A student’s cell phone rings in class and I patiently wait for the student to confess. I look around and one student in the back of the classroom is pale white and looks like a deer in headlights. She is never in trouble and barely speaks. Since it is the first time her phone has gone off in class, it is just a warning and she has to turn the phone in until the end of the day. For most students, this is no big deal. She gives me the phone and goes into full panic mode, sweat is pouring from her face and she tells me she is going to be sick. I ask her if she is okay and she tells me that it is her parent’s phone. In my head, I am thinking she is just worried she will get in trouble for having her parent’s phone. To ease her mind, I send her to the office so she can call home and tell them about the phone. At the same time, I am thinking it was odd that she had her parent’s phone since she lived with her grandparent. Later in the year, I found out the real story that invoked the panic. Her parent had been involved with some “bad” people and she did not want them talking to her parent, so she took the phone. The person who called during class was one of the “bad” people.
This girl seems like your normal student. She is an advanced student who excels in all subject areas. She tries her best in everything and is always looking to improve. She is soft-spoken and well mannered. She never has to be corrected and is a great friend to everyone in the class. She is especially gifted in the arts. She is also the student who lives in a low socioeconomic area of town. What many people call “the bad part of town.” You would never know what this student has gone through just by peeking in the window of my classroom. This is true of most students in my class. This girl is unaware of her potential, which led me to my question.
Why are high achieving, low socioeconomic students not taking advantage of educational opportunities? In Jefferson County Public Schools, where students have a variety of school choice, we can see this disparity starting in elementary school. This is more than likely also true in districts with charter schools and voucher systems. In a broader aspect, across the nation, high achieving, low socioeconomic students do not seem to be as aware of higher education opportunities as their more affluent peers are. Studies have shown that low-income students are not attending colleges, especially institutions considered “more competitive” equally to wealthier students. But why not?
The most prevalent reason is lack of information of these opportunities. Many of my students do not live with their biological parents. Grandparents, aunts, or single parents are raising many of these students. Parents/Guardians and students are unaware of the opportunities available to them, therefore they do not act.
To combat awareness, I gave students a survey. I allowed students to write short term and long-term goals. The student I mentioned above listed her goals as, “I want to have a lot of money saved. Do not be lazy. Learn how to play guitar.” On a survey, this same student said that she was unaware of where her parents went to high school or college and had never considered where she would like to go for college or higher education. She is completely unaware of her potential and the opportunities available to her, especially as an advanced learner.
Next was the middle school info session. The AP coordinator, Parent Assistance Coordinator, and other district liaisons were present at my middle school night. Parents/Guardians and students were invited to ask questions and learn about their middle school options. I know that in many schools across the state this school choice at the middle school and high school level is not an option, but the lack of information can be correlated to college/higher education school choice. About half my class’s parents showed up and were enthusiastic to learn about their options. After listening to the district coordinators about the different schools in Jefferson County, parents asked questions. Parents/Guardians seemed more open to applying outside of their resides school, but a common concern was transportation. Most students in my class ride a bus to school. Parents were informed that if accepted, students would be provided transportation.
After the session, parents and students completed a survey. Parents stated that they found the night very informative. Many ranked their knowledge of where their child would attend middle school much higher after the info session. Students similarly ranked their knowledge of where they wanted to attend middle school higher after the session. This info night will be replicated with a high school and higher education (college and other further training) fair in the future to make students aware of their opportunities.
After reading a book called A Hope in the Unseen and speaking with students who have returned to visit from middle school, I realized another barrier to high achieving, low-income student success in further education, rigorous coursework. In the book, a student in a high poverty area of Washington D.C. overcomes the obstacles of drugs, gangs, and poverty to stay in the top of his class in high school. He is accepted to Brown University. Once there he realizes that the top of his class at his high school did not provide him with the challenges that were being provided to students in higher socioeconomic areas of town. He became discouraged and almost dropped out.
High achieving students that attend schools with many students struggling academically are often the most underserved population. They are used as “helpers” or given extra work to keep them busy. If these students are to compete with their more affluent peers, they will have to be able to complete assignments that are more challenging. Listed below are ways I challenge my advanced learners.
My goal is to provide these students with opportunities that allow them to compete at a higher level so they can recognize their true potential. My exceptional student I mentioned earlier wanted to attend an arts magnet middle school in Jefferson County. She found out about the school at our middle school night and instantly fell in love. The school is known for its rigorous academics and its focus on arts. Where is she attending next year you ask? Her resides school, because her grandparent does not have educational rights and even with persistence from an amazing school counselor, the paperwork was not completed. She will excel at her school because that is who she is, but I wonder what if? What if she had gotten the other opportunity? What would be her path? Would the outcome change?
My plan next year is to collaborate with the other fifth grade teachers along with our school counselor to extend these solutions to the entire fifth grade class. We will host a middle school information night in the fall, have a high school and college fair, and plan college visits. The next year I will collaborate with a JCPS middle school and high school teacher to bring together similar projects at all school levels. I will branch this out to a regional level to include more schools in the southwestern Louisville area.
This girl seems like your normal student. She is an advanced student who excels in all subject areas. She tries her best in everything and is always looking to improve. She is soft-spoken and well mannered. She never has to be corrected and is a great friend to everyone in the class. She is especially gifted in the arts. She is also the student who lives in a low socioeconomic area of town. What many people call “the bad part of town.” You would never know what this student has gone through just by peeking in the window of my classroom. This is true of most students in my class. This girl is unaware of her potential, which led me to my question.
Why are high achieving, low socioeconomic students not taking advantage of educational opportunities? In Jefferson County Public Schools, where students have a variety of school choice, we can see this disparity starting in elementary school. This is more than likely also true in districts with charter schools and voucher systems. In a broader aspect, across the nation, high achieving, low socioeconomic students do not seem to be as aware of higher education opportunities as their more affluent peers are. Studies have shown that low-income students are not attending colleges, especially institutions considered “more competitive” equally to wealthier students. But why not?
The most prevalent reason is lack of information of these opportunities. Many of my students do not live with their biological parents. Grandparents, aunts, or single parents are raising many of these students. Parents/Guardians and students are unaware of the opportunities available to them, therefore they do not act.
To combat awareness, I gave students a survey. I allowed students to write short term and long-term goals. The student I mentioned above listed her goals as, “I want to have a lot of money saved. Do not be lazy. Learn how to play guitar.” On a survey, this same student said that she was unaware of where her parents went to high school or college and had never considered where she would like to go for college or higher education. She is completely unaware of her potential and the opportunities available to her, especially as an advanced learner.
Next was the middle school info session. The AP coordinator, Parent Assistance Coordinator, and other district liaisons were present at my middle school night. Parents/Guardians and students were invited to ask questions and learn about their middle school options. I know that in many schools across the state this school choice at the middle school and high school level is not an option, but the lack of information can be correlated to college/higher education school choice. About half my class’s parents showed up and were enthusiastic to learn about their options. After listening to the district coordinators about the different schools in Jefferson County, parents asked questions. Parents/Guardians seemed more open to applying outside of their resides school, but a common concern was transportation. Most students in my class ride a bus to school. Parents were informed that if accepted, students would be provided transportation.
After the session, parents and students completed a survey. Parents stated that they found the night very informative. Many ranked their knowledge of where their child would attend middle school much higher after the info session. Students similarly ranked their knowledge of where they wanted to attend middle school higher after the session. This info night will be replicated with a high school and higher education (college and other further training) fair in the future to make students aware of their opportunities.
After reading a book called A Hope in the Unseen and speaking with students who have returned to visit from middle school, I realized another barrier to high achieving, low-income student success in further education, rigorous coursework. In the book, a student in a high poverty area of Washington D.C. overcomes the obstacles of drugs, gangs, and poverty to stay in the top of his class in high school. He is accepted to Brown University. Once there he realizes that the top of his class at his high school did not provide him with the challenges that were being provided to students in higher socioeconomic areas of town. He became discouraged and almost dropped out.
High achieving students that attend schools with many students struggling academically are often the most underserved population. They are used as “helpers” or given extra work to keep them busy. If these students are to compete with their more affluent peers, they will have to be able to complete assignments that are more challenging. Listed below are ways I challenge my advanced learners.
- STEAM challenges
- Problem Based Projects
- Advanced Technology Projects (green screen, coding, tinker cad, interactive online posters)
- Subject Enrichment Assignments
My goal is to provide these students with opportunities that allow them to compete at a higher level so they can recognize their true potential. My exceptional student I mentioned earlier wanted to attend an arts magnet middle school in Jefferson County. She found out about the school at our middle school night and instantly fell in love. The school is known for its rigorous academics and its focus on arts. Where is she attending next year you ask? Her resides school, because her grandparent does not have educational rights and even with persistence from an amazing school counselor, the paperwork was not completed. She will excel at her school because that is who she is, but I wonder what if? What if she had gotten the other opportunity? What would be her path? Would the outcome change?
My plan next year is to collaborate with the other fifth grade teachers along with our school counselor to extend these solutions to the entire fifth grade class. We will host a middle school information night in the fall, have a high school and college fair, and plan college visits. The next year I will collaborate with a JCPS middle school and high school teacher to bring together similar projects at all school levels. I will branch this out to a regional level to include more schools in the southwestern Louisville area.
Christie Mudd is a 4th/5th grade teacher at Greenwood Elementary School in Louisville, KY. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Mathematics and her Master’s degree in Teacher Leadership with a focus in Mathematics and Technology from the University of Louisville. She is a member of the 2016 - 2017 Kentucky CTEPS team.