Friday, September 10, 1999
Magnet plan reaction mixed
Idea proposed for schools in Covington
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — A proposal to create magnet schools in Covington was met with cautious interest Thursday by parents, teachers and principals who said they want to focus on meeting students' basic educational needs before starting new programs.
School board member Jim Vogt proposed the idea as a possible way to improve the district's historically low scores on state tests by allowing teachers to experiment with different teaching methods.
“There is no longer the assumption that the neighborhood school is best,” Mr. Vogt said Thursday at a meeting of the school board at First District Elementary School. “Not all children learn the same way or have the same interests.”
And not all parents are content to send their children to the public school around the corner.
A study released Tuesday by the university-based Policy Analysis for California Education showed 7 million children entering alternative public school programs this month and another 5 million bound for private schools.
Cincinnati Public Schools' magnet programs have been popular among many parents, triggering long lines to register children for the various schools. But critics worry that the magnets have flourished at the expense of some of the neighborhood schools.
With nearly one in four students nationally attending a school other than their neighborhood public school, school choice is clearly a popular option.
Mr. Vogt's plan would create a specialty program — Montessori, computer technology, foreign language, fine arts — at each of Covington's six elementary schools and let parents choose a program for their children.
Latonia Elementary kindergarten teacher Sue Neltner said a magnet approach won't work until the district meets students' needs.
“When kids come in hungry, tired and dirty, they are not going to learn,” Ms. Neltner said. “There is a lack of respect by many parents toward teachers and education.
“There are many things we are overlooking because some one wants a new program.”
On the latest test scores released by the state, only one Covington school scored above the national average of 50. Sixth District Elementary scored a 55 on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills given to third-, sixth- and ninth-graders last spring. Six other schools posted marks below the national average.
Carmella Watts, who has two sons and a daughter in the schools, said she does not think the children are learning what they need to know.
“The kids really do need to learn the basics, like keeping their hands to themselves,” Ms. Watts said. “My two boys are in trouble a lot in school because they know they won't be punished. But they don't learn.”
Mr. Vogt said he wants teachers and students to “unleash their creativity.” That could mean letting a school with a special knack for technology programs, such as First District, become a technology magnet.
Board member Mike Fitzgerald said the city does not need magnets to create specialized programs because they already exist. First District has a media lab and television studio. Latonia has an advanced placement program.
“We need to improve what we have and get back to the basics,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.
Magnet schools could be a mechanism for emphasizing basic reading, math and science skills, said Sixth District Principal Tony Ross.
“I'm up for something new, for something that will dramatically change how we teach,” Dr. Ross said. “I think sometimes we are missing with the learning styles. We need to look at how children learn.”
First District is making an extra push on reading this year by implementing the Success for All reading program. That effort, coupled with the school's emphasis on technology is a precursor of what Mr. Vogt would like to develop.
The district will continue to explore the option of school choice.
“Families are making choices,” board Chairman Col Owens said. “If we do have an opportunity to create or form options to keep people in our schools, then maybe it can work.”
Gannett News Service contributed.
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