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Pasadena Schools - Reading, Writing & Written Off?
An article was recently published by US News & World Reports. They did an extensive study on the Best High Schools of 2008. The study included about 18,000 schools. The two local schools that ranked in the top 100 and received “gold” status were San Marino High and La Canada High. Pasadena High Schools did not make the list.
Then they awarded “silver status” to top schools numbering from 101 to 505. Local schools making the list were Arcadia High, Crescenta Valley High, Eagle Rock High, Temple City High, South Pasadena High, Gabrielino (San Gabriel), Anderson Clark Magnet (La Crescenta) and Herbert Hoover (Glendale). Unfortunately, none of the schools in Pasadena were awarded “Silver” medals.
If you have Gold and Silver, you have to have Bronze. The “Bronze” category included about another 1100 schools. Again, Pasadena was noticeably absent.
Pasadena, A First Class City?
I don’t think you will get an argument from any resident of Pasadena that this is a first class city. The scenic beauty, the annual attractions and overall amenities are beyond compare. Why then does there seem to be such a disconnect when it comes to our public schools? We are surrounded by quality educational establishments, just look at the list. Don’t our kids growing up in Pasadena deserve better? Shouldn’t they have the same opportunities as kids in Arcadia, South Pasadena, Temple City and Eagle Rock? Absolutely, unequivocally right they should. Then why don’t they?
Our Kids Deserve the Best
There are very few things in life that I feel people are entitled to. Public education however is one of them. Let me rephrase that. An excellent public education should be one of them! When you consider the taxes you pay to live here, do you feel you get your money’s worth? Wasn’t this country founded upon “taxation without representation”? Do Pasadena schools represent the best we have to offer or can we do better?
What Will it Take to Improve the Schools?
If there is such as thing as a “Pasadena Priority List”, it would be interesting to see where our public education system ranks. Furthermore, I would enjoy hearing why we are surrounded by higher ranking schools. Are there any plans in place to improve the performance or have we just decided status quo, steady as she goes. Could it be that Pasadena has far too many national events that place it in the limelight and we just do not have time to produce a top notch school system?
Tags: City of Pasadena, Pasadena schools
December 13th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
GREAT post! This issue is near and dear to my heart, as we moved from Pasadena to La Canada when my oldest child was 4. Just as every child has a right to an excellent education, one thing I won’t take a chance with regarding my own children is their education. I saw that people with kids older than mine who tried to make a go of the public schools and change them hit a wall and either bailed out after a few years or wished they could. We were fortunate that we were able to move. Some others are fortunate that they can afford private schools. But most are stuck with the PUSD.
So why are the Pasadena schools generally low-performing? I don’t blame any one single factor, which is why it’s such a tough problem to solve. I think the burden must be shared by teachers, administrators, parents, students, and voters.
I look forward to hearing what others say, because I’d love to hear of some good solutions to this. As you said, Pasadena’s a great city, but a city can only be as great as how it treats its least powerful citizens.