Attention Future Kindergartener Parents!

I am posting this on behalf of a concerned parent who forwarded this to me yesterday evening.  I think future kindergartener parents should certainly READ and REACT to this information.  The educational life of your child will depend on YOU.

Work Sampling Petition

We, the Parents of the Plainfield Public Schools, need to take a stand on higher education for our children. With the implementation of the “new” assessment system, we fear that our kindergarteners will suffer academically. The new curriculum is designed to decrease the amount of direct instruction time and to increase “play” time. We, as concerned and involved parents, need to stand up in protest against this new Work Sampling Assessment System. Accepting it will only set our children up for failure in later grades.

When did the bar on kindergarten education decline to the point where the focus changed from teaching and learning to playing and note taking? The reality is that a lot of our children are already are experiencing disadvantages on a day to day basis. With the implementation of the Work Sampling System, how will our children ever compete with the many other school districts that are setting their educational standards high and prepping their students for SUCCESS?

Our children need an extensive amount of guidance, mentoring, and proper training to advance academically. We cannot continue to allow our children’s educations to be experimented with and exploited. Their futures are on the line. They say this new system reflects “developmentally appropriate practices”, but we say they represent nothing more than academic set backs. The education of our children should not be moving in reverse, but forward to create the foundation for their education and Future.

The majority of our parents are not even aware of this new program. If it’s such a great curriculum, why hasn’t it been adopted by any of our surrounding districts?

We are now into the second half of the year and the district is trying to change the way our children are learning. They say it’s a good idea…we say it will negate all of the skills our children have been taught thus far. These are OUR children and we need to invest time to ensure the best decision is made for our children now before it’s too late. WE DO NOT WANT THE WORK SAMPLING SYSTEM TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.

As a point of reference, I urge you to check the article printed in the Star-Ledger on July 15, 2009, titled “N.J Board of Education adopts tougher standards for 3rd, 4th grades”. Now, if the kindergarten curriculum is going to less rigorous, how are we expecting our children to rise to the expectations in later grades?

LIVE by FAITH and Not by sight