Mr. Butch,
I am going to be completely blunt with you, and I hope you don't take it the wrong way. I have heard comments about "some families in our area just don;t value education" and "we provide a good education for those who take advantage of it" for years, and it gets me twisted to no end. We have other local districts, with similar demographics and socioeconomics, but seem to consistently outperform Octorara. Pequea Valley HS is a perfect example of a school that has a similar population but has maintained or improved performance. In my opinon, pointing the finger and parents and students is playing the blame game and does nothing but make struggling students feel less than.
One of my issues is 3rd Grade Reading. Why? Because studies have shown 3rd Grade as a make it or break it year for children. Those children who are not reading at grade level by the end of 3rd Grade have difficulty comprehending material in future grades, affecting their ability to learn and diminishing their enthusiasm for education. I encourage you to look up the information. The research also shows that roughly 95 percent of ALL students, regardless of socioeconomics or family situation, can be taught to read at grade level. This is not to dismiss that some students within certain subgroups don;t have challenges. But it does show that if we fail these children when they are young, we do have some culpability when they lose all love of learning in high school. …show more content…
However, going back to its inception in 2013, I have accused the District of suffering from a culture of low expectations... that certain children are worth the effort and some just are not. There is a certain contentment in the idea that we just can't make children learn if they don't have the drive or ambition. I cannot and will not accept that notion as reality. From my point of view, it is a failure to accept our own
I am going to be completely blunt with you, and I hope you don't take it the wrong way. I have heard comments about "some families in our area just don;t value education" and "we provide a good education for those who take advantage of it" for years, and it gets me twisted to no end. We have other local districts, with similar demographics and socioeconomics, but seem to consistently outperform Octorara. Pequea Valley HS is a perfect example of a school that has a similar population but has maintained or improved performance. In my opinon, pointing the finger and parents and students is playing the blame game and does nothing but make struggling students feel less than.
One of my issues is 3rd Grade Reading. Why? Because studies have shown 3rd Grade as a make it or break it year for children. Those children who are not reading at grade level by the end of 3rd Grade have difficulty comprehending material in future grades, affecting their ability to learn and diminishing their enthusiasm for education. I encourage you to look up the information. The research also shows that roughly 95 percent of ALL students, regardless of socioeconomics or family situation, can be taught to read at grade level. This is not to dismiss that some students within certain subgroups don;t have challenges. But it does show that if we fail these children when they are young, we do have some culpability when they lose all love of learning in high school. …show more content…
However, going back to its inception in 2013, I have accused the District of suffering from a culture of low expectations... that certain children are worth the effort and some just are not. There is a certain contentment in the idea that we just can't make children learn if they don't have the drive or ambition. I cannot and will not accept that notion as reality. From my point of view, it is a failure to accept our own