Parents Weigh In On Middle Schools
Feedback to Be Used In Shaping Reform

By Aruna Jain
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 13, 2006

Last year, Joan Blair's daughter enrolled at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School, the new creative and performing arts school in Silver Spring. She is learning high-school-level Spanish, ranks above grade level in math, and takes theater and arts courses that she loves. But her science and social studies classes, where students of different academic levels are grouped together, are not rigorous enough, Blair said.

"As a teacher, how are you going to meet the needs of all students if they are all mixed together?" Blair asked.

She was among the more than 100 parents, teachers and educators who filed into Francis Scott Key Middle School in Silver Spring on a recent Monday night to offer concerns and suggestions at a community outreach session aimed at helping the Montgomery County school system improve its middle schools. The event was the last of three such sessions that drew crowds of county residents and educators eager to participate in a middle school reform initiative launched last fall.

The initiative was partially prompted by a middle school audit released last year that showed a lag in achievement, particularly among African American and Hispanic students, students learning English, students with disabilities and those living in poverty. The independent audit found that county middle schools are not consistent in the application of curriculum standards, the quality of school improvement programs, teacher training opportunities and discipline procedures.

The audit also noted that 11 county middle schools did not meet the adequate annual progress standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act for the 2003-04 school year. Many parents say their children do not get the same opportunities as children in other county schools and that the middle school years do not adequately prepare their children for high school.

Although high schools and elementary schools have been strengthened by many initiatives through the years, many residents say middle schools have been overlooked.

"We have to meet the needs of all children, and we know right now that we are not doing that," said Linda Ferrell, director of middle school instruction and achievement. "And that's where we have to look at all of our reform efforts."

The topics raised most during the community outreach sessions, officials said, were the need for more rigorous classes, more electives, better grouping practices and more communication between schools and parents.

Laurie Ihrie said her son's math classes at White Oak Middle School are challenging, but science class leaves much to be desired. "There are times when I think [he] is not being challenged enough," she said.

Parents said they want more communication -- more parent conferences and more back-to-school nights.

A few parents suggested that teachers and administrators could communicate more often by e-mail.

Parents also said they would like to see more effective communication among teachers in different grades to help students with the transition between grade levels. The school system also should share information about what is working in the county's three middle school magnet programs -- information that could be used to help improve non-magnet schools, some parents said.

Some teachers said they would like more time built into their daily schedules to help students; others sought less parental interference with the placement of students.

Opposing views were common at the forums, said Jody Silvio, assistant to the associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

For example, the issue of student placement or grouping -- a controversial subject nationally -- drew opposing views. Some parents support mixed classes, while others think students of differing academic levels should not share the same class.

Cordell Terry, a teacher at White Oak Middle School, said student placement has been an issue in his classroom. When an unprepared student enrolls in a class too advanced for him or her, it's hard to teach, he said.

"It really hurts the kids if they're not ready," Terry said. He added that parent recommendations sometimes can wrongly influence placement.

A steering committee composed of school officials, staff members, parents and students is in charge of the reform initiative.

The committee has developed seven project teams to focus on different aspects of middle school education, which include professional development, curriculum, extended learning opportunities, technology, organizational structure, human resources and parent and community engagement.

At the community forums, small break-out sessions on each topic allowed parents and educators to talk in an intimate setting. Meanwhile, school administrators typed notes that were projected onto a screen. Data from the notes will be gathered and included in a report that will be released this fall for additional public comment, Ferrell said.

Officials will use the comments to create policies that will be presented to the school board next year.

Policies recommended by the task force are to be rolled out in five schools in the 2007-08 school year.

Reforms would then be implemented at all county middle schools in the 2008-09 school year.

Blair said she plans to remain involved throughout the reform process. She has two other children who will be in middle school soon.

"I just want to make sure they are challenged," she said.