Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Summer School impact begins

Author:
Yesterday morning, WAMU aired a brief story about this year's loss of High School summer school in Loudoun.
In Loudoun County, Virginia, some parents who weren't keeping a close eye on the school district's budget process are finding out that summer school won't be an option for high-schoolers this year. Last year in Loudoun, about 70 seniors relied on summer school to graduate. Hughes says the district is still exploring whether other counties will have room for seniors and other students who need summer school this year.
[WAMU] [Audio]
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12 comments:

  1. But we can have a stupid FLES and SAMS program.... and 2 furlough days. This all at the expense of high school summer school. Gee, thanks board....
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  2. Hey, this is to be expected with this crew - keep BS like FLES, cut something that makes headlines and use it for political effect. Disgusting politics at the expense of the neediest students. Pathetic.
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  3. Isn't it great that high school summer school was cut but that many foreign nationals in the form of VIF teachers will keep their jobs!

    Profe
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  4. Why can't we have some scholarship funding from PTA/PTO and your own scholarship efforts to fund 100 seniors who need summer school to graduate? Offer it at one central location, 10 teachers (Eng, Mat, Sci, Soc Studies endorsed). Use the High School closest to the middle school summer site.
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  5. I know I'm in the minority but I'm thrilled that if I have to be furloughed that summer school is cut. I work with too many kids who slack off all year but go to summer school, get the credits, and move on. I do feel for the children who put forth their best effort and don't pass, however. I also feel for the teachers who count on summer school for extra income. But hey, at least we still have important things like freshman sports!
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  6. to the teacher who is "thrilled" to have furlough days and no high school summer school. Your perception that these students are "slackers" or lazy or whatever is SO misguided. Many students who are perceived as lazy are not, it is the SYSTEM that has not help them to find what their motivation may be. Could it be an undiagnosed learning disability, could it be ADHD?? Children want to do well- but many kids who have not been successful have decided it is better to be bad than stupid and have given up. I hope that MY children NEVER have you as a teacher (my own and the ones I teach)Enjoy your furlough days, I will most likely be working on mine...
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  7. I'm sick of people blaming undiagnosed disabilities for student laziness.

    There are kids who truly do have disabilities and then there are those who simply don't want to do the work or those whose parents don't care.

    The teachers are on the lookout for those who have learning disabilities from the time the kids start in kindergarten all the way up. Oftentimes, the parents don't care and ignore the calls from the school administrators begging for permission to evaluate the kids.

    What it comes down to in this county is that EDUCATION and ACADEMICS are not a priority. If they were, we wouldn't have elementary class sizes of 25-28 kids and we wouldn't be cutting reading specialists and special ed assistants.

    Nope - in this county, JV lacrosse and freshman sports are more important than anything else.
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  8. oh I beg to differ-- my child was one who was labeled a "behavior problem" in kindergarten, 1st and second grade. She certainly was NOT a behavior problem she was a child with a undiagnosed medical issue. I jumped through hoops to get the services she needed. Yes, many parents don't do what they need to do because they DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY CAN DO!! Those teachers had NO interest in helping my kid. It was MY problem. Children are NOT lazy, they DON'T like being different but it is better to be the tough guy or girl or the "funny" kid or problem child because it is better to be all those things than the "dumb" kid. And yes, there are parents who "do nothing" but YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PARENT BEHAVIOR! You can only strive to help the kid- sadly we as educators can't reach everyone- but I know that I try.
    Just a note: we did NOT cut reading teachers or special education assistants. What we did get was 2 furlough days. What we should have cut was FLES and SAMS. and quite possibly take a look as some of the high school course offerings that are unpopular or just not necessary. To those who think sports are not necessary again, I beg to differ. Some kids need that outlet, and by participating on a team it forces them to do well in class or they can't participate. Without those activities we leave many kids with nothing to do after school- not always a good idea.
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  9. There are plenty of opportunities for kids to participates in sports outside of school.

    EDUCATION needs to come first, not pandering to parents of lacrosse players.
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  10. Fed Up just does not get it. Extracurricular activities like sports, band, drama club, chess club, key club, etc. are crucial to producing well-rounded students and are every bit as important as the core curriculum. Most of these activities are largely self-funded or do not cost a lot to begin with. They are not the reason LCPS finds itself in a budget crunch, but that's what the educrats would have us believe.
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  11. FED up-- when was the last time a child got a scholarship because they played rec sports while in high school. YES-- education must and DOES come first. Kids can't play on the team if they don't have good grades. Take away the sports, band, drama, chorus etc... and you have a bunch of kids who then just give up. NOT ALL KIDS can manage an A in advanced level courses but CAN excel in drama, music or other what you would call extras.(my child being one of them- didn't get the so called advanced diploma but will be graduating and going on to college(and a rather good one too) to study her passion- music. The little bit of money spent on the sports programs does not effect the budget and EVERY parent whose kids play a sport PAY A FEE!! Which I have yet to figure out where it goes. Certainly NOT to the school, and that $200 parking fee, all but $25 goes to the general fund.
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  12. The apparent lack of coordinated action by LCPS administration at both the district and high school levels to find alternatives raises serious questions about the district's actual motives in dumping high school summer school. To even those peripherally involved in looking for solutions, the central office's efforts appeared clumsy, half-hearted, and a dollar-short/day-late.

    To witness the seemingly uncoordinated communications between Education Court and the various high schools as solution proposals were solicited, it would be easy to perceive an attitude of insouciance or incompetence on the part of administration. I don't think either trait applies, however; it was just too carefully tardigradous, making one wonder to what degree the dropped conversations and ultimate inaction was actually intentional.

    It will be interesting to see how many seniors who needed credit recovery to graduate actually do so today compared to prior years' numbers.

    It will also be interesting to see if summer school 2010 becomes someone's playing card at the poker table of next year's budget "negotiations."
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