Step into the gap
Thank you for the first-rate article on solving the problem in our city schools [“There’s still time to fix the city schools,” March 29]. I was particularly glad that you focused attention on the importance of preschool.
Recent research shows that half the achievement gap in high school dates back to kindergarten. What this means is that we can’t close the achievement gap without eliminating the school readiness gap.
Five-year-olds who can’t recognize letters of the alphabet are at a severe long-term disadvantage compared to their higher-performing—and typically more socioeconomically privileged—peers.
If Charlottesville wants to get serious about closing the achievement gap, it needs to implement comprehensive preschool for all at-risk and low-income 3- and 4-year-olds. Unfortunately, the city chose several years ago to eliminate preschool for 3-year-olds.
As a community, we have a choice: Either we can invest in children at the front end by supplying them with preschool, or we can pay for remediation down the road. If the City Council and the business community will step up to the plate, I will do my part as a concerned citizen by raising $20,000 from private sources to supply our city’s low-income and at-risk children with the preschools they deserve.
Jeffrey Rossman
Charlottesville
Standards of learning
Your comprehensive and forthright article in the March 29 edition of C-VILLE Weekly pertaining to the Charlottesville city school system and its current challenges is deeply appreciated.
As a former educator, I not only thoroughly understand the huge task that everyone in this community faces as it pertains to improving the total value of our children’s school experience. But I have great admiration for all of those who have the courage, the commitment and the perseverance to be involved—whether as school district staff members, School Board and City Council members, interested citizens or students themselves. Their efforts, though occasionally flawed or somewhat controversial, are for the most part beneficial, honest and heartfelt attempts to help our youth. All who are involved deserve respect.
While reading the following reflections by an old, very successful retired teacher, one with insight will be able to extrapolate the messages that are intended.
We teachers and administrators used to dress “professionally,” often wearing suits, or at least slacks with a sport jacket and tie. Women wore neat dresses or suits with appropriate enhancements.
Students adhered to serious dress and behavior codes and discouraged sloppy, revealing dress and an unkempt appearance. Parents were expected to, and generally did, confirm and support these guidelines from the home front.
We professionals were expected to act dignified and in command of our subject material—not to mention in command also of our classrooms.
Participation and voluntary leadership in extracurricular activities was expected of school personnel and was received. Such things were carefully considered when tenure was to be offered.
For many of us, our school day began at home the night before and we appeared well before the homeroom bell. Our closing minutes at school each day included the gathering of necessary material to take home and to again prepare for another school day.
Reports by teachers to parents were usually appreciated and respected and did not result in arguments and confrontations with disbelieving parents, but rather constructive and ongoing discourse and updates.
Students were seen carrying books and rarely showed up in class without their homework (at least partially completed) and pens or pencils with which to write.
Why can’t we return to some of these standards and expectations and this cordial interdependency among the teachers, administrators, students, parents, and community leaders? It can be very easy to do.
Jerry E. Passer
Palmyra
Parkway? No way!
You recently ran a story titled “Hell hath no fury: Kendra Hamilton emerges as a peacemaker” [The Week, March 29]. Your headline is rather confusing, as the quote continues “like a woman scorned”—and I failed to see why this should apply to City Councilor Hamilton.
However, if you stretched the meaning a little, you could apply it to that prima donna, Councilor Blake Caravati. The only reason why he’s kicking up a fuss about the letter Council is going to send to VDOT and the County is because there are three votes in favor and he is irrelevant. It’s only because Mayor David Brown, Hamilton and fellow Councilor Kevin Lynch try to be polite to the poor guy that he’s getting a chance to posture a little. As long as we’re on old saw horses, how about, “Useless as tits on a bull?” I think that describes Caravati perfectly. What a totally useless politician!
If you dig back into your archives you may find that back in the day, Caravati was among the first to support linking the Meadowcreek Parkway to moves in the County. In particular he insisted that the road should only be built if there was a network of roads. It shouldn’t be the only road, he used to say. But now that the rest of the Council has caught up with this brilliant idea, Caravati feels marginalized.
Why, if you dig around in your archives you ought to be able to recover the fact that when the first letter was written in 2000, the Council lineup was Maurice Cox and Lynch on the one side and Meredith Richards and David Toscano on the other. At that time, though, Caravati was getting his jollies by diddling the pro-parkway contingent who would have been perfectly happy not sending any letter to VDOT and let them do their worst to McIntire Park.
Brown, Hamilton and Lynch are doing a good job on this. We’ve always had a fifth column in town ready to give the park away to benefit a bunch of cheesy developers, and finally the majority appear to be trying to at least get something in exchange for trashing the park—and, yes, not build it if the County doesn’t come across.
I would really like you to see if you couldn’t sit in on that meeting with the County and get us the lowdown on that. Kendra for president!
Mary E. MacNeil
President, Sensible Transportation Alternatives to the Meadowcreek Parkway
Charlottesville
CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS
In our March 29 City Council coverage we described Tim Hulbert as the former president of the Chamber of Commerce. He is the current president.
In last week’s Reality Bites we printed the wrong name. The diner was Calvin Wilkerson, not Nelson Hunt.
In last week’s ABODE we ran a piece about donating household items to Live Arts. While Live Arts appreciates all donations, any electrical items should be in working order to be used effectively.