The San Francisco Bay Guardian wonders whether the recent "Dream Schools" are living up to their names. Readers will appreciate the information in this thorough and balanced article - but may also be shocked by the low levels of student proficiency:
JUST OVER A year ago the San Francisco Unified School District launched its Dream Schools Initiative, which is intended to transform floundering inner-city schools into college prep academies on par with the most exclusive private schools. Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who, sources said, takes the success of the program very personally, announced that the first three Dream Schools would open in the long-neglected Bayview in August 2004. Eventually 15 of the least desirable schools in the city, Ackerman said, would be rejuvenated with longer hours, a highly structured academic program, uniforms, field trips, and even the art classes that are so rare in public schools today...
...staffers and parents are beginning to paint a more nuanced picture that exposes how challenging it can be to reform a neglected school. Almost everyone who's been close to the reform effort acknowledges that it's been exhausting and often confounding. Some voice deep concerns about aspects of the program. Yet for every critic, there is an enthusiastic supporter who believes that in spite of the challenges, the Dream Schools program could truly rehabilitate the educational opportunities in this African American sector and, eventually, throughout the entire southeast part of town.
Sounds good so far, right? But listen to what one critic has to say:
Jayson Matthews was already working at 21st Century Academy when the school was chosen to become a Dream School. When he first heard about the program, he was thrilled...
When the fall semester started, Matthews said, he quickly saw that some of the program's promises couldn't possibly be kept. During the first months, 21st Century had few bonus classes, he told us. "Having 45 minutes of Spanish or 30 minutes of music a week isn't cutting it. It's a little better [than the average school], but it was billed as stellar."
Matthews's biggest gripe was the fact that most of the extra afternoon class time was devoted to rote, scripted learning exercises he says did little for the sixth graders he was teaching. "It would be like, 'Turn to page five, put your finger on the word the,' " he said. " 'Say the with me: The, the, the.' " Matthews doesn't blame the district or the Dream Schools program entirely for the stifling curriculum, but rather the current nationwide emphasis on preparing students for standardized tests. Still, he said the practice of "teaching to the test" increased once 21st Century became a Dream School.
Okay, if I have this right, this teacher - who's obviously very devoted - is blaming the nationwide obsession with tests on the fact that tutorials had to be developed for sixth-graders to teach them how to read and say the word, "the?" I'm confused. Either the curriculum is set way too low - and should be ramped up - or Matthews is blaming tests for the fact that these kids got to the sixth grade without being able to read three-letter words.
If they need that much help reading the word "the" when they're on the brink of puberty, the tests aren't the problem.
Posted by kswygert at March 1, 2005 03:37 PM