Wilkinsburg most violent district: Commonwealth Foundation (Pittsburgh, Penn Hills: neighborhood, school districts, gated)

[SuburbanPioneer]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I'm sorry dude, this is just f*cked up.

While I don't think school rankings work as intended (as scores say more about the ethnic and economic demographics of a school than teaching quality) the reason they are published is to allow parents a rough yardstick to determine school quality.

It's not a soccer match. Who the hell cares if you score a little worse because your district has more working-class kids? Does it really matter that you lose purported bragging rights to Upper Saint Clair on a technicality? Either way your own child would get essentially the same education.

eschaton, he has a point. The quality of the school district directly affects the quality of the neighborhood. A while ago you asked what can be done to prevent people from abandoning neighborhoods and moving to soulless Cranberry. Maintaining the best school district is a sure way of keeping the neighborhood together longer.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by SuburbanPioneer

eschaton, he has a point. The quality of the school district directly affects the quality of the neighborhood. A while ago you asked what can be done to prevent people from abandoning neighborhoods and moving to soulless Cranberry. Maintaining the best school district is a sure way of keeping the neighborhood together longer.

I'm sorry, I just don't understand what you mean here. Unless it's merely idiots who don't bother looking into things will make a false assumption, and catering to that assumption is better than correcting it.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by SuburbanPioneer

eschaton, he has a point. The quality of the school district directly affects the quality of the neighborhood. A while ago you asked what can be done to prevent people from abandoning neighborhoods and moving to soulless Cranberry. Maintaining the best school district is a sure way of keeping the neighborhood together longer.

Though it's personally not my style, I understand that Cranberry serves a purpose--gives people good schools, amenities, and relatively upscale (however tacky) housing stock at a reasonable price.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

Though it's personally not my style, I understand that Cranberry serves a purpose--gives people good schools, amenities, and relatively upscale (however tacky) housing stock at a reasonable price.

Tacky?



Suburbia looks gorgeous to me.

[ElijahAstin]

I prefer city neighborhoods and inner ring suburbs myself, but I'll also probably be able to afford to live well in one of them. If my prospects weren't so great and I had a family to take care of, perhaps I myself would be tempted to ship out to a place like Cranberry.

[Yac]

As this thread continues I'd like to remind everyone to stay calm and discuss the topic, not each other.
Again.
Please.
Yac.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by squarian

It was, in point of fact, about a proposed solution to violence-ridden and under-performing schools; namely, to make it possible for some (presumably the worthiest) students to escape while at least implicitly abandoning the (presumably incorrigible) residue to their fate: nasty, brutish and short.

From what I understand, Woodland Hills does this, except without literally removing students. A friend lives in that school district. She is confident of her children's success in the district because she says the district keeps the children segregated according to academic performance.

[BrianTH]

It isn't like the Fox Chapel SD containing a mix of municipalities is new, and I don't see evidence of Fox Chapel the municipality suffering in terms of being able to attract wealthy households as a result.

This notion that wealthy people do not want to have any association whatsoever with poorer people is not actually reflected in the real world, and rather just appears to be an expression of personal preference on the part of a few posters here (explainable by the fact that they are not secure in their own class status).

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It isn't like the Fox Chapel SD containing a mix of municipalities is new, and I don't see evidence of Fox Chapel the municipality suffering in terms of being able to attract wealthy households as a result.

This notion that wealthy people do not want to have any association whatsoever with poorer people is not actually reflected in the real world, and rather just appears to be an expression of personal preference on the part of a few posters here (explainable by the fact that they are not secure in their own class status).

You're absolutely right about that. I come from a similarly affluent area, and I've met incredibly few people who share Curt's attitude in this regard.

[squarian]

Woodland Hills has now followed Wilkinsburg. The decisions are very nearly parallel: a small millage hike (0.56 vs. 1.67), staff furlough (10 vs. 47), and the closure of a major program component (Boyce Campus Middle College program vs. Johnson Elementary).

During public comment, one resident brought up the fact that next year, the school district will have to make some difficult decisions. Messina [president of the Board] responded, stating, “The changes will have to be made—or we won’t have a district anymore.”

And perhaps that would be for the best.