About Sherman

[Lawrence Johnson]

SNIA has limited energy/resources to address the various issues that arise within the neighborhood, so I intend to be guided by the will of our members & neighbors. There are 5 "neighborhood schools" in Shaw: Sherman, Mullanphy, Saint Margaret of Scotland, Tower Grove Christian, and City Garden Montessori. So would it be "leadership" or personal preference for me to allocate SNIA resources to "save" one of the schools about which only 2 people have voiced concern? I agree with Susan, that Sherman could benefit from a greater enrollment of students from middle and upper class families, who would immediately raise the school's performance scores, as the tests are recognized as correlating with class. Also, those families would more likely be able and willing to advocate on behalf of the school. But we're confronted with the "chicken vs. egg dilemma:" until or unless the performance improves, those families won't enroll their children in Sherman. For 2 years, the SNIA Sherman School Committee partnered with the school to improve its neighborhood image with little or no success, I believe primarily due to a lack of leadership and organization within the school. As I invited on Nextdoor, if there is anyone interested & willing to take-up this matter, I'd be glad to recommend the creation of a SNIA Task Force to do so.     Lawrence