Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Status:
"Let this year be over..."
(set 22 days ago)
Location: Where my bills arrive
19,219 posts, read 17,095,590 times
Reputation: 15538
I don't see it working, the monies were allocated to city schools with two tasks. The first task is to " help students with poor academic performance" the second is to "attracting more privileged out-of-district students".
First the amount of money is not that much (believe it or not) and it's being split between 3 schools, you know the outcry of helping the kids who are disadvantaged is going to be the loudest. Those kids are just trying to get through and that is always going to take precedence.
Second what are they really going to create that is going to make suburban students want to get on a bus with a possible long ride to an urban school that probably looks like a war zone? Are the parents who moved to the suburbs really going to be risking their kids education to be urban pioneers..I don't think so.
I have seen schools within schools and all it does is create a fish bowl environment usually inside a dangerous environment that those in the burbs choose to avoid. I agree consolidation and the creating of a "county" school district would save on school tax but I don't think you will ever see it in your lifetime.
I think a consolidation plan could achieve this and help the area at large in regards to taxes, if planned properly.
I think something like this could very well work and especially if there is increased interest from the local colleges to help improve these schools.
This is how I see it working:
Not all the suburban schools are "models" of excellency. Schools such as East Irondequoit for instance struggle with student performance. A lot of lower class migration has occurred from the city to suburbs such as East Irondequoit. If the city can build back up a few of these inner city schools to provide technical education for middle class "tech" jobs that the lower class suburban schools can't afford, nor have the resources to fund, then there will be definitely many of these middle to high achieving students that could desire to go schools such as Edison Tech and learn skills such as high tech manufacturing. These are skills that are in demand, don't require 4 years of college, but are difficult to teach in most public schools.
The key also is more partnership with the local colleges. RIT for instance has a stated goal to get more inner city students into their programs. They have more openings for financial aid packages then they have students from the inner city to fill these spots. So I see this as being a possibility to succeed by getting more suburban students who like I said, aren't in great public suburban schools anyways, and who are capable and desire to get this additional technical education. This also helps to then build the school up making it easier to attract the inner city students in the exact same situation. Middle to high performing students, who want to learn, but don't have the resources at their current school.
The key like I said is 2 things. Number 1 is having students who are disadvantaged whether it's suburban or inner city and want to go to school.
And second, partnerships with the local colleges.
In fact, the UofR has stepped up to the plate to help another formerly high performing city school that was in danger of shutting down. These plans aren't cheap, but I'm proud of the local colleges for helping to improve the city schools. And I think this is one of the best paths to success since it is a private institution with a proven track record.
Quote:
Rochester, N.Y. - The Rochester City School Board voted unanimously to approve the plans for the University of Rochester to takeover East High School but it'll come at a high price. The district estimates it'll cost $10.4 million to pay for the first year of the partnership with the U of R. University officials said most of that money will cover startup costs but this comes as the district faces a $40 million budget gap next year. One of the district's largest and most troubled schools, the U of R aims to double the graduation rate and significantly increase college preparedness within seven years. "The hard part is not the plan, it's the implementation of the plan" said U of R President Joel Seligman. "It will be years, there will be pitfalls along the way, unexpected challenges. We are in it as long as we are operating with you. We are committed to making East High School a success." UR Professor, Steve Uebbing said. "We're not asking anything for East High School any parent in any community in the Rochester community wouldn't ask for their own kids." Organizing East into two separate schools, adding a 6th grade, extending the school day and shrinking the size of the student body are all part of the plan. Seligman said, "You all know there will be some expense, I'm telling you it's worth it. Nothing matters more than the success of our children." Some members of the board raised the question that if they invest all of this money into the U of R to help East High succeed, what will happen to all of the other schools and students in the district? RCSD Board Member Cynthia Elliot said, "If we would have done our work in the beginning we would not have had to bring in the University of Rochester, so it's on us-we can't afford to have another other child not to have an opportunity for graduation." The district and the university hope the partnership will act as a blue print to benefit all city schools and this is just the beginning.
I think with the state opening the door for consolidation, I think it could be something that is brought to the table and if people work on a plan, who knows? Given how people complain about taxes and how school segregation is relatively high, you could kill two birds with one stone. That is why you see these Southern areas grow, as once they went to county systems, it lower taxes and integrated schools.
As for suburban schools, since East Irondequoit was mentioned, according to the 2013-2014 NYSED Report Card, its overall grad rate was 89%, which is about 14% higher than the state and national percentage in 4 years, give or take. By race, it was 93% for Black students, 87% for Hispanic students and 88% for Whites students: 2014 | EAST IRONDEQUOIT CSD - Graduation Rate | New York State Education Department Data Site While its test scores are so-so/lower average, I think that many urban high schools would take those graduation numbers. That's not saying there isn't room for improvement, but I think still offers a better shot at success.
I agree that the serious tech programs need to come back into the schools and offer skills that are needed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
