Mayor Menino and the Boston school department deserve credit for presenting five realistic options for reforming the school assignment process, including a straightforward alternative of placing elementary and middle school students in schools closest to their homes. Now, as the debate gets underway in earnest, every option should be closely considered — including those that mark the most sweeping changes from the dysfunctional current system, which buses children across three wide geographic zones at great expense and to little educational purpose.
Already, some observers are opting for a more modest change that would reduce the size of the zones, but maintain the basic structure of the current system. It’s too early for that kind of split-the-difference mindset, which could squander the best hope in a generation for improvement in the Boston schools. Rather, all stakeholders should concentrate on devising an assignment plan that satisfies the key aims of education reform:
Comments
I am concerned that this editorial does not accurately portray the lack of quality seats throughout the BPS system. To suggest that it is easy to turn around a failing school implies an ability to address the lack of quality that jut does not exist. The schools mentioned as improving are only doing so because their scores were so bad to begin with. Getting them to provide solid educations to their students on par with some of the really successful schools is another story altogether. If it were easy to turn around these schools why do we have so many doing so badly? And why wasn't BPS able to keep the Trotter from declining so incredibly over the last decade? it went from being one of the best elementary schools in the city in one of our poorest neighborhoods to a school in danger of state takeover. The editor of this article may need to become more educated on the issues before weighing in on this again.
The Globe's editorial staff has missed the boat on this one. The proposed rezoning, in whatever form, will not provide higher quality schools nor make them more available to children and families around the city. It is disingenuous of the Globe to say that schools can be turned around in a year or two. Schools need consistency and support in the work they do to help students. These proposed zone changes are revealing themselves to be ill-thought out and have so many caveats (walk zone, grandfathering, children with disabilities) that neither parents nor the advisory committee can effectively weigh the options. Quality first in all schools, then let's talk about new zones.
If all the schools are bad, what's the difference? Going to a bad school in your neighborhood rather than being bussed to a bad school somewhere else is a no-brainer. Certainly there still are good schools in Boston, but you need to be a decent student to attend them. The money saved on bussing can be put to better use in the actual school system!
Are these really the turnaround scores as evidence for your argument? While Grade 3 bumped up a bit Trotter 2012 - Grade 4 MCAS Math 7% Proficient 93% Not Proficient G
Are these really the turnaround scores being used as evidence for your argument? While Grade 3 Math MCAS bumped up to 39% Proficient 61% Not Proficient this does not compare to high performing schools in Boston. Trotter 2012 - Grade 4 MCAS Math 7% Proficient 93% Not Proficient A sincere congratulations to the Trotter staff for the hard work put into improving and let's hope for further continued success. But a true turnaround is marked by years of progress and a consistently high level of student achievement. The Globe's justification for changing the assignment system is based upon the assertion that high poverty low performing schools can be turned around quickly and easily. This is disingenuous, particularly when the Globe supported the Mayor's plan to improve all neighborhood schools as a necessary precursor to making changes to the assignment system just a few years ago. School achievement equity between higher income and lower income neighborhoods has not even come close to being realized. There are a few high performing schools within low income neighborhoods but they are outliers, not the norm. Under these plans which families are going to be denied access to higher performing schools in more affluent parts of the city? The families within low income areas of Roxbury and Dorchester. The school assignment system does need changing. The city will also certainly save money, but don't try to hide this motivation behind unfulfilled promises and misleading data.