Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County’s Post

Transcript

Daphne Barlow Stigliano understands the importance of a good education. She noticed early on that her daughter was struggling in the classroom. Madeline did have trouble. Sitting still in class and I think the first things I noticed is that the teacher would tell me that she was having trouble with behavior sometimes, and even though I didn't initially tie that to reading, it became obvious to me that if she wasn't able to. Behave well. She wasn't learning well. Even though Madeline was getting good grades, Daphne realized her daughter was reading below grade level. I really started to feel like in second grade we had a problem. She got A's and B's at school. She knew how to complete assignments. But it was clear to me that she wasn't starting to progress through the normal reading expectations that I had for a child at that age. Daphne had a feeling that her daughter's good grades weren't painting the full picture, and her story is not unusual. I feel like everyone in our community can be impacted by this gap of parents perception and actual achievement with their kids. I've seen that your kid may be bringing home all A's and B's and if that's the only thing that you're paying attention. Do you think they're doing great in school? And then towards the end of the year, you may look at other data points and realize they did it meet standards. In fact, there's a dramatic disconnect between perception and reality when it comes to student achievement. 96% of Tarrant County parents think their child is at or above grade level in reading, and 92% think their child is at or above grade level in math. But in reality, just 52% of kids in Tarrant County. Read at grade level and 43% perform on grade level in math. Once Daphne realized Madeleine needed additional support, she sprang into action. I remember going to parent teacher night at the beginning of third grade and I wanted to talk to the teacher alone. And I went up to the Missus Whitehead and I said, Missus Whitehead, I need your help. My daughter is not reading the way I think she should and I don't know what else to do, but I absolutely need your help. One of the things that my daughter's third grade teacher did for me was explained to me how the test worked. She also explained to me exactly where my daughter was testing. I was so grateful for Mrs. Whitehead in 3rd grade for my daughter. She stepped up for my daughter. She got creative with her. She got her resources. I'm so proud to say that because of Mrs. Whitehead and my daughter's own hard work, by the end of third grade, my daughter passed that test. More than 80 community organizations, nonprofits and foundations have come together to address this issue as part of the Go Beyond Grades campaign in Tarrant County, a campaign with three calls to action. Ask the teacher if your child is on grade level, be in the know about your child's learning and connect to summer programs in Tarrant County. For Daphne, working in partnership with Madeline's teacher helped get her daughter back on track. I'm so proud of her. I'm also so grateful to that third grade teacher who responded to my plea for help. She understood what I was trying to do and she responded. There have never been more resources available than right now. Tarrant County to help kids succeed in and out of the classroom. To learn more about how you can help your child's learning this summer, check out go beyondgrades. org/tarrant.