Friday, April 24, 2009

Charter School Dilemma...




More difficult than getting into Harvard or Princeton? That's how competitive it was for kids to land seats at a Harlem Charter School in a lottery last night that attracted more than 400 anxious parents. Parents like us who just want the best education for their children. Over 1,500 parents applied for 100 spots. The tragedy here is that between the Harlem Charter School and other Charter Schools in NYC, only 7 % are admitted. What is that saying for the other 93 % of students who are looking for a quality education? Fortunately, there are still isolated areas where public schools in NYC have good ratings... There was a time that earning a public education in NYC was highly regarded. This is not even touching the competitiveness in starting your preschooler in a very selective, highly competitive, prohibitively expensive nursery school search! (that's a topic for another "blog") What's fair? I believe all children should be given the same foundation for an equal education... I actually remember hearing about "busing" as a kid and in my heart I thought, it was a "good" thing - it sounded "fair" for everyone. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make the foundation for learning fair for all children ... happy as I am for the lucky lottery winners that will have an amazing opportunity and education at the Harlem Charter School and other selective Charter Schools, I can't help but focus on those that are not as fortunate.

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