Bucktown yuppies trying to move out hispanics out of their neighborhood school

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by eevee

why? what's the big deal about making sure all your kids end up at the same school? sure, it makes it easier to drop off/pick up everyone if all the kids go to the same school, but then again, it would be even easier to do so if the school was close by. I don't understand why it's necessary for siblings to attend the same school to the point that siblings get possible priority over someone more qualified or, in this case, a neighborhood child. is your kid really going to suffer in school if big brother/big sister isn't there?

I think it's more about fostering parental involvement - it's hard enough getting involved at one school if you have two working parents, but two (or more)? impossible.

[Mister Mappy]

If the Hispanics do not live in Bucktown how is it "their" neighborhood school? Don't you live in New York. Aren't there some inflammatory stories about NYC you could post in their forum, Mack?

Anyway, my neighbor inquired about sending her kids to Pulaski (I'm about 3 blocks from it), and was told there was a waiting list. She said she was told that about 90% of the students at Pulaski are not from the neighborhood. I don't see what is wrong with Bucktown residents wanting to send their kids to the neighborborhood school.

[JoeyPants]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

If the Hispanics do not live in Bucktown how is it "their" neighborhood school? Don't you live in New York. Aren't there some inflammatory stories about NYC you could post in their forum, Mack?

Anyway, my neighbor inquired about sending her kids to Pulaski (I'm about 3 blocks from it), and was told there was a waiting list. She said she was told that about 90% of the students at Pulaski are not from the neighborhood. I don't see what is wrong with Bucktown residents wanting to send their kids to the neighborborhood school.

If 90% of the kids are out not from the neighborhood then either the school is discriminating against neighborhood kids, or many local parents are not applying. If they are not applying, why are complaining?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

...Anyway, my neighbor inquired about sending her kids to Pulaski (I'm about 3 blocks from it), and was told there was a waiting list. She said she was told that about 90% of the students at Pulaski are not from the neighborhood...

Thanks for the info. My suspicions seem to be correct.

[Mister Mappy]

Well, since there's a waiting list, it could be that their kids cannot get in, even if they are in the attendance area. I guess you just try and get your kid into the best school you can, no matter how far away it is, since the alternatives are sending your kid to a mediocre school about a mile away, or go private. Maybe that could be the reason for the complaints.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

Anyway, my neighbor inquired about sending her kids to Pulaski (I'm about 3 blocks from it), and was told there was a waiting list. She said she was told that about 90% of the students at Pulaski are not from the neighborhood. I don't see what is wrong with Bucktown residents wanting to send their kids to the neighborborhood school.

If they live in the attendance area of the school they are automatically in, no one in the neighborhood is being kept out. If you read the article the problem is that kids in the attendance area are choosing NOT to attend the school, and they are considering changing the focus of the school to attract more neighborhood kids.

Also, three blocks away may be outside the attendance area - Goethe, Chase, and Drummond are all 4 or 5 blocks from Pulaski, so 3 blocks in any direction could easily put someone in a different attendance area. Was your friend looking at Pulaski for Pre-School? That's a completely different thing from K-12, it's optional, costs money, and has waiting lists. If your friend is in the attendance area they can send their kid there starting in Kindergarten.

[Avengerfire]

Story on the situation:

Marchers want Bucktown school to stay open - 8/26/09 - Chicago News - abc7chicago.com

[Drover]

Originally Posted by ChiMack

Bucktown yuppies trying to move out hispanics out of their neighborhood school

Shut up.

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Do kids from the neighborhood get priority?

This is so much bull****. Every school should be a neighborhood school and every school should be a good school. Seems to me that magnet schools are a ploy to avoid making all the schools good and a way to oil the squeaky wheel rather than all the wheels.

You can't make all the schools good until all or nearly all the parents are interested in good schools. What you call "squeaky wheels" are the parents who actually understand the value of education, want good schools, and are taking action to get them. And I don't blame them for wanting their kids to go to a school where their education isn't constantly disrupted by the kids who are the walking fallout of parents who see the public education system as little more than a free babysitting service.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Drover

You can't make all the schools good until all or nearly all the parents are interested in good schools. What you call "squeaky wheels" are the parents who actually understand the value of education, want good schools, and are taking action to get them. And I don't blame them for wanting their kids to go to a school where their education isn't constantly disrupted by the kids who are the walking fallout of parents who see the public education system as little more than a free babysitting service.

We can have good schools for all without the need of all parents to be interested, such as a generation ago when the Chicago public schools were quite capable. What it takes is the political will; for the powers that run things to simply decide they want the schools to be good. Which would mean taking control of the schools back from the students (and crybaby parents) and tightening discipline and throwing many students out on their ears.

But rather than do that it's easier to buy off the squeaky wheels. Which is good politics but bad education.