My O My. What a difference new leadership and a few years can make.

Just in case you may have missed this big news from yesterday. . . and, as always, Thank You for visiting my blog.

From Andrew Marra at the Post is this news; here are the first 3 paragraphs from the article:

Palm Beach County’s traditional public schools saw their biggest influx of new students in more than a decade this school year, [emphasis added] as parents reversed a years-long trend by overwhelmingly choosing district-operated schools over charter schools.
     The number of students attending county public schools – both district-run schools and charters – passed the 190,000 mark this year. And for the first time this decade, the vast majority of the new growth went to district-run schools.
     That’s an abrupt turnaround from only a few years ago, when the county’s charter schools dominated new growth, setting off panic among school district leaders and prompting a marketing push to convince parents to reconsider traditional schools.

Now the looming question is whether or not Tom Sutterfield will run again.

Mr. Sutterfield is a proponent of charter schools and that was part of his platform. He lost in 2014 to Erica Whitfield and lost again in 2016 to Barbara McQuinn. Stay tuned as they say. The 3rd time just might be the charm but a change of position on the issue of charter schools might help get a few more votes.

Even though Tom Sutterfield got the Post endorsement, Erica Whitfield won easily in 2014. Was the issue of charter schools a factor? Whitfield is an outspoken supporter of traditional public schools.

Here is a comment that was left by bbswpb1 responding to Andrew Marra’s article:

As a former high school teacher, it was completely obvious that charters would find ways to "weed out" the students who were unlikely to perform well and send them back to the district schools, who had no such option. Anyone who believes that charter schools perform better (which, in general, is a false belief itself) because of teaching methods rather than the ability to select their students (not initially, but through expulsions) is an imbecile.
     How come, whenever we hear about the great success story charter schools (about 5% of the total) like KIPP--where they "hold students to high standards" and "demand more involvement by students and parents"--we never hear about how they deal with the students and families who refuse to meet those demands? Because they send them back to the district schools, that's why. (But they don't send the money with them--the district has to sue to get it back.)
     The claim that charter schools are better because they don't have the same restrictions as and are more flexible than the district schools is not an argument for charter schools; it is an argument for fewer restrictions and regulations on the district schools.

Well put bbswpb1. Very well put. However, the word “imbecile” was a little over-the-top. But you can be excused. You’re very passionate about this issue.

And as far as Mr. Sutterfield goes he deserves a lot of credit. It takes a lot for someone to enter the political arena and fight for what they believe in. Theodore Roosevelt had something to say about “The Man in the Arena”. So when’s the next seat on the Palm Beach County School Board up for election?