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By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH Rae Ann Forester was losing confidence in Grand Prairie High School's academic program. Even though she was president of the Parent Teacher Student Association, she took a decisive step away from the school. Katherine Forester is taking dual-credit courses at the University of Texas at Arlington while still enrolled at Grand Prairie High for her senior year. Ms. Forester enrolled her daughter, Katherine, in dual-credit courses at the University of Texas at Arlington for her senior year. Today, Katherine spends most days on the college campus and returns to Grand Prairie High for volleyball, choir and theater. Parents whose children attend struggling public schools may feel like there's no way out. But Ms. Forester and other persistent parents are taking control of their children's education and finding options. "What do you do in a school that's low-performing?" Ms. Forester asked. "If we can't get what we need from that specific campus, we do what we need to as a family. I do want people to have options, and that's what I'm advocating." After the Texas Education Agency rated Grand Prairie High School "academically unacceptable" the previous two years, the school's poor reputation prompted some families to act. Though the school's Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores improved enough to move the school to an "acceptable" rating this year, they are still low. About 60 percent of students passed math and 57 percent passed science. The campus' ninth-grade center escaped an unacceptable label only because of new loopholes in the state rating system. The majority of poor and Hispanic freshmen failed the math TAKS. Grand Prairie High School is not unique. Many inner-ring suburban high schools are facing the challenges posed by increasing numbers of poor students, many of whom have limited English skills. A lot of poor students also have unstable academic records because they frequently move. In addition, Grand Prairie has had three principals in four years. Veteran teachers left and were replaced with less experienced teachers. Some parents think that intense focus on testing and getting failing students to pass comes at the cost of advanced programs. School officials say they are improving scores and making Advanced Placement classes available. But some parents aren't waiting to find out whether the reforms will be successful. Principal Joseph Showell said he and his staff have made progress by targeting students who need help. "We want to get out the true story about Grand Prairie High School and the success we have," Mr. Showell said. Deciding to leave Kathleen Reed put her daughter, Rebecca, on a different path out of Grand Prairie High. Last year, she began trying to get an interdistrict transfer for Rebecca to Ranchview High School in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. At first, Carrollton-Farmers Branch rejected her plea. But Ms. Reed didn't give up. She made an emotional appeal to the school board at a public meeting, expressing her frustration and fear that Grand Prairie's poor academic performance might cause universities to view her daughter as unprepared. "My children are college-bound, and the focus seemed to be on intervention and rescue," she said. "For our community, it seems to be appropriate, but for kids who are college-bound, that leaves them behind." In the end, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board decided to break with its policy of not admitting transfer students from outside the district. Rebecca is now a sophomore at Ranchview High. Ms. Reed was drawn to the district's "recognized" state academic ranking. Ranchview's smaller enrollment, cultural diversity and new international baccalaureate program also were attractive. Ms. Reed initially tried to obtain Rebecca's transfer to Ranchview under the little-known state program known as Public Education Grants, or PEGs. The program is designed to allow students to transfer out of "low performing" schools into better schools in other districts. Grand Prairie High is among a handful of high schools that fall under PEG guidelines. Lancaster High and Arlington's Sam Houston High are other examples of struggling schools to which PEG applies. But Carrollton-Farmers Branch does not accept PEG transfers and did not accept Rebecca under that program. Instead, Ms. Reed will be paying tuition to Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. Advocates for choice in schools say school districts are intentionally making it difficult for families. "They're afraid of opening the floodgates," said Allan Parker, president of the Texas Justice Foundation. "They figure if we take kids from this school that's unacceptable this year, well, we might be unacceptable next year. So everybody just keeps their own kids." Leaving Grand Prairie High was a difficult decision for Ms. Reed and other parents with deep ties in a community. They know their children will miss their friends. They intended for them to experience their entire educations in their neighborhood schools. Ms. Reed said some other Grand Prairie parents didn't support her decision to move Rebecca. "Everyone said, 'We love this community, and we're going to do whatever it takes to turn things around,' " Ms. Reed said. "They're kind of looking at me like I'm betraying them somehow. Well, it's for my kid." Moving near Cathy Davidson moved 10 miles down the road so her daughter could leave Grand Prairie High and begin her sophomore year at Arlington's Lamar High. It was close enough to be near old friends but far enough away to leave the school district. "There were a lot of kids in the school who did not care to be there, which is a bad environment for those who do want to be there," she said. James Harris found yet another route out of Grand Prairie High for his stepson - an intra-district transfer to South Grand Prairie High School, the only other traditional high school in the district. It seemed the best option. Private schools were too expensive, and neighboring school districts were reluctant to accept transfer students from other cities. Mr. Harris said the transfer was good because his son has friends at the new school. "We figured it would be less traumatic for him, and the school is a little better," he said. "It would be difficult for a high school student to completely leave and not know anyone." Katherine Forester has mixed feelings about spending so much time in class at UT-Arlington. She is still enrolled as a senior at Grand Prairie High, but she is missing experiences such as making her "senior scrapbook" in English class. Katherine said she grew frustrated by misbehaving students and teachers who didn't seem to care. She realized just how academically behind some of her classmates are when a student in her speech class didn't know how to spell mouse. She's had some amazing teachers at the school. But she also said many of her friends expected to fail their Advanced Placement exams. "I do love my school; I just feel like there are things they could do better," she said. ESCAPE HATCHES Parents who think their children are trapped in failing schools have a variety of options for improving the situation: o Intra-district transfer: File a request to transfer to another school within the school district. Free transportation is often not provided. o Interdistrict transfer: Request to transfer to a school in another district. This is hard to do and could involve paying tuition. o Public Education Grants (PEGs): If the Texas Education Agency labels your child's school low-performing, you can withdraw him or her and apply to transfer to a school in another district. However, most districts will not accept such transfers. For more information: www.tea.state.tx.us/ perfreport/peg_faq.html. o No Child Left Behind: If your child's school is labeled low-performing under the federal system, which is separate and often different from the state rating system, you may transfer to another public school within the district. In contrast to other intradistrict transfers, in these cases the district must pay for transportation. o Charter schools: Publicly funded independent schools. Students do not have to live within certain boundaries, and admission is by application. For more information: www.tea.state.tx.us/ charter/faqs/faqgen.html o Private schools o Moving: Research another school or district and move within its boundary. o Dual-credit enrollment: Mostly used by juniors and seniors. Though these college courses are offered on high school campuses, students may also travel to community colleges and universities for classes. A new law means school districts must offer at least 12 hours of such classes to students. Enrollment is often free, but students must pay for textbooks. o Home schooling SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research |
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