from a ROSS parent TALE of TWELVE FAMILIES: Different paths for K-5 kids in Scottsdale. Over the last four years, I’ve stayed close to 12 families who chose differing paths for their kids after K and 1st Grade at the Biggest and Most Beautiful of Scottsdale K-8’s. We speak openly and remarkably candidly with each other about the results of our own choices. We loved our SUSD teachers in K and 1st Grade. But each of the families also realized that our Teachers were swimming upstream as they tried to work miracles in a system that not only didn’t support them but often threw roadblocks in front of them. As we chose different paths, we stayed close and share our stories.. STAY AND FIGHT: Two families hung in and have fought [worked?] hard to cause change at the “Biggest and Most Beautiful”. They’ve succeeded to a degree. They have a powerful PTO and massively engaged parents. They’ve cobbled together programs on their own local level despite the lack of support from SUSD for those same obvious needs. Yet they still speak fairly openly about realizing that they can’t solve all the problems and they are looking for new options as their kids now hit 4th-5th grades and they see other families reaping rewards from other choices. Honestly, I had hoped they would be powerful enough to cause sufficient change so the Big-And-Beautiful campus we live near could become home for our kids again. But the struggle at Big-And-Beautiful remains a struggle to overcome the negative momentum imposed by the District. Great Teachers don’t thrive and develop. They are weighed down. They are directed to lift the mass of kids up to mediocre levels of success. There seems to be a lack of motivation from on high to challenge the kids to do more or to let the teachers go beyond the mediocre expectations of the District. TRADITIONAL: Three families won the lottery and moved to Cheyenne Traditional. They’re uniformly happy with their choice. They’re also open in expressing their anxiety about whether CTS can remain an island that performs well on its own. And they speak openly wondering why CTS has been made a magnet for Out of District kids instead of allowing In-District kids the first option to get in. CROSS THE BORDER: Two families moved to public schools just across the border from their school district. They found higher levels of innovation and motivation at the school level. They speak about the flexibility of their chosen K-5’s to create challenges for their kids and move them to higher levels. They are pleased that their new public school of choice is not satisfied by mediocrity. Life is not perfect across the border, but they admire the focus of their newly chosen District upon highest levels of success for each child in lieu of the mass of kids all getting to acceptable but mediocre levels. PRIVATE LIFE: If you can afford it, why not. It’s a heavy investment, but this family found superb success. UNCHARTED WATERS of CHARTERS: Four families chose Three different Charters. Two did so simply by taking the first waiting list that opened up. Two were more selective and waited to get the school they had chosen. Their kids were NOT pretested or filtered. They were, in fact, told/encouraged/hounded to make “donations”. And each speaks of differing strengths and weaknesses. Fundamental education moves faster at the Charters. They do learn more including languages, technology, and math. They do learn it faster. There are, however, fewer or lesser quality options for: • Kids with special learning needs • Arts, music, athletics SO WHAT NEXT? Why cannot SUSD become the First Choice for quality education in Scottsdale? Have we made such deep commitments to Special Education that we’ve starved General Education of needed assets? Have we become so focused on moving the Bottom 25% of students up to Appropriate or Acceptable levels that we ignore the opportunities for those who can go much further much faster? Are we truly focused on the Classroom or are we in love with Bigger and Beautiful[er] buildings? And, at the core, we have to ask this question: Is SUSD’s leadership in touch with its customers, its Classrooms and our Teachers? Or have our District Leaders built such a massive District level staff structure that they’ve decided the Hierarchy knows more than the staff in the field?
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 18:41:19 +0000