The Man Missed the Point

From the September 12th Chicago Tribune "CPS students a voucher away from unreal schools" by John Kass.

Mr. Kass is a columnist in the Chicago Tribune and very anti-Chicago Teachers Union as is the Tribune.  Of course, he got a lot of fodder from the recent strike.

CTU President Karen Lewis, at the beginning of the strike said that "real school" would be closed.  Kass starts off with "Real school?  You mean that public system where four of 10 students don't graduate?"

He then visits a South Side school, Leo High School, where 100 percent of the students graduate and are accepted into college.  It is a Roman Catholic  all-boys school that draws from a poor neighborhood made of mostly black students.

He goes on to paint what a wonderful place it is with its 160 students and $7,500 tuition.

I am sure Leo is a fantastic school as I gather from the column.  It would have to be with that number of students and that amount of tuition, especially considering that parents pay that amount above what they pay for the public schools.  Even if they get assistance in the tuition, these are parents that actually are really involved in their children's education.

If the Chicago Public Schools had this kind of parental support (and not those who are great at mouthing their concerns but not willing to back it up), I can assure you, the public schools would do much better.

Plus, I have to believe there is at least some sort of a selection process to get into Leo. You don't just show up and get admitted as in the public schools.

But the public schools do not get to "cherry-pick" their students.

Let's see, here's a student committed to doing well in school with parents who back him up.  Hey, I want that kid in my class.

It's a Parental Thing.