More School Closings (middle-class, house, neighborhood)

[njnyckid]

NYC schools news: Education officials name 20 public schools eyed for closure

Those familiar with NYC's public school system, do you think this might help the education turn around or this is another blunder in the school system?

[Novila]

After all these years of school-closings and threats of closings, I still don't understand what folks expect to accomplish by closing schools. Opening other schools that can fail from the very beginning? Are there any examples of new schools that have taken the same kids from the feeder schools and improved them or the system in some way? Very hard to find answers to the simplest questions.

Originally Posted by njnyckid

NYC schools news: Education officials name 20 public schools eyed for closure

Those familiar with NYC's public school system, do you think this might help the education turn around or this is another blunder in the school system?

[citylove101]

I don't see closing poorly performing, chaotic schools with apathetic administrators, frazzled teachers, and alineated students as a blunder.

The blunder happens when the city tries to find new places for the students who would otherwise go these schools and fails misearbly. Because of the way the system operates the kids who would benefit most from being in a more middle-class, higher-achieving school won't get there because they'll be squeezed out by the higher-performing, often white, kids that the DOE is trying to keep in the system. The kids who would benefit most from a sharp well-run (private) special education school won't get in because the city doesn't want to spend the money. The kids who would benefit from a progressive academic course without high-stakes testing (which can demoralize a child quite efficiently) won't have schools to go to because we are all test-crazed and think that there is no other way prove a child is educated escept through a never ending series of standaradized tests. That antsy restless hormone-fueled teenager who's expected to sit through 90 minutes periods of math and english will have no good place to go because middle schools rarely have the sports teams or gym time to keep adolescent energy in check and kids connected to school.

The blunder isn't closing bad schools. Bad schools don't help any kid. The blunder is being too restrictive, too cheap, and too narrow in vision to open more good ones.

[bluedog2]

Wow,a couple of these schools in The Bronx have been open less than 5 years and were heralded as "solutions" to the problem when they opened.

Don't see much point in a merry go round of opening ,then closing, then opening another school.It cost a lot of money to open new schools and if there is no commitment to success what's the point ? It doesn't seem to be working.

[jackovelli]

There are a large number of charter schools that are succeeding. Giving parents a choice outside of their "failing" neighborhood school is the best idea since community control... except this time, it's working.

Yes, there are some charters that fail, but that does not void the whole idea. Yes, some are run by private enterprise. Hell, one is even run by the UFT! Keep in mind, everyone, that our schools were in very bad shape; there is a lot of room for innovative and different ideas. In addition, charter schools are public schools (for all you "taking money away from public schools" ranters).

I work at a charter high school. All of our students come from other schools, where they were failing, truant, ignored, bullied or not progressing for one reason or another. Many of our students have Individual Education Plans. We accept everyone. You should see the number of schools that try to dump their "great kids" on us. And we have great success assisting them toward graduation.

If we were not doing the job, we would be closed down. That's the way it should work; do the job, keep your job. Our kids' futures are that important.

[Fred314X]

"City Time" was supposed to cost $67 million. When it had already reached the $700 million mark, our cost-conscious Mayor (who backed it from the get-go) proposed to hand them another $118 million.

I bet the city could keep a few schools open, maybe even a fire house or two, with more than $800 million. Hmm...the Mayor doesn't seem to have any commentary on this.