Each year during the first full week of April, our schools suspend their daily routine to provide time for the state-mandated testing. This week is of course a big deal because so much is made of how the students perform on the tests. There is one school however, Paul Banks, that does not have any students in the grades 3-10 testing window. I spent part of Thursday morning at Paul Banks and came away feeling that if these students were included in the testing, they would do just fine.
It was great to see kindergarten students composing errorless complete sentences and hear second graders flawlessly read their stories to me. I saw numerous instances of our students with special needs receiving excellent support. It was good to also see several parent volunteers kneeling next to students to help with the task at hand. Finally, it was impressive to watch the teachers skillfully corral the swirl of energy in each classroom. I know that the parents of our Paul Banks students are protective of what they have- it is easy to understand why.
Paul Banks Students Shine
Each year during the first full week of April, our schools suspend their daily routine to provide time for the state-mandated testing. This week is of course a big deal because so much is made of how the students perform on the tests. There is one school however, Paul Banks, that does not have any students in the grades 3-10 testing window. I spent part of Thursday morning at Paul Banks and came away feeling that if these students were included in the testing, they would do just fine.
It was great to see kindergarten students composing errorless complete sentences and hear second graders flawlessly read their stories to me. I saw numerous instances of our students with special needs receiving excellent support. It was good to also see several parent volunteers kneeling next to students to help with the task at hand. Finally, it was impressive to watch the teachers skillfully corral the swirl of energy in each classroom. I know that the parents of our Paul Banks students are protective of what they have- it is easy to understand why.