Letters: Schools should be good neighbors

Re “Charter upsets residents around campus,” Nov. 4

It may be difficult to live near a school, but residents should be aware of that when they move in. If drivers are parking illegally and blocking driveways, that must be fixed.

However, I have not witnessed any disturbing behavior by drivers when I pick up my granddaughter each Thursday at Citizens of the World Charter School. In fact, the opposite is true. There is a great deal of respect for all people at the school.

Citizens of the World is an excellent institution. It has improved the grounds of the Stoner Avenue Elementary School campus it shares by planting trees and painting parts of the school.

I hope this isn’t a smoke screen for the battle between charters and traditional public schools. The children in our city deserve every educational opportunity we can give them, and Citizens of the World stands out in that arena.

Marlene Bronson

Los Angeles

Educational institutions have a responsibility to model good behavior and ethics for their students. It is the duty of school administrators to be good neighbors. It is not acceptable for Stoner Elementary or Citizens of the World (or any other school for that matter) to impose an ever-increasing burden of noise, trash and congestion on its neighbors.

Charters typically require excellent behavior and extensive community service from both students and parents. This community service should not be just about some random holiday food drive but should include a serious ongoing neighborhood stewardship segment.

It is likely that consistently teaching and modeling good, ethical behavior in our schools would improve test scores more than a bunch of iPads ever will.

Janet Davis

Pacific Palisades

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