The 'Average' School

Just off a busy four-lane strip mall-lined road, within a quiet neighborhood in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, rests Jeffersontown High School. When arriving at the school, visitors will notice nothing remarkable about the setting or the building. Similar to the view from the parking lot, a review of the school’s published accountability statistics will uncover extremely average results. Yet, if my family still lived in Louisville, Kentucky, this would be the only high school in the district that I would want my son and daughter to attend.

I am not a “bleeding heart” who hopes that my children’s attendance at J-town would better society or teach them some sort of altruistic life lesson. In fact, I am a competitive, rather conservative educational researcher who teaches and preaches the benefits of quantitative measures to aspiring school leaders. I hope that my children matriculate to one of the top-tier schools my wife and I have attended (Northwestern, Notre Dame, Virginia), so that they might enjoy lucrative careers that bring them happiness. In the end, like many parents, I hope that my children fare better than my wife and me.

So, why would I choose an average school like J-town?

Skeptics might suggest that I am trying to game the system. Talented children in a safe and mediocre school might more readily lead teams, earn awards, and achieve good grades. (Like I said, I am competitive and good with numbers.) More investigative doubters might suggest I am showing or would expect favoritism from my former student, co-author, and principal of J-town, Marty Pollio. However, spend some time walking around J-town with Marty and you will realize that giving breaks are not part of his charm or talents.