I’ve written in the past, during our search for a new house, of the importance of the school in making our selection. The Daily News had a very interesting article today related to schools in the valley.
You have to understand that the valley has seen its share of enrollment rises and falls. There were many years where schools were shuttered due to insufficient enrollment; the grounds being leased to private groups, or at times, the land even being sold. This was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the past few years, however, enrollment has appeared to be booming: there are at least three new high-schools being built in the valley to releve overcrowding and to permit campuses on year-round schedules to go to conventional schedules.
Thus, I was surprised when I saw the Daily News reporting that campuses in the valley are faced with more than 4,000 open seats for the next school year, and that some San Fernando Valley schools are aggressively marketing their campuses to attract private school students. New construction and demographic shifts have left District 1 campuses in the West and Central Valley with about 3,100 of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s 6,300 open-enrollment seats. East Valley schools have about 950 openings.
I find this pretty amazing, although I do note that most of the new construction was in the “East” Valley (which is where we’re moving out of). The article noted that for three years, the number of available open enrollment seats has increased districtwide. If the seats are not filled, schools may close, or have to reassign teachers or administrators. It is often the parents that are doing the recruting. LAUSD parents have been walking their neighborhoods, knocking on doors and making their sales pitch. These parents tell prospective parents that, by donating just 25 percent of what they would pay in private school tuition, the public school can fund arts, music and physical education classes.
Think about that. It shows the effect of parent involvement, which I have seen firsthand. Instead of bemoning the poor quality of the public schools, if the parents get involved, the school succeeds. Ask yourself why private schools do so well. Is it that the teachers are better? Not really. It is that the parents are involved and active, and that they give extra money so the school can provide the extras. The universities have learned the importance of this. UC and CSU do active fundraising to supplement what they get from the state. Our school districts do this somewhat, at the level of individual schools (I know I’ve contributed numerous times to fundraisers at NSS&F’s school). But we shouldn’t have to buy drek to support our schools. We should just do it because our kids are our future.
I’m the proud product of public schools (LAUSD: Paseo Del Rey Element, Orville Wright JHS, Paul Revere JHS, and Pacific Palisades HS). I see the mentality of private schools being “better” and it bothers me. Here’s a quote from the article that reflects this:
Riverside Drive PTA President Aleca Abrams said she drew some dirty looks from her fellow preschool parents by just mentioning that she was considering public school. “It was virtually unheard of that we would even consider public school,” she said. Or as another parent explained: “It’s like saying your daughter is pregnant in high school; a hush falls over the crowd.”
Pinecrest School Principal Patty Patano said she’s not worried about public schools stealing her 440 elementary-school students. Patano said that last year several parents who had opted for public school ended up calling her with regrets within a month. “They called and said, almost to the word, ‘I can’t sleep at night,”‘ she said. “It’s not like I ever have to do any convincing. … Parents just don’t want to take a chance. These are their only little darlings.”
At least the article goes on to note that several schools are so popular they have to turn students away: With its dozens of rose bushes and high test scores, Portola Middle School in Tarzana expects at least 250 applications for its 75 open seats. I also don’t see open seats mentioned in the article for NSS&F’s middle school.
So: Are you a public school supporter, or a private school supporter?
