reflections on teaching and learning in urban schools
Sunday, February 11, 2007
CPS threatens to close innovative school
The Chicago board of education is threatening to close an innovative small high school that I've worked with over the past few years. I wrote about it in the Sun-Times yesterday. Click here if you're interested in learning more.
I think it is a real shame that CPS is even considering closing the doors of this school. There heads are obviously in the wrong place. They are only looking at test scores and money (which from what it seems like this school will actually in the long run be less expensive due to the lower drop out rates). They need to bring the focus back to the students! This to me is an outrage. The system really seems to be getting in the way of helping these students get ahead. No wonder so many students give up and feel that no one really cares. Imagine if you finally were able to get in a school were you were learning something and the teachers actually cared and you were seeing improvement, only for the school board to say we are closing this school down. Where are these kids going to turn then? I just think that CPS should be ashamed of themselves and the way they are letting these students and their families and the teachers down! This is the one thing I am so scared of when getting into the teaching, just dealing with the politics of the system. It is going to be very hard to stand by when seeing things such as this happen. I am glad to see that Greg is not letting it go by without saying something. I guess that is a lesson to all of us, we can use our voice and even if things don’t change, we don’t have to sit idly by and let them happen without saying something!
I think that this is awful. A school that is making a significant difference in our students lives may possibly be shut down. They say that it is too costly because of the teacher to student ratio. But if you have 40 students to every 1 teacher would that not be too costly as well, because then it would cost our students a good education. Which is more important money or education? Where there is a will there is a way. If the NFL can find funding then so can CPS. I believe that it is important to give students individualized attention so that you can create a good relationship with them. Having an over crowded classroom is not at all beneficial to students nor teachers. When closing down schools do they ever think of the positive? It seems as if in this country we have our priorities mixed up. Education comes first. Something should be down about the funding of education. I hope that this school does not close down because it seems as if they have a good system in place that places faith in its students.
"To establish goals, standards and policies that make a high quality public education system available to all of the children of Chicago."
This is the first sentence of the mission statement that is listed under the official website for CPS. But what does that really mean to them? What is "a high quality education system"? Is it one that supports each student's unique needs by providing them with one-on-one services? Is it one that provides relevant, real-world experiences and authentic assessments rather than standardized tests alone? Is it one that promotes the continuing growth of the students and leads them in a direction to a college education and success? Is it one that promotes "learning communities and professional development"?
By closing this school they are undermining the efforts to create a genuine high quality education.
Apparently Ms. Shavon is right. for CPs, the cost of a personalized education should be less than the cost of extra teachers in a high needs area.
3 comments:
I think it is a real shame that CPS is even considering closing the doors of this school. There heads are obviously in the wrong place. They are only looking at test scores and money (which from what it seems like this school will actually in the long run be less expensive due to the lower drop out rates). They need to bring the focus back to the students! This to me is an outrage. The system really seems to be getting in the way of helping these students get ahead. No wonder so many students give up and feel that no one really cares. Imagine if you finally were able to get in a school were you were learning something and the teachers actually cared and you were seeing improvement, only for the school board to say we are closing this school down. Where are these kids going to turn then? I just think that CPS should be ashamed of themselves and the way they are letting these students and their families and the teachers down! This is the one thing I am so scared of when getting into the teaching, just dealing with the politics of the system. It is going to be very hard to stand by when seeing things such as this happen. I am glad to see that Greg is not letting it go by without saying something. I guess that is a lesson to all of us, we can use our voice and even if things don’t change, we don’t have to sit idly by and let them happen without saying something!
I think that this is awful. A school that is making a significant difference in our students lives may possibly be shut down. They say that it is too costly because of the teacher to student ratio. But if you have 40 students to every 1 teacher would that not be too costly as well, because then it would cost our students a good education. Which is more important money or education? Where there is a will there is a way. If the NFL can find funding then so can CPS. I believe that it is important to give students individualized attention so that you can create a good relationship with them. Having an over crowded classroom is not at all beneficial to students nor teachers. When closing down schools do they ever think of the positive? It seems as if in this country we have our priorities mixed up. Education comes first. Something should be down about the funding of education. I hope that this school does not close down because it seems as if they have a good system in place that places faith in its students.
"To establish goals, standards and policies that make a high quality public education system available to all of the children of Chicago."
This is the first sentence of the mission statement that is listed under the official website for CPS. But what does that really mean to them? What is "a high quality education system"? Is it one that supports each student's unique needs by providing them with one-on-one services? Is it one that provides relevant, real-world experiences and authentic assessments rather than standardized tests alone? Is it one that promotes the continuing growth of the students and leads them in a direction to a college education and success? Is it one that promotes "learning communities and professional development"?
By closing this school they are undermining the efforts to create a genuine high quality education.
Apparently Ms. Shavon is right. for CPs, the cost of a personalized education should be less than the cost of extra teachers in a high needs area.
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