And this week's question the the BVSD candidates is "Do you think the district is on the right track in addressing the achievement gap for minority students? What ideas do you have to reduce the gap?"
This is a really serious problem that the district has not been able to address. And the result is that many of our minority children will not go to college and will face a lifetime of limited economic and work opportunities. America is the land of equal opportunity only for those with an adequate education.
This is not the economy of "my great grandfather came here speaking no English and..." - because back then you could get a job in a factory with minimal education and English skills and make a good living. Today you need a college education to do the same. It's a different world.
And so, on to the candidate answers.
Laurie Albright B- : A number of good general items. And she is right that we do need to bring all these parties to the effort. Nothing about how we actually will make this happen though.
Ed Gazvoda B+ : First off, Ed gets the Joe Biden award for talking and talking and talking and... Lots of good points. But a large part of it is predicated on involved parents. Joe, many poor parents work 2, 3, maybe 4 jobs to provide for their family. They just don't have the time. And for many others, they don't see the importance of education - not to the extent that it requires parents to put in the tremendous effort needed to have some effect on the school system.
Helayne Jones D+ : Thank you Ms Obvious. Nothing more than trite generalities.
Jim Reed A- : Very good points and he proposes pre-kindergarten education which would make a tremendous difference. I would have liked more specifics but he has a really good start.
Rosabelle Rice C+ : Dual immersion is a success for some students but it is not a magic answer for all. Nothing aside from that one proposal.
Ken Roberge A- : Wow, starts off with a clear statement that we presently are not successful and discusses a number of core issues and approaches - great answer. And then in the final paragraph talks about solving it via the district's "goal setting process." Ken, has the district goal setting process ever accomplished anything significant? No? Didn't think so.
John Satter C- : Some obvious generalities but he then does at least get specific on the two main approaches he would take. Of course, we are presently using both of those approaches and the results stink.
So we have some pretty decent answers up there. The question is, while the new board actually do anything significantly different. Or will they continue to make little changes on the edges and wonder why they keep getting the same results?
