[Editor’s note: Each morning Edwize posts Teacher News of the Day, a roundup of the day's news for NYC teachers, and a poll asking you what you think the day's top story is. Here's a post by Peter Goodman on yesterday's top story.]
One way to assure a packed auditorium of parents is to announce a meeting on school zoning changes. In the pre-Childrens First days school boards grappled with the issue of one part of a district with crowded schools and another part with underutilized schools. Should school catchment area boundaries be changed, bus kids from one school to another, create unzoned magnet schools, a range of choices, all difficult, that school boards had to confront.
The world has changed. There are no school boards, Community Engagement Councils are powerless and ignored. All zoning decisions are made behind the closed doors at Tweed. The Office off Student Enrollment Operations (OSEPO) make all student placement decisions, currently for high schools and this fall also for middle schools. The Office of New Schools (ONS) “creates” new schools, without a site, and scrambles to locate a site.
The parents at Halsey in Queens fought back and the Department backed off … Khalil Gibran International Academy was placed in an elementary school, once again the parents pushed back and the school was given a few rooms, temporary space, in a high school. East-West School in Queens has been stuffed into another middle school and both schools are unhappy. The story goes on and on …
Two years ago the union issued a Report on Small High Schools with a range of recommendations – widely ignored by Tweed.
New schools are created, placed in “temporary” space … the Department has no plan, no procedures, and, god forbid, involve parents. Transparency is a dirty word!
The NY Sun reports that the Department has created a list of underperforming schools – candidates for closing under NCLB regulations.
Disgracefully Department representatives are planning to close public schools and replace them with charter schools. How about the newly created public schools that have been crammed into other buildings? How about the plans for new small schools scheduled to open in 08?
Space priority must be given to public schools, and, the Department support a process to involve communities in all space and zoning issues.
1 Comment:
1 phyllis c. murray
· Aug 4, 2007 at 5:11 am
What Happened to Shared Decision Making in Education?
What ever happened to the shared decision making process in education? Certainly, it is effective at the school level as an informed populace works toward improving teaching and learning within their school. The school leadership team in conjunction with parents, teachers, support staff, community members, and the principal are empowered to make decisions which impact the climate and culture of the school.
Surely, federal, state and district mandates are observed. However what is paramount is that the needs of the students are identified and met. And since the team meets monthly, opportunities are afforded to fine-tune the programs implemented. Research also takes place as best-practices are examined. And assessments are ongoing. Changes are not dictated but agreed upon by the members of the representative team and faculty and community (the stakeholders) prior to implementation. Thus, all persons who hold a vested interest in this public school have a voice. Such an approach seems to mirror democracy in action as the responsibility, rights, or powers are placed in the hands of the school. And if this can be done at the school level successfully, why aren’t educators and parents a part of the Board of Education’s team?
Why aren’t educators and parents full participants in a shared decision making process…especially when all the top to bottom and unilateral decisions are being planned and implemented?
And lastly, why are educators and parents only informed in the media of unilateral changes which impact their lives and the lives all children in New York City Public Schools?
Leo Casey is right when he said:
And certainly Peter Goodman is right, Tweed decisions must be transparent. They must involve the parents and the public. And I would say, that’s the American way!
Leave a Comment