Greedy Administration doesn't care about students!!!!!!

[Croton]

I am so pissed!

My girlfriend is a student teacher at Leuzinger High School in Hawthorne, California.

This high school is basically a 'ghetto' school. The families there are lower class. (not that there is anything wrong with that)

Anyways, she student teaches Biology, and she has 14 students in her 10th grade class. This is basically honors biology.

For the entire sememster, they have really excelled and proved to be a VERY bright bunch of kids (I know because I help her grade tests, papers, etc). They are also great kids as well. They have started to believe that they can do their best and go to college, do well on their SAT's, and try hard in school because of this class.

My girlfriend challenges them and pushes them and essentially reaffirms these kids that they can excel in academics and in life as well.

So today, in the middle of the semester, the school administration decides to CANCEL THE CLASS BECAUSE ONLY 14 STUDENTS WERE IN IT, making it not cost-effective.

So now these students will be placed in a remedial biology class.

These are SMART and promising children.

I am so pissed! How unfair is this?!?!?!?

Is there anything that can be done to help change this????

 

[tontod]

That's quite unfortunate, bureaucracy at its worst. You and your girlfriend should sit down and write a long letter explaining your position clearly about why it would be bad to cancel that class. Refrain from calling names or anything like that, if you can convey your message effectively, they might be willing to listen.

 

[iamwiz82]

2 words:

S-C-H-O-O-L V-O-U-C-H-E-R-S

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

A two word answer to this complex of a problem is a poor solution. I have worked in a district that has used vouchers for quite some time. Vouchers are very limited in what they can do.

This is a problem that needs more analysis though. For instance...what would you do, if you were the principle of an inner city school that is underfunded and in dire need of resources and you had a class that while was a great class, it was also a disproportionately expensive class that only benefited a relatively few students. The problem here isn't at the school level administration, its at the funding level....which is a combination of local ISD, state, and federal government. Basically, we can always seem to be able to pay for that new sports stadium or missile defense plan, but we can never seem to give our poorest school districts the money they need to be able to teach all of their students.

 

[Azraele]

Oh geez that sucks. Those kids are the ones who lose out :|

 

[DannyLove]

<< The problem here isn't at the school level administration, its at the funding level.... >>


totally agree with you. that is the sad part because the money gets chewed up by the time it finds its way to the local level. And california is the worse public school district in the US (i thiNk)

 

[iamwiz82]

what was it chewed up on? Those same people who killed the class controlled the money.

 

[MajesticMoose]

That almost happened to me this year with AP gov't. Instead of the class being canceled, it was turned into independant study for the first semester. We were in the room (actually spent most days in the library) with the normal level class, but had our own work to do. If your girlfriend really wants to teach those kids maybe she could see about something of this sort. I actually almost lost my french 4 class too because of lack of interest, and it's combined with french three.


hope it works out for the best,
m00se

 

[Mister T]

iamwiz82,

ditto on school vouchers. we need them

 

[dolphins]

Start by being a little more rational with the paychecks. Why do school administrators make 250k and custodians 60k, whats the rational reason behind that? I guess its because its a government run entity and no one gives a flying flip.

 

[Bleep]

Does anyone here really think that a $2000.00 voucher will help a family with 2 kids and making 15 or 20 thou maybe even less move there kids to a school that charges $5000.00 a year. Your dreaming.
Bleep

 

[iamwiz82]

no one said they had to go to a $5000 school.

 

[SpongeBob]

Nice post Bleep. I also don't believe in school vouchers, tax money should be spent only on fixing/supporting public schools.

 

[ignorus]

Best way is to get the news envolved, like try and get one of them to run it in the paper or something. That way, you will get others in the public to write in as well. Or perhaps you can convince the district by funding the class with cookie sales or something

 

[Croton]

alright...

let's not make this thread into a discussion about school vouchers.

as far as i'm concerned, the school vouchers initiative hasn't been passed here in California, so it will be no use to argue about it.

but what i would like is ideas on how to try and keep this class going..


btw, thanks for your input and concern guys!
ning