Where to Go With This?

117 students showed up for the NHS new member interest meeting yesterday. Holy cow I have some work ahead of me to get though that many applications, transcripts and letters of service and leadership by March 26th! I am happy to report after weeks of 5-10 discipline write ups per day I think I have gotten through to some students that by God I am going to drag you across the passing line. I retooled much of what I was going to do to make it hands-on with great success this week, although I worked all weekend to prep.

Ever seen two 16 year old boys fighting over who had better Absolute Monarchs baseball trading cards? I think personal guillotines are coming up next! Still no sub, but if I can leave them in passing status by spring break they have a shot of passing the class without me, just in time to have me back for Civics next year.

I have written about the current position our school district has taken before, but until this week everything has been speculation for the future direction. 30 years of a nationally recognized diversity policy is going to be phased out over the next 12-15 months in favor of neighborhood attendance zones. This decision was clearly going to be the direction after the election of 4 new board members and well publicized disagreement over the current diversity plans.

While I really can see both sides as a teacher and a parent who of course wants my child in a nearby school I really don't know where to go with the rising anger I have towards the way this district is heading. Sidenote- I make a 1 hour roundtrip commute now for Ben's preschool and plan to do it again next year ALONG with stopping a a different school for the baby.

A recent NY Times article spoke to the rising anger in the suburbs over busing and the election of the new members. I eagerly was awaiting this article after hearing that school board members had been interviewed and thought finally, someone is going to point out the evils of resegregation and maybe tie it to the current NAACP lawsuit of a neighboring county over similar actions or a comparison to a similar in size Charlotte School district that abandoned magnets and diversity plans through busing 10 years ago and have since re-created Pre-Brown status for most of their inner city schools.

I was disappointed that the article barely mentions the nationally recognized magnet program, why the programs were created pre county/city merger, reasons we HAVE mandatory year round assignments including a school bond building referendum voted down by citizens in 1990s, a decade of skyrocketing growth from 80,000 to 140,000 students, or anything about the superintendent. Comments had been shut down or I would have added the above deletions.

Interestedly enough the catalyst for contacting the Times was from someone supporting the dismantling of the current program. WHAT????? This completely explains why so much of the article focuses on the burden of the suburban families for all the changes that have been made and their outrage as defined by their school board vote. Also misrepresented as 64% when in actuality it was 11% voter turnout. Nowhere in the article does it mention that the Superintendent has just tendered his resignation, that the board has wanted to boot him early for publicly speaking out against dismantling this program without any researched plan either logistically or financially to replace the current model.

Nor did the article mention the recent online survey of parents (that only 30% of parents replied to) reflected that 80-90% of parents were happy with their current school. Where is all this outrage from parents, the undercurrent of the election of these new board members?

One of the schools board reverted back to a traditional calendar in a very overcrowded part of town as part of a parent appeasement plan. Never mind at this school to now accommodate the need for a trailer city they will have to give up their main playground.

As for my old school, one of the magnet high schools downtown that draws a population from all over the district for it's IB/AP programs as well as their fine/visual arts programs, it is as good as nonexistent in 5 years. Not without it's flaws, I totally understood the reputation within a few months of my job there and why other teachers thought I was nuts for leaving to help start my current school (having a 12 week old baby WAS the reason) and one that I have often regretted during that very difficult first couple of years.

As of this week, the school will revert back to their neighborhood demographic, one that is close to 90% poor and minority. I talked to several of my teacher friends at that school since the decision, some that have been there over 20 years and I totally understand their frustration, sadness, and feeling of being cheated out of the chance to make real and lasting difference to some of the districts' undeserved students. It is/was a model of school reform that worked and saved a school from racial isolation and abysmal scores.

For the first time since I left 4 years ago they have a teaching position opening up for this fall in my dept. I had seriously thought trying to get back, even with a 45 min commute. I even visited a nearby and only Public Montessori Elementary for Ben and Baby V with nationally recognized programs 2 weeks ago wondering if I could make this work. I would be nuts, even with my desire to "not be a hypocrite" and stay in suburban paradise.

As for me, my options for what to do this fall, next year, next 5 years just got alot smaller. With the drive to neighborhood schools there is likely going to be flight out of downtown to already overcrowded suburban schools. Teachers will be looking to leave schools labeled and also punished "failing" under NCLB guidelines. After all a high school in Rhode Island last week summarily fired all teachers at the end of this year in a under performing inner city school with no warning.

For the sake of my family I am going to stay put, see what happens, see where we are zoned for the 3 elementarily that my neighborhood is currently divided over. Consider keeping Ben at Heartwood for Kindergarden. In the end I SHOULD be supporting this board, my family has more to gain.

As I was leaving that now ill-fated elementary visit I snapped a couple of pics of the artwork. After sitting in the little chairs and observing what was a model of a diverse classroom with engaged kids I left with an overwhelming sense of sadness knowing that most likely the future for 1/2 of the kids in the classroom. Nothing seems more cruel than to relegate a group of 5 year olds to a sub par education, all because they have the wrong zip code and little means of connectedness to make a difference.

As much as I want a good education and viable options for my family I also want it for the kids I saw in that class and have taught over the last 10 years. I have no business in this job if I only see the easy to teach honors kids as worth it. My heart is completely broken for what is going to happen for a district that ranks currently in the top 10 urban districts for graduation rates, end all goal for most state leaders. I think back to the year of preparation I put in working to build community co-chairing our first freshman academy for 800 incoming students. The one that was unique to 17 high schools only one other school that was even trying this idea, the plan to make sure that all students got a good first start at high school. That year of work including hundreds of hours meeting with community and church leaders, the sense of real accomplishment for bringing a pipe dream of finding ways to reach out to the base population through education been relegated to failed social experiment to ensure that once again the money and power base is well entrenched.

I am outraged.