Buffalo Rising Online

That question assumes that the issue is a problem the schools can solve and that they have not done anything in attempt to solve it.

I am glad to hear that they have one challenge tackled; now they can focus on student performance, teacher performance, and quality of education to stop the brain drain to the suburbs.

whynot- student performance, teacher performance, and quality education are all directly and overwhelmingly affected by poverty. Reduce poverty, improve schools, thats how the suburbs do it.

Dude, not this shit again... I retract my statement... the suburbs are evil, corporations are evil, poverty is the cause of evil suburbs and companies... my fault... I didn't mean to set off the liberal / socialist bat light, you can go back to your cave now.

Dude- relax, just pointing out how to change things, something conservatives are uncomfortable with. Scapegoating of city schools, teachers, etc. is just a diversion from facing up to the real problem, Poverty.

It isn't some crazy horse idea... all studies of student achievement or lack there of show that there is a strong and undeniable correlation between poverty and achievement. Oh wait, I forgot that people don't beleive in science anymore.

This is great. I cannot wait for Business First rankings of the school districts according to their financial management. When the suburban parents and students in those highly ranked academic school systems see how our financial management skills have impacted the reading and math scores will they be impressed. I wonder how many of them will want to follow our lead.

No one has had the guts to tell Rumore that the teachers union does not run the public school system and sthe school board...

If there is any credit, then it goes to Williams and the teachers

But I think Williams should have taken a harder line and closed more public schools. I would not have laid off teachers aids and teachers when Rumore opened his mouth or went to court....I would have announced school closings everytime Rumore opened his mouth.

According to the NYS department of education Buffalo still has to close more elementary and high schools because of dropping enrollment.

What a perfect opportunity to save those closings for Rumores next fight! Wait until the next teachers union contract is negotiated and put everything on the table, then if rumore balks close one school after another until he caves.

and if Rumore doesnt cave then call the private, parochial and charter schools, tell them your sending some students their way.

A lack of education is a form of abuse and should be treated as such...education is there for the students...not the union and the teachers.

It all comes back to poverty and an unfair distribution of wealth that punishes the less fortunate. Let's look at the problems with Buffalo:

Student performance - caused by lack of funding, lack of role models for students, and general malaise of those who realize that opportunities are sometimes only open to the rich and connected few.

School Performance - lags behind suburban schools due to a lack of funding and the need to concentrate the majority of funding to overcome student concerns related to growing up in poverty. Students will not perform well when they are concerned about where they will be living, what they will be eating, and whether or not they will survive while their family works a double shift at the mall.

Teacher Performance - The best teachers will move to the suburban schools where the students are able to focus on education instead of basic survival, and the salaries are better. The Buffalo Schools are throwing everything they can to attract and keep good teachers, but they do not have the resources or the country club lifestyle that many teachers are looking for. The teachers in the Buffalo Schools are extraordinary and should be rewarded for having the fortitude to stick with the children that the suburbs have abandoned.

Crime - Poverty breeds crime, when people have to fight for the basics they will resort to animal nature to survive. The suburbs have shut their borders and isolated themselves from poverty and crime by refusing group homes, half-way houses, section 8 housing, and low income housing. The poor are concentrated in the city and the city is accountable for addressing this extra burden without hope or help from the suburbs. In addition, the burden to the police departments are much greater in the city, and calls must be prioritized, unlike the suburbs where they will send three cars to a call about a cat in a tree or a fender bender at Eastern Hills Mall.

Racism - Racism and poverty go hand in hand. The system is not open and equal to all people regardless of race, religion, gender, etc; and the system is especially closed off to those who are poor. It is difficult enough for an African American or Hispanic woman to find a job when competing against whites, but the odds are almost insurmountable if she has to work within the constraints that poverty creates. Rich white suburban women are able to hire nannys and day care providers, while the poor urban women must face the reality that she has to be home at a certain time, and will probably have to build in time for bus travel or make arrangements with relatives and neighbors. Either way, the cards are significantly stacked against the poor in this case.

It is easy to blame the schools for lack of performance without understanding that the suburbs do play a role in the decline of the city. When you see that the school's performance is tied in with socio-economic issues, that are perpetuated by the exclusionary actions of suburban governments and residents, then you will see where we some of the problems begin. Fix the unfair distribution of wealth, and you will see improvements across the board, to all schools, rich and poor.

Quijibo, families that are poor get municipal housing, welfare, healthcare, medical, dental, heat and food to say the least. Plus needs based scholarships for private, parochial, charter and higher education.

Its funny there are other parts of Buffalo that are poor and they dont have the problems with drugs and gangs and violence.

There are other races, religions, ethnicities etc that come to public schools and they still manage to graduate and get into college.

Dont blame teacher performance on teachers....the problems with public school teachers come from communist era central planning that wont let go of public schools and lets also not forget teachers unions that exploit the centralized buracracy. Small independent private, parochial and charter schools do much better with students of all types because the students dont feel warehoused in buracracy that lets them be in control.

Put the blame where it belongs on the breakdown of the black family that was caused in large part by welfare rewarding teen mothers who use welfare as a form of financial independence, absent sperm donor fathers and single mothers, rewarding drug and alcohol abuse because there is a safety net to catch them, etc.

Its not a city-suburb problem, its not a poverty problem, its not a racist problem, its not a crime problem....its a psychological and emotional problem in black and minorities. Children have to go to school to want to learn, they have to want to read, they have to want to do math....teachers cannot force feed education like one sticks a tube down an anorexic and force feeds them.

You quijibo are part of the problem because minorities will never assimilate the love of knowledge and achievement as long as their mind and emotions are hell bent on victimization and the refusal that its someone elses problem to fix.

Buffalo19thcentury- Many poor are working at low paying jobs and have not had the same opportunities that middle class Americans take for granted. Here in Black Rock the poor are white and drugs, alcohol, and sometimes violence are a part of life. Poverty degrades all, white, black, whatever. Private, Parochial, and Charters do better because parents are involved. I am very curious about one of your comments, When exactly was America's communist era?