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Isle education needs tough answers
By Heidi Lutz
Contributor
Published October 27, 2009
After listening to Galveston Independent School District administration staff present nine proposals for reconfiguring the island schools, I left the boardroom that evening with many serious questions, not just about the plans but also about the direction of GISD.
If we’re to make the right choices for our children and for the community as a whole, it is imperative we seek the answers to the tough questions.
The first question is why our administration would present plans that include projected overcrowding at schools. Granted, the proposals are based on speculative figures, but why would any plan that includes filling a school beyond its capacity even make it to the discussion table?
I also question removing the school boundaries and offering so-called themed curriculum to our elementary-school children. The themed curriculum has yet to be defined, and I wonder: Would it be effective in every elementary school?
GISD administrators said the majority of students would likely choose their neighborhood schools. My concern is that, if schools fill to capacity before neighborhood children enroll, will we be left transporting children all across town? What is the transportation plan to back up this school-of-choice option?
Noticeably absent from the proposals was a plan for beginning educating children at age 3, the age recommended by experts in the field of early childhood education. Study after study has shown the effectiveness of early education programs in the successful development of our children. So I have to ask: Where is the discussion of early childhood education and how are we going to bring that back to the table in Galveston?
Despite the proposed plans and changes, GISD still is facing a significant decline in its number of students, which hurts Galveston as a whole. I know, too, many parents who feel trapped into a choice between leaving Galveston or placing their children in private schools.
Has the administration ever asked parents who have pulled their children out of the district why they made that decision? It is time to ask that question and find solutions that will keep families in Galveston’s public schools.
The next several years are critical to the future of Galveston’s schools and to the future of the island community. When our schools succeed, our community succeeds.
It’s time to return to this community a sense of confidence in the school district and that will only be done when we ask the tough questions, listen to the answers and use that information to create the best learning environment possible. Our children deserve nothing less.
Heidi Lutz lives in Galveston.
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