Students must be ready to learn: "Bingo! Increased student and parent engagement through a multidisciplinary approach? An educational system that better serves the needs of the individual student? Sign me up!Wait. Such reforms would be expensive or not? They could be cost-effective, perhaps. The reforms will have a heavy price in terms of change, perhaps. But, I'm not too sure what the cost in dollars would be.
Yes, such reforms would be expensive, but let's examine their cost-effectiveness. In fact, money would be saved by the consolidation of services and increased efficiency.
In November 2004, the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation reported results of the longitudinal study of the Perry Preschool Program, located in Ypsilanti, Mich. The study documented 'a return to society of more than $17 for every dollar invested (italics added) in the early care and education program, primarily because of the large continuing effect on the reduction of male crime.'"
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Students must be ready to learn
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Students must be ready to learn
Which means schools must address more of the problems they encounter at home
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
By Kathryn Fine
We have known for decades that the public education delivery system in the United States is broken when it comes to serving many of our children. Over the past 20 years we have witnessed educational "fixes" come and go.
On a local level, the Pittsburgh Public Schools have undergone enough changes in the past five years to make even the savviest public school advocate feel a little dazed and confused. Yet the efforts that could be game-changing are sorely lacking from school reform in Pittsburgh. Before any child can be "Promise ready," the term used to describe students poised to take advantage of the Pittsburgh Promise college scholarship fund, they must be "learning ready."
Students come to school every day with a wide gap in "learning readiness." Those who have strong educational advocates at home possess a huge advantage over those who do not. Exposure to books, help with homework and the development of good study, sleep and nutrition habits are essential building blocks when it comes to ensuring that a child will be prepared to learn. Restructuring schools, teacher effectiveness training, accelerated learning academies and new principal training are all worthwhile endeavors, but heaping these reforms on an unsound foundation wastes precious time and resources.
The reasons a child comes to school ill-equipped to learn are myriad -- they include poverty, overworked/stressed parents and just plain inadequate parenting at all rungs of the socio-economic ladder.
Public schools alone cannot solve these problems. But they can ameliorate the disadvantages of insufficient educational preparedness with investments that can pay enormous dividends in the long run.
A report by Nobel Prize-winner James Heckman states that "family environments are important in determining education and skills. Growing numbers of children face adverse environments that restrict the development of these skills. Early education and other early interventions such as home visits can mitigate the effects of poor family environments."
Our public schools must focus on creating a family-like environment from pre-school to graduation through interventions that provide:
• 1) at-risk students with a mentor who shows interest every day in their academic and nonacademic growth;
• 2) social workers and guidance counselors with realistic caseloads;
• 3) extended school hours for quality after-school activities, assistance with homework and continuing adult education for parents; and
• 4) support for teachers in the form of secretarial aid and classroom paraprofessionals to allow them to concentrate more on innovative instruction and less on behavioral flare ups.
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Investment in these types of reforms could be transformative.
Educational reformers should follow the lead of the nationwide movement in the medical community toward the "Advanced Medical Home." The American College of Physicians describes the AMH as a movement that "acknowledges that the best quality care is not provided in episodic, illness-based care but through patient-centered, cost-effective, longitudinal care provided to patients and their families to assist them in navigating the complicated health-care system. The patient, with support from the physician and other members of the health-care team, such as nurses, social workers, dietitians and pharmacists, then becomes engaged in his/her health care and the health-care system better serves the needs of each individual patient."
Bingo! Increased student and parent engagement through a multidisciplinary approach? An educational system that better serves the needs of the individual student? Sign me up!
Yes, such reforms would be expensive, but let's examine their cost-effectiveness. In fact, money would be saved by the consolidation of services and increased efficiency.
In November 2004, the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation reported results of the longitudinal study of the Perry Preschool Program, located in Ypsilanti, Mich. The study documented "a return to society of more than $17 for every dollar invested (italics added) in the early care and education program, primarily because of the large continuing effect on the reduction of male crime."
New funding is coming to the Pittsburgh Public Schools from both the federal government and private foundations. The public must help the government, foundations and the district prioritize how we spend it.
The district administration has consistently stated that its reform efforts are "data-driven." Yet studies showing the effectiveness of addressing the social welfare of school children get too little attention. Some district efforts, such as the sixth-grade mentoring program, college-readiness counseling and extended after-class hours at some schools, should be acknowledged, but they fall well short of the needs of a many of our students.
We need to acknowledge and address this simple truth: Many of our young people are not being provided with a sound foundation for educational development. How can they stay on the "pathway to the Promise" when many cannot even find the pathway to their school?
The Pittsburgh Public Schools cannot solve all of the social problems that affect their students' lives. But it can play an active role in mitigating the effects of social ills on their students' ability to learn. It is not only our moral imperative to do so; it is the most fiscally prudent course of action.
Kathryn Fine is a co-founder of PURE Reform, Parents United for Responsible Educational Reform (purereform@gmail.com).
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10159/1063851-109.stm#ixzz0qH1Ecc4F
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