Comments on: Read: Happy Holidays Edition http://dropoutnation.net/2009/12/24/read-happy-holidays-edition/ Coverage of the Reform of American Public Education Edited by RiShawn Biddle Fri, 18 May 2012 15:35:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Read: Monday Morning Edition || Dropout Nation http://dropoutnation.net/2009/12/24/read-happy-holidays-edition/comment-page-1/#comment-64552 Read: Monday Morning Edition || Dropout Nation Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:28:48 +0000 http://dropoutnation.net/?p=812#comment-64552 [...] speaking of Klein, Dropout Nation thoughts: In the comments of Thursday’s edition of Read, Kathy offers a rebuttal to his decision to close Jamaica High [...] [...] speaking of Klein, Dropout Nation thoughts: In the comments of Thursday’s edition of Read, Kathy offers a rebuttal to his decision to close Jamaica High [...]

]]> By: kathy http://dropoutnation.net/2009/12/24/read-happy-holidays-edition/comment-page-1/#comment-64507 kathy Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:56:28 +0000 http://dropoutnation.net/?p=812#comment-64507 Re: Jamaica High School Chancellor Klein's description of the graduation rate at Jamaica would be far more valid if all the students entered as 9th graders at or above grade level. Curiously, too, the state's reported graduation rate for Jamaica differs from that the DOE cites, and the school itself has raised questions about the DOE statistics. Regardless of the percentage, Jamaica as a large high school serves many of those who do not find homes or adequate services in small schools. Many enter the school not speaking or reading English, with interrupted formal educations in their native country, and a myriad of other learning challenges. A 4 year graduation rate can't be expected to tell the whole story of what is happening in the building. Regardless of their background, students at Jamaica receive an education. Some students take 5 or even 6 years to graduate, but the teachers are as dedicated to those students as to those who are considered for admission to Harvard after four years. Would any one of us be able to move to a country where we don't speak the language and graduate at the same rate with the same mastery of the curriculum as a native of that country? It may take longer, but it is entirely wrong to criticize their accomplishment just because it takes longer. The city's evaluation of the school differs greatly from the picture Joel Klein now presents. 88% of responding parents indicate that they are happy with the education their children are receiving. Does Chancellor Klein really believe that these parents are happy with their children as "failures"? Had he been at an informational meeting at the school on December 16, he would have heard parents and students defending their school and their education and pleading with DOE officials that it be allowed to remain open. More than one told of losing a teacher mid-year as a result of budget cuts (some spoke of seeing a substitute daily, rather than a permanent teacher). The recent round of school closings include repeated stories like Jamaica's. Maxwell HS just received bonuses in return for substantial improvement; it is being closed. Columbus HS has more enrolled high-needs students than the average high school and has a higher 7 year graduation rate than the city average. Beach Channel has made dramatic improvement and is the last remaining large high school on the transportation-challenged Rockaway Peninsula and, just like Jamaica, their quality review contains descriptions and evaluations that don't support the DOE's post-closing announcement descriptions of a failing school. The DOE and Joel Klein spin rhetoric and quote statistics that, taken alone, make it easy to say "well, of course." When you actually know the schools, the teachers, and the students, and when you look more closely at the data the schools can provide, it becomes apparent that the decision to close these schools is HIGHLY flawed. Re: Jamaica High School
Chancellor Klein’s description of the graduation rate at Jamaica would be far more valid if all the students entered as 9th graders at or above grade level. Curiously, too, the state’s reported graduation rate for Jamaica differs from that the DOE cites, and the school itself has raised questions about the DOE statistics. Regardless of the percentage, Jamaica as a large high school serves many of those who do not find homes or adequate services in small schools. Many enter the school not speaking or reading English, with interrupted formal educations in their native country, and a myriad of other learning challenges. A 4 year graduation rate can’t be expected to tell the whole story of what is happening in the building. Regardless of their background, students at Jamaica receive an education. Some students take 5 or even 6 years to graduate, but the teachers are as dedicated to those students as to those who are considered for admission to Harvard after four years. Would any one of us be able to move to a country where we don’t speak the language and graduate at the same rate with the same mastery of the curriculum as a native of that country? It may take longer, but it is entirely wrong to criticize their accomplishment just because it takes longer.

The city’s evaluation of the school differs greatly from the picture Joel Klein now presents. 88% of responding parents indicate that they are happy with the education their children are receiving. Does Chancellor Klein really believe that these parents are happy with their children as “failures”? Had he been at an informational meeting at the school on December 16, he would have heard parents and students defending their school and their education and pleading with DOE officials that it be allowed to remain open. More than one told of losing a teacher mid-year as a result of budget cuts (some spoke of seeing a substitute daily, rather than a permanent teacher).

The recent round of school closings include repeated stories like Jamaica’s. Maxwell HS just received bonuses in return for substantial improvement; it is being closed. Columbus HS has more enrolled high-needs students than the average high school and has a higher 7 year graduation rate than the city average. Beach Channel has made dramatic improvement and is the last remaining large high school on the transportation-challenged Rockaway Peninsula and, just like Jamaica, their quality review contains descriptions and evaluations that don’t support the DOE’s post-closing announcement descriptions of a failing school.

The DOE and Joel Klein spin rhetoric and quote statistics that, taken alone, make it easy to say “well, of course.” When you actually know the schools, the teachers, and the students, and when you look more closely at the data the schools can provide, it becomes apparent that the decision to close these schools is HIGHLY flawed.

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