Commissioner Gist confident at-risk 11th graders can improve so do you think Pawtucket students will be graduating school with a certificate of attendance or a diploma to gain employment?

Who would you hire?

a ripoff

Tonite Gist talks at Jenks at 6:30pm

January 27, 2011

Dear Arthur,

The problem of below performing students and remediating the problem when the student reaches 10th or 11th grade proves and exercise in tardiness.  In Rhode Island schools, the problem with poor English, Reading, math and science scores is attacked too late.  Academic problems should be attacked as early as grades one and two.

As an analogy, a doctor, when he sees a tumor, would not hope the tumor will disappear in a few years.  This is a ridiculous assumption.  Obviously the tumor has to be attacked and the situation remediated so the person may live a productive and prosperous life.

What I have noticed in my Pleasant View neighborhood seems to be the problem with elementary school age students who are falling behind, have done so in grades two through five.  Negative parental attitude toward school carries on younger students.  I all ready know of one third grader who has one year of summer school experience. In essence, the child hates school.   Does one really believe in several years this child will obtain the appropriate, job earning diploma?  I doubt this assumption.   

The best solution is one accomplished by the San Diego, California United School District.  Students cannot graduate from any senior high school grade until they prove grade level reading competency.  However, all under acheiving reading students must start daily remedial classes at 6 a.m. every day.  This program seems to work in the San Diego district?  Why not move the program to Rhode Island? 

A secondary solution:  start public school for students at four years old, especially for students whose siblings are not performing well.  Unfortunately, the federal government has tried to remove Head Start.    

In closing, academic acheivement is attacked in Rhode Island seven years too late.  

Certainly , but many atomatically pass or get the pass ahead because of age, so it would help if RTI to concentrate efforts also on kids who need the help, but that does not happen. Schools are to try RTI , but it works only if teachers are involved, and unfortunately many teachers ignore so even if there is in place an RTI, it is for nought. In addition many kids need the early support for their disability and many schools make IEPs and 504s difficult to get, so parents and kids get frustrated and drop out after their grade level gets further apart from their peers.