Community forum at Pueblo H.S. ---Deseg., unintended consequences, & Pueblo High School- Tonight TUSD officials explained that the USP/Desegregation requires that Magnet schools be sufficiently integrated. Because Pueblo H.S. is 85% Hispanic and there is little possibility that it will change in the near future, the Special Master & TUSD officials are recommending that the Governing Board remove Pueblo’s Magnet designation. What it ultimately means is a loss in Deseg. funding, a loss of teachers who instruct in the “communications” field, and a hit to the program that was supposed to improve outcomes at the school. However, in the alternative, TUSD indicated that they would not cut the program entirely and that they would roll out a new program called AVID to help ameliorate any negative impact at the school. The AVID program is basically a program that “helps students be better students.” Thus, if TUSD is unable to entice 300-400 white families to send their students to Pueblo H.S. (a D to C graded School), in the next year or two, the school will probably be negatively impacted. Unfortunately, a lawsuit and a process that was supposed to balance the educational equities at places like Pueblo could now be the death knell for a popular program that has sent hundreds of students into media related fields and provided a foundation for academic success for some. Moreover, the structural possibilities of a turnaround is unlikely, TUSD has closed several schools on the Westside of town, to include Wakefield Jr. High School, further erecting educational barriers and H.S. preparation for those who may have considered Pueblo as a Magnet alternative. The irony would be funny if it was not so tragic. “Success” of a school and the definition of “Magnet” were redefined and are now being measured by racial percentages and not by the outcomes and academic success of the students, as if a percentage equals educational equity. I explained that I had gone through the Media program at Pueblo and went on the law school. The program was instrumental for me and some of my colleagues, several who either own small media businesses, or work in the field at local t.v. stations, producing, or in digital production. The Board will ultimately decide the fate of this school. The removal of the Magnet designation will cause harm, what the ramifications will be, will not immediately be known. Yet, it probably will not be good for enrollment, TUSD image, community support, or “integration.”
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 05:22:57 +0000
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