Closing the achievement gap

• 1. By : Kristen Bradley
  Closing the Achievement Gap at Eureka Elementary
  

2. Take a deep breath
Fifty-five years after Brown vs. Board of Education, forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and twenty-five years after the publication of A Nation at Risk, we must confront the shameful national reality: if you are an African American or Latino child in this country, the probability is high that our public education system will fail you, that you will not graduate from high school, that your ability to function successfully in the twenty-first Century economy will be limited, and that you will have no real prospect of achieving the American dream.
Ellen Winn,Director, Education Equality Project, National Journal, 2009
3. That should not and WILL NOT be our reality at Eureka Elementary
We do whatever it takes to ensure all students realize their potential
4. WWhat is the Achievement Gap?
The achievement gap is defined as the observed disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Wikipedia, 2011)
Tied closely with the achievement gap is the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2002.
5. What is the No Child Left Behind Act?
NCLB Act of 2002, is a bill that was put into play by President George W. Bush.It gives statewide expectations to the schools and holds the school and teachers accountable for good or poor test results.The idea is that the results will get better with each year and by 2014, ALL students will be performing at the designated state standards and on grade level.
6. What are contributing factors to the Achievement Gap?
Quality Preschool
Socioeconomic status
Cultural environment
Family life (parent involvement)
Attendance at school
Teacher quality
7. Many studies suggest that children who attend a quality preschool are far more likely to get better grades, stay in school,and have better jobs than those who do not attend a quality preschool.
All over the world, your chances of success in school and life depend more on your family circumstances than on any other factor. By age three, kids with professional parents are already a full year ahead of their poorer peers. They know twice as many words and score 40 points higher on IQ tests. By age 10, the gap is three years. Mourshed and August
8. Socioeconomic Status
These students are coming from low income families that do not have the means to provide educational resources at home.
9. Cultural Environment
We have to remember that not all of our students have the same upbringing.We need to acknowledge that and be accepting of different life styles and religions.If a child feels unaccepted in the school setting then learning is going to take a back seat to his orfeelings.
10. Family LifeSnapshot of their life

• Single family home

11. Parent working one or more jobs = little time for child 12. Very little parental supervision 13. Lots of members in the house, very little room 14. Lack of interest in childs schooling = low motivation for child 15. Low expectations for child