The Turning Point Academy

The article below appeared in Sunday’s Houston Chronicle. The article validated the reasons we decided to open the Turning Point Academy for Ciara and other high achievers.

 As co-founders of the largest teacher training company in the USA, we understand the heartbeat of our nation’s teachers and their daily struggles.

 I am not a person who complains.

 I am a person who takes action to make the change instead.

 Look around. How many remedial learning facilities are in your area? (Kumon, Sylvan, Learning Rx and C2Ed) They are all around us because of the lack of foundation students are receiving in schools.

Think of the typical class. Secondary students deal with a lot in the hallways and take at least 5 minutes to settle in. During what’s left of the period, the teacher instructs and has students work through the easier questions. Keep in mind the room is mixed with students who are distracting the class while the other students are trying to understand what the teacher is teaching. The teacher ends class with homework assignments to help reinforce what there was not time to adequately teach in the first place. The students who do understand the information are bored while the teacher is trying to get through to the ones who are having a difficult time. Students repeat an entire day of classes the same way. Most students never master the content.

Visit: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side/7014406.html  for the article or

I have included parts of the article from Sunday's Houston Chronicle below.

By JEANNIE KEVER

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

It has been the dirty little secret of higher education for decades: Tens of thousands of college students can't do the work.

Developmental education — reteaching basic skills in reading, writing and math — is a $200 million-a-year problem in Texas, funded by taxpayers, colleges and the students themselves. Private groups also spend millions of dollars on the issue.

But relatively few students who need the classes go on to earn a degree, raising questions about whether money spent on developmental education is a wise investment.

“It's all about efficiency,” said Jim Pinkard, a program director at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “What are we sending all these kids to college for?”

The statistics also affect the state's work force, sparking concerns about our economic future.

Not ready for the work

There are lots of reasons students aren't ready for college.

Some have been out of school for years and their skills have grown rusty. Others dropped out of high school, enrolling at a community college after earning a GED diploma without ever completing a higher-level academic program.

And despite efforts to impose a more rigorous high school curriculum — including new standards requiring all students to take four years of math and science — not everyone who graduates from a Texas high school is ready for college.

“I have students tell me that in high school, they would study 10 minutes before the test is given,” said Paulette Heidbreder, chairwoman of the guided studies department at HCC's Northeast College, who teaches remedial reading classes. “They think we're going to pass them just for being here.”

So there they are, enrolled in college in the midst of a push from legislators, business leaders and others to produce more college graduates.

“It's a huge issue,” said state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee. “It's inefficiency in our education system that is and will be even more costly for a state like Texas, which has to have an educated work force.”

Demands for change

Not so long ago, the goal was to get more people enrolled in college.

Now, the buzzword is “completion,” making sure they actually graduate or earn a certificate.

Developmental education is one of the biggest stumbling blocks. Fewer than 10 percent of students who require more than a few remedial classes even make it to college-level classes, Troyer said.

Moving students through remedial education and toward a college degree is the ultimate goal, he said.

“We are doing better,” he said. “But we're not doing better fast enough.”