Where ARE things going wrong? Damning report finds there are 23 public schools in Baltimore where NONE of the children understand basic math - as parents blame Dem-led city's 'fraud and corruption'

[Dashinka 24,480]

Gotta love the public schools in Baltimore.

 

Where ARE things going wrong? Damning report finds there are 23 public schools in Baltimore where NONE of the children understand basic math - as parents blame Dem-led city's 'fraud and corruption'
 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11747209/Report-finds-23-public-schools-Baltimore-NONE-children-understand-basic-math.html

[Boiler 45,445]

They should have measured them for Diversity Inclusivity and Equity.

[Dashinka 24,480]

13 minutes ago, Boiler said:

They should have measured them for Diversity Inclusivity and Equity.

Yep, the three R's are meaningless today.  I feel for those that will be driving over bridges in a few years.

[TBoneTX 45,258]

That report is appalling.  However, they surely have straight A's in DIE instruction!

[Dashinka 24,480]

11 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

That report is appalling.  However, they surely have straight A's in DIE instruction!

It should be worse than appalling, it should be completely unacceptable.  

[TBoneTX 45,258]

4 hours ago, Dashinka said:

It should be worse than appalling, it should be completely unacceptable.  

It's both -- absolutely right.

[Boiler 45,445]

[yuna628 9,671]

I'm familiar with the school mentioned in the article. Of course that was a long time ago when it wasn't what it was now. Back then it was still failing, as most of them are. Now, as you notice here.. this is a unique school, and certainly not one a typical student in the city would experience. We'd tend to call schools that exclusively teach in different languages a 'posh' one, and that mother has certainly made a choice to put her kid there. She complains that she is skeptical of the educational model (again it is not typical), but has still continued to leave her kid there. Many of the schools listed are indeed some of those that use 'unique' operating models. That doesn't mean 'normal' public schools are doing much better of course. In fact I'm surprised that schools we'd consider in the 'worst areas' didn't make the list. This is a charter public school (a good many in this list are)... and our previous governor made a big push to attract schools like this as being some kind of model of excellence. Several reports over the years have showed that charter schools are often lucrative for the owners and a little bit scammy in the worst ones. Charter schools, were once hailed as a savior of failing schools, and yet... they themselves fail at a high rate. There are 30+ in Baltimore City.

 

The article notes that in states that spend more per child have better results, and that's something most teachers will always complain about. Well you aren't going to find that with such charter schools. Take a look at that school's website, and you'll see the kind of crazy those kids have to deal with. Their entire education is conducted day in and day out in about five languages other than English (with a small lesson of English for an hour) Their homework is given to them in those languages that their parents cannot assist them with (keep in mind their parents may struggle with educational issues too). This is an intense kind of instruction (based on a very hippie outdated kind of 'language immersion therapy' from the 60s) that will be a difficult situation for the kid, and I cannot imagine how it would affect them if they had learning difficulties. Take a look at the reviews for the place and you'll see that this place does not deserve public funds, but parents do not belong sending their children there.

 

I am confused why Baltimore School for the Arts is on here though, this is an art school specially. If you've got a really talented kid in art related fields, these schools can help them get into more prestigious institutions. Again that is going to be very focused education. Augusta Savage is also an art school, but once again students are sent here that have no business or interest in arts and will not learn a thing. More students = more money. This school has had fraudy type problems before - investigations by the previous governor did not go anywhere.

[TBoneTX 45,258]

Fascinating details, Y ma'am.

[Dashinka 24,480]

So not just in Maryland.

 

Not A Single Student Is Proficient In Reading Or Math At 55 Chicago Schools: REPORT

 

In 930 schools within the state, just one out of ten students meet math grade-level expectations, the report stated. In 622 Illinois schools, one out of ten students, or fewer, are reading proficiently.

 

 

The report comes as the nation battles historic learning loss; since 2019, every state has seen a decline in its students’ math scores while the nation’s reading scores dropped to fall in line with numbers from 1990.

 

https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/14/math-reading-chicago-schools-report/

[Boiler 45,445]

I know in Colorado Denver Public Schools has the highest funding but the worst results, I thought I saw mention that Baltimore was the third highest funded in the nation.

[yuna628 9,671]

42 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I know in Colorado Denver Public Schools has the highest funding but the worst results, I thought I saw mention that Baltimore was the third highest funded in the nation.

That statistic was based on a 2015 census report which only looked at comparing 100 school districts. There are 13000+ school districts nationally, and if you look at Baltimore's rankings there, it's quite low in the field. Schools in less populated, but more wealthier areas receive more funding and seem to do better. A lawsuit last year alleged that allotted money had been withheld that was owed to the school system. A great many schools in Baltimore use the charter system, which I believe this article highlights, are failing students. Money will only take you so far. As I watch my husband present budgets to the school board each year, I am convinced that getting the funding to give teachers tools and make student's lives easier is only one part - it's actually getting an insurmountable bureaucracy to implement smart solutions. You are talking about places in Baltimore that have no air or heat, lead paint and asbestos, rats, mold, listeria outbreaks, and crumbling buildings as a whole. You have a major safety issue ongoing. You have major hardships and disparities that these kids face every day. And while there are very good teachers struggling in this system, you also have very bad ones too. It is hard to dispel them. That doesn't just go for teachers, but higher ups too.

 

Baltimore knows what kind of deals they get into with these charter schools (why would anyone think a student's education should be conducted exclusively in five different languages?), but also I scratch my head when parents complain about the education their kids receive when they choose to send them there. Every year there is always some story about some mother that is *shocked* over the years her kid has failed school... as if she just suddenly realized it, and then ran to the press. If you've got the kids, take responsibility somewhere for them. Oh and the big pay doesn't go to the average teacher, it's going to the higher-ups.. the ones that get paid to sit there and pretend they know what's going on.

 

A chart from August showed that Baltimore City is pretty low when it comes to per student expense, it hangs around with some of the more rural counties which.....  are quite frankly terrible.

 

This ranking from September shows a variety of factors that highlight Baltimore City's terrible spot and see input from individuals that have been there: https://patch.com/maryland/annapolis/marylands-best-school-districts-niche-releases-2023-rankings The best schools in Baltimore are all private institutions with the exception of public schools that spend the most such as Howard. These children will have many opportunities, ridiculous funding, and the very best afforded to them.

[TBoneTX 45,258]

Optimally, education is a collaboration -- the teachers nail the kids at school, and the parents nail 'em at home.  Teamwork.

However, that can't always happen -- undereducated single parent working 3 jobs, dysfunction in the home, child malnutrition, etc.

[Boiler 45,445]

Let us give Baltimore a rest, I have mentioned Denver and my own school district got a massive grant or series of grants for a new school, very impressive, I still know people who go to other Counties because the teaching standard is #######.

 

I am not sure how representative they are  but head over to Tik Tok for lots of weird teacher videos. I had many family members in education so not that surprised where things are heading. Societies rise and fall, it is the natural progression.

 

 

[Neonred 3,562]

5 hours ago, Boiler said:

I know in Colorado Denver Public Schools has the highest funding but the worst results, I thought I saw mention that Baltimore was the third highest funded in the nation.

Doesn't that always seem to be the solution to poorly performing schools?  Throw more money at them.  And how often does that solve the problem?

 

I remember visiting my then fiance in Russia.  She was a teacher of Russian grammar, a must do well subject if you were to go on to university.  Spent a day in her class room.  Reminded me of when I went to school in the 60's, but not even that fancy.  Very little money spent at that school, but the teachers were tough and demanding AND respected by the students.

 

I often tell the story of me visiting her class room where she was teaching "middle school" students.  She was giving a written dictation exam.  Although it was all in Russian I was observing from the back of the room.  As she dictated and the students were writing, she was walking up and down the isles looking over students shoulders to see how they were doing.  I noticed she stopped at one student and repeated the dictation with emphasis to this one student who was obviously having difficulty.  He didn't get it so she took her notes and rolled them up and wacked him over the head with all her might.  WOW.  That got my attention and I gasped.  I told her after that if she had done that in the US she would lose her job and might have gone to jail.  She laughed and told me that was nothing.  She said when they act up in class she sticks them in the closet for the entire class period.  

 

 

 

Seems that she must consider me as one of her students...

 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Neonred