Henrico Schools Are Failing Its Poor Students
Share this article
ADVERTISEMENT
(comments below)
Comments
Comments
60 responses to “Henrico Schools Are Failing Its Poor Students”
-
Henrico schools are good because most of the parents are affluent, which is highly correlated with education level and income. Then the teachers want to go to the “good” schools and the “bad” schools get perhaps the lesser teachers.
But even in the “good” schools, an 87% rate is not acceptable.
How much of this is teaching whole word reading as opposed to phonetics?
I don’t know the answers. I think the unions are a problem and the one size fits all is a problem.
Total school choice seems the only way out to me.-
I agree that 87 percent for the advantaged is not good, but I did not want to lose sight of the disadvantaged. I suspect that the root of the problem is not teaching phonetics.
-
I assume you are you familiar with what has been called the “Reading Wars.”
Some years ago, my wife taught in California public schools. At that time, teaching phonics was absolutely forbidden. A few brave teachers did it anyway. She said she could tell exactly when those rebel teachers were teaching phonics. They closed the classroom doors, to keep it secret.
In the California ‘reading wars,’ phonics is gaining
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2022/11/in-the-california-reading-wars-phonics-is-gaining/
-
-
-
Mr. Dick you need to share this information with the candidates running against the incumbent school board. I bet they will listen. November school board elections will steer the fate of our schools for the next 4 years.
-
Good idea.
-
-
The beauty of America is the liberty we have to succeed or fail without the government.
-
Who is going to teach them to read, if not the government?
-
Parents reading to their kids long before they get to school is crucial, Dick. Many appear in Kindergarten already reading above grade level.
-
Universal pre-K…?
-
So what then is to become of the children of the illiterate?
-
Even fewer of them read well. That’s where we are now, and with each new cohort the pass rates will fall further. It’s a vicious circle, and one we have to break, pilots call it auguring in.
Perhaps the Gov’s initiative to bring all kids up to grade level by 3rd grade provides hope for doing better.
-
If the parents don’t interfere.
In the late 1980s the top performing schools in the nation were in Plano, Texas. They also led the country in teen suicides and heroin use. Be careful for what you wish.
-
If the parents don’t interfere.
In the late 1980s the top performing schools in the nation were in Plano, Texas. They also led the country in teen suicides and heroin use. Be careful for what you wish.
-
5400 Legacy Drive, Plano, TX an address forever burned into my memory, EDS HQ was there.
-
-
-
They can write editorials for the Washington Post.
-
Nancy Naive:
“So what then is to become of the children of the illiterate?”Ever heard of the Virginia Literacy Foundation?
Sounds like a worthy cause.
“A year after its inception in 1986, the VLF formed a partnership with the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Adult Education and Literacy in a public/private partnership that was the first of its kind in the nation. This joint venture was created in an effort to make an impact on the immense economic, educational, and social consequences of illiteracy to Virginians who are expected to compete in a rapidly changing technological environment.”
-
Nope. But then I can read. Hopefully, they advertise using a medium that doesn’t rely on reading, like radio and TV, otherwise…
-
-
-
I agree wholeheartedly. However, I would think many of the parents of the poor either do not read that well themselves or are too tired after working physically demanding one or two jobs.
-
I agree wholeheartedly. However, I would think many of the parents of the poor either do not read that well themselves or are too tired after working physically demanding one or two jobs.
-
When I was young, both parents worked manual labor jobs, but we were still poor and qualified for Medicaid.
In spite of that, my father who dropped out school after 6th grade (during the depression) read to us every single night.
Why? Because it was important to him, more than I have words to express.
-
You were indeed fortunate to have such a father.
-
The thing is, my father’s example stuck. I did the same for my children.
One should not underestimate the impact parents have, with reading and numerous other life skills. Parental involvement is HUGE, and can be positive or negative.
In my view, it’s kind of like the proverb:
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
Helping parents to model and work positively with their children can yield multi-generational benefits. I wish Younkin would address that.
-
Good letter, and a shocking failure of our school systems to teach all kids to read, write and do basic math that is the basis for having a decent life.
Curiously you make no mention of the Governor’s Initiative to bring all kids up to grade level in reading and math by 3rd grade. Did it slip your mind?
-
Since I haven’t heard from you, I decided to
do a little more digging. The most I
have found is the Governor’s reaction last fall to the NAEP scores. He vowed, “additional steps to ensure that
all children in Virginia have the tools and support structure to get back on
track.” He then proposed seven steps:Action 1: Raise the Floor and the Ceiling
Action 2: Empower Parents with Emergency Support for Students
Action 3: Launch Tutoring Partnerships
Action 4: Hold Ourselves and Our Schools
AccountableAction 5: Strengthen Virginia’s Teacher Pipeline
Action 6: Provide Parents, Students, and Teachers with Actionable Information
Action 7: Challenge School Divisions to Spend Nearly $2 Billion in Remaining Federal K-12 Funds on Learning Recovery
There was no detail on these proposals in his
presentation or in the presentation of the Superintendent of Instruction. The Governor challenged the Board of Education to establish the highest passing threshold in the country “by the time our students take SOL exams next spring.” That was said in October 2022. Those high
standards had not been established by spring 2023. In fact, by spring of this year, he had fired
his Superintendent of Public Instruction and appointed a new one.This hardly seems like a plan to get all students
reading at grade level.Sources: https://richmond.com/news/local/education/youngkin-decries-sharp-drop-in-virginias-test-scores-in-reading-and-math/article_01c1f65b-a288-596b-a454-466092def583.html and https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2022/october/name-941581-en.html
-
Have you seen this?
To address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ educational progress and well-being, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced in March 2023 the availability of $30 million in Learning Acceleration Grants to be used for qualifying education services.
And this:
Please Note: VDOE has received the maximum number of applications for K-12 Learning Acceleration Grants the department is able to process at the program’s current funding level. Additional applications for grants will be accepted if more funds become available for the program.
https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-parents/k-12-learning-acceleration-grants
-
This is indeed something for which Youngkin deserves credit. However, it is geared to a large range of services, rather than getting all students reading at grade level. For example, one use of the funds could be “tutoring in core content areas (English reading/writing, mathematics,
science and history/social science) and foreign languages required to
meet graduation requirements.”
-
-
-
It did slip my mind. After you pointed it out, I went to the Governor’s website and searched for it, but could not find it. I did find something called “Bridging the Gap”, but that seems to an effort to make up for lost learning during COVID and is a pilot project limited to a few schools. I would appreciate a link to the Governor’s Initiative to bringing all students up to grade level in reading.
Follow-up: I also looked on the Dept. of Education for the governor’s initiative to bring all students up to grade level on reading. There was nothing there on that issue, either.
-
His “Initiative” apparently amounted to less than a PowerPoint presentation; about two slides which is 18 short of a decent brief.
School size matters…
-
How?
-
There are studies that found that smaller schools (especially in elementary years) are better for students than larger ones. This is especially true for the marginal students who are more likely to fall between the cracks in larger schools.
-
I wonder if school district size has any correlation with school size.
Virginia has very large school districts (divisions) which are county-wide (with the exception of cities).
Many other states have school districts which might consist of one high school and it’s feeder schools.
-
I suspect district size does correlate to school size. Mega-schools are perfect for managing large number of students (often in a state of flux). Capacity and usage is just a factor of bus transport.
I grew up in PA and school districts are defined by township there. I tend to like that better than county-wide school districts.
-
-
I agree. Providing smaller schools raises the per-seat school construction and operating costs, but I think the benefits to the marginal students of a more intimate learning environment would be worth the extra cost. And I think it is most important at the primary/elementary school level. I think we should limit elementary school size to +/-300 students. Nationally, the average size is currently more than 450.
-
I agree. Providing smaller schools raises the per-seat school construction and operating costs, but I think the benefits to the marginal students of a more intimate learning environment would be worth the extra cost. And I think it is most important at the primary/elementary school level. I think we should limit elementary school size to +/-300 students. Nationally, the average size is currently more than 450.
-
900 is the standard ES school size in Loudoun… much to my chagrin…
-
Too many students.
In my opinion 800-900 should be the maximum size for a high school.
-
You and I certainly agree on this topic. I think Loudoun’s standard HS is 1600 students now… better than Fairfax, I believe which may be more like 2500… I recall a movement some time ago for converting large high schools to a “school-within-a-school” model where they divide a mega-high school into several smaller schools. Don’t think it ever took off though…
-
I knew there had to be something you and I agree on…
😉
Have a good day.
-
-
-
Nice job, Dick. Now, if only more citizens would employ the VDOE Build-a-Table to scrutinize their school districts and hold school board members’ feet to the fire. Virginia needs hundreds more citizens to emulate your example.
-
Does not seem to be currently available…
Edit: Has been fixed…
Nicely done, Mr. Hall-Sizemore. The research into the effectiveness of phonics-based instruction is very, very compelling. I favor making grade level reading mastery mandatory for promotion from first to second and from second to third grades. It is easier to hold back a 6 year-old than a 13-year old. There’s a reason people say that kids spend K-3 learning to read and 4-12 reading to learn.
-
I agree with you. When you and I were coming along in Halifax County, that probably was the practice.
-
My kids are adults but had different paths to literacy. I don’t recall my daughter ever sounding out a word. But my son struggled with reading until we won the battle with FCPS to get him instruction in phonics. And that was the key; his reading levels jumped, and he became a fairly good writer as well.
Why not hold the bloated central staffs responsible for results? If reading scores don’t recover using “staff methods,” fire the staff responsible. But FCPS couldn’t even fire the person in charge of technology when her operation failed to update software for 3 years, something that caused a 6 month delay in beginning remote instruction in 2020.
-
Daughter learned to read from Sesame Street. Came home one day when she was 2 or 3, she pointed to the Upton’s catalog on the coffee table, and asked, “Store credit card?” Just kidding, she kept saying, “Up, up, up.”
I was 4 or 5 before I could read, and it was the “Keep Out” sign at the range on the Navy base.
-
-
I’ve never heard people say that, but I like it.
“There is readily available data that shows there is no correlation between the amount spent per pupil and the SOL reading pass rate.”
Seems like there is enough data available through VDOE to test this. Question is how do you correct/adjust for all the variables? District size, school size, parental jobs and education level, affluence and language…
Cost per student typically reflects teacher to student ratios and I am pretty certain there is a plethora of studies that measured a direct correlation in this regard.
-
-
I did. He did not correct for the variables I cited. Apples to oranges comparison.
-
The question was not which variable is most correlated with the reading pass rate, for which one would conduct a multivariate analysis such as you suggest. The issue was a simpler one: is funding per pupil correlated with the pass rate?
-
You need to compare like school systems in terms of the variables I referenced before you can answer the correlation question. Butcher did not do that as far as I can tell.
-
Do you have a shovel? It would be refreshing to see you dig for a change.
-
Maybe when I am retired and living the sweet socialist’s life… 😉
-
-
-
Let them read Chaucer… and eat cakes.
I’d be curious about the adult literacy rate in Henrico compared with those other counties and across the advantaged/disadvantaged groups.
I hate to use biblical terminology, but “begets” don’t ya know.
So now that it is back on line, I took JAB’s suggestion and looked at Loudoun County’s data from the VDOE build-a-table site. I tried to duplicate Dick’s analysis (excluded disabled and non-english speakers – with his same caveats, of course). I looked at the last three years of tests (2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22). As one might expect, Loudoun was consistently above the average for the state by a significant factor in each category. In fact, all categories I looked at were above the overall state average except Economically Disadvantaged and Hispanics which were still fairly close. Generally it looks like most minorities in the Division are doing fairly well and have bounced back to at least pre-Covid numbers – or better. They seem to be tracking in the 70-85% range for all regardless of race. The only negative I can see is the Economically Disadvantaged which has slipped somewhat and is in the sub-70% range. This does not seem to be a factor of race as far as I can see.
Overall and relatively speaking, pretty good for such a “Woke” county…
Ps: Noticed that Wayde Byard was acquitted of all charges – looking for the BR piece to commemorate the Miyares fail…
-
So the richest county in America has taught 75% of its third graders to read. Strike up the band. Perhaps a rousing Sousa piece.
-
86%…
Also, I thought money had nothing to do with it…
-
-
It’ll be published in the same article covering the Durham fail. Look for it, oh say, fall of 2028.
An article today on Fox that adds to the discussion.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/real-problem-facing-black-kids-told-believe
“Another action the Board should take is to examine how reading is being taught. There is a growing national consensus that the old way—phonics—is the most effective way to teach reading”
Some stats I found. Virginia illiteracy rate is 88% for age group 18 and older. Nationwide 54% read below a 6th grade level. Are you sure things were really better in the old days…? Btw, I’ve got no horse in the phonics race.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.