The Detroit Free Press ran a front page story about efforts being made by the new Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools, Dr. Connie Calloway, to turn around five failing schools. Central to the effort is a dramatic reduction in the size of the schools to create more of a "family" feeling.
There is no doubt that many smaller schools have been successful at improving student performance. A large part of that improvement is a result of greater parental involvement... parents choosing to move their children to these smaller charter or "academy" schools. It remains to be seen if simply splitting up larger schools into smaller ones will have the same impact unless the parents of those schools' students show the same increased levels of involvement as the parents who send their children to the charter schools.I contacted the Superintendent's office by email and sent a document that combined the following posts, plus a pro-forma [example] curriculum [not shown here] to show how an alternative to smaller schools and the traditional high school approach might serve the students... and teachers... better.
I wish Dr. Calloway good results from her effort. A small step is better than no step.
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