What does "8 Plus" (or "5 Plus") semester mean?

Since the 70's we are operating in a completely different world due to technology. But the schools remain mostly unchanged since ???.

Just four years ago, when my daughter entered high school, I heard several parents of kids on this Honors/AP track complain that their students hadn't been taught the tech skills their high school teachers assumed they carried to high school.

I don't think this was especially an issue on other curriculum tracks, but these particular teachers were asking for only "typewritten" assignments, PowerPoint presentations, and video presentations (using webcams many students didn't even own, much less know how to use). They seemed to assume that students had the exclusive use of a computer at home, too, which, at that time, was not the case for our daughter. We had to buy her quite a bit of software and computer equipment, including that laptop, pretty early on--just to enable her to do her ninth grade homework.

Once equipped, we scrambled to quickly teach her these skills she needed. I don't mind telling you, though, as many years as I've been out of the workforce, I had to rely on my husband to teach several applications. I'm sure other families had this same dilemma, as a lot of kids on this track have stay-at-home moms.

But that was four years ago. Today, I'm delighted to report that my younger child, a seventh grader, is learning all these skills in middle school. A two-part class series called Foundations in Technology is teaching him what we tried, as best we could, to teach our daughter.

I'll report progress, then, to the benefit of my children in their particular studies (although I expect to have to buy yet another home computer really soon).

I do wonder, though, at the tech skills other students may be developing in other curriculum tracks? I wonder, too, what becomes of students qualifed to undertake this more rigorous curriculum, but whose parents can't afford the investment in home technology to support them in their studies?

Remember: Statewide, 54.7% of them can't scrape together lunch money (stats discussed earlier, above)!

...you can transfer INTO a Project Grad school, which has a different curriculum than non-Project Grad schools.

Actually, rs, both the Success for All Reading and the Move It Math curricula have been replaced by the county's own in recent years.

The program is pretty much comprised of just that social services "shell" these days.

The recently-completed Annenberg report KCS commissioned wasn't particularly kind on the subject of system administrators' propensity to "layer on" programs, nor on their reluctance to ditch those that fail to produce adequate results...

(I think that report is on the KCS website, if you haven't read it.)

Actually, Rocket Squirrel, our current transfer policy is based on capacity. If you want to leave any school in the county and attend any other school in the county, you can, if there is space and you provide your own transportation. At this point in time space is allocated on a first-come first served basis, although in the future that may change to a lottery system. Students transferring from a "failing" Title I schools, are entitled to transportation as well. You can read more about the KCS transfer policy on-line.

As a parent of 2 kids in a Project GRAD school, I beg to differ that the curriculum is inferior. I've been in a lot of schools, k-12, GRAD and non-GRAD, and I'd say the primary difference between GRAD and non-GRAD schools are the additional supports available to disadvantaged students in GRAD schools, social services, college counselors, scholarship opportunities, that sort of thing.

The reading program is now exactly the same in all KCS elementary schools. Success For All (SFA) has been dropped since the other program was shown to be more effective. The Move-it-Math curriculum is unique to Project GRAD elementary schools, but data show that it's quite effective, and in fact many of its elements have been spread across the county. I help do Move-it-Math activities with 2nd graders once a week and think the way they teach mathematical reasoning is great. I especially like that they teach kids many ways to think about and solve problems, not just to memorize one technique. The math gains in Project GRAD schools are strong.

There *are* differences in course offerings among our high schools. Some of that is based on size of the school - Fulton has about 1000 students, Bearden closer to 2000. Some of it is also a matter of supply and demand.

Our achievement gaps will never be resolved addressed until we fix the opportunity and expectations gaps. One way to tackle that challenge is to encourage parents with high expectations to enroll their kids in the local public school. Another way is to insist on rigor and excellence for all kids, even those whose families may not be effective advocates. These reforms require on-going effort on many fronts.

Fulton currently offers a wide array of AP courses, foreign language and top level science and math courses. Even if only a few students are interested in a course, they bend over backwards to make it happen. This year they piloted a distance learning higher level math course. A student wanted to take a course that wasn't being offered at Fulton that semester, so they linked into the same course being offered at another high school. The student could observe the class live and participate in the learning. I believe the teacher visited Fulton in person at least once a week. Not ideal, but the efforts are being made, and in a time of shrinking budgets, distance learning might become more common.

Change is incremental, but we are making progress.

so Tamara, the curriculum is now the same between Project Grad and non-Project Grad schools? You can get Latin classes at Farragut and Fulton?