Foster City Islander Article - 08-01-2007

Why Support Building a High School in Foster City

The Foundation receives many emails in response to this column and our email newsletter. Most of them are supportive, thanking us and encouraging us to establish a charter public high school as part of a Community Educational Center.

Occasionally, we receive a response from a Foster City resident asking why the community should build the high school. Here’s the gist of a recent email:
I already pay taxes to support San Mateo High School and other district high schools. I believe that these are good schools. My kids went to San Mateo High and they did just fine. There’s plenty of room in our existing high schools for all students. So, why should I support the Foundation’s efforts to build another high school?

The simple answer: good schools aren’t good enough. The more detailed answer comes from a pile of data. Take a look:

1. California’s schools rank near the bottom (48th) among the 50 states. Even schools that rank highly based on test scores often fail to provide our young people with the skills they must have to succeed: information analysis, critical thinking, problem solving, effective communication and teamwork.
2. More than 50% of students entering the California State University system must first take remedial reading and math, even though they passed these courses in high school.
3. Many employers complain that high school graduates lack the critical-thinking skills, communications, or higher-level math skills they need to be successful on the job.
4. A nationwide poll found that 50% of high school students complained that school was dull and unchallenging. As a result, many young people do poorly in school and 30% of them drop out and never graduate.

The data speak for themselves: We must revamp how we educate our young people to give them the world-class skills that they must have to succeed in college, work and life. Check out Envision Schools to learn how their schools ensure that every student does well in school and is accepted to college.

To keep fully informed of our progress, sign-up to receive our Newsletter at www.fchighschool.org/getinvolved/support/.

Contact info: phyllismoore1@comcast.net or 650-349-5676.

http://www.fchighschool.org/.
http://www.envisionschools.org/.