I was reading the student input on the 5-year plan and noticed these bullet items (under why are so many students of color dropping out):
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/fiveyearplan/Input_From_Students.pdf
• One way to alleviate the gap would be to bring down the students at the top and use the resources they saved to improve the students with lower grades

• The students in the Honors/AP classes already have the extra resources so the extra resources used by the school should be given to the less achieving kids

These are very interesting perceptions. I wonder what "bring down the students at the top" means?

And I wonder what these "extra resources" are that the Honors/AP classes get? (Do the teachers of these classes realize they're getting "extra" resources?)

(Ironically, to the question of "Why is there an achievement gap?" a frequent response was low expectations.)

Yes, my child has benefited from being in Honors and AP classes, but meanwhile I've worked very hard to help ALL students in all schools (whether it's making phone calls to pass levies, giving testimony at the School Board and City Council, volunteering as sophomore class parent rep, donating to the Annual Fund, or spearheading a literacy initiative to help high school students with reading difficulties).

I don't believe the students get these perceptions out of thin air. Clearly the adults around them are sending strong messages that "the problem" is not that some kids are not achieving as well as they might but that some are achieving better than they should. [Read: the fastest way to eliminate the gap is to lower the expectations -- and opportunities -- for the highest performing students.]

I stand for opportunities for all. The gap that interests me is the gap between a student's potential and that student's results. To eliminate that gap, we need to get to know EACH child and find that path to make potential = results.

I hope that in 5 years when the District evaluates its success at eliminating the achievement gap that it also evaluates its success in attracting the children of its citizens to attend the City's public schools. (I think that currently about 30% of school-age children in Seattle go to private schools. If Honors/AP were dropped, I bet that percentage would grow.)

Michele Anciaux Aoki,
Garfield Parent Rep
Class of 2006