tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3038828360589919480.post7518414774343295660..comments2023-10-12T05:22:07.181-04:00Comments on The Prichard Blog!: The fate of the primary programSPWestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08602329486466534720noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3038828360589919480.post-50481615289858479592009-03-27T17:03:00.000-04:002009-03-27T17:03:00.000-04:00Are we agreeing that primary came to mean multiage...Are we agreeing that primary came to mean multiage, and then died when multiage went down?SPWestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08602329486466534720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3038828360589919480.post-12631510017623752092009-03-25T16:46:00.000-04:002009-03-25T16:46:00.000-04:00Susan,As you may know, I found the Primary Program...Susan,<BR/><BR/>As you may know, I found the Primary Program terribly difficult to implement at Cassidy School in Lexington. I'd point to three things that were most bothersome.<BR/><BR/>1) Parents didn't readily accept the idea. Their kids were organized that way for T-ball and some express concern over it. While they were willing to go along for a while, they expected to see a smooth transition that left their children better off in the end.<BR/><BR/>2) When Tom Boysen would talk about building the airplane as we flew it, nowhere was that more true than with the Primary Program. (OK. Maybe KIRIS. But Primary was second.) We had willing teachers who needed training and there was nowhere to go to get it. Most of the efforts at PD were reduced to workshops that criticized what teachers were doing at the time, but offered few replacement strategies. It left teachers wanting for structure.<BR/><BR/>3) Nothing else in the system supported the goal of implementing the Primary Program. Despite the 7 critical elements, KDE really focused only on enforcing the multi-aged portion. Meanwhile, attendance was still kept by grades, students still moved through the system based on time put in at grade level, and both textbooks and the tested curriculum were graded.<BR/><BR/>It wasn't long before our parents wanted out and when the law was amended to allow school councils to determine the extent to which a mulitaged organization structure had to exist - We chose "Zero." After a brief moment of clarification with Harry Moberley and KDE, we chose "One."<BR/><BR/>It is my studied opinion that children can be successfully organized for instruction in a variety of ways. But whatever organizational pattern the state choses - it must be well-supported or what you'll get, is what we got with the Primary Progarm - a program that died long before it fell to the ground.<BR/><BR/>RichardRichard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.com