Jackson Jambalaya

That's right. I said it. This gangsta-wannabe who loves to ply the white wine circuit as yuppies ooh and ah because he likes them offered up an amendment on charter school legislation this week. Here is the amendment, completely unedited:

AMEND by striking lines 249 through 256 and substituting the following in lieu:

SECTION 5. Authorizer. (1) The Mississippi Public Charter School Authorizer Board created under subsection (2) of this section may only authorize public charter schools in a school district rated as Failing, At-Risk of Failing or Low-Performing by the State Department of Education.

Notice what category is not on there? Academic Watch, which just happens to the level of Jackson Public Schools. This website reported several days ago on the graduation rates of JPS. Male students graduate in four years at a rate of only 53%. That's right: only 1 out of every 2 male students in Jackson Public Schools graduates in four years after starting ninth grade. These pointy-heads over at Parents for Public Schools and the Department of Education can twist the statistics all they want but the fact is, if you are only graduating half the boys or girls in your district, you have a disaster on your hands.

NCLB District Report Card (Bailey Magnet p.5, Callaway p.37, Forest Hill p.57, Lanier p.105, Murrah p.137, Provine p.161 Wingfield p.221)

4-yr graduation rates
Bailey Magnet: 74%
Callaway: 61%
Forest Hill: 56%
Jim Hill: 66%
Lanier: 56%
Murrah: 74%
Provine: 49%
Wingfield: 50%

Now, lets break it down even further using the reports provided by the Dept. of Ed. The report doesn't provide schools names but we will use numbers. I am pretty sure these are in alphabetical order so I will take a leap and guess the school names. The 4-year graduation rates for black male students are placed in parenthesis next to the overall graduation rate. The links to the reports are posted below. Column M is the 4-year graduation rate for black males in Jackson public high schools once they enter ninth grade. The actual student is tracked so if he transfers or moves, the rate is not skewed. The Department of Education website states JPS is 98% black. Graduation rates, Dropout rates

Bailey Magnet: 74% (68%)
Callaway: 59% (50)
Forest Hill: 56%(49%)
Jim Hill: 66% (59%)
Lanier: 56% (54%)
Murrah: 74% (69%)
Provine: 49% (38%)
Wingfield: 50% (36%)

Now lets look at the dropout rates for the same group with the black male students in parenthesis:
Bailey Magnet School: 12% (13%)
Callaway: 28% (38%)
Forest Hill: 20% (24%)
Jim Hill: 22% (23%)
Lanier: 20% (19%)
Murrah: 15% (18%)
Provine: 37% (43%)
Wingfield: 31% (38%)

Think I'm picking on JPS? Hattiesburg High School has a graduation rate of 48%. That's it. 48%. The same school graduated only 33% of its black male students BUT the district is labeled successful and Hattiesburg High is placed on the level of "Academic Watch". 91% of the district's students are black. The dropout rate for black males is 37%. Thus under Senator Horhn's amendment, a school that graduates ONLY ONE-THIRD OF ITS MALE STUDENTS is protected from charter schools if the district is carries the academic watch label.

Mr. Horhn thinks a school that has a student body over 90% black and graduates less than half of its students and one-third of its black male students should be "protected" from charter schools. Mr. Horhn is the Klan's best friend because Hattiesburg High School, Provine, Wingfield, Callaway, and others are graduating black male students at rates only the Klan could love. Read Provine again: Only half the kids graduate, less than 40% of the black male students graduate, and the dropout rate is aorund 40%. Yet John Horhn marches lockstep with Nancy Loome and Claiborne Barksdale, fighting to keep these kids trapped in the same system- until they drop out.

Horhn's amendment gives the game away for the public school lobby. This is not about improving the education of our children but control. The public school lobby and their allies have consistently delivered an educational system that is in last place. Now that there is a serious chance the status quo will change, those who make their living off of keeping our children in last place shriek the loudest. John Horhn should explain why he thinks a school such as Provine should be protected from charter schools because if there is a school that screams out for charter school conversion, it is Provine. Twenty-five years ago a redneck legislator said "We don't need no Harvards down here". Mr. Horhn and such rednecks are one and the same as they fight to keep the Provines and Hattiesburgs as they are.