tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719550.post1012252462529415917..comments2023-11-13T04:55:40.769-05:00Comments on Tuttle SVC: State Intervention Officially Destigmatized in ProvidenceTom Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08577165613934129833noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719550.post-18474271538422462302009-01-13T23:00:00.000-05:002009-01-13T23:00:00.000-05:00Thomas,I'm only unsympathetic to the ESPEC insofar...Thomas,<BR/><BR/>I'm only unsympathetic to the ESPEC insofar as you're getting special treatment now at the very time other reforms are being dismantled. That is, the school department is primarily the one driving the wedge. It certainly understand people fighting for good schools in their neighborhood.<BR/><BR/>At this point it is hard to know what the best next steps are until there is a new contract, and we see what the ongoing status of site-based in the district is, and the nature of whatever weird waivers they gin up via the state.<BR/><BR/>If site-based survives the contract more or less intact, it should be very possible to acquire that in subsequent years. The system has mostly been used in recent years when new schools are created, but existing schools can convert.Tom Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08577165613934129833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719550.post-89179562201564611632009-01-13T15:42:00.000-05:002009-01-13T15:42:00.000-05:00Dear Tom,I'd like to offer a few points that I hop...Dear Tom,<BR/><BR/>I'd like to offer a few points that I hope will clarify a thing or two and, perhaps, I hope, make you somewhat more sympathetic to what we've been trying to achieve at Nathan Bishop.<BR/><BR/>You refer to "some newly organized east siders". ESPEC was organized practically the day we heard that Bishop was to be closed. We're soon coming up on our third anniversary. Many people have devoted many hundreds (probably thousands) of hours to this effort. Its far from the case that we popped up, asked for stuff, and got it. In fact, there were some major items that we did not get, site-based management being chief among them. <BR/><BR/>Let me add that before Bishop closed, it was the worst middle school in Providence, in terms of both academics and discipline. After it closed, the east side had no middle school whatsoever. It's hard to say that the east side was somehow favored by PPSD.<BR/><BR/>You refer to the "white, affluent" east side several times. While it is obviously true that the east side is more white and more wealthy than most of Providence, not all of it is, particularly not the Mt. Hope neighborhood (where the meeting you attended took place). Those kids will go to Bishop, at least we hope and expect that they will chose to. Even more important, look at the two east side elementary schools. King has 69% eligible for free or reduced lunch, Gregorian has 63%. King is 24% White, 46% African American and 26% Hispanic. Gregorian 34%. White, 25% African American and 35% Hispanic. Both east side elementaries are thus highly diverse schools, and Bishop will most likely draw directly from them and look very much like them. We like that fact a lot.<BR/><BR/>So, it seems clear that the direct benefits of Nathan Bishop will flow to a broad range of children, and it's likely that a minority of them will be non-Hispanic whites.<BR/><BR/>We think that the indirect effects of Bishop may be more important. Assuming Bishop succeeds, we think it's morally and politically impossible for the City to provide 21st century buildings, technology and advanced academic courses in one school and not others. In fact, that has been the plan from the beginning, though I fear the financial crisis that occurred after the funding for Bishop was approved is going to make that harder and slower. However, if you read our website, you saw that among our goals is "To spark and encourage a Providence-wide citizen's movement for improving all the City's public schools." Now that Bishop seems well on its way, we hope to devote more time directly to that effort. Others have done some good work, including Lee Keizler who organized a session called "029XX" which focused on cross-city networking toward school reform and improvement. I'd be happy to put you in touch with him.Thomas Schmelinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05639587378966792620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719550.post-38231487447385968102009-01-09T15:34:00.000-05:002009-01-09T15:34:00.000-05:00Wow. I wish I had been to see your "charm," if tha...Wow. I wish I had been to see your "charm," if that is what you wish to call it, on full display.<BR/><BR/>Seriously, it sounds like a resoundingly important discussion and I'm glad that you wrote about it. I have to admit that I've not paid much attention to the changes afoot over there. Go get 'em, Tiger!bensheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05828984930633403069noreply@blogger.com