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Health & Fitness

Don't Like Your School Dictrict? Change it

Bristol Township School District woes

The past week has brought angst and aggravation to many parents in the school district where I live. Bus schedules, layoffs, and budget restraints have taken their toll on staff and parents.

This, on top of an already bad taste and an unrelenting stigma that has been placed on  this school district.

Bristol Township, the school district where I was raised and continue to raise my own children, came with many warnings.

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When we told people we were house hunting in this part of Levittown,  we were warned of the terribly high taxes and awful schools. 'Oh really? how awful?' "Well, I don't know but I've heard" was always the answer.

What makes a school or district a good one?

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Is it the amount that appears on your tax bill? Is it  the new roof of the school, or maybe its how much tuition you pay?

One man's 'good' is another man's 'bad.'

This myth of the terrible school district has been perpetuated for years.

A catholic school survivor myself, I started my own children the same way, in fear of the horrible public school system in which we apparently were stuck.

After a few years of watching my children waiting to be challenged. I made the switch to our neighborhood public school. What I found was a warm PTO, and a lot of parents just like me. Parents invested in their children, and their neighborhood. It was a far cry from the scathing reports I received years before.

 

It's true that old myths and rumors die hard.

It's a sad sentiment, really. Leaving one to wonder, where is the hometown loyalty?

Maybe we have just become a community of complainers.

It is far easier to blame than to be the change.

It reminds me of a sign at our local baseball field" "Don't Complain: Volunteer"

As long as parents and residents of any community continue to belittle their own town, the rumors will continue.

And they will start to believe it.

Because if you hear enough times, that you stink.

You start to believe it.

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