Public schools are meant to be a place of learning and personal growth for our children, providing them with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in life. However, over the years there has been a growing concern about the declining quality of public education around the world.
In his book Slow Death: Closing New York City’s Failing High Schools in the Age of Bloomberg, author Ernest Oliveri takes readers on a journey through the challenging landscape of failing public schools in New York City, with a particular focus on the closure of Washington Irving High School, once one of the city’s flagship institutions.
The state of our public school system affects not only students but also society as a whole. A failing education system can lead to high dropout rates, lower academic achievement and limited opportunities for future success. We as parents, educators, policymakers and citizens must understand these issues so we can work towards finding solutions.
Through this blog series based on Slow Death, readers will gain insight into different aspects that affect the performance of public high schools. From inadequate funding, overcrowding and inappropriate teaching methods to socio-economic disparities and political influences, each post will explore one key factor contributing to the decline of the educational product.
About the Author
Ernest Oliveri, the author of Slow Death, retired from the New York City Department of Education in 2020. He has a BA in philosophy from Fordham University and earned an MA and PhD in international relations from NYU. Oliveri started his career as a visiting and adjunct professor of government at various universities from 1988 to 1993. After that, he switched gears and began working in public secondary education. He has firsthand experience with the challenges faced by students and educators in New York City's public schools. Oliveri is also the author of Latin American Debt and the Politics of International Finance, (Praeger Press, 1992). His diverse background in academia and public education equips him with a valuable context and insights into the issues discussed in Slow Death.
Exploring The Context
The book explores the context of urban public schools and involves an examination of the myriad challenges they face, encompassing issues ranging from crime to social promotion.
Crime poses a significant challenge in many urban public schools, affecting both students and educators. High crime rates within and around school premises create an environment of fear and insecurity, hindering the learning process. Incidents of violence, drug use and gang-related activities not only disrupt classroom activities but also pose serious threats to the physical and mental well-being of students and staff.
Academic performance is also of paramount concern. Factors such as overcrowded classrooms, underfunding, inappropriate advancement and limited access to resources contribute to lower academic achievement, especially when compared to schools in more affluent areas. Additionally, socioeconomic disparities play a crucial role, as students from marginalized backgrounds may have inadequate support structures in their homes.
In addition to these challenges, societal and systemic factors further compound the struggles of schools like Washington Irving. Socioeconomic inequality, racial segregation, and lack of community support are among the systemic issues that perpetuate the cycle of underperformance in urban public schools. These schools often serve student demographics with high poverty rates and limited economic opportunities, exacerbating existing challenges and creating a cycle of failure for students and poor performance for the schools.
Furthermore, policy decisions at the local, state, and federal levels can have far-reaching implications for urban public schools. Educational policies that prioritize standardized testing or punitive measures for low-performing schools may exacerbate rather than address the underlying issues contributing to their struggles.
Case Study: Washington Irving High School
Washington Irving High School, located in New York City, faced numerous challenges throughout its existence. Established in the early 20th century, it came to serve a diverse student population from various socio-economic backgrounds by the 1950s. As the years progressed the school would experience a decline in academic performance and struggle against a shifting urban culture in its attempt to provide a safe learning environment.
Despite efforts to improve, such as implementing academic support programs and initiatives to improve discipline, Washington Irving continued its downhill slide. Persistently low graduation rates reflected the culmination of years of academic underperformance. The city and state responded with novel training in pedagogy. The Department of Education even replaced the principal in an effort to breathe new life into the ailing institution. But these changes could not forestall the persistent decline in academic achievement, and the school was closed in 2015. Left in its wake were six mini-schools, and this reflected the new fashion in public education.
The impact of Washington Irving's closure extended beyond its student body and staff. It left a void in the community, disrupting long standing traditions and connections forged over generations. The closure also raised questions about the effectiveness of educational policies and the broader socio-economic factors influencing urban education: primarily, the failure of city and state policymakers to legitimately integrate their school system.
Sociological Perspectives
Various sociological tensions are examined in Slow Death, shedding light on critical issues like inequality, poverty and institutional barriers to success. Poverty plays a significant role in shaping the educational experiences of students in urban schools. Many students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds which can impact their academic performance. For example, students from neighborhoods characterized by poverty and crime may experience higher rates of absenteeism, dropout rates and discipline, all of which can impact academic achievement.
Economic instability may also involve challenges such as inadequate access to resources, unstable home environments and limited opportunities for extracurricular activities or enrichment programs. The author stresses, however, that economic disparity alone provides an incomplete analysis. Having worked at the high-performing Stuyvesant High School–where one third of the students registered at or below the poverty line–he acknowledges that economic factors must be viewed in the context of culture as well. Stuyvesant’s students overcame adverse economic conditions to become some of the city’s highest STEM performers. There are other sociological variables at play, and focusing exclusively on economic factors is intellectually narrow.
Institutional barriers, such as outdated policies and practices, can also hinder student success in urban public schools. These barriers may include insufficient funding, overcrowded classrooms and a lack of support services for students with special needs or limited English proficiency. Additionally, issues like high teacher turnover rates and ineffective leadership can contribute to institutional instability, further impeding efforts to improve academic outcomes.
The book acknowledges factors such as racial segregation, which oftentimes reinforce a culture of low academic achievement. New York City’s low-performing high schools are dominated by children of color. The city’s elite schools are dominated by whites and Asians. This dichotomy has functioned for decades to isolate minority children from their higher-performing peers, and this has contributed to the repeated cycles of underachievement. The author argues that despite the nostrums of the new pedagogy and teacher accountability, the real reason for the achievement gap can be found in the city’s failure to integrate its schools.
Policy Implications
During Michael Bloomberg's tenure as mayor of New York City, (and Andrew Cuomo’s as governor of New York State), several educational policies were implemented which aimed to address the challenges faced by large failing high schools. These involved teacher training initiatives, changes in administration, new accountability measures, restructuring and–finally–school closures.
The effectiveness of these policies is subject to debate. Some argue that school closures and accountability measures led to improvements in academic outcomes, (and cite reams of statistics lauding the success rate of the city’s signature remedy, small schools). Others, however, contend that these policies involved institutional smoke-and-mirrors, that they disproportionately impacted marginalized communities and failed to address the root cause of the achievement gap: the de facto segregation of the school system.
Conclusion
Slow Death sheds light on the complexities of urban educational reform, emphasizing the multifaceted challenges faced by schools like Washington Irving High School. It calls for a deeper examination of institutional issues which hinder genuine reforms and underscores the need for holistic approaches that address social, economic, and institutional barriers to student success.