Questions+or+comments


 * Please add any questions or comments below for the La Cabra Group:**

I am not clear on exactly how they are going to hold at risk students to the same standards as other students? Is this model helping advanced students also? How do they treat "every student as gifted?" Janet Russo

Since I did the part on the page that mentioned treating every student like they were gifted, I will try to answer that question. In my opinion, that part read to me like the author was saying that they do not want to look at children with learning disabilities as needy. As in they need to receive more attention, but rather as there is a lot of potential within that student and he or she is probably gifted at something, so the educator/facilitator would like to find out what that is and help them apply it to understanding concepts/subjects. Obviously gifted children are talented at learning, it's finding what the at-risk students are talented at and use that talent or gift to help guide them. Hope this helped. - Matt Kimbell

The graph showing examples of changes and improved academic achievement at accelerated elementary, middle, and high schools was really a great visual aid to provide concrete evidence about the method. Your visuals and charts were wondering and made it more easy on the eyes, rather then just a bunch of text to read and stare at. I agree however with Janet in regards to the question on how they are going to hold the at risk students to the same standards as the other students? All in all thought I really enjoyed your wikipage!-Audrey Spronz

Under research, experience and results supporting this program, it states that students are at risk of academic failure because they lack experience needed from home and communities. How does the Accelerated Program motivate or incorporate parents who once abstained or were uninspiring to their child to play a more active role in the child's curriculum? Jennifer Scalabrino

This is sort of building on what Janet said, but by treating every student as gifted, does that have a negative impact on those students who are in need of special education? Is there any research that supports or not supports (for lack of a better word) this? Meryl Rubin

** The role of the teacher in Accelerated Schools is to act as a facilitator and a guide as students help plan their own instruction and critique their own and others work. Do the teachers show the students how to critique others work or are they just given a fellow students work and told to give feedback? Also do they start critiquing at a young age? I wonder because I can see children putting good comments to a friend and bad comments to a person they might not be friends with. - Kate Sullivan

I love the whole concept of this Accelerated Program... it's about time that we set these children up for success by working with them to develop a better image of themselves! By challenging students, it serves as a platform to see how far they can go. However, I do think that it's still important to instill a support system for the students to rely on for aid in achieving the higher set of educational goals that are set for them. Also, the program statistics are extremely impressive numbers! Rebecca Calvi

The whole 'facilitator and guide' is a bit confusing as to what the teachers role actually is. The program is described as 'intense learning techniques with hand on activities' which is something positive and beneficial. Of course, children should have input on topics and certain activities but, as far as planning their own instructions and critiquing their own work, that may be going a bit too far. When the article mentions 'at risk children have deadlines like mainsteam children', what exactly does 'deadlines' refer to?

Is this program only available to children that come from low income families? According to the 'Statistics' section at the bottom of the page I deducted that it may be, and I can't help but wonder if children in wealthier school systems would benefit from the program as well. I believe that children strive to reach the goals that are set before them, and the Accelerated School program sets the bar high for every student. What is the reason why this program is not the standard in all school systems if it has a high rate of improving academic success? ** ** Is there something that makes the program specific to students that come from lower demographics? - Emily Saphire

You mentioned that Accelerated School’s “focus more on student’s academic strengths rather than their weaknesses.” I’m not sure this is a good strategy - what if a student had strong skills in physical education, but was struggling in reading, writing and math. I think that child would have a hard time for the rest of his/her life if the school only focused on the child’s strengths. - Lori Dunn **

This question is similar to Lori's, but I was wondering how the Accelerated Schools address the areas that the student's are struggling with. Specifically, how do they address the needs of students with disabilities?-Valerie Wakeham

I'm a big fan of setting much higher bars for kids than we normally see. I'm not a fan of calling kids "gifted and talented." It has always seemed to me to be an ego booster for the parents. And once kids hear how gifted they are enough times, they start to act like it. That's a slippery slope socially and mentally for younger children. - Jason Moynihan

I really liked that the acceleration schools involved real life, community, and family with in the curriculum. I think that its important for children to experience all of these things with their learning, that way they can understand why they actually have to learn the things they do instead of them saying in other kinds of classes, why do we need to learn this, we are never going to use it, etc. What I also really liked about this program is that they keep the at-risk students with the regular students. The at-risk students are not pulled out of the class and separated from the class like there are contagious. I feel this is a great way for the children with learning disabilities to really learn. I believe one of the mian reasons why these children have problems with learning is because they are made to feel like outcasts. I know this first hand because my brother is in special needs class and he always says he feels like he is worthless and that everyone else in the school looks down on him. Having an accelerated class room the children with learning problems can go to there peers ask questions be involved and further there knowledge just like everyone without learning disabilities.~ Roxanne Gencarelli

It seems that the accelerated program focuses on the two extremes of children--those that may be at risk for academic failure and then the children that we have come to term 'gifted and talented'. While it is important that we prevent any child from suffering intellectually as well as stimulate the children that may not be challenged enough, what happens to the average student? It seems that the middle of the road children are neglected in the accelerated program. If there was a way to incorporate average students, maybe they need to be challenged as much as the 'gifted' students in order to tap their minds intellectually. - Michelle Flam

I disagree with some of the comments people have left regarding calling every child gifted as a negative thing. I believe every child has a talent, gift for something, and I think this program helps to build confidence in the child to bring out his/her strength, talent, or gift. It is also welcoming to see the program involving parents and the community in helping less fortunate kids to gain the same start as the more affluent ones. We all know children of less means already feel less confident and behind, this program helps them in overcoming these feelings. It is also a great support for the parents, who might feel embarrassed about their current situations. I think it is a positive program in schools.-Margaret Mulawka

I had a number of questions about Accelerated Schools (AS). First, it's described as being used in elementary and middle schools, but one of your examples of improved student achievement under AS lists a high school (Web Academy). Second, which grades in the schools you listed have experienced improved student achievement under AS. With Success for All, one of the standard criticism is that the uptick in improvement is strongest in 1st & 2nd grade and levels off in 3rd & 4th grade. Is the same true w/ AS? Third, when you say that the curriculum is centered around treating at risk children as gifted and talented, do you mean that the school explicitly uses the label "gifted and talented" when referring to the kids? I'm not a big fan of labels, even positive ones. In this situation, I don't think that at an-risk kid would buy into the idea that they're gifted & talented. Much more fruitful to find ways to let the child experience tangible early success in the classroom and celebrate that success. Then you build on something solid. - Claudia Sayre

While I like the Accelerated Schools model and can see the success it has had over time, I do have a couple of concerns. The inclusion of "at-risk" students in the same class and "regular ed" and "gifted & talented" is a practice that can benefit to everyone involved. It makes the at-risk children feel as if they are not inferior to their peers as they are in the same class and have the same academic requirements as others. The at-risk children, on average, are going to struggle more than the others. Does their being in the classroom negatively affect the learning of the others? Does the pace have to slow down? Do teachers, consciously or not, have to focus more of their time and attention to those that are struggling? How do their parents feel? I would hope over time as the "at-risk" children are pushed and catchup these concerns do not occur. It's easy to get anecdotal evidence on this, but I am not sure it would so east to study it. -- Jonathan Reinsdorf