Low-Income Parents with High Expectations

It's a common myth that low-income parents don't really care about what their children achieve academically. So many times, I hear from teachers who work at low-income schools, "The parents just don't care..."

Well, I've known for a long time that that is simply not true. This doesn't mean that there aren't challenges with working with parents who are low-income, but you just have to look beyond the surface. Many of these parents work several jobs just to make ends meet, are single parents, or come from a culture where entering the school, and participating in the school process, are not ingrained.

Here's some proof (this is just one of many, MANY studies that support this finding):

The Tucson GEAR UP Project surveyed its parents last spring, and asked a simple question...."How far would you like your child to go in school?" Here are the results:

• 89% of the parents who responded said that they wanted their children to earn a bachelor's or graduate degree....In fact.....
• 55% of those parents wanted their children to earn an advanced graduate degree
• Only 2% were satisfied with a High School diploma or GED certificate

From the newsletter published by Tucson GEAR UP :

"Parents, family members, and other adult role models play a significant part in the academic success of students. By instilling high expectations for hard work and achievement, students are encouraged to follow a rigorous college preparation curriculum that prepares tthem to be successful in college....research shows that students with strong family support are more likely to graduate from high school and go on to college."

So, don't write low-income students, or their parents, off - share in those high expectations, and provide an environment where they can be met, and watch the students shine.....

Thanks for reading.

Alisa

Autism the Musical

Quick, quick post (one of those days) - check this link out to a wonderful documentary about autism - it's called, Autism - The Musical and it follows autistic students as they create and produce their own musical. This will be premiering on HBO in April (some areas of the country have already shown it)

Autism the Musical

I'll be contacting the producers soon to see if we can't get them on the radio program!

Enjoy, and thanks for reading!

Alisa

Arizona Reinstates Free AIMS Tutoring

In the last week, the state reinstated the free AIMS tutoring program...finally!

You may recall, about three weeks ago, I announced that the state 'froze' the funding so that it could look at the monies that remained, and determined how much more could be spent. In effect, this stopped tutoring for thousands of students state-wide. The timing couldn't have been worse, especially given the upcoming AIMS math test for high school students was just a month away.

Well, the good news is the funds are back...but, the bad news is there are serious limits...
Only high school seniors who need to pass the AIMS test are eligible.

While this is great for those students, the timing is still a little off - when the state reinstated the funding, it happened just before most students went on spring break. By time they return, there will be only two weeks left before the AIMS test is administered. That is hardly enough time to really prepare well (most 'best practice' indicates that at least one month of tutoring/study prior to a test will have the best results - anything less than that is hardly effective).

Unfortunately, thousands of students are still left out. This funding used to be available to students who attending schools labeled as 'underperforming' or 'failing,' and any high school student who had failed any portion of the AIMS test (not just the seniors).

Here's the irony....Principal Tutoring (our sponsor, and my employer) is one of the approved providers for the state tutoring fund. When the funding freeze hit, we had to stop tutoring for hundreds of our students. Now that the funding is back, it's almost too late....most of the tutors that we had lined up for the programs are working on other jobs, and since we're restricted only to helping seniors for the math AIMS test, we went from hundreds of eligible students, to under a dozen.

Ouch...

I know the state is experiencing a budget crunch, but I'm sure you can understand all of our frustration. It's always the kids who suffer....

Thanks for reading,

Alisa

Arizona Schools Making a Difference

Maybe you've seen the radio or tv ads promoting a 'new' organization (and website) called, "Arizona Schools Make a Difference Coalition." Well, I have, too, and just got around to taking a 'stroll' over to the website.

I'm impressed....

Not so much by the website (though, it's very nice)...but, by the scope of what's offered.

Spend a little time tied to (or in) the public school system, and it's REALLY easy to forget all the great things that are happening. In a day and age when all we seem to hear about are budget cuts, teacher strikes, student violence, etc., it's nice to balance things out with a little good news related to public education.

What I like most about the website is that the focus is on and about the students - it's not just about what the schools and districts are doing that is positive - but, the VAST majority of the stories are related to what students in our communities are accomplishing. Recent stories, for example, include:

• High school students at Sunnyside helping younger students with tutoring and leadership guidance
• Students in Glendale learning, and teaching, about how to solve REAL problems in the community
• Hopi High students receiving scholarships to attend a prestigious national radio conference

Another nice feature about the website is that you can submit your own story - let the world know about the positive things happening in your Arizona public school.

Take a visit - and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading,

Alisa

Alisa to Interview TUSD Head

Hi Everyone;

Last week I recorded a wonderful and informative interview with Mr. Roger Pfeuffer, outgoing superintendent of Tucson Unified School District. During the interview, Mr. Pfeuffer explained, in detail, the budget realities of the district, and how the imminent elementary school closures may or may not proceed.

That interview will air on today's radio program:

Alisa's Education Talk
AM 1330 (Tucson)
4:00-5:00 p.m.
http://www.tucsonsjolt.com/ (live webstream)

If you miss the live broadcast, it will be available on the podcast ( http://feeds.feedburner.com/AlisasEducationTalk )within a week.

In addition, I'll also be playing an interview with Ms. Christy Whitman who authored books written for teens and college students on how to recognize when a friend might be suicidal, and what you can do to help.

Thanks for reading!

Alisa

Home Schoolers Need Teaching Credentials?

A recent court decision in California is requiring home-schoolers (parents/caregivers who educate children in the home, and outside of the public school or private school systems) to have teaching credentials.

Right now, this decision only affects students in California, but it is sure to cause some debate in other states. Here in Pima County, Arizona, for example, home schoolers are only required to register with the Pima County School Superintendent (mostly just to verify that the child is, indeed, attending school when he or she may not be enrolled in any school system). Other counties in Arizona have similar guidelines.

As you can imagine, this is causing quite the rukus....on both sides.

Approximately 1 million children in the United States are currently being home-schooled, and this is a fast-growing trend in our country. There are home schooling clubs, organizations, and resource groups available for parents who wish to home-school their children, and the trend does not appear to be slowing down....yet.

In my experience, most home-schoolers choose to educate their children outside of the public school system because of religious beliefs that they feel are in conflict with what is being taught in the schools (or not taught, as some might argue). Even cursory exploration on the topic will reveal a propensity of Christian home school groups over any other type of home school group or organization.

For more information, listen to this story (recently featured on NPR- National Public Radio).

Thanks for reading,

Alisa

Alisa to Interview "Find Your Courage" author

Today on the radio program, I'll be playing an interview Margie Warrell, author of "Find Your Courage: Unleash Your Full Potential and Live the Life you Really Want."

Margie and I focused on what parents and teachers can do to help the children in their lives become more courageous, and take risks that will increase their learning and enjoyment of life. It was an enlightening discussion, and one that I think many people will find interesting - no matter how (or even, if) they have children in their lives.

Tune in today at 4:00 p.m. (Arizona/MST):

Radio AM 1330 (Tucson)
Web (www.tucsonsjolt.com)

If you can't tune in today, check out the podcast of the program (we post each week's show within a week of broadcast).

Thanks,

Alisa

Free Resources/Pulications for Vocational Rehabilitation

A colleague sent me a link to a wonderful resource for those of us who live and/or work with students who require additional support via vocational rehabilitation services.

The Institute on Rehabilitation Issues (out of George Washington University) has several free publications available. Some of the titles include:

• Rehabilitation of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Recruitment and Retention of Rehabilitation Counselors
• Serving Individuals who are Low-Functioning Deaf
• Using the Internet as a Resource to the Work of State Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

To access the publications, click here.

Thanks for reading!

Alisa

Liar, Liar - Are You Hard Wired?

Great story on NPR this morning - apparently, people who are habitual liars have more 'white matter' in their pre-frontal cortex (the part of our brains, located just behind our foreheads, that controls judgment and inter-personal relationships). The 'white matter' indicates the connections that we have between the 'gray matter' in our brains - the 'gray matter' is the part of the brain that contains our neurons.

So....the big question....is habitual lying CAUSED by these extra connections, OR are extra connections developed BECAUSE of habitual lying. If it's the former, it makes you wonder if some of us are hard-wired, so to speak, to lie.

Also, parents and teachers - just so you know, children from age 2-10 experience a growth-spurt in these connections - just about the time that children develop the skill to lie...So, in some ways, lying is developmental and normal. Parents and teachers can certainly address lying, and need to, but also need to look at the physiology of the child's brain AND balance that with life lessons and opportunities to tell the truth. Setting up an environment where the child doesn't feel the need to lie is a first step.

Hear the story by clicking HERE.

Thanks for reading,

Alisa

TUSD Announces Community Forums re: School Closures

On the Tucson Unified School District website, there is an announcement about upcoming community forums on the proposed school closures:

"Notice of Public Hearings to Discuss Proposed Closure of Four Elementary Schools
Tucson Unified School District Governing Board will hold public hearings at the dates and times listed below to discuss the proposed closure of the following elementary schools:

Corbett
Ochoa
Rogers
Wrightstown

AT RINCON
When: 6:00-8:00 p.m., March 14, 2008
Where: Rincon High School Auditorium, 421 N. Arcadia Blvd.

AT CORBETT
When: 5:00-7:00 p.m., March 17, 2008
Where: Corbett Elementary School, 5949 E. 29th St., Tucson, AZ 85711

AT ROGERS
When: 7:30-9:30 p.m., March 17, 2008
Where: Rogers Elementary School, 6000 E. 14th St., Tucson, AZ 85711

AT OCHOA
When: 6:00-8:00 p.m., March 18, 2008
Where: Ochoa Elementary School, 101 W. 25th St., Tucson, AZ 85713

AT WRIGHTSTOWN
When: 6:00-8:00 p.m., March 19, 2008
Where: Wrightstown Elementary School, 8950 E. Wrightstown, Rd., Tucson, AZ 85715

See also TUSDs Website for more information