Oliver+Pruksarnukul

=Can Poor Students Succeed in the Classroom? = The purpose of this Wiki site is to discuss the reason(s) why children from economically disadvantaged families seem to struggle in the classroom. This Wiki will also explore some of the ways in which educators can help narrow this ever growing gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots." While there is no one solution to this issue, some of the ideas that have been implemented can work in some settings.

**__Poor Students Around the World:__**

In this section there are three articles that explore the issues of poor children from different parts of the world. As one might expect, the poorer the nation the more complicated the situation becomes. Ironically some of the most interesting ideas, and innovative solutions come from the poorest nations. Whether or not these plans could work whole scale in the US or other western countries is debatable. http://imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues33/index.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2005-09/23/content_536943.htm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article3042864.ece

**__Relevant Statistics:__**

http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/74_PDF.pdf The statistics compiled from The Child Trends Data Bank not only offer useful information on the issue of children coming from working poor families, but it also helps to define what it is to be "working-poor." The statistics are broken down by Family Structure, Race & Ethnicity, and Differences by Parental Education. It also lead you to a site with updated trends locally and statewide.

http://nces.ed.gov/annuals/ This site from the National Center for Education Statistics is a good source of general information.

http://www.nea.org/home/AchievementGaps.html This page specifically deals with the Narrowing of the Achievement Gap in several categories, and is posted by the NEA

**__Possible Solutions:__**

http://www.heritage.org/research/education/bg1755.cfm "A Head Start for Poor Children" This article discusses the how the Head Start Program has helped (somewhat) narrow the gap between poor students, and those categorized as "middle-income." The article also explains how the program has some deficiencies, but for now, seems to be the only thing working. You will also find interesting and sobering statistics that illustrate the problem with poor children in public schools.

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5224 "Private Education is Good for the Poor: A Study of Private Schools Serving the Poor in Low-Income Countries" The title of the article says it all. This article attempts to debunk the stereotypes attributed to private education; that they are for the elite, that the unregistered private schools are of low quality, that some demand government regulation, and that they are inherently counter-productive to the UN's idea of education for all. The article purports that private schools around the world are already having a major impact on the education and the overall quality of life of poor children. Granted, the study was conducted in some of the poorest nations in the world, but their findings are interesting nonetheless.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081118/news_lz1ed18bottom.html "Teaching Poor Kids: The Best Charters Outrank Traditional Schools" Whether or not charter schools are "better" than their public school counterpart remains a contentious debate. However, according to this article, there is less debate about how much better off poor children are in a charter school setting (at least in CA). Here they offer arguments that the charter schools are allowed to succeed where public schools fail primarily because the charters do not need to deal with teacher's unions which typically hamstring districts in various ways.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS144167+17-Feb-2009+PRN20090217 "Are Poor Minority Kids Unqualified for Academic Success?" This article explains the story of a school district in Dallas, TX that has dealt with the issues of poverty among their students head on...and won. It offers a real life "solution" to the issues of low-income students, and giving them a way to do well in an academic setting.

http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/03/paying_poor_kids_to_improve.html "Paying Poor Kids to Improve" Apparently in Washington DC paying kids to get good grades, and go to class has had an impact on how their children have been performing. Can this work elsewhere? More importantly who is actually going to pay? It is an interesting look at a, perhaps, radical solution to the issues of one of the worst school districts in America.

Kohn, Alfie, __Poor Teaching for Poor Kids__ Suggests that the most conspicuous victims of high-stakes testing are low-income minority children. Notes that families and educators are beginning to "engage in civil disobedience to rescue education from the current accountability fad." Concludes that it is very important to investigate whether the proposed response is likely to fix the problem or make it worse (ERIC site).

__**Needs Assessment Plan for Glenfield Middle School:**__ Upon examination of their grades, NJASK scores, behavioral referrals and detentions, along with the excessive numbers of suspensions and expulsions (compared to those students not on free and/or reduced lunch), I decided to base my SIP on finding a viable solution to this issue. The file below is my needs assessment plan which helps detail my school's problems.