Charlotte Mecklenburg School System makes national recognition, but this time the system?s public relations office is scrambling. Time Magazine broke this story today, and again the integrity of reporting from government schools is questioned.
Seems Myers Park High School, known for high academic performance, has a history of removing lower performing students from their student body. Therefore sanitizing the over all performance of the school. This obviously led to numerous national and state accolades.
The news story leads us to several issues of concern.
First and foremost is the falsifying of documents. Forcing a student to leave a school, and then documenting the student transferred to another state is wrong, it?s lying. The system must hold someone accountable and disciplinary action should occur. It is never right to lie, to misrepresent the facts then falsify documents.
What really bothers me is how some blame accountability as rationale for lying; therefore, the accountability program is the culprit. OK ? so let?s just stop holding folks accountable and then integrity would not be a problem. Right? Give me a break!
However, should administrators hold students accountable for behavior and performance? The article clearly states this ?struggling? student ?had racked up several disciplinary suspensions? for disruptive behavior. Obviously Myers Park High School was not meeting this student?s need, and the Principal felt compelled to make sure the student found another school.
One of the problems with government schools is they are asked to meet all students? needs, at all locations, all the time.  Meeting that expectation is impossible to accomplish, but if school administrators do not comply then attorneys and advocacy organizations are quickly contacted. The system caves to the whims of the political correct agenda to avoid expensive lawsuits and slanted media stories. Education swiftly goes out the door.
The answer is for schools to specialize in what they do best, and make it known. A good example is the magnet school in Gaston County, Highland School of Technology. This is a school of choice. A student cannot even apply unless they meet high entrance criteria. By the way, this school has a graduation rate of 97.7 percent, and a huge waiting list to attend.
What is the difference between schools? One is honest with the public regarding their mission; one is trying to do the impossible.