the numbers don’t make sense
Currently 53% of Richmond City’s children do not graduate from high school. Meanwhile, Richmond City spends 60% more per pupil than the surrounding counties of Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover. Granted education is not a business - it’s an animal all unto its own - but it’s hard to ignore those numbers.
Read Mayor Wilder’s most recent Vision Newsletter. While I typically see Wilder as kind of a loose cannon (which is probably exactly how he *wants* me to see him), his insight is worth reading.
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I’m not defending in any way a 47% graduation rate. That really is deplorable. There are some questions that *have* to be asked, though, when the money comparisons start being made:
How many children from public housing are educated in those counties? What about poverty comparable to the neighborhoods surrounding the housing projects? What is the effect on a community (and its schools) when poverty is so highly concentrated?
Think about the impact, on graduation rated and everything else, of entrenched generational poverty and low literacy, of higher parental incarceration rates, of higher unemployment, of teen pregnancy, and on and on and on. Yes, RPS probably does spend too much money on buildings, but we are also doing the heavy lifting for the entire region.
You bring up exactly the right questions and points, John M. I think the numbers show that there are situations/challenges specific to Richmond City that you don’t find anywhere else. It’s such a complex issue and it’s hard to figure out where to begin.
Thanks to John for the comments. What do you think a regional school system would do? A system that included Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and Richmond.There are other systems that are as large and are successful. I think it’s the way to go but it’ll never happen in this town. People who live in bad areas would be a lot more willing to bus their kids than those parents who send their children to schools, say, in the Twin Hickory area. Take some of those great teachers, give ‘em a big fat bonus to go to the needy schools.Have some of those teachers in urban areas try the new and improved county schools. Have a truly diverse populations.Spread those great programs and resources sometimes only available to “better” schools around. Val, would you have been willing to work in the ghetto? Make home visits to Gilpin court? Teachers have to get out of their comfort zones sometime.
That’s a good question. I honestly can’t say if I would be willing to work in the ghetto. Some people are definitely built for that and I’m not sure that I’m one of them. I did very well in the school where I taught, but I don’t know if I would have what it takes to face the challenges and demands of teaching in the inner city. I greatly admire anyone who does.
Numbers can be confusing. Mr. Wilder never talks about the fact that although Richmond taxpayers have the highest real estate tax rate of any of the local jurisdictions, the City of Richmond spends a smaller proportion of its operating budget on schools than do Chesterfield, Hanover, or Henrico Counties. As to the graduation rate he cites, I wonder what it represents. Is he talking about the total number of children living in the city. Is he talking about the number of children who start elementary school. Is he talking about the number of students who start high school?
Unfortunately, the student body of Richmond Public Schools is much poorer than is the student body in neighboring jurisdictions. That means our school system must provide many services to our students that the other jurisdictions don’t provide.
I think there is a great misperception of what it is like in Richmond Public Schools. From my experience being in the schools, I see children sitting in their classrooms learning. If you gained your views of inner city schools from watching “The Wire,” you would be pleasantly surprised by Richmond schools.
As to the idea of merging the school districts, you are dreaming. The history of public education in the Richmond area makes it clear that the citizens of Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover counties would strongly oppose their children being merged into a single area school system. In fact many families have relocated from the city to the suburbs to get what they perceive as a superior education for their children.
another crazy number that isnt all that related…37% of US births in 2006 were out of wedlock…crazy
People who live in bad areas would be a lot more willing to bus their kids than those parents who send their children to schools, say, in the Twin Hickory area.
Maybe, maybe not. Everybody has a comfort zone. When I’ve known kids to move from Church Hill, they’ve generally gone to parts of the East End of Henrico that aren’t dramatically different
Plus then we’d completely lose the concept of a neighborhood school. At my school next year we’ll have at least 3 teachers that live the neighborhood around the school and walk or bike to get there. This kicks ass.
It seems to me that we can only permanently improve the city schools past a certain point by working to take care of the social issues in neighborhoods.
Take some of those great teachers, give ‘em a big fat bonus to go to the needy schools.
Or maybe we could just give a bonus to the great teachers already working at these schools?