Sunday, February 8, 2009

Boarding Schools. A Viable Solution?

On my way to church this morning, I listened to Former Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. and Pat Washington's talk radio show where the topic of conversation was about the proposed closing of 30 schools in the St. Louis Public School District. (The St. Louis American newspaper wrote about the proposed school closings -- click here to read article.)

The interesting discussion included Washington suggesting that some of the closed schools could be used as boarding schools. She explained that boarding schools will enable children to be placed in a better living environment, which could lead to improved educational outcomes.

To support her beliefs and perhaps dispel any negative connotations associated with the concept of boarding schools, she also noted that boarding schools are commonly used by more affluent families with positive outcomes.

The added bonus is that the school buildings will not stand vacant and will once again serve the educational needs of the surrounding community.

I strongly believe any successful educational reform must address what goes on after the dismissal bell rings and our children go home. Too many of our children go home to environments where the adults in their life are unable (perhaps they just don't know what to do or how to do it) or unwilling (perhaps their focus is elsewhere) to do what's necessary to foster academic achievement at home.

Examples would be such basics as reading to a child at bedtime, beginning with toddlers to encourage the love of books; checking homework assignments every school night (and providing supplemental educational materials to assist a child struggling in a specific subject); making sure a child goes to bed early enough that a good night's rest leads to an attentive child in the classroom; serving healthy breakfasts and dinners (there are children living in households where the school is their main source of food); setting high expectations for a child; providing a safe and nurturing home life; and serving as a child's educational advocate when needed.

Those parents able to do the basics tend to see their children succeeding in spite of schools facing limited resources and other challenges.

If the solution to improved academic achievement was just about fixing the schools, then children moved from poor performing schools to better performing schools would do better. The data does not support this premise. This is proven by previous reports and data showing that, generally speaking, children from the city bused to suburban schools (with more resources) do not do any better on standardized tests than their counterparts in the city schools.

A combined residential and educational facility that fosters academic achievement by nurturing the child's mind, body and spirit may be a viable solution.