Setting the record straight

One reason why I'm starting this blog on public education in Syracuse is I often see posts in the East Side Moms Facebook group from individuals asking about the various school districts in Central New York. For example, they may be moving to the area and looking for a "good" or even one of the "best" school districts for their child or children. Often, many of the respondents suggest school districts like Fayetteville-Manlius, Jamesville-Dewitt, and Skaneateles, which are frequently highly ranked in different assessments of top school school districts (and plus, these districts have good results for things like standardized testing, graduation rates, number of AP classes, etc.). Or they say something along the lines of, "Well any suburban school district in Central New York will be excellent...it's really the city schools that are cause for concern." 

While I don't deny that all or most of the suburban schools provide students with an excellent education, I also take issue with the notion and seemingly conventional wisdom that the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) is a sub-par school district that no parent that cares a bit about their child (or children) would dare send their child to. I understand that many of the children that attend the schools in this district face challenges like poverty (and extreme poverty in many cases) and the various issues associated with poverty (for example, learning challenges, a lack of parental involvement with homework, absentee problems), but I firmly believe these difficulties do not makes a school district and its students any less worthy than its/their economically better off counterparts. 

In fact, in my opinion all of these challenges make me believe that the SCSD could truly benefit from an outpouring of support from the community (including constructive criticism and a willingness to be part of solutions) to ensure that all children in our region have the opportunity to thrive, succeed, and be respected - regardless of the situation they were born into. So, one of my goals with this blog is to showcase the reality of our school district - including the amazing benefits that come with a student body that is diverse as heck (in terms of race, religion, abilities, backgrounds, and life challenges) - as well as be part of the effort to address the problems that do exist. I will do this not by running away from the problems but by facing them head on, as an active parent within this district.