EDUCATION | BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO
City schools look to colleges for rescue
CITY Newspaper presents
Mind Body Spirit TO ADVERTISE IN THE MIND BODY SPIRIT SECTION CALL CHRISTINE AT 244.3329 x23 OR EMAIL CHRISTINE@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM
You pay what works best for you. No questions asked. 302 N. Goodman St., Suite 403 in Village Gate 585.287.5183 Find us on Rochestercommunityacupuncture.com
Committed to using only All Natural Products Convenient Downtown Location. Flexible Hours.
$15-35
What’s #1 on Your Wish List? relax relieve revitalize rejuvenate recuperate recharge restore renew
Krist ina Murt y Massage 585-287-7922
$15 OFF your next massage or gift certificate with this ad.
This year, give the perfect gift!
HOLIDAY GIFT CERTIFICATES available in any amount!
BLACK FRIDAY SPECIALS available at www.fadsrochester.com from 6PM Thanksgiving day till 12AM on November 30th Join us for our ANNUAL HOLIDAY SHOWCASE Saturday, December 7th starting at 4:00pm. Tickets: 3450 WINTON PLACE ROCHESTER, NY 14623 585-292-1240
6 CITY
NOVEMBER 20-26, 2013
Show, Dinner and Dance are $50.00 per person Show only: $25.00 per person
WWW.FADSROCHESTER.COM
Rochester city schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas said he wants as many schools as possible to eventually be under the full management of Rochesterarea colleges. And he wants at least one school to be under a college’s management by 2015, he said. Vargas appeared before the school board’s Excellence in Student Achievement committee earlier this week with a plan containing several proposals to dramatically improve student achievement. The proposals are both innovative and controversial. Vargas prefaced his proposal concerning the colleges by conceding that the district is having difficulty managing so many low-performing schools at one time. College leadership would have all of the supervisory powers of the superintendent, Vargas said. Funding would follow each student and go to the college, he said, but students would remain enrolled in the city school district. Vargas said that he would like to “have as many schools under college supervision as possible.” He gave no indication of which schools he’d like the colleges to take over. And he didn’t say if colleges are waiting in the wings to carry this out. But Vargas has been talking with the heads of area colleges and there is some interest in the idea, says district spokesperson Chip Partner. Other proposals include revitalizing the district’s Careers in Technology program with BOCES. While the district has been working to provide more opportunities for students in areas such as the arts, music, and sports, Vargas said that many students say they want to participate in programs that the district isn’t offering. Students who want to pursue careers as electricians, plumbers, HVAC specialists, auto-repair technicians, and cosmetologists would be able to attend BOCES for those programs if the district isn’t offering something similar, Vargas said. Vargas also proposed a communitywide approach to improving student
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas. FILE PHOTO
College leadership would have all of the supervisory powers of the superintendent. behavior. The district’s unusually high suspension rate has been a controversial subject for years. The district shifted away from a student conduct policy that strongly encouraged outside suspensions because many students were missing weeks of instruction. In-house suspensions were supposed to deliver the appropriate level of punishment while keeping students in school, receiving instruction in special classrooms. But some school board members had questioned the effectiveness of the conduct policy — whether it unfairly targets African-American boys, and if the standards for good conduct have been fairly assessed. Vargas also proposed a five-year plan to eliminate the structural problems with the district’s finances. Budget battles create winners and losers, he said, and cause instability in school communities. And Vargas proposed eliminating summer learning loss for K-3 students by greatly increasing summer reading program opportunities.