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What's the uproar all about?!
(compliments of the press release for the canceled news conference...)

MAJOR CHANGES AT YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT! PLEASE READ!

Many things have changed in the way your child(ren) are being taught at school for the 2009-2010 school year.

Let's look at each of the changes separately, and why we think you may not be happy about them. The three major categories are: Departmentalization, Frameworks, and Embedded Assessments.

Departmentalization: Departmentalization is the separation of class subjects by teacher. Before the changes instituted by Mr. Hernandez, the new Chief Academic Officer, children had the advantage of having one teacher for the entire day in elementary and middle school. Now children in K -12 have to change classes for each subject.

  • Children have a harder time bonding with their teacher(s) because they switch classrooms.

  • Teachers have less time to get to know their students and understand the different learning styles each child has to help them do their best.

  • Teachers & students lose 45 minutes of class time daily in transitioning from one classroom to the other, yet they don't have recess anymore daily.

Frameworks: Frameworks is what some might call the key to the entire change in curriculum here in Palm Beach County. I would call its motto, though of course this is only my opinion, “Anyone can teach!” For those of you with children this is in reference to the Disney movie Ratatouille. In the movie there is a famous Chef that says “Anyone can cook!” What we come to find in watching is though it is true anyone can follow a recipe in a book and cook, only those who love what they do and put their passion and heart into what they do instead of only following the recipe will become brilliant chefs! The Frameworks curriculum is that cookbook... except it doesn't allow for deviation from the recipe, so no one can become a truly wonderful teacher.

  • Each subject works apart... so there is no theme to the lessons for the day making it impossible for the teachers to work together to reinforce each other.

  • There is little time to give one on one attention to each student. IEPs and 504 plans are being violated because the Frameworks program dictates exactly what a teacher is to do each 30 min. intervals

  • There is little to no extra help or time for a teacher to go over a lesson again because they are forced to move on to the next lesson.

  • All lessons and tests are in English with little

  • accommodations for ESOL students.

  • Gifted children cannot accelerate, nor can children who need more time or help slow down. There is one pace for the entire grade level.

  • There are inspectors coming into the classrooms regularly to make sure the teachers are continuing on this pace or they will be reprimanded and penalized.

  • There is no accommodation for sick days. If your child misses a lesson because they are sick, they will not be given any individual attention to catch up, and they will be responsible for the subject on the tests.

Embedded Assessments: Embedded assessments are subject matter tests you may have heard about. These tests add approximately 5 weeks of testing to the school year, and are in addition to all of the other tests including SRIs, FCATS, writing, and many other exams. Some schools are handling the exams during a “testing week” while others are giving one exam per subject a week in rotation to spread the exams out.

  • The tests and the frameworks curriculum were not developed together, so some tests ask questions about things the children have not learned yet.

  • The tests are written for children older than the kids assigned to take them. The questions are written 1-2 grade levels higher than the grade they are assigned.

  • No set standard for if these tests are to be counted towards overall grades. For those schools where these flawed exams are counted as extra credit they are provided an imbalanced advantage, while those students having the exams incorporated into their GPAs have an unfortunate handicap.

  • Regardless of disability or learning requirements these exams are given to children at all learning levels and speeds with no means of modification. (I.E. - no time extensions for children guaranteed the same per their IEP.)


By: Eryka Lefrak – concerned parent of 4 in Palm Beach County, and author/designer of parents4teachers.org

REMEMBER FRIDAYS ARE ORANGE DAYS IN SUPPORT OF YOUR TEACHERS! IF YOU HAVE SPIRIT DAY AT YOUR SCHOOL THEN TUESDAYS ARE YOUR ORANGE DAYS!