The dream of a neighborhood school
John's optimism seems shared at Midtown Academy itself. Principal Diane Isle is stern as she passes a few stragglers stepping out of line on their way to art class, but her overall effect is that of a determined and enthusiastic cheerleader. Her purple headband, blue velour jumpsuit, and bouncy blond hair don't hurt either. She shows off her small building proudly. An art room displays models of Grecian pottery that students are attempting to replicate. An English room sports the sign "The Biggest Sin in Writing is to Be Boring!" Most classrooms have at least two adults, twenty-two or fewer kids, and a surprising amount of one-on-one instruction. Part of the explanation is that Midtown has excellent relationships with teacher training programs in the city and benefits from a core of interns. Isle actively courts Bolton Hill parents and knows that a high teacher-to-pupil ratio is a strong selling point. And Midtown, like all schools in Baltimore, is focused on raising its Maryland State Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) scores. This year the school did well, averaging 41.9 (the goal is an average score of 70 out of 100), nearly twice the average for the rest of Baltimore City's public schools. Midtown's ninety-hour-per-year parent volunteer requirement also virtually ensures that high-powered parents will be directly involved in maintaining the school. At the same time, this requirement may put pressure on poorer, less available families to either shape up or ship out. But for now, the main problem is a lack of space. They've been efficient with what they have--their physical education program, for example, is focused around Tae Kwon Do taught in the cafeteria. However they desperately want to expand and are being hampered by some resistance in the neighborhood, primarily from nearby residents who don't appreciate the sounds of children getting out of school. But for John, a neighborhood school--noise and all--complements his vision of an ideal city life. He has been in Bolton Hill for six years and describes it as "real community that you can't find anywhere else." He imagines the suburbs as a place where "you just drive up and your garage door opens, you pull your car in and the garage door closes, the TV turns on and that's the end of the day." So John carries out his campaign, whether at the local swimming club or at the Hidden Bean, the local corner coffee shop. Because there are only ten slots, assigned by lottery, John jokes about being too successful in his efforts to convince other Bolton Hill parents to give Midtown a try. "It's ironic that we're now thinking that maybe we should apply to private schools as a back up," he says, but finishes with a genuine "but that's good!" Although Mount Royal is also a neighborhood school only two blocks away from the Lau family, they aren't considering the predominantly black school, not even as a back up. If Hannah's "the only person of only one race then she may not feel too comfortable," says John. "Just to be honest." The dream of a neighborhood school Opting out of the "experiment" The school on the wrong side of the street |