Jen Roesch

NYC-based writer, mother, teacher, socialist. I write at & run a newsletter on schools in the time of COVID at

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

You'd never know from the media that Black, Latinx and low-income families oppose reopening schools by significant margins. Why aren't they being heard & whose interests does it serve to say we must open schools for the sake of the most vulnerable?

https://t.co/w5kQMOVJJS

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

For more context, see this report on school funding after 2008
https://t.co/CtPxyuIJby

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

This data is incredibly misleading. It posits an inverse relationship bet school spending & test scores. Graph starts in 2013: the deepest point of decline in school spending after the 2008 recession. The rising line is spending starting to barely recover, not absolute increase.

[Marguerite Roza @MargueriteRoza]

Find each state's graph here: https://t.co/VL1Ef2Rg6U

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@DanielDenvir @KeeangaYamahtta Ask her what she’s thinking and just let her go! So grateful to know this is happening. One of the voices I’d most want to hear right now

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@teachbk @paisleyed1 The post I was replying to was saying you are not allowed to group kids. Not grouping kids by levels is one of the things I most appreciate from the SOR crowd. I think the critiques of grouping by level are important and worth engaging with.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@teachbk @paisleyed1 I don’t think that’s a fair or accurate representation - or interpretation, if coming from admin - of the argument. The argument is against semi-permanent groupings based on “levels” and instead grouping based on areas of need - which can vary vastly within “levels”.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@ireneteacher8 Encanto

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@teachbk I have kids (8th gr) who get my help with phonics b/c they struggle with decoding. But in my class, they are grappling w/ the same challenging texts (with scaffolds), big questions and analysis as everyone else.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@teachbk Hate it! One of the things I really appreciate about a lot of the SOR discussion beyond phonics is the critique of "leveling" kids and instead grouping in the moment based on needs as they emerge in response to specific challenges - which shift and change dynamically.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@teachbk As a general rule this is true. I think last year's test was more modern & relatable - part of why I think NYC kids did better on it. 7th gr had a passage from Becoming Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar). I haven't seen this year's yet. We test tomorrow.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

Grown adults missing more work than they ever imagined. Can't we consider that more kids are missing more school than they ever imagined to similarly environmental/physical causes?

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@MrZachG I'm not going to take you through our whole schedule. I am going to insist that literacy skills are complex & not easily reduced to "high" & "low". My 8th graders who struggled to decode should not be reading 3rd grade texts. They should be reading challenging texts w/ peers.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

This is not my experience. I have 8th graders who couldn't decode well & scored at the bottom of class. But they could keep up when it came to something like analyzing irony in Animal Farm. They needed intervention for decoding but would suffer if we withheld rigorous content.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@MrZachG No. They are in the same grade level content as their grade level peers for all ELA content instruction. ADDITIONALLY, they get differentiated support. If we took them out of grade level content, they'd read something way below their cognitive ability solely due to skill gaps.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@MrZachG Have to get creative. In our middle school, one period each of a math & ELA class each week were designated for this (some in math foundations; some ELA; some accelerated). But once kids crack the code, 10-15 min 1-1 several times/week made huge gains. No easy solutions.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@heymrsbond If kids can't use AI to write their essays then we should not be allowed to use AI to grade them. This should be stunningly obvious.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@MarcusLuther6 Whole class - but it makes the text selection process critical. Kids should also have access to a wide classroom library and choice texts for independent reading. But whole class equalizes, inspires, and goes deeper than anything else imo.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@heymrsbond Seeing a lot of people pointing out that people feel much more shame about not being able to read. I think this is probably true. I don't think the answer is to try to induce more shame around math. We'd be way better off if kids could admit when they can't read.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@heymrsbond We like things we feel we can succeed at. That doesn't mean we have to feel successful at it easily or all the time. But we must experience success and see a path towards future, increased success.

[Jen Roesch @JenRoesch]

@heymrsbond I think for most people, the approach is the same: they don't say they "can't". They say reading or math is boring, or that they hate it, or that it is useless. In most cases, I think this actually means "I struggle with it".
Challenge is how to give those kids a path to success