It seems that nothing brings out the passions of Alamedans more than school issues. Last year’s budget problem rallied hundreds of parents and residents, the Kindergarten Lottery issue roiled hundreds more, and now charter applications have the internet jumping.
Reading a number of different discussion boards (Check out the Alameda Schools Connection) and blog posts (LD’s at the top of her form, with solid discussions following the post).
Watching from the sidelines, seeing the names of people I know and like taking different sides of this discussion, it occurs to me that a) we all just want what’s best for our individual children and b) that doesn’t always seem to match up (at least in our minds) with what’s best for a school system designed to teach a community of children. This is why we have elected school boards, so that a slightly dispassionate, majority selected group of people can watch out for the well-being of the entire district and its charges.
But the other major issue, the one that seems to get the shortest amount of discussion, is whether or not the school district (AUSD, not generic “public schools”) is meeting the goals it has set out for itself. It seems that the major issue (or at least one of them) for those who are pushing for new charters is an idea that the current system is not working.
And yet, I have not seen much in the way of back-up for this. It could be true, but honestly, the API scores that are released show a huge majority of Alameda’s schools flourishing at the elementary level. The couple that aren’t should probably be looked at, perhaps this is where the energy should be placed on looking at new options. It seems that the support for this idea of a need for new schools is less about identified problems and more about assumed ones.
Having had dinner last Saturday at the home of a friend with a high schooler at AHS, I can say with definite certainty that the education afford children at AHS allows for a high level of education for those kids who decide to go for it. What it doesn’t allow is small classes and serious individualized attention.
If there’s a feeling that smaller classrooms and more individualized attention is needed in AUSD, why wouldn’t we be working towards a solution that benefits all of the kids in the district (which would require large amounts of new funding) rather than working to create solutions that benefit 100-200 kids (out of nearly 10,000)? The math seems a bit backwards. Next Tuesday (Jan. 8th) is the board vote on the first of the charter applications. Whether you have kids or not, write the school board and let them know what you think. (Contact info here).
Updated: Edited to correct for possible inaccuracies
“But the other major issue, the one that seems to get the shortest amount of discussion, is whether or not the school district (AUSD, not generic “public schools”) is meeting the goals it has set out for itself.”
If you’re talking about the four AUSD Superintendent’s goals, in my opinion, they’re pretty generic and based on meaningless platitudes.