One Parent’s Story: “We Love Our Failing School”
(2002-08-29) — According to The New York Times, few parents exercise their right to pull children from failing public schools, and to use vouchers to place them in schools with better performance records.
“We just love our failing school,” said Portia Gasterson, mother of 12-year-old Casey. “I’m so excited because the teacher says my baby is going to read this year.”
Mrs. Gasterson, a graduate of the same school 15 years earlier, said she looks forward to becoming literate herself.
“My Casey’s going to learn me to read,” she said, beaming in anticipation. “Our school consistently performs in the bottom 10th of all schools in the state, and we just love it. The kids have a place to go during the day. Lunch is cheaper than McDonald’s. We have low expectations, and we’re almost never disappointed.”
Mrs. Gasterson said she’s not interested in using a voucher to send her child to a better school.
“My Casey won’t need to be all that smart to live in this neighborhood,” she said.
Related Link: NYT Story on this topic
