I think it all depends on the circumstances of your specific school district, and perhaps even the individual school, as well as what "Tier III" really means. In our district we don't have "Tiers" (as far as I know), but we do have large divisions between Title I (as defined by the US Govt) and other schools. The Title I schools do get services and $ targeted specifically to them that our other schools don't get, but the $ and services are going there for a reason - the Title I schools face huge challenges. Large percentages of families who are poor is just one challenge (kids coming to school needing clothes, food etc), attendance, crime, as well as in some cases unmotivated school staff who would rather be teaching in other schools where the kids are there every day and in a better overall mindset for learning. My friends who teach in the Title I schools say that in their opinion the biggest challenge (and brick wall preventing student success) is lack of family (parent) support - the percentage of kids with parents who have time (or motivation in some cases) to be sure there kids are staying on track, keeping up with school, reading outside of school, staying out of trouble etc is just really really low compared to what the reality of students' lives outside of school is in our non-Title I schools. And many of the students who's parents *do* care still don't have parents home after school etc because they are from single-family homes or parents are working 2 jobs etc just to stay afloat. I suspect my friends would think you were crazy if you asked for a zone exemption where we live specifically to go *to* a Title I school because you were thinking your child would have better resources or be some kind of "treasured commodity".
polarbear
