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I think you're under the impression that if they fail the exams that they fail the grade or don't graduate. That is not the case. A kid fails the third grade reading exam and it does not keep them from moving to the fourth grade...it just means they move to the fourth grade and can't read well. And then they move to fifth grade and can't read and sixth grade.... They are graduating and moving onto college without ever having learned those early educational skills.

So true

I read my nieces 504 report to find she is three years back in reading and one year back in math, yet they continue to pass her. NOW she has an IEP and they say she has ADD.

She will be going to junior high next year and that's where this will really affect her as it has many kids.

The emphasis in education should still be reading, writing and arithmetic , and to hell with the state tests which do nothing.

I know a person that used to teach at a Schenectady Middle School.  They told me the kids are pushed through each grade.  Once the kids fall behind, it is very difficult to teach them the curriculum at that grade level; they don't have the comprehension skills. This person taught in Middle School, and they told me half the class was teaching proper classroom behavior.  It is a sad situation in Schenectady City Schools.

Quoted from CICERO

I know a person that used to teach at a Schenectady Middle School.  They told me the kids are pushed through each grade.  Once the kids fall behind, it is very difficult to teach them the curriculum at that grade level; they don't have the comprehension skills. This person taught in Middle School, and they told me half the class was teaching proper classroom behavior.  It is a sad situation in Schenectady City Schools.

Hence, the crux of this entire thread.

There are WAY too many pre-k's and elementary schools in the City! Even St. John's faced competition with St. Helen's, Sophies, Montassori...etc. One reason kids are failing because the middle school and high schools are way too overcrowded.

My opinion for St. John's to get back their school enrollment....make a middle school!!!! They'd rake in the dough!!!!! There are little alternatives and much less competition. St. John's would be on the right track in the City.  

Quoted from CICERO

I know a person that used to teach at a Schenectady Middle School.  They told me the kids are pushed through each grade.  Once the kids fall behind, it is very difficult to teach them the curriculum at that grade level; they don't have the comprehension skills. This person taught in Middle School, and they told me half the class was teaching proper classroom behavior.  It is a sad situation in Schenectady City Schools.

Nothing new Cicero............I had a friend who taught in a Schenectady middle school in the early '70's................he left that job in '74, when after telling a rowdy kid to "cool it", got hit over the head with a chair as he turned his back and started to walk to the front of the class...............the more times change the more they stay the same...................sad really.......

the mandatory school testing is like mandatory STD testing.....it doesn't guarantee a genius

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SCHENECTADY
Charter school proposal withdrawn a 2nd time
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.


    The organizers of a proposed Schenectady charter school have withdrawn their application for a second time.
    Eximius Academy Charter School had planned to be open in the fall of 2013, but officials sent a letter dated Nov. 19 to the state Education Department to end the approval process.
    School spokesman Pamela Swanigan said state education officials said changes were needed to the school’s proposed curriculum and the budget. Organizers needed more time to put together a science, technology, engineering and math curriculum and recruit effective teachers.
    They are not going to use a charter management organization or buy a cookie-cutter curriculum, according to Swanigan. Also, state education offi cials want the charter school to make sure it is offers competitive salaries for teachers.
    Despite the setback, Swanigan said organizers are not giving up on their goal of opening a charter school in Schenectady.
    “It doesn’t matter to me if we have to wait a year or 18 months. The most important thing is getting it right,” she said.
    Swanigan said negative public reaction to the school at a public hearing before the Schenectady City School District Board of Education in September was not a factor in the decision. Community members told Schenectady school board members that a charter school would divert funding from city schools and hurt the district’s programs. “We’ll always have negative political feedback. That’s the least of my concerns,” she said.
    It has been a rocky road for this proposed charter school, which organizers have been trying to get off the ground for almost three years. Eximius planned to begin with roughly 156 kindergarten and first-grade students and add 78 kindergarten students every year until it is a K-5 school. Organizers also planned longer school days and school year.
    It formally submitted its fi rst application in April 2011 but withdrew it the following month because they weren’t able to obtain their intended site — the former Draper School in Rotterdam, which was also home to the International Charter School of Schenectady from 2005 to 2008. The Disabled American Veterans plan to convert the building into apartments.
    Organizers submitted a new application in July and identified the former Schenectady County Department of Social Services building on Nott Street as a potential site. Swanigan said she hoped the property, which is owned by the Galesi Group, would still be available in a year. If not, they will find another property within the Schenectady City School District, according to Swanigan. ........................>>>>.......................>>>>....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01902&AppName=1

OFFERS COMPETITIVE SALARIES FOR TEACHERS...HAHAHAHHAHAHA

KIND OF LIKE COMPETITIVE SALARIES FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS----AKA certified nursing aides.....LOL

Will this Charter school open before or after the Grossman's Co-Op? The Big House? The City that needs a Charter school the most has the most problems opening one.

The Education Department should just keep their mouths shut considering the mess that they have made of our current education system.

Quoted from senders

OFFERS COMPETITIVE SALARIES FOR TEACHERS...HAHAHAHHAHAHA

KIND OF LIKE COMPETITIVE SALARIES FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS----AKA certified nursing aides.....LOL

Can't feather the unions nest with skills or ability.