good job aps and mayor.... all those new schools and wasted money........

I could say so much about this. it is amazing what a little effort and drive will accomplish. and what a good feeling not only the school districts have but I bet the children feel pretty good about themselves as well. this is how society is supposed to work. I just wish I knew why and when the strive for excellence becomes a bad concept and is banned once you turn 18 and enter the working world.

APS could reach record achievements in this area, iff'n only they wouldn't continue to keep children in school who obviously don't wish to be there and who drag down the other students by their presence.

Trolling for new levy's !!!

Congratulations, Mrs. Dean and staff!

Yay, King Elementary!!

Just shows what some decent parental involvement will do for these "scores" ... it is no coincidence that the schools with "excellent" ratings have very high PTA involvement!

And Barberton wants us to pass yet another levy! Bull Pucky!! Reduce your tax burden folks, turn these levies down.

OK, so I have to ask. Forgive me for being cynical, but are we progressing or are the standards becoming more easily achieved, either due to watered down standards or teaching more and more to tests?

Also, I support testing....

Jason:
Have you looked at a syllabus for an education major today vs. 5 years ago? Teachers are now ONLY being taught to teach to the test. There is absolutely no creativity left in the classroom, unless you count motivating students and keeping them out of trouble.

There are kids who are entering KINDERGARTEN who do not even know colors/shapes/ABCs. The teachers have had to step in where parents have left off ... which is pretty much after delivery.

TOJ

NWA Mom has it right-they are teaching to the tests. The administration basically quashes any creativity because they are so focused on taking all these tests. IMHO, they need to focus on math, science, foreign languages and critical thinking. The rest will follow suit. We are so obsessed with trying to quantify everything that we are missing the big picture. If you live & die by the tests, they only thing you will create is good test takers, not students who think for themselves-which this country desperately needs.

Makes me glad we had the foresight to take our children out of Akron and put them in Norton 4 years ago.

It is a vicious cycle, where the kids lose. The State/Fed give the school districts extra money based on their test results. The better the results, the more money. This is why the districts that are failing, "teach the test". They dont really care if the child learns, as long as he can pass the test.

Back in my day, you had to maintain a C avereage to be sports eligible. Now, it has been lowered to 1.0 by Akron, and many of the other district that are also failing. Thier reasoning is "If we kept it at 2.5, we wouldnt be able to field a single team in any sport (except golfing). So, instead of making kids and parents work harder, we will just make it easier for them.

WARNING - The "Dumbing Down" of our children today, will result in a failed America tomorrow.

I have three kids and I will never, ever waiver in that to have children who are successful in school they need to have discipline, love, support and guidance at home. My husband is a teacher (not in Akron) and some of the children ... young, young kids of 7 or 8 are coming to school having not eaten since lunch the day before - not having clean clothes - not having a grown up at home to sign their homework.

>>>It is a waste of life.

THESE kids go to the schools who are NOT passing - the schools who are testing HORRIBLY... they don't have breakfast, they don't get put to bed (literally, some stay up ALL night long and fall asleep in class ... these are SECOND graders!)

It isn't about the mayor or the school district or the superintendent. It is about people - PARENTS - having children and not being responsible for them.

Although I am a wife of a teacher, I am a mother before everything. I say it without bias ... if I learn my sons are having challenges in specific areas, you better believe I am going to find out how they can best be help succeed.
Most parents tend to put it on the school... and that is simply not fair. If your kid cuts class - that is YOUR responsibility. It is also your responsibility to WAKE your kid up in the morning and ensure he arrives at school ... and regardless of HOW many kids you have, it is your responsibility to ensure they have food on the table for dinner, that they have completed their homework and that they have a SAFE place to sleep every night.

If parents did that ... you would NOT see the scores you see.

It is BEYOND infuriating to have a child in a class where the teacher will not let him advance to his potential because so many of the other kids are so far behind where they "should" be...

:::stepping off my soapbox:::

Congratulations to my Alumni,Woodridge School District!

As my kids come home and tell me all the fees I need to send for each class, it makes me wonder where I will come up with the tax money for the new levy Norton wants. Not going to happen. Have the teachers and administration take a 10- 20% pay cut like the rest of us and yet another levy won't be needed. Schools are just a business and that is what is happening across America to keep our jobs.

NWAkron:

100% correct! Tax money, testing, teachers are all meaningless with parent(s) who do not meet their personal and societal duties.

Re: keeping students in school who don't want to be there...schools get penalized for not keeping them in school, in any way that they can. Another example of schools required to do the parents' job.

I would like to see a system for rewarding and penalizing parents/guardians based on the student's achievement or lack of achievement. How to do that though?

carin...
" it makes me wonder where I will come up with the tax money for the new levy Norton wants."

Barberton's trying to renew a tax levy and people need to know that voting it down will reduce the tax burden. With all the new buildings and construction in Barberton they should be ashamed to ask for more money.

Barberton has not done everything they claimed that they were going to do with the last levy that was passed. Turn the next one down and save your money.

My child attends one of the better elementary schools in the APS, however, we plan to move once he graduates to middle school which would have been Roswell-Kent. Based on the education reports, I would rather homeschool him than to send him there. Our choice, Stow-Munroe Falls. I will gladly pay the higher taxes for a better school district, knowing he is getting a great education. I also agree with previous posters about the foundation starting at home. Our son went into K knowing his letters, shapes, numbers, colors, etc. He was already reading. My husband and I both have to work full-time, yet we both took the time to sit with him and made playtime also learning time. Wake up parents, look at your kids, want something more for them, good lord.

NWAkron Mom: I'm an education major and the syllabus that I received for each class this semester, in prior semesters, and I'm sure for future semester, doesn't indicate anything about "Teaching to the tests" on any of them. We're being taught to "think outside of the box" to reach students who would not have been placed in mainstream classrooms in years gone by, so that they can succeed on the tests.

@ NW AKRON MOM,

You are correct. My wife teaches in the inner city and has to deal with everything from kids that get no food at home, wear the same dirty clothes day after day, arrive at school without having a bath for days and even head lice.

At least they get fed at school because the kids at her school are almost !00% qualified for free breakfast and lunch.

Also, I wish to disagree that teachers can't be creative in the classroom. My wife attempts to put a spin on most of her lessons in order to make it fun for the kids. She has the freedom to do this and she takes full advantage. She does not simply teach to pass a test.

She has taught in a few of the Akron schools and actually prefers to teach in the inner city. She believes that she can be a positive influence and make a difference in her kids lives. She finds it far more rewarding.I am in awe at how my wife can handle it all and remain so positive day after day.

I also think there are alot of creative teachers out there. While I think there are teachers who need to be more creative, as well as teachers who just need to retire already, I think creativity is essential with the mix of students in classrooms. I have a child with special needs mainstreamed in a reg ed classroom. He is one of the brightest, yet can need the occasional re-direction and a little bit of extra help. A "traditional" teacher would put him in time out, send him to the principals office, etc. but a creative teacher can guide and teach him (as well as others like him) and make it a positive learning experience. Creative teachers can be a great influence on kids and are necessary to kids, especially those who's homelife may not be so wonderful.

Only the ignorant and greedy are willing to turn their backs to the education of children.

NEVER turn down a school levy. Education of children ensures the future of our nation and people.

Only the truly ignorant value a dollar over the opportunity to educate a child.


usecommonsense....are you that dense and vile that you are willing to punish children so you can keep a dollar in your greedy paw?

@ swordfish: I am not saying that you aren't creative people. I am saying that you are being "taught" to bring the lower kids to the median ... and the kids who are already at the median and higher sit and wait.

I also want to clarify that I believe teachers are amazing people. I married one! They HAVE to be creative ... or they wilt.

What makes me believe that teachers are forced (I don't think ANY of them approve) to teach to the test is because my son's day consists of 2 hours of lang arts/reading & 2 hours of math a day. The students bring home copies of "practice" tests EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.

I took a comparison of my husband's syllabuses to mine -- our education classes have an 11 year difference. Mine were VERY strong in arts in the classroom - music to teach math, art to teach reading ... and my husband had 2 graduate level classes in NCLB. They ARE teaching you to teach to the test, swordfish. When you are a teacher in a public school district, I think it will be more noticeable.

I admire my husband so much ... and any other teacher - especially the ones in the inner cities. To see the kids and how much they rely on their teachers - the little ones HANG on them because they simply need the human contact.

Response to Carin, You think that the fees you are asked to pay are too much? The fees are there because if you look at voted millage, Norton is still one of the least taxed communities in the area. They spend less per pupil than every district except Manchester and their teachers and employees over the last five years have taken pay freezes and small 1% to 2% increases while other districts have paid out much more. Their average pay has dropped from near the middle of the county to near the bottom. They also have taken hits in their insurance JUST like everyone else. So I think the teachers in the Norton schools have done their fair share to help the schools stay solvent and not come back for more money for as long as they have. It is not their responsibility to make all of the sacrifices so Norton citizens can enjoy low property taxes. So feel lucky you live in a school district that does so much with so little, and you have teachers willing to do an EXCELLENT job for less.

Big Sardine...
"usecommonsense....are you that dense and vile that you are willing to punish children so you can keep a dollar in your greedy paw?"

I don't think I'm all that greedy, Barberton's already taking my money to build all brand new schools right now.

@Big Sardine, -Only the ignorant and greedy are willing to turn their backs to the education of children.

You could double the amount of money we spend to educate our children but that will do nothing to improve the attitudes, attendance and grades of these failing students. It has everything to do with the parent providing guidance and a respect for education. Drive by the schools on academic watch on parent-teacher conference night the parking lots will be empty. Then drive by King elementary in Akron (excellent rating). There will cars parked for blocks around the school and parents waiting their turn to see the teachers. That's why this school exceeds where other fail in Akron. The teachers care, the parents care and the children care. It's a three legged stool. If one of these support systems fail, the stool falls over.

All the money in the world isn't going to make these parents force their kids to do their home work. It won't make them get their kids to bed on time. It won't make them sit and read with their child. It won't make them better parents and it won't make them better students.

If you have a better solution than to just give them more money, we'd all like to hear it.