Waiting for Superman

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

<p>When I try to explain to others why bs is such a opportunity for my d, it is very difficult. For the few parents who live in urban environments they get why my d would select the most rural of schools with stars to help put her to sleep. </p>

<p>As a parent, it is even more stressful to place your 4.5 yr old on a yellow school bus at 6:10 in the morning to travel 2 hours to the only gifted kindergarten in the 4th(?) largest city. (1700 kids testing for 30 spots; that year it was more difficult to get into this school than the University of Chicago). Needless to say---safety is not an issue at bs as compared to our urban jungle.</p>

<p>But as a EDUCATOR, the state of our public schools is the saddest situation.</p>

<p>I admit my kid will be fine, probably great. But she wont live in the bs "bubble" forever. We must acknowledge and then address the education system in our country.</p>

<p>Please go and see.....Waiting for Superman.</p>

2

<p>We’re definitely going to go see it. </p>

<p>Skewed along racial lines by 4:1 (!) was the election of Vince Gray over Adrian Fenty. Fenty’s biggest claim to fame is inserting Michelle Rhee as the Chancellor of schools in D.C. She has not made any union friends or been as smart as possible about the politics as she should have been, but she has been extremely effective at starting the city down its first positive course with its public schools. Now, she is likely to leave because Fenty, who gave her a free hand to do whatever it takes to right the ship, got the boot from voters because his personality was too brusque. We’re now going to watch Rhee’s departure start a backward slide into danger and mediocrity for all the kids in D.C. Such a shame.</p>

3

<p>Post editorial from this morning: [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/20/AR2010092005520.html]washingtonpost.com[/url”&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/20/AR2010092005520.html]washingtonpost.com[/url</a>]</p>

4

<p>I’m very interested in seeing this movie. </p>

<p>While this may be a very simplistic and selfish view of things, I find that the public school system in our area has indeed left some kids behind — I could argue that the kids at the top of the percentile charts also have “special needs” that are not being met.</p>

5

<p>I watched the trailer for Waiting for Superman… what the heck was that lottery system? Where is that done? What a horrible way to find out your child’s fate! In my rural state, if you don’t like your local school system you have two options… 1. Move to a different town or 2. network, find out who the best teachers are in the school and lobby, beg and threaten to get your kids into those classes. Actually, to be truly affective, you should do both. </p>

<p>So Alexz825Mom, what’s the real deal, the inside view as a teacher in a big city school district? What are the broken pieces? Class sizes too large? Parents not participating? Classes not “tracked” so the teacher is targeting the low to middle end? Schools are physically dangerous places? No support for the kids with special needs? If you had the magic wand to fix it, where and how would you wave your wand?</p>

6

<p>Mom–The lottery system in major cities is terrible. For Kindergarten, I filled out 21 applications. Seventeen for lottery schools (some as close as 3 miles from my house) my d got into ZERO schools. The other 4 schools where we applied were gifted/classical schools. She was accepted at 2. The best fit, gifted school, was cross town. The school was perfect for my d but the ride/time was the pits.</p>

<p>Now, urban schools. My first concern is the parents lack of commitment to their child’s future thus their education. When kids begin school at 5 they dont know the alphabet, number, color, the spelling of their name, etc. How can a teacher teach reading if a kid doesnt know the letters. The kids cant sit still to learn. No one has read a book to the kid. Is this every kid, no but but maybe 25%. </p>

<p>Special need kids arent identified early enough because their are few doctor visits, and they are not a priority to their families. With no child left behind, teachers hold on to their jobs based on standardized test scores. They must work on the lowest preforming kids or else they loose their jobs. The average and above average kids get nothing, or at the most very little. Class size about 35. Compare that to most bs, 12-15 students, small classes work, proven fact. </p>

<p>In a major city, charter schools work. They give parents options and make the typical public school step it up to attract the good students.</p>

<p>My major idea of a fix…just because it is public school doesnt mean we have to take any old body. If your kid cant do the basics, number, colors, letters at age 5…we dont take that kid. Make the parents do the minimum. Then most kids will be on a somewhat level playing feel at the beginning and the teacher can teach.</p>

<p>And people wonder why my d goes to boarding school, right!</p>

7

<p>ready for kindergarten… Here in Vermont, we have UAPK, universal access to Pre Kindergarten. Basically it’s purpose is to get kids ready for kindergarten, with letters, numbers, colors, socialization… Every parent of a preschooler is supposed to be identified and informed of the program. </p>

<p>We also have EEE (Essential Early Education) for 3-5 year olds with special education needs and EEI to target those who are at risk. </p>

<p>I truly believe these programs help.</p>

<p>But in the end, I agree, a child needs a parent that participates fully in the educating of that child. Even more so, if that child has any kind of LD. Without it, the teachers fight an uphill battle. So how do we get parents to participate from the day that mom and baby comes home from the hospital?</p>

<p>Charter schools help the kids whose parents are committed. It leaves a huge mess behind for the kids whose parents don’t know enough or care enough to step up. How do we create a cultural shift?</p>

8

<p>Mom–you are so right…a cultural shift. I think the movie will do some good, if people see it. From the conversation on Oprah, with Bill Gates, it seems the documentary opens up a lot of eyes and maybe we can get that shift we would like to see.</p>

<p>Yes, charter schools help if the parents go the extra mile to search. As a teacher, I understand that no one fix will help everybody, but we need to start somewhere.</p>

<p>Yes we have pre-school, head-start, but some parents, dont/wont do it…and their children are the ones that need it. I paid for pre-school because I am not poor, but I found a way (looking back, my d should have stayed home with great-grandma and mom, we taught her so much more at home than pre-school did).</p>

9

<p>I agree with the above. I have a few friends that teach in urban settings across the country. For a suburban mom like me, some of what I hear is eye-opening. Kids start Kindergarten not knowing how a book even works eg how to open it, what’s the front and what’s the back, whether it is upside down or not. I also hear that less then 1/3 of parents show up for scheduled parent/teacher conferences. </p>

<p>Makes me wonder if charter schools, private schools, etc are partially successful in large part because they are self-selecting. Someone has to care enough about the kid to seek out and enroll him/her in charter school, right? Therefore, there is an emphasis on education in that household. Many kids are not so fortunate.</p>

10

<p>Every time I see that clip with the room of families hoping for a better school for their kids with the lottery it brings tears to my eyes. It is SO heartbreaking when families want so badly to help their children and they simply don’t have the resources. </p>

<p>On March 9, 2010, our family was in the same situation as those people waiting for a chance at the charter while we were waiting for admissions decisions and we had the same amazing sense of gratitude and relief that those lucky few did on the film. We will be in the same state of anxiety this year. I am thankful that our situation is not as desperate as those in DC. I have the ability to teach my children at home or otherwise supplement their education, but a single urban mother without an education herself whose energy is consumed by the simple act of surviving life is completely dependent on the public school system. Money may not buy happiness, but it goes a long way in alleviating unnecessary suffering.</p>

<p>If a had a couple million to jump start an ungraded charter school where kids could be respected as sentient human beings with limitless potential instead of being pigeon holed as one or another special needs, where they could be free of having to fit into the lock step box of mastery this at that precise time and that at this precise time…</p>

<p><em>stepping off my soapbox</em></p>

11

<p>Neato, dont step off the soap-box, just make room for me—lol. </p>

<p>As a 3rd generation educator tears fill my eyes on my way to work everyday. As docschico says, charter schools are self-selecting. And yes, I have the ability to educate my child and understood the resources the bs could afford us.</p>

<p>I hope people outside of the urban areas see the movie and begin to understand the issues.</p>

12

<p>We have the same problem. Some teachers delayed filling out the paperwork for admissions because they thought she was being “sent away” as a punishment. Sigh. Was mailing a care package and even the postal worker asked us why we put our daughter in a boarding school. </p>

<p>Well … because leaving her here with the revolving door of superintendents and bad teachers is the equivalent of child abuse. Even the “elite” private school nearby can’t train their kids well enough for them to qualify for MIT. One of my husband’s colleagues told him that a child trained in Latin at D’s former public school was tutoring his son (who attends "elite $20K school) because the training was so poor.</p>

<p>Education in general is terrible. But I’m finding here in the midwest even the best private schools don’t measure up. Parents, even well educated ones locally, don’t bother to arm themselves with information on what a good school is supposed to look like. The public school parents rely on the district, the private school parents rely on their own schools and pat themselves on the back that they’ve escaped PS (no knowing their kids are in another form of hell).</p>

<p>Teachers blame students and parents, parents blame teachers and administrators, contractors and consultants reap millions from contracts but don’t fix the problem and Bill Gate’s Foundation pumps money here with no accountability on results (the representatives are self-impressed with their position and how people genuflect).</p>

<p>I have the gray hair from trying to volunteer and work with the district for 15 years. I gave up. Pull the oldest out of public school after only two years when her scores started heading south. Afterwards her ACT’s shot to almost double the district average. So it’s not a surprise when the second D wanted BS I said yes.</p>

<p>I’m now tutoring one of D’s friends because she wants to go to an IVY league school. Without the extra help she can’t get there given the current PS mentality which routinely touts Community college and local universities despite being the district’s only “college prep” program. Smartest girl I’ve ever met. So the lack of prep work and foundation makes me weep. She’s a hard worker, the foundation she was given was based on passing the state exam, not actually being able to synthesize information to allow her to apply it to real life situations. Her current class size in High School has shot to 33+ as part of district downsizing.</p>

<p>So we’re base lining with an ACT in advance of a PSAT’s next year and then setting our goal for as close to a perfect score as possible. Told her I’d train her and any of D’s other friends on my own time. But I will not EVER work with the district and it’s chronic dysfunction again. EVAH! (excuse the ebonics). Plus D made me promise if she left I would stop working with the district.</p>

<p>I haven’t seen the movie, but I do know the problem is organic. We can’t keep treating the symptoms and not the cause. Unfortunately, I think the public school system is so full of “viruses” and “spam” that it needs to have the hard-drive wiped followed by a complete system install and reboot.</p>

<p>Until then, it’s parents and parents alone that will have to help guide their children through the process. Otherwise, why did we have them?</p>

13

<p>A true story,</p>

<p>We did the charter school route. Here, the state allows the charters to work with fewer rules than public schools so they can innovate. There is no accountability. At all. Trust me - at one point we had a local politician begging the state to investigate local charter schools. It went as far as the governor who didn’t want to “rock the boat.”</p>

<p>The school we chose had a stellar reputation as a private school. Then it converted to a charter. Unbeknownst to us, the new principal had been fired from multiple prior jobs, the local university expressed concern about her skill sets and low salary (less than $40K) but sponsored them anyway because they didn’t want to be sued for saying no. The school burned through $500K of federal start up funds without buying the required materials and the sponsor still didn’t investigate. They were later sued for human rights violations (ADA) and the judge called them despicable and still, the university didn’t shut them down. Although the sponors quietly conceded that they wished they had listened to my husband and I when we produced test scores for the entire school, they said they were powerless to do anything for five years. The test results, obtained by force through the Freedom of Information Act, showed my D’s 6th grade class was testing at a 4th grade level and scores on a STAT 9 had actually decreased over the scores obtained on the same test 6 months prior. D was the only student testing post high school and the principal was using her scores as an “example” of the stellar work the school did. The university sponsor was unable to explain why they, themselves, were not in possession of the scores and noted the principal claimed they weren’t yet available. We then pointed out the date on the bottom showing the scores had been received in the spring. Our meeting with the sponsors was in August.</p>

<p>Fast forward. My oldest is now in college, the principal is still in her job, and the test scores are still some of the worst in the state - but are similar to many other charter schools in the city. The school did not make AYP and there is still no change in management.</p>

<p>Local paper ran an article about my D leaving the district as part of an increasing exodus. Same article profiled a young mother whose daughter was drowning in public school. She was “thrilled” to have found the perfect charter school. Want to guess which one?</p>

<p>Hint - the one with the cease and desist order from the state.</p>

<p>For me the bottom line is that most charter schools are as bad or worse than public schools. The ones that succeed tend to weed out the low testing children using bogus reasons AFTER the state pays them based on attendance.</p>

<p>It’s not a panacea. People will trot out the few that are working and ignore the vast majority that are not. Thus sending waves of students in the wrong direction.</p>

<p>Can you tell that - with two local exceptions (out of dozens) - I find Charter schools to be a ruse too?</p>

14

<p>OMG,</p>

<p>Neato. You’re right. March 9th and 10th did feel like we were waiting for a lottery. </p>

<p>Suddenly I’m much more sympathetic to those who didn’t get picked. gosh.</p>

<p>At least the students that applied were lucky. They and their parents had the foresight to get a lottery ticket into the bowl. So many kids do not.</p>

<p>Namaste all!</p>

15

<p>All in all, the ratio of failing to OK to very good charter schools is probably the same as failing to OK to very good public schools.</p>

16

<p>Are you only talking about urban public schools? There are many great suburban public school districts, charter schools, magnet schools. Please take a look at the US News list of top high schools and the amazing graduates they produce and the top colleges they go to. Is your glass half empty? We still produce the most Nobel laureates, discover the most things - thanks to the accomplishments of our public schools grads, not BS grads.</p>

17

<p>Yep - Urban. In most cases they aren’t opening suburban charters - it’s a reaction to the bad urban situation (although the suburban private schools around here are pretty mediocre compared to their national and international peers).</p>

<p>The problem with charters is they take tax payer dollars but don’t have the same accountability. So several are very VERY good (including one locally) and the rest ride on those coat tails without producing the same results.</p>

<p>So thanks for asking for the clarification, urban is what I was referring to. Having lived in more than one state over the last few decades, I’m finding the problem to be alarmingly similar everywhere.</p>

18

<p>Exie, are the bad charter schools worse than the worst public schools? Serious question. I ask because the charters in our local urban area generally have better test scores, etc. When they don’t, they are at least as good as the non-charter options that the kids would have. Often, the biggest draw for parents (in our area) of the charter schools is being in an environment that isn’t as toxic as the public option.</p>

19

<h1>12, #13 and #14 what a rant.</h1>

<p>Oh okay, that’s just your histrionics. I think most CCers agree, smart kids will do well anywhere–PS, charter schools, magnet schools, day schools or boarding schools. It’s the kid that makes the difference, come app time to colleges and in life, not the BS.</p>

<p>Too much drama over the “lottery” that we all won getting our kids into a top “flight” as you say BS. A little too self-serving…?</p>

20

<p>I don’t agree with the whole “smart kids do well anywhere” idea. </p>

<p>Many public schools are very damaging to smart kids and they don’t “do well” at all, especially in urban and rural settings.</p>

<p>edit: By “do well” I don’t mean get into an Ivy or make lots of money as adults.</p>