Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Immigrant students find school system didn't have them in mind | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Immigrant students find school system didn't have them in mind | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Immigrant students find school system didn't have them in mind

National data show high dropout rates, but locally there are no studies.

by Gustavo Martínez Contreras

Photo: Harvey Finkle
José Ángel Torres (left) and his brother David
When José Ángel Torres arrived in the United States seven years ago, the most difficult thing was trying to understand what was going on around him.
He was only 10 and did not speak English. Nonetheless he was expected to be like any other 5th grader, learning math, science, and other subjects. He said no one bothered asking him if he needed any help.
Torres is one of an untold number of immigrant youth who have dropped out of Philadelphia high schools.
One recent national study found that immigrants make up nearly one quarter of the country’s teen dropouts.
“I didn’t like school from the beginning because I didn’t understand anything,” Torres recalled. “I felt I was dumb, especially with the vocabulary exams; those really screwed me up.”
Lost and lonely in a new world, his mind was set only on going back to his native Mexico – until hip hop came into his life, teaching him lessons he did not find in the classroom.
“I started listening to the radio, lots of music like Eminem, 50 Cent, Tupac and Biggie; I liked what they did with language,” he said.
Growing up in Philadelphia was not easy. He faced violence in and out of school

Notes from the news, Apr. 21

A 'flash' of peaceful inspiration Daily News
About 100 students held a demonstration in Rittenhouse Square as part of a campaign against school violence and to show that "we are not a flash mob."
See also: Flash Mob a Success" rel="bookmark" href="http://home.phillystudentunion.org/PSU-Blog/campaign-for-nonviolent-schools-flash-mob-a-success.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(124, 140, 197); ">Campaign for Nonviolent Schools Flash Mob a Success PSU Blog
City students campaign against school violence The Inquirer
Phila. Students Show the ''Flash'' Without the ''Mob'' in Rittenhouse Square KYW
School accountability bill clears committee hurdle WHYY
The bill would be renewed, and expanded to include a four-tier system for low performing schools.
Correcting the Corrective Math problem, III The Notebook blog
The final installment in a series by Dr. Caroline Ebby. This guest blog post describes alternatives to Corrective Math.
Monica Yant Kinney: A musical score for a city school The Inquirer
The picture accompanying this column looks like a still from Glee, but it's actually Welsh Elementary music teacher Maura DiBerardinis in action.
School District of Philadelphia Parents invited to Third Annual Autism Expo UC Review
The expo takes place this Friday. It was started by Howe Elementary special education teacher Mona Cohen.

Happy 100th Birthday, Frankford High School! The Frankford Gazette
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