I keep saying over and over and over, John. It's not money.
Two schools, same funding, different issues
Number 2 Pencil Blog
The Philadelphia Inquirer discovers two schools that are a scant distance apart by separated by a wide gulf of demographics and test scores (but not, it should be noted, by a funding gap): philly.com
Bridesburg in the Northeast and Tanner Duckrey in North Philly are schools on the move. But one school is charging ahead; the other is learning how to walk.
It's been 50 years since Brown v. the Board of Education ripped apart the concept of "separate but equal." Look at Bridesburg and Duckrey, though, and you see stark differences that remain in some public schools to this day.
• Bridesburg is nearly all white; Duckrey is all black.
• Bridesburg's state reading and math scores are soaring; Duckrey's are near the bottom.
• Bridesburg's funding is about $1.57 million; Duckrey's is better, about $1.75 million.
As budget comparisons between Duckrey and Bridesburg show, inequities between schools are often more complex than what dollars can measure.
Hampering the progress of inner-city schools like Duckrey are problems that were not on the map 50 years ago. In Duckrey's case, that includes a crackhouse 2 ½ blocks from the schoolyard and disintegrating families, leading to a yearly student transfer rate approaching 50 percent...
Disintegrating families don't tend to include parents who are involved in their childrens' educations. Grace Garnett, president of Duckrey's Home and School Association, has, despite her best efforts, managed to get only 10 parents interested in her organization. Duckrey firmly believes that closing the parent-interest gap is one of the keys to improving education.
Bridesburg, like Duckrey, doesn't have an art teacher or a librarian - but they do have high expectations:
The school works, Boehringer said, because he and his teachers put in the hours and set high expectations for all of their students.
"We consider ourselves a team, that's key."
Bridesburg parents and teachers agreed. "This school is a family," said Ann Evans, who has a son and daughter enrolled. "These teachers really care about their students...There's been times when Mr. Boehringer has been here until 7, 8 o'clock at night. He's like a father to every single one of these kids."
Said third-year teacher Dara Savage: "I would send my child here in a heartbeat. Excellent staff, every one, from the principal to the aides to the entire staff.
"The school has a tone that we can achieve anything, and it trickles down to our students. They know that there is no limit to the level of success that they can achieve."
Although both schools recieve approximately the same amount of funding per year, Duckrey says it needs more - to counteract the lack of educational stimulation in the home, as well as the other issues that Duckrey's student body is struggling with.
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