RENEE JORDAN-SMITH

Perspective

Many of the school board candidates seem to be interested in the concept of neighborhood schools. Natrona County has had open enrollment and schools of choice for over a decade. We have been a step ahead of the nation with this policy. The rest of the nation is just now realizing that the neighborhood school concept is not conducive to high academic scores. So why is our school district pushing to go back to neighborhood schools?

The reasons often stated for returning to neighborhood schools are cost and a sense of community. Fuel cost is often discussed due to the busing of children to different schools. Should our children's education be calculated by the cost of fuel? No, the priority should be to give our children the best education available. In a nation where billions of dollars are spent on non-essential items, fuel is a small price to pay for our children's future. Although a sense of community may be a valid concern, our district goals should not be based on "making friends." The school district's job is not to provide a social network. Our educational system needs to focus solely on academic achievement. It should be noted that the school district's enrollment data shows that 58.68 percent of the students attend a school outside of their neighborhood. It appears that well over half of the families are actually choosing schools based on the school program available, not on the location of that

school.

Neighborhood schools also promote elitism. Nationally, it is often the wealthy section of town that has the good schools and the poorer sections of town have the low-end schools. If you can't afford a mansion, you can't afford a good education for your children. We have already seen those effects. How would neighborhood schools provide diversity - both racially and socio-economically? It has been shown that diversity is essential to our children's education. According to a July New York Times article, "The Next Kind of Integration," many school districts are finding that integrating students of various ethnicity and social-economic status is improving academic achievement. Their integration model relies heavily on open enrollment so that students can attend schools that would be out of the question when enrollment is based strictly on neighborhood income level or other social barrier.

That brings us to the question being asked all over the country: How do we improve our children's education? The resounding answer is choice and competition. Research proves that choice improves achievement. A study released in October 2007, by the Milton & Rose Friedman Foundation, concludes that "a large body of top-quality studies consistently shows that school choice produces higher academic achievement for the students who have the opportunity to use it. On this issue, the evidence supporting school choice is as strong as the evidence on any social policy question whatsoever."

Choice has also been federally mandated. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandates school choice for Title I schools if they have not met adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the second consecutive year. School districts are required to give those families the choice to transfer to another school that is meeting AYP.

How can Natrona County School District bring more choice success to our district? They have a start with the current open enrollment and schools of choice policy. They could improve by replicating the successful programs that are in demand. Woods Learning Center is an excellent example. It is one of the most successful schools in the district. People try to put their children's name on a waiting list for this school, years in advance. Why has the district not created another school program like Woods? This question has been raised directly to the school board and administration many times. It is clear that the citizens want a duplication of this successful program; however, the district has remained silent on this issue.

North Casper School is the district's best-kept secret. It is a school that at first glance would be pegged to be a failing school. It has the largest population of low-income families and the highest diversity rate in the district. It has adopted a program that involves students, parents, staff and administration and their scores are rising dramatically. The school has found a recipe for success and Central Administration should take note and consider utilizing it in other schools.

NCSD also needs to aggressively deal with failing schools. If a school program is consistently failing, the district needs to step in and help the school to improve. In order to improve the school, the district should determine the best program and delivery with input from all the participants. This would be in line with the school board's current School Improvement Policy and Shared Decision Making. The district needs to keep in mind that successful programs around the country have one thing in common, parental involvement.

School choice, charter schools and vouchers provide competition as the better programs force the others to improve. It comes down to this - choice will provide competition and competition will drive academic success. At a time when the rest of the nation recognizes the value of choice and competition, Natrona County School District would be taking a giant leap backward if it returns to neighborhood schools.

Renee Jordan-Smith is a concerned parent who has two children who attend school in the Natrona County School District.