Government Intervention in the Memphis City School System Essay

Government Intervention in the Memphis City School System There are many factors that contribute to how teachers will teach their students. The student’s background knowledge, learning style, and interest levels are all very important to take into consideration when constructing a lesson. But teachers have to answer to parents, principles, administrators, school boards, state standards committees, and governmental agencies in addition to their students when it comes fulfilling their job description. One of the most well know government intervention plans that teachers have to adapt to is No Child Left Behind, implemented by the Bush administration in 2002 to help close the gap between under-performing and exemplary schools. The over arching idea is commendable; provide children with a quality education regardless of where they go to school. Schools have to make the grade in order to receive additional government funding and those that consistently fail to hit its goal will completely overhauled in order to achieve improvement. One school system that has been a consistent poor performer is the Memphis City School System. In their desperation to close the achievement gap the Memphis City School Board has surrendered its charter and proposed a vote to merge with its successful counterpart, the Shelby County school system. The surrender of the charter puts the responsibility of providing education for the districts previously run by the city on the shoulders of the Shelby County government, because according to Tennessee state law 49-1-102: â€Å"There shall be a local public school system operated in each county or combination of counties. There may be a local public school system operated in a municipality or special school distri... ...How do you get the community at large to get behind the merge? What will happen to any funds left over from the Gates Foundation donation to the city? Will the consolidation of systems affect the amount of Federal funding provided to the new system through Race to the Top? Personally I think this is a short sighted solution to a problem city school administration and School Board Members cannot seem to find a solution to, which is breaking through the poverty and racial barriers to AYP achievement. Yes, the demographic is unfortunate but forcing this solution on the city and county will not help race relations it will only increase the tension. This merger is another poorly planned government intervention that is bound to fail unless it gains community support and implements a carefully constructed plan for success. We’ll just have to wait and hope for the best.