Wednesday, January 25, 2012

I have a PhD, you know.


It seems School Board members Jim Martin and Susan Evans don’t approve of the choices – or lack of choices – you have been making for your children. WCPSS just released the magnet application numbers and they are down from last year. Although WCPSS still received twice as many applications than there are available magnet seats and almost 2,000 students weren’t counted in the final number because the plan pre-assigns them to their magnet, the immediate reaction from Martin and Evans was dramatic distress and concern.  They just can’t seem to understand why parents, who finally have some say in their child’s assignment, aren’t choosing what they want them to choose. 

Has it occurred to either of them that this new assignment plan offers many of the benefits that parents previously sought within the magnet system? How many families attended a magnet school in the past because it offered long-term stability? How many went to avoid MYR? How many attended to have an understanding of and priority to their next level school assignment? It’s obvious that many families are still choosing to send their child to an academically-rich magnet school for the right reasons. Too many to seat, in fact. So, what’s the issue?

But, during the magnet discussion at yesterday’s Board work session, the cherry on top was listening to Mr. Martin drone on and on about his son’s middle school, Carnage Middle. This isn’t the first time we have heard Mr. Martin discuss his son’s school and I’m sure this won’t be the last. Mr. Martin simply isn’t happy with all those poor kids feeding into Carnage from Walnut Creek Elementary as he is convinced that they will lower Carnage’s performance as a school and take away too many magnet seats – as if they are less deserving to attend Carnage. He didn’t show the least bit of concern for what the families of those students may want or what is best for those students’ education – just that his son may be affected somehow by something at some time. And Evans nodded ferociously in agreement.

My advice?

If you want a good education, have your child attend the same school as Mr. Martin’s son.