Doctors are aware that their first responsibility is “to do no harm”. In other words, they should help their patients. Obviously that message has not been received by mayors, other politicians and some educational reformers. They would rather close low performing schools rather than working to improve them. The schools they choose to close are those which do not perform as well as schools in affluent neighborhoods which are better funded.
Neighborhood schools are the “glue” which hold communities together, They bring together parents and children. Some bring services like dentists, mental health professionals and doctors to children and their parents rather than have these people go to dentist’s offices who they may not have the money to pay for these services.
By closing local schools this puts an additional burden on students and their parents. Children are put on buses to leave their neighborhood to travel as much as two hours in each direction. So if the school day begins at 8AM, children need to board their bus at 6AM while needing to get up at 4 or 5AM. It also puts increasing pressure on the receiving schools to find teachers and classrooms to address these new incoming students.
It would appear logical that the increased costs of busing could be used to improve schools. Maybe the politicians will get the message.