In late February, Glen receives a letter from the superintendent regarding low enrollment in AP courses, which appears to give headaches to him. Oh boy: I might feel forced to either cut AP courses or to find a way to at least have one section of everything, and with sufficient students taking these so that we can justify offering them. We offer 10 AP courses total, English, calculus BC, biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, French, US History, US Government and world history. Which is already a lot for a school our size. He then decides to hold a faculty meeting on the topic of AP classes.
"Fellow faculty members, we have received a warning from the parish regarding AP courses. Just because we have done away with class rank last year doesn't mean we can't get students to take AP courses. We could always say that doing well in those courses would help them gain advanced standing for college, and hence make it cheaper for them to attend college. Which is, to me, the main reason to take these courses, provided there is an academic interest to take them" Glen harangues the teachers at lunch.
"Even our star students, like, you know, the Dexters and Élianes of this world, say that taking AP courses are a lot of work. How could we convince them that taking an AP course is going to be worth the work put into one, beyond it looking good to a college?" Warren asks his fellow colleagues.
"With all due respect, the problem is a parish-wide one. Even if we could somehow approach it in a way that could make the maintenance of AP courses worth the investment in resources, and try to implement it, without support from the parish, I hope you know that the real cost savings to students in the long run come from taking the AP test at the end of the year and, to some, the costs of these tests can cause hardships" Trent points out, believing that some students might decide not to take the tests because they feel these tests place an undue financial burden on their families.
"Some students feel like the jump in workload between AP and non-AP courses are not worth the hit on one's GPA even though AP courses come with an extra point. I hope you're aware that grades in AP courses and scores on AP tests act on two different levels" the AP US Government instructor retorts.
"Yes, I know, one is for getting into college in the first place, the other is for advanced standing once in college" the AP English instructor points out, especially given the number of letters of recommendation that teacher must have written over the years for college-bound students.
"So I believe that, in the past, we might have been too harsh in grading students in AP courses. I urge you not to grade on a curve unless the grades in absolute terms are too low, in which case you may use the curvature" the AP Chemistry teacher then retorts.
"One step we could take is that we could use the "better of the AP test or the home final" to determine the finals component of the student's end-of-year grade in an AP course" Glen then suggests, while he writes a letter to the superintendent as well as the Department of Education in Bâton-Rouge asking for help to navigate the funding landscape, such as Titles I and IV. (Notwithstanding that the school is a Title I school because of the large number of impoverished students) "Often people taking AP courses tend to chase grades with greater intensity compared to the rest of the student body"
And, of course, he suggests the parish school board to reimburse the AP tests to students on a sliding scale, make a go of the number of students for forecasting the funds required to refund the AP tests taken by the kids. He plans for 50% of the test fees to be refunded to students for a 3, 75% for a 4 and 100% for a 5, as well as an increase in testing volume, but he plans for no actual change in the score distribution.
Smarter kids were short-changed under my predecessor: even though I actually can't do a whole lot to change the culture on my own, I feel like reimbursing the students for AP tests based on their score would be a small price to pay in the short run for benefits in the long run, Glen muses while the discussion continues and he drafts the memo for use by the superintendent and the DOE in Bâton-Rouge, and he sees this as one step to get the school back on track (or rather, the parish).
Of course, since the region is a little impoverished, Title I and IV funds could be used for that purpose. (And maybe if the parish has any ESSER, or Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, funds remaining)
"We'll need to invite every kid with an A in the immediate prerequisite to a given AP course and systematically" the French teacher suggests about how they are going to address the issue.
"The elephant in the room is the size of the achievement gap between those who can take these AP courses and who can't. So many feel like the material doesn't relate to how it's used in the real world and, as such, won't necessarily want to put in the work in their courses" the AP World History teacher then points out, with the issue as clear as day.
"I'd say there are two kinds of assignments for which extra credit should be given: either about the real-world uses of the material or harder than the regular material. Ideally the real-world uses covered in the assignment should be relatable as widely as possible, knowing the material might not lend itself so well to such real-world applications" Glen then tries to address the issues of achievement gap. "In fact, this is going to be a thrust of professional development I'd like to emphasize, and we still have some money remaining for that"
"It's not enough to help those students with Ds and Fs. We only have two months to add in some real-world applications to the material, for it to be useful we would need to do so regularly and year-round. With the same systematicity you ask us to invite strong and motivated students to get to the AP courses, we should invite those with Ds and Fs to attend summer school as well"
And then the letter addressed to the superintendent turns into a full-fledged request for ESSER money, including money to expand summer school slots, with priority given to math and language arts, replacing outdated textbooks and implementing an AP test reimbursement plan. And the rationale, as well as forecasts, for each of these requests.
These folks in Bâton-Rouge told me there were three rounds of ESSER funding and they also gave me an overview of what the last round of ESSER funding requires of the parish and our obligations under the ARP. We may as well add some instructional materials not already purchased but were requested by the faculty. Glen then reflects upon the answer from the state government. He then consults the state's ESSER funding tracker, while remaining mindful that it's going to be mostly ESSER 3 money, and also ESSER 2.
"Do you have any idea how much do these two items cost?" Trent asks his colleagues. "Where the money for these things would come from?"
"It's short-term relief, but it's now that it matters most. Hopefully we can still get some of the ESSER money" Glen gives some hopes to the beleaguered teachers.
Maybe we could reverse the athletic cuts but I feel like it would hurt what I would aim to achieve in turning this school around. Using ESSER money for this purpose won't fly to the eyes of the state government! Glen keeps musing while most teachers are wondering whether there's enough ESSER money left at the parish level to do everything they wanted.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Speaking of ESSER 2 and 3, ESSER 2 came from the CRRSA, or Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Assistance, and then came ESSER 3 through the ARP, or American Rescue Plan. Under the latter, at least 20% of the money should be spent on implementing evidence-based practices for recouping learning losses.
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Meanwhile, at the superintendent's office, upon receipt of the request from Glen, realizing there's a delayed opportunity for the entire parish to get the same things that the VAs' school requested. The main reason why we waited so long to ask for ESSER 3 money was because the population just didn't notice the learning losses. Their kids not learning much was par for the course for them. It took the parish seat's high school principal to realize there actually are learning losses incurred. We need to implement parish-wide remedial plans, including night summer school for high schoolers, because so many work during the day, and other such things for elementary and middle schoolers, the superintendent then drafts his own plan for spending the ESSER 3 money, alongside the requests from other schools in the parish to make up for their own instructional shortfalls. Such as lab equipment, supplies and textbook replacement, but other schools have their own issues on top of that. Sometimes it's other areas of instructional technology.
An angry middle school principal then proceeds to call the superintendent about their own requests: "Dear superintendent, where's the money promised for the replacement of our supplies? I sent my school's request months ago!"
"Actually, there's one condition, and it comes from the Feds: you need to implement evidence-based practices for recouping learning losses, such as after-school remedial programs or summer school" the superintendent then tells the angry middle school principal. "You never told us whether to accept or reject that"
"Fine, if that's what it takes even though my staff is overworked!" the middle school principal sighs, while realizing that overworked staff will make it much harder to get these Feds' interventions done.
This parish is one dysfunctional school district! Like, there is only so much the teachers can do for the kids. As much as they might have needed after-school remediation, or summer school, the teachers are human, too! the middle school principal, knowing how beleaguered that middle school's staff is, starts to feel blood boiling.
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However, back at the "VAs' school", the next day, teachers are still arguing one another over how else to spend their share of the ESSER money, knowing that they must be wary of spending it on recurrent expenses. Redesigning the curriculum, instructional technology and equipment are one-time expenses, and summer school is temporarily expanded...
"That's a lot of suggestions on using ESSER money, but know that there is good reason to favor one-time expenses so we need to make the ESSER money count. So, if the policy to reimburse AP tests go forward, based upon a score on the test, I really hope it's effective in getting students into AP courses down the road" Glen formulates his wishes regarding his plan for the ESSER money. "I believe that extra credit should be given out more often, and clearly indicated on the assignment"
"Don't forget: AP courses are a symbol of status for students, but a privilege for us to teach!" Trent then realizes that recurring expenses would be incurred for future years if the reimbursement plan goes forward. "And the curriculum should be redesigned, too, with our input of course!"
"Any curriculum redesign is more likely to work if all the strong students are spread among the sections, as evenly as possible" Warren suggests out of left field. "However, I suggest that the priority sorting list be divided in four categories: arts, languages, social studies as well as math and science"
"You may as well ensure that all sections are properly balanced! You can then devote more attention to the struggling kids, and behavioral issues won't be as troublesome" the AP US History teacher points out.
"The old principal just didn't care about section balance!" another teacher grumbles. "He only pretended to care about the kids if he had no other choice, and the town didn't notice anything!"
"We went off-topic for a bit. However, we have more room to redesign non-AP courses vs AP courses because we have the tests at the end" Glen makes a closing remark. "I urge you to ask your respective departments to reflect what they want out of a curriculum redesign and we will spend the ESSER money accordingly"
"The bell was about to ring anyway" the chemistry teacher points out.
Speaking of AP courses, Glen, in the afternoon, makes his announcement regarding, well, their place in the college landscape. And the parish's new policy regarding AP testing fees.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Starting this year, the parish starts reimbursing AP tests to students on a sliding scale. You will ask me why take AP courses? There are several reasons: so you can gain a better understanding of what it takes to make it through college in the desired major, you want to make college cheaper, you want to look better to colleges, and these are the more important ones. Speaking of which, you don't necessarily need to have the best grades in the world to go to college, nor the best ACT scores, but obviously, the higher, the better for both"
Just going to college is going to be a big deal for a lot of these kids, many of whom are eligible for Pell Grants. I just don't want to create a cutthroat environment where it's about how good the college one gets into; that would destroy the kids, Glen then braces himself for the kids' questions about college applications before he even gets a chance to alleviate the concerns regarding AP courses. And tests. The underclassmen have a lot more questions, so many of them that, after school, he requests a meeting with the counselor regarding the matter.
"I have a concern about the parish's plan to reimburse people for taking AP tests: it might push people to take courses they're not ready for" the counselor then voices the concern shortly after the meeting starts. "Is that a good use of Title I funds by the parish?"
"To the extent it helps our college attendance outcomes; our parish might have a good graduation rate, at least compared to other equally impoverished districts, it's because some standards have been relaxed, at least temporarily. But standard relaxation is not expected to continue, especially not if the pandemic subsides" Glen answers his staffer's query.
"I want you to understand that high school diplomas tend to be treated as a work permit around here. In a context where labor shortages loom large, I admit that convincing kids to try getting into college might not be straightforward at all"
"I just want to make a FAQ about college admissions, containing a high-level overview of what level of college is for whom, and how to pay for it" Glen asks the school's counselor, while he writes the content of the web page about the parish's new policy regarding AP courses as well as the corresponding tests. And both would then be given to the secretary to put on the school's website.
"As for financial considerations of college attendance, I think Gen's article in the student newspaper is spot-on. Pell Grants, federal loans, TOPS, and other private loans and scholarships, written at a level that's readily accessible to a high school student" the counselor comments on financing college attendance. "She might be a little young but she understands personal finance much better than I would have expected out of a sophomore. Even better than some college-bound kids in this year's graduating class, actually"
"Just ask for her permission to use her article please..." Glen pleads with his employee.
"Just a little bit of patience, sir"
I don't expect much, even with the parish using ESSER funds to reimburse tests; I doubt that it would have much of an impact. There might be a couple of one-dimensional kids who could end up taking an AP course or two, but by and large, it's more likely to be these B-B+ kids who could be taking these and otherwise wouldn't. Those who would be on the fence about going to college, Glen reflects on the parish's new AP policy. And, of course, the teachers were instructed not to communicate the expectations for the average so that, while the workload would be more intense, As would be easier to earn to compensate. However, it's easier said than done in STEM subjects unless extra credit is given out like candy, rather than just more often.
"She accepted to allow her student newspaper article to be used with extras for the parents. It's good but I can't blame her for focusing entirely on the student point of view of paying for college" the counselor then starts writing an additional section for the parents.
"Speaking of parents, we must engage the parents in the educational process. My predecessor was mostly interested in football and made a token effort for the kids' education; I plan on recentering the priorities. From the way you talk about Gen, she gives me some hope for the future of this school and the parish" Glen then realizes something is amiss.