What Hath Reform Wrought?

A friend of ours teaches second grade in Montgomery County. She does not have a classroom of her own; she must share with another teacher and class, since there is construction going on. The kids cannot go outside for recess as much as they would like. But they are supposed to learn that the points of a polygon are called vertices!

On the positive side, a District Elementary School principal adopted his own two reforms: cut lunch in half and segregate the students by sex. The resulting increases in Stanford 9 scores were dramatic. The school is Moten Elementary, in one of the more drug-ravaged neighborhoods of southeast Washington, and the principal's name is George Smitherman. He made the changes without consulting top administrators, but he did sell the parents on the plan early in the school year. Naturally, administrators citywide are studying Mr. Smitherman's methods. Supposedly, the federal No Child Behind Act helps facilitate school districts nationwide to establish single-sex classes. This philosophy directly contradicts the Title IX provisions issued in 1972, but the Bush Administration does plan to specifically address the single-sex class issue soon.

In Bethesda, the Walter Johnson High School decided to help average students. You know the ones: They are the 10%, it seems, who are not gifted and talented, nor are they learning disabled. Financially they are always shortchanged. Teacher Abbey Schneider's brainchild, called EXCEL, resulted in the 145 mid-range freshmen receiving smaller class sizes and more personalized attention. The students take as their core algebra I, matter and energy, English, and U.S. history, and can apply for honors credit if they do well enough.

Source: The Washington Post