A state representative from Kalamazoo says forcing two schools in the city to close or go under state management is a bad idea.
The Washington Writers’ Academy and the Woodward School for Technology and Research have both appeared on the state’s list of failing schools.The Michigan Department of Education could appoint managers to oversee them, but it might also order them closed.
State Representative Jon Hoadley says shutting the schools down won’t fix the problems that caused them to underperform. He says public education will continue to struggle until it has better funding.
“There is study after study that says, poverty is one of the main drivers of lower academic achievement. And so for kids that need more, we’ve been giving them even less than what’s adequate,” he says.
Hoadley says that placing schools under state supervision won’t help either.
“The last thing we need is another taxpayer-funded CEO to come and manage a school. We need more money for books and services and the support that those kids actually need to learn,” he says.
The Department of Education says it has to step in when schools perform poorly for years, to ensure students’ quality of learning.
The state will announce its final plans for the schools in the next few months.
