What school choice might you make after attending the emergency relocation plan meeting?

The emergency relocation meeting occurs after a good portion of Paul’s middle school, Lake Windsor Downs, is destroyed by a sinkhole. The students are given two options. They can either attend Lake Windsor Downs on an altered schedule that makes school last far longer into the afternoon and evening, or they can transfer to Tangerine Middle School for the remainder of the year.

To properly consider the question, it’s important to know more about Tangerine Middle School. Tangerine Middle School is known for its lack of resources, as well as  the presence of gangs and other criminal elements. Students from Lake Windsor Downs often unfairly stereotype Tangerine Middle School students by saying that Tangerine students bring guns to school; while Tangerine probably isn’t that dangerous, its students did vandalize one of the exhibits at the town’s carnival. They’re also known for being particularly vicious during sports games. However, Tangerine has plenty of positive elements. For example, it is more racially diverse than Lake Windsor Downs. Its teachers are motivated and caring, as well as more likely to assign projects than force students to read out of the textbook. Additionally, once a kid gains the respect of Tangerine’s toughest students, he or she will have friends for life.

Lake Windsor Downs has different, but no less severe, problems. It’s a wealthy school with plenty of resources. Its students are likely to come from families who recently moved to Tangerine and now live in the new housing developments. However, this contributes to a lack of unity since many students don’t share childhood experiences and a sense of place with their classmates.  Additionally, the Lake Windsor Downs principal and counselors can often be inflexible and insensitive to students’ needs, as shown by their refusal to take away any sections of Paul’s IEP. Additionally, despite its wealth, Lake Windsor Downs did not provide safe classrooms for its students. This definitely shows a lack of priorities!

When deciding personally for yourself, it’s important to remember that while Tangerine Middle School is the perfect school for Paul, it’s probably not the perfect school for the average student. Tangerine is perfect for Paul because it lets him shed his IEP and make a new beginning. Therefore, if I was a student who was currently unhappy at Lake Windsor Downs, I’d likely to choose Tangerine. If I was a student satisfied with life in Lake Windsor Downs, I’d remain there and keep the “status quo.”