Yet when Spencer Blasdale faced the prospect of gum and crumpled paper in his hallways, he took a different route. His school does not employ a single custodian during the school day. Instead, Academy students care for their own environment. The results go beyond freeing up money for classroom activities. Children are instilled with respect for cleanliness and self-sufficiency.
Teachers are proud of the environment they help create and maintain.
Academy of the Pacific Rim attests to the value of exercising authority at the school level. Increased state regulation only deprives them of that opportunity. Jenna Silber is a research associate at Pioneer Institute, a Boston think-tank.