Big urban school districts like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago have persistently failed to meet the needs of the students they serve. Although critics have laid the blame on the existence of powerful teachers unions, I submit that size alone is the reason (“Break Up Urban School Districts,” educationnext.org, May 12).
Implementing change is always far easier in small districts where stakeholders tend to know each other. It’s not that differences of opinion don’t exist there. They most certainly do. But unlike in large urban districts, consensus is more easily arrived at.
Yet tradition dies hard, which is why it’s highly unlikely that breaking up urban behemoths will ever become a reality.
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