Our community can't continue to be blind as to what is supposed to happen when you turn a school around. We must, at the very least, have a general understanding of what is supposed to happen, in order to insure that the correct processes are taking place.
While a lot of what we see happening in our schools these days may rub many the wrong way and/or sound ridiculous, it would be in all of our best interest to make an effort to try and understand what the requirements are under the School Improvement Grant and to become familiar with what a school in turnaround actually looks like.
In an effort to try and understand how the social giant they call school turn around will unfold, I have actually come across some pretty good information. I would recommend reading this paper: Innovative Designs for Persistently Low-Performing Schools: Transforming Failing Schools by Addressing Poverty-Related Barriers to Teaching and Learning
What we cannot deny:
A child growing up in poverty encounters individual, family and environmental risks that can undermine not only the ability to learn, but also the healthy development of character, motivation and persistence. These conditions all too frequently lead to behavioral problems and academic failure.
High-poverty schools experience the overwhelming needs of the children they serve, and the stresses of the community around them. High rates of joblessness, violence, racial tension, homelessness, and other factors are reflected in higher-than-average rates of untreated physical or mental illness, physical abuse and other problems for the students.
Even though these conditions are widespread, little in the experience of most teachers or school leaders has prepared them to address the many challenges these children encounter toward academic achievement.
Taken together, the obstacles the students must confront and the lack of preparedness on the part of schools and teachers often result in a negative school culture with low expectations for students. The following national statistics provide a dramatic snapshot of the challenge:
• The average student eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is two years of learning behind grade level.
• The dropout rate of students living in low-income families is more than four times the rate of students from high-income families.
• Only nine percent of freshmen in the nation’s 120 Tier I colleges are from the bottom half of the country’s income distribution.
These numbers point to the profound inadequacies of schools that serve poor kids and the failure of these schools to prepare students for post-secondary education and success. Source
While a lot of what we see happening in our schools these days may rub many the wrong way and/or sound ridiculous, it would be in all of our best interest to make an effort to try and understand what the requirements are under the School Improvement Grant and to become familiar with what a school in turnaround actually looks like.
In an effort to try and understand how the social giant they call school turn around will unfold, I have actually come across some pretty good information. I would recommend reading this paper: Innovative Designs for Persistently Low-Performing Schools: Transforming Failing Schools by Addressing Poverty-Related Barriers to Teaching and Learning
What we cannot deny:
A child growing up in poverty encounters individual, family and environmental risks that can undermine not only the ability to learn, but also the healthy development of character, motivation and persistence. These conditions all too frequently lead to behavioral problems and academic failure.
High-poverty schools experience the overwhelming needs of the children they serve, and the stresses of the community around them. High rates of joblessness, violence, racial tension, homelessness, and other factors are reflected in higher-than-average rates of untreated physical or mental illness, physical abuse and other problems for the students.Even though these conditions are widespread, little in the experience of most teachers or school leaders has prepared them to address the many challenges these children encounter toward academic achievement.
Taken together, the obstacles the students must confront and the lack of preparedness on the part of schools and teachers often result in a negative school culture with low expectations for students. The following national statistics provide a dramatic snapshot of the challenge:
• The average student eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is two years of learning behind grade level.
• The dropout rate of students living in low-income families is more than four times the rate of students from high-income families.
• Only nine percent of freshmen in the nation’s 120 Tier I colleges are from the bottom half of the country’s income distribution.
These numbers point to the profound inadequacies of schools that serve poor kids and the failure of these schools to prepare students for post-secondary education and success. Source