Schools inflicted with poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Schools inflicted with poverty - Essay Example The six schools surveyed had fared well in their respective state literacy tests â€Å"recording between 68 to 89 percent of students who had either met or exceeded their state’s standard of proficiency†. All six schools used the ‘Four Blocks Framework’ for balanced literacy. Having established the common strain in all six schools, the writer then identified 12 factors that are important for high academic achievement and set about studying how these factors functioned in these six schools. These 12 factors are, assessment; community involvement; comprehensive curriculum; engagement instruction; leadership; materials; parent participation; perseverance and persistence; professional development; real reading and writing; and specialist support. Assessment needs to be devised in a manner that it guides instruction, the community members must assist the school in its instructional task. Curriculum should be centered on the basics in the primary stage but must not exclude science and social studies totally. There has to be a high level of student engagement in the literacy activities if real learning has to take place. Teachers have to devise a method for one-to-one instruction and monitoring even while teaching the whole class. A strong leadership â€Å"embodied in a committed, passionate and hands-on Principal† is a prerequisite for any school wanting to achieve its goals. Schools must have adequate material and resources for effective instruction. Parent participation in literacy activities enhances the effectiveness of the system. Perseverance and persistence is required no matter which method of instruction is followed, since the results will begin to show only after a reasonable period of time. Professional devel opment of teachers cannot be ignored. Teachers need to upgrade their skills constantly. To become good readers and writers, students must actually spend a lot of time