Critics say schools failed to inform parents about their children's academic progress, leaving parents in the dark that their kids are academically struggling.
Ninety-two percent of parents believe that their children are performing at grade level, according to a 2022 survey participated by 1,400 public school parents nationwide and implemented by Learning Heroes, a nonprofit organization working for parents' and guardians' empowerment so that they can support their children's success in school.
However, Learning Heroes' founder and president, Bibb Hubbard, disagreed. In an interview with NWEA, she stated that "clearly" the country does not have 92 percent of students performing at grade level.
Her statement was confirmed when a federal survey, participated by school officials, showed that 50 percent of all students in America started the school year below grade level in at least one subject.
Other outcomes were the same for both families
"Parents can't solve a problem that they don't know they have," stressed Learning Heroes' co-founder Cindi Williams, who believes improving communication between public schools and parents about children's academic progress is crucial.
Mother Evena Joseph was left in the dark about how her 10-year-old son struggled in school. She kept receiving calls from his teachers in Boston Public School about acting out in class, disrupting lessons, and leaving the classroom but never about his difficulty and problem in reading, she told the Jamaica Observer.
She only found out about it when her son, J Ryan Mathurin, needed to be brought to the hospital for depression and to check what was causing his destructive behaviors during English language arts, Mandarin, and gym classes. The hospital partnered Joseph with Fabienne Eliacin, a parent advocate who can speak both English and Haitian Creole.
Eliacin pushed to have J Ryan's test scores each fall to monitor his learning, where she found that the boy scored in the 30th percentile for reading. She then discussed this significant concern with Joseph, stating that the boy has problems in reading and needs help to do better.
It all suddenly made sense to Joseph. She now realized that the negative behaviors of her son were due to his frustration in having a hard time pronouncing, reading, and understanding English words.
Joseph expressed her disappointment to the school and the teachers who never told her about his son's academic struggle and even concluded that these teachers "don't really care how much they learn, as long as they stay quiet."
Parents want to be proactive with their kids' education
Boston Public School officials and the teachers involved chose not to comment on the case of J Ryan. However, district spokesperson Marcus O'Mard expressed that the school has always been committed to providing parents and families with "comprehensive and up to date information" about the academic performance of their students.
Research shows that teachers do not discuss a student's academic status or progress with parents, especially when it is not positive news, for many reasons.
University of Missouri's psychology professor Tyler Smith shared that based on history, teachers need the training to communicate with parents, which Learning Heroes' national teacher surveys confirmed.
Williams stated that there are times when teachers, unfortunately, would "make assumptions'' that low-income parents do not care about their children's education or should not be burdened with it. Sometimes, they would immediately assume that parents might not believe them.
Thus, what usually happens is unaware parents entirely rely on their kids' report cards. Yet, report cards are "notoriously subjective" as they are mostly only based on students' efforts and homework.
Learning Heroes' 2022 survey brings a silver lining, fortunately. Due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and online learning from home, seven out of ten parents plan to understand better what their students are expected to learn in the next grade level of where their children stand academically. These parents also will find more time to communicate with their kids about daily assignments.
Further, 64 percent plan to start regular communication with teachers about their children's schoolwork and academic progress.
Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of NaFonal Urban League, proclaimed that parents are eager to become more proactive with their children's school and that schools should "harness and welcome this energy," because parent and school partnership will always lead to a successful education for the children.
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