Monday, June 12, 2000
Program hits home for teacher
Test she helped plan lands son in summer school
By Mara H. Gottfried
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Lisa Campbell, a summer-school pincipal at Vine Street Elementary School, talks with her teaching staff about the program.
(Tony Jones photo)
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As a teacher, Lisa Campbell is in favor of sending kids to summer school who have trouble reading. As a mother, she's not so sure.
She's been on the planning committee of Cincinnati Public Schools Third Grade Reading Guarantee since it began. But in this, its first year, things hit home for Ms. Campbell when she had to break the news to her 7-year-old son, Cody, that he is required to attend summer school under the program.
Summer school begins today for the district's optional classes as well as those required by the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. While results have yet to be seen, parents and educational experts have raised concerns about the pressure — the guarantee hinges on the one-day, state-required reading proficiency test — on children.
“It made me ask myself, "Why are we doing this to children? Why are we putting such high stakes on one day, one test?' It totally shed new light on the situation for me as a parent,” Ms. Campbell said.
“But, as a teacher, I still believe in the summer school, I still believe in the reading intervention program.”
Though she said her son is “a good little reader,” he had an anxiety attack before he took the reading portion of the test. When he finished, Cody burst into tears.
A consultant for the Ohio Department of Education said the guarantee could strain children already trying to master reading. A comparable state plan, the Fourth Grade Reading Guarantee, goes into effect in the 2001-2002 school year.
It “adds another layer of consequences for students and really puts a lot of pressure on them,” said Nicole Luthy, reading language arts consultant. “An alternate way of addressing the issue locally is spending more time on the intervention side, which is a preventive measure.”
Despite the adults' concern, students, including Cody, think summer school will be fun.
“I'm excited because I want to be a better reader,” Cody said.
Eight-year-old Tyler Andrews, who also has to attend summer school because he did not pass his reading proficiency test, said he likes to read “sometimes.” Alligator in the Elevator and Have You Seen My Brother? are two of his favorite books.
Tyler's grandmother, Stella Turner of Mount Auburn, thinks summer school will be a good experience for the youngster who just finished second grade at Vine Elementary.
“Like I always tell Tyler, there's nothing wrong with going to school during the summer,” Mrs. Turner said. “I tell him he'll be more advanced in reading after he goes and he agrees with me.”
Explaining to students what the reading guarantee means to them is crucial, Ms. Campbell said. But she worries that not all families will be so supportive.
“I said (the day parents received letters with their children's proficiency test scores), "I wonder how many kids are getting beat tonight because they didn't pass?”' she said. “I think that's a travesty. It makes me ask, "Have we prepared our families well enough to deal with this issue?'”
Family attitudes do make a difference said Alan Frager, a Miami University professor who teaches courses on the diagnosis and remediation of reading difficulties. He is also the director of the university's summer reading clinic.
If a parent criticizes the child or summer school, the child will have to overcome that negative attitude before he can succeed in school, Dr. Frager said.
But success over the next few weeks can breed future educational success, he said.
“If a child goes to summer school and has success in learning to read, there will be more benefit to their confidence level in other parts of their education,” Dr. Frager said.
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