At the BUDGET HEARING I got a nifty little spreadsheet prepared by JESSE JAEGER, highlighting several variables. All the data was compiled from the LPS FY12 BUDGET posted on-line and the Mass DOE Website.
There was a tremendous dollar differential between the two schools at opposite ends with SHOEMAKER at the top spending $7389 per student whereas FORD at $4,202 was spent per student. Good reasons were given to explain why SHOEMAKER was so needy. Those darn special needs kids just cost so much money.
Okay, that stops the argument or does it? Who is going to argue with the needs of Special Need? Not me, no sir. But when you look a little closer at some parallel numbers, a darker picture is painted.
SHOEMAKER is almost 60% white whereas FORD is only11.3% white. The Student/Staff ratio is5.9 at SHOEMAKER versus 13.1 at FORD. I wonder what justify these differences. I guess we are saying that the SPECIAL NEEDS population is mostly white.
Funny I volunteered in the LIBRARY at Ford last year and it was right next to a SPECIAL NEEDS class and it seemed that most of them were non-white. It was the INFAMOUS COACH K'S class and after he was FIRED, most of the year they had two aides and a teacher. Not to mention after the unpopular termination, a BEHAVIOR "BIG BUCKS" SPECIALIST spent a lot of time in the classroom so that's got to skew the numbers upward and there is still this HUGH discrepancy.
IF WE ARE TRYING TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO BE COLOR-BLIND, THEN SOMEONE NEEDS TO CHECK THEIR GLASSES.
Oh yeah, that was the class with a certain aide who had a certain mother that I wasn't supposed to talk about lest I get fired. Wait, I don't even have a volunteer job, they replaced me.
You understand I hope that all the acute autistic children going to Shoemaker are kids from across Lynn and not just that neighborhood! Did you check that the special needs kids are all white in the school??? and note that their student/teacher ratio is 1 on 1 which change the ratio for the whole school?
ReplyDeleteMy son went to Shoemaker for five years and is biracial. He was in the COACH program and had a 1:1 for some years there. Few kids in the program have a 1:1 but I will agree the ratios are MUCH lower than an average class. I believe you are not much better at MATH than me. I am only questioning if the students actually receiving services are actually representative of our city's diverse population.
ReplyDeleteStanley, where are you? Nothing to write about? No new blog entries in 3 days. Does the cat have your tongue?
ReplyDeleteDid you say "Cathe got your tongue?". Nah, baby-mama drama. Mine, not hers.
ReplyDelete