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Parent Answers to "How do public schools in VA rate compared to Missouri schools?"
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I had very mixed feelings about our public schools when my sons were in them. The curriculum often was... routine, nothing special. What made for a good school year and a better school was the teacher teaching and the principal at the helm. If we had a good teacher - one who seemed to enjoy children and enjoy teaching - it was a good school year despite the routine curriculum.
A good principal set a good tone in the school - he set a welcoming tone for parents and teachers alike and he helped everybody to feel everything was ok - no need to worry or get upset - there was a leader at the helm.
But I took wonder how happy people really are with public education - we talk about it Constantly in this country - it's on every President's 'agenda' and has been since the Eisenhower administration yet little changes. I like the charter school movement regardless of the fact that some charter schools have shown themselves corrupt as well as bad schools. I like school choice. The charter school movement and school choice offer some hope on the horizon.
A good principal set a good tone in the school - he set a welcoming tone for parents and teachers alike and he helped everybody to feel everything was ok - no need to worry or get upset - there was a leader at the helm.
But I took wonder how happy people really are with public education - we talk about it Constantly in this country - it's on every President's 'agenda' and has been since the Eisenhower administration yet little changes. I like the charter school movement regardless of the fact that some charter schools have shown themselves corrupt as well as bad schools. I like school choice. The charter school movement and school choice offer some hope on the horizon.
There's no easy answer to such a big question. Some of the answer would be - it depends on what you're looking for. And each school is an entity unto itself - a good principal can take a school in the worst place and turn it into a good school.
And the only tool we have right now to measure schools by are their own standardized tests - there is no national test given to schools in different states. There is the SAT but to judge schools by their SAT scores would be a weak measure at best.
What might happen in the ideal world would be that schools would offer parents - and the community at large- satisfaction surveys. I'd love to know what percentage of parents are happy with their child's school - some think that's a badly needed missing statistic when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of schools.
All we seem to know right now is that the more affluent the neighborhood, the better the school seems to be.
And the only tool we have right now to measure schools by are their own standardized tests - there is no national test given to schools in different states. There is the SAT but to judge schools by their SAT scores would be a weak measure at best.
What might happen in the ideal world would be that schools would offer parents - and the community at large- satisfaction surveys. I'd love to know what percentage of parents are happy with their child's school - some think that's a badly needed missing statistic when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of schools.
All we seem to know right now is that the more affluent the neighborhood, the better the school seems to be.
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