A Fine Line

Thursday evening there will be a public hearing regarding the proposed Lake Bluff Charter School. I don’t recall there being one about the New Horizons Charter over at Shorewood High School, but I’m happy for them that things went comparatively quickly, quietly and with seemingly unanimous support. I guess it must be an apples and oranges kind of thing. Maybe it’s because this charter isn’t perceived to really fix anything or maybe it’s rocking the old boat reticence. As they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. True enough; Shorewood Schools has been able to wave the big #1 foam finger for years now, but it is a new time for schools in America.

Charters are everywhere. It’s not the early days of freak-show schools run by Mercedes driving principals in store fronts. Go to the Wisconsin DPI website and see what Wisconsin has to offer almost everyplace but in Milwaukee County’s North Shore. There are charter schools for Direct Instruction, Montessori, Aviation, Arts, Technology, Science, International Studies, even Multiage…and the list goes on.

The proposed charter for Shorewood is not reaction to a fad, or phase, or whim. It would be a continuation of an already successful program that has been in existence for eight years. Hundreds of Shorewood families have been happy with multiage in both elementary schools. It is something that parents want and that the School Board says they intend to keep here. If it is a successful, wanted endeavor, then I sure don’t understand why we would thumb our noses at an opportunity to help it grow and evolve. When given the choice between approving a charter and bringing $350,000 into the district or not approving the charter, what is there to lose? While the grant money would not pay for staff, it could certainly pay for staff development, consultants, materials for the classrooms, and equipment that would either have to be purchased out of district money or just not considered at all. At this time, deliberation about which programs or people to cut in Shorewood Schools is in full swing. It’s probably a good time to be open-minded. We should take the charter for a test drive. See how it runs. It’s not a set in stone obligation, and certainly no one would want to continue something that is not a source of pride to the community. It may be a tough decision to make, but it’s not life and death. It’s a challenge that is manageable and could even be exciting in a community as forward thinking as we. The board will not lose control of its child; the umbilical is unbroken. Ultimately and rightly the power is in their hands. Those who giveth can ultimately taketh away.

Same for the sake of same can be as unhealthy as change for the sake of change, but Shorewood schools has an opportunity to make a change for the right reasons. A change made to acknowledge a success, support a continuation and nurture an evolution. Some background: Eight years ago, Atwater school introduced multiage education to Shorewood. It continues to draw families interested in mixed aged education and has served hundreds of children since it began. The program has attracted knowledgeable teachers committed to its specific philosophies and practices. These teachers learned early on that it would be they who would have to work to adapt multiage life to a single grade school, within a single-grade-minded district. My hat is off to them.

Inspired by the Atwater project, Lake Bluff began a similar although not identical model the following year. Rather than begin with grades 1-4, their approach was more gradual. They began with 1-2, then added 3rd, then 3rd-4th combined, then 5th, and finally 5th-6th combined. This 1-6 model has been complete for nearly three years serving over 120 families. Making the square peg of mixed-grade classes fit the round hole of tradition has proved to be frustrating to those who support, as well as those who aren’t so keen. Now we are finding a way to keep the philosophies separate, but the education equal. Those who want the charter can be happy, and those who don’t…they could be happy too.

Changing the multiage strand at Lake Bluff to The Lake Bluff Charter School is a way to separate the two disparate, although excellent choices for families, while remaining part of Lake Bluff School and the Lake Bluff family. The Board now has the opportunity to act. They will have to make a decision that will help shape the look of Shorewood Schools now and to come. Approving the charter would say to the public that they understand the nature of change and their responsibility to promote innovation, stay current, and encourage growth in the system they serve.

We can handle choice in Shorewood Schools. We’ve already proven that. We manage to live through election cycles together, Republican, Democrat and all the rest. We live harmoniously among people with different or no religious affiliations. Vegans and carnivores frequent the same restaurants and dog owners invite cat owners over for coffee. No problem; and there doesn‘t need to be one here. Kids in our neighborhoods already attend many different schools. They go to Jewish Day School, Holy Family, Milwaukee Public Schools, Montessori, and are home schooled. They interact, play, team, scout and grow together in this one square mile we call home. They always have.

If we’ve made it this far without a civil war, we can handle a charter

Many schools are jumping on the character education train these days and adults, the pressure is on. To the "be careful what you wish for" list of dumb ideas add this one. What were we thinking?

Kids being more aware of how civilized people should act just makes it harder for the rest of us. We have to watch what we mutter when the kids are in the car. Think about it. You're at an intersection here in Shorewood and per usual, no one wants to be the car to go first. Your urge is to start flapping your hand singling, "Go on, you idiot." but you see your kid in the rear view mirror and simply wait patiently while your dentist in the office across town moves on to his next patient.

You're at the store and the checkout line is really long. It's dinner time and you have to feed the kids before the program over at school. You're trying to be patient (because patience was last month's trait) but the person with the cart behind you is continually ramming you in the rear end and it's getting pretty annoying. You turn around to give the glare. It's a senior citizen. You look at the informed observer child in the line next to yours as you gently push the cart off your backside and ask with your fake smile, "Would you like to go ahead of me?" Make sure the kid hears you as you give up your place. This character ed. stuff has ramifications we may not have anticipated. What's next? A big child-made, smiley face sign at the post office reminding us of Patience?

Come on, Shorewood. Hike up the pants and face the fact. We're in this together now. Local businesses are practically obligated to post character traits at the cash registers. Vendors, make room in your windows and display cases for happy-color signs reminding us of Fairness, Perseverance, Respect, Responsibility, Cooperation, Honesty and Tolerance. Employees, no more running to the boss, tattling on the co-worker who came in late. No more whining about what someone else has that you think you've been denied. No more gossip or rumor. No more swearing in the car, flipping someone off or mumbling under your walking-away breath. The children are watching.

Oh people...life as we know it is going to change.