Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Decline of San Francisco's Public School Population

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
Public and private schools alike are losing students. Home buyers spend significantly more for a house in San Francisco than they do for the same house virtually anywhere in the Central Valley. The spiraling cost of living in San Francisco is seen as a primary reason why the schools are losing so many students.

Yet San Francisco is not alone. The city's loss of school-age children is part of a vast, statewide movement of young families inland from the more expensive coast. In San Francisco, who is leaving? Why? Mayor Gavin Newsom has gathered experts and convened a blue-ribbon panel -- but is there anything they can do?

Many San Francisco parents say they love the idea of public schools -- for other people's children. Nearly a third of kids in San Francisco attend private and parochial schools -- 3 1/2 times the rate of California as a whole. Personal wealth and the city's large Catholic contingent contribute to the phenomenon, but so do negative perceptions about the public schools.

The result is a public school system made up largely of minority and poor students, and a shadow school system for mostly white and wealthy students. There is little overlap between the two groups -- even in this most progressive of cities.
What kind of education do private schools offer, and are they worth the price?
How ironic,the very Blue city of San Francisco should have residents that are true believers in public education but look at the actual numbers.This is a rather high percentage of the population in private schools.What a bunch of hypocrites.I guess modern day liberals are leading the way for getting rid of public education.