The Achievement Gap: It’s Not the Teacher’s Fault

Schools need reform, but let’s not blame teachers for the Achievement Gap. The Gap is there when the kids arrive in kindergarten. It just gets wider if some teachers are ineffective or don’t do their job. At the outset, it may be more accurate to call it the “Parenting Gap.”  

While the Governor insults teachers, State legislators debate school reform (necessary) of  teacher tenure, teacher qualifications, certification, and the teacher’s union resists, not much is mentioned about the fact that too many students start school with a huge deficit. Many students from poor families in urban areas and citified suburban communities arrive at school “unable to recognize a single alphabet letter....These kids are hundreds of hours of learning time behind their suburban peers whose parents read to them over their crib.” ( Hartford Courant, March 4, 2012).

Trying to close that gap in later years is a struggle – for students as well as teachers. Experts say that if this gap is not closed by the third grade, bad things begin to happen: attendance falls off; students drop out; delinquency increases; the achievement gap grows. 12-plus years later, 70-80 percent of those enrolling in a Community College need remedial classes. School reform is a necessity, but if we fail to address the early childhood deficit, we will never close the gap.

Efforts must be multi-dimensional, including strategies for improving parenting skills as well as teacher skills. Paul E. Barton’s study (factors in achievement gap) analyzes school and non-school related factors contributing to the achievement gap. He cites research that shows a strong correlation between the following non-school factors and achievement:  

• Parent Participation
• Student Mobility ( many poor children move frequently- changing schools)
• Birthweight
• Lead Poisoning
• Hunger and Nutrition
• Reading to Young Children
• Television Watching
• Parent Availability (an astounding 72 percent of black children, 53 percent of hispanic and 29 percent white are born out of wedlock and many live in fatherless families).

Teachers can have little effect on these factors. Expecting them to make up for the deficit is unrealistic and unfair. It will take a full community effort to address these issues.

Barton also sees school related factors:

• Rigor of Curriculum
• Teacher Preparation
• Teacher Experience and Attendance
• Class Size
• Technology-Assisted Instruction
• School Safety

So, teachers are not off the hook – they must be part of the solution. The Governor’s education reform plan is a start.

School Choice, Vouchers, Charter and Magnet schools offer  an answer for the motivated. I happen to agree with JI Editor Chris Powell (JI 3/10-11/ 2012) in his view: “they (magnets and charters) are mainly mechanisms by which responsible parents get their motivated kids out of the regular schools being dragged down by the parentless and unmotivated kids....Applicants tend to be the motivated kids from responsible families who have the resources or determination to send their kids to school ….. for a better and for a safer education.”

One can’t be critical of parents wanting the best school placement for their children, but if we go down this path, what happens to the advocate-less students remaining in the regular public schools?   

How do we support, engage, motivate and train parents to increase school readiness of their young children? A few years ago, a Board of Education member was chastised by parents for suggesting a parent report card, but can’t we find a way to engage, motivate and support parents who lack the necessary skills or who neglect their childrens’ education? How about a pre chool class for parents? Can we require parents on state assistance to attend parenting classes in order to qualify for that assistance? Should we ultimately have a parenting test/evaluation that results in removal of a child from a home for serious educational neglect? Is educational neglect as bad as physical, emotional neglect? How about requiring competence in parenting as well as competence in the 3 R’s to get a high school diploma so the next generation will get a better start.

But, we don’t need to blame parents either. We need to give them support, the resources and training to close the Gap.

In fact, the entire community has a stake in closing the gap. The schools cannot do this alone. We need to marshal all community resources – parents, hospitals, government agencies such as the Youth Service and Human Services, NGO’s, non-profits, Manchester Community College, civic organizations, everyone.

An effective, broad based solution may be found in the concept of Community Schools (Neal Pierce, JI, Feb 29, 2012) - there are hundreds of them across the country. Community Schools serve as a focal point not only for classroom education, but as a resource coordination point for additional services provided by multiple community agencies.  

“Using public schools as hubs, community schools bring together many partners to offer a range of supports and opportunities to children, youth, families and communities. Partners work to achieve these results:

• Children are ready to learn when they enter school and every day thereafter. All students learn and achieve to high standards.
• Young people are well prepared for adult roles in the workplace, as parents and as citizens.
• Families and neighborhoods are safe, supportive and engaged.
• Parents and community members are involved with the school and their own life long learning.” (Coalition of Community Schools website)

The seeds of a community school effort are already present in Manchester as seen in the wide ranging efforts and programs of agencies such as the Office of Neighborhood and Families, MAPS, PAL Homework Club, MACC, service and civic organizations such as the Rotary (volunteers reading to children), the Brightside program at Nathan Hale, and many others too numerous to mention. We can build on these seeds with a coordinated effort. Why not plan for and rebuild Nathan Hale as a pilot Community School?

We need someone with vision (new superintendent?) to pull it all together in a multi dimensional, community effort.  Now, who will step up to the task? We can’t just “wait for Superman.”