A Good Reason to Grow Plants in School
Some schools grow food as part of a larger political ideology — an opposition to trade or agricultural business, or a belief that all food consumed should come from nearby. Others cultivate plants because it’s a great way to study biotechnology. That’s the case at the Clyde C. Miller Career Academy, a charter school in St. Louis:
Unveiled last week, the greenhouse adds to the school’s already impressive list of features — among them, a $1 million kitchen and a science lab where students can clone plants. These facilities are designed to give students hands-on experience in preparation for specific careers.
As is often the case, it’s a charter rather than a traditional public school that’s providing students with cutting-edge career training. Charter schools have an advantage in this regard. I don’t mean this in the sense charter school critics do — that charters take the best students, or whatever. No, the charter advantage is that students choose to enroll or to leave, so charters are free to specialize. A traditional public school couldn’t afford to invest in a new greenhouse, an accompanying lab, and teachers with agricultural experience if only a few students in the school took career-focused courses.
Clyde C. Miller Career Academy is, unquestionably, a story of success in urban public education, however the author, Ms. Brodsky, is mistaken that Miller Career Academy is a charter school. It is not: this innovative high school was created by and is staffed and funded under the authority of the St. Louis Public School System!
Miller Academy’s successes are a testament to the fact that with appropriate resources, outstanding leadership, curricular flexibility, outstanding teachers, and community support that even “traditional public schools” can achieve great results with kids from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Charter schools have their benefits, but schools within our traditional system can, indeed, rise to success and should not be excused from doing so.
Comment by William Carson — May 15, 2009 @ 10:45 a.m.
Correction to this post: When I wrote this, I was under the impression that the Academy is a charter school, based on an article I’d read that inaccurately characterized it as such. In fact, Clyde C. Miller Career Academy is part of SLPS and is not a charter.
It’s interesting that the Academy is in some ways a school of choice. No one is assigned to this school based on residence; students have to apply. It’s a rare example of a break from the district’s traditional way of doing things, and I believe that’s why specialization has flourished there.
Comment by Sarah Brodsky — May 15, 2009 @ 11:41 a.m.