A proposed state law would force school officials to hold back students if they don’t meet state literacy standards ? that would be unacceptable, school officials say.
“We are opposed to anything that would require we retain kids,” said Clarkston Superintendent Dr. Rod Rock. “Retention is not effective.”
HB422 is heading to the Michigan State Senate. It would mandate students be held back in third grade if they do not meet certain reading literacy standards set by the state. It also mandates schools implement additional reading resources for schools including research-based reading programs, literacy coaches and other reading improvement plans.
Rock and school administrators as well as superintendents from other schools districts met with state representatives about the bill.
The bill would remove the rights of parents and school administration to make decisions for students. If the bill passes, Rock said, officials will fight to ensure mandates are not in effect until this year’s kindergarten class is in third grade.
“Not all kids are at the same level. Just like each of us have our own experiences, each child develops in their own time,” said Director of Curriculum Nancy Mahoney.
CCS is in its fifth year of a literacy initiative backed by Columbia University.
Under state regulations, all students are tested by a standardized test, called FAME.
CCS Board of Education has often discussed standardized testing, with many members agreeing one standard test is like a one size fits all ? it does not work.
Board members are working on adopting several testing methods to gauge student progress.
Rock said many initiatives are underway in the district that sees each child as an individual.
The concept goes along with the district’s adoption of Cultures of Thinking and Learning, implemented by Rock, which includes addressing the whole child. CCS recognizes each child learns differently.
“We want to teach kids that we can get answers in more ways than one,” Mahoney said. “We want to celebrate that.”
Diversity is a good thing, both Mahoney and Rock agree.
“We want to grow our children by giving them what interests them,” Rock said. “One size does not fit all. We want to focus on how each child is growing, not on comparing them.”
CCS implemented SOAR, a feedback system now in place, for students in grades K-5.
Officials eliminated the process of assigning letter grades to each students and replaced it with a feedback system to provide information on each students growth to school officials and parents.
“It allows us to know students better by giving us a constant snapshot of each child,” Rock said. “If a child is having difficulty then additional resources will be implemented.”
A lot of time and resources have been invested in the CCS literacy initiative.
“Reading is so very important, the most important thread because it is a skill used in every subject. We also want to get students writing everyday,” Rock said.
Evaluations of students should be left to teachers who work with students, continuously evaluate how students are doing every day, he said.
‘We have a first hand view of their progress. This assessment process, just implemented this year, is an assessment tool called running record,? Rock said.
Teachers in grades K-5 are engaged in the process in a Columbia University backed literacy program. The initiative focuses on three aspects of literacy including reading, writing and word study.
As an example of how CCS is changing the way students are taught is the traditional spelling test, previously, students were asked to memorize words for a test. Under the new initiative, students are taught in an individualized way they understand.
CCS literacy initiative also focuses on students? individual reading levels.
“Each child has a book box, with books at different reading levels. Teachers can pick a book that is just right for them at their level. Some books have easier text and are easier to and others are more challenging texts,” Mahoney said.
This system, administrators say, will focus on allowing teachers to focus on areas that students need help with. If a student is struggling, officials will implement additional resources like reader workshops.