Reading the history of Kennard, it's kind of unfortunate that the school is named after a traitor.
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Grand Center Arts Academy, another viable school option in St. Louis. http://www.stlouiscitytalk.com/2013/04/ ... ademy.html
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I think it had more to do with his association with STL business and the world's fair than his Confederate ties. But I would support renaming the school for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Kennard.onecity wrote:Reading the history of Kennard, it's kind of unfortunate that the school is named after a traitor.
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A few days ago the New York Times had an article about the plan in NYC schools to replace all light fixtures that have PCBs in them. Apparently, some fluorescent lights made before 1999 (and all made before 1979) have a part that contains PCBs, and the part slowly leaks the toxic chemicals into the air. Caulk from the 1950s to the 1970s also has it. I know the city has made strides in lead paint abatement, but has anyone heard of projects to replace light fixtures that contain PCBs in STL schools? It lowers IQ and causes all kinds of issues, and it would affect hundreds of schools in the region, but with the age of most SLPS buildings, I would guess it was at one time in all of them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/nyreg ... -pcbs.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/nyreg ... -pcbs.html
KIPP is working in STL charter schools. Can the model be applied to public schools as well? As they should, KIPP schools spend a lot of time educating their students on how to function in broader American culture in addition to learning.
https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/30 ... tes_051513
https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/30 ... tes_051513
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OneCity, Kennard school is named after my stepfather's Great Grandfather, Samuel M. Kennard. Yes, he did fight for the Confederate Army but he also did an incredible amount of things for the City of St. Louis after coming here after the Civil War. Certainly he fought for the wrong side, but I think you're overly harsh of someone born in the 1840's. His philanthropic activies were vast in the early 20th century.
If anything that would be a stigma he had to overcome. He must have made some great contributions to still get a school named after him.
One thing I don't like about the St. Louis magnet school system is that admissions has a large lottery basis. Where I am from (Richmond, VA), there is a magnet school whose admission is based solely on capability (essay, admissions test scores, IQ/logic exam, recs) and the best students get in. Thats it. It is staffed by awesome teachers, usually recruited from university teaching positions to teach at the high school level. And students get sent to local universities to learn once they've exhausted all of the AP courses, which many of them do. It started only a decade ago and is already in the top 15 schools in the country.
I haven't seen a school with similar opportunities anywhere in the STL metro area, even among the private schools. This school in Richmond isn't funded any better than other public schools but consistently sends about half of its class to the top 20 colleges in the country. I graduated from this high school.
There are spots for people in the surrounding counties too but more for people in the city and in Richmond, people in the surrounding counties with smart kids are practically storming the doors (moving into the city) trying to get their kids into this city school and young professional parents feel very comfortable about staying in the city to raise their children simply because there is a nationally recognized high school that they could send their kids to that is BETTER than the county and private schools.
This is all simply because there is no lottery.
I think St. Louis could go a long way in retaining families and changing the perception of its downtown schools if it built a large modern magnet school near a downtown metrolink, gave about 33% of the seats to kids people from the surrounding counties (including metro east, of course the counties pay for any students they send over), brought in the best teachers, and simply said "only the best students in the St. Louis metro area are here."
Whats more, as I'm seeing the life trajectory of my high school classmates, many of them ended up enjoying their time in high school in the city and are moving back to downtown Richmond after developing their careers elsewhere.
I haven't seen a school with similar opportunities anywhere in the STL metro area, even among the private schools. This school in Richmond isn't funded any better than other public schools but consistently sends about half of its class to the top 20 colleges in the country. I graduated from this high school.
There are spots for people in the surrounding counties too but more for people in the city and in Richmond, people in the surrounding counties with smart kids are practically storming the doors (moving into the city) trying to get their kids into this city school and young professional parents feel very comfortable about staying in the city to raise their children simply because there is a nationally recognized high school that they could send their kids to that is BETTER than the county and private schools.
This is all simply because there is no lottery.
I think St. Louis could go a long way in retaining families and changing the perception of its downtown schools if it built a large modern magnet school near a downtown metrolink, gave about 33% of the seats to kids people from the surrounding counties (including metro east, of course the counties pay for any students they send over), brought in the best teachers, and simply said "only the best students in the St. Louis metro area are here."
Whats more, as I'm seeing the life trajectory of my high school classmates, many of them ended up enjoying their time in high school in the city and are moving back to downtown Richmond after developing their careers elsewhere.
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FWIW, the lottery system could be a big factor in keeping me and my family out of the city. Predictability in education is paramount.
^Me too. I would love to know before I move to the city whether my kid has a slot or not, but I'm not about to go through the hassle and expense of moving without that certainty. STL has a crippling race problem, in the sense that race is a visible characteristic that for historical reasons corresponds very closely to poverty, which corresponds very closely to a disruptive learning environment and thus poor outcomes in public schools. This, in my opinion, makes it virtually or at least politically impossible to address the actual problem - poverty - head on. If the city/SLPS could ever get over its stupid, backwards, and paralysing racial politics and set up a "magnet" system or separate, intensive track for the kids dealing with hard core poverty (financial, social, familial), most of the problems of associated with the public schools could be solved with the stroke of a pen, as the lottery so many families (of all races) depend on to keep their kids out of a toxic culture would no longer be necessary.
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Public education in the city already suffers from segregation. From administrators to teachers to parents to students, one race has complete control over everything that happens concerning public education in the city.
I do not understand why parents and children of different races so willingly accept a seat on the back of the bus on this issue.
I do not understand why parents and children of different races so willingly accept a seat on the back of the bus on this issue.
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JuanHamez wrote:One thing I don't like about the St. Louis magnet school system is that admissions has a large lottery basis
For what it's worth, county people are welcome in city schools. It agravates a lot of city people, but they are welcome. Anyone can apply for the lotto system, and most parents/families who really want to stay in the city will apply for several options knowing that at least one will pan out. If there is only ONE school you like, I understand that the lotto may be too risky.
Can you please expand on this? What race do you claim has "complete control" over everything? And specifically what schools are you drawing your first hand experience from? Not being confrontational, just genuinely curious how these perceptions occur.leeharveyawesome wrote:Public education in the city already suffers from segregation. From administrators to teachers to parents to students, one race has complete control over everything that happens concerning public education in the city.
I do not understand why parents and children of different races so willingly accept a seat on the back of the bus on this issue.
We can call this "test/exam in" school "NEXTSTL."
Yea, kinda sucks for us. We live in the city (downtown) and contemplating buying another property. But we feel we should mitigate our education risk by buying in the county rather than having two properties in the city. That would be sole reason we buy in the county.
Yea, kinda sucks for us. We live in the city (downtown) and contemplating buying another property. But we feel we should mitigate our education risk by buying in the county rather than having two properties in the city. That would be sole reason we buy in the county.
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JuanHamaz,
Saint Louis has something very much like you describe in that a few schools in the magnet program are limited to those who pass a gifted/IQ test. Metro HS is the second or third best rated high school in Missouri. All magnets are open to students who live within boundaries of school districts that participate in the voluntary school deseg program.
Perhaps the magnet in Richmond tries to decipher the "best of the best" on capability, but from what you describe I don't see too much difference between that and having a lottery only of those who test gifted.
We seem to do fine in having a few excellent schools, the question is how do we expand good results? If I were education tzar, I'd look to see how we can expand early childhood education and Citygarden type success to other neighborhoods.
Saint Louis has something very much like you describe in that a few schools in the magnet program are limited to those who pass a gifted/IQ test. Metro HS is the second or third best rated high school in Missouri. All magnets are open to students who live within boundaries of school districts that participate in the voluntary school deseg program.
Perhaps the magnet in Richmond tries to decipher the "best of the best" on capability, but from what you describe I don't see too much difference between that and having a lottery only of those who test gifted.
We seem to do fine in having a few excellent schools, the question is how do we expand good results? If I were education tzar, I'd look to see how we can expand early childhood education and Citygarden type success to other neighborhoods.
^
What Juan is saying is if your kid passes the test they're in. As in going to the good school. Not waiting in line for the spot in the good school that may or may not open up. That is the problem.
The bigger problem is why SLPS at large is so toxic as to drive basically all families with any available mobility or resources to seek other alternatives. Clearly the present student body is highly unattractive to these families. Again, the problem isn't race, but social issues, for which race in STL unfortunately serves as a proxy. If you want real progress in SLPS, there must be a hard limit on the proportion of kids from highly stressed backgrounds in each classroom, as well as an expedient and clearly defined mechanism for removing disruptive students from mainstream classrooms and placing them on a rigorous alternative path. The problem is it would largely *appear* to be racial segregation due to the socioeconomic makeup of the city. After a generation it would not.
What Juan is saying is if your kid passes the test they're in. As in going to the good school. Not waiting in line for the spot in the good school that may or may not open up. That is the problem.
The bigger problem is why SLPS at large is so toxic as to drive basically all families with any available mobility or resources to seek other alternatives. Clearly the present student body is highly unattractive to these families. Again, the problem isn't race, but social issues, for which race in STL unfortunately serves as a proxy. If you want real progress in SLPS, there must be a hard limit on the proportion of kids from highly stressed backgrounds in each classroom, as well as an expedient and clearly defined mechanism for removing disruptive students from mainstream classrooms and placing them on a rigorous alternative path. The problem is it would largely *appear* to be racial segregation due to the socioeconomic makeup of the city. After a generation it would not.
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It may be what he meant, but that isn't what he said, which was that only the best get accepted (into presumably a limited number of slots). I took it as rigid testing, etc. with even some gifted students shut out. Perhaps this single magnet school has the capacity to accept everyone who passes a certain standard, but that would be surprising. I think that would mean either there aren't many smartypants in Richmond or the standard is set at Rocket Scientist Level.onecity wrote:^
What Juan is saying is if your kid passes the test they're in. As in going to the good school. Not waiting in line for the spot in the good school that may or may not open up. That is the problem.
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Though the problems with SLPS are many and varied, there's a big one that never seems to come up in discussion: unions. There are administrators in the system who are trying hard to improve their schools but are given no practical ability to make critical human resources decisions. It seems to be a perfect environment for substandard instructors to survive and thrive.
There are unions at Parkway, Lindbergh, Clayton, and Rockwood. Are they a problem for success in those school districts? Is the union a problem at Mann Elementary in the City, but not Kennard? There are a whole host of reasons for why schools in the City suffer: poverty, funding, discipline, lack of parental involvement, nutrition, poor training, etc. Unions make an easy target, when people lack the will to tackle the tougher issues.
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^ Yep. Not to say that there can't be room for improvement on teacher accountability, but unions are hardly the problem.
I've heard some good things about KIPP, but they also have a rap nationally for high turnover and there are accusations that they dump struggling kids back to public schools at high stakes testing time. If true, that's pretty bad.onecity wrote:KIPP is working in STL charter schools. Can the model be applied to public schools as well? As they should, KIPP schools spend a lot of time educating their students on how to function in broader American culture in addition to learning.
https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/30 ... tes_051513
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Like anything else in this world, there are desirable schools (for teachers) and undesirable ones. Over time, the latter tend to collect the detritus and, to be fair, a good number of saintly souls trying to make a difference. If someone steps into one of the problem schools as an administrator, how are they to straighten things out if they can't fire demonstrably substandard teachers? Why can the teacher's union not acknowledge the fact some people quite simply and for lack of a more artful term, suck at what they do?
If we could get the classroom back to being seen a career destination rather than a stepping stone to administration these sorts of problems might possibly rectify themselves.
If we could get the classroom back to being seen a career destination rather than a stepping stone to administration these sorts of problems might possibly rectify themselves.
It borders on an urban myth that a school district cannot fire "demonstrably substandard" teachers. The law provides that all teachers for the first five years of employment at a district are probationary and can be non-renewed and replaced. Tenured teachers, i.e. teachers who start a sixth year, can be fired for incompetency or inefficiency provided they are given a warning and the opportunity to improve.
The term "demonstrably" is telling. The unfortunate reality is that some principals (not all) and some administrators (not all) do not do a good job of identifying bad teachers in the first five years and do not do the necessary observations of tenured teachers. This may be due to time restraints, lack of personnel, training issues, or budget problems. It may also be due to the fact that "better" teachers are not beating down the door to work at City schools. You can non-renew or fire a lot of teachers, but who do you replace them with? The same goes with principals. It is hard to find an experienced, well qualified person willing to take a position in a City school.
I have no problem with holding teachers accountable in a fair manner. If districts give the proper training and support, and the teacher fails, then the district can and should be able to terminate them.
The term "demonstrably" is telling. The unfortunate reality is that some principals (not all) and some administrators (not all) do not do a good job of identifying bad teachers in the first five years and do not do the necessary observations of tenured teachers. This may be due to time restraints, lack of personnel, training issues, or budget problems. It may also be due to the fact that "better" teachers are not beating down the door to work at City schools. You can non-renew or fire a lot of teachers, but who do you replace them with? The same goes with principals. It is hard to find an experienced, well qualified person willing to take a position in a City school.
I have no problem with holding teachers accountable in a fair manner. If districts give the proper training and support, and the teacher fails, then the district can and should be able to terminate them.
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When I was in grades K-12, my mother moved us to the suburbs so I could get a better education in the Rockwood school district. Given that there is no MetroLink service out there, I had no means to get up and go to the city at any time I wanted, ergo, the city was a different world I knew very little about.
If only we had known then about some of the great charter schools in the city, it would be a different story. I don't know about y'all, but whenever I have a kid, I plan to try my darndest to get them into a good charter school in the city. Since that's a long way away, I like to think there will be more options by then, too.
If only we had known then about some of the great charter schools in the city, it would be a different story. I don't know about y'all, but whenever I have a kid, I plan to try my darndest to get them into a good charter school in the city. Since that's a long way away, I like to think there will be more options by then, too.
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I didn't go to SLPS, but I did go to a public school in another state that generally produced very low standardized test scores and a high dropout rate. Clearly, some teachers were better than others, but I never experienced a "substandard" teacher. I think the issues that caused the poor performance at my school were, in no order of importance:jasonblack wrote:Though the problems with SLPS are many and varied, there's a big one that never seems to come up in discussion: unions. There are administrators in the system who are trying hard to improve their schools but are given no practical ability to make critical human resources decisions. It seems to be a perfect environment for substandard instructors to survive and thrive.
1. Economic issues (working class area that was hit very hard when factories closed; district also included a large public housing development)
2. Lack of parental involvement (economic issues plus lots of single-parent households made increasing parental involvement difficult)
3. Low expectations set by the community and administrators resulting in less than 10 high school seniors per year (and some years less than 5) moving on to a 4-year college