To Change Schools or Not....

Hi K.,

I worked in a "low preforming" school for several years of my teaching career. Several things to consider are.

-- The letter you receive is mandated by No Child Left Behind. Factors that are involved in the "low" score are sometimes outside of the ability of the school to change them. (example..Attendance of your students greatly effects the score) Also, the socio-economic factor of the neighborhood where the school is located, can cause there to be more students that enter lacking the basic skills to preform well on standardized tests. If the teacher you daughter has is excellent in all her roles, bonds well with the children and works well with the parents then any child can flourish, regardless of the arbitrary rating of the federal government.

--That said, if the teachers are good and your daughter is on grade level, she is actually helping the over all academic environment for all students. I am not understanding about the emotional suffering? Has your daughter been bullied or has she had difficulty connecting to peers? Is the environment of the school inviting, warm, loving and supportive?

--Most extra curricular activities (or specials as we called them) in elementary are set district wide, unless the principal or the PTA decide to spend there money to increase them. I worked in the North Clackamas and Woodburn school districts, all school were assigned the same number of days of music, P.E., library, computers...etc. From my first year to the last year I taught (7 years) the number of days that we had P.E. and music were cut in 1/2 and they fired all of our librarians, and hired educational assistants to teach the classes. It is a problem of money in most schools and limited resources.

**Really you are the only one who knows your daughter. I have found that it is the teacher that has the biggest impact on a child's success in the classroom. But, if your daughter senses from you that her school is "sub-par" it might be causing her some anxiety.

I hope this helps.

Hello K.,

I taught in the public school system for nine years and feel that test scores are a poor indicator of how the school is really doing. Test scores really reflect the income level of the population that attends the school. For example, I taught in a low performing school that was doing amazing things for the students that attended. The teachers were exceptional and hard working. This school was the only school in the nation that had a sponsorship from NASA and their science and math programs were outstanding. This school serviced students that were poor and had very little community and parental support. The last school that I worked in always made their state mandated scores, the parents were wealthy and educated. I would say that school had average teachers and did a sub par job addressing state standards and frankly did not care, as long as the scores were good there was never any reason to change or improve what they were doing. You see, they didn't have to be inventive. To be honest, the better school with the better teachers was the lower performing one and the one that I would have put my children in if we were still living there. They both had their strong areas and weak areas, but test scores can never substitue for excellent teachers. The sucess of you child is wholly dependent upon who her teacher is each year, there are good ones out there and bad ones wherever you go. If you've got a good one, HOLD ON to them!

Good Luck,

Carin

I am assuming you are in the Clover Park District. We are in the FP District and, according to one of my friends, are in the "richest" elementary school in the district. Meanwhile, we still struggle with the caliber of some of the teachers and the students, the district policies, money available, etc. Some of the "poorer" schools have programs in place that benefit their kids that we don't qualify for because we aren't "poor" enough. I could get into specific examples, but I think you get what I am saying.

Ultimately, you should consider what is best for your daughter. Do you feel that she is not being challenged academically at her current school? Do you feel that she doesn't like the students in her class/at recess/in general? Does she have a number of friends at the school that you know and like? Is there another program in another school that would benefit her and would those benefits outweigh her making new friends, etc.?

Our son was recommended by his teacher for the Excel program, which is housed at a different school. When we considered the program, he understood that some of his friends would attend the program while many others would still be at the home school. He was curious and apprehensive, but would have adjusted to the new environment. We felt the benefits would outweigh the desire to stay the course. He was not accepted this year and we will decide next year if he should re-take the test and, if accepted, if he would attend the other school for the last year of his elementary school career.

If she can't give you a valid reason why she wants to go to another school and you don't feel that it would be a better academic environment, then I would not switch schools. Some of the best looking packages can hold some pretty disappointing things. If you decide to switch her, then make it clear to her that she needs to stick with it. She can't go for a couple of weeks or months and then bail unless there is a serious issue (like bullying). Good luck with this decision.

I do not have any children in school as of yet and have to admit that I am not looking forward to starting them for this reason and others.

I do have to say that I remember clearly that I had PE every other day switched with music and art switched with library time every other day and to me that is very important. I cannot believe that they do not have her in a music class that is so important. And PE is very important also. I would say if you can do a little more research on the other school options it sounds like she might be better off at a different location!

Wow K. - that's a tough one.

Not so much because of the low performing school, as it seems your daughter has a good teacher and is doing well, but because she keeps telling you that she wants to change to a different school.

It sounds like she even knows the name of the school she would prefer to go to. Does she have any friends who are going there? Is the other school a good one?

Only you know the entire situation, but I might consider letting her switch schools. She's 9 years old and, while she is still young, she's old enough to understand what switching schools means. Perhaps there really is something going on that she can't talk about...? It just seems a little odd that a 9 year old would keep asking her mother to send her to a different school.

Again, it may not be that big of a deal - maybe she's only asked you two times - but if you think she's unhappy at her school (even if she can't give you a clear reason) and the other school is a decent one, perhaps you should consider it.

M.