Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Poverty, population, and the ASD

I spend a lot of time talking to moms (and dads) on the playground at my son's school. One thing I love about Muhlenberg Elementary in west Allentown is that most kids walk to school, or are driven by parents, so kids and parents can stay on the playground after school and socialize. It is a true community school. Some days we are there till almost dinner time, unless we have a piano lesson or other activity to attend. We don't have much of a yard, so I am glad my son can run around like a nut for a while, play some ball, or climb on the equipment. Saves some wear and tear on our furniture and walls, plus, kids need exercise.

I don't know the exact numbers, but according to a high ranking PTA official, this year Muhlenberg has over 100 new students. The art teacher has lost her classroom and must go room to room with a cart. (I know what that's like since I did it for many years when I taught art in the ASD). Muhlenberg has two portable classrooms. A teacher has told me that they need more ESL teachers. (English as a second language) The majority of kids in my son's class are Hispanic. I don't know how many need ESL.
If you go to the ASD's website and read the section of the comprehensive plan called "population trends" http://www.allentownsd.org/Facilities/PDF/5_Population.pdf the data does not show a current notable increase in population. This does not make sense. Here is an interesting statistic from the plan. "Between 1990-2000 the general population only grew 1.5%, housing modestly grew 0.7%, but public school enrollments increased 21.5%. " Okay, so we have an increase in students, but not much of an increase in general population or housing. What is going on, and how is the ASD addressing this? How is the city addressing it?

Over at the informative Mapping Allentown blog, Squirrel provides maps, charts, and data regarding the population in Allentown. It's interesting to look at the map that shows the percentage of kids receiving free or reduced lunch in the ASD. And this data is from a few years ago. Seems like most families qualify for free or reduced lunch. If you compare Allentown with it's surrounding districts, it is quite shocking. Allentown looks like the poverty epicenter of the area.

In 2000, the poverty rate in the 18101 zip code was 40.2%. In the 18104 zip code only 5.9%. This huge gap between center city and the west end makes it appear like Allentown is divided into two cities, the haves and the have nots. See this chart:
DataPlace Beta: Data Profile for 18104, 18103, 18102 and 18101 (thanks to Squirrel) I am interested in knowing what the center city poverty rate is for 2008. I am sure it is much higher now.

The district is building a new elementary school, so maybe that will alleviate some of the over crowding, and the middle schools are being renovated and expanded to accomodate some of this growth, but I think something must be done about low income housing in Allentown. Row houses should not be allowed to be converted into several apartments.
Poverty and increased student enrollment seem to be the big issues for the ASD and for the city, so what is being done about it? Are city officials and the ASD working together on addressing these important issues?
If you have a child in the ASD I would recommend being an advocate for your child, ask questions, and get involved as a volunteer. Kids come first.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mberg Elementary is included in the districts facilities improvement plan to be expanded around 2010.

Every school in the district is being renovated and expanded and new schools (possibly 2 elem and one middle) are being added.

About a half dozen schools are being expanded now.

Anonymous said...

I live in the 18101 area and there is INDEED a difference in the communities and children's environments. We can't place the blame all on schools and the City without including the parents, but all in all, I think the whole Center City of Allentown is collapsing on itself and I see this from a first hand point of view. Parents are working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. Since the adults are working long hours, their teens (latchkey kids) roam the streets and get involved in negative activities. Many parents are non-English speaking or have a very limited vocabulary so they truly don't understand what is going on with their child's academic situation, nor do they have the time to go to school activities. Young women are having kids at an early rate because they know they can be taken care of by state and federal programs and this is a way out of their discouraging home life. Young men glorify the exciting gangster lifestyle and attempt to sell drugs for money or get involved in the violence and then, once caught, end up in the vicious cycle of prison and limited opportunities. Many young people think college and professionalism is only for the rich White people; and once they do get their head on straight, many times it is years later, after having the kids and going to jail or becoming involved in some negative situation, do they want to seek an education or certification. Many, then,end up struggling through LCCC, Lincoln Tech, or the various other schools in the area, where they get a job and never TRULY realize their FULL potential. It's a sad scenario but happening every day to a majority of the the population in Center City...

Alfonso

Mrs. Dottie said...

Anon,

I am glad to hear about new buildings which will help alleviate overcrowding, but will it help the root issue of poverty, and the draw of low income housing? I find the fact that the high percentage of student enrollment does not correspond with the small population increase,or with the small housing increase kinda curious. It seems like there are more kids living in the same number of homes. Where are these kids coming from?

Alfonso,

THanks for your POV. I agree, of course there needs to be parental responsibility. It is a sad scenario for kids.

Mr.Dottie/Bill Villa said...

Gianni Villa, 7, runs like a bullet.

Sarina said...

Mrs. D,

The population difference is interesting and suspicious. I would guess that either more kids are living in one home, related to each other or not, or children are being sent to school here (living with relatives, etc.) when their parents may reside somewhere else. That's up the school district to catch and it can be tough.

Bill said...

There is a disconnect between City Government and the School district in the area of developing housing stock and the impact on the schools.

The City seems to be gangbusters on building housing stock with little or no regard to the impact on the district (and the taxpayers who pay for the schooling).

It seems that long term planning would work better if there was coordination between the two entities.

Mrs. Dottie said...

Bill,

I agree, the city seems to be very concerned about building new condos or townhouses, or whatever, to draw in the young professionals who do not have kids. I worry that in a couple of years there will be families, or single moms with kids moving in. That would really burden the ASD.

Mrs. Dottie said...

Sarina,

I have heard stories about "lots" of kids living in one home. And a lot of these kids need special services such as ESL and learning support, at taxpayer's expense.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely agree that housing and schools are linked in a way I can only hope the city and ASD understand. I know Councilman Donovan is trying to get a meeting with the superintendent sometime in the future.

We recently toured our neighborhood elementary school and were both impressed and disheartened. The center city elementary schools have as many as 40% new students in grades 2 through 5. With high rental turnovers, if kids are moved to a new apartment, even a couple of blocks away, they go to a different school. This means they have to adjust to new teachers, new peers, new environment, new administrators. The principal we spoke to told us that students that remain in the school for 3 or more years straight overwhelmingly pass the PSSAs.
I think increased homeownership is essential, but responsible landlords are crucial, too. I have many friends with kids that rent in other cities and they are happy to stay put because they have invested local landlords that maintain the property.
As far as school administration, at the particular school we visited only the ESL teacher had a working spanish vocabulary. The school board should prioritize bilingualism in teachers and administration, not necessarily for the classroom but for communicating with parents.

Mrs. Dottie said...

Anon 9:23,

Good point about the rental turnovers, and the fact that so many kids have to switch to different schools throughout the district. I remember this being a big problem when I taught in the ASD elementary schools, around 10 yrs. ago. It must be worse now. These kids really need consistency to do well in school. There are so many factors which can have a negative impact on their performance in school. Home ownership, responsible landlords, and better communication between families and the ASD would help.

Mr.Dottie/Bill Villa said...

This is a wonderfully substantive and stimulating conversation happening here, and I hope to join it as soon as I fully resolve a pesky "dissent quashing" injustice issue I've been battling since July ... but it's almost over ... keep up the excellent dialogue, hope to join you soon ...

Mrs. Dottie said...

Thanks Mr. D, education is an important issue, and one you don't hear too much about in the political arena, I guess because kids don't vote.

Interesting fact I did not know about the federal No Child Left Behind act is that kids cannot be held back to repeat a grade if they are failing. This is a terrible idea because a child who is struggling, for many reasons, some mentioned here, will get so frustrated trying to keep up that he/she will wind up dropping out of school. Some kids need to be retained. If the kids weren't moving from school to school they would have a better chance at staying on grade level.

Mr.Dottie/Bill Villa said...

I was held back in 5th grade, for several excellent reasons. One was that, in hindsight, I had started school too young (I went straight into 1st grade when I should have been going to K) and by 5th grade my "being behind" the other kids, size-wise and maturity-wise, had caught up with me. I also had missed a lot of school because of several bouts of bronchitis and a case of pneumonia. Plus, I had discovered Beatle boots and being a class clown and this didn't help my studies. All things considered, Sister Mary Discipline Of The Metal 18" Ruler talked my parents into keeping me back to repeat 5th grade ... and it was a smart move.
By the end of my 2nd swing through 5th grade, I had learned how to balance comedy, making fashion statements, and getting A's and B's ... and making it look rather easy if I may say so myself.
So yeah, schools should have the "flunk 'em" option. Sometimes it's the best thing for a kid. It was for me.

Squirrel said...

Mrs. D:

Good post and dialogue. Some excellent points. We all need to be more aware of this issue.

We live in a world obsessed with building. Is the ASD master plan a statement of the problem or was it written to substantiate someones desire to build?

There are rambling paragraphs of 10 year birth studies that seem to make no sense at all.

I am left with the feeling they really have no idea why the school age population is growing.

Maybe having a good credit rating is not such a good thing after all!

Alfonso has is right on in his post. We do not know this population and we need to, if we are going to make things work.

Time to get a grip and start being proactive instead of being so reactive.

Anonymous said...

I had the pleasure of watching Obama speak about the need to emphasize education as a top priority in this country. He accurately recognizes that the success of our country is completely reliant on the education of our children. ALL of our children!
It made me incredibly hopeful for the future of schools under a visionary administration.

Mrs. Dottie said...

Squirrel,

THanks. Why is the Ray Group (architects from Lancaster) responsible for the research and data in the report? I agree, there is an obsession with building.

Anon,

Obama does give me hope, but I believe NCLB will be continued until 2012. Muhlenberg has been given a warning for not making AYP (annual yearly progress) for the first time. I can tell you that the testing has started during the first week of school. My son just told me that he only had twenty seconds to answer a math question during a test, and he got very upset and wanted to cry. THis is the first time he has ever gotten upset over testing. I think they will really be pushing now with the testing and it really disturbs me. Teaching to the test is wrong.

Anonymous said...

The story of your son's math test reminds me of my friends' son in the Saucon district a couple of years ago. He was an avid reader but after being told he wasn't reading *fast enough* he decided he didn't want to read anymore!! Slightly melodramatic as young kids can be, and yes, he still reads, but it was a frustrating and depressing time for him and his parents.

I was always under the impression that Muhlenberg was a high performing school in the district, but our school is McKinley, so! They just got their very own art, music and gym teachers this year! I guess in previous years they had to share with another school. ugh.

Anonymous said...

Bill V,
One of the reasons I always post anon is to keep my thin skin intact from the likes of BO and MM. I have seen friends and family completely trashed by them. I, too, have been trashed (as anon) by having the audacity to say positive things about my community. Don't get sucked into a blog war with them, they aren't worth the effort. Every single person I know that is familiar with either of them dislikes them immensely.

Anonymous said...

This Morning I read the Troll Parade blog. I am shocked at what the horrible man is writing about you. He was not in the courtroom when Bob Labarre was sentenced. Barney O'hare did not see the lack of sincerity in his I am sorry speech" nor did Barney see Bob L laughing with his attorneys before sentencing.

Barney O'hare is slandering you and the memory of your daughter. can't you sue him? This is the most disgusting thing I've seen on these blogs so far, what a hateful little man he must be!

Mrs. Dottie said...

Bernie is spreading hateful lies about our family, even our children. We are defending ourselves at that blog he and Mr. Northern Lehigh Valley Logic created to bash us. He even calls me a "Stepford Wife" (brainless robot) a bad mother,and many more vile things for supporting my husband. But I do not want to discuss that here. Please don't believe anything he says. I do not want to discuss this any further at this blog. Thanks.

Mrs. Dottie said...

Anon 6:48:

Muhlenberg has been a high performing school, but the "sub groups" scored low on tests. These are the special needs kids, ESOL, autistic, learning support. There are many special needs kids who were given the same test as other kids. THe testing is really unfair.

I used to teach art at McKinley! The teachers there were great.

It angers me when I see these kids being given high pressure timed tests. It's really no measure of their intelligence. I think it's just so they get used to taking timed tests.

Anonymous said...

Back on topic, looks like Mr. Dottie is taking that bully Bernie O'Hare to school :)

Bill Villa said...

Thanks, anons ...

Fri Sep 12, 06:53:00 AM 2008
Fri Sep 12, 07:29:00 AM 2008
Fri Sep 12, 10:11:00 AM 2008

I appreciate you posting your thoughts and your support. The good guys will prevail.

Squirrel said...

Mrs D.

My apologies for going off topic. I cannot post on either of the aforementioned blogs.

I find the troll blog reprehensible. I need to express that.

I prefer to participate as much as possible and focus on the principles of the issues at hand.

Many a blog has been ruined due to a lack of restraint of pen caused by extreme ego.

Squirrel

Mrs. Dottie said...

Thanks Squirrel. The topic of "Troll Parade" will be discussed
in a future post.

I have posted some info about Obama's early education plan, and I hope that will be of interest to my readers. I have not looked into McCain's plan yet, I wonder if it will include teaching creationism, now that his VP choice appeals to the far right viewpoint.

Bill Villa said...

I believe John McCain's plan is ...

1. Get born the son of an admiral.
2. Marry a rich heiress.
3. Pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps.

Bill Villa said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Bill Villa said...

On a related ("Troll Parade") subject, I have been accused of "hijacking" some other blogs.

Another way to describe this would be "me trying to get my case against Bernie O'Hare out there."

FYI, any and all comments I post at the following 3 blogs are immediately deleted-- regardless of whether my comments are on the topic, or, are "me trying to get my case out there" ...

* "Lehigh Valley Ramblings," Bernie O'Hare O'Mcall

* "Northern Lehigh Valley Logic," Attorney David C. Najarian, Esq., Lynn Township Supervisor

* "Molovinsky on Allentown," Allentown Mayoral Hopeful Michael Molovinsky

Anonymous said...

Dear Dottie,
This is all so sad. I have spoken to you about our daughter who had high hopes upon attending William Allen High School, but has become so miserable we will have to pull her out. The swearing, poor attitude, sheer numbers, disrespect, smoking etc that she sees on a daily basis have put her over the edge. She tried to make it work, but to no avail. our friends thought that we were nuts when we told them that our daughter would be attending Allen, but we "pshawed" their warnings & forged ahead. Sorry to say that a motivated, respectful, hard - working student will be going to school elsewhere.