In a survey currently being conducted by the Alliance, teachers were asked to rate their level of agreement with the following statement: "The district process to get support for struggling students is effective." Out of 457 respondents so far, 34% disagreed and 53% strongly disagreed. 87% of total respondents say that the process is not effective. The Alliance believes that there are not enough interventions available to provide help for all of our struggling students.
For example, the district is planning to remove reading resources. At the end of the school year, the Scott's Foresman Reading materials are going out of adoption. The district has instructed that textbook clerks pickup all materials including textbooks, charts, tapes, workbooks, leveled readers, big books, and resource manuals. In the past, teachers and students were given the option to give the books to the students, keep some materials for use in centers or homework, use them in reading centers, or send them back to the warehouse. This year the only option teachers were given was to send them back to the warehouse. It is the understanding of the Alliance that the warehouse then ships these materials to a foundation that then ships them to needy students around the world. The Alliance believes that first priority should be given to the SAISD students, some of who do not have any books at home and whose parents have requested additional resources to help their children succeed.
The Alliance has been in communication with the C&I Department and it has been decided that employees can keep the leveled readers and big books, but nothing else. In the past, administration has said that they believe teachers will not give fidelity to a new reading program if any past resources are kept. The Alliance believes that teachers need a variety of resources available to help meet the many needs of their students. The Alliance has presented this case to the School Board and asked that they:
- Mandate that the district work all summer long with teachers who know SAISD students to revamp the RtI process;
- Give schools and teachers the option to keep parts of the out-of-adoption Scott's Foresman materials as they see fit.
The Alliance will continue to work with the C&I Department and the School Board to ensure that these goals are met.
Copyright 2010 San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel