City on a Hill is, at its very best, a poorly-run, overly ambitious opportunity to milk the public school budget with promises it cannot fulfill or, more likely, chooses not to. - by Bill Lacey

“There's a sad sort of clanking
From the clock in the hall
And the bells in the steeple too.
And up in the nursery an absurd little bird
Is popping up to say cukoo!
Cukoo! Cukoo!”

~ Rodgers and Hammerstein (1959)

Rarely has a song lyric so wonderfully lent itself to one of my writings as this one.  For those of us “Sound of Music” fans, it heralds the opening of one of the musical’s most beloved scenes, the staircase goodnight number.

Today’s (10/31/12) Standard-Times Letters to the Editor page again lends precious column space to two more clanking voices decrying the sad state of affairs that is the New Bedford Public School system while trumpeting the clarion call of City on a Hill Charter. The first author, Pamela Tarallo, a Fairhaven resident (Fairhaven..!) encourages New Bedford to WELCOME City on a Hill. 

Ms. Tarallo cites, “City on a Hill Charter School in Roxbury seems to have found a system that, though it may not be perfect, is working.”  Ms. Tarallo has fallen into the smoke and mirrors trap laid by previous articles noting the success rate and dubious Blue Ribbon distinction of City on a Hill’s ‘push’ numbers. City on a Hill is, at its very best, a poorly-run, overly ambitious opportunity to milk the public school budget with promises it cannot fulfill or, more likely, chooses not to. Success numbers cannot be truly understood without first taking into account the collateral damage it also generates. What Ms. Tarallo conveniently neglects to include are the unbelievably high number of students who begin to climb its hill only to leave the hike early. Let’s clear the air of the smoke that’s gotten into Ms. Tarallo’s eyes… City on a Hill has a 50% DROPOUT RATE. Those aren’t MY numbers, they belong to City on a Hill as reported to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  Furthermore, more than 43% of its student body is suspended on an annual basis. Again, THEIR numbers, not mine. What on earth possesses a Fairhaven resident to encourage OUR city to welcome the failure that is City on a Hill..?

In the second letter, New Bedford resident Joan Halter implores New Bedford to welcome City on a Hill based on her volunteer time spent in its Boston facility. She writes, “While living in Boston, I did some volunteer work at the school and cannot begin to describe how amazing those kids are. It gave me evidence of how fertile a child's mind is, and when given the appropriate tools, that mind can grow and excel.”  The base problem with this statement is its inductive reasoning. To interpret Ms. Halter’s conviction is to tacitly agree that only students who attend City on a Hill have fertile minds. What utter hogwash, Ms. Halter. I am always suspicious of voices who testify to having worked in a voluntary role within a school system as being authoritative. Over the course of my lifetime I have volunteered for many civic and religious institutions. I hardly consider that work to be worthy of authoritative statements. Personally and professionally, I’m glad you found time to be of assistance at ANY school. Volunteers are welcomed daily within the many halls of New Bedford Public Schools. If your talents and skill sets were of use to City on a Hill, wouldn’t they be of similar use to my colleagues here? Tell me instead of your hours of volunteer work here in the city which you now call home. Talk to me of your time spent helping our indigent population, our out-of-work residents, the many broken families who shelter in our various ministries. Help me understand how you’ve been turned away from the SMILES or Mentors programs that exist within our system. Specifically, which schools have you NOT been welcomed into? This is the second piece to the “smoke and mirrors” game: When the mirror is turned on YOU.

No, like those quickly fleeing proponents of the Innovation Schools, I’m betting that Ms. Tarallo and Ms. Halter won’t be heard from again. Their job was to set up the song… Now, allow me to finish it…

So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen.

Goodnight