Gothamist: Gates Gives Up $51 Million For NYC Schools

mr. sumanta sengupta

Mon, 09 Feb 2004 05:25:02 -0500

I want the personal email address of bill gates. i want to congratulate him for his works. Thanks, sumanta sengupta

skutchie

Thu, 18 Sep 2003 21:49:41 -0500

I went to one of those large failing NYC public HS, and having gone to see some of the new small schools, and the interaction of the staff, with the principals and the students, I can say that I would have been much better off in that environment, rather than a number in my graduating class of over 1000 students. It really is nice to see this change, and the embrassing of these smaller more personalized, more human ways of meeting student needs.

Peter

Thu, 18 Sep 2003 21:36:39 -0500

as someone who teaches in one of the New Century High Schools, I can only applaude the Gates Foundation contribution. I've seen the changes a small school environment can have on students. But when the powers that be (klein and bloomy) start mandating standardized curriculum (i.e. a set plan, day by day) for schools that have not even had a graduating class, they are able to defeat a powerful force before it could even get off the ground

Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

Thu, 18 Sep 2003 14:30:17 -0500

It would be damn nice if Microsoft would stop getting special tax exemptions from Washington state. The damn company pays almost no taxes to the state and then bitches about the local school system.

callalillie

Thu, 18 Sep 2003 12:26:51 -0500

I'm not so sure about that, Neil. While I have little or no faith in the DOE, the creation of new small high schools through a systemic change program has proven effective. The New Century High Schools Initiate in NYC isn't just slapping new schools onto the map-- it actually begins with changing how districts/regions go about creating and maintaining schools effectively. The new schools go through an intense 16-18 month planning process before they open with a large amount of professional development and assistance from outside organizations and local partners. In addition, these schools are part of a campus model, which means that 4-5 small schools will replace (through yearly phasing out) failing large zoned high schools. It seems to me that generalization of all higher level administrators is rather ignorant. There are, of course, those who do act in the manor that you describe, just as there are ineffective people anywhere. Additionally, studies have found that the larger portion of teachers leaving urban school systems are leaving the profession all together, not moving to the suburbs. While suburban schools may pay more and have better facilitites, they still have many of the same problems that you cite. Being a teacher is a hard job where ever you are.

neil

Thu, 18 Sep 2003 11:47:08 -0500

f bill gates. it doesn't matter how much money people give to the schools, when the people in charge (principals, superwhatevers) do their best to squash the up beat attitutdes of new teachers, just cause it gives them a power trip, and makes the caring of kids secondary. we need to clean house, and no amount of money or rebranding of districts and curiculum is going to do jack squat when there are teachers who have lost the reason they became a teacher. and for most of them sadly was to get summers off. no wonder all the good teachers go to the burbs, they are appreciated there /vent