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CARMEN'S CORNER: Closure, Consolidation or Turn Around
- By Carmen Watkins
- Published 06/30/2009
- Editorial and Opinion
- Unrated
Carmen Watkins
Carmen Watkins is president and CEO of the African-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston.
View all articles by Carmen Watkins
“The… Board of Education voted unanimously to close or reorganize 16 struggling schools. The changes will start taking effect in September with the beginning of the next school year.” It may sound like this is in Houston, but this fight is in Chicago.
All over the country, urban school districts have positioned the argument to close local schools the same way by saying that the district has been in a multi-year process of eliminating schools due to low enrollment and budget pressures. But many in the community are not buying the argument. Last year, Houston Independent School District (HISD) proposed closing more than 19 campuses, most located on the northeast quadrant of the city in mostly historic Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
HISD launched a major campaign, reinforced by the Greater Houston Partnership and others to “turn schools around” through consolidation and closure. The district was routinely questioned regarding bond funding approved by voters that could have been used to repair and restore historic buildings.
There was also concern about previous funding set aside to renovate campuses, like Ryan Middle School and ( High school by old weingartens…) that was now slated for closure and rumored to be sold to private investors. The public cried, “wolf.” Local legislators and congressional reps, flooded the airways and held town hall meetings to address the issue. But that was last year. Now the rubber meets the road.
In a last ditch effort, State Rep. Harold Dutton hosted a town hall meeting about one such school, E.O. Smith just a week ago. Hundreds turned out and thousands more were asked to call school board members. Smith has a distinctive history in the historic Fifth Ward and also has been rated unacceptable for the last three years.
Clearly it is an underperforming school. What is not as apparent when compared to its counterparts across the district is what it has lacked over the last 10 years. No competitive magnet program in the area to draw more students to the school or feeder pattern, no certified math instructors, no additional funding for repair or renovation and the list continues.
Neighborhoods provide for social capital, which captures the notion that the strength of families and their surrounding areas can provide a social foundation of norms, networks, and relationships upon which the schools can build. Some scholars have suggested that in neighborhoods lacking social capital, it should be the job of the local school to reach out to families with capital-creating activities.
Carmen
All over the country, urban school districts have positioned the argument to close local schools the same way by saying that the district has been in a multi-year process of eliminating schools due to low enrollment and budget pressures. But many in the community are not buying the argument. Last year, Houston Independent School District (HISD) proposed closing more than 19 campuses, most located on the northeast quadrant of the city in mostly historic Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
HISD launched a major campaign, reinforced by the Greater Houston Partnership and others to “turn schools around” through consolidation and closure. The district was routinely questioned regarding bond funding approved by voters that could have been used to repair and restore historic buildings.
There was also concern about previous funding set aside to renovate campuses, like Ryan Middle School and ( High school by old weingartens…) that was now slated for closure and rumored to be sold to private investors. The public cried, “wolf.” Local legislators and congressional reps, flooded the airways and held town hall meetings to address the issue. But that was last year. Now the rubber meets the road.
In a last ditch effort, State Rep. Harold Dutton hosted a town hall meeting about one such school, E.O. Smith just a week ago. Hundreds turned out and thousands more were asked to call school board members. Smith has a distinctive history in the historic Fifth Ward and also has been rated unacceptable for the last three years.
Clearly it is an underperforming school. What is not as apparent when compared to its counterparts across the district is what it has lacked over the last 10 years. No competitive magnet program in the area to draw more students to the school or feeder pattern, no certified math instructors, no additional funding for repair or renovation and the list continues.
Neighborhoods provide for social capital, which captures the notion that the strength of families and their surrounding areas can provide a social foundation of norms, networks, and relationships upon which the schools can build. Some scholars have suggested that in neighborhoods lacking social capital, it should be the job of the local school to reach out to families with capital-creating activities.
Carmen