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major initiatives
Duval County Public Schools’
Implementation of the Opportunity
Scholarship Program for 2008-09
There have been numerous questions
from parents and concerned citizens about the decision
to offer
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts,
Paxon School for Advanced Studies and
Stanton College Prep as school choice options for
students eligible to participate in the Opportunity
Scholarship Program. The purpose of this letter is
to address concerns that have been expressed to the
Superintendent, Board Members and the School Choice
Office.
First, it is important to understand
the facts.
- Florida Statutes, Section 1002.38
requires that all students who were enrolled in a
public school during the 2007-2008 school year, or
who are assigned to a public school for 2008-2009
that was designated by the Florida Department of
Education with a state grade designation of “F” for
the second year in a 4-year period, be given the
opportunity to transfer to another school. The
transfer school must have a state grade designation
of “C” or better.
- This year three (3) high schools
met the eligibility requirement for participation in
the Opportunity Scholarship Program: Andrew
Jackson, N.B. Forrest, and William Raines. Due to
the combined size of the student bodies of the three
schools, there was a potential applicant pool of
5000 students.
- In prior years, the school
district has offered, on one or more occasions,
Fletcher, Mandarin, Baldwin, Wolfson, Ed White and
Englewood to students eligible for the
Opportunity Scholarship Program. This year only
three (3) of those schools (Mandarin, Fletcher,
Wolfson) met the “C” or better criterion. These
schools are over capacity and would not have been
able to absorb an influx of 500-1000 or more
students.
This year the district opted to offer
Douglas Anderson, Paxon and Stanton as transfer options
for students eligible for the Opportunity Scholarship
Program. As dedicated magnet schools, they had not been
offered in past years due to the unique nature of their
programs. However, after thoughtful discussions among
district staff, school board members and principals
along with a careful weighing of the benefits and
challenges, it was decided that this year the district
would offer these schools in the true spirit of
providing an opportunity to students who otherwise had
not taken advantage of earlier options to apply through
the traditional magnet lottery process.
In speaking with and listening to
parents, some of the questions and answers are as
follows:
-
Why didn’t the parents of
students at these failing schools look into magnet
school options three or four years ago since they
have been failing schools for some time now?
Many parents from these
schools do apply for magnet schools. However,
like many other families, some parents prefer for
their children to attend their neighborhood school.
Magnet education was never intended to be the right
school choice for all families.
- My family has been
a part of the magnet program for many years and we
have made many sacrifices in order for our children
to be able to be in the magnet middle school that
will get us to the high school of our choice.
How is it fair for others to now have that option
without having made the same sacrifice?
It’s understandable that
many families will feel that this is unfair to those
who have played by the rules and have made
considerable sacrifice over the years in order to
ensure that their children are able to attend the
school of their choice. However, there are
many families who, for one reason or another, are
not as familiar with the guidelines, rules and time
lines associated with magnet programs. As a result,
their children sometimes lose out on opportunities
through no fault of their own.
- My child is on the
waiting lists for Stanton and Paxon. How is it
fair that students who did not even apply for one of
these schools are admitted ahead of my child?
Placement on a waiting list
for any magnet school has never guaranteed that a
student would eventually be removed from the waiting
list and offered a seat at the selected school.
In several past years, there has been little or no
movement off the Stanton and Paxon waiting lists.
This year is no different when viewed from that
perspective.
- Why is the district
lowering the standards of one of the top high
schools in the country?
The district has no plans
to lower the standards for Douglas Anderson, Paxon
or Stanton. The schools will continue with the
same rigorous programs and the same requirements for
graduation. The only change that is being made for
the incoming 9th graders is that Algebra 1 is being
offered to those students who did not take it in the
8th grade. While this may seem unfair to those
who completed Algebra 1 as a prerequisite, the fact
is that these students had no way of knowing that
this opportunity was going to present itself.
- Will these students
have to meet the current Academic Performance
Standards currently at Stanton and Paxon in order
progress from one grade level to the next?
The statute provides that the
Opportunity
Scholarship Program students may remain at the
choice school until they complete the highest grade
level offered at that site. Every effort will be
made to offer safety net programs and to
differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all
students.
This year, like many other years, presented many
challenges for the district as it considered its
responsibility to offer a school transfer to
students eligible for the Opportunity Scholarship
Program. Our goal, of course, is to ensure the
success of all students and to have all schools be
successful and desirable schools. It is our
greatest hope that the communities, parents,
teachers, students, and administration will join
together to support the students who have elected to
take on the challenge of the rigorous academic
programs offered at these two magnet schools.
In the end, it benefits everyone for all students to
be well educated whether in a traditional
neighborhood school or in a magnet school.
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