The Sell Central Now series is not meant to go in any particular direction. Its what’s going on in my head and what’s been going on in my head for a very long time. I am one of Edison’s godfather’s in Duluth and a long time champion of the school. That will not change.
I’ve mentioned this before in my blog but it should be restated for new readers. I have a daughter who works at Edison and she has one and soon two sons, my grandsons, who attend/will be attending Edison. She loves this school.
I am not, however, running for the Board of Edison. I’m running for the Duluth ISD 709 School Board. I’m interested in the well being and education of all students in our first public school system. Originally that meant Edison until the Duluth Federation of Teachers succeeded in electing school board members whose sworn purpose seemed to be to scuttle Edison. When they couldn’t pull that off they severed the two school systems setting in motion the possible lethal competition which we are now witnessing.
I will not serve on the ISD 709 board to make it inferior to the Edison Schools. Edison may very well be superior in many ways to the hemorrhaging ISD 709 schools. Until the talk of an Edison High School Edison parents had every reason to want the Duluth Schools to be healthy as their younger students were once bound to attend 709 high schools despite the hostility many teachers of ISD 709 felt towards the Charter.
One of many missions I have is to find that healthy balance between our schools once again. That will be harder, much harder, to accomplish in a City in which Edison has no need to consider the success of the larger ISD 709 Schools.
In my conversation with Paul Goosens I told him something he was already well aware of. There is a difference between children in the two systems. Its not genetic its family oriented. More and more active, supportive parents who can find the time and energy to advocate for their children are gravitating to Edison. That impoverishes the Duluth Schools as activist parents flee. It means ISD 709 will have fewer advocates and volunteers while Edison’s overall student population luxuriates in caring parents. Paul acknowledged this.
This won’t change any time soon and I do not see this as a healthy long term situation.
I received an email from an Edison parent in regards to my recent Sell Central series. It demonstrates the lure of Edison. It demonstrates the need for Edison. It hints at the very menacing future for the District if Edision families stop giving a damn about the other public school system which helped give Edison birth. Why would this parent care to vote for a tax increase to help the ISD 709 schools? She asks that question without quite realizing the threat to the overall education in our City. It sends shivers up my spine. She wants Edison in Central for her child. She might not care if 709 has the resources it needs to offer students of less committed parents.
Her email to me offers imporant insights worth reading. I encourage more people to find my email address and keep up a dialogue.
The email:
Note.
I just received a follow up email from the parent. She is rightly angry that I would put her full email even without her name as it does contain information which could point to her. That was hasty and careless of me.
