by Bob Walsh
There was a very interesting front page piece in yesterday's S F Chronicle. It told the story of an unnamed student in the S. F. public school system. It is coming up to graduation time and he is NOT going to graduate. Why, you might well ask. He didn't murder anybody, at least not at school. He didn't rape anybody, at least not at school. Why isn't he going to graduate?
His transcript for the last five years, grades 8-12, is straight Fs. He failed every class, every year. Without exception, though he was still prompted from grade to grade.
He was never reported as a chronic truant, though he in fact was. He came from a two parent household, but worked himself and had significant time invested in the care of his younger siblings. During his freshman year the student, who is Latino, had once contact with a school counselor, who is Asian. The student reported that the counselor was aggressive, judgmental and unhelpful. He never went back. There was never any follow-up or attempts to direct the student to available resources.
Aren't public schools wonderful?
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