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With make up high school graduation qualifying exams going on this week, we take a look at last year's scores which shows minorities in Anchorage aren't keeping up with targeted adequate yearly progress goals. A lack of progress, which is leaving kids stuck with no answers. Which is why the Anchorage School District is working hard to close the gap.
If you look at last year's district AYP scores, minorities in Anchorage continue to not meet target goals, a trend that leads to the question where is the disconnect. "There are questions we just don't have answers too," said Roger LeBlanc, the principal at Fairview Elementary. "We are really trying to fare it out with the issues so we can really help young people get back on track because the statistics are definitely different, the gap exists," said Carol Comeau, the superintendent of the Anchorage School District.
What's causing officials to scratch their heads is the huge test score gap among minorities. In language arts only 70 percent are meeting goals compared to 89 percent of Caucasian students. In math the figure is even worse with just 60 percent making the grade compared to 81 percent of their counterparts.
But in order to fix the problem, officials are looking to see why kids who are all in the same schools are not all making the same progress. "We are finding that more and more young people as they transition from eighth to ninth grade and then tenth grade," said
Outside influences also play a role in how a student learns. "If you are hungry you are not going to learn, if you are sleeping in the backseat of your car, you are not going to learn if there is substance abuse in your or your parents life you are not going to learn," said Michele Brown, the president of United Way. According to study done by the Anchorage United For Youth, if a child comes from a poor family they are three times less likely to be proficient in school as children who come from families that are more economically secure. "That's telling us that if you are hungry or your parents are working three jobs, all kinds of things like that going on in your life its harder to be engaged in school," said Brown.
A problem that can leave some parents feeling helpless. "A lot of times they aren't helping because they don't know how to, they aren't helping because sometimes its an embarrassment because a kid will bring homework home or school work home and mom and dad have no clue what's going on," said LeBlanc.
Roger LeBlanc knows this dilemma all too well. As the past principal of Mountain View and now Fairview elementary, both schools which test low and have disadvantaged kids, he tries to make school like that parent, like that family to help kids succeed. "When you see kids you have to create that positive environment for them, school is that place, the things we do here in addition to that, we try to make the school day as long as possible, as meaningful as possible, and we try to make sure we are including all of these kids," said LeBlanc.
With tutoring, graduation coaches, and a focus on good attendance, the district says they are working to reverse the trend. Something they say the community can do a lot to help. "If parents are not involved for whatever reason we need to not use that as an excuse," said Comeau. "People can step up to be mentors, people can lend their voice, people can say I care about our youth, I care about them graduating," said Brown.
Both district and community leaders say there is not one simple solution, as it will take dedication and commitment to solve this problem. For more information on how to help your kids and get AYP scores, please go to our links page.
To contact the Newsroom, call 907-274-1111.
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