 |
|
|
|
|
Speak Out
Carl Heintze column spoke to reader
Carl Heintze's recent column ('A pessimist who found solace in words,' May 2) in The Resident spoke to me effectively. Sometimes I don't agree with his sentiments--he is more conservative in his views than I--but this one is very appealing.
Some years ago, more than I care to mention, I fell in love with Housman's cherry tree poem, memorized it and have never forgotten it. I was about 50 at the time, and I used to change the second stanza in my mind to "Now of my three score years and ten, fifty will not come again."
Every time I thought of it, I felt wistful and a bit sad, thinking of only 20 more years to look for cherry trees in bloom.
Well, I've had those 20 years, and some more, and I still thrill to the spring blossoms as they come. Not only the cherries, but, even more, the pink flowering plum that was blooming in February 1942, when my first true love came into my life, and eventually went out again. Each year those trees remind me of that lost love. Perhaps Housman was a kindred soul. I think I understand his feelings, at least, as expressed in that poem.
Patricia Buchser
Iris Court
Desegregation dollars are disproportionately distributed in district
I rejoice in the continued debate over equitable funding and quality education for Willow Glen schools. Trustee Carol Myers has called attention to the disproportionate distribution of desegregation funds and the flight of motivated Willow Glen students to schools with more programs, but less desegregation. Karla Fukushima has noted various excellent programs at Willow Glen High School, criticized Carol Myers for being critical, and labeled her a bigot.
I believe our schools must be willing to objectively acknowledge areas that need improvement, if they are to achieve and maintain excellence. I applaud Carol Myers for having the courage to speak out and call for change, and I am disappointed that Karla Fukushima, in her position as president of the School Site Council of Willow Glen High School, is unwilling to do so.
I find it criminal that the district has placed compliance with desegregation above their sacred charter to educate children. The court order of the 1980s and the Consent Decree of the 1990s were creatively crafted by SJUSD's attorneys to dodge mandatory busing, in favor of a choice program when the district was found at fault for the disparity of programs and academic achievement at schools with predominantly minority (Hispanic) vs. majority students. It is now the 21st century and it is time for the attorneys to return to the courts with a creative solution to the inequities that have resulted.
The choice program, while bringing millions of dollars in funds to the district, has created a few choice schools with funding that is at odds with the distribution of the Hispanic students (now the overwhelming majority in the district) it is intended to serve. Schools, such as Willow Glen Elementary, Middle and High schools, are punished for being naturally desegregated and receive safety net programs, at best.
Our attorneys should demand that programs of academic excellence, not just safety nets, be put in place at every school to encourage all students to set and accomplish high goals.
Kathy Stark
Berkshire Drive
Discussion on schools always lacks same thing: hard numbers
Recent actions by the San Jose Unified School District board and others stating their support of the SJUSD "choice" program has compelled me to write this letter. The school board issues resolutions in support of the program, and community members send in letters of support, yet I have never seen any data showing that the program has been beneficial to either Willow Glen Middle or High schools.
I'm happy that all my children will go through Booksin Elementary. Am I happy about the prospect of them attending Willow Glen Middle School and Willow Glen High School? No! Is this due to bigotry or racism as some might infer? No! Just look at the test scores, neither of these two schools is high-achieving, regardless of ethnic group. Why is that? We have other schools in the district that are capable of producing students with very high test scores, so why can't Willow Glen?
Not only are our schools low-performing, but the educational gap that the choice program was to correct still exists! Just look at the data.
I ask the school board, if you were moving to San Jose and were only given the choice of your children attending either Leland or San Jose High, which one would you choose? Obviously you would choose Leland, for the same reason. Hispanic students at other campuses score much higher than those at Willow Glen.
Let's not forget, we got ourselves into this mess due to a lawsuit in the early '80s because the district had "good" schools and "bad" schools; Hispanics academically performed poorly compared to whites;and schools were not racially integrated. The goal was that all schools in the district should perform equally.
Where are we today? Look at the data. We have some good schools and some bad schools; Hispanic students by campus perform poorly compared to white students; and we have schools like those in Willow Glen where the white majority has become the Hispanic majority. Nothing has changed!
All these letters and resolutions are meaningless without the data to back them up. The school board can stop all these discussions and letters by publishing the data.
The board's recent statement on the desegregation consent decrees makes it obvious that the school board's top priority is compliance with the decree, with quality of education a distant second. "Choice" shouldn't mean that I have the choice of moving to Almaden, or another city or sending my kids to private school in order for them to get a good education!
Brad Garofalo
Norval Way
From the Publisher
The "At Work" section of the San Francisco Chronicle is being included with some issues of the Willow Glen Resident as a paid insert. We frequently contract with businesses to insert their advertising and other messages into our papers. As with other inserts, we are not involved, in any way, with the production of the "At Work" section. Copies are delivered to us, and we deliver them with our papers.
--David Cohen
|
|
|
|
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
