I knew from my son's first day of school that Petersburg City Public schools were struggling. As he finished Kindergarten and the 1st grade, it became increasingly evident that allowing my son to go to school there was detrimental to his development and our quality of life...so, we moved to a neighboring county. From orientation, the differences were shocking. I left the first orientation thinking, "Petersburg residents need to know how much better theirs schools SHOULD be." I mean, we do not allow people to feed our children poison...why is it legal for Petersburg City Public Schools to even operate, much less citizens be required to send their children to school there (as most do not have the resources for them to go to school elsewhere)?
Petersburg, VA, is my hometown. I was born there....grew up in Walnut Hill...graduated from PCPS...was an active member of my community and schools...yet, I felt I had no choice but to move....but then to move and find out that, just miles away, was a school system that was the polar opposite of what we experienced in Petersburg practically makes me sick to my stomach. As one person argued, "You just can not compare the two...it is not fair." Shouldn't it be, though? Shouldn't it be fair to compare one school system to it's neighboring school system? It is not about "What's not fair"....this is about "Who this is not fair TOO"...our children.
Petersburg City Public Schools should be closed immediately. Sending your kids there, or being forced to send your kids there due to a lack of means to move elsewhere, should be illegal.
