Microsoft High School

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that neighbors of the new Microsoft high school are demanding that most of the students come from their area. After all it's more important to allow nonqualified students to go.

What? What do you mean non-qualified students? Is this a magnet school? Not as far as I can tell. So, if a kid has graduated from grade school, he is qualified. And, schools have always been parts of neighborhoods in which they live. This is obviously a touchy subject, because there are not a ton of desireable schools for middle-class parents to send their kids to, and those parents are vocal. But, of course, there are plenty of parents in that neighborhood who want their kids to go to a great school, as well.

Many years ago Central and Girls High were considered prestige schools.

Yeah, I guess tell Harvard, Penn and the rest that they should stop admitting CHS kids then?

I believe firmly in equality but allowing a student to attend a prestigious high school just because they live nearby is ludicrous.

It is not presteigeous, in the sense that it has not graduated a single child. The point of the school, as far as I can tell, is to present a way that technology can be incorporated into schools to help kids learn.

To allow only 25% of gifted students around the city to attend will mean that there most likely will be a great many students who would not otherwise qualify. Teachers almost inevitably teach to the lowest common denominator.

Are you, out of curiosity, an expert in education policy? Because I think you are wrong. Again, maybe you don't like that this is not simply a high-tech version of Central, but who says that is its purpose?

Any student who wishes to attend a specialized charter school should be required to compete.

Why? The money is all coming from the City of Phialadelphia, to educate all of its students, right? What if kids with lower scores (which are directly correlated to income) could blossom in this setting and become vital, dynamic citizens of Philly? Do we want to be so high stakes with kids that they already know that if they don't do well on a standardized test in 8th grade, they not only cannot go to Central and others, but now they cannot go to a charter school?

I went to Central (and yeah, it is still extremely well regarded, despite what you say), and I would never change it. But, there is also a need for everyone else, as well. And, much of the whole point of these charters is to experiment with alternative ways of succeeding in urban education.

Perhaps I misunderstood but it certainly sounds like a magnet school to me. ALL kids should "blossom" but we are in danger of losing a lot of our brightest kids to mediocrity at the same time.

I'm not an education "expert" but it seems to me that the so-called "experts" don't seem to be able to get it right. As far as Central and Girls High go - I'm glad to see that they are again considered prestigious because for a long time they were not. However the bottom line is that there needs to be more choice for the bright kids no matter what their race. In too many cases the bright kids are left to wallow in mediocrity. Sometimes that's because they don't test well or because they are not recognized. The recently deceased August Wilson is a good example. Here's what I DO know about education. I raised a son who now lives in Philadelphia. I had to fight a mediocre suburban Maryland school system constantly. By the way, when my son was a student at LaSalle, he tried to get a community service project through the Philadelphia public schools which would have involved SAT prep for Philadelphia high school students. He and the other kids finally gave up in disgust after trying for weeks to get high school principals and guidance counselors to return their calls or show even a little enthusiasm for the project. My own experience as a graduate of Philadelphia's Catholic school system as well as my experience with my son is that teachers will teach to the lowest common denominator. In many ways they have no choice. So, no, I'm not an "expert." However I do have many years of experience dealing with educators.