That's Peter Brown, ARCHITECT (cont'd)
The Chronicle posted this letter from Councilmember Peter Brown on HISD's recently proposed school closings/consolidations:
The proposed HISD closings and consolidations of Carnegie Vanguard High School and eight neighborhood elementary schools disregard the expressed concerns of the communities they serve, and run counter to modern urban educational policy. In the face of unacceptable dropout rates and a divided community, the Houston Independent School District continues to erode the public trust. As a recent Gates Foundation study concludes, smaller neighborhood schools are better. They have higher attendance rates, more parental involvement and provide a safer, more personal teaching and learning environment, especially in the urban context. This is clearly demonstrated by our better charter schools — KIPP and Yes Academy. One way HISD could think outside the box is to allow successful charter schools to take over the campuses slated for closure. Larger schools have disadvantages — higher costs of transportation, busing, administration and security. As an architect, I can say that the renovation of existing schools can be less costly to the taxpayer than consolidation and new construction.
The councilmember (and mayoral candidate) makes some good points.
And in case you didn't know by now, he's an architect.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/02/08 11:32 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (9)
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