‘At-promise' label for at-risk children challenged

Regarding Jay Mathews's Nov. 16 column, "A 'feel-good' label for 'at-risk' kids?":

As a communications consultant to nonprofit organizations, it's my job to wordsmith. Most of the groups I work with serve "at-risk" children, and so I had to laugh when I read about "at-promise" -- the new term being used by Alexandria schools to describe these students -- because it sugarcoats the larger issue: At-risk children are underserved children, and terming them anything else would take our eyes off the issues that plague them.

The children whom I am referring to are underserved by their schools, their communities, their parents and their local governments, and they can become an "at-risk" statistic as large numbers of them become violent, score poorly on college placement exams or become pregnant as teenagers. These are not hopeful circumstances, and describing them with "promise" transfers the responsibility from adults to children.

Do these "at-risk" students have promise? Certainly. But let's be honest with ourselves: They are at risk, and we represent the promise.

Lisa Feldner, Arlington

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I regret that I wasn't able to respond to Jay Mathews's interview request while he was researching his Nov. 16 column "A 'feel-good' label for 'at-risk' kids?" before it went to print. Perhaps I could have explained that "at-promise" is more than a word choice; it is a paradigm shift.

At-promise is not a new label applied to struggling learners. It is a teaching model popular among many in the education community that encourages teachers to approach students from a positive place, one that keeps in mind the students' promise, not their failures.

In the classroom, the at-promise approach stops blaming lower-performing students and empowers teachers to help each student realize his or her potential. Teaching all students in such a way, not just focusing on those from compromised socioeconomic backgrounds, forces teachers to use classroom strategies that engage students in their own education. That simple, no-cost attitude shift defines "at-promise" and has proven to keep many more students in school and on track for successful futures.

Larry Bell, Manassas

The writer is co-chair of the Reaching At-Promise Students Association.