Poor Internet Access and Low Parent Involvement Issues Florida Teachers Say
July 13th, 2017 by Jake Stofan
Limited internet access outside the classroom and poor parental involvement are two of the biggest barriers poor performing students face in Florida according to a national study that includes Florida teachers.
The study says too many students come to school impoverished, hungry, or in need of healthcare,
More than half of Florida’s teachers say the lack of parent involvement is a major problem.
55% think students suffer from inadequate access to the internet.
Nationwide the survey response was just 48% for both.
Internet access can be a difficult hurdle for some students.
Many assignments are now online and the internet is often the go to place for research.
“Then those students go back to school the next day without having completed those assignments and it puts them at a disadvantage,” said Andrea Messina, Executive Director of the Florida School Boards Association.
About 3% of Florida schools have gotten D’s or F’s for three straight years. That’s more 100 schools.
In impoverished areas, 70% of Florida teachers reported a lack of family involvement in student learning, compared to just 26% in areas with low poverty levels.
Jason Flom, President of Corner Stone Learning Academy and an educational advocate, says Florida needs to do a better job at addressing students individual needs especially in Impoverished areas.
“So if you’ve got issues at home, poverty, broken home, family crisis, homelessness, temporary homelessness, coming to school hungry those are the shoes that we need to fit first before we can ever do anything academically speaking,” said Flom.
The newly enacted and controversial Schools of Hope program will fund wrap around services like after school programs for 25 of Florida’s perpetually under-performing schools.
More than 75 other low performing schools will have to do without.
Florida teachers also were more likely than their national counterparts to report their districts did not do enough to make time for families whose schedules prevent them from attending school events or parental conferences.
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