I couldn't find out exactly which school the writer works at (I'm sure he wishes to remain anonymous as much as possible), however I was able to dig up some other data.
Given this I find little evidence to support the contention that Bronx schools need more money. I think it's quite likely that important things (like supplies and building maintenance) aren't being paid for, but I don't see evidence that this is due to lack of funds rather than mismanagement.
> Given this I find little evidence to support the contention that Bronx schools need more money. I think it's quite likely that important things (like supplies and building maintenance) aren't being paid for, but I don't see evidence that this is due to lack of funds rather than mismanagement.
That's an incredibly unfair conclusion to come to based on almost no information. For example, you compare the average expenditure per studend in the Bronx with the average at Stuyvesant - enrollment at Stuyvesant is based on a competitive exam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuyvesant_High_School#Enrollme...) and I've be willing to bet that Stuyvesant doesn't have to put up with SpEd and disciplinary problems the author's school does which could easily chew up a whole chunk of money.
Stuyvesant has the same per student expenditures for regular (non-special ed) students as for many schools in The Bronx (check my links).
As for Stuyvesant's students, yes, it is a special school which takes gifted students. So is your contention that it costs less money to educate gifted students? That building maintenance is cheaper? That gifted students require fewer equipment, can make do with fewer classrooms, or can do without textbooks?
I can buy that it's easier to teach gifted students, but I can't quite buy that it's cheaper to provide them the basic necessities like books, classrooms, and laptops.
> I can't quite buy that it's cheaper to provide them the basic necessities like books, classrooms, and laptops.
If unmotivated/uncaring students are constantly destroying books, and laptops and require more supervision (extra paraprofessionals for example), yes, I can buy that it's cheaper to provide motivated/well-behaved students necessities that they actually care for.
My point is that you took a broad spending per pupil number and immediately jumped to the conclusion that the problem was "mismanagement." Show me that the per-pupil numbers are the same and that the rates of consumption (books, etc), disciplinary, poverty/hunger, ESL, etc data are the same, then I might accept the problem is mismanagement. You haven't come close to doing that.
I went to Brooklyn Tech, like Stuyvesant it's one of the Specialized Science High Schools (at the time I went there were only 3, Stuy, Tech, and Bronx Science) with entrance via examination. I can tell you that my high school experience was completely different from the average NY high school experience. When everyone in your school is there because they're motivated and intelligent you have a much easier job of teaching. Furthermore, if the students do misbehave in any major way you can kick them out and send them to a non-gifted school. Regular schools don't have the same luxury.
I remember after 9/11 happened and Stuy classes had to be temporarily relocated to Brooklyn Tech, all my friends complained about what a terrible experience it was (the relocation, not necessarily 9/11) and how horrible BT was (I was in Canada by that time and missed out on that whole thing).
It's a whole different level. Stuyvesant takes the 99th percentile of NYC students. It's somewhat instructive, but mostly unfair, to compare it to other public schools. What's really interesting is the parent poster's mentality - as if it's the money thrown at kids that makes top schools.
That's not an excuse for ineffective education, but money is not what is primarily going to change things. For starters, figuring out a way to make NYC public schools less like prisons would help.
Yeah, I went to tech during that period. It didn't make much sense, I remember the writing on the desks, Stuy rules, tech sucks and vice versa.We were in high school after all. The interesting thing is that Stuy was still Stuy, just in Tech's building (we were in the building at different times, so the two schools never met). So when they said tech sucked, they're usually referring to the building, which we can all agree is not as nice as Stuy's but as far as the people and classes go I would say they're very similar. Stuy, Tech, and Bronx Science all took kids in the 90th+ percentile, in any event silly SSHS pride aside we can all agree it's unfair to compare it to other public schools.
I think besides requiring an exam to get entrance into the schools, it's a sense of pride that helps to push the students to excel. They're in that school because they're smart, so they work to uphold that image.
In regular schools, I assume, that they don't have the extra pressure (and pride) that motivates them. That motivation would have to come from within the students themselves, their parents/family/friends, and their teachers and role models.
Motivation, but also things like not being humiliated when you have to go to the bathroom. Most prison cells have toilets. Having to ask permission to go and then run around for 20 minutes looking for a key to the bathroom is degrading.
Per student expenditures for public schools in The Bronx can be found here (input district values of 08,09,10, or 11 for Bronx schools): https://www.nycenet.edu/offices/d_chanc_oper/budget/exp01/y2...
Per student spending in The Bronx appears to be around $17.5k. This is significantly higher than the national average (of about $11k). More notably it's the same as Stuyvesant High School (also in New York city, http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/02/M475/AboutUs/Statist...) which is regarded as one of the top schools in the country: http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/listings/high...
Given this I find little evidence to support the contention that Bronx schools need more money. I think it's quite likely that important things (like supplies and building maintenance) aren't being paid for, but I don't see evidence that this is due to lack of funds rather than mismanagement.