For generations, the Rochester city school system has been plagued by a number of issues that ultimately affect students’ ability to thrive both on the path to graduation and in their future.
Here are some of the core issues that need to be addressed to ensure all students leave the Rochester city schools prepared for success.
ISSUE 1: Accountability
Consider the facts.
Just 13% of Rochester students mastered the math and English Language Arts skills appropriate for their grade level in 2019, the last year of testing prior to pandemic school closings.
One in three Rochester high school students does not graduate from high school on time. Most years, roughly one in five students drops out without earning a diploma.
Those who do earn a diploma have often been tracked into less rigorous programs that do not prepare them for college or the workforce.
Yet despite years of failure, the system lacks accountability for those responsible for improving outcomes for students at all levels from the classroom to the school board.
We need a system that accepts responsibility and delivers on this community’s expectations.
ISSUE 2: Resources
Rochester’s poor outcomes come despite the district receiving considerably more financial resources than neighboring school districts.
The district’s $840 million budget amounts to roughly $36,000 per student in the district – more than twice the national average.
Much of this funding is intended to support students with significant needs and schools that serve students who need extra support to succeed academically.
Yet a lack of basic budget controls and oversight means that too often those dollars do not translate into resources to support the students who most need them.
We need a system that responsibly uses its funding to invest in programs and resources that will set our children up for success.
ISSUE 3: Preparedness
All too often, even those students who do graduate from the Rochester city school system leave high school unprepared for their future.
According to New York State’s Aspiration Performance Measure, less than 3 percent of Rochester graduates leave high school prepared for college.
As a result, many are not equipped to pursue their dream of a higher education or enter the workforce. Those who do enroll in college often have to enroll in remedial courses to relearn basic skills they should have mastered to earn their diploma.
That translates to time and money lost trying to repair the failures of a broken school system.
Our children deserve an education system that will prepare them for the brightest possible future.
ISSUE 4: Culture
The root cause of these issues is what Distinguished Educator Jaime Aquino described as a “a culture of fear and intimidation starting at the top with the school board and superintendent, and spreading down through all levels of the organization… a culture that depresses staff morale, inhibits innovation, delays projects, and saps energy.”
Decisions are driven by adult interests, not student needs.
Innovative teachers and school leaders often face difficulty implementing programs that will benefit their students. Those who are successful often find themselves in the crosshairs, with too many of the most promising programs dismantled rather than scaled to serve more students.
A bloated central office means that classroom teachers and students do not get the resources they need to be successful.
It’s an environment many describe as toxic, and it’s time we stop poisoning our children.
ISSUE 5: Parent and Community Engagement
In the face of these problems, little effort has been made to solicit input and solutions from those who know our children the best – parents.
Many parents describe feeling shut out of the system. They find few people willing to hear their concerns.
Those parents who can successfully voice their concerns are often ignored.
The time has come to hear their voices.