More charter schools are poised to open in the City of Rochester. The Rochester school board held a public hearing recently for Exploration Elementary Charter School for Science and Technology. And the State Education Department is reviewing an application for Rochester Charter School for Applied Technology. Locations for both haven’t been selected yet.
Exploration Elementary should open for kindergarten and first grade in 2016, pending final approval from State Ed. The school would eventually grow to a kindergarten through third-grade school with about 475 students.
Rochester Charter would open in August 2016 with a lower grade, and eventually serve kindergarten to grade 12.
Both Exploration and Rochester Charter would emphasize science, math, and technology, representatives say, but still include music and the arts. Some attempts to open science and technology schools locally and nationally, however, either as charters or traditional public schools, haven’t gone well, partly from a lack of enrollment.
“We’re not trying to make little scientists out of them,” says Kevin Williams, a spokesperson for Exploration Elementary. “We believe that scientific inquiry can to lead to all kinds of things. It opens the mind.”
Williams says that cultivating an early interest in science is critical.
“People understand that trying to start a school like this later for students without any experience in science and technology is hard,” Williams says. “We believe there is a natural curiosity in students at a young age.”
If the two STEM-oriented charters are approved, it would increase the number of charter schools in Monroe County from 14 to 16. Two of the schools are located in Greece, but most are in the Rochester City School District. And Joe Klein, founder of E3Rochester, says that there are at least two more in the pipeline for the city. (E3 identifies exceptional charter schools around the country and tries to emulate them in the City of Rochester.)
“Our goal is every child in Rochester deserves a great education,” Klein says. And he doesn’t mince words about the failures of the Rochester school district or its board at meeting that standard.
Klein says he hopes that when parents have plenty of options for high-quality charter schools and more parents and students leave the district, public education in Rochester will reach a tipping point. The district will be forced to improve, he says.
Rochester schools superintendent Bolgen Vargas has warned on several occasions that charter and private schools are causing a steady enrollment decline in city schools.
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 6, 2015.
Poverty Pimps Paradise! Magnification of decades of black leadership failure…
Every time I read a statement bashing the RCSD, all I can think about is what people who do the bashing think is the problem? Do they think RCSD hires bums off the streets as opposed to qualified, college educated teachers? Do they think RCSD is teaching kids math on antiquated technology like an abacus? What, what do they think the problem is?
The only reason charter schools are “high-quality” is because they can pick and choose who goes there, and have some freedom when it comes to weeding out trouble making kids. As a city resident I would attempt to get my kids into charter schools, but at the same time I’m not going to dog the RCSD. I did two internships while in college at the RCSD and the reasons why the kids flunk out more than the burbs is glaringly obvious. IT’S THE KIDS…. I didn’t see such disruptive behavior and lack of respect in a school setting while I was growing up out in the burbs.
“”Our goal is every child in Rochester deserves a great education,” Klein says. And he doesn’t mince words about the failures of the Rochester school district or its board at meeting that standard.
Klein says he hopes that when parents have plenty of options for high-quality charter schools and more parents and students leave the district, public education in Rochester will reach a tipping point. The district will be forced to improve, he says.”
I would advice parents to place their kids in charters, sadly. It is chaotic in the schools. This is the truth, if you are allergic to the truth, stop reading this post.
Safety is the biggest issue on the table right now. The nation has concocted this “no suspension” regime and the results are dire. Instead of offering realistic options, staff and students face violence and mayhem EVERYDAY. Drugs and weapons are collected quietly and its business as usual. Charters don’t tolerate such nonsense from students. They toss them out so that other public schools can scoop them up. Now ask yourself which school would you rather have your kid attend?!
Principals don’t want their buildings labeled as dangerous so they avoid suspensions and arrests like the plague. Teachers won’t file assault paper work because they are scared to upset the principal and the chaotic cycle of FUBAR continues. No one is taking responsibility. Even the teachers unions are playing dumb. They have made a deal with the devil and are stepping all over each other. The union is more concerned about the October breast cancer walk than the teachers that they “serve”.
Kids are being bullied, threatened while sitting next to gang members who make it their business to stall learning and this is allowed EVERY SINGLE DAY.
So charters will always shine in Rochester. Send your kid to the closest one unless your child isn’t special Ed, misbehaves you should be ok