First and foremost, why is there a petition in support of the Equity and Excellence Review. I don't think I have heard anyone say that they are AGAINST the Equity and Excellency Review. What the "detractors" (as we have been degraded as such by President Doreen Richardson) are saying is that the BOE did not follow proper procedure and therefore the credibility of their decisions have been seriously limited. It is quite clear that individuals' have no idea why they are signing this petition since no one has ever said that it is a bad idea to close the achievement gap. Ethnicity could be ONE, of many factors, that could be associated with this gap - the key word here is associated. If anyone believes that being a minority is what CAUSES the achievement gap, then they are being misled. Yes - there is an association; however, there are multiple variables that should be further explored to identify the unique individual differences that could be targeted for school-based interventions. Going with the FIRST person, who has only looked at race as the cause of the achievement gap, is something that should be questioned because there might be other approaches available that would be more efficient and more closely mirror the unique characters that define our community.
There are serious limitations to the validity of the "petition" to support the Equity and Excellence Review.
1) The individuals below are actual individuals who "electronically signed" the petition to support the Equity and Excellence Review; however they are not even Windsor Residents. I'm sure there are MANY more.
2) The signatures can be hidden by viewers, so whose to know who actually signed the petition. The point of a petition is to provide your signature in support of a cause openly and with confidence.
2) The individuals listed to have "signed" the petition could be made up. Someone had the time to make this petition, and what is to stop them from making up e-mail addresses and names, or even taking other people's names who are Windsor Residents?
3) The petition was created by the so-called P.R.E.S.S. (Parents Resource for Excellence and Student Success). I can not find any track record of this group and they are not mentioned anywhere on the internet. It is possible that PRESS could be an alias for one of the BOE members.
4) This is one reason why an individual "signed" the petition, "My 2 older daughters have graduated from WHS and have told me about their experiences and observations regarding racism, white priviledge(they have taken advantage of) and inequities that exist at WHS. Now I have an 8th grader going to WHS next year and feel these inequities have gone on long enough."
Is the Equity and Excellence Review being carried out to eliminate racism? Is this what she was told? Is this parent saying that the teachers of Windsor High School are racist and that she has raised her children to take advantage of white privilege? Is this an educational problem or a parent problem?
1) Tyler Champine
Amherst, MA
Recent Activity
- Tyler signed the petition
- about 21 hours ago
2) Suzanne Metro
Amherst, MA
Recent Activity
- Suzanne signed the petition
- about 22 hours ago
3) Jamilah Prince-Stewart
Hamden, CT
Recent Activity
- Jamilah signed the petition
- 1 day ago
4) Hope Baker
new briatin, CT
Recent Activity
- Hope signed the petition
- about 21 hours ago
5) Gail Heath
New Britain, CT
Recent Activity
- Gail signed the petition
- 1 day ago
6) A Barrett
hopewell junction, NY
Recent Activity
- A signed the petition
- about 22 hours ago
7) Lavern Gutzmer
Manchester, CT
Recent Activity
- Lavern signed the petition
- 1 day ago
1. What assurance do we have that “disengagement among male students of color” is the sole or even a primary reason why an achievement gap exists in the first place? I always thought the problem was much more subtle and complex than that. 2. Do we know with any precision how this “disengagement” is operationally defined and measured? It seems that disengagement could mean anything from passive indifference to active subversion. Is there something more precise and objectively measurable? 3. Why is the study being conducted solely at the high school? By the time kids get to high school, the achievement hap has already existed for many years. 4. Speaking of which, how will we know know if the program has any measurable and lasting effects? The last standardized test students take in high school is the CAPT, in 10th grade. 5. Most unsettling is Panglossian assertion, attributed to Dr. James, that, “By engaging male students of color, the achievement gap will close and achievement for all students, regardless of color or gender, will improve.” (Windsor Patch, 9/14/2012) Actually, no: the unit of analysis here is the group, not the individual. In any case, a statement that that bold, that sweeping should come with some kind of a money back guarantee.