Closing a Neighborhood School

When Baltimore City's 10-year plan was released, I noticed that the high school across the street from my elementary-middle -- Northwestern -- was slated to close in 2 years. I don't know much about what goes on at Northwestern. I do know that many of my students have older siblings who attend, mostly big sisters who are lovely people and who seem to have a parental role in my students' lives. I also know that even before the announcement that Northwestern would be closed, my seventh grade student (whose sister attends the school) vowed that she would "do anything" to avoid attending Northwestern.

A few weeks ago the Baltimore Sun reported that Northwestern alumni are suing the city over the school closure. The reasons for the closure are what you might expect: poor state of facilities, low student achievement, and "24 percent utilization rate of space in the school." Indeed, according to MD Report Card, the MSA pass rates in all subjects and grades are below 53%, and the school population has decreased by half over the past ten years.

The alumni association argues that it would be more cost-effective to renovate the school, citing several projects that have already been completed (new tennis courts, repaving) that seem to have been overlooked in the city's report. Perhaps more importantly, the alumni believe that "the plan is discriminatory because shuttering the institution would disproportionately affect low-income, minority students" in Northwest Baltimore. Neighborhood students will not have the option of attending this local school. The nearest option would be Forest Park high school in the Gwynn Oak neighborhood.

Northwestern is a neighborhood institution. It was founded in 1966 and has served the Fallstaff community continuously since then. There are strong ties between Northwestern and Fallstaff Elementary-Middle across the street; students often come back to my school to visit their old teachers. Friends who teach at non-neighborhood schools - charters mostly - complain that the underlying pride that comes with attending a neighborhood school is lacking in their schools Their students come from all over the city, and there is no common sense of community. I think there is a definite benefit to local, neighborhood schools that draw from a particular community, and this benefit will be lost with the closing of Northwestern.

On the other hand: Northwestern is clearly failing on many levels. It has 691 students roaming around a school that once housed 1400. The students at neighborhood middle schools dream of leaving Northwest Baltimore to attend City, Poly, Western, and Dunbar. They willingly travel across town on city buses to escape a worse fate at Northwestern. The idea of a neighborhood school is very appealing to me, but I must admit that Northwestern can no longer be an neighborhood institution if it is seen as a last resort by students applying to high school. I understand the pleas of alumni who are fighting to save their school, but I think we must face the reality that this school is seriously in decline. Maybe closure is not the answer, but I doubt that this school holds the same level of value in the community as it used to in its heyday.

Link:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/blog/bs-md-ci-northwestern-closure-lawsuit-20130222,0,1299917.story