Of course there are many paths to success, and of course most of the kids who come out of Ypsilanti schools turn out to be fine and upstanding citizens. I think the same can be said of most of the schools around here, public, religious, private, or whatever. I’m just happy to have choices, to be honest.

I did read the first post, as well as all the comments. I’m not trying to change your mind, as that would clearly be impossible. I am merely pointing out the good things going on in the YPSD secondary schools, about which you, in your comments, clearly showed you knew nothing.

My own sons are not the skilled trade sort, either. You talk about your son taking a book in the car. That’s standard operating procedure in my family, where we have a personal library of over 3,000 books to choose from and I have separate bookcases devoted to biography and history, as well as a wall full of literature. Yet, my younger son took the RCTC Culinary Arts course so he could feed himself at a level above ramen noodles when he goes to college – on a scholarship.

So, please disabuse yourself of the notion that because I mentioned RCTC I am advocating skipping college. On the contrary, my point was that RCTC offers many students a means to work their way through college where money is otherwise unavailable, while offering others a means of making an honest living. According to your stated liberal values, you should applaud that effort by public schools to offer these options.

You will believe what you want to believe. I know more than one professor who puts his or her children in private schools. The proof, as always, will be how those children turn out as adults. As I already have an adult son who is a fine, upstanding citizen with a good-paying job and a family, I believe I can state with some authority that there is more than one path to success. I wish you the best on yours.

Second, while I see your point about the need for electricians, plumbers, etc., a) I don’t think it’s fair to say that this is the sort of thing that Ypsi/Willow Run/Lincoln schools can do well (I suspect a lot of those kids want to go to college too), and b) that isn’t my kid. It’s funny that you mention that, because I was talking with a parent acquaintance outside of Estabrook about all this, and this person was talking about how their kids were interested in stuff other than school. For me and for what I know about my kid, the one who takes a book with him to read in the car on the way to the store and who “shushes” me when I try to ask him a question while he’s reading, that just seemed so foreign.

Third, do not assume (as I think you are doing here a bit) that my wife and I made this decision lightly. We have both been teaching at EMU for 10 years now. Speaking for just myself, I’ve worked with hundreds of practicing and future teachers all over southeast Michigan, and I follow issues of schooling in this country and the state quite closely. Perspectives always differ of course, but I do feel quite confident in my interpretation of “the facts” of these different schools. I don’t think Ann Arbor schools are that much better than Ypsi schools (though I do think they are better); I do think that private schools like Greenhills can do a whole host of things that public schools cannot.

Finally, about diversity. That is complicated too, but I guess the short answer for now is that this is one of the reasons we are staying in Ypsilanti for now, and one of the reasons why I am pretty sure that we will probably stay in Ypsi or Ann Arbor as long as we are in this area. If we didn’t have a commitment to living in a diverse and “real” world, I suspect we would have done something like moved to Saline, Milan, Dexter, or Chelesa.

Let me give you another perspective – that of the mother of a YHS Class of 2008 graduate. My son went to Chapelle (we live in Normal Park), where he was well-prepared to go on to West Middle School. At West, he had excellent teachers in science, math and social studies and a truly inspiring English teacher in Cheryl Brown, who improved his writing at the same time that she instilled a love of American literature. As I am a professional journalist and author, this was as important to me as I’m sure it is to you. Monica Merritt, the principal at West, is the daughter of Herman Boone of “Remember the Titans” fame. Her positive “can do” attitude permeates the school. (By the way, grammar is no longer taught is most schools across the United States, which I consider to be a serious educational error of massive proportions.)

Although YHS has had some rough spots ( won’t lie to you), it is in the midst of some wonderful improvements. Three years ago, Richard Weigel became the curriculum director of the district and has begun some amazing programs. These include the Early College Alliance, which Meredith mentioned, that puts YHS students on the EMU campus. There is also a science program that is a joint effort between EMU and YHS for students thinking of entering the health and medical professions, again on the EMU campus. I believe it’s called Allied Health. In addition, students with a bent toward engineering are being mentored and tutored by students of the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering and some of their classes are on that campus.

We also have coordinated efforts with Washtenaw Community College, where courses – not all of which are counted as AP – can give achieving students an encouraging leg up toward their college careers. My own son, as an example, has received 16 credits at WCC in business and accounting. Those credits have encouraged him to continue on his educational path.

Because Ypsilanti has many students whose families cannot afford to send them to college, the Ypsilanti Public School District is part of a consortium with Lincoln and Willow Run called the Regional Career Technical Center, which offers “skilled trades” courses in Graphic Arts, Culinary Arts, Computer Technology, Construction Technology, Auto Mechanics, Collision Repair and Child Care. Two more classes, as yet to be determined, will be added this coming year. Many students in these programs go on to college, using their skills to work their way through. For those without an academic interest, these programs provide them with the skills to go into the work force or to a technical school and remain honest, productive members of the community. I think you’ll agree that there is a need for electricians, plumbers, builders, etc. in this world. But, for those without the money for college, this provides a path for getting there anyway.

I moved to Ann Arbor in 1973 to go to the University of Michigan and spent 16 years living in Ann Arbor. My older son graduated from Community High there before we moved to Ypsilanti. My younger son has now gone through the Ypsilanti schools. (They are 19 years apart in age, so I’ve now raised two “only” children.) Frankly, I do not believe the Ann Arbor schools to be one bit better than the Ypsilanti district. Both districts have strengths and weaiknesses. The only difference is that Ann Arbor is more adept at hiding its faults than Ypsilanti.

Greenhills may, indeed, be the best fit for your son. But, in addition to his academic pursuits, you must weigh how well it prepares him in socialization skills and community aspects of his life. I have deliberately exposed my sons to others of all economic classes and skin colors and as many diversified cultures as possible so they will be prepared to handle all kinds of situations and relations in the “real world.” Both have learned to appreciate diversity and differences. The secondary school experience is so much more than just academics that I, personally, would never deprive my children of the public school adventure.

What dismays me most about your decision is that you appear to have made it without gathering the facts about the Ypsilanti secondary schools first. I guess I expected better from someone to whom education is so obviously important.

For the record, a really good friend of mine (different from the friend that has her child at Greenhills now) had a terrible experience there, and she not only sent her kids there, she was a teacher. She found it to be really cliqueish and not at all tolerant of kids with different learning styles or means of self expression. I also know of a child who was expelled for smoking pot – in the hallway. So, there are problems everywhere, and you just have to pick the ones you want.

It’s great that Estabrook has the Science Olympiad team – I have coached those teams before, and my mother coached one to a national championship. What happens at Chapelle during Science Exploration Day is that each kiddo gets to do a project from Science Olympiad, thus hitting every kid, not just the ones with motivated parents. Just a different perspective.

Meredith

The one thing that I know Will got at Estabrook that he wouldn’t have gotten from any other school is an opportunity to participate in the Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad. Estabrook is the only Ypsi school that does this, which really ought to be called “Ann Arbor and a few other schools in the county.”

TG, as for AP and college credit courses: as a college professor, I frankly have a lot of problems with those programs, basically because they don’t really offer what I think of as a “true” college experience. I’d rather there be some kind of program where we get Ypsi high kids on EMU’s campus to take some courses like first year composition. that came up as an option at one point a couple years ago and quickly fizzled out for some reason.

And while I again want to be clear that I am not interested in making some kind of “us versus them” comparison, my wife and I were both really pleased to see the “summer reading list” from Greenhills for incoming 6th grade students, a list that includes one “required” book and many fine recommendations. That’s not the kind of program public schools tend to offer, in my experience.

Cheryl: Have you visited West? I’m inclined to think not, because it provides, to use your words, “good, solid educational experiences.” Do they have chairs? Yep, like the kids at Green Hills, at West they sit in chairs, too. AP classes? At Ypsi High, they’ve been expanding the program over the last three years to accommodate increased interest and participation. Ypsi High also has kids that get college credit while in high school by attending college level courses at local universities that Ypsi High partners with.

Interestingly, because of certain opportunities not available elsewhere, a number of families who live in Ann Arbor have chosen to enroll their children in Ypsi under Ypsi’s Schools of Choice program.

I’ve found that among those that do their homework on West and Ypsi High, most are pleasantly surprised and quite satisfied with the opportunities available to their children.

My son, who tests in the top tiers of pretty much everything, goes to West and is having a fabulous time. He’s helped elementary kids with science, done a Physics Club as a class (with a trip to Cedar Point for the highest point scorers), learned to play the trumpet, had the best physical education experience ever (Mr. Osborne somehow got him to love basketball – I’ll never know how), and we’ve still got eighth grade to go. Also, he got to play on the brand new baseball team there this year.

So, you know, I am all for people sending their kids anywhere they need to (I teach at a private school, and some of my best friends send their daughter to Greenhills), but try to focus on the fact that Greenhills is a better fit for your son, because I have to say that just about every opportunity I’ve heard of for kids anywhere else, my kids in the Ypsi Schools have access to. The problem isn’t the schools, or at least not any problem that public schools anywhere face. There is a mandate to teach everyone, not just the children of the parents who can afford to send them somewhere special. I find that to be an integral part of what I want for my children, you do not.

Meredith