You're assuming that the students who fail to produce at magnet schools are incapable. I think it's dangerous to use such a broad stroke to articulate diverse needs that aren't being met. Those kids were chosen for a reason, right? To kick them out and admit that they weren't successful would also demand a review of the criteria for enrollment.

Not every kid learns the same way. And you said it yourself...most of them are coming from god-awful neighborhoods and a school system that regularly demonstrates it's inability to meet students needs; even the gifted ones...especially the gifted ones. I doubt they show up even half-prepared to take on the responsibility of being a student at poly/city.

I'm not sure I agree with a "mandate" to retain students...but I don't think the issue is cut and dry.

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Actually most people don't ask how their surgeon performed in thier first year of high school. I know I don't. Example: I have a medical condition that requires constant medical monitoring. Recently, I had to change doctors. When I interviewed new ones, I had no interest in their high school career. I wanted to know what they were doing NOW. Were they reccomended by others...were they up on current research etc.

You are assuming a great deal about a very diverse set of students. And although that sort of thinking might lend itself well to your patented cynical writing style...it really has no place in a discussion about real people.

Sure Alonzo has pissed plenty of people off. And why? Because he's trying new things. Abd thank god for that...at least someone is doing SOMETHING now. And like I said...I don't necessarily agree with a "mandate", I certainly think it's worthwhile to explore some new ways of retaining gifted students.

There's a saying in medical school: What do you call the guy with the lowest GPA after graduation?

Doctor.

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I believe the magnet schools should be left alone. In a city with a less than stellar public school system, institutions such as Poly and City are providing a top notch education for students who are willing and able to meet the criteria for admission. Those students in turn must continually strive to maintain the high level of achievement necessary for continuance in the program. Students who are not meeting the standards, and are still allowed to stay in these programs, belittle the efforts of those who are.

As the mother of 2 Poly graduates, I know that students are given some leeway when grades slip below the acceptable standard. They are not immediately released from the program. They are put on academic probation and must improve their grades by the end of the following semester. If they fail to do so by then, they must leave the program. Students admitted to these programs would not have been accepted if they weren't capable of succeeding. It behooves them (and their parents) to do what is necessary to maintain the standands.

I think that's an excellent point. Public education, with it's "get out of jail free cards" for less-than-proficient students sends a terrible message to those who succeed on their own.

And, unfortunately, in too many instances, it instills in kids a skewed sense of entitlement. They come to expect that these supports will always be there. When these supports are no longer available or no longer appropriate, they'll blame the system for letting them down when they fail to succeed on their own.

And a victim is born.

You said: "Besides, there is PLENTY of data to suggest that with the right supports, most students can be successful."

I say: This is the crux of my argument. Magnet schools already have supports in place (e.g. Saturday School, Coach Class). If a kid needs more than that, then it can become a tremendous burden to overall instruction. Accelerated curricula do not mesh well with extensive IEP (Individualized Education Plan) supports. Hell, IEPs hardly work in general inclusion classrooms. I'll save that thought for another article.


You said: "And let's face it, Baltimore City has changed a great deal since you went to Poly; and not in a good way."

I say: You and I agree here, in part, Y'r. The system has definitely changed since 1995, but having been involved closely with the day-to-day at Poly as recently as 2004, I can tell you Poly's devolved at a far slower rate--and even made some gains in certain areas (the Ingenuity program comes to mind).

You said: "Again these kids met the criteria to be considered for Poly/City...it would seem that it's everyone's best interest to support them."

I say: I'm glad you bring up standards; there was actually a big imbroglio over magnet schools being forced to lower admission standards. Western was a victim of that. This begs the question, should some of these kids have even been admitted to these schools in the first place? In light of that, having the discretion to remove students is more essential now than ever before.

"It’s hard to argue when schools like City College, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and the Baltimore School for the Arts are seeing more than nine of every ten graduates heading off to pursue post-high school educational opportunities."

Congratulations, Baltimore City's elite schools are on par with the middling masses in other school districts. This becomes particulaly amusing when when you keep in mind that in places like Howard County, most, if not all, of their schools work.

Anyway, when discussing the home situation of children and adults, one must remember that children, by law, have far fewer options than adults when it comes to dealing with it.

You're right. After all, we cannot compare Poly or Western to entire school districts because Poly is allowed to select their students while Howard County or Baltimore County schools have to teach everyone within their area.

Of course, if you compare Poly to say, a Catholic school, well, you find out their numbers aren't all that outstanding.

I agree with you, ycktr, that it seems a shame to let the under performing students go. I do believe they should be given the chance to improve their performance, but I don't believe this should be open ended. How many chances do you give them? How many chances do you get when your job performance is not up to par? Depending on the employer, it could be none, or it could be several based on a progressive disciplinary action plan.

One of the responsibilities of the schools is to prepare young people for the real world, which includes fostering the self discipline needed to succeed in school. I began teaching my own children at a very young age that they had choices in life, but that they needed to accept the consequences for any poor choices. If they needed to bring home a book to complete an assignment, they were responsible for seeing that they did so. If it was forgotten and they were unable to do their homework, I was not going to coddle them by writing a note to the teacher asking for special treatment, as many parents would do. Guess what -- they only forgot their books once or twice! I didn't find it necessary to discipline my children too often, either. Oftentimes they were harder on themselves than I would have been. They set their own high standards of achievement and I counted on them to maintain them. I was seldom disappointed.

Agreement! At last! Someone get a screen shot of this.