Sadly, failure is a real and regular option and experience for students at the schools in my district. We are going on seven years of a high percentage of students failing Algebra 1. Last year, one of the comprehensive schools faced the challenge of figuring out how to deal with the high number of fifth year seniors. Our district has also has faced difficulty in placing a high number of incoming ninth graders that have been socially promoted.
It is creating a culture of apathy towards school and education. Students who struggle for reasons such as the ones mentioned above or similar ones, lose their trust and respect for a system that has no consideration for the reasons that have created an obstacle in their learning and achievement. These are the students that we lose, and if they don’t return, it will ultimately negatively impact society. In one school in my district, they have implemented a Reteach, Retake, Replace Program that closely monitors a student’s progress, provides them the opportunity to retake or redo a test or assignment after attending a tutoring session and replacing their low grade, if they demonstrate mastery. Both comprehensive high schools have started to target at-risk freshman, enrolling them in an 8th period class (after regular school hours) to provide them the academic support they need.
There are too many conditions that exist that make failure an option, making it too late to learn. Too many teachers consistently reinforce a late assignment policy. The points a student will lose will be determined by the number of days and assignment is submitted late and after a certain time period, the assignment will not be accepted. This is true of too many teachers. My district is a Title I district due to our high percentage of low income students. This means that many of our students have to work to help the family financially or they have to help take care of siblings, where the single parent has to work two jobs. In these situations, if a student doesn’t submit an assignment on time, we need to consider their home life, before we are quick to take away points, not for their inability to master a skill, but for their lack of financial resources at home. Is this fair?
As a school leader, I would begin by focusing on strategies for extending the school day. The purpose of extending the school day would be to create structures that will not allow failure. A formal strategy is maintaining the 8th period program, but expanding it to include all struggling students regardless of their grade. I would also ensure there are informal structures where a student can go and get the academic support to guide them towards mastery. In both of these interventions, I would include support for the teacher such as tutors or co-teacher to create a more personal learning experience for students.
In my position of Instructional Coach, I can provide guidance to teachers on how to increase student achievement in their classrooms. I can help them analyze the situation, look at student circumstances closely and create individualized plans to provide students multiple opportunities for success.
These are the 5 things I am willing to do this semester that will make my school increase learning opportunities:
It is creating a culture of apathy towards school and education. Students who struggle for reasons such as the ones mentioned above or similar ones, lose their trust and respect for a system that has no consideration for the reasons that have created an obstacle in their learning and achievement. These are the students that we lose, and if they don’t return, it will ultimately negatively impact society. In one school in my district, they have implemented a Reteach, Retake, Replace Program that closely monitors a student’s progress, provides them the opportunity to retake or redo a test or assignment after attending a tutoring session and replacing their low grade, if they demonstrate mastery. Both comprehensive high schools have started to target at-risk freshman, enrolling them in an 8th period class (after regular school hours) to provide them the academic support they need.
There are too many conditions that exist that make failure an option, making it too late to learn. Too many teachers consistently reinforce a late assignment policy. The points a student will lose will be determined by the number of days and assignment is submitted late and after a certain time period, the assignment will not be accepted. This is true of too many teachers. My district is a Title I district due to our high percentage of low income students. This means that many of our students have to work to help the family financially or they have to help take care of siblings, where the single parent has to work two jobs. In these situations, if a student doesn’t submit an assignment on time, we need to consider their home life, before we are quick to take away points, not for their inability to master a skill, but for their lack of financial resources at home. Is this fair?
As a school leader, I would begin by focusing on strategies for extending the school day. The purpose of extending the school day would be to create structures that will not allow failure. A formal strategy is maintaining the 8th period program, but expanding it to include all struggling students regardless of their grade. I would also ensure there are informal structures where a student can go and get the academic support to guide them towards mastery. In both of these interventions, I would include support for the teacher such as tutors or co-teacher to create a more personal learning experience for students.
In my position of Instructional Coach, I can provide guidance to teachers on how to increase student achievement in their classrooms. I can help them analyze the situation, look at student circumstances closely and create individualized plans to provide students multiple opportunities for success.
These are the 5 things I am willing to do this semester that will make my school increase learning opportunities:
- Support teachers with the Reteach, Retake, Replace Program to increase effectiveness
- Provide guidance to teachers as they implement a new college and career readiness curriculum to all ninth graders in the district
- Be a more active participant in the district leadership meetings when this subject is addressed
- Research effective strategies and share findings
- Shift teacher discussions towards student achievement