Philadelphia schools have $5/student/year for supplies

[navarro]

@aikimo

If, in Texas (where I’m from, btw!, and know some very devoted educators there), the money doesn’t follow the student, then I think that’s a big mistake, and can lead, especially in under-funded districts, to the kind of disparities that you’re quite right to be concerned about.

this is indeed why i am so concerned about the situation. in texas the funding for charter schools does not come from a voucher system where the money follows the child directly but from the general education fund. federal money follows the student based on attendance but state money is distributed in blocks. looking back on the whole thread i do want to make clear that i am a 20 year veteran teacher. i taught 6th grade math for 13 years and have taught 6th grade science for the past 7. i chose to work in the middle grades because i felt that i could make the most difference there. by the time the kids get to high school the student’s path is all too often set in stone. i try hard to make a difference in my kids lives and their education so they can have high quality experiences with school to help carry them over the difficult times i know are ahead for so many of them.

@MarjaE

I got labelled emotionally disturbed* so they didn’t have to deal with the bullying and I got transferred to another high school. I was bullied even worse in the second high school, and beaten up on a regular basis, and beaten unconscious by rumored neo-Nazis.

that is a terrible outcome and the behavior of the school district you were in was illegal and dangerous. i am so sorry that this happened to you. the school district my younger son was in was the one i described above that had engaged in the practice of trying to trick parents into having their kids dismissed so they jam them up in an alternative educational placement. they tried to do that with my younger son who was also labelled emotionally disturbed. we got lawyers at no cost to us through advocacy inc. and brought the t.e.a. in and taught the district the price for such conduct. i don’t know how long ago this happened but it might not be too late to sue the district for their conduct.

[aikimo]

@navarro

federal money follows the student based on attendance but state money is distributed in blocks. looking back on the whole thread i do want to make clear that i am a 20 year veteran teacher. i taught 6th grade math for 13 years and have taught 6th grade science for the past 7. i chose to work in the middle grades because i felt that i could make the most difference there. by the time the kids get to high school the student’s path is all too often set in stone. i try hard to make a difference in my kids lives and their education so they can have high quality experiences with school to help carry them over the difficult times i know are ahead for so many of them.

Junior High. “The Shit.” You have my respect, sir. Your reasoning behind your choice is also admirable. I think too much of what students go through is set in stone. I’m glad you’re out there and I wish you all the best.

[MarjaE]

1994-1997.

[navarro]

i appreciate the positive thoughts and the compliment. the importance of education for the future of our world and our society is something i feel we can definitely agree on despite any disagreements we might have on the margins.