Skool Over Kajabi: The Reason Behind My Switch
1 month ago
Friday, December 5, 2008
We just became a "Corrective Action School"
Whatever that means. It kills me. I love my school and my students. We (meaning everyone: teachers, parents, school aides, janitors, and yes, even administration) work so hard to make a difference for our students. Just because we are a community school and we take EVERYONE who walks in the door, including children from a transitional shelter that is in our catchment area, we suffer the consequences of having low-performing students. It is not a reflection on the actual teaching or achievement of our "home grown" students, the ones we keep from Pre-K through 5th grade. What do they want schools to do? Shut their doors? Only let in a select few? I am proud of the fact that we educate everyone equally. I am proud to have over 80% ELLs in my class. The media always puts down these "underperforming" schools and it's so sad that my school has been categorized this way. I actually think that some of these schools are actually the best schools in the country because of all the hard work and dedication it takes to keep everyone learning. Talk about differentiation!!!. I won't give up. I just hope that we can at least maintain our "Well-developed" rating that we got on last year's quality review, I feel that this recognition at least helps us keep our heads above water and have faith that we are doing our best every day. The British guy said so!
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3 comments:
Did you hear that there have been changes to the Quality Review this year? My school was also "well developed" last year -- and we're actually not having a QR this year -- but we had this faculty meeting in which we learned that if we WERE having a Quality Review, we would almost certainly not be well developed again because the standards have gotten so much harder.
I agree with you. Having 80% ELL students should be a positive and not a deficit.
I think it's so depressing to see the way schools are judged. My school has gotten an A two years in a row and yet there are teachers who say out loud for all to hear how little they try to do and how ELLs are "not their priority", etc.. Not that they are the majority per se, but it just goes to show that the criteria is not really assessing students, their needs, or how their needs are met.
And I think it's important that you include ALL the staff at your school when you say "we".
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