47 replies to this topic

[chris v]

I, nor do any other so called white people, owe you or your race anything. Ever. End. Of. Story.

[the_professor]

The number one cure of poverty is education. If a child in the FCUSD does not get a quality education then the blame should be placed with the parents. Of course students may get one or several lousy teachers, but the one constant is the parents. Show me a good student and I'll show you involved parents who make school a priority.

[stacycam]

Hmmmmmmm - my husband is Mexican. His parents never went to college, but his dad worked his butt off to make sure his kids could go to college, if they wanted to. He set a good example by working hard - therefore his sons learned that from him. Back to my husband being a disadvantaged Mexican kid from North Highlands....he was in AP, GATE, graduated from UCD with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He has a great job, and we have a beautiful home.

I also have a friend whose mother grew up in Mexico with dirt floors. She became a citizen, learned the language, worked very hard, got an education and had a very successful career.

sorry asbestoshills, I can't buy into the lack of opportunities that are out there for blacks and mexicans. They have plenty of resources (don't even get me started on MEP - I was a bitter white chick when I was in the engineering program ), and ANYONE can accomplish what they want if they work hard, especially in California.

I guess I needn't bother mentioning I grew up poor, white, living in a trailer for years....oh, yeah, I got a job when I was 16, went to college at Cosumnes over the summer to get a head start on college. Not all whites are born with silver spoons, and not all minorities are doomed to poverty. Quit perpetuating the myths and try to rise above. I sure hope your kids don't listen to your B.S. If so, they will be stuck growing up with a terrible role model who is teaching them they are worthless just because of the color of their skin. Kinda sad.

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

The number one cure of poverty is education. If a child in the FCUSD does not get a quality education then the blame should be placed with the parents. Of course students may get one or several lousy teachers, but the one constant is the parents. Show me a good student and I'll show you involved parents who make school a priority.

What he said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Average Joe]

The Dude, Stacy, Chef, and The professor (mark it down, I totally agree with him on something!) all get it. I couldn't agree more with their posts.

And I also agree with Chris v.

Unfortunately, AH seems to have bought into the principles of "victim" entitlement (as opposed to Stacycams story). I would submit that the industry of "victimhood" has done more harm to those "disadvantaged" than any other single thing...

[ceeanada]

The GATE program at Judah did initially require a test for incoming second graders (and above) but they dropped that requirement for the second graders. I don't know the reasoning behind this but I know it was not about race because I have seen the roster (and know a few parents) and there are only whites/asians/indians on the list. There is no prejudice just that they took the first 32 kids that applied for second grade GATE. I assume the older grades were selected by test scores. I regretted not adding my child earlier but I am on the waiting list. Application to the program required a teacher and parent's description of the student. And yes it is the same class size as the newly proposed regular class size.

I volunteer at a folsom elementary school and I don't see any difference in the students based upon race. Hispanics and African-Americans and Whites in general all have high-achieving or disruptive children. The biggest problem I see for distracting teachers from being effective in the classroom, are the ESL students who still have to achieve the academic standards while having the language barriers. The biggest help that teachers appreciate are a parent volunteer who can work one-on-one with these students while the teacher is attentive to the other children who are struggling. Sorry a little off topic there at the end.

[Howdy]

I assume the older grades were selected by test scores.

If your child scored advanced on the STAR tests then they were selected for the GATE program.

[splashtastic]

If your child scored advanced on the STAR tests then they were selected for the GATE program.

I do not think it is always respected, my child has always been and A student and scored advanced on the STAR test but was never selected for the GATE program in elementary school, and some of the GATE's kids had lower scored and lower grades. Makes me not to trust the system.

[Parizienne]

Actually, we just got test results back for students at FMS. I am going from memory here, but my understanding is that 100% of African American students scored at the "advanced" level in English last year. I dont' recall what the rate was for that group in math ( I teach English, so I paid closer attention to that stat).

I teach two 7th grade honors sections. We have Mexican and Black students in both classes. Who dishes this mis-info out???

There are fewer Mexican and Black students per school in Folsom, though. So yeah, there are more white and Asian kids overall, so there would proportionally be the same ratio in any classroom in Folsom, theoretically.


Pari

First of all who cares about getting kids from private schools back into public? There are too many students in Folsom and most of them about 95% go to public not private. The private schools here have significantly lower API scores.
Obviously, the site was chosen to include minority students b/c they are never chosen for GATE or honors at least at Folsom schools b/c some students do not take the test even if they have the grades. There is a very small percentage of blacks and mexicans in the honors programs at the elementary and middle and high schools in Folsom (less than 1%). Recently, it was reported that students from certain backgrounds are not inc in the honors programs so the magnet school, in this case Judah is trying to bring minority students to the honors level. Basically, they want to take disadvantaged students and educate them into honors students by the time they reach high school. Sounds like a program that is intended to include students who are not usually in these programs in Folsom. All you have to do is look around in the honors classes and there are no mexicans or blacks. Asians and Whites are the majority. There are culutral and economic reasons and perhaps with this program there will be more children that can achieve this status with extra assistance.

[Parizienne]

Re: GATE Identification -

There is a STAR test threshold for GATE. Don't ask me what it is, because I don't remember... high 500s, I think. If a student scores above the STAR threshold in math and English, this can affect the student's eligibility for GATE identification. If they score just below it, there is another test that can be given that measures slightly different (from the STAR) cognitive abilities. If the student achieves a particular score on that (and again, I don't know the actual number - high 90th percentile, I believe), then they can be GATE identified.

Districts must use multiple measures for identification. It's not solely determined by STAR test scores. Grades also count because they reflect actual classroom performance.

Let me also mention that the PURPOSE of GATE is not to provide students with elite status. It fills a need for students who possess the ability to work beyond their peers. The need that is filled is for intellectual challenge. If gifted students who are both cognitively advanced AND high performing are not adequately challenged, they will intellectually regress -- especially in the upper elem and secondary levels.

Conversely, if you have a student who is highly capable, but not performing accordingly, the GATE program is not a good fit for them because the regular program is proving to be challenging enough. There are allowances in the identification process for students with certain socio-economic impact factors (poverty, family trauma, etc...) as well as for those with language issues, but the performance still has to be there or the GATE program could overwhelm a child who isn't ready for the extra depth, complexity and/or acceleration that the GATE program is designed to provide. You could have a kid who's got 150 IQ fresh from Mexico, but if they can't understand the language, the GATE honors English program wouldn't be a good fit until his/her language skills are up to speed. Make sense?

It's difficult to accurately measure early giftedness (2nd grade and earlier), so often these kids are identified based on teacher observation as well as academic performance.



Pari

I do not think it is always respected, my child has always been and A student and scored advanced on the STAR test but was never selected for the GATE program in elementary school, and some of the GATE's kids had lower scored and lower grades. Makes me not to trust the system.

[ducky]

I do not think it is always respected, my child has always been and A student and scored advanced on the STAR test but was never selected for the GATE program in elementary school, and some of the GATE's kids had lower scored and lower grades. Makes me not to trust the system.

Just saw this old post. My child falls into this category, too.

[bordercolliefan]

Just scoring "Advanced" on the STAR test is not sufficient to get into GATE.

I used to be pleased when my kids got "Advanced" on the STAR test until I looked at the statistics for their school (Natoma Station). About 50% of kids score Advanced! So obviously there is some more selective criterion for GATE -- must be a numerical cut-off.

[ducky]

Just scoring "Advanced" on the STAR test is not sufficient to get into GATE.

I used to be pleased when my kids got "Advanced" on the STAR test until I looked at the statistics for their school (Natoma Station). About 50% of kids score Advanced! So obviously there is some more selective criterion for GATE -- must be a numerical cut-off.

You must be correct about numerical cutoff criteria. It just makes it hard for those children that are advanced in, say, mathematics over English-language arts. As a parent, I don't like hearing that he's been able to finish his homework in class because he had so much extra time. I feel like he's just coasting along and I'd rather he be challenged even if it meant getting a B instead of an A grade.