Posted on 04/22/2005 3:33:56 PM PDT by GeorgiaBushie
My ninth grader just found out she has a 69 in Algebra 1. She is/was an honor roll student and has been doing very well in school. She has A's and B's in all of her other subjects and should have an A in Algebra, as well.
Ashley, my daughter, started off the 2nd semester of Algebra 1 with a 90. About 2 weeks into the start of the new year, she was bumped to another teacher along with four others because they were ahead of the rest of the class. The new teacher resigned from the school three weeks later to accept a teaching job in Florida and another teacher/substitute replaced that one. Ashley was then bumped to another teacher because another teacher was teaching the chapters that Ashley and the 4 others were in, again, they were ahead of the rest of the class.
Somewhere in this shuffle, test scores were lost and Ashley and the other students that were bumped are paying the price for it. The newest teacher has given these students zeros for not having the test score (seems at the worst it should be NA). It also does not help that only the newest teacher requires vocabulary testing and Ashley was given a vocabulary test upon arrival in her class and made a 25 on it and the teacher will not allow her to retake the test for a better score.
She is missing most of a chapter (Chapter 8) and she is presently at chapter 9.3 The teacher will not allow her to continue at chapter 9.3 but is making her start all of chapter 8 over. This will cause her to have to go to the summer school program to be able to even get a credit for Algebra 1.
I'm not sure whether to start with your eyesight or your paranoia. Think I'll just skip over the insult, and say goodnight to you, sir.
LOVE YOUR TAGLINE! LOL
Elected officials tend to value voters, especially voters who are willing to be blabbermouths about how they were treated. Sometimes being a blabbermouth for the love of your child is a good thing.
Write letters to the Chairman of the School Board, and the School Board members with copies to anyone else pertinent in this. Detail as simply and clearly as possible the exact sequence of events that led to this problem and stay focused. If you cannot get satisfaction from each higher-up you contact, go a bit higher with the same focused letter of complaint. If there is a formal complaint to be filed, maybe that would also be an option. If you voted for someone in this group, tell them and let them know (nicely) that you expect them to do their job. (Be sure to keep a copy of this complaint letter so you will not have to write a different letter to someone else later.) It was not your fault nor was it your child's fault about the juggling act the school administration did to your child. They are acting like your child lost records that would appear to be their responsibility to keep track of and penalizing her for their own carelessness.
Two words: paper trail.
Insist that every half baked excuse anyone in the chain of command gives you be put into writing and a copy given you. If you are told something (stupid) verbally and they refuse to put it in writing, you type their statement and ask for them to sign it. If refused, note that on the statement.
All communications from you to them should be in writing and sent certified w/return receipt.
These people often get wobbly when they see paper trails, because they suspect legal action down the road. No obvious threats are required for them to get that impression. When they have to sign things, their little sphincters tighten up all of a sudden.
The only reason that I signed up was to contribute and am presently a monthly contributor :)
Hi Twinkie
What you say is very good, ( and i have done battle sseveral times with Admin and School boards...SIGH)
I'm going to direct Busshie'ss attention to your excellent post, as it is her daughter who has the misunderstanding.
Head's up, Bushie!
They need to do some PR work with whoever is handling the school's problems, that was the wrong thing to say to you.
If you were polite and that was their reply, I can see why they're a failing school. They need to remember that your taxes pay their salary- they work for you.
My point is you don't have to be 'documented'. Just those who feel FR is their place and anyone new is suspect. I was in your place a few weeks back when one poster didn't agree w/me, had no truth to stand on, then the poster got her 'pack' together and they went with the 'newbie' thing.
They seem to forget when you lurk for many years, you learn alot from FR when they brilliant minds show up and, also, learn about some posters' tactics.
I'd go to the School Superintendant and then to the State.
If the Principal can't help you immediately - tell he/her what you plan on doing. I had a situation - the state was the one to help. The others didn't want to step on 'local toes'.
Glad you finally de-lurked, GeorgiaBushie!
I've done battle with the schools many times.
Welcome at last to Free Republic!
:-)
One more thing I forgot to mention - if you don't like confrontation and would be nervous talking to the principal by yourself, if you have the money you could take an attorney with you for the first meeting. Just introducing him would probably solve the problem! And he could do the talking for you.
For some reason, I've heard Dr. Laura recommend this a lot lately. She must be getting tired of how school officials give our kids the runaround and drive parents nuts!
You've gotten some really good advice so far so I won't repeat it. I just had a few thoughts on this. I did get screwed over many times by various teachers at my NJ public school. Most of the problems didn't amount to enough to make a fuss over, or they happened pre-high school so it didn't really matter anyway. When anything did threaten my actual academic future, my parents got invovled and usually got their way. I think the fact that my mom was always volunteering her time at the school earned her a little street cred, so that must have helped. Anyway the other thing I want to say is kind of delicate, so please please please don't take offense. Did you actually ever see the lost tests? Did Ashley bring them home, or did you do homework with her to the extent that you are sure everything happened the way she said it did? I am only asking this because disorganized schools are particularly vulnerable to kids making stuff up, because it's generally believable. My gut tells me that your daughter is telling the truth -- and obviously your gut would be a lot more accurate than mine. But, I saw lots of good kids who normally got good grades lie about things when everything started to slip, just out of panic. I would just hate to see you go on a crusade and then end up embarassed if someone produced a test with a 60 on it or something. So, sit her down and tell her that you are going to take this on, and you need to make sure you have all the truthful information. Not a fun talk, and 14-yr-olds don't like to think their parents don't trust them, but I think it's a reasonable thing to ask. I'm only 23 so this stuff doesn't seem so long ago.
Good luck to you,
TBG
Was told that it would be best to go through the chain of command at the school to try to straighten out the grades.
Spoke to a 9th grade administrator on Monday(over the phone) he did not want to meet until he had spoken with her teacher and had a grasp of the problem and promised to get back to me by the next AM, which he did.
Administrator and teacher agree that there are missing test scores, Ashley is missing an estimated 16 test scores; the teacher and administrator requested that they be given until Friday 4/29 to review the file and see if any of the missing test scores could be located.
Seems I will not be alone in this as a lot of students in Ashley's class found out on Wednesday that they, too, were missing test scores and caused a disruption in the class and an administrator had to be called in to help calm them down.
Will let you know what happens next.
Thanks to all that posted, I really appreciated the help!
I am in complete disagreement with you on this one.
There are instances where your approach is a good idea. Not here. This is not a case of an unavoidable error that requires vast resources to correct (on the part of the school).
The school needs to own up to their mistakes and show some good faith. After all, they maintain that they are qualified and have the legal rights to teach one's children. A parent has every justification, indeed obligation, to hold them to a higher standard.
The few years my daughter was in public school, I taught her the importance of picking one's battles. The flip side of that coin being, when you determine that it should be fought, you do it well and completely.
One blanket statement I can personally make about the public school system [here is Florida] is that its people will never own up to mistakes and, they will lie shamelessly to protect themselves.
Take her out. Only solution.
Becky
I didn't see where the school was owning up to it.
Becky
This problem is not only with my child. Out of 492 freshmen, only 40 have completed Algebra 1 and will be moving on (School guidance counselor offered this information). Others that were on the final chapter (a handful) will be offered a free one week summer school to finish. Everyone else will start the next school year giving up an elective and facing Algebra 1 and geometry, concurrently.
I believe this is the result of the school adopting nova net (mind you that there are no computers in the classroom to allow for the interactive side of NovaNet) and allowing all classes including the highest to go in a montessori style that allowed everyone to go at their own pace. This meant that children within the class were on various chapters in Algebra and that the teacher was not setting the pace or teaching to the class at large. The teachers job was, primarily, to answer individual questions. If children were stuck on any part they were seeking help from other children or they had to wait until a teacher was available to help them.
Have been unsuccessful with speaking to the school principal. He will not speak to me. For some reason I am stuck with telephonic conversations to the 9th grade administrator. I called twice a week every week until the end of school and was told that they were "researching" the problem and would find the grades and her grade would be whatever it was. (Whatever that means). There was no need for a meeting until they found the missing grades.
Called the superintendent's office 3 times and they will not help me until I have taken up my problem with the principal. Relayed that principal would not meet or call me and they said they would email him. Still have not received that call.
The school did "fix" Ashley's grades. Four days before school ended I made the last phone call to the school and told them that I had a problem with the grades and I was not going to quit and that I would retain a lawyer, if necessary.
Two days later, Ashley received a bunch of 80's as scores on the missing tests and something is wrong with those as a teacher allowed some students to skip a section and now Ashley has a grade for that section. I have no way of challenging the grades until I am allowed to view her records. I have kept the print outs both before and after the "fix" and plan to challenge those grades as part of her record.
Ashley ended the school year with a 76 (no credit issued as she did not finish every chapter), and is currently enrolled in a summer Algebra 1 class at a private prepratory school that runs 9am-3pm for 23 days.
Found the prepratory school on line and called the school even though the registration had passed and they said they had room for her and would be happy to include her. The cost was $1500 compared to $550 for the Osborne Summer school, but am really happy and ecstatic to actually have a choice.
There are only 9 students in the classroom and the teachers (2 of them) have assured me that they love teaching and will make sure that she has a quality Algebra education to build on. She will also receive full credit for the class from the prepratory school as opposed to summer school credit, though Osborne, at this time, has not decided whether they will honor the grade from the other school.
The only thing left for me to do now is a hand written note to the school board and superintendent's office explaining the problem and a formal request for assistance.
I also have plans to make and post signs in the Osborne High School district that will make parents aware of the lack of education and also to let other people moving into the area know that Osborne was #315 out of 345 public schools in the State of Georgia for the 2003-04 school year and there is a definate reason for that (2004-05 is not out yet).
Incase you are wondering, Ashley was very unhappy about the summer school at first and I had to actually tell her that she was going. After several weeks of moaning she is actually looking forward to it and has decided if she makes a 90 that she will improve her GPA and class standing. Which, by the way, is 36/492.
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