The Nov. 10 issue of the Willow Glen Resident has an Around the Glen brief, "Riding down the Avenue in a slow and easy trot."

Horse-drawn carriage rides, especially in high traffic areas like Willow Glen are dangerous. Further, horses used this way are being exploited and abused. They are usually "breakdowns" from prior misuse, and have a history of previous injuries and debilities. Their nostrils are also close to the street, causing smoke and exhaust fumes to damage their lungs.

In addition to the health and physical issues, city traffic and horses can be a deadly mix. Most horses can become "spooked" in traffic and by street conditions. They are uncomfortable working among cars and trucks. A survey of national carriage accidents revealed over 80 percent of all accidents were the result of an annual spooking that caused human injuries and sometimes fatalities.

Pedestrian safety in Willow Glen is a concern for many of us. Let's not compound an already dangerous area with horse-drawn carriages.

Bans on carriage horses are taking place in a growing number of cities like Palm Beach, Fla., Las Vegas, London, Paris and Toronto.

I hope the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association will stop sponsoring carriage rides and come up with a safer, more humane way for us to enjoy the holidays.

Carol Evans

Atlanta Avenue

Non-magnet schools
have plenty to offer

I just read the Nov. 17 edition of the Willow Glen Resident, and I have to say that I am both amused and offended by some of the comments from parents of children at Hacienda Elementary. (In full disclosure, both of my sons attend Schallenberger.) In particular, I take offense of Coreen Booth's comment that "unless you can afford to send your child to a private school, Hacienda is the only option for a high quality school." Indeed. She needs to check her facts. There are several neighborhood schools that in fact exceed Hacienda's standard testing results, and Schallenberger is materially on par by demographic grouping.

Moreover, I continue to take note of those parents who send their students to magnet schools such as Hacienda, thereby conveniently avoiding the impact of integration. I won't even belabor the fact that our neighborhood school has also been significantly more receptive to the integration of special needs children—including our oldest, autistic son—into the general school population, notwithstanding the potential impact on standardized testing results. Hacienda is less integrated than most of the Willow Glen neighborhood elementary schools, both ethnically and socioeconomicaly, notwithstanding suggestions to the contrary by at least one of the parents in the article. You can check these facts for yourself at api.cde.gov.

I do have the financial wherewithal to send my children to private school, and yet I not only feel an obligation to support the neighborhood public school concept, but believe that it is in my children's best interest to not cloister them. I believe they're getting a great education in the neighborhood school. And I look forward to the day when the majority of our neighborhood's children actually walk down the street to attend the neighborhood school together.

To those who say it cannot be done, I say you're wrong. My home county of Fairfax, Va., is just as ethnically diverse as it is here, relies primarily on a neighborhood school system, and has one of the highest rated public school programs in the nation. Parents need not act out of fear.

Phil Bullock

Richland Avenue

The numbers speak for
themselves if one looks

Several letters to the editor have highlighted the outstanding programs at Hacienda Elementary School and asked why San Jose Unified District would consider closing Hacienda. Hacienda is a magnet and as such it has certain requirements that must be maintained in order to keep its magnet status.

The Hacienda magnet was created under a federal court order and its main purpose was to help desegregate schools and raise the achievement scores of economically disadvantaged students. A magnet school must also reflect the racial and socioeconomic makeup of the school district.

The following data represents the makeup of San Jose Unified School District Elementary Schools and Hacienda.

SJUSD Hacienda

White 27% 50%

Hispanic 55% 25%

Econ. Disadvantaged 5% 9%

Limited English Speaking 36% 6%

More than 15 years later, Hacienda has failed to achieve these requirements through no fault of its own. The district ignored the school's primary mission, to desegregate the district. This was never stressed to the staff or parents until two years ago when this disparity could no longer be swept under the rug by the district. Two years ago Hacienda was put on notice that it had two years to achieve the district average. The districts own current data shows that it has failed to meet its target by a huge percentage.

I take no pleasure in seeing any schools closed, but the data speaks for itself.

Will SJUSD board members Richard Garcia, Jorge Gonzalez, Veronica Grijalva Lewis, Leslie Reynolds and incoming-board member Pam Foley ignore there own policy and continue short changing the very students this school is supposed to help?

Bob Mulvany

Willow Glen Elementary PTA