To Be or Not To Be Varick Memorial Booker T. Washington Academy, New Haven, CT

   
To be, or not to be, that is the question Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles, Hamlet.  To deny a child an adequate education could be in a sense suicide. Undoubtedly the supporters of the proposal for Booker T. Washington Academy by, Reverend Eldren D. Morrison of Varick Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, repeatedly claimed a panacea.  Support fueled by choice from the parents who provided their person contributions, community commitment from advisors to the Mayor of New Haven, - Toni Harp, CEO Dr. Michael Sharpe – Jumoke Academy Charter Schools of Hartford, speaking to a collaborative effort, and including Dr. Karen DuBois-Walton Executive Director of the Housing Authority of New Haven.

After sitting through the Booker T. Washington Charter School Hearing this evening it became startling apparent that someone in the United States parents, church leaders, government officials and educational specialists remain in the “land of decision making” regarding necessary options for providing education to our youth. What is education – the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction at a school or university.  What is the debate or the concern regarding opening another school if the bottom is or should be about promoting education?  Well there’s always the financial impact of such a production. Vouchers that enable students to pay private tuition and charter schools which are publicly funded independent schools.  Would yet another charter school create pressure on public schools to improve?  Let us not forget about the 1964 Brown decision by the U.S. Supreme court – is desegregation still a stepping/slipping stone in the valley of this decision?  If the law of the land is or should be ‘no child left behind” would this new opportunity have any merit?

MsConcerned

Definitions

Post Secondary Education -  is the education that someone would get after their basic education required by the State Department of Education. Post Secondary education usually is college, or tech school. It can also include an internship as part of their education.

Lottery – a means of raising money by selling numbered tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers drawn at random. 

Magnet school lottery - districts use an integration standard that is a composite measure of educational need.  Student applications are divided into two groups:  Educationally Disadvantaged and Educationally Advantaged.  Students will be considered in the first group if they qualify for the free/reduced federal lunch program, are English Language Learners, or reside in income restricted housing.  Students will be considered in the second group if they do not meet any of these three criteria.  A computerized random number generator will be used to assign lottery numbers to students in the two groups.  Selection for magnet schools is based on a student’s lottery number as well as categorical status.

Magnet School – public school offering special instructions and programs not available elsewhere, designed to attract a more diverse student body from throughout the school district.