The letter to the editor was entitled "Hold (my school corporation) accountable for graduating more students." Yes, I changed the title by deleting the actual name of my school corporation as that is private. As you've read this school board candidate is attacking graduation rates and doing so by blaming the school corporation for the low graduation rates. That is pure nonsense and is nothing more than a politician's attempt at getting attention. Unfortunately this school board candidate got my attention and I'm not a happy camper.
Every year my school corporation names a valedictorian and salutatorian. Every year my school corporation has scholars that are recognized by the National Honors Society. Every school year my school corporation has numerous scholars on the academic honor roll. Every year numerous graduates of my school corporation go on to technical schools, community schools or four year universities. To the best of my knowledge my school corporation has repeated this academic success story for the thirty or so years that I've lived in the metropolitan area of Indianapolis. For me to pick up the newspaper and see a school board candidate claim that my school corporation needs to do more to get scholars to graduate is pure uninformed nonsense.
To help set this uninformed school board candidate straight I'm suggesting that he do a few things. First, seek out the scholar and her/his parent(s) that graduated with honors and speak with them about what they did as scholar/parent team to achieve the success that they had at school. Second, seek out the scholar and her/his parents(s) that did not graduate and speak with them about what they did as a scholar/parent team for the years prior to graduation. After meeting the scholar/parent teams compare the notes you took and determine if my school corporation has a problem graduating scholars or a sizeable portion of the non-graduates have priorities other than academic success. In anticipation of the school board candidate becoming defensive and stating that the scholars come from different families with different problems I say bull. Scholars attend primarily their neighborhood school and I believe that the majority of the scholars at a particular school come from the same basic social economic background.
After speaking to the scholar/parent team this school board candidate now needs to seek out the teachers and speak to them. As a word of advise for this school board candidate, Scholastic Reading Inventory results, Acquity Testing results, IRead3 results and I.S.T.E.P results are classroom time wasters and cause millions of taxpayer dollars to be wasted. If you want to know how a scholar is doing in school just ask her/his teacher. What will a teacher say about an honors student? Hard worker, loves to read, comes to school everyday, parent is active in the scholars educations and shows up at parent teacher conferences. What will the teacher say about the non-graduate? Does little if any academics, rarely participates in class, a poor reader, parent shows very little involvement in the school unless the scholar is about to be suspended and has never attended a parent teacher conference. Now that you've talked to the teacher do you really want to tell this teacher that the school corporation needs to do more to get more scholars to graduate. I'd advise against bringing it up as the teacher may just laugh in your face.
So Mr. School Board Candidate you want to get elected to my school corporation board by making nonsensical statements about the school corporation doing more to get students to graduate. That didn't set very well with me and probably every other teacher or parent in my school corporation that read your letter. As it stands right now Mr. School Board Candidate and an Instructor at Butler University you do not have my vote. Sorry, not even close.
Here is an update on EM. That last you heard from me was that his family is homeless. As of this date his status hasn't changed.
Here is another scholar update. The King has missed the last three weeks of school and we've lost contact with his parental unit. As of right now we don't know where he is.
Such is the sad state of affairs for these two young scholars.
I'm presently on fall break and will be out of the classroom for two whole weeks. Woohoo! Believe me when I say this, I need a a break.
Every year my school corporation names a valedictorian and salutatorian. Every year my school corporation has scholars that are recognized by the National Honors Society. Every school year my school corporation has numerous scholars on the academic honor roll. Every year numerous graduates of my school corporation go on to technical schools, community schools or four year universities. To the best of my knowledge my school corporation has repeated this academic success story for the thirty or so years that I've lived in the metropolitan area of Indianapolis. For me to pick up the newspaper and see a school board candidate claim that my school corporation needs to do more to get scholars to graduate is pure uninformed nonsense.
To help set this uninformed school board candidate straight I'm suggesting that he do a few things. First, seek out the scholar and her/his parent(s) that graduated with honors and speak with them about what they did as scholar/parent team to achieve the success that they had at school. Second, seek out the scholar and her/his parents(s) that did not graduate and speak with them about what they did as a scholar/parent team for the years prior to graduation. After meeting the scholar/parent teams compare the notes you took and determine if my school corporation has a problem graduating scholars or a sizeable portion of the non-graduates have priorities other than academic success. In anticipation of the school board candidate becoming defensive and stating that the scholars come from different families with different problems I say bull. Scholars attend primarily their neighborhood school and I believe that the majority of the scholars at a particular school come from the same basic social economic background.
After speaking to the scholar/parent team this school board candidate now needs to seek out the teachers and speak to them. As a word of advise for this school board candidate, Scholastic Reading Inventory results, Acquity Testing results, IRead3 results and I.S.T.E.P results are classroom time wasters and cause millions of taxpayer dollars to be wasted. If you want to know how a scholar is doing in school just ask her/his teacher. What will a teacher say about an honors student? Hard worker, loves to read, comes to school everyday, parent is active in the scholars educations and shows up at parent teacher conferences. What will the teacher say about the non-graduate? Does little if any academics, rarely participates in class, a poor reader, parent shows very little involvement in the school unless the scholar is about to be suspended and has never attended a parent teacher conference. Now that you've talked to the teacher do you really want to tell this teacher that the school corporation needs to do more to get more scholars to graduate. I'd advise against bringing it up as the teacher may just laugh in your face.
So Mr. School Board Candidate you want to get elected to my school corporation board by making nonsensical statements about the school corporation doing more to get students to graduate. That didn't set very well with me and probably every other teacher or parent in my school corporation that read your letter. As it stands right now Mr. School Board Candidate and an Instructor at Butler University you do not have my vote. Sorry, not even close.
Here is an update on EM. That last you heard from me was that his family is homeless. As of this date his status hasn't changed.
Here is another scholar update. The King has missed the last three weeks of school and we've lost contact with his parental unit. As of right now we don't know where he is.
Such is the sad state of affairs for these two young scholars.
I'm presently on fall break and will be out of the classroom for two whole weeks. Woohoo! Believe me when I say this, I need a a break.
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