There is a great article by Jennifer Smith Richards in today’s Columbus Dispatch.
An analysis of feeder patterns in Columbus Public Schools shows that geography is the critical factor when it comes to access to better performing district schools.
A quick look at the map illustrates the dramatic differences between attendance areas and feeder schools. (An enlarged version of this map is available at the link above.)
There are fantastic schools in the Columbus district, and there are dismal ones.
But never before has it been so clear how much geography matters in determining which students are assigned to the best or worst of the district.
The closing of nine schools and the rezoning of the remaining ones into tighter neighborhood formations during the summer created clear attendance paths from elementary to high school. It also clustered some of the weakest schools together. The result: Students in some neighborhoods who attend their assigned schools from kindergarten through high school might never attend a school rated better than D.
Of the 17 neighborhood clusters across the district, called feeder patterns, three now are made up of only D-rated and F-rated schools, based on state report cards. Only one Columbus City Schools zone – feeding Centennial High School – has all A- or B-rated schools. Others are more varied, but in many of the district’s zones, at least half the schools have D or F grades.
Columbus Superintendent Gene Harris said officials knew the redesign of feeder patterns would leave some neighborhoods with mostly subpar schools.
“This is really a reform effort,” she said. “The whole point is to work together to improve school quality.”
Harris wants every neighborhood to have great schools. Grouping those that struggle most within a feeder pattern will help unite them around the cause, she said.
Grouping all the struggling schools together “helps unite them around the cause?” That doesn’t make sense. Research tells us that multiple years with a less effective teacher has a substantial and negative impact on student achievement. Imagine what 13 years in failing schools can do to children.
This arrangement practically guarantees that students in the failure zones have little chance to succeed.
Great job Jennifer. How about newspapers doing the same analysis in their communities?
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