Guest MINDSETTER™ Steven F. Corrales: Achievement First is Right for Providence
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
My parents knew first hand about the need for school choice. Recognizing that the public school my sisters and I were in was severely underperforming, they sought an alternative: Moses Brown. Unfortunately, this choice was not to be. My parents felt powerless. They knew our future was at stake but did not see any option other than leaving us in a low performing school.
This sentiment of powerlessness is a common theme among immigrant families, and often expresses the many hardships our families endure. Along with feeling powerless, immigrant parents feel voiceless as well. What may be perceived as silence, however, is actually a cry for help. Parents like mine desperately wanted great schools for their kids.
Even though I was not able to go to an independent school, I was accepted into, and graduated from a top twenty university and will soon have a masters degree from an Ivy League Institution. Without a doubt, my public school education helped me get to where I am today. Unfortunately, I am the exception and not the rule. Having been so fortunate to “make it,” I feel compelled now to use my knowledge to make the exception become the norm.
As a college freshman, I was aware that my high school education left me lacking some of the skills that my classmates possessed. However, I was unaware of how deeply this would affect me. I quickly became frustrated. I had worked hard in high school, yet my efforts seemed futile after the first day of classes. Like my peers in my college classes, I also had a high school diploma. The only difference between their diploma and mine was the name of the high school. I could not comprehend how one piece of paper that is accepted by an admissions committee can mean so many different things. For one student it can represent a top private high school education, and for others like me, it represented an education from a public school deemed failing.
After attending the public hearings for Achievement First, it seems the priorities of the opponents were misplaced. I left these hearings confused by the messages. On the one hand, opponents say that this school will have large waiting lists and a lottery. On the other hand, they questioned Achievement First’s gap-closing record. You can’t have it both ways. If this is a great school, parents will clamor to have their children attend. If it’s not great, parents will not enroll their children. I believe that if parents want this choice for their children, they should have it. I urge the Regents to approve this application so other parents, particularly those from families like mine, can have great public school choice.
As student of education policy, I am optimistic about what Achievement First can do as an agent of change for the educational system in Providence.
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Comments:
donatello gori
8:00am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Apparently, you didn't learn much in college either. Your article doesn't support your topic. Where in this article is evidence that Achievement First is right for Providence?
Ed Jucation
8:09am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Agrees with donatello gori...not a persuasive essay at all. No facts or data to support your position. Inner city parents are notoriously absent from their child's' education. That is why 47 out of 50 of my students parents DID NOT ATTEND a requested parent/teacher conference. They didn't even e-mail me or call the school. They just don't care. The parents who DO care met with me and other teachers. There are some FACTS for you.
Joseph Fazio
10:43pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
How about all the teachers that stepped up to the plate to help you out? How about the fact that "your under performing school" had to take in every kid regardless of academic level, language ability, home situation, or mental and physical condition? You for get that the word PUBLIC comes before school. There is no turning away those that have been socially promoted or just arrived the day before from another country. Public schools operate under the condition that the doors are open all the time. Your Achievement First would be glad to take in you and your sister because your parents cared, and showed up for Parent Teacher Conference. But when you violate the contract at Achievement First - like not having a parent come in - you are dismissed. Guess where those kids end up? Back at your under performing school where if they apply themselves, might just get to a top ranked school....like Notre Dame.