Opinion Effects of Charter Schools on Social Integration: A Concerned Perspective by Ed Gadziemski

I graduated from a Michigan high school in 1973. I've been following some
of the discussion about a proposed STEM charter school for Alamogordo. I was one of the smart kids at school and would've loved to go to a special school just for smart kids. After high school, I spent more than 40 years working in the computer industry, so STEM is a topic close to my heart.

But attending a separate charter school would've meant doing without the
socialization and exposure to kids of all levels and backgrounds that my public high school afforded me. I even had the opportunity to tutor fellow students that were lagging behind, and I hope having access to my smarts helped them achieve success.

I'm concerned about the major downside I see in charter schools. How can we
build and maintain a successful society if we continue on a path to societal
stratification? Elites rubbing elbows only with other elites while blue collars only associate with each other doesn't contribute to mutual understanding and common goals. The opposite is true.

While I recognize the desire to separate students by social class and race
and academic ability, I believe this desire for separation only moves us farther down the path to the dissolution of the United States as a cohesive society. How can we be a force for good in the world when we can't even getalong in our own nation?

Respectfully,

Ed Gadziemski
Alamogordo NM 88310