"Why Don’t Public Schools Give Parents What They Want?

http://www.cato.org/blog/why-dont-publi ... -they-want

By DAVID BOAZ SHARE
The Washington Post reports today that it’s “harder to describe” the mission of one of the magnet schools in Arlington County, Virginia: Arlington Traditional School. Not that hard, if you just read the quotes from the principal and parents:

“Our emphasis is on basic education,” Principal Holly Hawthorne said…."...

More 'traditional' magnet schools are cropping up because they work. And for parents who don't live in a school district with one, gather enough parents and educators and more than likely it will happen.

Not necessarily. Dennison Elementary in JeffCo has had a waiting list as long as your arm since they opened, as has D'Evelyn junior/senior high school. Rather than replicating other locations with similar structure and requirements, JeffCo holds a lottery for the lucky few that will be chosen to enroll there. They are referred to as "Option" schools, but only for those that win the lottery.

Why don't public schools cater to parents? Maybe because the teachers union is in control? They control the school board usually.

Mtn Gramma wrote: Not necessarily. Dennison Elementary in JeffCo has had a waiting list as long as your arm since they opened, as has D'Evelyn junior/senior high school. Rather than replicating other locations with similar structure and requirements, JeffCo holds a lottery for the lucky few that will be chosen to enroll there. They are referred to as "Option" schools, but only for those that win the lottery.

Yet for some strange reason, these great schools can't be reproduced for the masses (or are not allowed to be).

ScienceChic wrote: What do you mean by "cater to parents" FH? Curriculum, facilities, teacher evaluations? I was thankful that I can Choice Enroll my child into any public school in the county, and you can view their stats and accreditations easily, so I thought that was pretty accommodating. We have a wide range of private schools from which to choose as well, and I'm very pleased with the high communication and effort at each grade level from my childrens' teachers.

Your children are very lucky. They won the educational lottery. They could become astronauts. you should be proud.

Pity the parents and children in Detroit.

Responsibility starts with the parents, in my opinion.

You're not happy with the way the school is communicating with you about your kids? Go to the school and demand to talk to the teachers. Join the PTA. Talk to your school board rep. Show up at school board meetings.

Accept some responsiblity instead of blaming the teacher's union on your kid's poor grades.

ScienceChic wrote:

Rick wrote:

Mtn Gramma wrote: Not necessarily. Dennison Elementary in JeffCo has had a waiting list as long as your arm since they opened, as has D'Evelyn junior/senior high school. Rather than replicating other locations with similar structure and requirements, JeffCo holds a lottery for the lucky few that will be chosen to enroll there. They are referred to as "Option" schools, but only for those that win the lottery.

Yet for some strange reason, these great schools can't be reproduced for the masses (or are not allowed to be).

I wouldn't send my kids to Dennison even if you paid me to. They don't need to be pressured with school work so much that they suffer stress disorders. Elementary school kids shouldn't be treated like college kids.

Well SC I happen to know some of those kids personally and none of them have stress disorders. IMO, it's the kids who get a crappy education that doesn't push them who will be the ones with the stress disorders in later life as they struggle to compete in a global economy. Kids absorb more when they are young and there is a very limited time for them to take advantage of that fact. I'm not going to argue back and forth about the benefits or the pitfalls of schools like Dennison, but I know how many of these kids have turned out, and the results were impressive. Meanwhile my youngest goes to Creighton and gets perfect grades and I rarely see her doing homework. I wish she was challenged more because I feel like she could easily handle it.

But then again, maybe I'm just a mean old man and don't understand the new stresses kids in prior generations never faced.