Posted on 11/09/2006 8:37:27 PM PST by grundle
Shaye Carter and Janie Lewis each risked a $300 fine yesterday because they had refused to withdraw their children from Career Connections Charter Middle School and enroll them in Pittsburgh Public Schools.
They couldn't have cared less.
"I'm more concerned about my child's education," Ms. Carter said of daughter, Ria, a seventh-grader.
District Judge Randy Martini continued the truancy cases for 90 days, hoping that would be enough time to resolve a dispute between the charter school and school district that has students and parents caught in the middle.
Ms. Carter and Ms. Lewis, whose son, Quinn, is a sixth-grader, aren't the only parents defying the school district's efforts to close the Career Connections school. Only two of the school's 75 sixth- and seventh-graders have pulled out since the district began making phone calls and sending letters warning of truancy citations if students weren't enrolled in regular Pittsburgh schools.
"I can't wait," said Ms. Jones, whose granddaughter, Angelina Wagoner, is a Career Connections sixth-grader. "For the first time in her life, she's making A's and B's ... She's found her niche, and they're not taking it off her."
As for a possible truancy citation and hearing before a district judge?
"I'll go to jail," she said.
Pittsburgh parents said they're standing their ground because they've found a good thing. They said the school's curriculum, small class sizes and welcoming environment are improvements over regular Pittsburgh schools.
"I'm definitely not sending her back," Ms. Carter said of Ria, who began the year at Westwood Elementary before transferring to Career Connections.
"It's worth the fight," said Patrice Lesesne, of the North Side, who removed her son, Keenan, from Rooney Accelerated Learning Academy and put him in Career Connections. "I'm looking for a quality education for my son."
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
The land of Outcome Based Education. Only in Pennsylvania can this happen--thanks Rendell.
wonder if these people voted Democrat?
I would never live in PA, for this very reason. ugh. Among the worst homeschool laws in the nation.
This is the city where I live. Almost everyone here votes Democrat. The mayor and every person on the city council have all been Democrats as long as I can remember. I'm 35, I always vote, and I have never voted for a Democrat.
Most likely voted Democrat and still are big supporters of the unions. It's the reason that the city is dying by degrees.
The UNESCO plan for educating US children has been integrated into US public education. It's rooted in the public education system curriculums and many private school curriculums too. The UN is rooted in US education system. It has been for over a decade. With the past three Presidents' stamp of approval/assistance/support. Read the article.
</:o)))~
Union?
Supposedly the building is unsuitable because it doesn't sufficiently restrict public access.
I would never send my kid to a place called Arsenal Middle School.
FOTFL And if you're from Wisconsin, you can probably vote for Democrats several times every election.
We have a couple homeschoolers in our community that do quite well. We also had a family with 6 children who were being homeschooled. Kids couldn't pass benchmarks after several years and they were legally forced back into public school system. So you see both sides but usually there is a serious reason or abuse situation that forces kids back into public school system.
And what to do with the high percentage of children that aren't making it in the public schools???? Force them OUT of them, and into homeschooling??
Right or wrong, I believe the public school system is the norm and will continue to fill that role. THe school in our community hasn't had problems meeting benchmarks; while all the other schools in our district are on year 3&4 of NCLB. It has to do with demographics, all starts in the family. Until we solve that problem, nothing much will change; I think it's a general reflection of what has been going wrong socially in America.
The dems will be sweeping NCLB out the door pretty quick. They have visions of coming after homeschoolers too, drives them crazy.
Our school district installs satellite dishes, starband highspeed, computers, resources but they hold homeschooling parents accountable also. Many do quite well, but about 1/3 of the families abuse the system and kids are forced back into public school, where they do better. We had a one homeschooling family, the father just went on and on about govt indoctrinating his kids. His high schoolers didn't even have basic 3rd grade math skills down when forced back into public school by state. Pretty quick after that the kids were removed from family over abuse probs with older girls.
Our daughter is deaf. We have had problems with district providing services. Teacher unqualified to teach deaf children claiming our daughter had mental probs when it was communication. When lawsuit was initiated (by federal agency available to everyone) to force district, they came around to our point of view. I guess we could have pulled our daughter out of public school, but that was our last step we would have taken.
When a child is having problems, go past the teacher and demand what you deserve for your child from district. You will get it. Too many parents retreat into homeschooling when they should be be demanding what is required by law.
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