We are not merely guessing that children who living in Tier 3 will be at a disadvantage under the new application procedures. We know for a fact that they will be. CPS came out with facts and figures which prove that with the new procedures, there will be fewer children selected from Tier 3 than in previous years. Please look at the attached:

http://cpsmagnet.org/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=109719&id=0&rn=8627480

From that CPS website, select the document titled -
Histograms by Selective Enrollment School – with Rank vs Tier – 50 Pct Tier – Cutoff – PopStats – 2009 12 02.pdf

You can see for yourself how Tier 3 will lose spaces in Magnet Schools. This is all about geography and has nothing to do with income.

The median annual income for tier 3 is $44,500. Does your household make more than that?

And if so, by how much?

Once you answer this question, I think it will be more evident who is getting the most screwed by the new plan. And it’s not you.

Why do you assume Tier 3 has the most competition?”

The schools I have chosen are closest to Tier 3 and 4 neighborhoods, so most likely members of those areas will apply there as well due to proximity. That makes it harder for my family to get a spot since we are in the Tier 3 group and possibly competing with more applicants for those particular schools.

I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you are assuming what participants on this blog from Tier 3 are like. Our household does not even come close to making that the median income of $44,500. So sometimes it does feel evident who is getting screwed by the new plan, and forgive me if I feel it just might be me.

The median annual income for tier 3 is $44,500. Does your household make more than that?

And if so, by how much?

Once you answer this question, I think it will be more evident who is getting the most screwed by the new plan. And it’s not you.

Why do you assume Tier 3 has the most competition?

Remember, tier numbers are assigned to neighborhoods. Not to individual household incomes. And, four other factors come into play. Low income families can live in what is considered an upper income tier and vice versa.

Whomever is best served by this scenario based on information culled a decade ago depends on the number of people and ages of children in the four different geographies that apply. We don’t know in advance who will apply. A test of this system would be to review how many people from each bucket participate. Even so, then you’re making assumptions– mostly about the income level of who is applying — based SOLELY ON WHERE THEY LIVE.

I would like to comment on this thinking, because I think it is totally misguided. In fact, we have a real-world example of this and it is South Carolina. All the middle to upper class families send their kids to private schools, and the public schools are basically for the poorest families. Since the more affluent families do not send their children to public schools, they have no reason to support them through tax revenue and they are starved. As a result, the private schools in SC keep getting better, while the public schools are among the worst in the nation.

So eliminating middle to upper class families from CPS could really backfire.

The other issue is a philosophical one. When there are things that are publicly funded (e.g. schools, park district, libraries, etc.) they are for EVERYONE to use. Rich, poor, or otherwise. Maybe some middle to upper class people believe in public education and want to send their kids to public school. That should be their choice.

One more thing…while I think it is the ultimate goal to offer every child a good education, that is a much more difficult goal to reach than to provide children with appropriate subject material to match their ability. What I am talking about doesn’t require hiring any new teachers or investing tons of money or mobilizing neighborhoods. I am only suggesting that kids who have high enough scores, but can’t be accommodated into Gifted or Classical schools, should be guaranteed a “higher track” curriculum within their neighborhood class. Correct me if I’m wrong, but to my knowledge, CPS doesn’t really do this. If they did, I think we might start to see some improvement in the neighborhood schools that are just kind of middle of the pack right now.

Being born into poverty is an accident of birth – no child chooses to be poor. We need a more comprehensive policy that addresses the disparity of the quality of education offered in poor neighborhoods vs. more affluent neighborhoods. In a perfect school system, there would be no disparity. Focusing on the magnet approach as the only viable solution is a big part of the problem. All children have a right to a high quality public education, not just lottery winners or children of color.

It would take something like Harlem’s Children Zone (essentially a birth to college support program costing millions and unending man hours) to ensure Englewood, Austin and Pilsen schools are as good as Lincoln Park magnets. I believe it can be done, I just don’t believe we as citizens care enough to make the sacrifice involved to do our part in making sure “all children” get a quality education. How many people are going to pay more taxes, give their own time to tutor, spend time lobbying for other people’s children? It would be awesome to see. But thinking that the chicago system can just “create better schools” is not a good solution. The system can’t do it. We all would have to be involved. Personally.