Bruno: Hidden Ripple Effects From School Closures

The decision by the Missouri Board of Education to shut down the charter schools in the state run by Imagine Schools, Inc. is obviously going to be rough for the students currently enrolled at the six affected sites. If anything, though, the article understates the breadth of the problem by focusing on the fact that "[m]ore than 3,500 students will be displaced." 

That's because while school switches are typically most difficult for the students doing the switching, it can also be a challenge for the receiving school. This is especially true if the school invests heavily in establishing standard academic expectations, behavioral norms, or a sense of community. Such investments can be immensely helpful in promoting student success and maximizing instructional time, but they are also undermined by the arrival of new students to whom the standards and expectations may be entirely new. After all, much of the point of establishing school-wide culture - or even a classroom culture - is to avoid having to continuously dedicate time to creating it from scratch.

I've sometimes wondered if closing schools shouldn't be phased out in much the same way that new schools are often phased in, so that at least some students are able to finish their careers at a school before making the transition to a new site. I don't know enough to know how feasible that would be - I can see that money and staff morale could both be a problem - but if the accountability movement sustains its momentum or if district budgets are further strained, school closures are going to continue to disrupt many, many students' lives. - PB (@MrPABruno) (image source)

Comments

[Queen]

As institutions are still failing, the accountability processes previously insinuated over the last decade must be "modernized" to enhance the monitoring relationships for the child's developmental and educational needs. The "Transition processes" is necessarily reviewed by parents ongoingingly to assure that any and all impacts to be experienced is evolving a mangerial accountability (which does by the way impact positively achievement objectivities and the ensuing modifications.)

When circumstances and factors beget a process due to unwieldly persistent negativity, families apprised of plans and factors necessary to bring about positive changes for their children must have schedules developed implanting the child's needs, enhancing their flexibility and and importing to the Board the task of assuring system wide accountability enabling individual parental accountability and respect as taskmasters.

Partnerships with systems must assure that the development of a liasion insures reciprocality to administrative parents
conversant with systemic skills and accountable relationships. This step (in my estimate) assure that schools educational processes and achievement progress is responsive to the objectivities desired for the participants.

[Mary]

It's interesting that you are finally moved to speak, to protest the closing down of a corrupt charter chain.

[Paul]

@Mary - It's interesting that you assume I'm protesting the closing of the charter chain.

[Sarah]

I was never forced to switch schools, a situation for which I deem myself fortunate. My hometown's school district did want to do it to save money, but the citizens' outcry stopped it from happening when it was revealed that the school they wanted to send us to would have to bring in trailers and double the student/teacher ratios. It has to be a nightmare for all involved.