Knopp and Bale say that society is not yet truly liberated, and that the increasing privatization of schools, as represented through the turnaround process, will only harm students by diminishing community resources that are provided through public tax dollars. Athletics do seem to be doing well at Curtis School of Excellence. The turnaround process seems to have helped and is having a positive impact upon the community. This supports Knopp and Bale’s thesis that public services and resources benefit students and that the community has a reciprocal relationship with the school. At first it seems contradictory to their claim that privatization has been harming community resources, but this could be due to the fact that turnaround schools receive a large federal stipend in their first years of operation, whereas the larger movement toward privatization might involve fewer federal stipends and more private funding. Stipends could simply be provided to public school without the push for privatization. Therefore, my field work supports the idea that societal factors such as increased school funding and a focus on libratory programs has a positive impact upon the school, which then gives back to society. I would need to do further research, however, on the long-term and wider impact of the turnaround and privatization process as opposed to the effects of a general stimulus. I would also want to look at whether athletics is an exception to the rule, or whether other extra-curricular, community-focused, and wraparound programs are also flourishing at Curtis.
