Time for Buffalo Schools to look back at magnet schools as turnaround plans cause disagreement at school board meeting

The Buffalo News reported this morning the Buffalo Board of Education decided what educational partnership organizations and turnaround proposals to forward to the New York State Education Department next week. The battle ground still waged will be in two schools facing the turnaround model options---Futures and Drew Science Magnet. Interim Superintendent Amber Dixon and Buffalo Teacher Federation Phil Rumore uttered different views about the involuntary transfers of teacher at these schools under the turnaround model. While Rumore indicated the involuntary transfers violate the collective bargaining agreement, Dixon suggested the State Ed folks will allow recent staff changes at the school to remain. Rumore threatened a court challenge if district moves forward with the turnaround plans recommended that it forgo the model. The union chief believes there is hardly any evidence in the research that supports the transfer of the teachers increases student achievement in these low persistently achieving schools. Interim Super believes it all about the children meeting their needs.
Buffalo Schools started a magnet school system in the latter part of the 1970's as part of the desegregation of the schools and there are stakeholders in the community that think it may be time to revisit it to see how it might shed some light or direction on how to solve some current issues. The idea is that the community at one time had a successful magnet school system,so all was not what it is today and it's time to look back in order to move forward,.