Pueblo City Schools Achievement Level Hits Rock Bottom (Fort Collins, Pueblo West: home, school district)

[Let's Go Here]

City schools' achievement sinks to

This isn't good news for the city. There's no reason why a city that is home to a decent-sized university and a small community college should have a school system that performs as poorly as Pueblo's largest district.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Durango Bound

City schools' achievement sinks to

This isn't good news for the city. There's no reason why a city that is home to a decent-sized university and a small community college should have a school system that performs as poorly as Pueblo's largest district.

I'm sure that someone is going to tell us that the reason is a desire to attract the non-educated to boost Pueblo's population, thus turning it into a 21st century world city.

[Josseppie]

Education has always been a issue in Pueblo. My personal thought is the lack of education has to do with the culture here and how for many decades a good education was not necessary to get a good job. Students could get a high school degree and go right to work at the steel mill or one of its suppliers and make a upper middle class wage. That is not the case any more for most students but unfortunately culture is slow to change but I do believe with the growing university and community college in time it will change. It just might take a generation for the knowledge that a education is important to really take hold in Pueblo.

One thing I will add is I think the schools are good here if the students apply themselves. I went to Central, class of 91, then went on to get a bachelors degree at CSU FC and USC (Now CSU P) then went to USD to get a MBA. When I went to the universities I was not behind most of the students and was able to keep up in my freshman year at CSU FC. I consider my self average intelligence but I just applied my self and studied a lot. My point is I don't think its the institutions or teachers but the culture of what most families expect their kids to do in school and what they want them to get out of it.

[McGowdog]

So why do you think there's been an "exodus" of kids from some district 60 schools into the Pueblo West district 70 schools?

Even though they went to 4 day weeks last year, district 70 schools have been outperforming Dist 60 schools for years.

Pueblo County - good.
Pueblo West - better.
Rye/Craver - best.

[Vision67]

Education achievement is highly correlated to parental expectations.

When I asked my dad to give me $1 for each "A", he said

"Son, it's not what you will get if you do get an "A", it's what you''ll get if you don't."

[McGowdog]

... and how did that work for you?

My folks never pushed me. I just decided one day, with encouragement of a friend, that we'd apply ourselves and get straight As. I missed the mark. I got 8 As and 8 Bs. The teacher kissed me in front of the whole 5th grade class as I was the most improved student.

I never looked back since. I graduated 3rd in my HS class, national honor society throuhhout high school, and never missed the honor roll. I rarely got straight As, but also lettered in sports and usually played 1st chair in band.

My dad didn't push me that way. He just wanted me to have a better life than him. We are both hard workers.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Education has always been a issue in Pueblo. My personal thought is the lack of education has to do with the culture here and how for many decades a good education was not necessary to get a good job. Students could get a high school degree and go right to work at the steel mill or one of its suppliers and make a upper middle class wage. That is not the case any more for most students but unfortunately culture is slow to change but I do believe with the growing university and community college in time it will change. It just might take a generation for the knowledge that a education is important to really take hold in Pueblo.

One thing I will add is I think the schools are good here if the students apply themselves. I went to Central, class of 91, then went on to get a bachelors degree at CSU FC and USC (Now CSU P) then went to USD to get a MBA. When I went to the universities I was not behind most of the students and was able to keep up in my freshman year at CSU FC. I consider my self average intelligence but I just applied my self and studied a lot. My point is I don't think its the institutions or teachers but the culture of what most families expect their kids to do in school and what they want them to get out of it.

Thank you for giving a very reasoned answer.

I think it's difficult for us today to understand the mindset back not too many generations ago. I know that (back East), despite the large size of our family (meaning taking into account all of my father's brothers and sisters and their many children), I was the first to complete college in the late 1960s. Up until then, as you point out, most people thought about just going to work in the local factory, or in our area's case, up to the "big city" (Rochester, NY) to work at Kodak. I was quite interested "here" (meaning more locally), when I visited the museum in Canon City. I asked why there were so many prisons around Canon City. And they told me that originally (forgot the year) that the city was given a choice by the state government of having either a prison or a college. The city chose a prison because "not many people went to college in those days", so the prison was a chance for the city to get more jobs. Today, of course, that seems like an odd choice, but with the perspective of the "the times", it's actually quite understandable...although it certainly didn't look toward the future.

You're also correct that school/college is what the individual makes of it. I started out in a community college in western NYS, and one time when I was sitting in the john in the library, I noticed that above the toilet paper roll, someone had written "MCC diplomas. Take one." Then one year I was visiting the museums at Harvard, and in the john someone had written above the toilet paper roll: "Harvard Degrees. Take one." No matter how good or bad the schools are in Pueblo, every student can ultimately be successful, and in fact, if they're serious, can learn a great deal right in those Pueblo schools.

[proveick]

Maybe we should make it MANDITORY to learn ENGLISH.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by proveick

Maybe we should make it MANDITORY to learn ENGLISH.

That's funny you mention that, in a city where 94.6% of residents speak English better than "very well" (well, as of Census 2000), and a school district where a whopping 4% are English language learners (as of 2008).

Pueblo city, Colorado - DP-2. Profile of Selected Social Characteristics:**2000

Pueblo School District NO. 60 in the County of Pueblo and | Pueblo, CO | Education.com

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

So why do you think there's been an "exodus" of kids from some district 60 schools into the Pueblo West district 70 schools?

Even though they went to 4 day weeks last year, district 70 schools have been outperforming Dist 60 schools for years.

Pueblo County - good.
Pueblo West - better.
Rye/Craver - best.

I don't think the schools are better in Pueblo West but the culture is different and its more affluent more so then Fort Collins. So it does not surprise me that the students there out perform the students in the city.