It’s time for Jamestown’s superintendent of schools to remove his blinders, get off his poverty/trauma horse, and do the job for which he was hired and is paid a very generous salary — educate all district children, not just those he deems “traumatized.” Does he know what to do? He espouses Jamestown’s 70% poverty rate in nearly every interview, coupling it with “the data tells [sic] us the trauma that many of those kids experience.”

Reality check! Very few students today, if any, experience abject poverty or trauma from poverty. Generous taxpayers provide Medicaid, welfare, and food stamps to all who qualify. As Assemblyman Goodell stated (P-J, 12-7-19), “Our Medicaid program currently has the dubious distinction of being one of the most expensive in the nation.” Our economy is booming and jobs are plentiful for adults with initiative to work.

When long-term district failure rates are examined, it’s not hard to see why there are discipline problems. Over the past seven years, a shocking 77% of students in grades 3-8 failed English Language Arts. They can’t read, write, spell, or think on a level needed to be successful in high school and beyond; vocabulary skills are weak. An abysmal 78% failed math. In other words, they were unprepared for high school algebra and higher level math courses needed for higher education and skilled jobs. As we have seen, struggling students too frequently become disruptive and disrespectful to teachers. The problem seems worse in the middle schools. Just ask substitute teachers.

School Digger, using data from National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Department of Education, and New York State Education Department, ranked all NY schools and gave zero to 5 stars. Placing in the top 90-100% earned a school 5 stars. A school with no stars placed in 0-10%. Here are district schools and their rankings in NY. TWO STARS: JHS, ranked 687 out of 1205 NY high schools; Lincoln, 1325. Bush 1376, both out of 2405 elementary schools. ONE STAR: Ring 1712 out of 2405; Persell, 1118, Washington, 1167, Jefferson, 1226, all three out of 1434 middle schools. NO STARS: Fletcher, 2258, Love, 2259, both out of 2405. The message: Jamestown students are poorly educated. There is a direct link to disruptive behaviors in classrooms.

Last March I sent a letter to Superintendent Apthorpe providing pertinent information on incredibly effective curricula in the public domain with very high effect size. I asked this question: “What would you need to make this work for you – and thus for Jamestown students?” I noted, “At this point, our students have been held hostage to years of weak, progressive fads that your predecessors called ‘The Solution’ but which turned out to be nonsolutions.” I still am awaiting a response to my letter.

Although the superintendent says he understands about effect sizes on academic achievement, he does not appear to make use of that information. Disadvantaged children need more powerful curricula than the progressive low-nutrient educational diet students currently receive. They must master basic skills in grades K-8 in order to be successful in high school, all the while reading high-quality literature. It starts in kindergarten, along with learning appropriate behaviors.

This is not training for businesses but preparation to be active and thoughtful citizens in America. Students learn respect for our country and flag by standing each morning and repeating the pledge of allegiance. Such behavior is mandatory and learned, not engaged in by student whim.

Project Follow Through. This was the most extensive educational experiment ever conducted by the federal government. In 1968, 22 different models of instruction were compared on over 200,000 at-risk (white, black, Hispanic, Native American) children in 178 communities in grades K-3. Results were very different from expectations: Students in Direct Instruction (DI) had significantly higher academic achievement than in any other program.

Moreover, they had higher self-esteem and self-confidence because they knew they were smart and could learn. The other programs were the already-failed progressive models that continue to be used today, just under different names.

DI has 50 years of research-demonstrated success! All students can learn with well-designed instruction that is explicit and systematic. Emphasis is on mastery learning of skills and building on a foundation. Teachers have a clear idea of the learning intentions and success criteria. Students are held accountable for learning; all errors are corrected. Fewer children enter special education. This is traditional teaching at its best!

Curricular programs include: reading, writing, spelling, language, thinking, mathematics, cursive writing, In addition, there are corrective programs in reading, comprehension, spelling, writing, and math skills for students who are behind in their skills development.

A superintendent would be remiss — especially one who is on the hot seat — if he failed to consider the use of such powerful curricula for Jamestown’s at-risk children. And particularly when curricula have a proven track record of more than 50 years!

Deann Nelson is a Jamestown resident.