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School Districts
Apart from moving, could anything be done within a district to help it better itself?
For example-our district had no national merit scholars this year, but a similarly sized “good” district had 9.
I know “good” districts who employ full time college advisors, but my district does not.
Number of ap courses/enrichment activities/etc.
Advocating for extra recess at elementary level
I suppose just the overall approach to education within the district.
Board of Ed? Superintendent? Move?
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Posted 10/21/20 3:32 PM  |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
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..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: School Districts
I would think attending Board meetings (and maybe even running for the school board) and voicing your concerns and ideas would help. But it also is a long slow process to see these changes a lot of times.
The quickest and easiest would be to move to a district that has more of the things your value- not that that is easy at all! 
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| Posted 10/21/20 3:57 PM |
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KateBennetReel
LIF Adolescent
Member since 10/15 555 total posts
Name:
Keep
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Re: School Districts
Posted by mommywantsababy
Apart from moving, could anything be done within a district to help it better itself?
For example-our district had no national merit scholars this year, but a similarly sized “good” district had 9.
I know “good” districts who employ full time college advisors, but my district does not.
Number of ap courses/enrichment activities/etc.
Advocating for extra recess at elementary level
I suppose just the overall approach to education within the district.
Board of Ed? Superintendent? Move?
This topic always gets me going.
I would really enjoy seeing a public school enrichment program that focuses on cultivating advocacy.
What I am learning is that sitting in on the district's BOE meetings is easier than ever with everything remote right now that you can begin to take stock and see how it's structured. I'm learning what the building is responsible for, what is the Council of PTA's responsibility and what the Board does. See who's taking care of what and then give them a ring to get the conversation going.
In the time of covid, everything is opening wide up for me in my district and I feel there is an easier time connecting with them, as long as I'm not a jerk about it. My customer service skills are really tested with these folks.
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| Posted 10/21/20 3:58 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: School Districts
Parental involvement is the number one key to success. Do kids under age 5 in your town have their own books? What is the early literacy rate in your town? It starts at the home. Honestly money unless targeted to help young families achieve success where kids are reading and identified as needing assistance for early intervention is where the greatest places for change can help a town succeeded. By the time a child is in 4th grade if they cannot read at grade level they have almost no hope at success. I know that is terrible to hear, but it is unfortunately the truth. If you want sucess, it has to start from the bottom. By high school ot is practically too late. If your child is past elementary school, move. I know it is easier said than done.
Message edited 10/21/2020 4:00:57 PM.
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| Posted 10/21/20 3:59 PM |
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BFNY516
LIF Adult
Member since 7/20 1189 total posts
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Re: School Districts
Message edited 10/21/2020 4:30:05 PM.
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| Posted 10/21/20 4:22 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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School Districts
You need to connect with your BOE. This is exactly what your BOE "should" be doing. They are elected to represent the people in the community to bettering the schools. Send letters, attend and speak at the BOE meetings. Many of the items you listed the district can set up task forces for to see if they are a possibility. Also, you need to take a long hard look at your district's financials. If you don't have the money in your budget, it will be very hard to hire new teachers for AP classes, or any enrichment areas.
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| Posted 10/21/20 4:57 PM |
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nycbuslady
LIF Adult
Member since 9/15 1066 total posts
Name:
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Re: School Districts
Posted by LSP2005
By the time a child is in 4th grade if they cannot read at grade level they have almost no hope at success.
I listened in to our BOE meeting last night and a parent said this same thing. She was saying that because of the shutdown, the kids didn't have a reading assessment in the spring 2020 and may not have one until 2021. That means that struggling readers are falling through the cracks. She put it this way -- If we don't assess these students now, in addition to the kids not reading (which is terrible in and of itself), we will have a financial problem because we'll have to increase special ed funding. There's a ripple effect in everything that happens.
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| Posted 10/21/20 5:31 PM |
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School Districts
Thanks everyone. I’m on the board of the PTA, and attend all BOE meetings. I feel like I will run for the BOE in a few years when my kids are a bit older.
My kids are young, so I have time to try to change things. Like I said, we could move, which would be an “easy” way to change, but there’s a lot of things I do like about the district-I just feel like their record of academic achievement falls flat.
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| Posted 10/21/20 5:44 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: School Districts
Posted by nycbuslady
Posted by LSP2005
By the time a child is in 4th grade if they cannot read at grade level they have almost no hope at success.
I listened in to our BOE meeting last night and a parent said this same thing. She was saying that because of the shutdown, the kids didn't have a reading assessment in the spring 2020 and may not have one until 2021. That means that struggling readers are falling through the cracks. She put it this way -- If we don't assess these students now, in addition to the kids not reading (which is terrible in and of itself), we will have a financial problem because we'll have to increase special ed funding. There's a ripple effect in everything that happens.
oh that makes me so incredibly sad. My kids just had state tests virtually this week. There is honestly no excuse for skipping these tests at this point. In NJ the State adopted a law that saws they must test for dyslexia and reading readiness in grades k, 1, and 2 to prevent kids from falling through the cracks.
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| Posted 10/21/20 6:25 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: School Districts
Posted by mommywantsababy
Thanks everyone. I’m on the board of the PTA, and attend all BOE meetings. I feel like I will run for the BOE in a few years when my kids are a bit older.
My kids are young, so I have time to try to change things. Like I said, we could move, which would be an “easy” way to change, but there’s a lot of things I do like about the district-I just feel like their record of academic achievement falls flat.
If you are already on the Board, you should speak to your PTA Council. Our Council meets once a month with all our Administrators and a few BOE Members. It is good opportunity to throw ideas out there and to get a feel of what the district is planning in the future.
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| Posted 10/21/20 6:28 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: School Districts
Posted by mommywantsababy
Thanks everyone. I’m on the board of the PTA, and attend all BOE meetings. I feel like I will run for the BOE in a few years when my kids are a bit older.
My kids are young, so I have time to try to change things. Like I said, we could move, which would be an “easy” way to change, but there’s a lot of things I do like about the district-I just feel like their record of academic achievement falls flat.
1. Early intervention
2. Having a dyslexia specialist evaluate all children in every grade.
3. Having a questionnaire sent to families on attitudes towards learning, do they have books that are age appropriate for kids in their home. Identifying those that don’t and getting them books to keep.
4. Having extra help offered with incentives (get local businesses involved, free ice cream or pizza, or movie ticket)
5. If parents do not speak English as the primary language offering language classes for parents or access to apps where someone else can check in on progress.
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| Posted 10/21/20 6:36 PM |
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Re: School Districts
Posted by LSP2005
Posted by mommywantsababy
Thanks everyone. I’m on the board of the PTA, and attend all BOE meetings. I feel like I will run for the BOE in a few years when my kids are a bit older.
My kids are young, so I have time to try to change things. Like I said, we could move, which would be an “easy” way to change, but there’s a lot of things I do like about the district-I just feel like their record of academic achievement falls flat.
1. Early intervention
2. Having a dyslexia specialist evaluate all children in every grade.
3. Having a questionnaire sent to families on attitudes towards learning, do they have books that are age appropriate for kids in their home. Identifying those that don’t and getting them books to keep.
4. Having extra help offered with incentives (get local businesses involved, free ice cream or pizza, or movie ticket)
5. If parents do not speak English as the primary language offering language classes for parents or access to apps where someone else can check in on progress.
I don’t think many of these things are the cause though. We have few, if any, enl students. There’s a strong special Ed department, including ei.
They do push early literacy. Our pta provides free books to every child at least once a year, hosts author visits, etc. Our library is closely linked to our lower schools, and runs a huge amount of programming, incentives for reading. The schools incentivize reading as well, especially over the summer.
Yet, even those who graduate first and second in the class aren’t going on to exceptional colleges or careers. For competitions that rank nationally (national merit, intel, Siemens, etc), there are no winners. They rarely have one student per year attend ivy leagues, let alone multiple.
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| Posted 10/21/20 7:20 PM |
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Re: School Districts
Posted by KarenK122
Posted by mommywantsababy
Thanks everyone. I’m on the board of the PTA, and attend all BOE meetings. I feel like I will run for the BOE in a few years when my kids are a bit older.
My kids are young, so I have time to try to change things. Like I said, we could move, which would be an “easy” way to change, but there’s a lot of things I do like about the district-I just feel like their record of academic achievement falls flat.
If you are already on the Board, you should speak to your PTA Council. Our Council meets once a month with all our Administrators and a few BOE Members. It is good opportunity to throw ideas out there and to get a feel of what the district is planning in the future.
We are small, so no council. We have pta board meetings once a month, and meet with principal as needed (not often, especially this year), and never meet with the boe. We only meet with the superintendent once before school begins.
I’ll bring it up at our next pta board meeting though and see if they have any suggestions.
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| Posted 10/21/20 7:21 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Re: School Districts
Posted by mommywantsababy
Posted by LSP2005
Posted by mommywantsababy
Thanks everyone. I’m on the board of the PTA, and attend all BOE meetings. I feel like I will run for the BOE in a few years when my kids are a bit older.
My kids are young, so I have time to try to change things. Like I said, we could move, which would be an “easy” way to change, but there’s a lot of things I do like about the district-I just feel like their record of academic achievement falls flat.
1. Early intervention
2. Having a dyslexia specialist evaluate all children in every grade.
3. Having a questionnaire sent to families on attitudes towards learning, do they have books that are age appropriate for kids in their home. Identifying those that don’t and getting them books to keep.
4. Having extra help offered with incentives (get local businesses involved, free ice cream or pizza, or movie ticket)
5. If parents do not speak English as the primary language offering language classes for parents or access to apps where someone else can check in on progress.
I don’t think many of these things are the cause though. We have few, if any, enl students. There’s a strong special Ed department, including ei.
They do push early literacy. Our pta provides free books to every child at least once a year, hosts author visits, etc. Our library is closely linked to our lower schools, and runs a huge amount of programming, incentives for reading. The schools incentivize reading as well, especially over the summer.
Yet, even those who graduate first and second in the class aren’t going on to exceptional colleges or careers. For competitions that rank nationally (national merit, intel, Siemens, etc), there are no winners. They rarely have one student per year attend ivy leagues, let alone multiple.
Most kids don't go to Ivies because they're natural geniuses, they go because they're rich and connected. What do the parents in the district do for a living? Do they hold advanced degrees? Did they go to Ivies? What's the median family income?
I just moved from a very good district on LI to a very good district north of the city. My current district sends tons more kids to Ivies because the parents are wealthy and well connected.
The other items you list are probably lacking because its a small district (though something like extended recess isn't dependent on the size of the district). Philosophies are hard to change, though. If your philosophy differs that greatly from that of the school, I think moving is probably the best choice.
Message edited 10/21/2020 10:02:25 PM.
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| Posted 10/21/20 9:57 PM |
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tourist
Member since 5/05 10425 total posts
Name:
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Re: School Districts
I think it is great that you are trying to improve things. This may sound selfish, but if change doesn't happen fast enough for you personally, you can always try and enrich your own children's education with whatever you can afford ( tutors, summer classes, etc) while trying to change the bigger picture, since these thing take time.
I also wanted to add, that I went to a small HS with limited AP classes, and some students brought up that issue, and the school was able to add an extra AP science by offering it every other year, and making that one ( physics) and the existing one (chemistry) open to both juniors & seniors.
I believe the same teacher was able to teach both, but my point is that in a smaller school, some times it is actually easier to change things, and sometimes there are creative solutions to things.
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| Posted 10/21/20 10:11 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: School Districts
Do the kids apply and not get into ivy league schools or are they just not even applying? What is your school's average SAT and ACT scores? Changing the mindset of an entire district will take more than just one person but it has to start somewhere. I am going to say we were in one district and felt that they were not doing right by my son, so in 1st grade we moved. He is thriving in our new district as is my daughter. I could see the old district decline before my eyes. We are now 7 years later and they are finally turning around. In the meantime my son is in 8th grade.
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| Posted 10/22/20 9:51 AM |
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