Post news and information from your neighborhood: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________ I can speak to this directly based on my experience with my children. I live and they have both lived all of their lives in the Saint Paul school district and mainly in one home. Looking back now I have seen how there are many other students their age in our neighborhood and yet they are all disconnected to the extent that there are really few if any close friendships that have been forged with the kids in our neighborhood. I began to ask my kids, "Why?"
They themselves admitted that they all attend different schools and that they have little in common because of it. I thought back to my own education in public schools, and realized that all of my friends were from my neighborhood and we all attended the same elementary, junior high school, and high school. We were close because we encountered one another everyday at school and our connection was strong due to this. I am saddened when I see the lack of friendships forged in our neighborhoods because of largely school choice. I am not saying that kids cannot make friends under these circumstances, I just say they don't. Prior to entering school they all played together. Once school responsibilities came along, they rarely see each other, and they rarely think to call and get together. Kids just have so much that centers around school, and it for all intents and purposes becomes their life, especially in high school. As parents we don't spend time together, because our kids have not stayed connected. I talk to many parents that have surmised the same explanation in my neighborhood and in my workplace. They and I believe this has weakened the strength of neighborhoods and could be rectified again, if students were able to attend their own neighborhood schools and know they are all great schools. When my children started out in school, school choice was a part of their lives, but only because they could not get the accelerated learning options they desired at the neighborhood school. I think choice at first blush looks like the greatest thing going, but it is complicated and unwieldy at times. It begs for parents who are already extremely busy to take their children all over the district to search for the perfect situation, when in reality who needs that complication in their life? It's bad enough to assist your child with the many choices out there when they get to college age and are searching for the perfect college. But to start on that adventure or shall I say diversion right away in elementary school seems a bit over blown. I think that we largely educate students that way it has been done for decades. In fact I don't see that much that has changed since I went to school and I am now 46. The only "innovation" if you choose to call it that is choice. I just happen to believe there is a way to offer all options in each school and do so effectively, so people don't have to feel they need to leave the neighborhood to get their children the education they deserve. I also think it becomes a big burden to schools to "prove" their viability over other schools and there is much time and effort on the part of schools to "lobby" for the best students. This is an insane exercise, because none of them are uniform anyway, so it is always about comparing apples to oranges. I would question that it would cost any more to provide ELL, Special Ed, Gifted and Talented and school to work programs, if desired at all schools. There is a constant argument in the private sector as to whether we should "centralize" or de-de-centralize" services, but I doubt there is much difference in the cost of either one. One comment about school transportation. Minneapolis has choice but they "OWN" their transportation service, that makes a huge difference to the bottom line, I believe, and I don't believe that tinkering with busing will produce any real cost savings proportional to the complaint that will be received by those parents who don't want busing to end for their students. I would have thought that Super. Harvey would have figured that out from last time when they tried to get rid of transportation for anyone that lived within a two mile radius of their school. There is a way to cut the budget without stealing someone's ride to and from school. Pamela Ellison Como Park Saint Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brionna Harder" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 4:40 PM Subject: RE: [StPaul] Neighborhood Schools / Busing > Post news and information from your neighborhood: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > _________________________________________ > > > I'm not so sure that Minneapolis has more neighborhood schools, at least not > at the high school level. Due to the school choice initiatives and > sibling/employee preferences, many of my students come from outside the > neighborhood - even the city - that my school is located in. > > Another piece to this is the SLCs. SLCs are now (again, in Mpls) recruiting > students all over the district and as an attempt to keep up the school > population. > > This issue again gets into the socio-economic aspects of neighborhood > schools vs choice. Parents who have the ability will uproot or spend the > time/energy/money to transport their children to a school or program of > their choice. But what about those having fewer economic choices, or more > likely, more debilitating economic demands/circumstances? > > Finally - and I'm playing devil's advocate here - is this indicative of a > decrease in loyalty to a neighborhood? If, historically speaking, you look > at the anchors of a town/neighborhood, they are churches, grocery stores, > coffee shops (or other gathering places) and schools. Is this one more > indication of the lengths to which our "throwaway" society will go? Why not > work on building the schools up rather than leaving them behind? I wonder > how committed a person/family is to their neighborhood, if they are willing > to leave for something better rather than build up to a better existence > where they are? Is this just another example of the increasing > socioeconomic disparities in our society that may be leading us toward a > meritocratic/elitist future where those without have even less? > > Just some thoughts. . . > > Brionna Harder > In Ward One, pondering Jennings proposals and seeing some logic behind them > > _________________________________________________________________ > Take off on a romantic weekend or a family adventure to these great U.S. > locations. http://special.msn.com/local/hotdestinations.armx > > _____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > _____________________________________________ > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
