Sunday, July 10, 2005

Oh please . . .

A letter in the Sunday July 10th Star Tribune:

The truth about Veritas


Contrary to columnist Nick Coleman's July 3 column [as commented on by Spottie in the link to the left] on Veritas Academy High School, neither "fails" nor "kaput" is how we describe the present situation. "Delayed until next year" is what we told the attendees at the recent informational meeting.
You two should get a job with the Bush administration helping to explain our great success in Iraq.

Studies show that charter schools which take extra time in their startup phase are more successful than those that rush ahead. It is our commitment to enrolled families to do this well for their children.
So, your original plan was to open this fall, and then wowie, you saw a study that said to wait until you had some students? That's just the kind of rock solid scholarship that I am sure kids will find at your school.

Also, to be clear, our charter school is unrelated to any other religious or nonreligious schools named Veritas in other parts of the country. We are a stand-alone, public school choice. For those who support diversity and school choice, such as open enrollment, Veritas is another type of choice that will be available in 2006.
Spottie got a real chuckle out of this one. Diversity? You people are running from anything that is not white-bread Christian just as fast as you can. If you can't control it, you don't want anything to do with it. If it weren't for the fact that you propose to take public money to do it, Spottie would say good riddance, go and stew in your own venom.

It is not true that families must "hate" their public school in order to sign up for a charter school. Not every school meets the needs of every student. Some families prefer class sizes under 30, which Veritas will have. Some prefer high-level academic rigor, or the option for "abstinence-only" health class, or the study of the classics, or a traditional, research-based math program, all of which will be offered at Veritas Academy.
It is not the needs of students we are talking about here; it is the needs of bug-eyed control freak parents. Some prefer class sized under 30? Everyone prefers class sizes under 30 you knotheads. And you know, the public schools could probably pull it off if it wasn't for parasitic shrews like you sucking the blood out of public schools. Academic rigor? There are plenty of AP classes offered in local high schools, and Minnetonka has a successful international baccalaureate program. Abstinence-only health class. Right. That's just the ticket for kids who have parents who are so uptight about sex that they want to send their children to a school where "abstinence-only" has to be put in parentheses and the word sex cannot be mentioned. Oh, and don't forget to tell the boys that masturbation will make them go blind.

Sherokee Ilse and Valerie Thies,
on behalf of the Veritas Board,
Minnetonka

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