New Haven Independent

Posted by: Jeff | April 21, 2006 10:03 AM

"Kids need something to do". "Our public officials have failed us." Right on both counts. It's time to give kids hope. But "Youth programs" are not the answer. Why? Because spending lots of money on youth programs without fixing the education system is like a New Orleans flood. You can't put all your efforts into filling sandbags all the while ignoring the broken levy. It might keep you dry for a while, but eventually the waters are going to rise again and you'll be flooded out.

When these youths become adults some day, then what? What have they been trained to do? What skills will they have to navigate the workforce? And if they are African-American males and still live in the state of CT when they grow up, they will do well to avoid prison. CT has the third highest incarceration rate in the country for African American males. 2nd highest for hispanic males. All of this in the richest state in the union. It is shameful. But the answer is not more money, or another series of do-nothing social programs. Why don't we recognize that the answer is in our public schooling? We have the knowledge to educate our young people, yes, even the kids who come from tough neighborhoods and homes. What we lack is the political leadership willing to take on the special interest of the teacher's union and a patronage-heavy, school management bureacracy. Why do you think that Yale students and their parents are willing to scrape together $35 thousand a year to go to college? Because they know that the way to economic empowerment is to go to a good college. If in the next 10 years we could create a school system that turns most of the students in New Haven into college-bound scholars, the incidence rate of juvenile crime would go down dramatically. Home values would go up, businesses would once again consider moving in and around New Haven to access the good public schools. We could infuse hope and prosperity into our city.

Posted by: darnell | April 23, 2006 12:06 AM

Jeff,

I agree, that is why I proposed a comprehensive education and employment program for New Haven. Read http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2006/03/ceta_redux.html .

Posted by: Jeff | April 24, 2006 11:55 AM

Darnell.

I have read your proposal. I commend you for understanding that education of young people is the key. Your statistics on the social outcomes for drop-outs are shocking. However, your solution puts all the emphasis on changing the behavior of the kids. You offer incentives for kids who have high attendance rates and good grades. The problem with your plan is that it doesn't speak at all to the adults! What about the responsibility of the teachers, administrators and politicians to educate our children? Why are you willing to pour in another $40 million+ in programs on top of an already bloated schools budget? NHPS already spends over $260 million (per year!), and that's not including the $1.5 billion that is going towards facilities! What is the return on that ongoing investment? Your plan seems to buy into the notion that the kids and their families are to blame for not being educated. I agree that attendance at school is vital. But that assumes that you are attending a place where learning occurs. What about the fact that the longer a student stays in New Haven public schools, the farther behind they actually fall behind the state average? You would give incentives for good grades. Sounds reasonable. But You need to look into the serious grade inflation that goes on in NHPS. There are kids who get great grades in New Haven, and then when they take the SATs or actually find their way into a 4 year college, lots of them struggle and eventually give up. They realize that they were being passed along on watered down curriculum and instruction and told that they were "A" students. How do you think the majority of the "A' students in New Haven would compete against the "A" students in, say, Madison? Some people would consider that to be an unfair comparison on social grounds. Well, who do you think the kids in New Haven are going to have to compete with in college and later for a job? Better to face it now. The good news is that we know it can be done. Read the Register's editorial today. In September, Amistad will open it's high school. Like the middle and elementary prgrams, we will finally have an example of how NH kids can perform given the right environment. We can't change the kids before we change the education quality.

Lets put away the excuses. The adults in the school building need to focus on the kids. We need to raise the bar academically for students of color. But first we have to insist that the system raise it's own bar.

Posted by: darnell | April 24, 2006 4:11 PM

Jeff,

The statistics on dropout and CAPT scores come directly from the State Department of Education, which gets its numbers from the New Haven Board of Education. They are quite shocking.

You are absolutely correct in your accessment of my proposal in regards to adults. It does not address the issue of adults inside as well as outside of the building. I believe that is an important to have a discussion of the roles of parents, as well as education officials (teachers, principals, etc). My proposal is just a starting point.

I am a graduate of Hillhouse High, and I can tell you for a fact that sometimes we were given grades we did not deserve, simply because we attended class and did not cause problems. Example, I had a chemistry teacher who could not control a couple of kids in the class. He probably spent 25 out of 40 minutes of the class trying to control those students. I received an A in the class, and found that when I attended college, I was inadequately prepared for college level science. I did, however, score high enough on the SAT to be a Merit Scholar. That was because I had what we call in my community "good home training". That being said, you must admit that it a plus to have less distruptive kids in classes, and that providing additional incentives for young people may assist in that goal.

In addition, I have not done enough research on the Board of Education budget to determine whether or not it is bloated, but my best guess would be that it is probably top heavy. My proposal does not advocate adding additional money to the state budget, but instead reallocating existing resources.

No excuses, we, parents, school officials, and students, have to take responsibility for the educational system. But some of the students I am most concerned about are the 35% who are dropping out. They have lost hope. And yes, I believe that the dropout rates and CAPT scores are an indictment of the New Haven administration of education. And let's be real, if the superintendent was not African American, we would have already chased him out of town. I agree with your assessment that we need to raise the bar academically for students of color. And as you say, we first we have to insist that the system raise it's own bar. I think that I will add that to my proposal. Perhaps we should make it incumbent that in accepting this funding for this project, school officials job status would be tied to the academic success, or non success, of our students. In other words, the kids fail, the administrators get fired.

I welcome any and all suggestions on how to improve this proposal.

PS - I did read the New Haven Register editorial. It will only be good news if the State Assembly approves an expansion of the charter school enrollments. In addition, students who transfer out of the New Haven system do not have their educational funding follow them to the charter, which it should. It appeared that there was more bad news than good in that editorial.

Posted by: Jeff | April 25, 2006 9:39 AM

Darnell,

Great ideas!

This is about finally being able to break the cycle of poverty. However, this kind of change is met with fierce resistance, sadly from the folks who should be out in front on change. We need strong leaders (Lincoln-esque)who recognize that we are at one of those junctures in the history of civil rights and who are willing to do whatever it takes to help children and their families.

If there is a politician (or a budding politician, Darnell) out there who is listening...this is an issue that can and will take off with parents and turn them into issue voters.

Posted by: Lou West | September 10, 2006 9:48 PM

The biggest problem is that New Haven is a patronage consumed plantation, which includes "so-called" leaders of the church and the "so-called" political leaders. The Mayor has this city by the throat by using his patronage dumping grounds, which are the New Haven school system and the New Haven Housing Authority. If one wants a job in New Haven he/she must kiss "Pope DeStefano's Ring" and life becomes very comfortable, Mortage Payments paid on time, Automobiles notes paid in a timely manner,funds available for children in college,via weekly paychecks. All Board/Commission appointments (which control the city)are made by Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. and all one has to do is "Kiss the Ring".And of course at the present rate of events, African Americans in New Haven will never enjoyment empowerment. "Crabs in a Cracker barrel" As for me I am eighty years old and too old to kiss the ring, plus if I get down on my knees(except to pray)my old bones might not allow me to rise. Plus, I don't pose no threat in this wilderness!!