A document being circulated shows Promise readiness levels.
At Oliver only 22% of 9th grade students have the 2.5 GPA and 90% attendance levels necessary for the Pgh Promise, but this school is planned to be the site of an "early college" program.
At Carrick 26% of 9th graders meet the requirements, about the same as at Peabody (24%). Westinghouse is at the bottom with 13% but many Peabody students will be folded into Westinghouse (albeit a "new" Westinghouse). Even at Allderdice only 53% meet the requirements. Brashear is at 49%, Perry is at 37% and Langley is at 34%.
These students have been reminded about the Promise repeatedly since 7th grade. It would be interesting to see if the percentage of 9th grade students with a 2.5 or higher GPA and 90% attendance has changed since the Promise was put into place (keeping in mind that the new 50% rule is making it easier to reach a 2.5 GPA).
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23 comments:
The concept of "early college" should be discussed much more thrououghly. The college experience at most schools involves plenty of drinking and partying. Why would we be eager to send students into this environment at the age of 17? Greater maturity is an advantage at college, which is why many schools including Harvard encourage students to take a "gap" year after high school before beginning college.
Promise Ready, just one of many slogans that are part of the PPS Dog & Pony Show, Smoke & Mirrors of the PR Department. I had recieved this info at a PD and was shocked, because it shown true transperancy. Maybe the Nithgrade Nation program is not working. Maybe they are releasing this info to push the Promise Ready Corps. It is in the empowering teacher propoganda. It is lopping or pairing 9th & 10th grade students with the same teachers for two years and using team approach to teaching these kids. Pardon my french and always my spelling and grammar, but what a kick in the pants to Schenly. The Ivory tower people forgot, Scheley had a great program in the Spartan Academy. The majority of research shows that grade lopping is more sucessful at the elemtary level, primary kindergarten & 1st grade.
Roosevelt and his team of experts are throwing darts at a board.
Schenly was a great school, I never taught there, but this district had a Fantastic Model for a Diverse, Multicultural, Historic, Sucessful Comprehensive Urban High School and they threw it in the Trash. Look at the Spartan Academy, much more sucessful than Ninth Grade Nation program.
Dire Times in the Pittsburgh Public Schools
If anyone has any data from the Spartan program, it would help. It would be difficult to obtain from the district.
When was the Spartan program started, and when did it end? And which students were in the Spartan program? Was it all students who were not in the International Studies magnet?
I believe it was a 9th grade mentoring program of some sort. All ninth graders were a part of it and teachers were divided up into pods or teams to help students through the trasition of 9th grade. I believe it was around for almost a decade. Questioner I probably could find out more after Spring Break, I have quite a few friends that taught at Schenly.
That would be great. Also parents please chime in. It seemed like at least eventually, CAS and IS students were not part of the Spartan program.
It is unfortunate that we do not have "a second opinion" in the room at parent meetings to give us both sides of a story. We only hear the views and plans of the admin and when something sounds too good to be true we spend a lot of time researching the flip side. The one-sided-ness is why many give up attending parent meetings.
Whatever document this is that contains the numbers exists as a tactic to stir the pot. The strategy has been used at least once before. Maybe this time it is in use to get more people to volunteer for mentoring. Go into the schools and you will see evidence that there should NOT be a SINGLE KID unaware of his readiness factor.
Maybe mentoring is what is needed- because those in the trenches often remark that a number of kids don't seem to care and are not interested in thinking about college or other training after high school. They do not understand how many of the subjects they are studying is relevant to their real lives. But with mentors, there are all sorts of issues with clearances, etc. In at least one PPS program mentors could not email w/ mentees.
Given these restrictions, this work will probably have to be done by PPS employees. Some have suggested having a guidance counselor or social worker for every grade level who will meet constantly w/ kids individually.
It seems like charter schools have the guidance counseling funtions as a key factor in their programs. Public schools can't be snobbish about it and should use the model as a blueprint.
BTW, I think the teachers are expected to be the counselors is some respects.
Can someone expound upon this report with a little more detail? What is the criteria that was studied? Are we talking this current group of 9th graders?
It was the students who are in 9th grade now, comparing their GPA's and attendance records to the 2.5 GPA and 90% attendance that are required for the Pittsburgh Promise.
Thanks Questioner. I guess I am a little confused as to how Schenley comes into the conversation as there is no 9th grade there. Comparatively, how did Obama's 9th graders fare?
The info being sent around does not seem to include the themed schools (Obama, CAPA, sci tech, U Prep).
Excluding themed schools may be a way to steer more students to themed. The idea that all at themed are Promise ready and "you too can be promise ready if you just choose one of these schools."
I wonder if the two juveniles who shot and killed that poor woman in Homewood are two of our "promise ready" "students"?
Which PPS school/teachers failed them????
An innocent victim. I hope to hear her life story at some point in the press. It would not surprise anyone to hear she was the kind of person to have offered help to those who took her life...had she been given the chance.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_673829.html
More changes coming?
I have been catching up on the news and saw that two of those allegedly responsible for the death of the retired firefighter are juveniles. Our schools cannot cure poverty. And if poverty was not what drove the people responsible for the death of a man walking his dog, our problems are even more serious than what we have been discussing.
Counterpoint: Yes, schools are ONE key, critical component that CAN "cure poverty" by providing our youth with an EDUCATION and the needed preparation for lives that WILL take them beyond poverty
Education used effectively can cure poverty for a student by the time he completes his education, but how can it be made less of a burden or obstacle DURING the school-aged years?
The reality of EQUITY and EXCELLENCE for all of those young people who cross the thresholds of our public schools should negate the poverty beyond school walls.
The idea on another post of CYS satellites at schools seems to be a really good one that should be pursued. As alwys the issue is funding, but if this strategy could be shown to improve test scores the funding would probably materialize.
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