successful readers by the end of third grade.  Well, that depends on whom you ask.

Some folks believe those children should pass on to fourth grade and receive remedial work to catch up on those reading skills.  Other people have taken a different approach.

There is a very strong movement to retain children in 3^rd grade if they are not up to grade standard in reading by that time.   The wisdom behind this approach is that the children will learn more both from the repeat and from increased maturity.   A policy to retain third graders in 3^rd grade was presented to the Maryland State Board of Education at its recent meeting.  There were both strong support and strong concerns.

Those in support of the measure argued that without basic reading skills, children would not progress in the other academic areas as they moved into the intermediate grades.    It was also argued that some children perhaps because of immaturity or just needing more time would do better if they had another run at basic reading.

Folks in opposition to the plan countered that it wasn’t the kids’ fault if they failed to gain the required skills in reading.  It could be lack of support from parents.  Or it could be poor teaching on the part of the teacher.  Maybe both.  Why make the children suffer for the failure of others.

Both sides argued that their position would create more high school graduates.  The side for retaining said that sending children into fourth grade with good reading would ensure future academic success and thereby foster graduation.

The side against retaining said that failure at such a young age would forever embarrass the child and make school a place they would want to get out of and make him/her always too old for each grade peer group.

Then there was the elephant in the room.  What if a second run at third grade didn’t work either?  How many times would a child be retained.

Maryland is about to be knee deep in the “science of reading”, a method that puts heavy emphasis on phonic-based word attack.   In the plans, for children to be retained there is no mention of switching to a different method for the rerun, just exactly that, a re-run of what failed the previous year.  

Whatever your reasoning, eight years old seems very young to be a failure.

Would be nice if you stopped by?

 Would be nice if you stopped by?

 

 

The rate of chronic absenteeism in Baltimore City schools has dropped to 45% and they feel they are making progress.  Individuals with chronic absenteeism get lower grades, lower test scores, and lower graduation rates.   But it isn’t just the individual that is impacted.   When half of a class is absent, the teacher can hardly afford to move forward with the curriculum material.  Lessons are repeated and the kids who did come to school have to suffer the repeats.

In Baltimore City, charter schools and magnet schools had the lowest rates of chronic absenteeism.  

What’s the reason?  First of all, these schools tend to be smaller.  Smaller schools have teachers with better connections to kids. Never mind that despite all of the evidence regarding the benefits of smaller schools, we are still building bigger ones. Students with connections to their teachers feel wanted and understood, and they often are.  Also by coming to school more, students build relationships with their peers so they want to come to school for the socialization.   Schools that had admission criteria also had lower absenteeism.

One the other hand, schools with large populations had the highest absentee rates.  Alternative schools regularly have the highest number of chronic absenteeism.  One alternative school in the City had a chronic absentee rate of 95%!!   What was the point of having the school?

Students are missing school to take care of younger siblings, earn money to help their families or they just don’t think it’s valuable for their future.   There are also gang issues so that some kids don’t feel safe at school.

One strategy that is very expensive is calling or visiting the homes of kids who are chronically absent.  One school starts calling kids homes and then follows up with a visit after 3 days of absence.  Some schools offer rewards for good attendance.  But overall,  the most the most significant factors and check-ins at home AND check ins at school.  Attendance plans that require students to check in at school with a preferred adult.  

Progress is s l o w.   And it’s being made.  The question is, can the schools meet the added expense along with the rest of the higher budget expectations.

COVID gave kids an excuse to stay home, now we need to give them a reason to stop by.  Who knows with enough buy-in they might enjoy it.

Do you need an ID for that?

 Do You Need an ID for that?

 

People with developmental disabilities are seven times more likely to have a negative encounter with law enforcement than are typical people according to the U.S. Department of Justice.   Add that to the fact that law enforcement receives little to no training on the best ways to interact with these individuals AND they often cannot identify that a disability even exists.  Many of these disabilities are invisible to the untrained eye.

It is not unusual for people with disabilities and particularly people with disabilities of color to receive inappropriate treatment from law enforcement.  There have even been instances of accidental death when law enforcement over reacts to what is typical behavior for someone on the autism spectrum.

One solution to this problem is the issuance of an ID card indicating that the individual has a disability that is invisible to the eye but is just as real.  The idea being proposed to the state legislatures is that drivers’ licenses be marked with a code indicating the disability in the case of a traffic stop.  And that an official ID card be developed to show law enforcement if stopped in other situations.  Proponents of the bill are VERY clear that if passed the process should be entirely voluntary.

The idea has received a great deal of support but there are questions being offered.   One of the first questions is whether having either the ID or the noted drivers’ license will require the expense of a medical exam.   Another issue is will acknowledging that an individual has a disability prevent him or her from getting the license.  People were also concerned that the ID cards could be easily duplicated and that a number of people would benefit that should not.  There was also the concern that if the designation were to be on a driver’s license there would be a requirement for a medical exam prior to receiving a license.

The people who are strongly advocating for this opportunity say that the important element is that it be entirely voluntary; therefore, if the designation was too onerous on the person, then they could choose not to participate.  There was also the concern that this would be another benefit available only to those people who could afford it and that many people with disabilities are among the lower income strata of society.

The bill did not get out of committee in the 2024 Maryland legislative session.  Advocates are pushing hard for it to move towards passage in the 2025 session.  Maybe soon there will be an ID for that.

The Strike is on!

 The Strike is On

 

What union president receives a salary greater than that of the President of the United States or the Governor of Maryland?  It is probably surprising but that union is the National Education Association or NEA.  The union that represents over 3 million teacher members.  It seems the folks that work for the Union believe that their employer has violated the rules and has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.  It has also gone out on strike.

Employees for the Union have formed a union to protest the treatment they are receiving from the Union. 😅 The staff union say that the Union has wrongly halted overtime pay for holidays and it is contracting out over fifty million dollars worth of work that should have gone to full-time staff.  The NEA union calls for a strike when local school districts do that, now they are doing what they charge against others. 

The NEA is in a pickle.  Their convention was supposed to have been held this month.  Wanting to avoid the embarrassment of the NEA asking union members to cross a picket line of its own union workers, the NEA threatened to go to a virtual convention.   President Biden canceled his scheduled appearance.  Lots of delegates also canceled their intent to attend.

The Union itself has strayed from its stated intent of supporting education and teachers and has begun to engage in progressive political speak. Some Union members are demanding the NEA call for a cease fire in Gaza.  There is conflict between the Union, Union workers and Union members.

It is interesting to see the rank-and-file union workers calling out the well-paid Union bosses for collective-bargaining abuses.  The Union membership might be learning something about their leadership’s values when it comes to the leadership’s pocketbooks.  The President of the United States earns $400,000 a year.  The Governor of Maryland earns $150,000 a year.  But if you were president of the NEA, you would receive a salary of $495,787! And there are other perks too.

 Union employees are calling for fair labor relations.  Is no one worried about falling public schools?  No wonder The Strike is ON!