They’re kids, not Olympians
We work hard all year, writing and reading and analyzing and discussing and reading and writing some more. And then, all of our hard work and learning are evaluated and assessed in two days of state exams. Multiple-choice exams, mind you, no writing necessary.So we also work hard to create a testing environment that supports our students. We keep our daily routine the same. We schedule the tests so that students take them in the same classroom, with the same teacher, where they have learned the content that year. Students are tested in only one subject each week, so that their other classes are kept on a familiar routine. And we encourage our students to approach the tests as an opportunity to show everyone what they know, what they have learned.
And then this happens: a beloved 2nd grade teacher is gunned down by her husband, who then kills himself. Their 18-month-old twins are left orphaned and her two teen daughters from a previous marriage lose their mother. Many of our students were in this teacher’s class. One of her daughters is a student at our school.
