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New York City schools are graduating about 54% of the students. That is a 46% drop out rate! It is time for a new approach--break up into smaller schools.
How Small Is Small?New York City has grown from 1250 schools in 2001 to 1450 in 2005. The changes are in grades 6-12 and the schools have populations ranging from 300-600 students. According to Nahai Toosi from the The Associated Press, New York plans on opening 25 new, small schools each year for the next three years. The New York Education Department is breaking up the largest schools that hold the poorest academic records. What about hiring teachers in this transition? Mayor Bloomberg has a plan for that, too. He is offering subsidies in housing for teachers. Finding teachers will be an ongoing challenge due to a teacher shortage looming. Other Places?New York City is not the only city downsizing schools. Huge schools nationwide are not yielding good results and it is time to try something new. Milwaukee chose the voucher system. How Is This Funded?The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has poured $130 million into NYC over the past five years. The mega-schools are a failure and Gates wants to turn education around with something that works. Smaller schools are more successful overall so this model is being tried. After thinking that bigger is better, a realistic view of the situation forces us to admit that it is not so. Specialty SchoolsEach school has a specialty area according to student interest. A few examples are:
These schools create atmospheres in which students are more likely to succeed because they are already interested in a topic when they arrive. Think of all the students that would enjoy attending a school that was in their interest area: engine mechanics, art, writing, literature, foreign language, computers, graphic design, robotics, electronics, etc. Bring in the CriticsSome resist change and others embrace it. Every time there is a new idea "outside the box", there are those that say it won't work. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is hearing harsh criticism. Critics argue that these schools will pull good students away from other schools because of the specialized nature. Others say that NYC is opening too many schools too fast. There is also a space problem. Students often attend classes in portable classrooms while the transition is in place. Changes are happening so quickly that many of the schools do not have AP classes in place. This is another concern of some. Perhaps the focus should be on graduating more than 54% and then add AP classes? AP classes are hardly on the front burner when half the students don't finish high school. Some are concerned that the small size is not offering the opportunities of larger schools. So far, the students don't seem to mind. What seems to be lacking is students lost in the cracks, teachers that don't have time to help them, and an irrelevant curriculum. Those are probably things that we don't mind losing. In fact, let's hope we never find them once lost. I remember hearing a saying, "Those that are saying something can't be done should get out of the way of those already doing it." Results So FarAttendance is better and students are promoted to the next grade at a higher rate. Since many of the schools have no 11th and 12th grades yet, graduation rates are unknown at the moment. This new system has not been in place long enough to have graduates but the trend is looking positive. At least things are going in the right direction and this project should be given more time. Student OpinionThe students are overwhelmingly supportive of the changes. They have access to teachers when they have questions. Attention from teachers is a critical factor. Many students state that all schools should be this size. Access to teachers, help available when needed, smaller setting, interesting curriculum. These are things that should probably catch on in education. New York Schools are something to watch into the future. Even if this is not the perfect solution for NYC, at least they are trying something innovative. Read more on innovative ideas: Vouchers in Milwaukee, Female vs. Male Teachers, Algebra + Algebra8 = Success, Canada's Secret Read previous articles on Educational Issues. Copyright article 2006 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
The copyright of the article NYC High Schools Go Smaller in Educational Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish NYC High Schools Go Smaller in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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