This article in the New York Times describes how one large high school now houses nine small schools. Some succeed, some fail, some statistics are better, some are worse or no different. Some statistics are undoubtedly inflated by credit recovery and other tricks to game the system. One thing is clear: a building that once had one principal now has nine.
It is not clear that the nine schools are doing a better job than the one old school in meeting the needs of the students. This jumble should attract the attention of a scholar looking for a big project.
The new mayor will have some heavy lifting to do just to restore the citizens’ belief that they are getting accurate data from the Department of Education, not spin and embroidery.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I was once part of a 4,000 student school that was to be divided into 4 different schools. No student could be transferred to take a class in another smaller school, even if the class was across the hall. For example, if you were in the school of fine arts but qualified for advanced math in the school of math and science, it was not allowed. In coming students were locked in their curriculum. I asked if we still allowed gifted grammar school students to take a bus and take high school classes. Yes. I asked if gifted high school students were allowed to take a bus and take advanced classes at the local junior college. Again, the answer was yes. I then suggested we run a bus up and down the hall.
Crazy, crazier, craziest.
This was not worth mayoral control.
“Chaos theory” is exactly right, perhaps add “imposed chaos”? Billionaire Mayor has created constant disruption compelling teachers, students, parents and admin to readjust to quickly altered, never debated rules and arrangements. Demoralizing and disorienting management undermines, intimidates, and disperses opposition, while not producing any educational benefits. This story is about “how to manage labor and masses of people to force compliance with top-down regimes.” I propose Shor’s First Rule of Democracy to deal with situation: “When any authority unilaterally changes rules faster than we can learn them, we are not obliged to comply.”
HAPPENING IN LA TOO! They must have a national movement to destroy our public schools. What happened here is the same. Once one high school now 7 high schools in one. The administrative costs just skyrocketed and subsequently weren’t sustainable. Now 3 high schools in one. Any bets on the next configuration? And how does this benefit our students?
They do have a national movement to destroy our public schools. Arne Duncan is spearheading it with the complete approval of President Obama.
This is beyond stupid!!! “Graduation rates went up but SAT scores didn’t.” Hmmm… I know this story. Use fear and intimidation to pass undeserving students. How is this improving education in Amercia?? I think the Gates’ should have to enroll their children in schools that they take over. Who on earth would think these stupid ideas would work??
That is a possible explanation, but without any national standards it is hard to argue that a student is “undeserving”.
No you are wrong. When students fail to perform to the teacher’s standard and the school’s grading scale- a teacher should not be forced to pass a student! This happens quite bit. It happens because the US DOE has forced schools to raise grad rates or be punished. This is merely pushing kids through the system and not raising performance. I have seen it with my own eyes.
Are all teacher’s standards the same? All schools? All districts? All states?
Can a student be undeserving in one school and deserving in another?
TE when students fail to turn in work, projects, and study for tests they haven’t earned a passing grade. They do not deserve a free pass because the teacher lives in fear. Your comments are the ultimate spin.
Surly you don’t mean to say that graduation is based on completion. The quality of the work, even turned in, should matter it seems to me. How much it matters, and to what standard, is an important question. If each teacher, school, school district, and state have a different standard, being a high school graduate is not very meaningful.
My question still stands: can a student be undeserving of a high school diploma in one school, but deserving of a high school diploma in another?
What many people do not realize when looking at this breaking up of schools is the increased cost and lack of expertise. With schools of 750-1000 you have one principal and you can have assistant principals who are content specialists. In the boutique schools you usually have one principal and an assistant principal who has to take care of administrative issues, so you have lost expertise. This loss of expertise means that teachers will receive little or no help in their content areas. It is difficult to help a Math teacher without Math content knowledge. In addition, principals cost $133,000 each so that means in a building with 9 schools $1,200,000 is spend on principals, while content knowledge and class offerings are lost.
What do you think is the optimal size high school? I believe the original high school had 3,000 students, triple the size that you discuss. Was the old high school too large?
Is it just me or does this sound like someone’s idea of an absurd application of a very aggressive affirmative action program for middle- and upper-management at the expense of every other certificated and non-certificated employee in the building? *Not to mention the collateral damage to students, parents and the surrounding community.*
Inquiring minds want to know, Mayor Bloomberg…
There are some excellent replies to the article on the NY Times site. Very heartening.
Bloomberg’s been in office for eleven and a half long, long years. What a travesty. When asked by Thompson, in a debate, how he could thwart the public will by running for a third term (after saying no mayor should ever hold office for more than two terms), he looked directly into the camera and said, “So don’t vote for me”.
Arrogance. A very, very wealthy bully.
In New Jersey, districts are on hiring and spending sprees, inspire of flat or small increased state funding. Unfortunately for the students, the new positions are administrative and are needed for the new teacher “evaluations”. Massive amounts of “professional development” also are needed for the reform.
Former NJDOE ” CHIEF” Penny McCormick is hiring SEVEN new administrators for the 11 schools in the district where she is now Superintendent. Another BROADIE using funds that should be going into classrooms to increase overhead and help make public schools very unattractive to taxpayers and parents.
Such a crock.
Brought to you by the egos in the BROAD Family!
A. A mayor “governing” the schools sounds like a recipe for disaster.
B. A local school board governing with active parents is a recipe for success.
(Been there, done that.)
How do we get to (b) if parents do not or will not participate?
The New York Times article was an interesting read especially since I work in a building with 7 schools. Two are closing next year. I worked in the main school but jumped ship to one of the smaller schools to secure a job. All the problems my former school had is now being seen in the smaller one. I give this school 5 years more and then it will close. There was absolutely no thought when this idea was conceived. Poor leadership, the philosophy that the students rule the roost and the teachers have no authority, and “do-anything-you-can-to-get-the-kids-to-pass” attitude will bring this school down. In the past 3 years that I’ve been there, the morale has dropped considerably.
One question about the article: How much teaching experience did the 29 year old principal have? 4 or 5 years at the most? The leadership of a school is so important and many of us feel that one needs some solid teaching experience before becoming a principal. I see the same problem with my principal. Hence my prediction of my school’s demise.
Word…