Here is a letter I received on the MCAT program, and the administration's plan to open the MCAT.
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I have a very simple question… WHY? Why would you take one of our districts most prestigious programs and attempt to prohibit any further participation from students within our own district? How many students and parents have there been over the years who have been very disappointed that they have not had the opportunity for participation in this program because of limited space, or because of the criteria used to determine acceptance? What would it take to allow for more students within the LPS district to attend this program?... The lowering of the criteria by a few points? Or maybe just taking students from the top of the list of those who did not meet that criteria to enable them to fill in the available seats?
This district risks further alienation from LPS students & parents who have tried very hard to gain acceptance in this program. What would you think if your child was not accepted to this program, only to see students from outside of LPS partake in what should available to our own students first. I ask you to seriously re-evaluate any attempts at accepting students from outside of our own district, and make every attempt at accommodating LPS students first. Are we trying to attract & retain students to LPS, or give them reasons to leave?
Furthermore - I would like to know what process has been used, and what criteria and data has been collected to determine why this administration feels it is necessary to exclude LPS students from further participation in the MACAT program.
1 comment:
City residents will continue to qualify for Webster program, however the LPS should continue to let out-of district children into the Talented and Gifted program because it would ensure the survival of the program. If Webster is a revenue producing program for the district and enhances the district prestige to have a program like this that other school districts don't have or are cutting out, then we should keep it. Any competitive advantage we could have in our school district makes our city a more attractive city to live in and increases all our housing values. Last year, the board made the decision to let in out-of -district children and stopping it now would cause the younger family members to not enroll perhaps causing an dis-enrollment of students. With special needs children being housed there and bringing in federal dollars to pay for school personnel the LPS has found a way to be cost effective allowing our ESAP and learning specialists to remain in the school district. For these reasons this model is something we should not change.
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