Our Children Are Not Collateral Damage;

[Larry L. Davis]

To Whom It May Concern:

I have followed the debate about the importance of supporting NYC schools which are doing well, while phasing out, closing those which are not.  As I read the many views both sides have offered as well as those who believe they are making decisions to close a school based on facts, I can't help but question, the motivation or mind set to support any individuals who believe the impact of phasing out a school based on data which is questionable is significantly more important than increasing support towards raising student academic success.  We see schools which have struggled for years not doing well or better just waiting for the inevitable to happen, replace the school, phase it out and put another school in the building.  Truly there is something considerably wrong with this way of thinking. 

The assessment of a school must also include the kinds of support in place to impact change, build on student, family and community structures which enhance student learning.  Each school is part of a network, from the ‘Children’s First Network’.  A structure within the department of education in place to provide personal care and support to the entire school community, this organizational structure has been changed, experimented and called a different name many times over the course of the past five to eight years. 

Any discussion as to the success or failure of a school must include the organizational structure in place as well as the ability to fully support the other large schools these students will be enrolled in.  This kind of discussion doesn’t come in to play when the DOE decides to control the enrollment of students and send them to schools they deem ready to make a change in the educational success of a student but will in the end close the school because the chance for the school to improve decreased as they have received an enormous number of under credit, over age students which if one thinks about it there is no structure in the DOE to really support students such as this.  There is a practice in place to move them until they drop out or give up and using data on these particular students to close, phase out a school.

It is like looking at the perspective of we have supported you for many years and now we will be phasing out your school because of the graduation rate but the students many of them didn’t start off in there school but now must carry the anticipated weight of having those students on their graduation assessment.  There is an inability to discuss the support structures in place when the data introduced is a consistent cycle of failure which could only lead to one inevitable action, phase out, co-locate a charter school place another school in the building. 

Nothing could be far from the truth, schools are phased out according to standards set by the state, then city and strategies should be in place not only to look at the data but to make an impact within a cycle of 12 to 18 months to show improvement or assess the plan and set additional goals and strategies to impact real change, a life line for survival, ensuring behaviors are changing.  But the only problem in making sure there is equity amongst schools which are struggling to make sure students are learning, is how decisions to close a school is considered, questioning is this fair, has input from the community affected the actions of those who make these decisions to shake up the foundation of a school community been clearly respected and understood, give us another chance, provide more personal direct services.  These types of actions according to the powers that be is in the best interest of the school and students because failing schools need to be closed in order to place new and successful schools in the building but those schools have no data to show they will or have made an impact on education, they are new start up schools.

Messages in the media like failing schools must be replaced, phased out, closed but they must also be supported lifted up from the brink of failure by every possible means.  The schools must know there is a real consorted effort on the part of those at the decision making level to create an atmosphere to try and save the students, pointing them toward the ultimate goal not the school, not the building but the students, parents, staff and administrators who have engaged in an honest effort to turn the impact of learning around, getting back to the course of raising student academic success. 

Today, I listened to some interesting comments the individual stated, failing schools are replaced with schools that are better and raise the graduation rate but when you pay close attention to this statement you know there is no research as of yet for a new school going into a building, it will take anywhere from two to four years to see if the new school will make an impact and the school will most likely take in some of the very students who attended the phase out school.  This takes me to my next point.

Many are upset with the NAACP, UFT, several politicians and parents for joining together filing a lawsuit and displacing the standard set by the DOE to shift, move and do what the leader of education wants which is phase them out and place a new school or charter school in the building.  There is no discussion about how the schools continue to fail because of the current structure in place.  If we were all honest there would be a complete blunt focus which states we have all failed and the way we are handling this is a problem. 

Many schools are now receiving less and less support because of funding or they are in a Network and the networks are part of a set of schools in many different districts or boroughs, which are distinctly different.  When will the decision makers realize it cannot be business as usual, data, hearings and then phase out, co-location?

In the report from the NYC Comptroller, about the impact of the phasing out of schools according to data, there was a question about his findings and whether or not there has been a fair assessment, some or most of those who don’t agree with it will say the report is completely wrong and doesn’t take into account the full aspects of what is taking place.  I would question them as to how or why his entire report could be completely wrong or is it more like difficult to accept.  It depicts a cycle of closing large schools in particular neighborhoods without regard for community feedback or really taking any consideration of input from those who are impacted, students, parents, staff and families by the closing or change in staff, school size as another school moves in or a charter school takes over the building.  This non-stop continued pattern of accepting all requested proposals before them is sad, frustrating and shows how very inconsiderate both the panel is as well as the NY State Legislature for putting such a structure in place under Mayoral control. 

Again, I strongly support the authors of the lawsuit because the truth is, most of the questions with the direction of education are not only on the schools, students, parents and community alone together they are a proven powerful source for learning if the right supports are in place and provided.  The kind of support which covers an understanding of the students, parents, teachers and administration to make an impact in the lives of those students the school will serve.  Decisions to close a school are disconnected from this kind of thinking, it would appear the picture is only about where the Department of Education wants to go and not how it will continue to have disappointingly great ramifications

Until the decision makers, see they can be completely wrong at times and in many instances and at the same time adapt to listening to what is shared from the school community then they will be forced to stop promoting their own plan, agenda which is to place Charter schools in traditional public school buildings, I don't understand how the community, students, parents, families, politicians and the NY State Education Department could allow this to continue to happen without doing something to say, stop, please reconsider, you need to do more and accept some of the blame for what is taking place. 

Quiet as it is kept there are a couple school buildings with only Charter schools in them, something is wrong with this picture. There are co-location schools in which a Charter school has moved into a school building with another traditional public school and by the time the school moves in the school already in the building receives less attention and support at a very interesting level.

I don't know how long this can go on, without the State or Courts seeing the ability to compromise, negotiate and support works both ways, no particular person should operate as a polarizing force towards change without considering why there is much opposition to some of their actions, decisions.

The debate regarding Charter schools will continue for years to come but until the parties who are affecting the lives of students and parents realize their voices count also, nothing will change.  

There should be no more phasing out or closing of schools, it just doesn’t work and the media attention produces such discouraging feelings in the lives of those first we want to do better, the students.  But there must be a team of individuals who will work with the school community on a personal level to initiate real research based change to raise student academic success along with parent, staff and administrators moral, this collateral damage must stop, our children are not collateral damage and I say this because by the time the cycle towards eliminating a school or co-locating a school takes place the emotional damage has already started.

Again, I applaud the NAACP and UFT for trying to make this process transparent and real.  The children, parents staff, community and administrators are not the only ones responsible for the ability of a school to get back to having an impact on learning, the central department of education is also responsible and when will the decision makers come to a realization this continued cycle will not work for anyone as there are children falling through the system daily because of the complete disconnect and the inability of all involved to consider the damage being exhorted slowly without a clear picture of how an impact changing support structure works to turn a school around.

Everyone must start listening and doing better, our future depends on it.