Charter battle disrupts another community
Again, charter schools are a big topic in SFUSD right now, because two charters' needs for space are disrupting two vulnerable school communities. I read a lot about charter schools, and I'm currently blogging more of what I've been previously just reading and digesting, as this issue is having such an impact on our community.
In our school district, it's low-income students and families who are suffering because of this charter brouhaha. The Los Angeles Times reports on a charter flap that distressed the rich. The ultra-wealthy community of Palos Verdes, on a beautiful wooded peninsula outside L.A., has been ripped apart recently by a controversy over a proposed charter. Now the proposal has been dropped, but the ugly rift in the community will take a long time to heal.
These rich folks can take care of themselves, and my heart isn't particularly bleeding. But my point is that charters manage to spread controversy and divisiveness far and wide; these parents saw clearly the damage this one would do.
Parents who proposed the charter wanted to escape the culture of high-stakes testing (which is not a goal I disagree with). But they were working with an outfit that operates charters in San Diego and has been accused of various types of corruption and wrongdoing, so that was one little problem. Meanwhile, school officials and other parents in Palos Verdes protested that the charter would siphon resources and students away from the district, harming the existing schools and their students.
Then the unsavory charter operator from San Diego severed its ties with the Palos Verdes charter proponents, who were already apparently getting nervous about the San Diego issues, and the proposal fell apart. From the L.A. Times:
In our school district, it's low-income students and families who are suffering because of this charter brouhaha. The Los Angeles Times reports on a charter flap that distressed the rich. The ultra-wealthy community of Palos Verdes, on a beautiful wooded peninsula outside L.A., has been ripped apart recently by a controversy over a proposed charter. Now the proposal has been dropped, but the ugly rift in the community will take a long time to heal.
These rich folks can take care of themselves, and my heart isn't particularly bleeding. But my point is that charters manage to spread controversy and divisiveness far and wide; these parents saw clearly the damage this one would do.
Parents who proposed the charter wanted to escape the culture of high-stakes testing (which is not a goal I disagree with). But they were working with an outfit that operates charters in San Diego and has been accused of various types of corruption and wrongdoing, so that was one little problem. Meanwhile, school officials and other parents in Palos Verdes protested that the charter would siphon resources and students away from the district, harming the existing schools and their students.
Then the unsavory charter operator from San Diego severed its ties with the Palos Verdes charter proponents, who were already apparently getting nervous about the San Diego issues, and the proposal fell apart. From the L.A. Times:
Opponents vowed to fight any future charter proposals and urged the charter parents to work with the district.
Tracey Lyons Tozier, whose two children attend Mira Catalina Elementary, said mending the community divide would take time.
"It's a shame," she said, "how many families are no longer talking to one another over this issue."
Labels: Charters
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home