Judging by the commentary on one of  Insideschools’  recent polls, heavy homework loads seem to trigger impassioned responses from both parents and students. Do nightly assignments in kindergarten fall into the “too much” category? Some parents think so. The fact that kindergarten homework was an oxymoron a generation ago may have something to do with this.

In this article from the New York Times, the author describes her quest to avoid a school where her kindergartner would spend precious after-school time on worksheets and drills, at the expense of play and fun. She laments the earlier focus on academic achievement and questions the worth of putting all this pressure on our kids.

In my own informal poll, most of the parents I talked to, at public and private schools, say their kindergartners don’t come home with much of anything regular, just the occasional project-meant to be fun and perhaps tie in with the week’s theme. From what I’ve been reading lately, though, I know there are plenty of exceptions–schools that pile the homework on the five-year olds every night. (more…)

I have written many posts about how much I love PS 178, Brooks’s school. It is extraordinary. Period. This is not news.

But I thought it might be an interesting exercise to try to articulate what makes it so good, and for that matter what makes any school good. Especially at this juncture in New York City public education where 20 schools have proposed closing dates, based in large part on consistently low standardized test scores. Since I am skeptical about this kind of data being a reliable indicator of a good education, I wonder about alternative measurements. Is it possible to boil the essence of a good school down to a few bullet points? (more…)

Dear Judy,
What can I do if a teacher intentionally lowers my son’s grades? He is in the 2nd grade of the gifted and talented class. At the parent teacher conference the teacher said that my son was doing very well - reading on a 3^rd grade level, But she did mention some issues with his behavior. When we got the report card, it had only 1’s and 2’s! We think she intentionally lowered his grades because of his behavior. What should we do?  Please advise.

Elena

Dear Elena,

The simplest solution is to make an appointment to discuss the report card with the teacher. Most schools use a uniform report card and use specific standards to decide on grades. That is hard in 2^nd grade because there are no state standardized tests on which to base a grade. In 2nd grade, however, there are progress assessments to help the teacher form a judgment.

Some teachers and some schools give low grades in the first marking period to give the kids an incentive to work harder. You should find out if that is the policy in your school, or if that was the teacher’s intention. And, ask more specifically about what progress measures the teacher used to give him his grades. Bring the issue to the principal if you get no satisfaction. (more…)

 Have a school question for Judy?  Search archives | Contact Judy

While New York City’s scores on the National Appraisal of Educational Progress math exams rose steadily between 2003-2006, the NAEP’s 2009 report reveals they have since stalled. Fourth-grade scores increased only slightly between 2007-2009, while eighth-grade scores remained average.

These results stand in contrast to the highly-criticized increase in the state’s math exam scores. Chancellor of the Board of Regents Merryl Tisch explained to GothamSchools that the state test covers fewer fields and is much less accurate in measuring progress than the NAEP.

The scoring gap between ethnic populations also stalled. While the state exam showed a statistical narrowing of the divide, the NAEP reveals a slight widening.

What do you think of the math curriculum at your children’s school? Do the state exams accurately reflect their progress?

District 20’s Community Education Council will vote Wednesday on a proposal to alter the district’s zoning boundaries. While the changes are intended to alleviate overcrowding, some local residents fear the proposed boundaries will divide schools along ethnic lines, reducing student diversity.

The DOE has acknowledged serious overcrowding in the district and plans to open five new schools over the next few years. Under the current proposal, schools in Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, Borough Park, and Bensonhurst would see reductions in their student pool, in order to make space for two new schools, PS 971 at 62nd Street and Fourth Avenue and PS 264 at 88th Street and Fourth Avenue.

Educators and administrators at PS 69 are speaking out against the rezoning. If the plan is approved, the school will no longer accept students who live between Second Avenue and Sixth Avenue. PS 69’s principal, Jaynemarie Capetanakis, told the New York Post that this alteration “takes away a lot of Hispanic and Arabic families.” The school  is currently overcrowded- running at 145 percent of its capacity, but it does not want to sacrifice it diversity to reduce overcrowding, the principal and several teachers told school officials at a recent meeting.

The District 20  CEC will vote on the proposal at its  7 p.m. meeting tomorrow night, Dec. 9, at PS/IS 104.

Imagine your kindergartner arrived at school each day, tackled the fundamentals of reading and writing, listened to stories, and sang with her class…all in French.

At PS 58 in Brooklyn, this scene is reality. In the dual-language immersion program, now in its third year, the day is split between French in the morning and English in the afternoon. Half the students in two classes per grade are native English speakers admitted by lottery (they must be zoned for PS 58), and the other half are francophone children — meaning they speak and understand enough French to pass a proficiency test. Zoned francophone children have priority, but if any spots remain, fluent children outside the zone may test in.

The program has gained such popularity that, according to Parent Coordinator Joan Bredthauer, interested parents have phoned from Paris and Montreal. (more…)