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Friday, March 12, 2010 | 9:02am
Kansas City To Close Nearly HALF of its Schools
Nearly 700 teachers and staff employed by the system will be out of work
Yesterday, I shared such an alarming stat that many questioned its validity. I don’t doubt the following won’t be be met with similar skepticism. According to the Associated Press, As part of Kansas City plan to take necessary cost cutting measures they will be closing 29 of their 61 schools. That’s nearly half of their schools.
In addition to 300 teachers and 400 staff that will lose their jobs, there is no solid plan on how the displaced children will be educated. The Kansas City schools superintendent has sited a declining student enrollment as parents are opting to place their children in charter schools, private schools. Parents have argued these measures are a necessity as the schools continue to decline in vital areas of safety, quality of education, class size and other services.
The problem however isn’t just limited to Kansas City. Earlier this month, riots broke out in California after new academic budget cuts were announced. But the truth is schools across the country are under-performing and systems are shrinking forcing some children to go uneducated. Such recession causalities only compound the problems with unemployment rates nationwide.
This is a major problem. As we continue to fall behind the global market its imperative that we continue to adequately educate our children. How else can they compete? As companies continue to import talent from Asia, our domestic human resources will continue to sit on the unemployment lines because they’re foreign competitors without adequate education. These effects are felt now but will only get worse as our children hit the job market.
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this is sad to see, i wonder how long will they wait to make a plan?…. education is important, this is not fair to the students who want to learn, not every family can afford private school….
I think some of it is expected as we reach the other end of the baby boom curve.
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When I was growing up, the baby boom was full in force, and they were constantly building schools to accommodate the increasing number of children. Now that the boomers are all grown, there are a lot less children going though school, so less schools are needed.
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But that doesn’t go to the larger question: Why are our schools failing??
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I don’t think it’s a money issue. Here in Michigan, we spend almost $8500 per student per year on education; and yet in Detroit, (as of 2008) they are only graduating 24.9% of the students from high school.
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I don’t think that throwing more money at the problem is the solution. There must be a fundamental flaw in our thinking. Either in the attitude that the parents and students take toward the value of an education; their outlook toward the future (I’m screwed so why bother learning); unrealistic expectations or SOMETHING.
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I know that in Detroit there is also a lot of skimming of funds going on. Money and equipment slated for schools are going out the back door, there are phantom employees, and the buildings are falling down.
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But still… something has to be done to encourage children to graduate and to learn.
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Maybe we need to go back a step and simplify the learning process. Less social conditioning and more fundamentals. Segregate the boys and girls in different classrooms; make them wear uniforms so there isn’t the constant pressure to own the new $200 sneakers. Less computers and more ABC’s.
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I don’t know, I’m not an expert; but we’re turning ourselves into a third world nation.
I was thinking somewhat of the opposite. All through out life we’re told that the math and other some of the old school basics are so important in every day life. Yet I don’t use them at all. Long Division? Come on!
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I’m not saying its not important but there are other MORE important skills that could be more engaging that we can replace them with. Like TYPING. Typing for me in high school was an elective. Granted it was still on typewritter not a computer. There should be no excuse for a kid to graduate or not graduate without typing skills. I think with more practical learning students might be more apt to be want to be involved.
I agree on typing. Keep typing and get rid of penmanship. Since I’ve worked on computer most of my life (I was an early adopter), my typing skills are excellent but my handwriting (and spelling thanks to spell check) are horrible.
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I can’t believe that the problem is the teachers. Most of them are dedicated, love their jobs and live for the students who want to learn. And yet… we still have a problem. So what is it? Is learning not cool anymore? Is there something in our society? Nearly all children have the capacity to learn, so why is it that nearly all of our inner city schools are failing?
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And more importantly, what can we do about it? No one wins with an uneducated electorate.
Is it too harsh to suggest less of an emphasis on spelling. Concentrate instead on teaching them how to compensate with tools like spell check.
if i want you def, dumb and blind i can make it so said the man who could hear, speak and see…..
Gotta see & undertstand whats wanted b4 you can ask why its happening.
You forgot to mention the book-burning rally they’re planning!!!
I am a parent who just relocated from Kansas City partly because of the school board’s decision. Actually, a very good friend of mine works in the Superintendent’s office and he says that there really was no other choice but to close the schools. The school system is essentially bankrupt and cannot afford to keep the schools open that are having attendance issues. I was just as outraged when I first heard about the decision because I feared overcrowding of the remaining schools, an inadequate number of teachers to educate the remaining children, and increases in school violence as children from different “hoods” were forced to co-exist in the same schools. Territorial gang violence is still very much an issue in Kansas City and I can only imagine what the backlash is going to be. My daughter was an 8th grader at one of the K.C. charter schools and believe me, they are not any better off than the regular public schools. The school as a whole is failing in math and reading according to state standards and I don’t mean by a little bit. Something like 11% of kids in the school are reading at or above their grade level and only about 6
% doing math at or above their grade level. This issue goes way beyond whether a course is needed later in life or not. We’re talking basic abilities to be able to function just as a member of society. Closing the schools was a fiscal decision, but Kansas City’s school system needs a complete overhaul.