Gross:

Staff emails in @WPSedu basically show staff colluding to hide kids’ reading progress from parents.

I wish I could say I am surprised, but I am not.
"Giving parents too much information, is not a good idea. They do not need the specifics."

Bear in mind, this exchange is about parents who had specifically requested a reading assessment score (DIBELS score) for their kids. So concerns about parents not having enough info...+
... to understand DIBELS ring hollow.

Sure, many parents don't know tons about each reading assessment. Shouldn't the school then... explain the assessment?

@lisamandaglio suggests giving a guide to the results, and explaining what action the school is taking.

I'm Team Lisa.
.@WPSedu Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Elineema has a troubling answer.

She's way too chill about the kids whose reading skills are below the grade level benchmark.

There's nothing "developmentally appropriate" about it.
None of this is the least bit surprising.

The dominant attitude about kids reading skills is the oft-repeated reassurance to parents, "Don't worry, kids catch up."

"It's developmentally appropriate to be below grade level" = same same.

The reality: most kids don't catch up.
But here's the most striking part of all, and it's the norm for most schools:

They have assessment data on which kids are reading below grade level.

But they are only going to give it to parents who ask for it.

That's so clear.
Look at NYC. They have DIBELS data on every K–2 child this year.

Have you heard about any parent receiving this info?

@NYC_stateofmind @daniela127 @NYCmom2222 @PNycmom
It's just a K–12 norm:

When have data on which kids are below grade level norms, that info is not communicated to parents.

And that's seen as totally cool. In part due to the attitudes in this thread.

All of this, BTW, is why literacy advocates seek universal screening laws.
Here's an example:

In California, advocates are working to see a reading skills screening bill, #SB237, passed into law. It's encountering resistance... from teachers unions.

@mgpotente @meganbaci @careads @DDCalifornia @CAParentPower
With universal screening, it's easier for parents to know what to ask for when talking with schools.

They can better understand school performance.

It's empowering.

As @UnitedLiteracy has found, this empowering info isn't going to come from schools easily. #understantements
Kudos to @UnitedLiteracy for the insights into the issue.

For those who don’t know, they have been working to get the flawed @TeachersCollege Reading Workshop curriculum / balanced literacy out of their schools.

More below. Follow them!

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More from @karenvaites

11 Jan
"We've seen a 364% patient increase in patient referrals of babies and toddlers from pediatricians and parents” for speech delays.

Don’t tell me that masks on children are a cost-free intervention.

wpbf.com/article/palm-b…
Also, if this is what a speech therapist is reporting in Florida… imagine the situation in New York, where masks are required in day care centers.
And to everyone who says I’m putting the emphasis on the wrong thing:

The article highlights the impact of adult masking on kids’ speech.

Kids in my state, where toddlers are masked, have two forms of risk, not just this one: Image
Read 6 tweets
11 Jan
The trouble with @michelleinbklyn’s latest, and her last:

Parents (and behind the scenes, superintendents & pro-open schools teachers!) judge AFT and @rweingarten by actions.

Michelle is judging her by her PR efforts.

Big difference.

Some thoughts…

nytimes.com/2022/01/10/opi…
If @michelleinbklyn was going to link one of my recent tweets from her piece, I'd have suggested this.

It doesn't fit her narrative, tho... it's Randi using meaningless data to fear monger about school safety. (Read the whole thread.)

Which is my point.

Her Chicago tweet fits pattern from the last year, as parents saw it.

When Randi intervened, it was often fear-and-doubt sowing. Respectfully, I think parents watched this far more closely than @michelleinbklyn.

And then there is the locals.

I mean…

wwlp.com/news/health/co…
Read 16 tweets
10 Jan
This is fantastic!

Where there is a will, there is a way.

I’m surprised we haven’t seen more districts taking this approach.
For the flip side, start here to see how parent volunteerism met resistance in some schools.
The resistance is usually connected to sensitivities RE the need to have only credentialed teachers teaching, related to union demands.

Reminder:

I’m officially an applicant to substitute in @NYCSchools. No one has ever called, prob BC I am not licensed by state. Same issue.
Read 4 tweets
10 Jan
Was last week the peak week for school closures?

I have to wonder, reading the latest @BurbioCalendar update.

It’s a reminder of how out-of-touch the schools conversation has been:

96% of schools were open last week, even accounting for staffing-induced closures.
So allllll that hand-wringing about whether or not they should stay open… which implied that most districts were even having this debate… feels like the latest round of Twitter Is Not Real Life, coastal elite hand-wringing.

Most districts just stayed open and got it done.
On point: this week, planned closures affect less than 1% of schools.

There will be unplanned/forced closures for staffing, but this is still a good indication that preemptive closures are an edge case.

We need to avoid normalizing something that isn’t a norm.
Read 6 tweets
10 Jan
This segment is OUTSTANDING.

@brianstelter talks about “doomsday doctors, who push people towards even more fear, anxiety, and depression.”

Be still my beating heart.

@drlucymcbride is 🔥:

“We are bathing in fear.”
“Revving the emotional engines of people’s anxiety only does harm.”
@drlucymcbride
.@drlucymcbride with empathy & straight talk:

“I don’t ascribe ill intent to these doctors…

I think a lot of physicians themselves are anxious. And themselves are trying to offset their own anxiety by broadcasting to a wider public the anxiety that’s in the air.”
Read 5 tweets
9 Jan
You guys, just look how hard Randi is working to get schools open!

You really have to work overtime to Find The World’s Most Ambiguous Chart to in order to transmit risk and murkiness like this.

Deserves its own @michelleinbklyn column, this sort of leadership.
Not that there is any substance to the info @rweingarten is sharing…
Read 6 tweets

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