Meeting the expectation of excellence.

Wendi C. Thomas, writing for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal offers her opinion on what schools need. According to her, it's more AP classes.

"The point I want to make is that at least a few public schools are doing what taxpayers expect them to do.

White Station is consistently a singular stellar example of what's possible in public education."
(snip)
"Too few city schools offer the number of AP courses that would garner them a spot on Newsweek's list and, much more importantly, give students a distinct advantage in an increasingly competitive college admissions process."

Ms. Thomas isn't alone in her opinion. Many public school supporters have been saying for a long time that what these schools need to do is to focus on academics and raising the bar instead of being satisfied with just getting the children through the system. The thinking being that when children are expected to do well, they can, and do, meet the challenge. And when parents see that those public schools are committed to providing an excellent education they'll be less likely to move to the 'burbs which can have a devestating impact on the tax base and the school's support system.

See my related blog entry about Newsweek's list.