NEW GROUP! Includes discussions from the Administrators and Professional Development groups. What will it take to move our schools into the 21st century? Please share your thoughts and leadership strategies here.
Configuration of 3rd grade..should it be departmentalized?
I'm an Elem. Principal of a rural school in AR. At this time we are departmentalized in grades 3 and 4 ..teacher team teach..one has Math and Science and the other has Literacy and Social Studies. Our State Math scores have improved but our Literacy scores are seeing very little growth. Much discussion has taken place that perhaps departmentalized is not the correct thing to do.
I have a secondary background...so I'm very undecided..need advice.
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Research
State standardized test
State standardized test scores have just come out for our district; in our district, Grades K-4 are self-contained. The scores run the range of 100% proficient to 17% proficient in reading....the reading program is standardized (Mondo). Clearly the difference in scores isn't related to the configuration in this case but to what? Teacher quality? Student readiness? Administrative support? I think you might look into teacher preparedness/skill moreso than the structure of the learning environment - or - does a younger student need the closer connections that self contained classrooms create regardless of teacher expertise?
I would not want my child(or
I would not want my child(or have a teacher in my building) to have a teacher who is not passionate about what they are teaching. Education is a vicious circle and everything keeps going round and round. Now we are on the old 60's and 70's trip of learning centers revamped as literacy centers. This to will pass and we will be on the whole language boat again. It is all because teachers are not the decision makers in districts. Teachers have no say and all of the teachers' rights have been taken away. Teachers are not supported by administrators with discipline issues and are told to handle it or get out of the profession. Charter schools are not the answer because they do not play by the same rules as the rest of us. If behavior becomes an issue, they kick the kid out and send them back to their zone school. What a crock.
Agreed!
Agreed!