This week, we're handing off questions from the community on the 3Rs to Lawrence public schools' superintendent, Randy Weseman. Today's question is about writing.
Q. If all the elementary schools in Lawrence have the same general
writing curriculum, why don't the have comparable success in teaching
the subject?
A. It's not that cut-and-dried. There are many variables at play. First,
students come to our classrooms with varying levels of abilities, academic
backgrounds, and life experiences. We also have students that come to us
mid-year from other school districts, and we have to assess their skill
levels at that point in time, and try to help them improve.
Second, there is variation in the way staff approach teaching writing. The
article on Wakarusa Valley's writing achievement highlighted the six-trait
writing model. We have not had the opportunity to train all of our staff
in the six-trait model. We need additional time and resources to be able
to accomplish our staff development goals. Training, in all areas of the
curriculum, is an ongoing challenge. We have staff that are trained that
leave our district and new staff arriving throughout the year. Another
challenge that I've talked to our legislators about is the fact that our
staff come to school one day before classes begin and leave us the day the
students are done. School districts would benefit from a professional
contract for staff, but this would require additional funding in order to
compensate them for their time.
Third, our schools study their assessment results and pinpoint areas of
weakness. Those become their areas of focus. They then develop strategies
in their School Improvement Plans to address those targeted areas. Some
schools aren't spending the same amount of time and energy this year on
writing as others. They may be emphasizing reading improvement or math
achievement instead.
We don't expect school-to-school assessment results to be exactly alike,
as students, teachers, and schools differ. What I do expect, and what we
are focusing on districtwide this year, is for all students, and all
schools, to show academic improvement over time.
Randy Weseman,
Superintendent of Schools
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