There is a story in the Daily News today about a Brooklyn boy with mild autism who has been functioning in mainstream classrooms for years. But, now he’s in 5th grade at the Achievement First East New York Charter School, which means he won a Waiting for Superman lottery and got into a “good school”, a data driven, results oriented corporate entity full of young enthusiastic teachers with no experience to draw on when confronted with the task of teaching a perfectly fine child (with supportive involved parents) who just can’t sit still and obey commands like a show dog.
He got detention for “not tracking the teacher with his eyes”!
- A joyful classroom tone: Walk into any Achievement First classroom and feel the palpable, urgent love of learning. Every one of our students is a scholar climbing the mountain to college. With a tone of positive correction, teachers and students incorporate our REACH values (Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship and Hard Work) in everything they do.
- Read, baby, read! In literature class, teachers make sure that the “nose in text” time is high. Teachers are students too, and all teachers, regardless of subject area, model an insatiable appetite for independent reading.
- Climbing the mountain to college: Above all, Achievement First has high expectations for our students. Teachers insist on 100 percent student engagement, with no “desk potatoes” in sight. Students strive toward one fundamental, non-negotiable goal—climbing the mountain to college. As our mission states, “Achievement First schools will provide all our students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders for our communities.”
Just the thought of having to prove over and again that I am paying attention makes me tired and I’m not even autistic.
When was the last time you sat through a lecture, staff meeting or orientation sitting up straight with both hands in your lap tracking the speaker with your eyes.
Did you look away?
Did you think about something else ?
Did you start to slouch or cross your legs and lean back?
Did you mumble something to the person sitting next to you?
The thing is, the Individuals with Disabilities Act requires public schools to develop an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for every student with a disability that takes into consideration the needs and learning styles of the individual child.
I looked up the website for the Achievement First East New York MIddle School. It’s only been open for a year and a half. There are only 174 students, all 5th and 6th graders. It doesn’t make sense that such a school can’t know and accommodate that child and his individual quirks.
This boy may not be the kind of rigidly self-disciplined ideal student the charter school administrators had in mind when they developed their teaching methods. But, I’m sure he has an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for his disability and the school is required, by law, according the Individuals with Disabilities Act to take into consideration the needs and learning styles of the individual child. Charter schools are not exempt.