Syracuse City Schools in the news

On January 21, 2011 it was reported that the Syracuse City School District voted to close 2 schools. Elmwood Elementary and Bellevue Middle School Academy At Shea. The closings of these 2 schools will help balance next years budget and the space will be used temporarily for students and staff from 2 other schools badly in need of renovations.

There are pictures and video all over the internet of parents of students sobbing and comforting each other, emotionally distraught that their neighborhood schools are closing.

To the Parents of students currently attending these 2 schools,

As parents you should be emotionally distraught over the academic statistics of these schools! I am outraged that you would shed one damn tear for the schools, completely nauseated at your complete and total ignorance concerning the standings of these 2 schools! Let me fucking enlighten you, you incompetent, illiterate wretches.

Posted by The New York Times 24 January 2011

Statistics include all tests
Bellevue Middle School Academy Performance Index, 100 is the NYS median.
6th grade 32, 7th grade 25, 8th grade 20
Passing rate:
6th grade 18%, 7th grade 14%, 8th grade 10%
% of students in Advanced Proficiency:
6th grade 1%, 7th grade 0%, 8th grade 0%
Below BASIC STANDARDS:
6th grade 31%, 7th grade 39%, 8th grade 43%

Elmwood Elementary Performance Index, 100 is the NYS median
3rd grade 44, 4th grade 41, 5th grade 26
Passing Rate:
3rd grade 26%, 4th grade 25%, 5th grade 15%
% of students in Advanced Proficiency:
3rd grade 4%, 4th grade 4%, 5th grade 2%
Below BASIC STANDARDS:
3rd grade 23%, 4th grade 29%, 5th grade 34%

Parents are shedding tears over sub-standard schools closing and not because their CHILDREN aren't even meeting the Basic Standard percentages in education?? Are you kidding me?? Your Children are not learning to read and write, add and subtract and you as parents of these students are upset because 8 months from now they will attend a school with higher NYS education scoring?

Let's get this straight, better education is bad and a 10% chance at passing is good? I'm furious, speechless, enraged that these parents are not even putting forth a minimum effort to look at their children's educations! How dare they sell their kid's so short in life.

And one of the arguments about these statistics for these schools is that they are in an economically depressed area of the City of Syracuse. I DO NOT ACCEPT THIS EXCUSE AS A PARENT OF 2 CHILDREN OR AS RESIDENT OF THE SAME AREA LAST YEAR!! I am considered low income but my kids are educated, they pass. I was raised lower middle class and only one of my parents graduated HS and I hold 2 Degrees from Syracuse University. Economics is a lame excuse to cover up the fact that parents are failing their children on multiple levels.

As a Parent of former students in that District I applaud the closings and hope that Syracuse City School District will not let any of their other schools get so below standard. Because let's face it the District itself is just as much to blame as the non-participating parents. In fact I think that they may actually be more at fault for the simple fact that Syracuse City School District has been on the NYS Needs Improvement list for 8 years while every single School District surrounding Syracuse is in NYS Good Standing list. Outrageous.

And just FYI: It took me all of 7 minutes on Google to find these stats, so don't believe that they are being hidden or covered up. Is 7 minutes too much time to spend on researching your child's school?? The New York Times, NYS Department of Education and Syracuse.com (the Post Standard all provide this information in print also.

Till Next Time Faithful Readers,
BEX!