Ballowe: Closing the Achievement Gap a Multifaceted Problem

As a lifetime educator, 34 of my 39 years in Lynchburg, I repeatedly noticed that some students from similar backgrounds worked beyond what you would expect and others worked considerably less than the majority. I was constantly trying to find motivating ways to create success in their daily lives. Those who did not work to their potential and seemed to resist any help, appeared to have no experience with intrinsic rewards; when offered assistance of any kind, they were unwilling to use the resources available to all. Whether this was because of past bad experiences, lack of trust or falling into generational bad habits, they lost out on that feeling we all know when we are proud of our accomplishments. While I am proud of my impact on many, you always feel like you might have been able to do more for others. I used the old adage of teaching them to fish for themselves and building life-long skills instead of waiting for others to provide. And those who actually took a chance and let us guide them to success, frequently continued to grow and develop a new outlook on their abilities and chances to succeed.

“Doing more” — that is a recurring theme that separates success and failure. Many examples stand out where doing more; doing a minimum would have made a huge difference in student grades, reflecting the efforts made.

Let me explain. Stand at the doors of the local high schools at the end of the school day and observe what students are carrying when they leave the building. You will notice groups of students who have backpacks, coats and maybe even a musical instrument or athletic gear. You will notice students who are mostly empty-handed. Those empty-handed students will not be doing any homework. They didn’t do any homework in school when given the opportunity at the end of class. They don’t turn in homework even if they complete any. Thus, no matter how well they perform on quizzes and tests, they receive Ds or Fs since a zero for homework and 100 on a quiz still equal a failing average of 50. When you come to class with no paper, textbook or writing instrument and you don’t complete classwork or homework, then you have placed yourself in a failing position. You could have done more by using the tools a teacher let you borrow or by spending 30 minutes after school, at the end of class or on the bus completing the assignment.

As a high school counselor, we instituted many initiatives to address the graduation rate and to walk students through options and procedures to ensure student success. When it became almost impossible or unaffordable for many students to attend summer school to recover credits for failed classes, we created a program named 2nd Chance. Students paid $10 instead of $75 per class and took this class after school, instead of three weeks in the summer. Thus, issues of transportation, cost and accessibility were mostly eliminated. Teachers made huge concessions for students who had to miss a class or leave early. Completing the credit was the goal.

Overall, the program was extremely successful for the students who took advantage. On-time graduation was achieved by many using this program. But over time, students expected to be granted the credit when they had only attended three or four of the 15 sessions or when they had not completed the work even though they had attended most of the time. 2nd Chance was never intended to be a handout. The integrity of the coursework had to be maintained in order to provide a passing grade for graduation.

We also created in-school opportunities for students to make up failed classes in the computer lab by completing the coursework at their own pace during an entire semester or sometimes longer. Teacher support was available, but déjà vu … some students didn’t make an effort to do the work even with no homework or note taking required.

Another barrier to graduation is passed SOL tests. Again, after-school classes were created for free tutoring geared to passing the needed SOL. When few students consistently took advantage, the tutoring was revised to pulling students from class on the day prior to the retest to take a half-day crash course for that test. When students didn’t show up, educators went to their classroom to summon them, but they refused to come. When given multiple opportunities to retest, students refused to come.

I guess the point of all this is that thousands of educators have worked harder than some students to help them succeed in whatever the issue. They are not even met halfway. We can pat ourselves on the back for our successes, but in the back of our minds there are always the ones we couldn’t reach. Valuing education and using resources is a life skill that begins early in life. The community, above and beyond educators, needs to help us instill a sense of responsibility and ownership for students to succeed. Mentors and volunteers give freely and willingly of their time with some success. Organized strategies need to wrap around families to help them deal with these issues and those of stable jobs, childcare, housing, food and health that all impact another huge distraction in education — attendance. But that is another story.

Ballowe is a retired director of counseling at E.C. Glass High School. She is a resident of Forest.