I enthusiastically recommend that all my readers take the time to see Waiting for Superman, an educational documentary directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth). The film follows five families in their quest for quality education for their children. Dissatisfied with the zoned public schools in their district, they turn to “lottery” public and charter schools, which do not have ample spaces for all interested students. The movie has received national attention and is now showing in Baltimore at the Landmark Theater in Harbor East.
I had the opportunity to see a screening of the movie two weeks ago and found it to be moving and inspirational. After digesting the documentary, I had three overarching thoughts: 1) sincere appreciation for the education I received at Calvert; 2) the need for Calvert to provide the best possible education for the students of today, and 3) the call for all Americans to take an interest in broader educational issues.
Nationally, public schools will always be responsible for educating the vast majority of children. Approximately 90% of students in the United States attend public schools, with roughly 9% attending parochial schools and 1% in independent schools. The long-term success of our country is directly tied to the quality of the education that children are receiving in all schools across the nation.
Since 2006, Calvert has joined seven local independent schools and eleven public schools in the Middle Grades Partnership (MGP), a program designed to offer “academically promising Baltimore middle school students the opportunity to excel in the city's most challenging high schools by providing them with comprehensive summer and after-school learning opportunities,” according to www.middlegradespartnership.org . In the summer, approximately 75 students from our partner school, Francis Scott Key Elementary-Middle, take classes at Calvert that are taught by faculty members from both Calvert and Francis Scott Key. Generously funded by the Baltimore Community Foundation, MGP significantly improves the chances that Baltimore public school students will attend selective high schools and then college. Participation in MGP also provides professional development for Calvert teachers across multiple grade levels and subjects and provides several Calvert alumni the opportunity to serve as program interns.
In closing, I again urge you to see Waiting for Superman. If you click the following link, you can access more information about the movie: www.waitingforsuperman.com
