The Standard Times - December 8, 2012
"Haves and have nots" is a catchy phrase, but let's be real: This is not a district where all students have an equal experience.
Examples of inequality abound in New Bedford schools. The reality is that schools vary greatly in enrollment numbers and in class size. In some classrooms, all the students have textbooks; next door they don't have enough books, so students cannot take them home to do homework. One elementary school has a garden club; the others do not. The Engineering Academy at the high school serves some students, not all.
If anything, Innovation Schools seek to level the playing field. Innovation Schools are about creating a system where students' needs come first.
The money allotted for each pupil follows the student wherever he/she goes. Innovation Schools just take those same dollars and spend them more frugally to meet the needs of their students. They have the opportunity to negotiate for a more efficient use of their funds. The fact is that new funds are not being poured into Innovation Schools. So blocking these Innovation School proposals does not add up to more money for the current schools.
Innovation Schools remain in-district with union staff, an important fact that seems to be overlooked.
Innovation Schools have proved to be worthy models. On Aug. 8, the Massachusetts Office of Education announced that 20 new Innovation Schools across the state were awarded over a half million dollars in implementation grants from Race to the Top and the Gates Foundations. We too can provide hope for a better future for our children, which will have a dramatic impact on the New Bedford economy.
