The second week of non-learning started today -- CSAP testing ... testing ... testing ... continues.
In Colorado Springs yet another group of parents have figured out that boycotting the CSAP is a great way to make a point. More power to those parents! And, those children will be grateful for at least one year's reprieve from the learning-killing CSAP.
There is still time, parents, to show your student that you value learning and education more than making the politicians and bureaucrats happy. Opt out of CSAP this week and re-enforce the importance of the joy of learning to your children.
Da Vinci Parents Opt Kids Out of CSAP to Make a Statement | Colorado Springs Gazette
At least 12 students at The da Vinci Academy have been sitting out CSAP tests this week as their parents protest changes they say are steering the school away from its mission of arts-integrated learning.Another parent pulled her son out of the school and is home-schooling him because of changes at the Academy School District 20 elementary school.
In recent months, the parent group has complained repeatedly to the D-20 school board and administration about the erosion of the school's mission to "educate and enrich all learners through the integration of the arts and sciences."
Parent Kevin Kimble noted that at one time, for example, third-graders learned the parts of speech in a play in which they took on roles such as a noun or comma. Now, he said, they do worksheets and focus on CSAPs.
He said the parents aren't opposed to standardized testing in general but believe that the school has emphasized test preparation to the detriment of its students.
"There's nothing wrong with traditional curriculum, but this school was created to do something different," he said. "It allows a choice for parents. That's why it was so wildly successful. Nationally, we're leaving so many of our children behind because we're not teaching them in the way that they learn best."
Throughout February, parents sent letters to the school and D-20 administrators to opt their children out of CSAPs. Several of the parents said they would provide their children with alternative education activities on test days; others said they expected the school to provide alternative activities.
It is legal for parents to pull their children from specific activities, including state standardized tests. This week, parents of 67 kids in an Adams County school opted out of CSAP because of changes to the calendar and programs, and removal of the principal.
"It does happen," D-20 spokeswoman Nanette Anderson said when asked if other of the district's parents have opted their children out of CSAPs. "Sometimes it's philosophical disagreement with the test, or it could be a parent's decision that it's not good for their child. In all cases, it's respected."
Da Vinci's annual accountability report will take a hit, she said, but it will not count against the school in another state measurement known as Adequate Yearly Progress. The school, which has about 450 students, has scored "high" on the last two School Accountability Reports.
Anderson disagreed, however, with the da Vinci parents' allegation that the school has strayed from its mission of arts-integrated learning.
She said the school formed a partnership this year with a similar school in Pueblo, and D-20 added an academic arts academy at Eagleview Middle School this year to accommodate da Vinci students as they move into sixth grade.
Principal Kathy Griego declined an interview until after spring break because of the CSAP testing schedule.
Kimble said many of the parents have had disagreements with Griego, who is in her first year as principal at the school, and that has led to the perception that some parents simply don't like her.
But the changes, he said, started under the previous principal, and he believes the district wants more emphasis on standard curriculum and testing.
The parents and administrators had a couple of meetings in the fall, but no more are planned.
Kimble said the situation is at a stalemate, and he believes the district is simply waiting for the parents to "go away."
"A story about disgruntled parents is not that interesting," he said. "What is interesting is why we're disgruntled, and that's because of this emphasis on standardized testing. This district is all about its test scores, all about the prestige of having excellent scores. Why are we so manic over improving that?"
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