Helping your school

Parents Forum
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<p>Although I sometimes still have doubts about homeschooling ( I pulled the boys out when they finished 3rd/1st. My daughter has never been to ps.), I know that what I am giving them is academically superior.. The goal for my son's friends at the local high school is to get an 1800. I haven't shared that my son made a 34 on the ACT. He will take the SAT in March. When I tried to sign my son up for the AP Chem exam at the school, the counselor said that although there are 22 in the class, she wasn't sure any of them would take the exam. ????? So I then did some research through the Texas Education Association. I found out that 34 people took AP exams of all types from the school last year and only 7 got a 3 or better on those exams... Only 60 percent of the kids take the ACT and the average is 21. Our local paper published a story last fall about how 50 percent of the kids that went to our local cc from our high school had to take remedial classes. </p>

<p>So.. especially with the rich/poor discussion I've been thinking about how I could help. Though, I really don't have time until my boys are in college. Then I will only have my daughter left. Teaching/supervising the education of 3 children: 11th, 9th and 4th is a full time job right now.</p>

<p>I could help work on reading in elementary.. Though I know this is necessary, it was my least favorite thing about homeschooling my youngest. I don't think this is my gift.</p>

<p>Junior high- career/school counseling... or mentoring at risk kids</p>

<p>High school- Helping to prepare kids for testing. Honestly, part of it is a game but maybe I underestimate how badly they are prepared... many kids that actually go off to 4 year universities really struggle: There are around 200 in the graduating class each year. Around 180 graduate or so. 100 enroll in the cc. ( Though I don't know that they finish..) My boys started dual credit and have been appalled at the attitudes of the students. My 9th grader said, "Mom, I'm making an A, but not because I'm smart. I just actually do the work.. Everyone should be able to make an A!!!" The Spanish 2 class they are in has 7 people in it that survived from Spanish I. </p>

<p>So, how do you make a difference in your schools? I love learning. I think it is fun and want to give back to my community? What would make the best impact?</p>

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<p>Generally, with public schools, you would be able to do only what they already do, such as volunteer in the counseling office.
Since you are a teacher, how about being a private tutor? You could help kids with learning, classes, and standardized test preparation. If money is a factor for the kids, since you are talking about doing something at a school for nothing, you could do it for free.</p>

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<p>How did you know I was a teacher? Many/most homeschoolers are not certified teachers. The tutoring thing is a good idea. We have a boys/girls club that just started here and that might be a place to start…</p>

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<p>Where we live, rural south, and in our district it is known as the “brain drain”. In the schools that have more than 50% free/reduced lunch population, those with the ability pull their children and send them to the magnets and home school.</p>

<p>My children’s high school far exceeded the 50% free and reduced lunch mark and quite a few families sent their kiddos to the magnets or the math/science boarding school. With 5 high school age children it was a big decision for our family when we moved here from CA.</p>

<p>My kiddos all decided to remain at our local/regional school. All were athletes, having been on state championship teams before we relocated. Most had been in AP/Honors courses and had been very active in their previous school. So they stayed. Along with the committment to make a difference every day in the classroom, on the field, in the lunch room, with their friends and teammates.</p>

<p>They felt leading by example would help. And it did. They started peer-to-peer tutoring in the more difficult subjects, math, physics, chemistry, foreign languages. They encouraged (begged, pulled, bribed, cajoled, whatever it took) to get their fellow teammates to attend the tutoring, learn to study, want to learn, attend classes, eat healthier, express school spirit and also learn to want to make a difference and change perceptions.</p>

<p>did it work? It appears that way. When 4th child graduated their high school went from barely earning any scholarship money for the graduating class to earning 3 times what all the other schools in the district combined had earned. For the first time ever, the school earned more scholies, awards, than the other 17 schools in the district had. Made the papers and the news. Pretty big deal to all those students. No one gave them anything, they had all earned it. </p>

<p>For sports it takes a while to create depth for teams, especially teams that are expensive to run when the school is high for free/reduced lunch. But winning is contagious. When my youngest was a senior the football team had made it to state championships. Again pretty big deal to the team but also to the student body as a whole. </p>

<p>Three of my kiddos went on to particiapte in college as D1 athletes but had accepted academic scholarships. They all came back from college during the year to go back to their high school to meet with other students, teachers and administrators. They stay in contact via, facebook, phone and in person with any current students who need their help for tutoring, applying to college, sports, really just about anything. Daughter went to college 3000 miles away and still maintained contact.</p>

<p>Son now located locally, in med school, still works with the students…helps with Questbridge, college admissions, academy recruiting, sports… and they still listen. Since his graduating and matriculating to an ivy, each successive val has applied to and been accepted to an ivy. Again big deal since it had not really happened before.</p>

<p>The school went from being the “red-headed step-child” in the district to rivalling the district magnet for academics and sports, in just a few years. Now many want to attend college, and have others to follow. They know it can be done, they have seen it.</p>

<p>Success is contagious. </p>

<p>My children were also the ones on free lunch. Leading by example worked.</p>

<p>Kat</p>

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<p>So how do you get your kids to do that??? Wow… My daughter might. She is very social. But there is no way my boys would ever tutor anyone. They are also not good at sports AT ALL and since football is king here… I’m impressed… So maybe I should have kept them in and just fought?? Yes, 60 percent are on free lunch here. So how can I help???</p>

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<p>I’ve been a public school volunteer in my area for many years. Would say make an appointment with the principal and ask them. I’ve volunteered in the classroom and then in a new food program focused on made from scratch school food. from what I’ve seen the most useful volunteers find out what is really needed and follow direction. even though I’ve been a small business owner in the kitchen the chef is the boss. Likewise I am not a teacher or an aide so it is not my job to discipline children or regulate lunchroom behavior. I’m there to get them excited about the food including making smiley faces with the ketchup and explaining what new vegetables are. I love being with the kids since mine are grown and I love that I am helping them get good nutrition. So I would say start with a meeting with the school to ask what they need.</p>

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<p>choirfarm, I didn’t know you were a certified teacher. But since you homeschool your kids, I consider you a teacher whether you are certified or not. And I think homeschooling is a bad idea (mainly because of the social aspect). But that doesn’t mean homeschoolers aren’t teachers.</p>

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<p>Is there a Say Yes to College program in your community? [Say</a> Yes to Education - Syracuse](<a href=“http://www.sayyessyracuse.org/]Say”>http://www.sayyessyracuse.org/) If not, would you want to look into organizing one? (It would be an enormous undertaking, but you might be able to get the ball rolling.) In our area, it’s a collaboration of school systems, a local university, government agencies, local businesses, and volunteers to prepare students for college.</p>

<p>In my kids’ school system, parents are welcome as volunteers in the elementary schools and often work one-on-one with kids in the reading curriculum. Parent volunteers are NOT welcome in the classroom in the high schools or middle schools and instead work on fundraisers or activities. YMMV since you’re a certified teacher, though in our schools that wouldn’t make a difference.</p>

<p>You could consider starting your own program that doesn’t necessarily have an official tie-in with the schools. Receiving official school sanction for a parent-run program would be a real boondoggle around here, but parents have established worthwhile off-campus programs. One woman run a tutoring center for several years - she found an empty storefront, recruited volunteer tutors, and offered assistance every day after school and on weekends.</p>

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<p>beolein: I think public schools are a bad idea… primarily because of the negative socialization… ;)</p>

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<p>alh: You are funny!</p>

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<p>I think being able to turn a school around is wonderful.</p>

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<p>You ask how to make a difference in the schools. My suggestion is to help the parents. The students have support of teachers and free lunch and really far more support than the rest of the family. They learn about finance, nutrition, health and other valuable stuff in school. Make the home life better and it will pay off in spades for the children.</p>

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<p>Encourage more people to homeschool, and demonstrate how it is done effectively, and help other homeschoolers. When you do that, schools feel a greater obligation to compete. It’s the best thing you can do for schools.</p>