Correction: Due to a reporting error, May 31 editorial “A difficult solution: A magnet school may be the best solution to a complex problem,” incorrectly stated that the transition to a magnet school would mean the end of the Chinese dual-language program at Frank Porter Graham Elementary — this program is currently offered at Glenwood Elementary School. The Daily Tar Heel editorial board stands by its opinion that FPG’s transition to a magnet school would be the most cost-efficient decision for the school board.
On June 7, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools will vote whether or not to turn Frank Porter Graham Elementary School into a magnet school. While this proposition has come under fire by parents of children who attend the school, the measure will ultimately offer the greatest benefit to the school system.
According to a school board member, the design of the dual-language programs at Frank Porter Graham and Mary Scroggs cause the teachers to be inadequately supported at their respective schools. They often don’t interact with teachers who are not involved in the dual-language program.
The transition to a magnet school will remedy this problem by expanding the Spanish dual-language program by putting bilingual teachers in one place. It would also allow all children in the system the equal opportunity to attend the magnet school through a district-wide lottery.
Whether or not the resolution passes, either decision will leave some students without access to the proper educational benefits of the school system.
The school board has to make a decision based on what will be best for the long term. And if the goals of the school system are to increase performance standards of its students, then a magnet school may be the best solution.
Changing one school in the system to a magnet school would save resources and give all students in the system an equal opportunity to enroll in the dual-language program. Board of Education officials also argue that the designation of Frank Porter Graham as a magnet school, in relation to a re-districting plan currently in the works, would help with the overcrowding at other elementary schools.
It is true that in recent years, Frank Porter Graham has been quite successful in closing its own achievement gap. Data for the 2010-11 school year demonstrates a 28.5 percent reduction in the gap between the highest performing and lowest performing students.
But the success of one school cannot come at the expense of another. In the end, the resolution to turn Frank Porter Graham into a magnet school may be the best solution for the entire school system.
