Education reform isn't easy and the New York Times reports on some of the problems the Harlem Children's Zone faces and questions the extra money spent on the holistic approach to helping their students graduate:
LINK. The school spends about $16,000 per student a year for each student while the average city school spends $14,452 per student. Unlike other charters, HCZ offers classes for expectant parents, afters school programs, support for community home-ownership initiatives alongside healthcare for every student with the idea that all of these factors help middle-class students succeed and are lacking in struggling communities. So the gains have been modest compared to city wide schools at this point but better than the average local public school and the article questions whether all the extra money spent is worth it in comparison to other lower cost charters. Based on yesterday's Gothamist post, New York does not seem to be funding poor neighborhoods fairly with about $3,000 less compared to wealthier areas (so maybe the extra funds do help balance things out):
LINK. Photo courtesy Robert Stolarik.
$14,452 seriously? I just Googled the average cost of an inmate in NY state depending on where you get your information from it is between 45 and 55 thousand dollars. NY and America need to get there priorities straight.
ReplyDeleteMinority school districts seem to be black holes of finance. What accounts for the discrepancy in educating the average student ($14,452) versus the minority student ($16,000)? And why can't the minority student be educated for the same amount of money?
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to always talk about needing more money but how are they managing the money they do receive? And is the administration top heavy on salary? I am anxious to see the situation playout in Newark with the grant given by Zuckerberg to the Newark Public School System.
Thomas—if you are curious enough go to the DoE website and shuffle around through it and you will find a lot of info re: $
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