More than money is needed to fix three HISD schools
It is a given, in liberal/media circles, that public education ills could be fixed if the American public would quit being so stingy and give more money to schools. So we can only imagine the Chronicle's stunned disbelief when it discovered that HISD's three lowest-performing high schools spend more money per pupil than HISD's highest-performing high schools.
That can't be right! Why, that messes up the whole equation. Of course, one need look only as far as our nation's capital to figure out that all the money in the world won't fix a broken education system.
Successful education happens when several factors all come together: strong teachers, strong curriculum, strong support staff, strong classroom discipline, and strong and involved families.
Frankly, in today's world, school district administrators have surprisingly little flexibility to address and fix problems in schools, thanks to community activists, teachers unions, politicians and...the media.
Need an example? (Of course you don't, but I'm giving one anyway.)
The rumor that HISD might be considering shutting down Yates helped generate a turnout of about 200 people at a recent school meeting about the future of the tradition-rich campus. Some quietly joked at the gathering that the best way to spark community involvement at Yates is to suggest it is closing.
Within days of Saavedra's announcement of his intention to overhaul the schools' leadership, Yates alumni and parents launched a Web site called www.savejackyates.com.
Hmmmm. How DID that rumor get started, about Yates possibly being closed? Oh yeah, that's right -- it was a lethal combination of the media, community activists, a teachers union and some politicians.
The question is, will the Chronicle and community leaders now allow Dr. Saavedra and HISD to fix those three schools, instead of throwing around baseless charges?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/06/05 08:58 AM | Print |
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