Quadrant Magnets for CPS Schools

Today, our local newspaper has dedicated it’s entire opinion page to criticizing the current first-come-first-served enrollment process for CPS magnet schools.  

First is an article written by a “Local Expert”, Michael Evans, a professor of education at Miami University, who lives in Wyoming.  Notable is that the suburb of Wyoming is just outside the City of Cincinnati neighborhood of Hartwell.  Also notable is that it is very expensive to buy a house in Wyoming, which you must do if you want your children to attend the highly-ranked Wyoming Schools.  Mr. Evans is worried about the Cincinnati parents who cannot spend the time camping out and waiting in line.  But is he concerned about the parents who cannot afford to buy a house in Wyoming?  Hmmm.  Did you ever notice that there are no apartments in Wyoming? No affordable housing?  Hmmm.  Why not? 

Look, my kids are old enough that I personally do not have to worry about CPS’s Elementary Magnet Schools.  But I remember what it is like when you have a 4 year old, and you are very anxious to give them the best education you can.  If CPS does not allow parents to have control and choice, then the parents that have the means will make a choice, and that choice will be spend a lot of money on a house in a better school district or send their kids to private/parochial school.

The only opinion on the page that was interesting to me was the one from Helen Adams, of Clifton.  She complains that Clifton no longer has a neighborhood school.  I think she makes a great point.  Fairview is located on the site of the defunct local Clifton School.  And now it attracts students from Pleasant Ridge and Westwood.  Does all this traveling from the far reaches of the district make sense? 

When my wife and I first looked at schools, we were most interested in the CPS Montessori Schools.  At the time there were 4 quadrants, and you could only apply to the school in your quadrant.  The schools were: Dater, Sands, Winton, and North Avondale.  I like the quadrant solution.  You stay somewhat close to home but still have choice.  The only problem for us, was that the year we started the process, our quadrant school Sands… moved.  And it moved as far away as possible and yet stay in the City limits: Mt Washington.  We were not interested in spending the next 8 years commuting our children to Mt Washington.

Maybe a lottery is the way of the future.  That seems to be the take of the Editorial page.  Hey Cleveland is doing it.  But I just cannot see new parents willing to risk the education of their children on complete chance.  Moving to a full lottery system could severely hinder the attraction and retention of young couples.  A lottery would be a step back for the City, and area-based magnets schools would be a step in the right direction.  

Liberals Who Support School Choice

I like to see open minded people on the right and the left support policies that are not doctrinaire. There are many conservatives for example who support rail and better transit options. Here see see some on the left support more school choice:

...American liberals have been reluctant to embrace school choice, fearing it will drain resources from government-operated schools. Yet isn't it even worse to support a system that rewards concentration of the rich in exclusive suburbs segregated from the poor? -John Norquist in the Wall Street Journal

Magnet Lottery System

Dear School Board Members; (email: davisph@cps-k12.org )

Please do not ruin your successful magnet programs by changing to a straight lottery enrollment system. My children are already in our chosen CPS magnet programs, so your decision will not directly effect my family. However, I do think the introduction of the lottery could result in young families leaving the City.

Seven years ago we were facing this decision of which school would be best for our oldest son. Our neighborhood school was Washington Park Elementary, a struggling school that was rumoured to be scheduled for closure. We considered private schools like Mercy Montessori but we could not afford them. It seemed to us that our options were either a CPS magnet program, or move out of the City. We visited several of the CPS magnet programs and we were completely thrilled with what we saw at each of them. In the end we decided the closest magnet program, Fairview was best for us and our son.

At that time we did not have to wait in line, but merely took a tour and then added our names to a waiting list a year before school would start for our child. The system was simple and painless. Also as you know, at that time, the school used the Tauber index to admit children partially based on race and gender. This system worked well for us as it kept the diversity of the student population, yet required some commitment by the parents to think ahead and at least visit the school and learn about it before applying. However, as you well know, because of court decisions, CPS's use of the Tauber Index's use was ended in 2007.

At about the same time the racial quotas were removed, CPS told Fairview administration to end the waiting list method of enrollment and made them go to the first-come first-serve method which resulted in a 24 hour camp out the first year. This has now grown into several nights of camping.

Now, I don't like the idea of making parents camp out, but the only worse enrollment method would be a straight lottery. The parents must keep some control. They cannot be left to the pure chance of a random drawing. If I can think back to when I was a younger parent, the one thing that kept us here, was the knowledge that we had the power to choose. We could do things like visit early and talk with the principal so we would have a reasonable chance of getting the school that fit our particular child's needs. The fact that we had these choices made us strong supporters of CPS.

If the Board insist on moving to a lottery system, then please at least keep the requirement that the parents physically visit and learn about the school before they are qualified to enter the lottery. Also it is only common sense that siblings continue to have enrollment priority. To make parents endure a lottery for every child would surely be demoralizing not to mention that the results could be a transportation disaster with kids from one family attending several elementary schools.

Remember that parents know what is best for their child. If you keep as much power in their hands you will end up with a much stronger school district.

Sincerely;

SCPA Outdoor Theater

I noticed that at the rear of SCPA (near the corner of 12th and Elm, they are just now installing the outdoor theater. I think they were holding off on this until they raised the money. It looks like they will extend the canopy from above the door all along the wall:

Anytime you dig aroung here, you dig up old building remnants

The bricks are the remnants of these buildings:

Pics of the demo at this corner.

New SCPA Photos

Here are a bunch of photos I took yesterday when I got into the new SCPA. The event was a thank you reception for Norma Petersen, a woman who has been involved with SCPA since 1973, and who worked with Eric Kunzel to realize this dream of a new School for the Creative and Performing Arts nearer to Music Hall.

This building is a culmination of years of dedicated work, fundraising, meetings, etc... Although I think the building design has some serious flaws, I think it will be a fantastic place for learning, and I would love for my kids to attend here.

View of parking lot from 12th and Race
 

How the building meets the sidewalk at Race and Central Parkway. Some architects cannot unlearn their suburban instincts. They cannot draw a building right up on the sidewalk, proud, where it should be, instead they must have some grass and shrubbery. Why???
 

How the building meets the Central Parkway sidewalk:
 

Approaching the entry. Better:
 

The entry behind these blocks:
 

What you see when you enter. A welcome desk to the right, theater entrance off screen to the left, and a very wide hall with glass facing the park straight ahead
 

The entry hall, with floating sculpture by artist Jessie Henson, who grew up in OTR on Orchard, and is an SCPA grad
 

Welcome desk inside and outside of glass:
 

Hallway around the theater at Elm and Central Parkway:
 

SCPA Chamber Orchestra playing Vivaldi in the theater. A nice performance space:
 

The theater:
 

Looking East out of a classroom window:
 

View of parking and OTR from cafeteria:
 

The view from this lobby towards City Hall and St Peter in Chains is excellent. One of the best things about the building is some of the views of the surrounding historic buildings. This is a nice space:
 

Dance studio. Yellow glass tints the room in the evening:

Chemistry lab with windows facing downtown:
 

Under the entry canopy looking south:
 

architectural folly:
 

no signature building these days is complete without some titanium:
 

at the front entry along Central Parkway:
 

How the corner of Elm and Central Parkway is demarcated. At least it is not with shrubbery:
 

The Elm Street elevation, mostly blank wall of the theater and gym:
 

More Elm Street elevation, approaching 12th Street:
 

This is what faces the corner of 12th and Elm where the Drop Inn Center is, and Music Hall is this way too:
 

What?:
 

This is the incompleted back entry, which faces Washington Park:
 

Visually interesting. This is kindof a courtyard surrounded on two sides by the "L" shaped building:
 

Across the street, the 1132 Bar, known to regular's as Carl's.
 

CPS Schools Competitive

Recently I posted some anectdotal information about people moving to Cincinnati specifically so that they could send their children to Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS). I thought I would follow that up with some sampling comparing selected CPS schools to other nearby public schools. I chose the schools that everyone says are the best: Sycamore, Indian Hill and Lakota, and I threw in Colerain for comparison, because I know that district pretty well. Then I chose what people say are the best of the CPS schools. I kept the information limited and simple focusing on the NCLB number (No Child Left Behind mandatory testing), a sampling or two of minority numbers, percentages of those receiving free lunch, and number of teachers with advanced degrees:

Some thoughts about this:

We are not exactly comparing apples to apples because Schiel is only to 4th grade and some go to 6th while others go to 8th. It is harder to get the high scores in the upper grades.

I think Montessori schools have more teachers with advanced degrees because it is required to teach the method.

Some people love the Montessori method but believe their scores may be artificially low because they do not teach to the test as much as in a standard classroom. I tend to agree with this claim.

The "% poor" is shorthand for students that qualify for free lunches. This is not necessarily poverty, but is just a general indicator of degree of affluence.

I included %Asian and %Black just as a general indicator. Several other categories are tracked, including White, Hispanic and or course a growing number are checking the mixed race box.

The really high and really low numbers are worth noting:

- only 59% of teachers in Indian Hill (our richest neighborhood) have advanced degrees and 41% at Colerain Middle School?

- There are relatively high percentage of Asians in Sycamore Township.

- Sayler Park has so many economically disadvantaged families? Higher than even Schiel and Winton Montessori?

- Sayler Park, Indian Hill and Sycamore have very few black students.

Schools with strong academics combined with diversity of student population:
North Avondale, Dater, Sands, Fairview, and Kilgour. GO CPS!!!

Statistics from the 08-09 year found here: reportcard.ohio.gov

Maybe I’ll do some high school comparisons next.

Camping Out for 48hrs

Parents began a line/campground Sunday evening at Fairview and other CPS schools. Fairview will begin accepting applications Tuesday night at midnight. During dinner with a good friend Sunday he recieved a text message that the line had started to form. He left the supper immediately and is about #40 in line. Unfortunately he must miss 2 days of work to make this happen. There musst be a better way:
 

Rated Excellent Again

 

Don't Camp Out

The CPS Magnet School sign-up was out of control last year. This year, applications will be accepted beginning tomorrow evening. Hopefully the lines won't start until Tuesday morning, at the earliest. According to the Enquirer, at the end of the application deadline last year, Fairview had 67 students on the waiting list for kindergarten and first grade. But keep in mind that by the time school started in the fall, only 10 were left on the list. This is because some kids get on the list, but they decide to go somewhere else, or the family moves etc...

Even last year with the 3 days of camping out, most people who showed-up to wait in line during the last hours got into the school of their choice.

SCPA Night Shot

Looking southwest with crane and waxing moon. It was more dramatic than the photo shows:

 

SCPA Progress Photos

Viewed from the SE, at Race and Central Parkway:

Close-up of the Race Street side:

You can see here the exterior design shapes. Three stories are rectalinear then the 4th floor is curved. There is a break in the massing down the right side (Race Street)as well as a one-story bump-out at the first floor:

View from Elm at the YMCA. Stage is to the left and the curving classrooms along Central Parkway to the right:

Stage left. Here you can see the stage proscenium is the tallest steel. The ramping floor for the seating is to the right. To the left is the future wall along Elm Street.

SCPA Progress Photos

SCPA under construction this morning. Photo is taken from Race Street, near 12th. As designed, this is the rear of the building:

 

To the right of the above shot. The foreground area will be a parking lot:

 

New Fairview German Language Elementary

There was an Open House Sunday. The event was dampened by the sudden death Friday of a dear teacher, Mrs. English.

Front yard:

Typical Classroom: Chemistry Lab:
Kitchen:
Backyard:
Old Carriage House in backyard, Clifton Cultural Arts Center is raising funds to rehab it:


Finishes inside are precast painted concrete.


A separate cafeteria, now they use the gym:
New gym and stage:

I have some reservations about the move, however the facilities are 100% improved over the current poorly maintained building (on Warner in Fairview). Unfortunately for us, the new school is another mile from downtown. I am not a fan of the style of the exterior, and the dumpster is located right on McAlpin, with some high, heavy duty black fencing, making it look like a prison yard. There is a landscaping committee that I am sure will be improving the severe landscaping. Same thing inside. It looks pretty severe, all hard surfaces, but will look great when covered with children's artwork etc... But it looks like it will function pretty well as intended. The interior layout is simple and manageable. The whole building seems conductive to cleanliness, order and learning. Overall, I would say a good job by the building committee and architects, especially given the constraints of State requirements, budgets etc...