RE “SCHOOL zone plans fly in face of Boston parents’ wish for quality” (Letters, Oct. 10): With all due respect to Harneen Chernow’s opinion, she fails to consider the number of families who have chosen private and Catholic schools, or have moved out of Boston, when they didn’t get placement in a school close to home. I bet that number equals or exceeds the number of families she cites who opt for Metco and charter schools that take their children far from home.
The Boston Public Schools collected data through surveys over the past few months that told them what parents want, and a school close to home was an important factor for many families. Every family should be able to advocate for what is best for them without the scorn of their neighbors.
Comments
I thought that Harneen Chernow's letter, responded to here, was totally respectful, and thus I'm confused by this letter. The key phrase in Ms. Maquire's letter is: "every family should be able to advocate for what is best for THEM." Everyone has that right, sure. But know that what you consider best for your child may further limit access to quality schools for another parent's child. The unsavory conflicts that you seem to fear might best be avoided if we think about what's best for the city and all of its kids, rather than my neighborhood vs. yours.
Jill should have mentioned that her husband is a BPS teacher. He is also involved with the Union as a representative. He is a frequent writer to the Herald.
Gone are the days when women "represented" their husbands views as their own, or voted for a certain canidate because their husband told them who to vote for. I don't see how it matters if her husband is a teacher, a frequent writer to the Herald, or that he is a representative of the Union. Did you expect her to include her husbands information then say "the opinions expressed are my own?" Frankly, I don't see how any of the items you mentioned matter to the topic of this conversation. It's the kids that are being moved around this time, not the teachers.
I am for neighborhood schools, anyone who has rode on a yellow bus knows that is no way to spend hours of your childhood. That said, before we make a leap back to neighborhood schools, every school, in every neighborhood, has to be #1! The Boston Public Schools needs to become a unified school district. The current “Portfolio of Schools” model was originally created to give “parents choice,” but the reality is that it has created a two tier system of haves and have not schools.
The influx of charter schools in Boston has only exacerbated the problem and has taken resources out of our traditional district schools. Charters want the BPS return to neighborhood schools process rushed, their allies are chomping at the bit to make a quick buck. In this economy where else can you get that kind of return! Don’t be fooled, when Charters talk about “the children,” it’s not about the children, it’s about the money that follows them. Seeing the move to return to neighborhood schools, 4 charter schools have already submitted applications to open in Boston, and there is a movement to lift the charter school cap.
Communities, that do not have a “Portfolio of Schools” like the Boston Public Schools, always seem to make AYP? Why? Have you ever heard of schools in Lexington and Wellesley not making AYP? No! There is a reason for this, and it not that kids in those communities are smarter in the communities making AYP, it’s that all students attend traditional “heterogeneous” schools. Advanced students are offered Advance Placement (AP) courses, or have International Baccalaureate (IB) programs within their regular schools. These communities don’t separate and send students to separate exam, in-district charter, and pilot schools or outsource students to charter schools or METCO!
Boston is the birthplace of PUBLIC education in America. Boston Public Schools is the best urban school system in the United States. The City of Boston's concentration should be on providing high quality public schools for all families, in all neighborhoods! It’s time for the state and federal government to step in and rate districts for AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) not individual schools. Ending busing and returning to neighborhood schools can be the prize earned, by Mayor Menino and BPS Court Street, when ALL Boston PUBLIC Schools, in all Boston communities, are Number 1!