By:Leslie Gonzalez
East Rockaway parents at odds over report cards, honor roll
An East Rockaway School District decision to change from number to letter grades and to eliminate honor roll at the elementary school level has riled parents, who charge that the district made a poor choice and failed to elicit their input.
A committee of teachers and administrators formed under the guidance of the previous superintendent of schools, James J. Powers, recommended the changes, which Powers said aimed to reduce competition among younger children.
The changes will switch the district's current grading scale, which evaluates students from 100 percent to below 65, to a letter system of A-plus through F. Rhame and Centre Avenue Elementary Schools will distribute the new report cards next December.
The district will eliminate the fourth grade honor roll beginning in September, but will continue it for children who have already completed fourth and fifth grades. By 2002-2003, the district's honor roll will only recognize students in grades six and higher.
Parents received notice of these changes in a letter dated June 19, which was received on the last day of school. At the July 2 Board of Education meeting, parents voiced concerns about the lack of parental input and the impact the decision will have.
"They dropped a bomb on us," said Patricia Barton, whose son, Erik, will enter fourth grade this fall. "There was no feedback from parents."
"If the letter was sent in February or March, I'd be calm about it, but it was done behind parents' backs," said another parent, Mary Ann Amabile. She explained that her son, Robert, who finished fifth grade, views the honor roll as a goal for himself.
"He put himself to work and made the high honor roll," she said. Amabile said she is disappointed her daughter, Theresa, who will enter fourth grade, will not have that opportunity. "It's set in stone and there's no turning back, which is wrong."
Although Powers admits parents were not involved in the committee's discussions, he said board members were kept informed of progress from the numerous meetings. Committee members included Marie Calder, former principal at Rhame, Timothy Silk, principal at Centre, and K-6 educators from both schools.
Powers said members unanimously felt the competition was inappropriate for children at such an early age.
"This is the right decision in the best interest of the kids," Powers told the Herald.
Powers said the changes will allow for a more accurate description of student progress, while eliminating pressure for children already loaded with state assessment exams.
New report card changes will evaluate kindergarten students by four progress levels, grades one through three by letter-coded description, and grades four and five by letter.
"There is enough competition in the world. Let kids be kids for as long as they possibly can," Powers said.
Parents who object to the new system said it undermines motivation to achieve. For example, children who score 100 percent will earn the same A-plus as another child who may actually score a 95.
"We don't want to lose incentive," said parents Donna Leban and Tina Trantel, who feel honor roll certificates and numerical grades foster healthy competition among students. "Motivation and recognition of kids is important for self-confidence," they argued.
Geri Brown, a retired elementary teacher who attended the July 2 meeting, supported the district's decision.
"You have to place yourselves in the shoes of the child whose incapable of making [the honor roll], and feels he or she is not succeeding," Brown said.
Parents felt they had little recourse, since Powers, Calder and about a half-dozen committee members retired June 30. At the July 2 meeting, board members acknowledged the decision involved "bad timing and bad communication," but concluded in agreement with the policy.
"We felt that nine year olds should not have forced competition. It puts up a bar that excludes the lower half," said Sal Scrimenti, school board president, who added that children tend to classify each other based on grade and honor roll levels. "We need a more equitable system."
Dr. Arnold Dodge, the district's new superintendent of schools, agreed.
"I've never heard an honor roll as young as fourth grade," Dodge said. "For the little ones, there should not be haves and have nots."
Dodge plans to establish a committee to create a new system of student recognition without exclusion. The committee, which will officially begin its work in September, will include Centre principal Timothy Silk, Laura Guggino, new principal at Rhame, teachers and at least two parents from each school. Committee members will evaluate not just grades, but effort and improvement.
"Perhaps their ideas will set an example for other districts," Scrimenti said.
