A school with promise and a union

http://lindanathan.com/2011/03/31/a-school-with-promise/

Par for the course, my mentor beautifully sifts through the conflicting issues of present day reform agendas and describes a balanced view of authentic success in one public school.  With each passing year I am increasingly impressed with how Linda engages school reform issues with humility and deep appreciation for the "whole" child school experience.  Furthermore, her skepticism about non union systems is rooted in almost 40 years of experience worthy of great respect.  On this final day of Women's History Month, it seems appropriate to honor her voice with this blog post.  Linda has been a progressive educator throughout her entire career.  She was working to create lasting reforms in systems many years before this work has been made en vogue by Teach For America.  Most important, she IS a school leader of a great, innovative high school.  A school where arts and academics are weighted equally - The Boston Arts Academy.  The school is not designed to be all things to all students.  It is one great school.  In today's world it is an anomaly because it values the arts in so many meaningful ways.  I can't help think there are still many lessons to be learned from BAA and Linda about effective school reform and curriculum development.  If nothing else, it seems schools like BAA and leaders like Linda are deserving of much credibility in the debate about school reform.  Much more so than righteous TFAers with light resumes.   Why shouldn't we be looking to create systems where more anomalies like BAA and leaders like Linda can flourish? Why aren't the cautious tales told by these schools and their leaders about the impact of present day reforms on schools being heard?  Sadly, I am increasingly convinced the unspoken end game of present day reform initiatives is to defund public school institutions and force them to privatize their services.  This will work well for some kids.  The story of privatization in other markets tells us this will not work well for all kids.