Frequent Questions that Parents ask!
- Can I request a teacher?
- What if I want my child tested?
- When I call my child in sick doesn't the school get paid?
- Why does the school give homework? isn't the time spent in class enough?
- Are spelling bees and speeches mandatory?
- What are these standards we hear about?
- Doesn't the state pay schools enough? Why are parents donating so much?
- What is enough Homework?
Can I request a teacher?
We do not discourage parents from requesting teachers but we ask
you to trust
the process that the Discovery Bay staff goes through to
determine your
child's placement.A number of categories are addressed before
placing a child
and parents may not understand the intensity that teachers go
through to meet
your child's teacher. Our recommendations are based on both
academic and
social needs of your child. Please honor the hard work of
teachers by
respecting their choice for your child.
What if I want my child tested?
When a parent sees a child struggling, sometimes the first thing
they want is for that child to be tested. AT Discovery Bay, as a
result of our Response to Intervention (RTi) we ask parents to
wait! Why?, becuae we have in place at the school a process
where we are serving and providing students with interventions
before they are tested. In fact, many of the interventions would
be exactly the same if we tested and found a child eligible! We
do test children who, after going through stringent assessments
and interventions, do not make progress. At that time we invite
the parent in to share their concerns with us, we provide them
with detailed information on the academic interventions we have
provided and we decide if additional assessments are required.
At this time, placement in a more restrictive program may be
indicated and children may have options for Resource or Special
Day Class help.
When I call my child in sick doesn't the school get paid?
While the state recognizes sickness and doctor's appointments as
excused absences, all absences are not re-imbursed by the state.
At roughly $30 a day, each child who misses school costs the
school district $30 in lost funding! With funding reduced from
$5000 a year in 2005, to $4100 in 2010, additional funding lost
from excessive absences has seriously affected staffing and our
ability to offer extra programs.
Why does the school give homework? isn't the time spent in class enough?
Most homework offers children a chance to expand what they have
been doing in class. Work that is sent home should have been
covered in class and should only be practice for the children.
In
the case of excessive time spent doing work, contact your
child's
teacher so that you and they can examine the work and possibly
look at a reduction of work.
In addition, with the push for student achievement, reading
ahead as wll as reading extra assignments can provide a student
with a heads up over his or her peers in the grade level.
Are spelling bees and speeches mandatory?
Yes, Each class holds their own competition as part of the grade
level standards. Competition beyond the class and grade level is
completely voluntary. Students may choose not to participate in
the school's spelling bee and speech contest. We encourage them
to participate as these are important skills all students need
to
have.
What are these standards we hear about?
The state of California has identified tough, rigorous
curricular standards that all of the states schools needs to
teach and have students master at each grade level. These
curricular standards are reflected on the report card under each
of the subject sub categories. (Language Arts, Math, etc) All of
the current textbooks we use at Discovery Bay support these
standards.
Throughout the year, we schedule a number of assessments that
track a child’s progress towards meeting these standards. When
you come to a parent conference to discuss the scores on your
child’s report card, your child will be compared to where they
are in relationship to the state standards, not to the progress
of any other student. This comparison will take the form of a
score of one to four. These are called rubrics.
A rubric is a set of guidelines that indicate to what degree a
child has mastered, is learning, beginning to learn or
struggling to learn the standards at their grade level. In the
beginning of a school year, most children will not have mastered
the entire years skills in certain subjects and so may be scored
as learning or emerging in their understanding of academic
skills.
With a 4 point rubric such as we use in Discovery Bay, a child
may get a 2, approaching grade level mastery, or developing
skills slightly below grade level. They are working on grade
level materials, learning them but have not mastered them.
(Needs more time and experience to develop.) A score of 3 would
indicate a solid understanding or they are proficient and use
the concepts appropriately at the grade level.
At the report card conference, parents may see some of the
standards marked as NA. What that means is that the standard has
not been addressed as of yet but will be before the end of the
year. Once a student has mastered that standard, (a score of 3
or 4) they may not be evaluated on that standard until a
different trimester.
If you have any questions about the status of your child’s
progress towards meeting the state’s standards, ask your child’s
teacher(s). If you require more time than a normal conference
can offer you, ask to schedule an additional meeting with the
teacher so each of you can develop a plan that best addresses
the needs of your child.
A progress report should have been sent home to students in
grades 1-5 that were struggling in the third week of October to
meet the grade level standards. This progress report is an
indicator of what may appear on your child’s report card if
interventions and parent teacher involvement does not occur
before the conferences.
New Standards have been approved by the California State Board
of Education. You can view these by going to the internet and
asking for California, Common Core Standards.
Doesn't the state pay schools enough? Why are parents donating so much?
While the state is required to insure that all children
recieve an adequate education, their definition of adequate
may not fit your definition! Funding for schools has been cut
almost 9 billion dollars in the last three years. At DB that
has meant a loss of seven teachers, a reading specialist,
smaller class sizes, supply budgets, in service training
opportunities and less days working. Our campus is not cleaned
daily, our buildings are not being maintained and there are less
opportunities for students to receive the help they need. Without the support
of parents, we would not have our library open, have an art class,
classroom supplies, updated library books, computers, assemblies,
a carnival, book fairs, balls on the yard to play with and many more items.
School as you know it, would not exist. Your support keeps us less likely to
suffer academically and many of the ways to support the school
do not require any money on your part! (scrip, shopping with your Safeway card, etc.
What is enough Homework?
Homework should generally be 30 minutes for every grade level your child has been in.
If you think that is a lot, wait until High school and college where it is literally
as long as it takes to get done. Homework should be a review of what occurred in class. Sometimes it can
be a review of something coming up, an introduction of something
to be done in class later in the week or, many times, unfinished classwork. Make sure before
you assume that all work is homework, that your child hasn't brought home class work, prior days work or
work that is "long term" and meant to be worked on over a period of time. Always contact your
child's teacher if you have any questions about homework but try to ask questions not accusations when
checking in!
