Rightsizing Plan-A-plus

==Without a Board Vote==
 A+ Schools is a nonprofit organization with a large body of community members. However, no board decision nor vote was taken on this position that follows. The position was hatched by the administrators of the organization and shoved down the throats of the public and the associates who wanted to work with A+ Schools. 
==A+ Said:==
A + Schools applauds the work of Superintendent Roosevelt and his team in crafting the proposed school realignment plan. While no plan is perfect and any plan is sure to cause some pain for parents, students, teachers and administrators we believe this is as fair, objective and balanced a plan as we could ask for. We also applaud the decision of the Board of Education to make a decision on the plan as a whole rather than run the risk of piecemeal amendments, each of which might seem mild, but the sum of which might destroy the effectiveness of the plan. Specifically, A+ Schools supports the Superintendent’s proposal for the following reasons:
1. It is the only school closing plan in the last 30 years that makes student achievement the “Number 1” priority of the plan and of the School District.
2. It keeps high-performing schools open if they do not divert resources away from other schools in the district.
3. It calls for the transfer of students only if they move to higher-performing schools or schools with an enhanced educational program.
4. It creates the School Performance Index, a new method for determining the effectiveness of individual schools which is more fair and accurate than relying on annual standardized test scores.
5. It is presented in a way that permits all citizens to examine all of the reasons, and data supporting them, for all the components of the plan, and provides individual parents the opportunity to know in advance about the schools their children will be attending.
6. It creates the Accelerated Learning Academies, a major opportunity to take the best educational practices locally and nationally and dramatically improve student achievement in Pittsburgh.
7. It establishes accountability for student progress through performance-based contracts with principals.
8. It provides the opportunity to retain local control of district schools.
9. It is comprehensive and can bring stability to the district, freeing parents, students, teachers and administrators to concentrate on student achievement rather than coping with additional school closings every year.
Category: Planks_from_elsewhere