Larry Lee: What Charter Pushers Don’t Understand About Rural Communities Like Fruitdale
Larry Lee writes about a small town in Alabama called Fruitdale. He describes the central role of the public schools in that community. It is the anchor of the community.
The charter lobby doesn’t care about Fruitdale, its history, its people, its future. They have dollar signs in their eyes.
He begins:
Sweet Jesus. It was hot, like really, really hot. But what do you expect on an August afternoon in the middle of a football field just 90 miles from the Gulf of Mexico?
I was there to watch the 2019 version of the Fruitdale Pirates practice. Fruitdale is one of five high schools in Washington County. It’s a 1A school, the smallest classification in Alabama high school sports. There are dozens and dozens of such schools across the state, places where Dollar General coming to town is a big deal. (Fruitdale recently opened one.)
I was there to watch the 2019 version of the Fruitdale Pirates practice. Fruitdale is one of five high schools in Washington County. It’s a 1A school, the smallest classification in Alabama high school sports. There are dozens and dozens of such schools across the state, places where Dollar General coming to town is a big deal. (Fruitdale recently opened one.)
Places where community and school are joined at the hip. Take away the school and you’ve jerked the heart from the community.
This August afternoon coach Johnny Carpenter was getting his 32 players ready for their first game against A. L. Johnson of Marengo County. Carpenter grew up just CONTINUE READING: Larry Lee: What Charter Pushers Don’t Understand About Rural Communities Like Fruitdale | Diane Ravitch's blog