What do you want to be when you grow up?

I was involved in an interesting conversation a couple of weeks ago after watching a video interview of Jimmy Page, guitarist from Led Zepplin.  In the interview he was just 14 years old, and aspired to be not a rock star but a scientist.  Then one of our music teachers, Mr. Barrett, shared with me that Brian May of Queen has a Ph.D. in astrophysics!  It started me thinking.  When we ask children what they want to be when they grow up, often we hear about hopes to be professional athletes, musicians, or movie stars.    Why don't they think about careers that involve math or science?  Should we care?   

I think we should!  In an article in the US News and World Report on September 27, 2011, it talks about how jobs of the future revolve around math and science. (http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/09/27/why-math-and-science-education-means-more-jobs?PageNr=1)   The technology we rely on every day was invented by someone.  Our phones, computers, and cars didn't miraculously appear one day, they are the products of the ideas and efforts of people. It led me to think about individuals such as Steve Jobs and the wide impact his ideas have had on our lives.  The children in school today will become the inventors, researchers, and scientists of tomorrow.  The world in which they will live will likely be vastly different from our reality today. It is our responsibility to prepare them to be able to be collaborative problem-solvers and build within them the capacity to generate new ideas.

So, how do we create interest in careers in math and science?   How do we help them to be creative thinkers?   I encourage you to help inspire curiousity in our children.  When they ask questions, help your children find or discover the answers rather than just giving them.  Ask children to make predictions and hypotheses and talk about their reasons for their thinking.  Who knows, maybe the next Steve Jobs could be right here at DT!

The MCAS Results are Here

     As many of you are likely aware, we have received the information as to how students in different school districts performed on last spring’s MCAS testing.  Third, fourth and fifth grade students  across Massachusetts, including those at Davis Thayer, participated in these assessments. We use data from these assessments to review curriculum and instruction.  This data is also used to help us monitor the progress of individual students.   It is our performance on MCAS, along with other factors, that determines whether or not we make adequate yearly progress (AYP).  It is a measure of how well we are progressing towards meeting the standards set by NCLB. 

 

     NCLB stands for No Child Left Behind.  It was passed in 2001 and reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  It changed federal efforts to support elementary and secondary education.  NCLB has five main goals.  The most recognized of these goals is for all children to reach high standards; at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics by 2014.

     As schools work towards achieving this goal, their progress is described in terms of AYP.  AYP represents how all students, both in the aggregate and in subgroups of 40 or more students, are progressing towards demonstrating proficiency in reading/language arts and mathematics.  In Massachusetts, progress is measured in 2-year cycles based on MCAS scores.  It is shown by a score referred to as the CPI, or composite performance index.  CPI is determined by MCAS performance.  Every two years the CPI required to make AYP increases.  Points are assigned based upon individual student scores on MCAS.  Students receive 100 points for achieving scores that are proficient or advanced.  They receive fewer point amounts for lower scores.   The total number of points earned by all students in a school is divided by the total number of students assessed in a given content area. This becomes a school's CPI.

     For a school (grades 1-8) to make adequate yearly progress towards achieving proficiency in all students, they must have assessed at least 95% of students, must have met the state CPI goal or their individual improvement CPI goal, and have at least a 92% attendance rate, or show at least a 1% improvement in attendance from the previous year.   With this model it is possible for lower performing schools to achieve AYP while higer performing schools miss their targets.

     As you begin to see and hear more about how different schools are performing, keep in mind that we all have the same ultimate goal.  We want to provide ALL students with the skills and tools to achieve.  MCAS is just one measure of our work, but it is an important measure.   It is necessary to keep in mind that it is a child’s cumulative educational experience that will prepare him or her to develop the skills to be college or career ready.  As a school we review MCAS performance, as well as data on local assessments, in order to monitor the progress of all students.  What students learn throughout their years at school is very important to their future success.   By working collaboratively, we will be able to support our children as they strive to attain high standards of achievement.