[Southsider2k12]

http://www.michigancityin.com/articles/200.../09/news/n3.txt

Poverty-stricken lag behind on federal progress report
By Deborah Sederberg, The News-Dispatch

When examined from an overall perspective, only two of the schools within the Michigan City Area Schools district failed to meet standards required by the federal No Child Left Behind law in language arts, and three failed to meet the standards in math, according to information released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education.

Dr. Carla Iacona, assistant superintendent of schools, said the administration will make a detailed Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) presentation to the school board on Tuesday.

“We will have no comment until that time,” she said.

Overall, every school except Elston Middle School and Knapp Elementary School met language standards. In math, only Elston Middle School, Krueger Middle School and Michigan City High School did not meet the standards.

But in Michigan City, only four schools - Coolspring, Mullen, Niemann and Pine - made adequate yearly progress, according to the rules of No Child Left Behind.

That's because the federal act says every sub-group within a school must make adequate progress before the school is judged to be making adequate progress.

In MCAS, figures indicate black students do not do as well as their white counterparts. In both language arts and math, blacks lagged behind at Elston Middle School, Michigan City High School and Knapp Elementary School.

At Joy Elementary, blacks didn't perform as well in language and at Barker Middle School, in math. In many of the local schools the Hispanic population is not large enough to get a meaningful measurement. At Elston Middle School, where Hispanic students were counted, they met standards.

Throughout the state, blacks, Hispanics and students of any ethnic heritage living in poverty made progress, but they still lagged behind white students and those not living in poverty as described by free lunch and textbook requirements.

For example, 97 percent of white students made adequate yearly progress while 62 percent of black students, 71 percent of Hispanic students and 79 percent of those who receive free lunch made adequate yearly progress. Fifty-eight percent of special education students made adequate yearly progress.

The ratings are not based on new tests or new data of any kind. They are based on ISTEP scores, which were released and discussed by local officials and the state's Department of Education last fall.

About 52 percent of Indiana schools met AYP requirements under No Child Left Behind, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education.

“To make AYP, all student demographic groups within a school must pass state tests or show significant improvement toward passing. Of the Indiana schools that did not meet AYP this year, 33 percent missed in only one category and 72 percent missed in three or fewer categories.

“This measure is an all or nothing proposition for schools to be considered successful, but it has resulted in educators focusing attention on those areas that need to improve the most,” said Suellen Reed, state superintendent of public instruction.”

Schools missing the AYP mark frequently fell short in special education, minority and low-income student categories, Reed said.

“We know that many children are already behind when they start school, and clearly the best time to address these shortcomings is at the beginning,” she said, although she acknowledged that all-day kindergarten will not solve every problem in education.

“A growing body of evidence suggests that (full-day kindergarten) is particularly beneficial for these at-risk students,” Reed said. Full-day programs have the effect of leveling the playing field, she said.

In addition, said Reed, “quality full-day programs have proven successful at identifying and addressing learning problems early on.”

Contact reporter Deborah Sederberg at dsederberg@thenewsdispatch.com

[Max Main]

Can it be that the benefit of full-day kindergarten is that it gets the kids away from ignorant or neglectful parents for more of the day?

These stats are very disturbing; it is hard to believe that the discrepancy is so huge and not changing for the better. The low-scoring segments of society have to answer for the way the kids are being raised, too. Just being low-income is no excuse for not driving your kids to succeed in school. I need more info re this because the idea of being indifferent to my kids' progress in school is beyond my understanding.

[Southsider2k12]

It is really dangerous to label any parents in this town as "ignorant or neglectful". This is a really tough town to raise kids in. I learned a lot about the socioeconomic backrounds of the families here during my school board run, and it isn't as simple as it seems. Take Elston Middle School for example. The poverty rate of the students families who attend there is just a few tenths of a percent under 70% according to their free and reduced lunch rates. According to the federal government that means a family of two exsists on $13,200 a year or less. Living wage according to the government statistics for a family of three is $23,000 a year. For these types of families schools aren't an educational opportunity, they are a free meal, a warm house, and seven hours away from a bad situation. Often times you are talking about the parent (or both parents if there are two) working at least full time, if not two jobs, just to put food on the table. Many times eating is a higher worry, than if Junior did his homework. We are in a really tough situation in MC, and no one really likes to talk about the road ahead of us. I believe you have to understand the situation you are in before you can do something about it.

Here are links to some of the statistics if you would like to check them out...

Indiana Annual Yearly Progess figures.

Information on poverty, minimum wage, and living wages in the USA.

[Ang]

Southsider, I see your point but I have to disagree--a little bit. As a single mom with two kids and earning an income below the poverty level, I think it's very important to stress education to my children. Yes, there are days when I wonder what we're going to eat and there are days that I don't eat so there is enough food for my children. My income is too much to qualify for public assistance, but not enough to afford all the necessities of life. I want my children to have a good education so when they are grown up, they won't have to live like we do now. But my house is clean, my children go to school in clean clothes and they bathe every day. They do their homework every day and are doing well in school. Poverty is no excuse. The problem is drugs and alcohol, and a poor attitude about children. Ignorant and neglectful, as Max put it. But, I think Max was a little harsh. Some children are slow learners and need the benefit of full day kindergarden, others have just one parent who could use the benefit of all day kindergarden. When my daughter was in kindergarden, I had her at Jack & Jill (kindergarden) in the morning and Joy in the afternoon. By doing that, my daycare expense was reduced from $90 a week to $90 a month. HUGE savings!! Not only that, but she learned so much in kindergarden, and the curricula didn't overlap; when she was learning letters and numbers at Joy, she was learning colors and shapes and Jack & Jill. It worked out very well for all of us and she loved the diversity of being in two places and would tell people she was special because she went to two kindergardens.

Basically, it does come down to the parents; how they live their lives and how they raise their children. I think both Southsider and Max have some strong points. To a degree they are both right, yet both wrong. In my opinion, anyway.

[Southsider2k12]

I think you hit on the challege parents face now. Now I am not saying that there aren't bad parents in this town, because there are everywhere, but to paint with a broad brush as Max did, is mostly what I had a problem with. I have seen first hand the ravages of addicted parents, and the effects that they have on children. But that doesn't tell the whole story here. Most of MCs poor are not drug addicts, but they are undereducated people who don't have the skills or qualifications to get a living wage job here.

Ang I think you hit on a key point, and that is getting the kids to break the poverty cycle by realizing that education is their ONLY way out of a bad situation. It is hard to change the mind of kids who are more worried about eating, and who fully believe that they have no business finishing high school, let alone going on to college. Dropping out is the only thing that many of these kids have seen, and they don't know any different. Now the difficult thing is to reach these kids and make them believe that they can attain their potential and change their lives for the better.

[RedDevilMC]

I agree Southsider. I volunteer with many of the kids in these homes. Many of their parents have had bad experiences with the School System and never finished high school. So there's a gap. The parents don't feel comfortable talking with school personnel or officials. Many say they are embarassed at their situation, so how do you overcome that? We have to be more understanding and give parents a more level playing field and not belittle them as many people do. Many were judged right away on this message board. Many are hardworkers who have not been exposed to anything outside of their own situation or previous family experience. So please don't judge them. I talk to many of these parents.

[JHeath]

About 52 percent of Indiana schools met AYP requirements under No Child Left Behind, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education. ...

Schools missing the AYP mark frequently fell short in special education, minority and low-income student categories, Reed said. ...

“We know that many children are already behind when they start school, and clearly the best time to address these shortcomings is at the beginning,” she said, although she acknowledged that all-day kindergarten will not solve every problem in education.

Has anyone considered the fact that the Special Ed students are also included in this report? As a parent of a special ed student at Joy, I could tell you quite a few reasons why my daughter may not make what some consider to be adequate yearly progress, but I won't bore you with the details. BTW, Joy also has a large special ed population, where other elementaries may not have the same number of special ed students impacting their scores.

I will, however, say that most children, both typically developing and with special needs, need routine. At Joy, the routines are frequently broken, and classrooms are many times short-staffed (especially in special ed, where it has the largest impact, but seems to be considered the least important from my perspective). I'm not blaming this for Libby's shortfalls, but I know that when her routine is broken, it has a significant impact on what she does or does not learn during those times.

Those things being said, our family has been very fortunate to have had fantastic teachers and paraprofessionals to work with Libby. Between their dedication, our support, and Libby's determination, she learns and retains much more than most people would ever expect---especially from a 9-yr old born with Down's Syndrome.

[Southsider2k12]

To reinforce your bolded point. MC has high populations of all three categories that were highlighted in the article. We have one of the highest rates of special education in the state, not to mention very high relative poverty levels and very diverse population.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.michigancityin.com/articles/200.../12/news/n5.txt

Four elementary schools show progress

By Deborah Sederberg, The News-Dispatch

Although the entire district did not meet standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act, four Michigan City schools did.

Those four - Coolspring, Mullen, Niemann and Pine - made what the NCLB act calls adequate yearly progress.

“To make AYP, all student demographic groups within a school must pass state tests or show significant improvement toward passing,” a press release from the Indiana Department of Education said.

The demographic groups include ethnic groups such as blacks, whites and Hispanics, as well as students with special needs or limited proficiency in English and students living in poverty as expressed by the federal free or reduced-fee lunch program.

Scores show that black students did not achieve as well as white students and that students living in poverty often did not achieve as well as those better off economically.

The four elementary schools achieving AYP have significant populations of black and/or students in poverty.

What's more for all five years of the NCLB's life, Mullen School, where the poverty rate is higher than the corporation's average, at about 58 percent, made AYP.

Still, school officials said Niemann's achievement is remarkable.

Jan Radford, director of curriculum and instruction, told the board Niemann currently is listed in a category known as school choice, which means that parents of Niemann students have the right to move their children to schools where students did achieve AYP.

But this year, Niemann is one of those schools. If Niemann makes AYP next year, Radford said, “Niemann's slate will be wiped clean.”

Asked what caused Niemann's turnaround, Radford said she can't put her finger on any particular practice because so many efforts have been effective.

“(All Niemann teachers and administrator) do a great job at figuring out what their students need to know and they spend more time teaching those things from different approaches,” Radford said.

After-school remediation as well as homework help and tutoring by the Boys and Girls Club continue to Niemann's success as well, she said.

Board President Jeff Jones asked about eventual consequences for schools that do not make AYP.

After four years of failing to make AYP, corrective action could include replacing school staff, decreasing the authority of the building principal, appointing an outside expert to advise the school and extending the school day or the school year.

In the fifth year, the corporation must find alternative governance of the school and in the sixth year, the school could be required to open as a charter school, to replace all or most of the school staff, contract with private management to operate the school or simply allow the state to take over the operation of the school and perhaps other major restructuring of school governance.

“I hope everyone at home understands the stakes of this game,” Jones said.

“The state can tell us what to do in the fourth year of failure?” board vice president Jim Kintzele asked. When his colleagues replied affirmatively, he asked, “Why can't they tell us how to do it in the first year if they know how to do it?”

Contact reporter Deborah Sederberg at dsederberg@thenewsdispatch.com.

[Max Main]

southsider, I stand bymy earlier post. I want to know more about the level of poverty of families in the school system, so I am gonna check out the sites you cite. My main point is that parents must do a better job of pointing their kids in the right direction. Multigenerational ignorance is not the way out of poverty.

[Southsider2k12]

I agree with you fully on the last statement, but if you have an "excuse" or not, that doesn't change your station in life. Your paycheck doesn't care if you are poor because you acted out in school, or if you acted out in school because you were hungry and angry because of your horrible homelife. Your paycheck only cares about where you work. The only way to change that is to make everyone understand that education is the only way out. Repeating the mistakes of the proverbial fathers just means you will repeat the same results.

[Max Main]

The question is then to interrupt that cycle of ignorance. I will do my personal part by asking every single kid I know, "How is school going?" and LISTEN and RESPOND to their answers. Let's start a new movement!

[Southsider2k12]

I like your idea!

I try to instill in our kids the one thing that many don't have, and that is hope. They need hope that they can do better if they put their minds to it. I was a child of divorce who didn't see a parents basically at all from Monday through Friday, because Mom had to work as much as she could to put food on the table.