Education: After The Magnet School

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

After The Magnet School

No, it won't be a money maker nor will it break even but it will provide a greater return on investment with higher test scores and a narrowing of the achievement gap.

We have  seen rendering of our new Magnet School  and heard of its potential  for success.  If The State Board of Education fulfills its financial promises and the local board complies with the states contractual obligations The Magnet School should give Windham its greatest educational lift since the invention of the blackboard.  But what will the new school's influence be on Windham's existing schools.  450 students and a proportional number of teachers will move from  their existing schools leaving those schools vastly different.
Will the "cream students and great teachers" be skimmed off to Tuckie Rd. leaving Windham Schools an educational wasteland?

New York City hosts a magnet  or charter school on nearly every block of its deprived neighborhoods.  MS 223, a holdover school located in  the Bronx has endured the ever-growing number of charter schools, often privately subsidized and rarely bound by union rules, that have been unleashed on the city. These alternative schools constantly  skim off the neighborhood’s more ambitious, motivated families. And every year, as failing schools are shut down in New York   MS 223 must accept a steady stream of children with poor intellectual habits and little family support.

Ramon Gonzales, 223's CEO and his young cadre of   enthusiastic teachers have managed to keep the school above water while gathering awards and placing MS 223 one of the best middle schools in New York City.  But will the dream continue, is it sustainable?  The New York Times' Johnathan Mahler writes of the daily trials at Middle School 223, its Principal, the staff and students. 

The Fragile Success of School Reform in the Bronx

MS223, The Bronx