Foster City Islander Article - 03-14-2007

“If Not Us, Who?  If Not Now, When?”

This passionate plea—made by both John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan—applies perfectly to the daunting challenge facing our society. We must completely overhaul American education from kindergarten through high school.

Tough Choices or Tough Times, by the New Commission on Skills of the American Workforce, makes a compelling case for such sweeping change. It presents sobering facts that show clearly how our very way of life is seriously threatenedunless we make rapid and drastic changes in our schools. This report is required reading for every member of our society, but especially for parents. An informative summary is available at www.skillscommission.org/executive.htm.

This highly-respected commission warns that, “If we continue on our current course, and the number of nations outpacing us in the education race continues to grow at its current rate, the American standard of living will steadily fall relative to those nations, rich and poor, that are doing a better job. If the gap gets to a certain—but unknowable—point, the world’s investors will conclude that they can get a greater return on their funds elsewhere, and it will be almost impossible to reverse course.”

The report concludes that, “It is not possible to get where we need to go by patching [our existing] system.¼ We can get where we must go only by changing the system itself.” This is exactly the underlying purpose of the charter public high school planned for Foster City—changing both what students learn and how they learn it, so that all our children can thrive in our rapidly changing global economy.

We now face the critical crossroads—our last chance before it’s too late. As described by Marc Tucker, President of The National Center on Education and the Economy, “Either we do a much better job of giving our young people the world-class skills and knowledge they need to compete in the swiftly integrating world economy, or we condemn them to working ever longer hours for ever lower pay.”

Foster City also faces a critical crossroads—our last chance for a high school. The “When” is right now—today. The “Who” are the residents and our City Council. The “How” is standing together in firm, vocal, public support of our school. Together we can build a priceless community asset that will become an important part of the solution to our nation’s educational crisis.

http://www.fchighschool.org/.