The "Needs" of a High-Need School

Teaching in this era of data-driven instruction can be a bit overwhelming. Whether you're a twenty year veteran struggling to keep up with changes in pedagogy and technology or a first year teacher stunned by the sheer volume of assessments and paper work, the fact remains it's difficult. More than that, the emphasis on data can be somewhat off-putting for a group of idealists (or former idealists). The emphasis on test scores and data has also created a shift in the entire focus of schooling. Perhaps this isn't true everywhere, but I feel it acutely at my own school.

You see, you have to understand a bit about the immense pressure my school's administration is under. Because of test scores that have failed to rise my school has been identified as a School In Need of Improvement (SINI) and it also received a D in the first round of Bloomberg's new report cards. The D grade and the SINI designation were almost completely based on a lack of improvement on test scores and so the entire focus of our school has been forced towards raising test scores.

Which brings us to the simple question (with a complicated answer): How?

One answer seems to be with materials. My students have plenty of textbooks. For math alone they have their Everyday Math Journals, Everyday Math Study Links, Everyday Skills Links and Math Steps. Those are all for class and homework. On top of that we have test prep books published by New York State to prepare for the ELA and Math exams. And then today the smartboard arrived.

Don't get me wrong. I'm ecstatic to finally have a smartboard of my own. Even if I'm not sure where it'll fit in my classroom I know that it will open up a whole new array of learning options for my students and me. And considering that most suburban schools have had this technology for a number of years I think it's essential to helping my kids keep/catch up with their better heeled peers.

What I do wonder is whether we can really hope to improve my students scores with a smartboard and test prep booklets when my students don't really even have a well balanced classroom library. Or a set of classroom dictionaries and thesauri. Or, and this is what I've been thinking about a lot lately, access to regular counseling.

Off the top of my head I can think of four students who need, and I mean need, regular counseling. If I really knew the home situation of all my students that number would probably be higher. And yet in a school of 1,050 students we only have one full-time counselor. Will the NYS approved text on fractions and decimals sink in when my student is struggling with genuine post traumatic stress disorder? Is a smartboard going to help my students make the leap from a failing grade to a passing if they don't have anyone who's there to listen?

At a "high-need" school like mine there's a long, long list of needs. And it's hard to distinguish where one need is greater than the others. And it's very hard to find funding for all, or even half of them. But in the end which will provide the greatest gains? Technical support or emotional support?

You can find more reflections on my first year of teaching at Is Our Children Learning?