The percentage of white students attending partial-magnet schools of Haut Gap Middle and Mitchell Elementary has risen. CCSD Superintendent Nancy McGinley credits the ability of students at Haut Gap to earn high school credits and the Montessori program at Mitchell. [See Some Partial Magnet Programs Succeed in Helping Integrate Schools in the online P&C.]
Gee, just maybe white parents were discouraged previously not by race but by sinkhole academics.
Dot Scott, eat your heart out!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
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4 comments:
AMEN!
I want to know what classes the black kids are taking at these "new" partial magnet schools? Is their curriculum improving? Or is this just another attempt at making the administrators look good when test scores go up?
...speaking of administrators. There is a common element at every one of these schools [way too few them in my opinion] where the "norm" of pre-ordained failure is being tossed out. It's a principal who has a backbone and a passion for what their school intends to accomplish. They also have a brain and aren't tethered to McGinley and the central administration. It's more about real parent choices and quality academic programs with substance. That may explain why the so-called partial [I'd say 'Buist Lite'] programs at Memminger and Chicora will never get off the ground. McGinley was too much involved. She stacked the deck against real parental choices for quality programs like IB and she has school level leadership that jump on her command.
Here's the best advice to McGinley for successful innovation and individual school success: "LET MY PEOPLE GO!" ...if she can tolerate the thought of someone doing it on their own and without her mug on everything, let alone an entire neighborhood school lifting themselves out of the CCSD funk.
What about the failure of kiss axx principals who stand in the way of parent participation and community backed school initiatives? What about Burke? Does inching up from absolute failure to mid-level failure justify a call for celebration? What's the reason a school like Burke fails to move forward year after year? Is it really the students or is it the leadership?
I wish McGinley wouldn't continue to give us that inner city Philadelphia picture over and over again. It must be a terrible thing to see the world only through suburban Philadelphia eyes and experiences.
Poor leadership more than poor students hold these schools back. How many years until Burke's Mr. Benton retires a 2nd time and returns to NC with a SC pension to add to the one he already has? With McGinley's approval he's done nothing for Burke as it continues to bleed students and programs. When he goes, he should take two others with him. Like Benton, Burke's AD and band director couldn't care less about the students. They all padded their own nests while the school and the community begged for real leadership and innovation. McGinley's idea of innovation is to invent catchy names for non-existant programs and stacking the numbers for her resume.
Forget the partial magnet idea. Burke should have been the full thing a long time ago. With good leadership in the main office it could have been. Only problem was McGinley and those nice people before her couldn't afford to have Burke led by anyone with a mind of their own.
I hope Benton hears this. Like McGinley, he can always go home, leaving behind a mess made bigger on his watch. Eventually, he will leave it for others to clean up. That is if Burke can survive at all once these people are finally gone.
It will be interesting to see how McGinley does a whack job on the enrollment numbers at these partial magnets while downtown's flagship high school continues to sink.
No, it's not just about attracting white students. It's about supporting quality academic programs with staying power. That will not only attract, but also uncover, the many good students CCSD and McGinley continue to step on.
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