"What will help our children the most over the long-term, more so than full day kindergarten?"
"What are the ORCSD academic priorities?"
"How do the ORCSD academic priorities need to be re-aligned to strengthen our children's education?"
I call upon the community to come forth and debate this issue. It is great when friends and neighbors can debate an issue as important as our children's education. This is the type of discourse I would like to see, and expect, from our School Board as well.
I am not opposed to the concept of full day kindergarten. I see the merits. HOWEVER, with consideration to the District’s lack of fiduciary / fiscal responsible and the lack of academic programs that will have a more lasting impact over the course of our children's academic careers, I must oppose full day kindergarten program.
What programs would be better? As I wrote earlier, this need to be debated. Nevertheless, below are programs /areas for improvement that I believe would have a more lasting impact than full day kindergarten:
* Early language instruction - The elementary school trend is to offer at least Spanish, if not French or even Chinese, by fifth grade. Starting a language as early as possible is always the best way to become proficient. Ask parents to choose between an early language class and full day kindergarten and I believe many would choose the former.
* Additional AP classes - We currently lack AP English, for example, at the high school. This is a hot topic, but I believe an AP curriculum is vital towards ORCSD student admittance to top academic institutions. I also believe teachers still have flexibility and leeway with an AP curriculum.
* Structured / Core classes – Another hot topic…I believe ORCSD has deviated from the core and has taken a seminar / special topic approach to education which is more appropriate for college or graduate level education, not for secondary education. Our children need to read and understand the Classics and the best examples of American and British literature in order to build a strong academic foundation; this will allow one to pursue and critique the more esoteric later in life.
For example, what better way to understand sonnets than by reading Shakespeare’s Sonnets? It is hard to imagine NOT reading and analyzing "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Lord of the Flies," "The Scarlet Letter," or “The Canterbury Tales” as a class? Or, how about not learning about the start of World War I or the French Revolution? How about grammar too? We need to return to the basics and core to give our children a fair shake in the global economy. This applies to the math and sciences as well. Secondary education is about building a strong foundation.
* Tiered Classes - Perhaps the hottest topic…I do not support the ORCSD's heterogeneous class structure and believe it places children at a huge disadvantage when applying to college.
These are just a few of the things that I believe warrant strong consideration and need to be debated in a public forum.
I am not opposed to the concept of full day kindergarten. I see the merits. HOWEVER, with consideration to the District’s lack of fiduciary / fiscal responsible and the lack of academic programs that will have a more lasting impact over the course of our children's academic careers, I must oppose full day kindergarten program.
What programs would be better? As I wrote earlier, this need to be debated. Nevertheless, below are programs /areas for improvement that I believe would have a more lasting impact than full day kindergarten:
* Early language instruction - The elementary school trend is to offer at least Spanish, if not French or even Chinese, by fifth grade. Starting a language as early as possible is always the best way to become proficient. Ask parents to choose between an early language class and full day kindergarten and I believe many would choose the former.
* Additional AP classes - We currently lack AP English, for example, at the high school. This is a hot topic, but I believe an AP curriculum is vital towards ORCSD student admittance to top academic institutions. I also believe teachers still have flexibility and leeway with an AP curriculum.
* Structured / Core classes – Another hot topic…I believe ORCSD has deviated from the core and has taken a seminar / special topic approach to education which is more appropriate for college or graduate level education, not for secondary education. Our children need to read and understand the Classics and the best examples of American and British literature in order to build a strong academic foundation; this will allow one to pursue and critique the more esoteric later in life.
For example, what better way to understand sonnets than by reading Shakespeare’s Sonnets? It is hard to imagine NOT reading and analyzing "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Lord of the Flies," "The Scarlet Letter," or “The Canterbury Tales” as a class? Or, how about not learning about the start of World War I or the French Revolution? How about grammar too? We need to return to the basics and core to give our children a fair shake in the global economy. This applies to the math and sciences as well. Secondary education is about building a strong foundation.
* Tiered Classes - Perhaps the hottest topic…I do not support the ORCSD's heterogeneous class structure and believe it places children at a huge disadvantage when applying to college.
These are just a few of the things that I believe warrant strong consideration and need to be debated in a public forum.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI too want early language instruction and more AP courses, these are wonderful programs that I support 100%. You know my feeling about Chinese, we spent months together in the Durham library with our four year olds! Now that's dedication.
When I and others went before the school board with the full day kindergarten request in Oct. 2007, the school board formed a committee to study the merits of full day. The kindergarten committee has been meeting regularly since February. Each member volunteering countless hours of their personal time in pursuit of collecting research, debating and all to make an educated decision to present to the board.
I was really pleased/surprised to see the amount of dedication by teachers, administrators, parents and others to research full day kindergarten to the fullest extent. We have spent a lot of time and effort in seeing this recommendation through. I personally have spent probably 200 plus hours of my own time on this project. As you know I am a mother of two with a part time job, I don't really have a lot of extra time. All my free time has gone into this over the last year. Collectively I couldn't even guess how much time has gone into this effort.
I guess my point is, can't we have full day kindergarten, AP courses and early language programs? Each one will take approximately a year or so for researching, discussion and board approval. Does it makes sense to go directly to the board and ask them to form a similar committee to focus on language and AP courses? If you get the right group together you may be able to persuade the board to implement your priorities. I have learned that everything takes a year or so to get through the school board, the board has admitted that time frame publicly. The kindergarten committee has been chugging along for about year now.
Can you support that this year is dedicated to the full day kindergarten decision and move forward with a request for the board to study AP and early language courses over the 2008-2009school year?
There are still on-going discussion on funding for full day kindergarten. The committee has discussed having parents of children who attend full day pay additional tuition. Also, the recommendation didn't address that the committee has always supported maintaining a part time option, even if full day was implemented. A parent would be able to pick up their child early if they did not want full day kindergarten. There are lots of creative options still on the table, this is not black and white.
The school board has only shown me and the committee the utmost respect. Even if full day kindergarten doesn't pass it was a worthwhile experience and I learned a lot about myself and our school district.
Thanks for your blog and I hope to see you soon, maybe at the next school board meeting.
Charlotte Finigan
Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteI cannot support implementation of any new program until my confidence in the District's spending behavior is restored. Our District faces severe fiscal issues in terms of accountability and transparency of actions; this cannot be ignored and needs to be remedied.
I would like to address your question "can't we have full day kindergarten, AP courses and early language programs?" As I mentioned in previous postings, ORCSD has limited funds. With this, I am not confident that our District will support funding full day kindergarten, then turn around and fund early foreign language programs and the necessary modifications for tiered and AP classes. This problem is exacerbated by the aforementioned fiscal misfeasance.
The other issue is related to priorities. Why did our School Board and Administration table the issue of academic priorities last spring citing lack of available time to address the issue, but move full steam ahead with investigating full day kindergarten? Does not the former warrant discussion prior to investigating the latter?
I do acknowledge that the solution related to full day kindergarten is not black and white. I am aware that there are hybrid solutions. Regardless of the approach taken, any program will cost time and money. As you point out, it already has.
The facts that the fiscal issue is not being taken seriously and important academic considerations are being ignored and dismissed in lieu of pursuing full day kindergarten concern me deeply. When the District spends taxpayers’ money, it has to be for the highest academic priorities with the most benefits over the long term.
I am glad we are having this debate. I do appreciate all the time and energy spent on your efforts related to Full Day Kindergarten. Personal sacrifices are made and I fully acknowledge this.
Thanks for reading my comments.
All the best,
Megan
I am in agreement with Megan in that the board and the community need to discuss and agree upon academic priorities before we make a decision on extended day kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteAs to Charlotte's suggestion that other groups of community members merely need to present their ideas on academic priorities and study groups will be formed. This has been tried and not resulted in formation of study committees or even discussion.
Let me give some backround on recent efforts--
Groups of parents have gone to the board repeatedly over the years asking for early language education. The world language clubs were formed out of frustration with the lack of early language education. Six years ago, I was part of a group of parents who lobbied the board for funding for the world language clubs. After quite a bit of controversy and disagreement among board members, the world language clubs did receive $5,000 to be split between the two schools' clubs. The rationale was that the the clubs should be considered like any other club at the middle schools and high school. The board made clear that this was in no way a a suggetion that language would be on the curriclum.
For years and years, parents have been asking for more AP classes. My husband went to high school in OR in the early 80s, and back then, his parents and their friends were asking for AP classes. Two years ago, a group of parents presented a petition with over 300 signatures, asking for, among other things, more AP classes at the high school. Spanish and French AP were added to the curriculum, though, to be fair, I believe that Ms. Rogers, as a new principal, was already working on adding these two classes to the course of study.
Over the past year, I have worked with some parents to look into the International Baccalaureate program. We have done our own research and presented it to Howard and members of the board. The board asked the academic affairs committee look into studying the program, and high school programs in general. The academic affairs committee met and decided to form an offical study group, but the board as a whole voted it down. The discussion centered on needing to assess our academic priorities and make a plan.
I sent a note to our Board chair asking what the process is for forming a study committee and why this topic was treated differently from the kindergarten study. I was told, basically, that extended kindergarten already had support in the schools, so this is the process?
I am not opposed to extended kindergarten, in theory, just as I am not married to the International Baccalaureate program. I feel that we need to look at our district, in its entirety, K-12, and decide upon programs that will provide the most long-term benefit for our limited budget.
This is a great article, not exactly what is going on in Durham but I thought I would pass it along.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_making_of_an_outraged_mom/page1
There is no question that lots of time and dedication went into one part of the report. The piece missing is cost!!! We need to use the basic principles of economics--cost/benefit analysis to make the ultimate decision.
ReplyDeleteWhy are we even discussing this without knowing how much it will cost?
Personally I can see the benefit but it depends on the cost. If this is $20,000 to implement then that is one thing. If this is $200,000 to implement that is another thing.
There are pieces to the equation that are missing. We simply cannot afford everything that everyone wants. We need to make choices based on the biggest bang for our buck.
How much would it cost to add additional AP courses? I have no idea but it would be useful to know what something costs before we decide to move forward.
I agree with you all, AP courses would be more beneficial to students then full day kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteThank you for replying to my post, Pickle Boy. Your comments certainly provide great insight into ORHS.
ReplyDeleteGreat...finally some more perspectives. Pickleboy has some great insights here. What I would like to know from an insider at ORHS is what the heck is going on with the whole Don Maynard thing?
ReplyDeleteIt seems out of control.
All that is known to the Pickleboy at this time is that a vote was taken not to renew Don's contract. Votes such as that can be taken with only four of seven members present, with three members voting yea to a given proposition. There was a period over the summer during which some members of the board were not around, during which time a meeting may have been called. We know a vote did take place, presumably not to renew the contract. This vote would normally be public record, so the proposition, discussion, and votes would be available. Unfortunately, a second vote was taken to seal the record. All of this may have been shady, but as far as I know no breaches of policy occurred. Don does have the policy to overturn the sealing of the record, because he is the person it concerns. It is not known at this time if he plans to do so, but rumor has it that he has legal representation and is investigating his avenues.
ReplyDeleteDon Maynard has been an amazing force in the community. Though not all agree with him personally, few can deny that he has done an excellent job during his time at ORHS. It is inspiring to see the amount of community support that has gone on regarding the situation, and I sincerely hope that he is allowed to remain.
I condemn whichever board members went behind the back of the community and their fellow board members to attempt this shenanigan. Let us hope that the record is revealed so we can know who NOT to reelect.
Yours,
The Pickle Boy
theoneandonlypickleboy@gmail.com
It is very disturbing to see people posting other people's addresses without their explicit consent. I also find anonymous posts disturbing and am going to ask the blog administrator to take down the post with the address and institute a policy against anonymous posts.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletePOSTED WITHOUT ADDRESS INFORMATION (PER ADMINISTRATOR)
ReplyDeleteYou have some interesting observations about the state of Oyster River's educational system. I tend to agree with your opinions regarding tiered classes, though there is still some debate to be had (for example, can't intelligent students buoy less talented learners just as much as the latter can bring them down?).
Unfortunately, you lose some credebility when you begin to discuss the high school, a subject which you appear to have absolutely no knowledge in. Allow me to take you to school:
Though ORHS does not have an AP English course per se, we do have a course called Advanced Writing. It does not offer college credit as an AP class does, but requires students to submit a portfolio and be admitted by an English teacher into the class. AP English is generally a literature class, involving analysis and memorization of American literature (see, American Lit I and II, offered at ORHS). The district, as with any school district, has admittedly finite resources which should only be used to create new classes when necessary. An AP English class is far less meritorious than our Advanced Writing class and would be a waste to institute.
Your next point is, in my opinion, the one which reveals your patronizing attitude which I believe holds students back. You suggest that our classes (from your examples, I assume you refer to English and Social Studies, mainly) have "deviated from the core" and moved in a direction "more appropriate for college." Should we not celebrate this? Secondary school students capable of thriving in a collegic style course environment should be applauded. It is the mundane trudge of "English 1" to "English 2" and "English 3" and "AP English" as you suggest that makes school a boring environment that frankly murders a student's thirst for knowledge. With our format, a politically inclined student might take "Debate and Persuasion" and "Mass Media" while a thespian or reader of the classics would thrive in "Shakespeare" or perhaps "British Literature". I can almost guarantee that Carol Shea Porter (ORHS class of '70) didn't get elected to Congress based on her ability to understand sonnets, but rather by the ability to explore what interested her most.
I do agree that a strong base in writing, grammar, and fundamental English literature are vital, which is why all Freshman are required to take "Essentials of English". There, they explore grammar, styles of writing, and yes, "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Lord of the Flies" (The Scarlet Letter and The Canterbury Tales aren't very good at all, you're just dropping names).
The history curriculum is much more confined. Students generally take "World Cultures" as Freshmen, "World History" and "Citizenship Education" as Sophomores, "US History" as Juniors, and a topic of their choice such as "Advanced Topics in World Cultures" as Seniors. Yes, we learn about World War I (in "World History" and "US History") and the French Revolution ("US History").
We do not need to "return to the core to give our children a fair shake in the global economy." We need to allow students to pursue what interests them, so that they can have a better-than-fair shake in that topic. Would you prefer a student who is mediocre in everything, or skilled and adept in what truly interests him or her?
In conclusion, make sure that we don't already learn about "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Lord of the Flies", World War I, and the French Revolution before saying that we should learn about those things. Embrace our system which allows students to follow their interests, not be restricted to a core curriculum prescribed by out of touch "concerned citizens" who probably spent their high school careers hating what they are now pushing.
I'd love to save both of us the trouble of typing out these long soliloquies in the future, so go ahead and drop me a line any time with any questions about what it's really like at ORHS: theoneandonlypickleboy@gmail.com
Yours,
The Pickle Boy
I think it is fantastic to hear Julie and pickle boy's comments and perspectives. I feel that there is no substantive conversation in this community about these issues. You both bring up interesting points and I would not want to see this go offline. I appreciate hearing multiple points of view. This blog has been so eye opening and I love it. Bring on more!
ReplyDeleteReady when she is, sassygal.
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me (perhaps your moniker?) that you're more likely to be a student. Perhaps an email would allow us to open up a more direct means of communication.
Yours,
The Pickle Boy
theoneandonlypickleboy@gmail.com
Pickle Boy is incorrect when he says that "AP English is generally a literature class, involving analysis and memorization of American literature". First of all, College Board offers two Advanced Placement English classes: English Language and English Literature. I believe Exeter Cooperative HS offers both. They are distinctly different. Please look at the College Board website and specifically look at the sample exams. There is no memorization involved. Simply hard work.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think an English Literature class would be beneficial and would be an opportunity for students to expand past American and British literature and read Chekhov, Kafka, Joyce, Hugo, Flaubert, Mishima, etc.
The AP Literature class does not involve memorization, but simply a lot of reading and writing. Look at the sample tests. Our current literature classes look wonderful, but they are either a lot of reading (British and American Lit) or writing (Advanced Writing which sounds a course where students can write fiction or non-fiction, depending on the student's interest?). Combine the two and you have AP Literature with the added bonus of possible college credit and a course that looks impressive on any student's HS transcript.
The teachers can assign texts that they want and assign writing topics that allow students to critically analyze various literary forms and devices.
Wouldn't it be nice, though, to have this conversation with our school board and with our teachers and administrators?
Ann Wright
Lee
"Pickle Boy": If you need it pointed out to you that it is rude and inappropriate to post personal information about individuals (while you can hide anonymously), I feel that our school district is surely deficient in some way.
ReplyDeleteHaving civil discourse on a subject without interjecting ad hominem attacks should be taught in basic social studies. Putting individuals addresses up prior to addressing their arguments is a not so subtle way to intimidate and bully. Certainly posting an individual's political affiliation has no relevance, but only reduces your "argument" to a school yard taunt.
Perhaps your posts are strong evidence that our district does need to beef up the academic and civil expectations for their students.
I will abstain from posting addresses, though I will note that this is public information. Additionally, one's full name and address is posted online in the minutes of School Board meetings whenever one gets up to speak. I can even get your voting record from the town hall, and tell the whole world what ballot you pulled in the primary (but I admit that would be rude, and I'm not going to do that to you, especially with a Republican husband).
ReplyDeleteWithout anonymity, think of what would be lost. Anonymity can allow people to say what they know without putting themselves or their message at risk. Remember Deepthroat? However, this is hardly a secretive name. Pickle Boy's identity is quite well known to even higher-ups in the ORCSD administration.
I would urge the the administrator to allow anonymous discourse, though I do not that because I have maintained a consistent pseudonym, The Pickle boy is as much of a legitimate name as Julie Reece is.
In fact, anonymous discourse should be encouraged. Prohibiting me from commenting (I would like to think that I am supplementing the conversations in a meaningful way) would be to censor the voice of an insider to the ORCSD system who just happens to dissent occasionally.
I appologize for rambling, Mrs. Reece, but you really piss me off.
Permanently,
The Pickle Boy
theoneandonlypickleboy@gmail.com
I feel like we've gotten off track here a bit. My thoughts are as follows:
ReplyDelete1. The School Board's lack of financial responsibility and total disregard for public input. I have been stunned by the complete and blatant disrespect of certain school board members for their constituents. Their push to end public comment only illustrates this.
2. Full-Day kindergarten. My son is a kindergartner now, and I know for a fact that he is flying from one learning activity to another. They are on the playground for perhaps 10 minutes (from the one day I was in the classroom volunteering), and on various days they must cram art, music, and physical education into their already busy schedules. I would LOVE to see the day lengthened, whether by two or three hours) to give the teachers and the kids some breathing room, a chance for them to fully immerse themselves in their activities, and to include a foreign language. I am, however, increasingly concerned about the cost of creating a full-day program. I have been so disappointed by the school board's financial recklessness, and cannot at this point trust them to find the best way to fund full-day kindergarten. At the same time, they seem to want to fast-track the program, which seems to me to be a mistake.
3. AP courses at the high school. I am new to this debate, but I'd like to lightly weigh in on AP English and tiered classes. I am very much in favor of tiering the classes, having gone to a very mediocre high school that was lazy about helping the highest academic achievers. But, my AP English class was one of the best I ever took, and it prepared me for college very well.
Look, we are all fighting for the same things. We all want the best for our kids, whether they are headed for Yale or a technical college or the Army. We love them. I am happy to spend my tax dollars on them. The schools were one of the main reasons we moved here. But PLEASE, school board, SPEND WISELY!!! I am losing confidence in you, and I look forward to new elections and new faces on the board.