To the Editor:

Since the proposed Shining Rock Classical Academy Charter School has been in the news lately, I would like to offer the following thoughts.

I truly believe that the parents and organizers of the school want what they consider best for their children. Children are indeed precious, and I think all of us who have children want to see them off to a good start, to succeed and to have happy and fulfilling lives. I also believe that the impetus for the school has been the concern that the public school may not provide enough enriching experiences for bright students.

My response to this concern is that my three children (all in college or beyond) have excelled academically in the public school system, the only limit to their achievements being the level of their desire. Moreover, I strongly feel they profited from their contact with the broad range of backgrounds of their classmates. They all developed friendships with students from quite diverse homes, and this has led them to become better citizens, and to develop more mature perspectives.  

Of course my wife and I did our best to supplement what the public school provides, with travel, books, and a variety of educational experiences. These indeed are a responsibility and even a duty of all parents, but the Haywood County School System does have an obligation as well to provide enriched experiences for the gifted students that would profit from them. The current cutbacks in funding have hurt the ability to provide more than they currently do.

I think the public has several concerns about the charter school, some of which I share. The first of these is that it smacks of elitism, and that the students of the charter school are somehow superior. There is already so much polarization in our country that this is a dangerous idea to foster, and one which leads to hostility and misunderstanding.

Another concern is that the charter school will take desperately needed funds from the public schools and uses it in ways that may be inefficient and even experimental.  

Finally, there is concern that by funneling off bright and well-prepared students, it impoverishes the public school experience for all. I would add that the quality of education is diminished as well for gifted students who are sequestered with other gifted students, as it deprives them of real world context for their learning. Rubbing shoulders with children that come from all walks of life can only give students from more advantaged homes a greater sense of the diversity of their community and their place in it.

In closing, it is apparent that the organizers of the Charter School have expended considerable activity and money on this project. I would venture that had they spent the same effort on enriching the public school experience, they would be further along toward their goals. I would hope to see them reconsider, and invest in the excellent school system we have now, and use their talent and energy to contribute, rather than to divide.

And if they should do so, I believe their children, and Haywood County, will do very well.”

Billy Dinwiddie

Waynesville