By Antonio D. French
Filed Friday, July 28 at 11:30 AM
Commissioner of Education Kent King said yesterday that the lack of parental involvement in the St. Louis Public School district is one of the most frustrating things for him in the ongoing crisis affecting the district's 35,000 students.
"The problems in St. Louis are going to solved long-term when the parents get engaged in the educational process of kids and in the administration of school," said King.
King said he has often been told by parents that they are satisfied with schools that he knows were underperforming.
"These were parents who had kids in school buildings that didn't have anybody scoring above 14 on an ACT test," he said. "That is not good enough."
19 Comments:
Neither board majority has involved parents.
It is sad that the current board majority has chosen to make the odds of getting a tax increase for the schools passed impossible.
Parents totally agree with 420 that discipline problems need to be fixed and class sizes need to be reduced. Without a tax increase, class sizes can't be reduced.
Teachers that are not 420 members have told me that they are disgusted about 420 whining about all the extra "vacation" days during the year. Most St. Louis taxpayers do not get 2 weeks at December, a week in the spring and months off for the summer and [what is it?] 10 additional days off.
Also, teachers fight doing playground duty. When I was a kid, teachers did playground duty. When 420 said that teachers on playground duty had NO RESPONSIBILITY regarding the girl that the boys attacked....
Friday, July 28, 2006 12:39:00 PM
Parental involvement is of the utmost imporance, which is why it is so important to have School Board members that actually listen to the community, as do the most recently elected members do.
Further, credit must be given where credit is due. Former Superintendent Williams had a good idea of educating parents through the parent university, which would be well placed at Cleveland Highschool. I hope Dr. Bourisaw and her administration continues development of this program.
Finally, while at a neighborhood association meeting Wednesday night, one of the attendents was distrought over a recent rash of juvenile crimes. When asked what he thought should be done, one of his ideas was to mandate parenting classes for those parents whose children are convicted of a crime. This idea works in concert with a recent report by Tom Brokaw, in which he pointed out that today's parents aren't much more than children themselves. Parenting classes would do wonders for those parents unable or unwilling to parent their children.
Friday, July 28, 2006 12:42:00 PM
We also need to convert the school back into a community institution, which is what Ittner built them to be, and what they actually were in the past.
We need after school, and summer programs, supervised by volunteer college students, who would receive college credit and no pay. Get a bunch of UMSL or Lindenwood Education Majors, give them credit, or hours for their student teaching, and have them volunteer. Put on plays, supervise basketball tournaments, do something with art, etc. Anything to get this kids focused on fun, learning, but also peaceful interaction and solidarity.
The school needs to be a safe haven for the kids, and they should be happy to be there. We need a place they can go, besides the streets. With minimal effort, and little money the schools can become a community anchor for our children.
Friday, July 28, 2006 1:14:00 PM
Talk about "hitting the nail on the head"! I have 2 jobs and 3 children and still find time to go to PTO meetings and volunteer my time at their schools. Yes, it's difficult, but when did everything in life become easy? I would like to hear from some of these protesters to see if they actually spend any time going to PTO meetings or volunteering their time. I would be willing to bet that they don't. If they spent near as much time with their kids as they have spent protesting outside of Veronica's home, I bet we wouldn't have near the problems we have in our district.
My kids have great grades, test scores in the 90% range and we even got a 30 on the ACT first time! See, children in this district actually do flourish if you spend a little time with them! At least my children will be contributing members of society when all is said and done. They actually understand the value of an education because I've taken the time to explain it to them!
Friday, July 28, 2006 3:01:00 PM
why not create a contract with parents as they do in other districts. Mandate that the parents meet once a month with the teacher, and yes, you can make it at the convenience of the parent.
Saturday, July 29, 2006 9:11:00 PM
In response to Reparation concerns. Parental involvement means being involved in their child’s life. Find out who their friends are, what are they doing, and talking with them. Parental involvement in the schools is first and foremost making sure they are completing their homework assignments and again talking with them about what is going on in school. I know that parents cannot attend every PTO meeting but I have found when I go to a sporting event I can talk with them there. Amazing how they can attend a game but cannot come to a Parent Conference day. I will admit that the district has not been very parent friendly when it comes to Parent Conference Days but during the past school year it was set up to allow parents the ability to show up who work day, afternoon or night shifts. Another way is through the use of e-mail. All teachers, administrators, and especially the people at 801 have district e-mail accounts provided for them. Since you have a computer maybe you can offer a bit of assistance as well by sharing with a parent who does not have a computer to use e-mail (just a suggestion nothing more). During the past school year I used this form of communication the most.
As far as the employers go sometime the only way I can get a hold of a parent is while they are at work. When the employer asks who is calling and I say I am a teacher they connect me right away. I have had my share of part-time jobs but when it came to an employee’s child they would let them take the time they needed to hold a conversation or leave in cases of emergency (medical or otherwise). I have also seen the employee make up the time instead of losing pay. Most employers will allow a parent to come in late or adjust the schedule if a parent notifies them of a parent conference day or some other school function (in advance not the day of). I found this out from a nurse who was attending a sporting event where the nurse’s schedule was modified so the nurse could see their child play. But there has to communication from the child to the parent to the employer of when these school functions are going to happen. Parent Conference days are published well in advance on the district web site (see district calendar), in the school announcements, and I even announce and post the date a month in advance with regular reminders. I also offer some extra credit points for those students whose parents I see (don’t worry it is not enough to change a grade).
Teachers have to have the support of the parents otherwise we cannot do our jobs. It is amazing how a child performs in the classroom when mom and dad (actually meaning any form of legal guardianship) are communicating with each other.
Saturday, July 29, 2006 11:05:00 PM
This sort of stuff makes me furious. The parents like me who are involved with their kids, with the school, who hang out on the playground after school, show up at PTO meetings and teacher conferences--we are lucky. There are plenty of parents who wish they could do that but survival of their family prevents them. They can't help it, but everyone assumes we are all in that situation and we are not, but those of us who do want to be involved and make a difference are rebuffed at every corner. I contacted Dr. Williams when he became Supt. to ask what a group of parents could do to help--he had his secretary set up a couple meetings and cancelled them. I've contacted Dr. Bourisaw to offer the same support and have heard nothing back. I know she's busy and has a lot on her plate but come on, don't slam parents when you won't even give us a chance. Why didn't DESE ask principals to suggest parents for an advisory committee? What good are more bureaucrat politicians without kids in the SLPS going to do?!
Sunday, July 30, 2006 8:21:00 PM
Anon parent,
As a SLPS teacher, I want to thank you for being so active at your child's school. I have seen first hand the difficulties that many parents face and it is easy to say the parents aren't doing what they should but many of us don't understand their situations. I taught for five years at a school with a 99% free/reduced lunch. The majority of the parents that I worked with were struggling to survive yet I would always have about 95% attendance at IEP meetings. This was due to the fact that I was flexible and made personal contact with every parent and would schedule it around their schedules. The parents knew that they were an important part of the IEP team and I needed their input. If we had to reschedule the meeting 5 times then we would reschedule the meeting. I would call parents for good news as well as bad news and worked to know them and their children. My principal would offer positive incentives (skating parties) for children if their parents or a family member attended PTO meetings and programs. They would be standing room only. They were scheduled in the evening so that more parents could attend and teachers were expected to be present. My main goal with parents is to keep them informed and make them comfortable in the school setting. If parents do not feel welcome at a school then why would they come?
As a parent myself, I have to pick and choose what events I will attend at my child's school. If I took off for every field trip or event, I would be absent at work an excessive amount which would negatively impact my students' education. I am not able to be the parent that helps in the classroom, goes on every fieldtrip, or monitors the playground but I am extremely appreciative of the parents that have the time and make the effort to volunteer at my child's school. It not only impacts your child but the children of the parents that are unable to do so.
I hope that all stakeholders can pull together this year and return the focus to the children. We need to make decisions on what is best for the children. Parents bring their best to us and we as teachers must give our best to every child. I have found some parents that do not know how to support their child's education at home so it is important to give parents specific examples of what would help. When parents know that you care about their child then they are less defensive and receptive to suggestions. The issue is not what parents are doing wrong but how to improve the academic achievement of their child.
Monday, July 31, 2006 7:04:00 AM
I have started calling private schools, in case Mayor's Office get's control back. A number still have openings.
Monday, July 31, 2006 9:14:00 AM
To the SLPS teacher. I agree with your comments about students coming late to school. When I had a first period class about a quarter of the students would be in class at the final bell but the rest would show up some time between 7:30 am to 8:00 am. Some of this is by choice while others it is biological. Some school districts (not here in Missouri) have found starting after 8:00 am had better attendance rates as well as attentiveness in the classroom. But this is another discussion dealing with adolescence growth. Parenting is a life long responsibility. But I am seeing young girls having babies for trophies not knowing the first thing about caring for themselves let alone raising a child. Actually I should consider this job security but dread the thought of when these children enter the classroom knowing how their mothers were in the classroom.
To Reparation, to be honest I thought your were a parent. One thought I had about communicating with parents through e-mail is offering a laptop/notebook computer to the families who do not have a computer. I am not saying giving every student one but the ones who can prove that cannot afford one (even though many of these poor students have fancy cell phones that I cannot afford). After all these are not private schools (which I personally know of three that a notebook is part of the tuition if they do not already have one). I checked out Apple, Dell, and Gateway as far as education discounts. Apple was the only one to offer an education discount for college students. The other two companies did not have any education purchase programs that I could find. This could be one way to offer some assistance for parents to be somewhat in tune with their child’s school. I do believe that parents want their children to do better than them (for the most part anyway).
As far as the other problems as long as we have a market base economy we will continue to have these problems (it could be worse we could be living in another country where there is a definite division between haves and have not). We want people to become financially rich but not to rich. When someone like Bill Gates becomes so rich we want him to spread the wealth to the people who cannot hold a job for whatever reason. But then again where is that corporate responsibility the President W. Bush talks about? No harm in paying the people who are actually making the widgets that makes a business successful.
To the Anon Parent who wishes to volunteer, you need to contact the school you wish to volunteer at. The Board office, in my opinion, would be the last place I would ask to volunteer. Board offices are usually to busy with administrative duties. You need to be where the students are. In our school I see a parent volunteer quite often helping in the book room and the data processing office. And from what I am hearing I would like a volunteer to help both in and out of the classroom. I am sure if you talked to the principal he/she would love to have your help. Maybe you have a skill that the school could use (i.e. fundraising, website development, directing a play to name a few). Stay involved with your school’s PTO help set up some community awareness events to show that there are good thing happening with at least on school.
Monday, July 31, 2006 9:50:00 PM
Snoopydad, I already do all that at my child's school regarding volunteering--the prinicipal and I are on a first name basis and I know almost every teacher--I'm there every day,I help out anytime I'm needed. I contacted the Supt. office because Dr. Williams put out a big show about wanting to hear from parents. Over and over again we hear about the lack of parental involvement. The administrators need to know that's not universally true. Parents need to be allowed at the table when policy is being set and we need to be involved in helping better this district. That means we have to be part of the planning process, not just sitting in the school helping make copies. I'll do that if it needs to be done,I have done that, but I intend to do more. My child is depending on me to get her a good education, and I will not be rebuffed by those my taxes pay to do the job simply because I'm "just a parent." And I will not be continuously insulted by bureaucrats who want to lump all parents in the same apathetic group. I'm not asking to "volunteer;" I am insisting on being heard and respected and being part of helping to fix this mess.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 9:25:00 AM
To Anon Parent, I fully understand your frustration. I have similar frustrations on the other side of the fence. If this new Board does anything what I would like to see a resolution passed that there has to be at least one parent on the school board (who actually has a child in one of the schools). And yes I do agree that parents like you should be involved in many other aspects of the district as well. Maybe with this “new board,” superintendent, and state committee these things will hopefully be incorporated. For now we will just have to wait and see how parent friendly this group will be. Remember a precedent has been set with Roberti shutting out parent comments and their help. Be persistent at the same time patent I am sure things will change (there have been so many changes I am not really sure which end is up).
To SLPSTeacher, I was just as upset at the elimination of FACS classes. But I am also upset at the elimination of the industrial technology classes. When I left high school I thought I would become an engineering draftsman. I took several architectural and engineering drawing classes even creating a set of plans to build a house. Not everyone is going into business or to college. Many of these “elective” type classes gives a student a chance to see what they may be good at or a chance to see if they have what it takes to enter a certain profession. As I even tell my students find something you like to do and someone out there will pay you for it.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 4:16:00 PM
I'll confirm what's already been said: many parents of SLPS students are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. I see one parent in the morning dropping the kids off, the other in the afternoon picking up. We've scheduled PTO meetings before school, after school, in the evenings, and at lunch to find that our attendance consistently was the parents of about 10% of the students, and about half of those were the ones fortunate enough to stay home full time or work for themselves. Economic reality is harsh these days.
It's nice to say that conferences/etc. should be scheduled at the parent's convenience, but isn't it unreasonable to expect someone to have that kind of availability for $40k/year? We pay our doctors $200k+ for that.
Email would be a great solution for some of these issues of parent-teacher communication, but it's definitely a far second place. It doesn't convey some of the nuance we need as parents to understand our child's situation, and the level of teacher usage varies widely. My son's teacher was email savvy, but the school's email was down 4 months last year. She finally gave me her home email so we could keep up with each other. Older teachers (50+) like my daughter's tend not to use it at all, not even at home. And many, many SLPS families don't have a computer at all, as I discovered when I tried to put together a PTO listserve for our school.
Solutions? I don't know. I don't think that most parents are lazy or immoral, as has been suggested. I think most people have limited time and would rather spend it being "entertained" at a sports event than in another (sorry, folks, but it's true, I'm there every time, at both schools) boring meeting. I think that our adminstrators need to get their heads out of the clouds and into the real world.
IMHO, the most important role for parents in schooling their children is to provide for them, and to encourage them in educational endeavors, both in word and example. How our schools help us to do that, I don't know.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006 3:36:00 PM
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Thursday, August 10, 2006 1:32:00 PM
I don't think it is unreasonable for 2 days a year to ask teachers to be available for some extended hours to meet with parents. I mean, they get a heck of a lot of time off in the summer, spring break, winter break, for that 40K a year. It's just something you do if you are a professional--you get the job done no matter how long it takes. I work in the social services and make nowhere near 40K a year, so I put my money where my mouth is when I say this. I do what needs to be done when my job requires it, teachers should too. This is not an unimportant thing we're talking about here. Communication with the parents is crucial.
Thursday, August 10, 2006 3:10:00 PM
I am a single parent that is very involved in the education of my child. I work full time, maintain my family and home and make it to all of my scheduled conferences.
On the other hand, the 1st year my child attended the SLPS the teacher never informed me of any scheduled conferences. I beleive that was to her benefit,not my child's or mine.
Being an involved parent of a special education child is frowned on in the SLPS. The SLPS grossly ignores special education laws, therefore they do not want the parent involved.
Thursday, August 10, 2006 9:10:00 PM
For the other side of this special needs argument. Over half of the IEP meetings that I was suppose to be at last school year were canceled due to parent(s) not showing up. OR The parent would just show up expecting teachers, counselors, and administrators to drop what they are doing to have the meeting. Phone calls were made reminding the parent after the parent and the caseworker set up the meeting (usually a week in advance). There have been times that we did schedule meetings before or after school. All the key players for the meeting were present except the parent.
For the most part at our school the caseworkers try their best at scheduling meetings to the convenience of the parents. I do know we do have a few caseworkers who only schedule meetings during school hours. The caseworkers would notify me as to when the meeting is and I would arrange to have a sub in my room during the time of the meeting. There have been occasions that I cannot make some meetings but I would tell the caseworker I had written everything down that I needed to say on the IEP form. I will meet at the convenience of the parent. However, when the parent doesn’t show up without notifying that they cannot be there then there is a problem. It is the same as making an appointment to a doctor or dentist office. If you do not show up many now are charging a fee because you are preventing someone else from seeing the doctor or dentist. We do not charge a fee for having a sub on standby when the sub could have been used somewhere else.
Friday, August 11, 2006 8:20:00 AM
Hmm, my child's first year I didn't get the note about conferences either. It seems if your child is sick on the day they decide to send home a memo, about anything, not just this, they don't give it to you at all. How hard could it be to stick the note in the folder the next day? I love the school my child attends but the communication between staff and parents is really not good at all, and I don't understand why. There is great communication when they need the parents to do something for them (room supplies, volunteers for an event) but when the parents need to know something (like there is head lice in the school) they don't tell us. Discouraging.
Friday, August 11, 2006 10:51:00 AM
Am I to understand that I should suffer as a involved special ed parent because there are other special ed parents that do not keep their commitments? I have paid my educational consultant $60.00 an hour for special ed case managers that decide to show up 30 minutes late for a pre-scheduled IEP meeting, not to mention my personal loss of wages for taking the time off from work to be there on time. Mind you, this has occured on more than 1 occasion. Even after having sat in numerous meetings the SLPS still does not abide by special ed laws.
Sunday, August 13, 2006 10:39:00 AM
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