In the lat 1990's the U.S. Dept. of Education undertook a huge project called th EARLY CHILDHOOD LONGITUDINAL STUDY. It sought to measure the academic progress of more than 20,000 kids from kindergarten through 5th grade. Subjects were chosen from across the country to represent an accurate cross section of the U.S. The following data was found to correlate with good school test scores:

Highly educated parents
High socioeconomic status
Child had good birth weight
Mother was 30 or older at time of 1st child's birth
Parents spoke English in the home
Parents involved in PTA
Many books in the home

Of course, all efforts should be made to do our very best for all students. But, in reality, it truly does take changes in the community and the home to insure that progress is made.
There is only so much that the schools can be expected to accomplish. I doubt very seriously that longer school days, teacher reorganization, and living under the constant eye of NCLB are going to have much impact on the factors mentioned above.

Gee I am shocked that Imokalee High would be in this situation, after all they have students that are so much older you would assume that the adults who go there to play sports would raise the grade levels.

Attila - concentrate on abusive priests ... something you should know a lot more about!!!

attila, you are very wrong,please check your information again. The schools are excelling,and as nwtwths says, show your love to the priest that touched you wrong.

Boy only a 20% increase in pay for working a whopping one hour extra each day. Looks like the union has been letting the teachers down.

Naples 34110,

If ya think it is a great job, do it... Collier has unfilled positions from last fall and about 38 pages of vacancies -teachers, TA's, bus drivers...

Wait till May rolls around and you'll be able to wall paper a room with the pages of vaccancies...

So, if teaching is such a great gig in Collier, why is that?

One big problem is that Collier can't pick the best person from a job. They have to find someone who will accept the job. That slowly started to happen as the house prices went up three years ago. The problem is going to get worse as time passes. Super high cost of living is relatively new in Collier...Counties in NC compensate by giving a local supplement to teachers...That will never happen in Collier. The teachers that Collier does higher are usually new teachers or retirees-both on there way somewhere else. Collier doesn't accept much in the way of experience making it unlikely that experienced teachers with any talent will come... Neither new teachers or retirees are super effective. Why? First year teachers usually have too many problems managing a class to get a lot of actual teaching done...And, retirees from the north are thinkin' more about the next phase of their lives...

Tell ya what.... switch carreers for a stint in education. People do it all the time... Teach middle school and I'd love to see your take on the problems with education in Collier, FL and the US in general... I started in the public schools... moved on to private international...then to university level international...now back to public America.... I have also worked as a technical writer/editor... I have a love/hate relationship with teaching k-12 public.... On the one hand I think I am doing something useful and it is extremely satisfying for that reason-on the lucky occasions when you see some positive change in a kid... On the other hand, I feel like I have been hit with a truck when I am done with a day. And, my paycheck is not what it was :(. But, I make 50% more in NC than I would have if I had taken a job in Naples :)...(Experience issue mainly) and the cost of living here is cheap by comparison... And, best of all teachers are valued here because it is a middle class area with lots of kids. So... I am not seen as the "loser" that teachers are in Naples.

Continued...

I am gonna stay three years and then go back overseas...(came back this summer)... While I really do love the job, it is not something I could handle for the rest of my life.... I teach in NC, I didn't even consider the mess in Collier though we had a vacation home there for years. My view... EVERYONE with a relevant degree should teach take a little teacher training course and give a shot at teaching for awhile. I think it would give the general public a lot more realistic view of what the situation is than people have now....

I doubt you and the hordes like you in Naples see teachers as anything more than parisitic appendages on the underbelly of Naples after my long winded reply... and that is one reason I am very happy to not be teaching there or have my kids in school there!

Attila,

Far from ignoring the issue of low test scores, I told you why it happens. You also had a chance to read the first post which showed the same things in a very large study.

Reading scores etc. are much more of a reflection of parenting than teaching. Simply put, those students who do well are those who do their homework. Those who do their homework and listen in class are the ones who have supportive parents.

Low scores come from kids who 1) Don't listen 2) Don't do homework. Teachers are not allowed to use force beyond calling parents etc.

Given that you were unable to understand 80% of my post and completely missed the first one regarding the study, your children's tests scores are most likely a reflection of what you are doing at home.

It seems to me that your hatred of teachers makes it difficult to absorb what other people are saying even when they provide you with facts in a study and loads of other information that it is unlikely that you are able to respond to anything beyond your own thoughts (also a common attribute of middle school students)

Now, about your "LOL" comment. Since you like analogies...If you're boss tells you to nail jello to a tree, but only a small percentage of that jello ever sticks no matter how many nails you use... Your boss continues to whine and complain because much of the jello is on the ground. After many attempts to explain the situation, you finally say, "Give it a try. Nail that jello to the tree and see what happens.".... You will never get fired simply because there aren't many people who want to spend their days doing what you do.

Here is the singular most important thing for you to understand. Collier is in an ugly situation. If you think teaching is bad now, wait. It is going to get much worse as good teachers cash out or move on. The first to leave are those who have the most confidence in their ability. Collier can't fire incompetent teachers...Unless they are absolutely outrageously bad (criminal activity) because there isn't anyone to take his or her place...

To have the pick of the best possible people t

Attilla,

Parents read to little kids. They also read with young elementary school kids...Few parents continue to do so. If a student doesn't progress, he or she declines because a student's grade level goes up every year but that doesn't mean that reading scores go up equally with the grade level. Schools are only allowed to fail so many... And, ya can't fail a student multiple times in a row or you'd have 13 year olds in the third grade.

You seem to have a really hard time with reading comprehension. I can't figure out how you worked it out in your head that because scores are more on grade level during younger years that that shows parents are doing their job and teachers aren't. It is challenging to be a grade level behind if you are in first or second grade... "The cat is in the room." But, if kids don't read continue to read at home and insist that they do their homework, having them successfully read Shakespeare in high school is another story...

Here is a question that all of the top kid's parents say, "no" to

Do you allow your child to play with play station or Xbox, or watch TV on school nights?

Here are questions that all parents of successful kids answer "yes" to

Do you check your child's homework every night?
Do you insist that child can not engage in other activities if their homework is not completed?
Do you help your child with their homework if they do not understand something?
Do you read books on a regular basis as an example? Do you encourage (BETTER-DEMAND) your children read instead of watching TV?
Are you in regular contact with your child's teachers?
Do you let your child know that grades less than "B's" are unacceptable?

Do these things from K-12 and I guarentee that YOUR child will be an honor roll student who is reading at or above grade level unless there is an EC issue.

I practice what I preach. Tonight I am cohosting a parent/child book club for middle school kids. The parents and kids are going to choose a book to read together... and talk about it and present it to the rest of the club later in the month... Gotta go buy snacks...

Thankfully, I have not had to deal with any parents here like you Attila. The opposite is the case... I got a cake from one boy's mom last week. I pity the poor souls trying to teach in Naples if you are an example of the type of parent there.

How am I posting as someone else?