Students are actively working towards gaining admittance into prestigious public high schools around the country. On washingtonpost.com the story of thirteen year old Nathan Saunders is one of a young man who is working extremely hard to gain admittance to the science and technology program at Eleanor Roosevelt in Greenbelt.
His goal is to attend Morehouse College or Howard University, two of the nation's top historically black colleges. But his applications to those schools won't go out until 2011. Right now, the 13-year-old from Largo is worried about high school.
Only about 250 of the 1,500 students who have applied to Roosevelt will be accepted. Not putting all of his eggs in one basket, Nathan has also applied to Charles H. Flowers High School. It is also considered an excellent school that accepts a limited number of applicants, so if Nathan isn't accepted to either school, he has also applied to three Catholic schools. If he winds up in private school, Nathan is hoping for a scholarship based on his skills in art and public speaking.
Of course, Nathan is not alone in his efforts to want to attend a top public school specializing in areas that interest him. Those not accepted are forced to attend other public schools without impressive credentials or hope to attend private schools.
Beyond Roosevelt and Flowers, Prince George's County high schools have performed poorly on statewide tests, finishing behind every Maryland school system except Baltimore's.
Since taking over the Prince George's system in May, schools chief John E. Deasy has fought to enhance the public schools' reputation by ensuring that all high schools offer academic programs as challenging as those at Roosevelt. He is pushing a broad package of changes, including the expansion of Advanced Placement courses and the International Baccalaureate program, bolstering the involvement of parents, improving teacher qualifications and offering parents more choices about what kinds of schools their children can attend.
Students striving to earn a place in a specialized public school program are certainly feeling the pressures of competition. Public magnet schools, academies within larger public schools, International Baccalaureate programs, and Advanced Placement programs are becoming popular choices for students who are able to meet the high academic qualifications required.
What about the regular kids who want to be successful but can't gain admittance to these programs? Are public schools creating special programs for them? Are we missing something here? Not every child will qualify for "gifted" programs. Don't they deserve academies in public high schools in areas that interest them?