Re: the specials — art, computers, library, and gym — do you know of any schools that are planning to outsource these? Might be a way for parents to keep the things they deem most important for their kids.

No asst. principal.
1 custodian
no security
no librarian

etc.

The teachers pensions are the looming costs.

The average teacher salary for hours worked is higher than the national average.

This is my mantra. I love this. They call it choice … when all it is is “chance.”

And that should not be good enough for anyone who cares about public education here or anywhere.

First point: I fear you miss my point. The magnet school approach was conceived to address the Consent Degree. Over time, these schools evolved into a strata of upgraded education options to discourage yuppies from fleeing the city. CPS even marketed them as such in glossy Options for Knowledge brochures. The neighborhood schools will never improve so long as this strata of premium brand schools exist, which drain resources and families who value education from the neighborhood schools. If you want the neighborhood schools to improve, eliminate the ill-conceived band-aids (magnets) conveniently re-branded as choice.

Second point: If your neighborhood school was providing a first-rate, challenging education to all children at all ability levels, including your whip-smart kiddies, there would be no need for buses. And yes, it infuriates me the neighborhood school takes a “if it ain’t broke, no need to fix it” attitude to smart kids. NCLB = lift from the bottom, where is the incentive to push the bright kids who are already exceeding? This needs to change, starting with national education policy. So we agree on the problem, not the solution.

Last point: the parents of authentic budding Einsteins tend to speak of their children as “having special needs, requiring a unique learning environment populated with similar special needs children.” I call this language Edisonspeak. These parents would never be content sending their children to a neighborhood school, even one that offered an accelerated curriculum. Given the limited financial resources of CPS, these special needs children may be better served at a private academy.

Full disclosure: two kids currently at a spectacular magnet school we love, and a third enrolled in a gifted program at another spectacular public school. Why? The neighborhood school does not offer a challenging curriculum for my own whip-smart kiddies.

Second point: Working parents who do not have a nanny need a school bus for elementary school transportation.

Third point: The neighborhood school academic level, even in the best neighborhood schools, is mediocre. There is no incentive to provide anything accelerated for kids that are already in the exceeds category. I know this first hand. I had wanted to have a school within walking distance where my guy could play on the playground after school. He was literally ignored by his teacher once she figured out that he was already in the exceeds category. His babysitter, also a teacher, told me that they even group the kids into different color groups — yellow, green, etc. and focus the vast majority of their efforts on bringing up the low “color coded” group to grade level. Why should I accept a system that does not provide academic challenge to my son? This is true not just for the Einsteins of this world, but for any kid in the top 20% of his/her class.

Last point. Why should you want the top students academically to leave the public school system to go to private school? I just do not understand this.

I am not a fan of the magnet system or SE, given that years of testing has proven that most students cannot truly be classified as “gifted” before at least 3rd grade. (Read, “NurtureShock for more) Also, I think nobody runs to the suburbs expecting to have an entire school fool of “gifted” children. There, students go to school with kids of ALL levels and if they are truly gifted, have the opportunity to be in accelerated programs. (Although, my sister in the suburbs laughs and says that every parent thinks their child is gifted to the point that they’ve had to expand the gifted program to such an extent that it’s not really gifted anymore — only to appease the parents.)

I can’t imagine how it helps the CPS system as a whole (other than providing a handful of great test scores to “prove” the system “works”) to funnel the not-necessarily-brightest, but obviously very dedicated to education to just a few schools.

So, given that (and this is only one person’s opinion, of course) I believe the magnet system is truly a waste of money. Nor do I think it is fair that we pay the same taxes but only get half-day kindergarten, while magnet students get full-day and special programs like languages, based partly on our taxes. Would you think that’s fair if you were not in a magnet school?

So, if I do not believe in the magnet/SE programs, why am I torn?

Because, although I think the district would save a lot of money by eliminating these programs, I do NOT think that the magnet/SE program is the cause of this budget mess. I agree with the poster above that it’s a state-level issue … impacted by complete incompetence and, let’s face it, criminal misuse of funds at a city level. So, it would not be fair to cut the programs for that reason. They are using the programs as a scapegoat to distract people from the much larger issues affecting CPS … and the city budgets.

BTW, I am only offering my opinion. I have many friends in magnet schools and am NOT making a judgment on that decision. I would feel deeply for them if they had the rug pulled out from under them and would probably end up fighting with them to keep the programs. Ha. I know. But that’s the way I am. I would be as upset as they would be … even though my kids are going to the neighborhood school!

I really think if people felt that their neighborhood school was SAFE, there’d be a whole different view of CPS. CPS’ problems are far deeper than magnet/SE, yet somehow that seems to be the only educational issue anyone talks about.

1.) The two-tiered educational system has to be dismantled. Magnet schools, devised to address federally mandated desegregation goals, do not work for their intended purpose. Magnet schools were NOT devised to provide an upgrade from neighborhood schools for yuppies in gentrifying areas. Sorry.

2.) All neighborhood schools must improve at providing a solid core curriculum for all students at all ability levels, including kids who thrive learning above grade level. The word gifted is misunderstood and misused in Chicago. The proper word is excellerated, if you need a label. If your Buffy or Jody is truly the second coming of Einstein, maybe private school is a better choice for you.

3.) RGC and Classical Schools will not be eliminated, but will probably morph into schools with a neighborhood enrollment bias. We’ve already seen this with the magnets, opening up more seats for kids who live nearby. For RCG/Classical, maybe a designated 60% of seats earmarked for kids within attendance boundaries at 7th stanine and above. Preserve the lofty test scores but feel more like a neighborhood school.

4.) Bussing goes way, except for special needs students. And if CPS must provide bussing to adhere to NCLB mandates, then Uncle Sam should pick up the tab.

5.) All of the wonderful “extras” go away, i.e. music, art, sports teams, enrichment — unless parents are willing to fundraise or charge a participation fee. Parochial schools are already doing this, and I think more CPS parents (besides Nettlehorst, Bell, Hawthorne, et.al.) would be willing if the core curriculum / quality of instruction was excellent at their neighborhood school.

End of rant. Still fuming about the SE high school fiasco…