Here's the Boost that Poor Children, Their Teachers, and Their Schools Really Need

The American Federation of Teachers publication American Teacher reports in its current issue:

"By the time children from low-income homes enter school, they are, on average, already far behind their middle-class peers. At the beginning of kindergarten, disadvantaged children are three times more likely than other children to score in the bottom quartile on assessments of reading, math, and general knowledge. In terms of specific skills, they are much less likely than their more advantaged peers to be able to identify the letters of the alphabet or to count beyond 10.

But the actual challenge they face is even greater: The same home and community factors that lead to the school-entry achievement gap are at work over the summer. Middle- and upper-class children not only enter kindergarten knowing more, they continue learning more every summer.

As a result, although the evidence indicates that in school, poor, middle-class, and wealthy children actually learn at about the same pace, by fourth grade, students from low-income families are nearly three grade levels below their peers in reading and about two grade levels below their peers in math."

"...Meeting the challenge is partly going to be the work of the educational research community, who must continue to find more effective approaches to teaching and schooling. And, an important part of the answer is to be found outside the schools, in better healthcare, nutrition, and housing, and in community-based initiatives to enhance parenting skills."

The article recommends:
1. Focus on teaching quality
2. Support a culture of respectful student behavior
3. Diagnose reading problems early and intervene right away
4. Provide a knowledge-rich, grade-by-grade, core curriculum
5. Deliver additional supports, staff, time, and resources to the schools that serve the neediest students