Schools, community and the achievement gap

05/23/2011

4 Comments

 
A persistent difference in test scores among students from various racial or socio-economic groups has become a central point in discussion about education nationwide. Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Chris Belcher says he wants the Columbia school district to be one of the first in the country to solve this problem of an "achievement gap," and he's reaching out to the community to improve student performance from outside the school walls. In this conversation, we look at what exactly needs fixing, and how Belcher and others believe the community can help.

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Panelists:
Chris Belcher, superintendent, Columbia Public Schools
Steve Calloway, president, Minority Men’s Network
Sarah Horn, reporter, Columbia Missourian (joining the program by phone)
 


Comments

andy
05/23/2011 16:43

you are my hero Chris. I need to talk to you about this. I can give you incredible examples and help explain this as a teacher, social worker.

well done. you are on par with MLK here. but please address the redistricting problem

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Emily
05/23/2011 16:46

In the conversation on today's show about the achievement gap, what I do not hear is what is the role of the black community itself in dealing with this issue. Ultimately, the black community must take responsibility for their own culture and the consequences of that culture. If that culture is producing kids that cannot function within the larger culture, then who can change this?! Yes, the school system can partner with families and the community, but only to the degree that there is participation from these entities. Where is the conversation about the black family from which these kids originate? The individual and the family MUST take on this issue and not put it "out there" to the school and the taxpayers. This isn't racism, it is reality.

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andy
05/23/2011 16:52

the previous comment shows the ignorance that is out there. I heard that 46% of kids are in poverty. wow!!

I have a student who is emotive at assemblies and he wants to feel school pride yet he is written up every time as acting up. he is not: he just wants pride.

again, the social differences between minorities, and white teachers who have not experienced otherwise culturally is a real problem.

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Kathy
08/22/2011 12:26

Dr. E.D. Hirsch through his Core Knowledge foundation theorizes much of the achievement gap is very simply due to lack of background knowledge in many of our students. We have taken much of the content area teaching out of our elementary programs in favor of "teaching reading" or "reading comprehension." In Fulton elementary schools my kids have one daily forty minute lesson in either science or social studies. Waiting until middle school to have more time for these subjects is simply too late.

Unfortunately, the importance of learning factual knowledge is minimized by our colleges of education and by many of the teachers so trained.

I think a more comprehensive, broad-based curricula would go a long ways toward reducing the achievement gap.

See the you tube video "Teaching content is teaching reading"

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